Just a few pics from a trip to the beach the other weekend. Had a lovely bbq with friends while the kids splashed in the rock pools and swam. Making the most of the last bit of summer!

Unfortunate sign placement....

I got a laugh out of this.

Doesn't get better than this

This is my fave song atm. I love this band and the words of this song are so true..

All you want is
What you can’t have
And if you just look around man
You see you got magic
So just sit back relax
Enjoy it while you still have it
Don’t look back on life man and only see tragic

Kittens move out

Well the kittens turned 6 weeks last Saturday. They are all gaining weight nicely, eating independently on their own and using a litter tray. Its been a long 5 weeks since I got them and for a while I wondered why on earth I was putting so much effort into these little things that weren't even mine to begin with but .. its so gratifying to see them now, all playful and lively and healthy.

So now its time for them to leave for new homes. Except our little Storm who we are all looking forward to pampering on his own. He still has a lovely affectionate nature and I know he is going to be very loved along with the rest of out animals. Ernie and Jess (the dogs) follow him around the house and keep a close eye on him.. its all very cute to watch.. especially when Ernie still HATES our other cat!

She is a little spitfire, already trying to jump to higher places, chases everything and likes to play tough..lol


This ones eyes are still not pointing completely forward and I suspect she has a lazy eye that will hopefully correct itself later. She's got a quiet nature .. except for when she is hungry.. then she lets you know about it!



Our little Storm. He is the explorer and you can usually find him under the couch or behind something unless he has crawled up under your chin for little smooches.

New girls in the coup

Today we obtained four more chickens to add to the four we already have. Dame Edna.. who quite happily ruled the roost and bossed every one around is a bit taken aback by these new intruders to her realm.. One of the new girls is a little on the bossy side and the hen pecking begun moments after the new girls moved in. Power has now been divided.. I am sure they will all get use to each other soon.. and maybe a new queen will reign.. LOL

We have been warned that the white one COULD be a rooster.. so I guess I will wait until I am rudely awakened one morning to see if this is true.

So here they are...

the original girls...



.

and the new girls... can you guess which ones Emma named ..;)




and divided they stand...

Off to work I go...

Well what a whirlwind couple of weeks its been. After 15 yrs as a SAHM I have now returned to the workforce. Totally unplanned.. the job sort of fell in my lap and then the care arrangements for Emma, just fell into place.. (friend one day, daddy one day and daycare the other day). So, I am now job sharing the canteen manager position as Ethan and Jacobs school. Someone is actually paying me to prepare and serve food.. hmmm.. haven't I been doing that for free for the past 15 yrs?? lol Anyway I am loving it, picking it up relatively quickly and enjoying the whole experience and the responsibility of "moving our canteen in a new and healthier direction".

The kittens will be 6 weeks old tommorrow. They are weaned and all but one will be heading out to new homes next weekend. honestly.. its been like having 4 little babies in the house again!! They are at the cute little playful kitten stage which is fun for the kids.. but I am ready to move them out of home..lol I will try and get some pictures of them this weekend. they are still on teh small side for their age but they seem intent on making that up going by the amount of food they are consuming!

So thats my little update. I am really missing taking pictures atm and need to make an effort to MAKE TIME to do it!

Big School

Valentines Day saw the boys start the new school year Ethan beginning full time school! He's now in the main building with all the other big kids and goes 9-3 5 days a week. He's loving and has settled in really well. Emma is also enjoying having the house (and me) all to herself!

Kittens

I've been sick.. the crawl out of bed only because you have to type of sick. So after a longer than anticipated break I am back to blog.

These are what have been keeping me quite busy in the past 10 days. I am handrearing four orphaned kittens. Their mother was killed when they were 7 days old and the owners who both work full time could not care for the kittens so I took four fo the six on. They are quite time consuming, feeding every 3 hours during the day. They weren't given the correct milk to start with either which caused them a few problems. They are now getting the right formula and are picking up except the little tabby who isn't feeding well but seems to be quite the fighter so hopefully she will make it.



and this little one we are keeping.. his name is Storm.

Tomahawk

It rained the morning we packed up which delayed us about an hour and had us hoping it wasn't going to set in for the weekend.
Highlights of the trip:
~Being able to just sit back and relax and READ! I finished a book I have been trying to get read for some time and regretted not bringing another.
~Jamie and Zack enjoyed snorkeling around the reefs at low tide. Although Jamie did have a little scare when he thought he spotted a stingray and thoughts of Steve Irwins demise flashed through his head..lol (its wasn't a stingray, and Jamie is still with us in one peice)
~Ethan loved being able to ride his bike around with the big boys, and I enjoyed being able to let him without having to worry about traffic.
~fishing of the rocks and getting totally soaked by the waves crashing on them.. no really.. it was fun!
~Finally actually catching fish.. yay
~Early morning walks on the beach
~playing cards at night with the boys.. we don't do that enough at home, amazing what you do together when there is no box for everyone to sit in front of.
~Picking blackberries

This is why we got detoured on our last camping trip.. both sides of the road were just blackened.. fierce fire!


Ethan's preferred mode of transport..


Emma's preferred mode of transport :p


Our little patch of beach

Blackberries that were growing by the road, juciy!

From one of my morning walks




The not so highlights -
~B forgetting the tent pegs and making the hour trip to town to buy new ones.
~Jacob getting strep throat, requiring another hour long trip into town to see the doctor.
~Emma crying with reflux numerous times.. we still don't know what caused it.
~Packing up camp in THUDERSTORM and pouring rain and everything get soaked and muddy!
Storm at sea that quickly moved in on us the morning we left

Packing up in the rain.. ugh

Teddy

When he was just a little baby dh and I bought him this Theodore Christmas bear in Myer. He quickly became attached and "teddy" went everywhere with us. It use to have alittle scraf that he would hang on to and carry Teddy around by. I remember when we first washed him and he sat patiently watching him dry on the line.. asking every few mins if he was dry yet..lol
I love that he still wants to sleep with his "Teddy"

Happy Australia Day!

(Mean't to post this last night so pretend the date on the blog says 26 January 2008.)

Me

After taking a little back step in photography (ie hardly picking up the camera at all for a few months!) I have been feeling the need to get back into it and to get more creative. Normally I don't show much of the more "arty" stuff here but have decided to start posting more. After all its part of me, and while others may not get it, it makes me happy :)

What the ??

Hopping around the net today.. looking at random blogs, I found this...

Silicone Rolling Pin - Light Blue
I just hope that price is a misprint LOL!

Home again

Last Thursday we headed off on a 4 day camping trip to the beautiful Musselroe bay area.
Day 1
All packed up and off we go...


First sign of a problem...


Bad fires mean't that we had to detour back and take a different route..


We eventually arrived and hour or so later than planned and got our camp set up. We take two tents.. the second is behind out main tent and is where the three older boys sleep. This was our first time camping at an unpowered, no water site. It wasn't as hard as I thought.. although the "long drop" took some getting use to..lol
We also learn't that you have to lock everything up to keep the possums out. We had one in our car eating some food the kids had left in there during the day and that night I heard the zip on the tent and discovered a possum trying to get in, cheeky things!


The older boys built a fire on the beach (as boys do)





and Brendon tried his luck with some night fishing.. (as boys do ;) he caught nothing..lol


Day 2
We had beautiful sunny weather and headed to the beach.








Day 3
It rained. It rained ALL DAY. We packed the kids into the car and headed off for a drive to a little nearby town for a few supplies and when we got back we found the boys tent wasn't quite as waterproof as it should be! We had to ditch their tent and move them all into our tent.. very cosy.. 7 people in a two room tent..lol As well as drying out some bedding by the fire. It was an interesting day to say the least..lol



Day 4
We woke to a dry although dreary misty day and decided along with our other camp mates to pack up and head home. Of course 30mins into the trip home the sun shone brightly.. ah well.. we still had a great time although it has taken me two full days to get everything washed, dried and thoroughly aired out ready for our next trip in 10 days (complete with a new and more waterproof tent for the boys..lol)!

The possums weren't the only friendly pest.. I mean wildlife at the site. The wallabies were very friendly and approachable. they would sit right beside you while you ate just hoping you would feed them.. something we quickly learn't to discourage the kids from doing!


Something we s[potted on the way home.

Stopping for an icecream on the way home.