Busted

Me and my big mouth!

During a chat last night, I let it slip that I blog. Oh OHHH! No-one knows I blog really, only family, my few OS mates and my two followers (tee hee). Kind of embarrrassing to admit that you blog. Who blogs? I mean really, who READS other people's blogs, apart from me that is?

I love reading other people's blogs. I do get attached to some people, but really the only one that REALLY moves me is NieNie. I sooo look forward to her posts.

So anyway, I will send the link to my dear friend (you know who you are) and hope that she doesn't tease me when she looks at my blog. Blogging is just one tiny part of me. There are so many other parts too. The crafty part, the mother part, the beastly tantruming part, the wife part, the animal lover part... too many parts really... no wonder my head is always scrambled.

And, so to finish with a visual, here is a picture of The Little Man's hands proudly displaying the mandarin peel that he removed IN ONE PIECE! Wahoo! Clever dude!

Distracted

You know you are distracted when you go make a call on your mobile and it is the garage remote. Duh!

Besties

This morning The Little Man whispered in my ear as he walked past.

"You... are... my... best... F.R.E.N.D!" Big smile on his face.

"Shhh... you have to whisper so that The Big Man and The Middle Man don't get upset that I didn't pick them."

My heart burst with happiness.

Mother Guinea

Mother Guinea is going to pop soon. Any day now there will be a new family photo on here and her little darlings will be running around the cage... so exciting. We have been putting old milk bottles filled with hot water in at night for them. They all huddle around and keep warm together... But they keep on eating their bedding. I keep telling them to stop it, don't they realise they are eating their blankets... how much variety do they need in their diet... grains, carrots, celery, capsicum, fresh grass, hay, shredded paper, salt licks... I am missing some vital piece of information.

Tunnels

Have you ever felt like you are in a tunnel? A long tunnel? A dark tunnel? A never ending tunnel of stuff? And at the end of the tunnel there is sunlight and laughter and happiness, but it just doesn't matter how hard you try, you just can't make that final step that will actually propel you out of the darkness and into the light...

Some days my tunnel is long, but some days it is short and other days there are no tunnels at all...

Life is good thought whatever size the tunnel...

Mortified

Middle Man is mortified... MORTIFIED!

We have a dear friend who cuts all of our hair and because of our kids' extra activities it took a while to organise the time together to actually make it happen. It just happened that the day The Middle Man's class got yet another nit note home, is the day that we cut all his hair off... it was bad enough that he had short hair, and it felt funny, and I don't like it, it's too short etc etc etc, but to then realise the next morning as he is getting ready for school...

"OMG! Everyone will think I was the one with the nits because I've had all my hair cut off! OMG! Can I stay home today? DO I have to go to school today? OMG. OMG. OMG! Muuuummm!"

That's right. Because it was all my fault. Yep. I calculated the whole thing. I planted the nits in the other childs' hair, I wrote the note, I probably held a stick sharpened earlier on a stone to the Deputy's head to make her sign the note, I even organised the fated hair cut.

It's official. I don't mean to be a nitpicker, but when you look at all the clues logically, it was me, it had to be, didn't it?

And so...

Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels. [Hebrews 13:2]

And that is a good lesson for my boys to have seen. Mummy spoke to a 'bikie dude'... gasp!! shock!! horror!!

But guess what? He is a lovely bikie dude. He is kind and sincere, he loves his snakes, he is humane to the rats, he loves gardening, he loves a chat...

And so it showed my boys that we can never read a book by it's cover, that good people are everywhere, dressed in anything at any time... that we just have to look hard enough and make a bit of an effort ourselves to find the treasures that are out there in this world.

We are all so full of the dangers of life for our kids these days (and rightly so) but in the right circumstances, in safe places, and with responsibility, respect and genuine interest we can find angels among us.

Introducing... Juliette

Hatched in February, Juliette is the latest addition to our family.

Measuring in a tiny 46cm, she is the most beautiful creature we have so far. She resides in the master bedroom in a lovely timber box, glass fronted of course. Sporting a paler colouring, she was chosen from a box of many snapping little brothers and sisters.

Spending her day curled up on her log, or sliding gracefully over her stones and marbles, she is a quite, amazing girl.

Juliette is a Coastal Carpet Snake. She will grow and grow and grow and when she is big enough, she will go outside into a purpose built aviary type thing specially for her. She comes out of her box twice a day to wrap her tail around my fingers, or the fingers of The Big, Middle or Little Man.

I love Juliette. As The Middle Man would say "She rocks my world."

Introducing... RITA

How could a rat not be named Rita? Such a perfect name for a perfect little house guest. Along with her adoptive sister Chanel, Rita (at a young one month old) has joined the household quietly and easily with a minimum of fuss.

Enjoying carrots, pumpkin and rockmelon, Rita seems to be a lover of all things orange. She even graces us with little (no... large) orange nuggets. Rita is a pleasure to have around. With her sister, she tends to spend half an hour eating, and then 4 hours sleeping, day and night. She can often be found nestled in her tea bag box full of alpaca fur, and promptly yawns on being woken up.

Not shy at all, Rita (and Chanel) walk calmly onto the author's hand when the door is opened. Friendly, dear little creatures...

Welcome to our house.

Introducing... CHANEL

So named because of her distinctive outfit of black and white. In a soft fabric that hugs the curves of her juvenile body, this stylish number is a must this winter. Sporting a black mask, hat and shoulder wrap, Chanel's spinal stripe makes her a number one contender for Fashion Week awards this year. Working well in a small cage environment, she is a leader in all things fashion.

So much to tell...

So much has happened since I last blogged.

It's amazing how fast things happen. I felt a bit saddened by all the events that I just didn't have the heart to blog about it all.

We are over (semi) the death of the baby GP. We have moved on from the sea snake and we have accepted the 'circle of life'. Everyone is OK with it, except The Big Man who got very angry and distressed when I accidentally and completely unknowingly let a litter of mice be tormented by the Girls (dogs). Not knowing they were there in the box, I was cleaning out the cage and thought they were just sniffing at the scent of mice, when in reality, they were pawing at them, trying to get them out... My beautiful weak-bellied neice found two on the ground, passed away and the remaining four in the box, all eyes shut and helpless. It was an awful moment.

I could have dissolved into sorrow and self loathing, but I just got on with it... re-uniting Mama Mouse and babies, removing the bodies of all deceased... I am an example of what to do and how to behave... I cannot collapse every time something bad goes happens. Of course, on the inside I felt sick to the stomach. Once again, little lives lost at my hand, which just concreted the decision I had made prior...

The boys and I had been at the pet shop looking for a treadmill for the GP's. We have decided to keep them... well... most of them. I had bought a new double decker 'Swiss Chalet' and set it up in the pool area (DOG SAFE) just outside the kitchen window so I can see them as I work. In the mornings, they play tiggy and tear up and down the ramp, squealing at each other... at least I THINK they are playing, maybe they are harrassing each other? hadn't thought of that... hmmmm... Mama GP is getting fatter every day and slower I guess, although she does join in on the games.

So... because they are no longer on grass, I thought it would be a good idea to get them a treadmill... and as we were looking, I struck up a conversation with a man who was quite close to us checking out the mouse food... Now being a typical looking 'bikie dude' I couldn't myself and ask him if he had a pet mouse "You don't actually look like you would be the type to have a pet mouse?"

I turned out that he breeds rats to feed to his snakes which he also breeds. The conversation go bigger and longer and oh so interesting and before long, we had swapped numbers and we were going over to see his snakes and to swap our 17 mice for 2 (yes... just TWO) baby rats. Apparently rats are not smelly, very clean and good little pets. The boys agreed to all of this knowing that the mice were going to end up in the belly of a snake but I kept checking and they both said "It's the circle of life mum".

Flat Rock

We went camping the afternoon of the funeral service which was good because it took the heat off the death and gave us a break from the dogs... THOSE DOGS! I kept telling The Big Man that they 'are your dogs, not mine', a bit like when the kids are really naughty and they suddenly did not exit my body, but miraculously are his only.

With 8 families in total and 16 kids it was a brilliant way to wash away all the sadness. The Little Men had a ball, in fact, I hardly saw them. Rock pooling, sand dune jumping, kite flying, football, eating, swinging, showering, spotlighting... oh so much to do and so many people to do it with.

We stayed on a few days after everyone left and were lucky enough to find a yellow bellied sea snake on the high tide mark. It was tired and was resting... thank heaven it moved it's head as I bent down to pick it up (I thought it was a rubber snake). It was so beautiful. Brilliantly coloured.

We got a stick and began to drag/flick it down to the water, but he wouldn't go in, too exhausted... it had been storming the night prior and he was just plum tuckered. It filled in an hour and we feel soooo lucky to have seen this amazing thing... The boys are still talking about it and The Little Man even dragged a huge animal book in for Show and Tell (or Public Speaking as they say in the Private Schools! @$#@%#). Imagine the disappointment in the afternoon when he drags the book back again telling me they missed out on Show and Tell this week because of some other extra activity. Poor kid, his bag was soooo heavy. I'd be pee'd off too if I had to cart that thing around for a day for nothing.

Complaints

There have been some complaints about my last post... mostly that I have left you all in the lurch about what is happening in our GP focused world.

We had the burial service the next morning, after spending that night relocating the remaining GP's to the spare bathrooms' shower recess. They are safe there, a barrier of glass provides them with safety and the dogs can look and quiver some more. They are still hiding under their house, but they are getting more comfortable with it all.

We buried the baby in a tyre in the vegetable patch. Our plan is to plant a pretty flower in there soon and remember him/her that way. It was a hard thing to do for the Little Men, but they made me proud and did all they could to help the process along.

Previously on 'The Animal Chronicles', we had another dog attack victim who passed into the next land. It was a mouse baby who stuck it's head out of the wire cage to have a sniff and had it half bitten off by Ruby... so distressing for The Middle Man... that one took me a long time to talk around... We had a memorial service that night. The Little Man forced us to light every candle in the house and we all had to stand in silence and honour the tiny life the mousey baby had had.

One starts to wonder sometimes why it is that we continually give life to other little creatures, to have them die suddenly at the hands (or paws) of our other pets. Shouldn't we be doing a better job of protecting these little beings? Am I a bad person? All these deaths kind of get to me sometimes, but in a few months I will be getting ready to do it all again. There is something wrong with that... do I not value the life of an animal enough, no matter how small?

Hmmm... so the long shot of it all is that we are now going to get rid of the GP's full stop! I cannot live with this stress anymore. It is just too awful to never know when I will walk out and find them cowering under their boxes as they wait for the dogs to dig a big enough hole to get to them... etc etc...

I found a home for two of them, a mother and daughter couple... I cannot yet give away the mother and baby as I don't know yet if baby is a boy or girl. If it is a boy it will no doubt be bonking his mother at the earliest opporunity. That is what has happened to the mother I was going to give away this weekend... her son had squeeeeeezed into her cage the morning I took him to the pet shop and had 'done' his mother. She is now pregnant with her own grandchildren... OMG! I can't give someone 2 GP's, and then have them morph into 4 or 5 in a couple of weeks time... that would be so not cool!

Yesterday...

the dogs got into the GP's cage and killed one of the babies... the one with the white face. We are still in shock and mourning... Cannot speak (or write) about it at the moment, it is too awful.
Say a little prayer for the little darling... they were only playing with it, they didn't know...

The New Family

6.20am... I secretly squint to see who is standing beside my bed breathing rather heavily. It is The Little Man. He has been told just the night before to stop waking people up. Perhaps he is trying a new mind over matter strategy.

6.30am... The Little Man leaves, clomping down the stairs... no doubt in the hope of waking me up that way.

6.50am... Up and at em'. Into the shower, out, dressed, hair, face etc.

7.20am... The Middle Man stumbles from the bedroom all mussy and cute... and warm... oh so warm... and cuddly.

7.30am... "OMG! Mum! Mum! The Guinea Pig has had her babies."

We all rush outside and start lifting lids on the Pig Hotels and find two of the most adorable little creatures... OMG Mother Nature is just so divine... I am in love again... They are sooo beautiful! But we must get to school...


oh dear... we cannot concentrate on anything else now... oh.... did I say 'we'? I meant ME. I cannot concentrate on anything at all... they are beautiful! Last night they were in mum's tummy and today they are out and about, living life and as my sister says "Ready for school!" It's amazing! They have claws so long... her insides must be all scratched. Dear dear little feet. All pink and new and unstained.

Questions...

Today I took the kids to the shops (yes... now I remember why I don't take them to the shops), and the kids were asking so many questions...

"Can I have this jacket? What is this? If he is getting a jacket, then can I have a new shirt? What does this do? How does that work? Why is that lady going before us? We were here first."

I actually felt like at any moment a huge banner was going to burst from the ceiling, music would blast, a brass band would start marching through the store and a lady in a tight dress, with curled hair and red lipstick would shout "Congratulations Maam! You are the winner. Your child has just asked the 1 millionth question in this store today!!! How do you feel?"

"Oh! um... well... I know they ask lots of questions, but really, I did nothing... I just grunted at them a few times... really.... Oh... where is the camera? Hi... yes, aren't they just the most adorable little boys? Uh huh... I love it when they ask questions... it just shows me they have an inquiring mind. I mean, if they were vegetables and didn't ask any questions, I know I would be sad. Here, here... this is my best side..."

But then, I pay, I gather the belongings and we fight out the door as they scramble for their jackets, and in my head I hear a little "Bah Bumb!". I didn't win a thing... it was all in my imagination. I wasn't on the news... I wasn't in the paper. I haven't done anything remarkable today at all...

Oh, except give a 9 year old and a 7 year old a huge hug and told them I loved them more than anything else in the whole wide world. That's enough!

A three dog life

I love this book. I cannot put it down...

It is beautifully written, and for me, it is like she talking to me. I keep on smiling as I read it and I have to look around to see if anyone is looking at me (but then I remember... oh yeah... no-one is bothered about me... I am just living my life and everyone else is living theirs).

It has also made some things OK for me. Certain things in my life that I had thought frivolous or silly, or selfish or whatever, I feel differently about them now... I love it... I love her... I wish I was in the same country and I would go to a reading or something...

Read it everyone... I am sure there is something in it for everyone.

So exciting

The little mice babies have opened their eyes this morning. Yesterday they were all sucking madly (and blindly) on mother's teats as she tried desperately to get out the door of their nursery, and this morning I can see bright little eyes, all pink and shiny in there. I know there are at least 3 in there. I have seen one black and two white. I wonder how many more are in there...

And the guinea pig has STILL not had her babies. I really and truly thought that she would have had them 4 days ago, when I brought her inside and gave her clean sheets each day. She seems to be getting smaller... perhaps her body is digesting the babies... urgh... I still check on her every day but have given up checking on her every hour in the hope that the little ones have arrived.

Unfortunately both Frank and Dash have been taken to the pet shop. No more babies and no MORE FIGHTS! I can't take all the fighting amongst brothers... my little human boys are enough to contend with, let alone GP arguments. They got quite fierce towards the end, up on hind legs, teeth bared etc... nasty.

So... yep, both gone... and the little beggars, at the pet shop they were so quite and cuddly and snuggly. Actors!

Michael Finnigan...

"... along came the wind and blew them in again
Poor old Michael Finnigan, begin again!"

The Little Man was very eager to get those stitches out and so off he went, back to the hospital with The Big Man to do the deed. Returned home with stitches (and bits of skin) in a little jar, proudly showing the world.

Unfortunately 6 hours later we were back there... getting re-stitched. Poor Little Man had just given it a bit of a scratch as he hopped into bed, felt that it was different, felt the blood pouring out and immediately came screaming from his bedroom. Off we go again.

But he was sooo good at the hospital. This time we had to wait and so we sat in the waiting area and he read to me (I had taken readers to pass the time) about Peter and Jane and their dog Pat. He read better than any other time before, I think it was because he had an audience (all the other poor unfortunates in the waiting room). They had read the whole 3 magazines available and were looking at everyone who arrived with great interest.

So we obliged and gave them something to concentrate on rather than on their injuries.

The silver lining in this little cloud for The Little Man... he now only had 4 stitches instead of 5! Here's hoping that next week we do the same thing (not) and get 3, and then 2 and then 1! Could be a bit expensive!

Cops and Robbers

Ever been playing Cops and Robbers? Had your hands handcuffed behind your back? Had a bigger brother on your back forcing you down?

The Little Man and The Middle Man were playing that wonderful game yesterday when it all got a bit real (or surreal?) and The Little Man ended up splitting his chin... Poor little thing.

So brave, although when the doctor mentioned stitches, his little face dissolved and the tears just poured forth. But he was so strong. I could see him digest the information, then take a deep breath and he got on with it... luckily we had a nice doctor who gave him some gas first to take the anxiety away a bit.

He now sports 5 beautifully stitched sutures and that pleasant white bandage which will be black? by Sunday when we have to return to have the stitches out. Looking forward to that gradual colour change... Nothing better than a week old bandaid on your face of all places.

Anyway, The Middle Man was just as traumatised (well, not AS bad) and the enormity of his roughness sank in about 8pm that night when he couldn't sleep for all the images of The Little Man in the hospital. It's at times like those when I realise that I have done a good job so far with them. His bravado and ease of dealing with it was all a show... inside he was feeling lowly and bad for hurting his brother... even though it was an accident.

I thought that maybe... @#@$#$#... no... silly me... they are fighting again on the way to school. It was a pleasant thought while I had it... no worries, I'll just go back to daydreaming that the whole house was clean...

Beautiful colours

I have finally finished the dyeing of all the linen... what a job... and glad that it is over... not the best dye job in the world, but at least now I know that THAT is NOT what I want to spend my life doing... boring... but the colours are beautiful...

Clean the toilet boys

At our house there is a constant stream of toilet talk... honestly it does my head in... bottoms, willy wonkas, poo, wee, spit... ohhh... it is endless... but I guess living with three little boys I have to expect that... Perhaps one day they will all get over it. The eldest one though is at an age where he should really have passed it, but it keeps on entertaining him... hmmmm...

Mum! He's pulling my wonka!

See how high you can pee! I bet I can pee higher!

Ohhh Muuum! He's just wee'd in the bath again!

I really don't recall little girls being like that, but perhaps we were... who would know... but it was quite funny the other day as The Big Man has quite a strict regime regarding the toilet.

Put the seat down... and the lid... don't forget the lid.

This toilet smells like a public toilet boys. It's revolting. You need to flush more often!

Then there is me in the meantime, still stuck in the water saving period of my life, telling them:

"If it's yellow, let it mellow.
If it's brown, flush it down!"

The poor kids don't know which way is up (or down).

So, one particular day, The Big Man comes home and fair blasts a hole in the wall with his fury about the stinkin' toilet.

You can't expect your mother to clean that all the time... wee all over the place... it's disgusting. Little Man, you can do it!

Well, to his credit, Little Man accepted the challenge head on.

OK Daddy! and off he went to get prepped. I did not expect him to return so well prepared. Wish I had thought of it... might actually use it from now on...

He is such a trick of a kid.

Couch Potatoes

Just look at these two! Would you believe I took this photo at about 8am. They had been asleep all night and now they are just taking it easy, laying back on the couch. That's Ava on the right: on her back ... again! Legs spread, relaxa-dog, never feels vulnerable in whatever position she's in. And little Ruby is all tucked up in a ball on the left there. That is typical Ruby... always a tight little ball of energy, even when relaxing.

Loom Views

Am slowing getting there with the threading of the heddles. It is a back breaking job, but will be well worth it when I am finished. Mum has finished hers! I am jealous! The colours are so beautiful. I am really pleased so far.

So far, so good... Fingers crossed for me.

A gift

On Easter Saturday, The Big Man went and collected the eggs and in the nest, this is what he found. Instead of the customary 6 eggs, all similar in size, he found these delightful eggs given to us by the chooks, especially for Easter I reckon.

A shining EGGsample of the diversity in our world, in our own backyards. The big egg weighs in at a whopping 92kg. Roxy laid this egg. Roxy is the poor chicky babe who got attacked by Harry (way back then). She has no tail and I strongly suspect, no parson's nose either, and so whopping eggs are easy for her to lay. Next comes the 55g egg which the other ladies lay, no big deal there, but the little tiny one... 15 grams. Can't believe it! Dying to crack it and see what's inside. Would love to serve it up as a fried egg on toast and see what The Middle Man says.

It feels empty! But the shell feels very thick compared to the others... but I don't want to crack it either because it's so gorgeous.

We are all wondering who laid it, and I am secretly giggling thinking of her laying it, then squawking to let everyone know, then hopping up and leaving the nest with her head held high. Did she look back and see the tiny egg? or was she the last to know? and did the other chooks tease her about it?

My neice almost vomited at the thought of the whole process. She has a very light head for bodily functions... but I love it... love the chooks for giving us these beautiful eggs for breakfast, lunch and tea...

The Easter Bunny

The Easter Bunny comes tonight. He will no doubt jump over the back fence and crash into something or other that the kids have left out in the garden. He will clatter down the driveway and bang into the back door, which we lock every night, and then finally he will figure out that he has to use the doggy door if he has any hope of entering the house.

Once in he will probably be licked to death by Ava and Ruby, then just as he is drying off, he will trip over the couch (I rearranged today and he won't be expecting the couch to be there!) and all his eggs will smash to a million pieces... and in all the kerfuffle he will look up in shock and horror as a light switches on and the boys stand face to face with him... Aha... finally the Easter Bunny... caught red handed... stealing into our house at night, leaving us sweet treats... just so that Mum and Dad could bribe us all week into good behaviour... blast you dear Easter Bunny, blast you!

Actually, he will come gently through the front gate, skipping up the path with a little basket over his floppy little wrist, get the spare key from the special Easter Bunny Hiding Spot and enter the house, sneak into the kids rooms... only has to enter one, they have snuck into The Middle Man's room to sleep together (I think The Little Man was secretly a little bit scared of some weird bunny coming into his room... wouldn't you be?) and leave lovely chocolate eggs to be oohed and aahed over in the morning.

No doubt I will wake to a fight or too, and will stumble downstairs with serious bed head to find my Two Little Men with chocolate moustaches and beards... that would be the same kids who will say to me: "I didn't eat any chocolate... Uhuh... not me!"

And so begins the sugar rich crazy day called Easter Sunday. All mothers (and fathers) secretly cast spells so that the time goes faster, so that the minutes are halved and so that little sugar stuffed angels are in bed and dreaming chaotic dreams by seven. Here's hoping for a pleasant and peaceful day...

Wonder if he'll come to me... doubt it... the little grot.

Easter Hat Parades

I just love the Easter Hat Parade! The sea of little faces, all topped with the colourful and amazingly decorated hats... it makes me smile so hard... Even when I can't see my own child, I am still happy as I watch all those proud little peoeple showing off their masterpieces and singing their much rehearsed songs. Little arms all moving in time to the music and their little faces looking around in wonder at us all gathered around them, clamouring for a look at our 'own'.

Then, to find out that The Little Man has begun the parade in the front line but has wriggled back to get out of the limelight! I was shattered as I hadn't been able to get a good look, nor a good photo... but whatever makes him happy I guess.

As soon as the Parade is over, the little ones make their way back to class, but... "What's this on the ground? ... (silence)... And more on the steps?!" The Easter Bunny has made footprints all the way back to their classroom... oh... and filled their little baskets that have been so lovingly made and left so neatly in the middle of their desks. My goodness... the excited squeals as they tear up the stairs following the footprints... It must be a great feeling for those kids out of the bigger classes who get to do that for the little ones.

And finally I get a photo of The Little Man... but of course I can't show you his face on television...

Finally....

Finally my passionfruit vine is in bloom... but it has been raining so heavily I am pretty sure that all the bees have been told to "Stay inside or lose your wings to moisture... a wet bee never survives!"

What will happen? Will I get passionfruit if the bees don't do their business... So long I have waited for this plant to flower and I am so excited... Can't wait. Every other passionfruit vine in the area is dripping with fruit and mine has been stagnant...

And the choko is in flower too... masses of them... I hope I get fruit from both... nothing better than steamed baby choko... mmmm... lucky no one else likes them, I can have them all to myself...

Again @#$! Where is Ava?

Once again, I cannot find Ava and she is not coming to my call... I always get a bit worried, thinking she may have got out... this time I found her in the compost heap with the chickens... honestly this dog, one day she is a human, the next a dog, the next a chicken... confused little poppet!

Struggling...

Have you ever felt like you are underwater and just cannot get back up to the top, or in a really deep black hole, or stuck under a blanket and the air is getting thick???

Well that's this week for me... It's all coming in around me and I am feeling very vulnerable and a bit loopy. And that is what this blog is all about... keeping me from devouring myself with these god awful thoughts and emotions.

And so when I think of myself under water unablge to get back up, then I musst change my thoughts to : Well, at least I have this lovely gentleman by my side, or What a lovely hole. The shade of black is one I have never seen before. When I am out I shall definitely try and recreate that colour with my water colour pencils, or Ooooh, it is sooo warm and toasty under this here blanket...

If I look on the brighter side of it all, I am sure I will find something that is wonderful... something wonderful must be out there somewhere on the floor, amongst the dirt, the lego, the scrap paper, the dirty clothes, the toys cars and the dog fluff... I'm just not looking hard enough.

But when I do look harder, I see a little hand pushing the Lego car along, crashing into the other little hand holding the Lego jet-ski, or I see the big brown eyes looking at me soooo lovingly from their frame of chocolate brown doggy fluff. Sometimes I see the little pile of dirt and dust and imagine if it could tell me stories just what tales of wonder and adventure they would be...

So, here I go for another day in the life of me, collecting the debris of a family, depositing it into it's respective place in the house, planning and preparing the evening meal, and the snacks... don't forget the snacks, feeding the chooklets and the mice, and the worms, checking on the GP's, patting the dogs, waiting for the front gate to close behind my two Little Men before we start the evening process.

Hmmmm....

Big yawn

The other day it was very quiet... obviously, the kids were at school, so it was quiet, but TOO quiet. Ruby was at my feet, but Ava was nowhere to be found. I called her, and usually she will come bounding to me from wherever she is, but not this day.

Starting to get worried, I hunted and hunted and finally found her... all comfortable and sleepy on Middle Man's bed. What a life!

A New Home

Today I built the Frank, Dash and Blossom a new house. They were in desperate need as they were being flooded every night in the rain, and also Frank was harassing Dash. Ever since I had introduced little Blossom to the pack, Frank has been chewing poor old Dash's back off.... literally.

I knew he was being mean and I had seen the nasty marks on Dash's back where the beastly Frank had been biting him, but when I went out in the rain the other afternoon to check on them, and poor old Dash was sheltering under the bushes from the rain, squeaking and carrying on like a poor wet GP, I finally decided that something had to be done!!!

First thought: goodbye Frank... Second thought: not so good... Middle Man would be devastated... Third thought: A brand spanking new home for Dash! Brilliant.

So off I toddled to my Pa's house to pick up the jig saw and then into the shed I go, armed with paper and pencil and tape measure. I emerge a few hours later, with a plan of the new abode, my fence palings to cut, and a light heart. I can do this!

And I did! So much fun and now the little dears have two different houses to live in so poor old Dash can move into the new house, or... if Frank is a greedy G. Pig wants the new house to himself, then dear little Dash can have the original house all to himself.

Everyone is happy. And I will build another one in the next couple of weeks, then take out the first house and that can become the maternity ward for Blossom when she finally delivers the goods. That way, the little babies are close at hand and we can look, look and look at them whenever we want...

My new favourite blog

This site is brilliant. This man is brilliant more to the point and the way that he loves his girls wonderful... I LOVE IT!

I constantly smile when I check out new posts. This is a photographer dad who is capturing the lives of his daughters in the most beautiful beautiful way. You MUST go and have a look at hte photos of these two little darlings... They are gorgeous little girls and fully get into the whole photography and play acting thing. I just beam when I am looking at the photos... it is beginning to inspire me to do a similar thing before my boys are too old to let me do things like this...

Wet chooks!

Look at this crazy wet chook! Unbelievable!

We have been having heaps and heaps of rain... like the back yard is flooded, am emptying the pool 3-4 times a days, everything is damp inside... lots of rain. The chickens get to come out and scratch around every day and when it is raining, I still let them out, thinking that they will use their brains (do they have one?) and scratch under the trees and bushes.

But no!!!! My chooks are out in it, absolutely drenched. I went out the back door to the car to pick the kids up from school and there they all were, all looking like this... I laughed and laughed and laughed. It was a very funny thing to see... Usually so fluffy and big, these scrawny chickens looked a treat... Couldn't wait to tell the kids, who in turn couldn't wait to get home to see these crazy chickens.

Rang my Dad: God, Dad. These chickens, they are all wet and dripping. Will they be all right? Will they get a cold? Will I need to dry them off before bed time? (imagining myself with the hair dryer well into the night, drying off these bedraggled chickens!) No love. They like it in the rain, it's like a bath for them. They enjoy it. They'll be right.

Actually, typing that in, I haven't actually heard any cluck clucks this morning from them, I had best go and check on them... might be chicken for dinner if they have all fallen off the perch during the night. Ooooh yuck!

Anyway, by the time we got home they had worked their way down to the front gate and were wallowing in the water, up to their chicken knees in it... Like they NEED to scrounge around for food, like they are NOT the best fed chickens in the world, desperate for that last little wormy before bedtime.

I have to say, these chickens get the scraps from my kitchen and the tuckshop kitchen AND seed and pellets every day, plus anything else they scratch up in the yard. They should be plump, ready for cooking, not scrawny and sinewy like a drowned cat.

I love my chickens. I do hope they are OK.... Oh dear... I'm off to check on them...

Happy Grams!!

Yesterday I got a HappyGram!!! What's a HappyGram? I hear you say.

A HappyGram is a phone call from the Deputy Principal of our beautiful little primary school. At first a HappyGram makes you feel sick to the stomach and light in the head, as the Deputy tells you who is calling, but then she quickly tells you WHY she is calling and the roller coaster feelings get better and better and better until the tears in your eyes are not because you thought your child was injured or in trouble, but because your Little Man has been singled out to come and deliver a HappyGram to their mother because of the amazing thing he did, or said, or is.

Here is the HappyGram:

So, after the Deputy reads the HappyGram to me, then Little Man gets an opportunity to hop on the phone and talk to me too... Oh how proud I was of him and how beautiful that he is in a school that recognises and acknowledges the little lights that shine in the children.

Little Man did tell me though that when he saw the Deputy was coming for him he did think he was in trouble... oh how nervous he must have been...

Unbelievably beautiful.

I just went in to have a look at all the glorious flowers and sniff around, taking in the beauty.

But somehow, these delightful flowers ended up in my hands, all wrapped up and ready to go home... I couldn't help myself... They were just TOO beautiful. I had to have them...

Sometimes it is like that... I can't contain myself, I just have to have things... mostly it is flowers... but sometimes it is fabric and other times it is wool, and also fleece... oh, and I guess it is also spinning wheels, and ...

A gift...

Someone gave me a gift. A little gift. A delightful gift. A precious gift. A gift that showed thoughtfulness and care. A gift that was much appreciated and really loved.

This little gift was presented to me in a zip lock plastic bag, plucked from the handbag in the middle of a coffee session. This little gift made me smile VERY hard because this little gift showed me that someone loves me and thinks about me even when she's miles from home.

This little gift is full of colour and love, full of memories and history. It symbolises for me a visit to my grandmother and the treasures that are found in her drawers. Some things are coveted and wanted, but can be replaced with little gifts that mean the world.

Thankyou.

Another one

Dropped another toy yesterday. On our way to weaving and we drove inland deeper and deeper into the middle of the suburb. Found this dear little bridge and the beautiful bouganvillea just screamed out to be included.

I did all the work of course, it was too exciting for Mama. She was a bit nervous, so protected the car (which I had parked on a roundabout to secure the perfect spot - oooh aaah).

Anyway, happy with this little drop although I am beginning to wonder if any Australians who find the good will of others will ever feel the urge to say thankyou. Or perhaps I am just dropping in the wrong places... But where is right and where is wrong... you would think that all places and all people would be grateful and happy to have found a magical gift for free... a little peice of some else's goodness...

Interesting isn't it? how different we all are... I would be on the computer thanking joyfully... others have said not a word... hmmmm.... the world sure is an interesting place.

I wish...

They were at it again this morning...

Somehow, someone pushed someone else and then they pushed back and then the back of the T-shirt was grabbed and pulled, the back of the neck was then squeezed and then pushed, with head onto car... then lots of screaming and shouting, a bit of hyperventilation and then as we sit on the steps breaking it down, doing the slow motion dissection of each and every moment, Little Man says:
"I hate my life! I wish I was a dead ant on the ground!"
Then glaring at Middle Man, he shouts
"And I wish you were a piece of paper RIPPED in half!"

WOW! what venom!

When I grow up...

Today on the way to school, the little men in my life were discussing what kinds of things you might HAVE to do for sport when you are in high school. After much to-ing and fro-ing and consideration between them, Little Man piped up and said,
"If they have skipping, I'll choose that!"
And that was the end of the conversation... If only life were that simple...

I now have a visual of a 16 year old boy skipping along to his next class... he'll be so popular with the girls?

And more love...

Gotta be happy when EVERYONE in the house is getting along well...

Our dear little mice love each other too... Look at their tails! So cute...

Either in LOVE or scared to death!

We have only 2 mice left now.... one (Blackie II) who has a serious tail injury and is in the nursing section of the house, probably with a belly full of babies as well, and Wild Mouse who ran wild around the house for a period of months before we recaptured him. The rest of them (about 30) all found homes somewhere or other... various places around the joint... read between the lines here people... pet shops, great Mouse House in the Sky etc.

And as if I didn't have enough to cope with, here we go again with another batch. I am a sucker for punishment... particularly when you think that Blossom the Guinea Pig is probably up the duff too. We'll soon know... 2 months gestation, so another 5 weeks and she'll probably be bursting...

By then I will be all oohing and aahing over the excitement of it all and the tiny size of the mini GP's, and the thousands of mice that will be again running all over the mouse house (which is a rather large bird cage). So long as not many of them eat each other this time, it should be good... that is terribly distressing for the kids. They don't cope well with that... and then Army Marm comes in with invitations to the Mouse House in the Sky. Good Old Mum to the rescue again!

Sleepovers

And then last night when I went in to check, I found this.

We wondered where the dogs were last night...

Middle Man came in and said
"Huge sleepover in my room last night!"
"Really, who slept with you?"
"Both dogs of course," he says.

Little Man had claimed the very same thing...

But I'm not going to bring that up... it will just cause yet another argument...

Arguing

My goodness! They argue ALL THE TIME!

"Muuuummmm!"

It drives me crazy. I sometimes feel like my head will explode and my body will just go poof! and disappear. How did my mother take this stuff for 20 years? My Goodness, I give my parents Merit Awards and Stickers on their collars for putting up with this stuff so silently for all those years...

And then...

I go into their bedrooms to kiss them goodnight (and pull up their covers and turn their fans off that are on as fast as they can go!) and I find this... this beautiful beautiful image of two little boys, legs entwined, sleeping together, loving one another...

Pass me a tissue please... it brings a momentary tear to my eye.
(And then it's morning and they are at it again!)

Article in "THE AGE" Melbourne

Gifts of love left for whoever finds
by Yasmin Mitchell, March 10, 2009

WHEN most people think of street art, spray cans and stencils come to mind. Not so for Bianca Brownlow. While the founder of the Toy Society may be sneaking through Melbourne's darkest laneways, she's hiding handmade toys, not tagging.

The aim of the Toy Society, Ms Brownlow explains, is a "something-for-nothing experience". Participants make painstakingly detailed toys, such as miniature monkeys, frowning ghosts and patchwork chickens, , leaving them on street corners, park benches and other public spaces for others to find.

A label attached to each toy invites the finder to take them home but also to let the Toy Society know they have been found, via a blog....

...Despite the overwhelmingly positive response from toy-finders, Ms Dunston and Ms Brownlow get nervous about actually hiding toys on the street. "It's quite strange," Ms Dunston admits. "It's like being a spy with toys. You're always jumpy and nervy … you have to do it with a lot of confidence, like you're meant to be there."

Similarly, even after spending a year participating in toy drops, Ms Brownlow is still nervous about being caught in the act. "I like to do it incognito. I don't like to be seen. Actually, I dropped one in (Sydney's) Surry Hills a few weeks ago and someone saw me. I didn't know what to do. I went and hid."

While she laughs that she's much too busy for world domination, she has quite a few projects in the pipeline. She's working on a couple of themed toy drops for Melbourne, including a street full of trees where each tree has a bird in it, probably on Northcote's High Street. Another project that has been playing on her mind is "a night thing with ghosts in sneaky ghost-like places in the city". Her personal goal, getting the project to 100 toy drops by April, has almost been accomplished, thanks to the worldwide Christmas drop.

Oh dear!

I bought a loom on the weekend.

"YOU WHAT?!" asks the Biggest Man. "WHAT FOR?!"

Well... I don't have enough hobbies, and another one will just add to the mulitude of unfinished items gathering dust in all the corners of the house. I mean, come on, a woman needs a new hubby... oops, HOBBY... every so often... keeps her mind busy and active... that cleaning and cooking, and washing and sweeping and weeding and and and... gets you down sometimes.

Anyhow, I bought it from a lady who also gave me the fleece (YEP, another one!!!) of her sheep Blackie... from NZ. It was her pet sheep. I feel so privileged. I shall makee her a hot pot holder or something so that she has a little of Blackie in her life. So exciting... Now I have ... um is it 6 fleeces in the shed! Oh dear!

So, Mum and I are off to Brisbane this morning to learn how to use a loom. Huh! Fancy that... it can be so easy if you want it to be...

I said to Mum that we should wear a different pair of shoes to mark the ocassion, but she is going to kill me when I pick her up as I still have on the old faithfuls. I just can't wear a different pair of shoes, learn a new craft and join a group of 8 other women all in one day... too much for this mumma to cope with today.

Gotta go... kids are eating each other and have to take them to school for their own learning experiences... later

P.S. Also bought another spinning wheel from this lovely lady... Can't wait to use it, might start on the alpaca...

My little MerMen

Here are my babies again having fun in water. This is such a beautiful photo I would love to get it blown up really big for the wall.

Isn't it funny though how kids hate each other with a passion one minute and then love each other to death in another minute. They were having such fun together under the water, but as soon as they surfaced they were at it again!

The mind boggles.

Gotta love kids...

We went skiing with friends on the weekend. In the past, both of the Little Men have been hesitant and nervous. This time it was on... couldn't wait to give it a go...

I was so happy for them and proud of their bravery and focus. Wonderful effort from both of them. I had the BIGGEST smile on my face... the biggest I have had for a long time.


I think it was because I was letting go a little and letting them live without curbing them in fear of accidents etc. Scary, but really energising too in that I was able to watch them shine.

me

I like to Barter

Today... (not really today, last week, but it sounds better if I say 'today') so... today I swapped one dozen of my prized eggs for the fleece of one white alpaca by the name of Snowy.

That's what the picture is all about... that's Snowy's hair there, still dirty and reeking of Mother Nature, and there are my dear little eggs all pristine and perfect. I was getting a pedicure and the owner of the shop was telling me all about her alpacas. Then I just HAD to mention that I spin and felt and whatnot and then it all just happened. Before long she said she would bring in a fleece for me and within a week, I was off to the shops to collect.

Now I have one white and one pure black alpaca fleece to spin, felt or weave. So... that's 2 alpaca fleeces and maybe about 5 sheep - 3 white merino and 2 chocolate brown... delicious.

Now all I need is the time to create with them.

Wish me luck... everyone knows mothers have no time.

Pancakes...

Have you ever had something sooooo good that you JUST HAVE to lick the plate?

This photo was taken a long time ago, but it still has the same magical quality to it for me... this young man absolutely loved his pancakes!!! He asked very politely if he could lick his plate... how could I resist?

I actually remember as a kid licking my plate as well... but usually it was after a baked dinner... all that yummy gravy...

Recipes

Today I received the latest newsletter of GOOP... Gwyneth Paltrow's interesting BLOG. It had recipes in it... I am so amazed. Literally yesterday as I was eating my lunch at the tuckshop (yes, I am a tuckshop mum) I was discussing how I would like to make flat breads, but didn't know a recipe and would need to play around with it to get it right...

Lo and behold, the newsletter arrives this morning... So excited. I will make it on the weekend. Can't wait.

But it prompted me to share a recipe that I love and that is SO EASY it is ridiculous... even the boys make it (and they are successful). In fact Little Big Man said "I didn't know I was such a good cook."

CRAP

Just as I was typing those two last posts, out of the corner of my eye I saw a black thing run past my door....

On closer inspection I discover two fat spiders.

Suffering SEVER ARACHNOPHOBIA I run for the spray (husband is not home and children are snoring).

OH MY GOD! Their backs explode as I spray them and hundreds of tiny spiders spill off onto the floor. I cannot take a photo, I cannot stand the carnage. It is hideous. I want to be sick... but I know I will have to clean that up as well as the spiders...

No... in fact, I will cover them up and leave them for husband to deal with when he gets home (tomorrow night). I know he will understand.

HE HAS TO!

Modesty

Do you ever remember being all embarrassed because someone 'might see you'.

Oh my God, someone might see me? Who? Who cares? Does it really matter? Will they remember?

It is so beautiful when that modesty kicks in and they think that the garden, house, car, bathroom, EVERYWHERE is full of Big Brother cameras. I love it... And I love their beautiful attempts at covering up. Like I haven't seen it a million times before...

"Wahoo! I just saw his privates for the 685,456th time! Wahoo!"

Little darlings...

I've done it again...

Two more drops!

This time aided by a friend. We were full of coffee and excited. The adrenalin rushed through us as we planned 'the drop'. The excitement of it all pushed us over the edge. We had to sit down.

Too much... Too many drops all at once... need to pull back... do one at a time...

Do I still love my husband...

...after seeing him in his knickers and long black socks dancing and prancing around the room as he jigs to some daggy radio music.... ? (or wearing my hat at he plays cricket with the kids).

You betcha!

It endears him to me even more... somehow, just seeing him in this vulnerable state, puts into perspective how vulnerable we all are. Even at my weakest moment... chubby and hot and cranky... there is still someone else in my life who is equally vulnerable... skinny, lanky and groovy!

You go boy! Dance for your life!

The new me!

I got doodling last night as I sat on the couch watching the telly (dancers all doing amaaaaaaaazing things... and I can't dance). My body was twitching and jiggling and grooving as I watched them (hence me thinking I had ants in my pants! (see previous post)) I must have subconsciously thought I better do something that I CAN actually do, and so I started to doodle.

Everyone can doodle! It's fun. It's never wrong. It's pointless, it's engaging, it's mind numbing, it's hypnotising, it's creative, it's... it's... well... it's just doodling!

I have always been WREN with a drawing of my cat Heather. She has been there forever. She was my best friend in the whole wide world for soooo long. She kept me sane, she kept me coming home each night to see her, she was my darling. Well, she passed on just before Christmas... at nearly a grand old 20 years old. The poor old darling. I miss her a lot. We made her a cross and put it in the garden when she used to sun herself. I'm sure she knows how much I loved her.

Anyway, I have always wanted to have a little birdy for my 'thing' and last night it came to me... as I doodled it appeared and I am so happy with it... well... for the time being anyway.

Do you like it?

I am feeling another drop coming on...

My fingers are tingling, I can't keep still, I have ants in my pants.

Another drop is imminent. I put the box of toys in my car in preparation... I think this afternoon is it...