Family and Good Friends

On the weekend we packed up the family and headed to the Big Smoke to surprise my Mum (Hi Mum!) who was getting back from her trip overseas. I won't talk about the fact that the trip down took us an extra 400km because the Blue Mountains were closed due to snow, or the fact I broke Mum's washing Machine right when she needs it most to wash holiday clothes, or the fact I broke the bathroom door and we couldn't get in until Muddy Hubby fixed it.

 

I will however show you how much fun the Muddy Kids had which makes it all worth it. They were so excited to see their Nana and we had a very special catch up with a beautiful old friend and her gorgeous boys.

 

My friend J and I started Kindergarten together and now her little boy will start school exactly one year after my Muddy Organiser. I am always in awe of how blessed I am to share my parenting journey with good friends at the same time. Somehow it makes it go that much easier knowing your friends are riding the ups and downs at the same time.

 

Did I really sign up for this?

I will warn you in advance, this post is about Poo, read on if you like or walk away like I wished I could have at the time....

Most Days I love being a parent, no matter how hard the day is, I still feel so blessed to have 4 beautiful healthy children. The whinging the whining, the tantrums it's all part of parenting. The messy house, the crumbs everywhere, the toilet training, it's all good. Some days though there are things that make me stop and go 'Did I really sign up for this?'.

I had one of those moments this week. In the midst of 'Happy Hour' me trying to cook dinner the Muddy Girls packing up all their hair elastics, ribbons and clips that they had spread all over the bathroom, and Muddy Bubby very proudly tottering around the house on his feet, up and walking, I heard a sentence I don't want to hear again

Muddy Pixie: 'Mum, He's got Poo on his Cup',
Me: 'Sorry, say that again'

Out comes the Pixie with Muddy Bubby's drink cup in hand 'I said he got Poo on his cup'
I looked and yes sure enough it was half covered in Poo. As I was gagging I asked how it happened, 'He put it in the toilet' she said, 'but why has it got Poo' on it I asked. 'Because I didn't flush my poo'. There quite simply, she forgot to flush, something I thought I would have taught her as a parent and reinforced over and over again, but no, it is a parenting fail, one that won't be happening again, I have repeated the phrase over and over to them since it happened 'Remember to flush'.

We disinfected everyone and the toilet, we disinfected the cup, and ran it under hot, hot, water for ages, I then washed it, and then because I can never look at it in the same way again, I threw it out. Yes I felt wasteful, but at least I don't have to look at it and gag every time I see it.

And still I think 'Did I really sign up for this?' Do you have those moments too? Please tell me I'm not alone in wondering if this was part of the deal of parenting?

That's the way the Mulberry Crumbles

It's that time of year again in our house where the fingers are almost constantly stained purple, there are big purple grins on everyone's faces and if the kids disappear in the house yard there is one place to find them - at the Mulberry Tree. The Muddy Kids each have their own bucket and collect as many as they can, along with as many as they can squeeze in their mouth.

 

They got a good first haul on the weekend and after chopping off all the stems I made them into a Mulberry Crumble. It is quick, easy and yummy, all winning things in our house. Sadly we were out of ice cream so served it with a dollop of cream, it was still tasty but not quite the same.

 

To make the crumble it's easy:

I spread the Mulberries in the cake tin, you can sprinkle with Castor Sugar if you like.

For the Crumble Topping I used 1/2 Cup Plain Flour, 1/2 Cup Self-Raising Flour, 1 Cup Brown Sugar and between 150-200g Butter. I whizzed it altogether and then spread it on top.

 Normally I would crumble it altogether with my fingers, but I was in a hurry so the food processor on my stick blender was quicker.

Pop it in the oven for about 25-30 mins and serve hot with vanilla ice cream (or cream)

 

 

Sheep Yard Sundays

For the last couple of months each Sunday afternoon we've been 'sheepworking' as the Muddy Kids call it, but now with the last of the lambs being sent to the Saleyards we're getting back some family time on weekends.

 

At least for a few weeks anyway, before harvest starts, and then early next year we'll be back weighing lambs on Sunday afternoons. It's great family time on the farm, drafting them, then bringing them around and weighing them. The Muddy Kids love it and so do I. I'll miss it, until it comes around again, but will definitely be making the most of some extra time with the family.

 

The best bit about now is watching the baby lambs frolic in the paddock, they'll be the one's we weigh next year! They are so cute when they're little and running around at their Mum's feet. They're still keeping us busy though with lamb marking and tailing and checking for flies. The Muddy Kids are having a ball at present and falling into bed exhausted - perfect really!

 

 

 

Jumping the Fence

Having not been raised on a farm I can remember the first time Muddy Hubby asked me to jump the fence with him. I just looked at him and said 'Are you serious?'. Yes indeed he was, as he nimbly jumped over the fence to go and check a crop, with his long legs he was over in seconds. All I saw was the top strain of barbed wire and a fence that was three quarters my height and I had images of cuts and bruises as I got myself stuck. I am no lightweight that's for sure, so for me to jump over that fence would have been a miracle in line with pigs flying.

 

I have since learnt that where there's a will there's a way and while I do sometimes stand there and put my arms up to Muddy Hubby and ask him to lift me over the fence like he does the girls (I think he's only attempted this once!), he has learnt to hold the wires apart so that I can climb through. It is still not very graceful and almost always I stumble through and stop just short of falling flat on my face, but at least I get to adventure through the crops too and see what's happening, rather than just watching from the ute.

 

 The Muddy Kids on the other hand are starting to be old hands, if Muddy Hubby doesn't whisk them over in his strong arms, they start to climb over themselves or try to climb through with a little help. They definitely put their Mum to shame with their fence jumping skills!

 

 

Checking Canola, Not long now...

Lupins Pods

Muddy Puzzler checking Lupins

On the Bright Side

In the effort to be a little less stressed and try and go with the flow a little more, I've had to let some things that I really love move to the wayside for a while, try and focus on the bright side of life and the everyday.

I'm really missing boot camp and my body is showing the changes with me not going, but on the plus side I am grateful for the chance to take my Muddy Organiser to Ballet and watch the joy it brings her, watch her confidence grow and her dancing definitely improve!.

I have been annoyed at having to travel to the big office for work this week but very grateful that I could tick off things on my to do list and move forward with some projects, at the same time as seeing some wonderful work people face to face, always better than the phone.

4 of my coffee mugs have been broken in the last week or so, plus 2 child locks on the cupboard doors as my Muddy Bubby finds his feet with walking and exploring, so while I will miss my lovely mugs I have something to put on my Christmas list and absolutely adore watching the look of excitement and pride on Muddy Bubby's face as he gets more confident with walking.

I have zero freezer space left after packing away all my Pork, Ham and Bacon, but on the bright side we have been having beautiful roast Pork and I have finally managed to get sublime crackling!

I am struggling to get my head around living with a Vegetarian, who used to be a Vegan who has certain things she can eat and certain things she won't, but am loving being able to expand my cooking repertoire and have an excuse to try new recipes.

The Ducks have moved out of the house yard and into the Duck Yard for day and the Chook Yard (foxproofed) at night, I worry every night when I hear funny noises that it's the fox coming back to take them, I send Muddy Hubby out to check, and when he's not here I traipse out myself ready to take on the fox. On the bright side our back step is no longer covered in Duck Poo and the Muddy Girls have been using the Duck's box as a stage to sing and dance on.

Each day when I focus on the bright side it makes my day go a little better, makes me remember to be grateful and appreciate what I have. Linking up with Maxabella at Village Voices for 52 Weeks of Grateful. Take a moment to think about what you're Grateful for, you won't regret it!

Starting to Turn

The temperature's rising, the sunshiney days are getting longer, the ground is warming up and our crops are starting to turn, as the days move closer to harvest time. Our Canola has pretty much dropped all of it's flowers, it's gone from the brilliant yellow to green as they drop their flowers and now as it's warming they turning less green. Canola has skinny pods full of tiny canola seeds, at the moment these seeds are still green, we picked a few off yesterday and opened them and there's a few black/browns seeds starting to appear. This means we're still a little way away from harvesting the canola.

 

The lupins are filling up their pods. They have brilliant white flowers, and as it warms up they have dropped their flowers and are concentrating on filling their pods. At the moment though when you open the pods the lupins are still green. They need to be white seeds to be ready to harvest. The Muddy Kids love checking the crops, chewing on the seeds to tell Muddy Hubby whether they think it's ready to harvest or checking for grubs. The grubs love the canola and lupins so it's important to keep an eye on them.

 

Muddy Hubby has also been keeping busy with some hay work. He's cut and raked some Oats and has started to bale it today. The raking uses a big rake pulled behind the tractor that turns the hay to help it dry, at the same time as bringing two rows into one to make it ready for baling.

 

This is keeping us busy in our house, what's happening in yours?