Crossing Off Our List

The last few weeks have been typically busy, I have come to realise that it's just the way it's going to be, there is always going to be something happening, a new challenge to keep us on our toes. Last week it was Muddy Hubby and the Chicken Pox, this week who knows.

To help make holidays a little less frantic and more about the kids I sat down with them all on Saturday morning and we made some lists of what they'd like to do these school holidays. The answers I got when I asked them what they'd like to do I found surprising. They were simple things, but things to do together as a family.

There were no major holiday activities like theme parks or  zoos or movies. They included - Make Pizzas, Plant seeds, Water the Garden, Bake, Go Lamb Tailing, Ride our Bikes and Help tidy the house. It was a little bit of a wake up call to me that these kind of things have been let slide in my busyness and that these are what my kids value and enjoy and I need to make more time for.

The downside to writing a list is, that like me, they want to pack as much as they can into one day so they can cross them off their list. So....we're all trying to slow down a little, pace ourselves over the holidays and savour the activities and time together rather than rushing. A nice reminder for me, to just hang out with my Muddy Kids.

A lot happens in the space of a few weeks

So much happens when you don't blog for 3 weeks, big events, little events, lots of lovely family time. We've checked crops, been to parties, celebrated a special 2nd Birthday, explored the Warrumbungles and the observatory and enjoyed just being together as a family.  We've said goodbye to an old worker and welcomed a new one into our world. We had an awesome Father's Day and spent it with friends at the local pub.

 

We have gone from jumpers and long pants to shorts and T-shirts, with thongs and sandles, it is such a fantastic time of year, not too hot, the flowers are starting to bloom, the roses and grapevines are greening up and it's so much fun to just be outside, in the sunshine, in the garden and soaking it all up before it gets too hot! No matter what the rollercoaster of life has kept up it's momentum!

 

 

Rambling

I am into rambling this week, rambling thoughts, rambling words, just seemingly rambling through my weekly routine. The Muddy Kids and I have been pottering around the farm, all rugged up in the mornings and stripping down to T-Shirts in the middle of the day. The washing pile grows exponentially at this time of year as the kids get the bottoms of their pants wet playing outside in the mornings on the wet grass and letting the chooks out. Then out of habit when they strip off their jumpers and long sleeve tops they put them straight in the washing basket rather than wearing them again the next day.

 

Then in the evening the chill comes in and we go through the afternoon routine of homework and bath before rugging up for bed. It's a rambling farm life here this week. What's your week like?

 

Sounds of Laughter

I have had the rare delight of 5 straight days at home with my Muddy Kids, just getting jobs done, and spending time together. It has been so lovely. I am still running round like a mad person trying to get through my to do lists, but every so often I stop and just enjoy being at home, soaking it up before I go back to work.

 

The best bit about it - the sounds of laughter as we play, that wicked giggle when they are being cheeky and know it, the hysterical, uncontrollable laughter as they have so much fun with each other. There is nothing in the world like that sound of laughter.

 

Shiny and New

Over the weekend Muddy Hubby and I had to be on the coast, so we had two Muddy Kids with us and took some time out to take them to the beach. For me, growing up on the coast it's not so much of a 'wow' thing, for Muddy Hubby and the kids though it is awesome, every, single, time! It's like each time is the first time seeing it, stopping, just watching the sun, the sand, the waves, and the shells, my goodness the shells! It is all shiny and new.

Each time we go to the beach the Muddy Kids collect shells, hundreds of them, we go through a culling process, then a washing process, and then a mummy culling process and then we have a small collection to take back home to remember our time at the beach.

Although the beach doesn't have the same 'wow' factor for me, I get such enjoyment from Muddy Hubby's and the Muddy Kids excitement that I can't help but get caught up in the excitement, looking at the beach through fresh eyes as if it was shiny and new.

Locking the Gate

A few weeks ago Muddy Hubby and I went to an information session organised by local members of our community who are concerned about the fact that Coal Seam Gas Mining is coming to our shire. I knew a little bit about it, I'd seen a story on ABC's Four Corners and done some reading of emails coming through. The night was informative, it was worrying, it was thought provoking. The evening did not try to brainwash us, in fact the organisers encouraged attendees to go away and do their own reading to further gain an understanding of Coal Seam Gas Mining and the impact it can have on our water, our land, our health and our future and make their own decisions about whether it's something we want to allow into our community and onto our land.

The more I read, the more concerned I get. We now have a No Coal Seam Gas group formed in the shire and people are coming together as a community to say to No Coal Seam Gas Mining. Muddy Hubby and I have decided that for us we would like to Lock Our Gate to Coal Seam Gas Mining, however there is nothing to stop the Gas Companies approaching our neighbours and if they say yes, you can come and put down a well on our place, the gas companies then have capacity to firstly drill down and then across to under our land. This is why it's so important that our community unites on this, so that as a whole we can Lock Our Gate and keep the water and land safe for future generations.

One of the worrying things is that science has not yet caught up to the mining companies, we don't largely know what the long term effects are. The CSIRO has information on their website about the basics, but the long-term impact has not yet been able to be studied, yet despite this the government allows the Gas Companies to continue, even with indications being that the long-term impacts are negative. One of the best sources of information is the ABC, here, they even have a map that shows you where there are coal seam gas mines, exploration licences and pilot wells for possible future sites, it was a definite eye-opener for me.

I am however only one person, with my opinion, but if you're like me and there is the possibility of them coming onto your land or into your area, make sure you do some reading and be informed.

The Sharing Thing

We are on struggle street lately when it comes to sharing. Especially the Muddy Puzzler and the Muddy Baby Boy, they flat out do not like to share. It could be a drink cup, a bunch of grapes, a shovel in the garden, an elastic, anything, if one has it the other wants it, and they will do anything to either hold onto it or try and get it off the other.  No amount of negotiations will help, no amount of bribery or coercion, it's just flat out no sharing.

 

It has worn pretty thin, the tantrums, the tears, the fights, that is one thing they are both happy to do together, cry. I can tolerate the odd tantrum but when the two of them are home together it goes for most of the day. We are managing at the moment by being outside as much as possible and sending them to opposite corners of the garden, but as Jack Frost has also started visiting the time outside is getting shorter so I am in search of new strategies to stop the carry-on.

 

Baking works as long as they both have identical utensils, books work provided they are both allowed to sit on a knee, and that is where I have run out of ideas.......If you have any tips to help them learn to share or keep them separated I am willing to give them a go!

 

When Friends Come to Stay

This June long weekend has been the first one that we have been home for in a few years, normally we have been heading to Sydney. This year however was different, we had friends come and stay with us, with their precious 2 year old twins, they packed up their car and headed west to us. It was pure bliss, they were such easy house guests and the Muddy Kids just loved showing the twins all of their toys and all around the farm. We took them up the paddock and checked the sheep, we got them on the bikes and the tractors and even the back of the ute.

We shared good food, good drinks and good stories. This friend and I used to live together many years ago and it was just like slipping into old times, being in the kitchen together, just chatting and reminiscing, but with the added element of husbands and children, it was delightful. Simply delightful.

I am so grateful this week for when old friends visit with their new families, it is so special to be sharing our families and hopefully our kids will be firm friends like we are for a long time to come.

Linking up at Village Voices for 52 Weeks of Grateful.

When it rains.....

On Sunday night I posted some  photos as part of 52 - A Portrait a Week. They were of my Muddy Kids frolicking in the puddles. For those that live in places where it rains a lot, or it rains regularly it must sometimes seem mundane to wake up to rain, another day to play in the mud and try and get to and from home, work and school without getting wet. But for us on Sunday morning when we woke up and measured 23 precious millimetres the whole house's mood lifted.

We are in one of those areas 'on the cusp of drought' as the media like to put it. We have been feeding sheep - and still are despite the rain, as grass takes a little while to grow after the rain and the sheep gnaw it off faster than it can grow. We are going into our sowing later than usual. Muddy Hubby always likes to be sowing Canola about Anzac Day, this year we haven't sown canola at all.

But when it started really raining on Saturday night and kept raining it bought a little bit of hope back into the farm. Now we just wait for the paddocks to dry out a little bit, then we spray the weeds before we start to get the tractors fired up and sowing. In the meantime though the Muddy Kids and I are enjoying the remaining puddles, weeding the garden beds while they're still moist and just literally sitting and watching the grass grow for a change.

Pottering around

I'd love to say I'm a gardener and have a green thumb, but unfortunately I don't. That doesn't stop me trying though. The kids and I have spent lots of time outside lately when I'm not working, just pottering around the garden. Weeding the garlic garden bed (the only thing I have tried planting in my veggie patches this year), pruning my roses, planting spring bulbs and just hanging out in the garden, having tea parties and just enjoying the fresh air, soaking up the beautiful light and the smell of autumn setting in. As it has started getting colder in the mornings we simply put on more layers and change what we're doing so we're not sitting on the wet dewy grass.

 

I have chosen to focus on just one veggie for a few months and shower them with tender love and care, rather than try and plant lots and lose track of them all. I chose garlic - and I'm a little bit excited as they're all thriving and seem to be loving the weather, I know they're a long developing little plant, but I think it will be worth it!

 

Tantrums and All

I am feeling strangely reminiscent this week, I have been looking at old photos of the Muddy Girls at the same age my Muddy Baby Boy is now - almost 20 months, which other than the tantrums is one of my favourite ages. They are into everything, exploring, emptying cupboards, climbing everything. I am amazed though at the differences as well between all my kids at this age, from their interests to their skills development they are all so wonderful and individual.

 

By far though my Muddy Baby boy has proved the most physically challenging, as I run to try and catch him before he falls, or run after him as he takes off out of the house yard and toward the shed, or rescue him from the tree he has just climbed, or wrestle him down to change his nappy, or keep him challenged inside on a rainy day when he's an outside kid.

 

He is a boy through and through and I am loving every second of it, including the tantrums.

Grateful for the Garden

Thursday afternoon I knocked off work early, I got to pick my kids up from Preschool and School for a change (Muddy Puzzler was very excited not to catch the bus) and the sun was still shining by the time we arrived home. After two days in the office I was itching to be outside, so Muddy Baby Boy and I put on our ear muffs and jumped on the lawn mower to mow the lawn. I was in heaven. I love being outside, I love pottering around the garden, doing little bits here and there.

This week I am Grateful for the Garden, for time outside to just potter around.

I am Grateful that I found time to plant my garlic and start to dehead the dead roses, that I can sit and soak up the fresh air, lie on the grass and play with the Muddy Kids. I am Grateful that we have space to do it, to run and run and chase and fall down, to ride bikes and scooters and plant veggies and flowers and grow our own fruit.

Without the Garden I think things would be a little less bright, so this week I am linking up for 52 Weeks of Grateful about my spacious garden that brings me and my family happiness.

A Bonus Day

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Yesterday was supposed to be a big day, I had to take 3 kids to our nearest big town so my Muddy Organiser could have a follow up appointment with the ENT. It was going to be a long day, it was going to be traumatic, as my Muddy Organiser was going to have a nasendoscope examination and I knew she would not like it one little bit and I had been mentally preparing for how I was going to get her through it for a few days.

Much to my joy the appointment was cancelled, and rather than doing the 200km round trip I got a bonus day at home. 3 loads of washing, a sparkling clean car inside and out, some gardening, some farm stuff, some cooking and some time just at home with my 2 youngest Muddy Kids was just what I felt like.

I love a bonus day, I find that mentally because I think it's an extra day I am so much more productive, I keep on the move and power through my jobs, feeling really good because I'm crossing things off my list. I don't know why, as really I know it's the same as it would have been on my non-work day, but the power of the mind is a curious thing. Now if I could just find a way for it to trick me into exercising more than I am I think I'd be on a winner.

Do you have the same thing going on when you get a 'bonus' day or is it just me?