The Best Christmas Cake ....... Ever!!

It's Christmas time which means that we get to do crazy things like get along with our families, buy heaps of presents and shop like everyone lives where we live because the shops are closed for one whole day!! The best part of Christmas in my opinion is getting to eat this Christmas Cake.... THE BEST CHRISTMAS CAKE ....EVER!!

20 or more years ago my Mum made this for Christmas lunch with Kahlua and dried fruit, sort of sounds okay now but to us at the time it was a huge waste of perfectly good icecream. The next year I took over the preparation and I have been doing it ever since with different combinations. It is my favorite thing to eat...ever and this year we are having 3 Christmas celebrations so I get to make it and eat it 3 times whoo hoo!!

Its so easy to make all you need is 2 litres of vanilla icecream, any combination of chocolate bars (my favorite this year is pepermint areo x 2, malteasers, turkish delight and cherry ripe).

Slightly melt the ice-cream and chop the chocolate and  guard this with your life from little fingers wanting tastes, mix and put in a bowl lined with cling wrap freeze for about 24 hours then serve. 

I serve this with berries or mango on top just to balance all the chocolate and because it looks deceptively healthy to anyone that doesn't know that they are about to eat a huge bowl of ice cream and chocolate.

I will guarantee if you make this there will be no leftovers, unless you sneak some away for yourself by cutting a huge slice for yourself and hiding half in the back of the freezer for later, not that I do that.... just saying!!

Have a Merry Christmas and enjoy the BEST CHRISTMAS CAKE.... EVER!!

Christmas Craft Princess

I have been in lockdown in this town for what seems like soooo long (I escaped for 1 day trip, so a total of 7 hours and 36 mins away in 4 weeks) and the weather has been a little warm so we have all been spending loads of time inside.....together. So what's a girl to do? Well with Christmas around the corner I seemed to turn into Martha Stewart, or some craft obsessed Princess from another land that I don't even recognise. The thing is I didn't think I liked crafting, sure I love knitting, baking and sewing, but craft yuck!!. I actually complained at the school last year that the kids did too much Christmas Craft as they bought home paper after paper of decorations,(note: take photos of any artworks that the kids are attached to before you bin them, then you can show them the photo when they ask. For artwork and craft that are really cool create a digital art book for them, its heaps easier to store them on the computer and great to share with family and friends), but the last few weeks have made me realise while I hate crappy craft, I love useful craft.... there is a big difference (Sure!) Anyway here are some of our projects, they are quick, will keep the kids amused (which may prevent heads little being scarred for life buy cranky sisters), easy, and best of all.... USEFULL!!

 

Gift Tags

1. We made these over a few sessions, the kids used Christmas Stamps to go crazy out the back with butchers paper. Session 1 done!

 

 

 

2. Then Master 3 and I practised his scissoring skills (for like 30 seconds) then I cut the shapes out while watching re-runs of Project Runway and drinking tea.
3. Miss 6 and I then cut out some Japanese Paper into shapes, and glued them with the stamped Christmas shapes onto cardboard. Merry Christmas 2013 and a hole punch...Ta Da Christmas Gift Tags!

 

 



Outdoor Christmas Tree

 

This was crazy easy and was an attempt to show Master 3 that sticks are useful for things other than chasing his sisters around with. He is still chasing his sisters with sticks but this project made use of his weapon stash in his room. We collected sticks from everywhere, painted them using the left over paint from the gift tag stamping and arranged them in order. We then bought a garden stake, whitewashed it and screwed the wood on in order and... Wallah.... Outdoor Christmas Tree. (This may end up as a bean climber in a second life after December 25).



Wreath



I loved looking at these last year and we have never had a wreath. I thought the wool ones were pretty and would be a great use of extra wool I had lying around but the whole cardboard circle thing was a task in itself, so I never got round to it. Then I saw this... http://www.craftstylish.com/item/8659/how-to-make-a-finger-wrapped-pom-pom easy finger wrapped pom poms. Our little hands made many in such a short amount of time, we even had extras for the tree. I love our bright wreath!!

 

Teachers Gifts

We have beautiful staff at the school here. There are about 26 students and 7 staff including Administration, Teachers, Principal and Teacher Aides, so they all know the kids really well. For gifts for the teachers we made some Bliss Balls (raw cacao, LSA, raw almonds, rolled oats, dates, apricots, sultanas, blitzed in mixxy and  rolled in coconut or raw cacao) and Chocolate Fudge balls (biscuits, condensed milk, coconut, and raw cacao blitzed in mixxy and rolled in coconut). We then put them in sterile glass jars topped with Christmas Fabric bought up by Granny from NSW (thanks so much xxx) and finished with a gift tag. Miss 8 sewed around all the edges of the fabric all by herself and Master 3 helped in the cooking and taste testing. Beautiful!

 

 

 

Our Artwork

We were so lucky to be given a canvas from one of the teachers that is sadly leaving at the end of the year. In the spirit of Klimt who I love we created a family artwork. Miss 8 painted the background, Miss 6 and I painted the trunk and branches and then we all used our fingerprints to create the leaves. Little love had to use his toes... Its now hanging in our lounge room.

 

Our Tree

Our Tree this year is a branch from the Mango Tree. Decorated with all sorts of decorations. When we moved here we ditched our old plastic tree and we haven't bought a new one. Last year the Mango Tree served us well, I am not sure we will ever have a plastic one again!

These craft little projects are so easy, useful and have elements that can be done by all age groups.... Me crafting away... Who would have thought? Its amazing what so much time at home, in the heat can do!!!

 

 

My Weapons....

 

This week has been a little focussed on weapons in our house. Possibly because master 3 ended up at hospital at 8am Saturday morning getting his head glued together as a result of a Spinjitsu fight with one of his sisters who shall remain nameless. Her weapon was a medal, Master 3 thought it was great and has not learned a thing from the experience.

 

 

We all need weapons in life, things that we arm ourselves with to make the daily battles a little easier, a bag of popcorn for the kids at the shops for example.  A few weeks ago I was feeling a little 'meh' tired all the time, hot all the time, grumpy and a little shouty some of the time you know just 'meh'. Then I thought what can I do to make this all a little easier and I remembered a book I read recently by Paul de Gelder 'No Time for Fear'. This guy was the Navy clearance diver attacked by a shark in Sydney Harbour a few years ago. One line from the book jumped out at me.... "use sleep as your weapon". Which got me thinking.... I had been staying up late till about 11pm every night just to have some me time, but I was waking up at least once a night for Littleloves feeds and then up for good at about 5am without any downtime during the day... so even though I was getting a couple of hours me time every evening I really wasn't sleeping enough. So I decided to 'use sleep as my weapon' and set myself a bedtime. 9pm knitting needles down, 9:30pm bed, and it worked!!So I have achieved something Mum and Dad never could at 32 I finally have a bedtime.....(My Mum and Dad will be sitting in their recliners with a bottle of Red between them reading this and giggling and I say it now guys... you were right all along!!) For two ish weeks I have kept up this bedtime and I feel great, Littlelove has even slept through a few times since and I think its because I am feeling relaxed and not so tired so his feeds have been better!

 

 

 

At the same time I also set myself a Yoga challenge, to do at least 10 mins of Yoga every day. Its so easy as a Mum to let everyone's needs come before your own. There is ALWAYS something that needs to be done, washing, ironing, cooking, cleaning, the list is endless and its so very easy to put these tasks in front of any time for yourself so I the spirit of paying myself first (thanks Oprah) I decided I would make it as important as one of those other things and set myself the goal at least 10 mins a day! Some days I only get 10 mins done right before bed as a relaxation. Other days I manage 20 or 30 mins when its still dark and its just Little love and I awake, but its been lovely getting to do something just for me every day!!

 

 

With Christmas coming up its lovely to be heading into it feeling good and refreshed. We are heading away on holidays soon so it will all fall by the wayside while we are away, Life is too short to go to sleep at 9:30pm when you are on holidays and visiting family you see once or twice a year but when we get back and I start feeling 'meh' again I know what I need to do to feel better.....Get my weapons back!! I only hope that the kids can adopt sleep and yoga as their weapons of choice at some stage otherwise there will be more hospital visits I'm sure!!

 

The Mail Run....

We don't get mail here everyday, we don't have letterboxes or firm street addresses. In the past we have collected mail from couriers on the road and iPhones for people who live at the end of the street have been delivered to us. None of the houses have street numbers on them, and the actual street numbers are 'creative'.

All other mail arrives at the post office 3 times a week Mondays. Wednesdays and Fridays. This only happens when the mail bus isn't broken down, the roads are open and it isn't a public holiday.

The mail truck also brings out the papers so we only get newspapers on these days too. I love reading the Sunday Mail and I have been known to still buy it on a Wednesday afternoon (if  Monday was a public holiday and it doesn't get to town till then). I know you can download it..... but it simply isn't the same (I feel the same way about reading magazines online).

Its about 200 metres from our place to the post office where we collect the mail, This trip has been known to take close to an hour some days.... (or 6 if we happen to get convinced to stop by the local pub for a 'quick' drink on a hot Friday afternoon). The local pub just happens to be across the road from the Post Office and always has icey cold drinks and a playground for the kids. When it only takes an hour its because of finding shoes and getting them on kids,  locating helmets, bikes, prams, opening gates, closing gates putting dogs in or taking dogs with us. We normally see at least one person and have a chat along the way.

Then there is the challenge of getting all our 'mail' home. Now since I moved here I have become pretty darn good at online shopping, which is why its a juggle to get everything and everyone home. In fact I have given up on the mail run entirely after this effort...

 

I am glad I sent my husband in his troop carrier for this run and I may send him every time until after December 25. We have to be organised for birthdays and Christmas out here. I try and put my online orders in 4-6 weeks before the day I need it so that we have it in plenty of time.

Its only fair that I share my online shopping expertise.... so here is where I go to contribute to our mail.

 

1. Booko http://booko.com.au/ this site compares all the online book websites for prices. Type in the name of the book you want and it brings up where they are available with lowest price first including postage. How cool is that?

 

2. Catch of the Day http://www.catchoftheday.com.au/ this site is only good if you are looking for something in particular. It releases a few deals at midday NSW time everyday, if what you are looking for isn't there close the page or app I repeat 'Mum CLOSE THE PAGE!' or you will end up buying all sorts of things. There is a fair amount of postage depending on the item so you have to factor that in to the deal.

 

3. Grocery Run http://www.groceryrun.com.au/ I have shared my grocery experiences here before and grocery run is great especially for bulky bigger items, toiletries, muesli bars, vitamins and general household goods. It has $11 flat rate shipping... if only there was a similar site for fruit and vegetables out here.

 

4. Made it http://www.madeit.com.au/ This site is all hand made items. I love searching for quirky gifts. Many of the items can be customised with fabrics or sizes. Every item I have bought off here has arrived beautifully wrapped making it perfect for presents.

 

5. Fishpond http://www.fishpond.com.au/ This site has free postage!!!  It has books, DVD's, toys and did I mention Free Postage! It's great for birthdays and prices are usually better than many real shops.

 

6. Wiggle http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ This is my husbands favourite site for sport stuff, he loves it. It has great prices and good variety of stock and all the brands. Wiggle also has Free Postage!!

 

7. Bulk Wholefoods http://www.bulkwholefoods.com.au/ Okay so we have recently got a little healthier and its difficult to get some of the foods we are eating like Goji berries, chia seeds, raw cacao, raw almonds LSA mix, and coconut oil at our local supermarket so we order them online and get them delivered. The postage is free if you spend $150, which is easy to do when you are buying in bulk.

 

Okay so these are my favourites, so far I'm sure I will discover more as time goes on and I am sure even when we live in a spot that isn't so isolated that I will still do lots of my shopping online... especially when I don't have to walk a whole 200 metres past a pub on a hot afternoon with all my shopping oops I mean mail!!!

Meet Mixxy....

I would like to introduce you to the hardest working member of our household...... its Mixxy the Thermomix.

A Thermomix is an appliance that pretty much does like.... everything. They are expensive but this cost has been so worth it for us because of what she can do, (she is female because she can multi task) and we didn't own most of the appliances she replaces. Enough about how good a Thermomix is I could go on forever but today Mixxy had a busy day.

We started of with a juice for morning tea, this had carrot, celery, kiwi fruit, apple, ginger, ice and water. 60 seconds speed 10....done!! I make this juice a few times a week when I am feeling like I need a pick me up, its an easy way to get a vitamin kick and I can drink with one hand (duh I'm not 2) but the other hand usually has little love attached to it. 7kgs of this pure gorgeousness makes the basic things like umm eating hard! 

 

 

Next up was morning tea for tomorrow..... It is a little sad  in town at the moment because a few of the teaching staff at the local school are leaving at the end of the year, so we are having a party at the hall for two of the girls tomorrow and we have to ... bring a plate. So I employed Mixxy to make some bliss balls. Almonds, LSA, rolled oats, chia seeds, coconut oil, dates, sultanas, apricots, raw cacao.... 30 seconds speed 10 then rolled in coconut.... easy as. The kids actually love these, so do I especially after lunch with a coffee so I made a double batch, some rolled in cacao and some in coconut, yummo tomorrow all sorted.

No we haven't been tasting them at all!!

 

Now my lovely husband is working tonight... again, something about not wanting to be home Friday afternoon, hey I wouldn't be here either. The kids are all nuts by this time of the week crazy in the coconut..... so I wasn't going to make the same mistake as last week I cooked dinner at lunch time. I used Retro Mummy's Thermomix Pasta recipe you can find it here http://retromummy.com/2013/04/07/pasta-e-fagiole-in-the-thermomix/ . Mixxy made it so beautifully, no hidden nasties in the pasta sauce, only one bowl so simple and it made plenty so I think Saturday night dinner is done too!!

 

 

Mixxy had a busy day but she wasn't quite done yet..... lastly I made a special Friday afternoon tea for the kids CINNAMON SCROLLS!! this is super special because it has sugar, white flour and butter, things we rarely eat. They took about 3 mins to make in Mixxy and close to 30 mins in the oven (which was pure love because I hate having the oven on when its 40 degrees outside and the air conditioning isn't working), but it was worth it they loved them.... okay so did I!!

The pastry with the cinnamon sugar before cooking was so pretty and sparkly

 

 

So mixxy was done for the day she has retired for the night all washed up and put back together on the bench.... until tomorrows adventures, Thanks Mixxy!!!

For the Love of Sushi!!

Today I officially lost my mind, I was completely insane, crazy in the coconut. I had this idea, because we don't have many takeaway options out here I thought that I would make something for dinner like we would buy for a lazy Friday night dinner if we lived somewhere where we did have takeaway options..... I had this great idea to make sushi for dinner, easy right.

I shared this idea with my husband as he left for work at lunchtime "okay" he said.... Okay?? Why didn't he say "you crazy woman why do you want to make this afternoon miserable for yourself, don't you realise that I am going to work now and won't be home. You have four children..... four! and one is a baby who wont let you put him down, another is a 3 year old boy who cant play outside cause its 45 degrees and waits for his sisters to arrive home to send them crazy by chasing them around the house, your 6 year old is tired so don't talk to her or look at her the wrong way especially on a Friday afternoon and your 8 year old wants to come home and read and relax. Feed them toast or cereal, your night is going to be hard enough. I love you bye honey" Noooo he didn't point any of this out he simply said 'okay' and left.

So the afternoon progressed with me believing blindly in some insane sleep deprived craze that these kids would play happily, maybe watch a movie together while I all Martha Stewart/ Nigella like merrily rolled sushi for our dinner in my clean kitchen.... Well that sure didn't happen.

It appears Miss 6 doesn't actually like sushi, or rice paper rolls or any thing else that resembles dinner, she likes apples and cereal but just don't ask her what cereal because she doesn't know... cue meltdown no 1.

Little love didn't want to be put down as he hadn't all day. He is perfectly happy to smile if he is up with you walking around or sitting on your lap but try to put him on the floor, rocker, bumbo or in the swing in the lounge room and he drops that bottom lip faster than Miley getting her gear off....cue meltdown no. 2.

Master 3 even kitted up for the occasion up in full police dress with a hat, sword and shield to chase his sisters around, he wanted to know why real police don't have swords and even took to destroy the lalaloopsy mini village his sisters had set up in their room using said sword.... cue meltdowns no. 3, 4 5 and 6.

Miss 8 helped with the dinner preparations until she got bored with the interruptions and eventually tried hard to melt into the background, dissolving in corners of the house to avoid the babysitting and breaking up of fights she was doing on my behalf while I floundered with rice, tofu avocado and cream cheese.

 

Somehow sushi got made, and my dear husband arrived home in time for his dinner break on the front veranda with 4 polite kids happily eating dinner, Miss 6  happily declaring that "we are in Tokyo for dinner tonight" and me asking 'why didn't you tell me I was crazy for attempting this and next time I have such a crazy notion can you please give me a reality check and hand me the weetbix'....

 

The Gift of Caring

"Eyes are for seeing

Ears are for listening

Mouth is for speaking kind words

Heart is for loving

Hands are for helping

and Feet so you can walk the world"

R.Fox 2005

 

This is a little saying I made up (as far as I know) when Miss now 8 was born. I looked at her in all her beauty, her eyes, ears, mouth, hands, heart, feet in all their perfection and thought what are these parts for, what am I going to teach her to do with them, how can I mould her to do good in this world, be better than me and this saying came to me. Its been whispered to all four children as they drift off to sleep, it's been sung to them while they giggle on our laps and its also been asked of them "what are your hands for Master 3?" I hope they take it with them through life and eventually they get it.

 

Its the simplicity of caring that makes all the difference, just kindness. Caring for animals, plants, other people can bring such joy, more joy than receiving. Last week I briefly forgot this. I was over the whinging, cooking and cleaning, I was tired and lonely and I was thinking all about me. I forgot to look out and I was miserable. Then I watered the plants..... and my attitude changed. I looked out, I saw the plants were growing and it was because of me. I was giving life to them literally through this giving, giving of my time and effort to water them and they were living and growing, beating the odds of my black thumb. Then I thought about all the other things I had done that morning, making breakfast, cleaning up, washing, packing school bags all the tasks that I had taken for granted were also acts of giving, caring for others..... these little others that I am sending out into the world each day. My attitude changed instantly.

 

Coming up to Christmas worries me. Our children have so much, so many things and throughout the Christmas period they get so much more, presents, food it's all in abundance for the season and its easy for us to get lost in it all. To focus on the receiving, on what you have and haven't got, what you want. This year I am going to try and turn it around a little and emphasise the giving to others. Not just physical things (although that's easy to for kids to understand) but the giving of yourself, your time, energy. I want them to look, listen, love, help and be kind wherever they travel in their magical lives.
 



It is my hope that our children turn out better than me. I hope they are better at giving, focusing on others, caring, sharing and helping. Whenever they feel sorry for themselves or miserable I will ask them, what can you care for? who can you help? I will ask them to look out not in.  I will buy them a plant, or a fish if I have to.  I hope they gain confidence and self worth  from doing this and discover the joy and light that this brings, creating their own ..... beautiful days.
 



Embrace the circus

Welcome to the circus....

 

Well its Friday afternoon and this has been a long, tough week and my husband left for work about 15 mins after school finished (smart man). I have got through this week by running and exercising, counting to ten, using denial, smiling (some faked) several hissy fits, putting my hands over my ears and singing "lalalalala" really really loud and stamping feet. All really mature ways of dealing and some were really successful some not so (I personally recommend the 'lalalala' method)!! Anyway I have read some blogs this week that really helped me exhale and feel 'normal' for feeling all out of wack especially Emily at The Beetle Shack http://www.thebeetleshack.com/I love her beautiful photography and magical writing. So in this tradition I am doing a 'keeping it real' for this weeks entry.

 

At the moment I have kicked the girls off the Monster High website to write this blog.....Monster High ewww gross for 8 years I avoided Bratz, preached positive body image, natural beauty then let my guard down now Monster High have invaded our house and their minds through the computer all that hard work undone in one website!

These girls are so enterprising they have worked out that I like exercising and will offer to 'babysit' their brothers so that I can.... they then negotiate fees with me. I have paid them close to $10 this week!!

 

 Master 3 had eaten nothing but muslie bars and cereal all day (week) then wanted a sandwich this afternoon whoo hoo I thought then he broke a whole jar of jam, glass and jam everywhere, (still one piece in my foot...) as strawberry jam laced with glass isn't a safe filling option I asked "what do you want on your sandwich now?" "My favourite" he replies "what's your favourite today?"  12 minutes of negotiation later he reveals vegemite, cheesymite and parmesan cheese is in fact his favourite....of course it is!!! Said sandwich was made and 'tada' actually eaten...Winning!! 

He has also taken to finding random objects to chase his sisters around with... sticks, rolling pins, brooms... he thinks its funny (they don't), sometimes it is!!

 

Little Love was 4 months this week, he is almost sitting up and moving lots so much so that he may or may not have fallen off a bed this week oops! As my luck had it I hadn't made the bed and the pillow was still on the floor from the night or 3 before and he landed on it I may now not make another bed until he starts walking just in case!!

 

I could go on, you see life with kids is crazy, chaotic, and life at the moment resembles a circus. My husband and I are in our own game of survival where we are outwitted, outlasted and outnumbered constantly EVERYDAY!!

I need to start doing this blog again to feel less isolated, some weeks I don't travel further than 200 metres in a single direction, some days the  ipad and the computer seem like windows into the outside world from the little dome we live in here and the circus that some days feel like. Its easy to see occasional pictures and get an impression of life with children from it, but their reality is always like your reality, washing whinging, cleaning and chaos but among it all at the heart is LOVE that's why we do it and keep doing it day after day. So fellow Mums out there embrace the circus as ...one of these beautiful days.

 

 

My selfie attempt this week for #fmsphotaday got bombed x 4

 

 

Afternote...... As all these days  aren't always beautiful I'm sure I was on a fluffy cloud of love when I thought of the blog title.... it now makes me kinda want to spew I am looking at changing it to "@ the Fox Den"  what do you think?

Look for new posts on Fridays!!

The world has started turning again...

The world has started turning again.... for a while it stopped. Why did it stop you ask?.... well I had another baby, just like that!

 

 

 Now this is our 4th baby the 4th little person that we have created, and loved before we saw and we are so incredibly blessed. Through the experience of bringing these 4 little people into the world I have come to understand that from the moment they are born your whole world changes as if it stops. It seems like the world has deconstructed and layers peeled away , things that were so important just hours earlier are suddenly so trivial, all that consumes you is the basics, food, shelter, sleep and love. After a period of time gradually the layers come back, washing gets done, the quality of food becomes important and slowly life gets back to the new normal rhythm... which is now why I am writing a blog after two months absence.

The experiences of the last few months have given me so much inspiration for future blogs from, Ironman races, challenges remote mothers face, natural therapies, my new toy 'Mixxy' the Thermomix, I have so much to share and record over the next few weeks.

 

But first a little about our new addition, his name is Xavier but I call him my 'Little Love', he was 4.05kgs born after a 20 hour labour. It was my 4th pain relief free labour and I am not keen to go through labour again....ever. He is lovely and beautiful and strong and determined, he commands attention and I don't think he is going to be any quieter than any of the other (noisy) kids.

 He has already bought so much joy into our lives and one of the greatest parts of having a new baby is seeing the love and joy it brings to the siblings. He may be a sports fan because we have bonded over Le Tour, Wimbledon and the Ashes in the late night feeding sessions. He feeds well and is getting chubby, he sleeps okay we are working on it..... We are all in love with him welcome Xavier to .....these beautiful days. 

 

Rodeo Day

Last weekend was our annual town Rodeo, this is a big deal, it is the social event of the year.

For weeks the school kids have been talking about the Rodeo, How long till, it's on, Who's coming into town for it, What they are wearing (NOT skirts and dresses Mum...how embarrassing!) and what's going to be there. The local Rodeo happens the first weekend in May and hundreds of people come into town for the weekend. They come in on Friday night from the outlining stations (large cattle property's) and towns around the area, camp in the showground and make a weekend of it.

Kids dressed and on their way for the day
(note no skirts or dresses)

 

Most of the action takes place on Saturday, which is where we were all day.

I fed the kids a huge breakfast of healthy cereal, juice, eggs and toast, knowing that it was going to be the only food with any nutritional value they would eat for the whole day and then we took off. Once there I gave Miss 5 and Miss 8 their boundaries (don't go through any fences, sit back from the arena, stay in front of the food stalls and don't go near ANY animals) and some money and said goodbye, it would be hours before I would set eyes on them again. They watched a little of the action, ate, went on the jumping castle, ate some more and mostly socialised with their friends. I love small town living because the freedom these kids are getting to experience out here is so different to the life they could have at an event like this in the city.

 

The Action

 

 Now this year being our second ever Rodeo Master 2 had a little more of an idea, he didn't try to climb the fence to pat the bulls, he even seemed wary of the broncos (horses not the football team) as they bucked in the arena and he got the whole idea of the Rodeo, calling out "Hold on" and "stay up there" as the crazy men tried to out last each other on the animals. One of the events is Steer Wrestling where they let a steer go in the arena and a person (men usually because women have more self preservation) try to grab the steer by it's horns and wrestle it on the ground. Master 2 was concerned because  he wondered "are the cows dead Mum?".... "no they are just stunned mate" "that looks like fun then Mum" arghhhh here lies my concern that he will end up wanting to have a go at it or be a Rodeo Clown one day. The Rodeo clowns that  distract the beasts in the arena are insane... absolutely crazy, I'm not sure how much they get paid but I'm sure it's not enough to be playing with huge, crazy, furious animals.

Boys checking out the action

Now I'm not sure of the whole ethical side to the Rodeo circuit, yes I'm vegetarian, but Rodeo's are a huge part of the country life and part of our decision to be out here is to not only share new experiences with the kids but ourselves as well so for the Rodeo weekend every year I will be there watching the action with the rest of the town.

We came home for a rest (okay I rested while the kids played, high on sugar) then went back for the nights action. The school kids took Master 2 with them to sit on the side of the arena for the night, he now knows more about Rodeo than me and came back with pockets filled with lollies and a can of coke.

 

Ready for Round 2

 

 

 

When the Rodeo part finished the band started then at 9:30pm after Master 2 had fallen asleep on my belly I had to locate Miss 8 on the dance floor and take three tired kids (and one huge exhausted pregnant Mum) home. Miss 8 was a little sad because she was having so much fun dancing..... ummm I wonder who she gets that from!!

 

Miss 5... this is what I took home x 3

 

So that was Rodeo weekend for another year, they kids are already asking how long to the next one, while I am still recovering from this....'beautiful day'.

 



My Kids Eat Ants.....

The other day Mr 'These Beautiful Days' came home from work

 "where's the kids" he asked, "out the back eating ants" was my response. Now 18 months ago this would have been met with horror, or at least a "kids stop eating the ANTS!!" but here and now it's a perfectly acceptable pastime. The ants they are eating are green  and they do bite but when you learn how to  catch them and eat them they are high in vitamin C and protein and they taste a little like lime. The kids learnt how to eat the ants where kids learn all sorts of things.... at school lunchtime. One of the loveliest things about living in a community that has a high Indigenous population is having our 'city kids' exposed to some of the threads of Australian Indigenous culture and eating ants is just one of them. Often the kids will bring a few ants inside for Mum and Dad to eat.... and we do. This is our way of encouraging them to keep accepting and exploring the experiences that life here is offering them.

 

 

 

The other bush tucker they have 'got in to' while here is to suck the nectar from the Red Bell shaped flowers that grow at the post office. Whilst I collect the mail they scatter collecting the 'good flowers' then run around eating them and comparing tastes. The nectar from these flowers is super sweet and like having a drop of watery honey or sugar water. There have so far been no reactions and the kids are always careful to check for bees first before picking the flowers.

 

      

 

I love that the kids are learning that not all food has to come from the shops and are experiencing a life here so different from their city life.

On the down side we have recently had two snakes in our yard eeek!! The first one was an Eastern Brown snake.... you know only the 2nd deadliest snake IN THE WORLD!! Our beautiful almost 10 year old dog was found to be 'playing' with it under the trampoline by Miss 5. Now Miss 5 reacted beautifully she ran inside and got help straight away, it was comforting that she knew what to do.

 

 

 
The snake was almost dead and we called the dog away..... a nervous night awaited us while we waited to see if she came down with any symptoms but we are so thankful that our dog didn't, and managed the encounter bite free. You see with animals its at least an hour and a half to the nearest vet and a bit over 2 hours to the nearest after hours vet, so a snake bite is almost guaranteed to be the end for any animal out here. The town has recently lost 3 pet dogs to snakes so we were incredibly lucky!!

A week later Miss 5 was playing outside when she screamed and ran inside "Mum there's another snake!!" she screamed as she stood there terrified and shaking, (I later discovered she had stepped on it with the rubber thongs). I put on boots this time to investigate and found a very dead python with beautiful markings. It seems our canine snake catcher had struck again! This time I was sad to see such a beautiful snake come to its end.

 

From these snake experiences we have all learnt a lot. I am proud that the kids are reacting well, coming and letting us know as soon as they find the snakes. I feel worried that we have had 2 snakes in out yard in two weeks after never seeing one here before. I feel worried for the kids and dogs playing in our yard, but I know that the chance is that our big dog will seek the snakes and I am proud of her for protecting her family, I hope that she continues to be lucky with it. I am surrendering to the environment we are in, and controlling what I can by, educating the kids, being a little more careful (without freaking everyone out), and we have our snake response kit handy with pen, bandages and hospital number. I was so happy Mr 'These Beautiful Days' was around when we had the brown snake and I really need to 'get my snake on' so I know what to do in case there is a next time. There is not always help so close by.

I am continually thankful for the experiences that we are being exposed to the good and the bad and I love watching us all grow (hopefully with more of the bush tucker and less of the snakes) from....'these beautiful days'.

 

 

One lucky day...

So I am having another baby soon and I am getting so excited at the thought of meeting this new, bonus, mystery baby sometime in the next few months, but whenever it gets to this stage of the pregnancy I make an effort to spend a day and record it with the older sibling. I have been so incredibly lucky that I have had one on one time with all my children before the next one comes along, and at the time of the next one they have been between 2 1/2 or 3 so they have been old enough to hold a conversation with (and still young enough to throw an awesome tantrum). I have also been so incredibly lucky that our family situation has given me this time with our toddlers.

 So with Miss 8 before her younger sibling came along we went shopping, got our nails painted at a salon, her hair trimmed and had coffee (her babychino) and a sweet treat together. With Miss 5 we had coffee at a cafe together, went to the park then McDonalds for lunch before Master now 2 was born.

These days have always been about concentrating on the child for the whole day, just one special day where they have my full attention before they have to get used to sharing me all the time again. So yesterday was Master 2's day..........

We started the day by reading books...He loves reading books at the moment

especially anything with animals and crocodiles in them.

We then said goodbye to the sisters or "stinkys" as he now calls them. He called out to them from our back deck as they wandered through the backyard to school for the day.

We then set to the most important task of the morning making the coffee. My husband usually spoils me by making me one to two coffees everyday so I dont use the machine alot, but he was away so we had to make our own...... I think we did okay...

I usually try to sit outside watch the chickens roam, have my coffee, call my mum, check facebook during this time. Master 2 loves playing with the chickens and Luna is his special chicken. Luna is all grown up now and fully recovered from her near death experience, she is by far the tamest one of our chicks and Master 2 catches her easily in the backyard for a cuddle most mornings.

We had one job to do today and that was to take our rubbish to the dump there is no council rubbish service out here! This is a job Master 2 loves because we don't use the car very much so it is such a special treat for him to get to go in the car. We loaded up our rubbish, drove to the dump and dumped it in. For those of you who haven't been for a long time this is what a country dump looks like.... a big hole in the ground filled with rubbish.

Master 2 loves cooking, so we had to make something.... so we made jelly for desert, he turns the jug on I do the pouring and he does the stirring. We also made banana mango smoothies for afternoon tea with frozen banana and mango, milk, chia seeds, sustagen and honey (his recipe).... they were delicious!!!

My little mate in into Lego Duplo at the moment he loves it.... so while I sat down and had a cup of tea we made some boats and cars and other crazy things with the lego. He loves playing with it and also loves packing it up himself....... I hope the packing up thing stays with him his whole life!!!

No my aim most days is to tire this little buddy out, you see he has boundless energy and needs to run around outside for a few hours every day, just so he goes to sleep at a 'normal time' most days I try and do at least one of these activities with him either before the 'sisters' get home or just after they do otherwise he drives them crazy. Yesterday I spent the whole afternoon out there with him and he loved it!! I can see the baby spending many afternoons in a rocker under a tree while we run around like crazy doing his favourite activities.



We played cricket





Climbed Trees



Jumped on the trampoline

After our busy awesome day together he was tired out and went to sleep at about 8pm. I am so lucky just to be able to spend this time one on one with him before his new sister or brother comes along. Just getting to know him and interacting with him, watching him grow and change. Its so lovely just to have a record of this special day.....just one of .....'these beautiful days'.