I'm still here....just

I'm still here...just. Pregnancy brain, tiredness and lack of mojo is taking me over. Only 10ish weeks to go now!!! Looking forward to being able to do normal things again like eating at the dinner table without getting my belly stuck. 
I have written many blogs, just never been able to get them onto the screen. But, I am here now and this is what I have to share with you all. May it encourage you.

When in and around farming communities, you hear people saying that their calving season was a bad one or not many lambs made it. Well, for us this year, it’s ducklings that aren’t doing well.

Mama duck: 11 eggs, 6 ducklings, 3 disappeared (eagle?) 2 sold, 1 left.

Chook 1: 7 eggs, 0 ducklings – she was off the nest for a whole day and the eggs went cold.

Chook 2: 5 eggs, 1 duckling

Brown duck: 6 eggs, 5 hatched, 3 died, 1 strong and running about with its mum, 1 just hanging onto life, tucked down my top for warm and heartbeat.

You could say life really sucks at the moment. But it reminds me of the story of Job in the bible. He lost everything over time but wouldn’t curse God or give up. After this God gave back more and better. So although I wonder why and think life just isn’t fair, I can’t give up.

I don’t know if this little fella will make it the night though. But that is life, it has its ups and downs and we must go through them. It is what moulds and shapes us into the people that we are, and when times are tough God will carry us through.

UPDATE: My little fighter lost its fight for life last night. It gave a brilliant fight though. And Aj went out in last nights rain only to find the brown duck had waddled away from her very wet and cold duckling. Aj bought it inside and it's now doing well. It will stay with us and be hand raised.

New kids on the block and more

My new tee.
I grow twins, whats your superpower?

It has been awhile since I last shared with you. I have written loads of blogs in my head but not managed to get any of them onto the computer screen.

We had the school holidays; about to start week two of term four. Bring on the summer hols hehe Looking forward to some family being here for two weeks of it too.

I had a local market on this Saturday just gone and have the school fair this Friday night. Then I will have a break until mid November. The markets do alright but I think my new facebook page will serve me better.

The goats are well. Neville was REALLY sick last weekend, so sick we called the vet out. Coccidious. A germ that is in the belly of many animals but dangerous if in large numbers. A does of antibotics and we waited to see if he would live or not. He did!!! So please to see him running and jumping about. Today I went and sat in the paddock, Neville came and sat on my lap. He is about the size of our dog now so it was rather funny to have happen. We now think that Coccidious was the course of Richard's death. 

all of the goats ready to be released for the day.

Oh, of course, I haven’t been able to tell you about our new babies. Heidi and Beau. I think they were born about the end of September. We went up to Railton in the middle of the holidays to collect them. They didn’t take long to learn how to drink out of the bottles. I think that it helped starting them off with colostrum from their mums as it got them used to the teats with the taste they were used too.

Beau

Heidi - right hand side

 

 

Aj started fencing the goat paddock in the second week of the holidays. A fencing contractor came and spent a day with Aj teaching, guiding, doing. He came back a few days later to check on Ajs work. He got the tick of approval and so was left to finish off. One more small section and a gate and we’ll be done. Then the electric wire will go back on.

Have a good week all. Don't forget to check out the PM facebook page.

What is a Paper Pot Press?

This is a Paper Pot Press and today I used it to make seedling pots for a range of vegetables and a couple of garden plants. You can find Paper Pot Press kits on a few websites and prices are about $20.00. Its brilliant, all you need are old newspapers which can be collected from most newsagents.

1

2

4

3

1) Fill the ready made pots with potting mix

2) Make a small hole, put seed/seeds in and cover over. See packet details for depth of hole.

3) Write the plant name on halved paddle pop sticks and place on the side of each little pot.

4) Cover with glass or plastic but remember to leave a little space for air to get in. This means it stays warm for germination but the plants don't rot or grow moldy.

In other news, our white Sanaan goat, Richard, died. We don't know why, as he is with the others and they are perfectly fine. I was in Melbourne at the time so my wonderful Aj and MrT buried him for me. It is funny how attached you can get to an animal in such a short amount of time. He was my stud male, going to be the father of many...I mean its life, things are born, things die. 

The upside is that we still have Neville and Mable who are spending day times on leads trimming the grass for us. The kids were playing in a dirt pile today and Mable was just able to reach them and be noisy, I mean helpful. She received some very muddy head pats :) I will have to remember to take a picture of Neville and his new day time kennel, an old dog box which he loves!

The goat paddock will be fenced very soon. Aj has been working on the preparation of it all day. 

Enjoy your evening all. xo

LegoLand

Today was the LEGOLAND party. Mr T had a ball with his friends 

and all the Lego games and activities.

Painted MDF Lego men

Pin the head on the Lego man

His set up on Wednesday

Games:
*Egg & Spoon, on their knees using dryer balls
*Pass the Parcel
*Lego Bingo
*Sleeping Lions, and believe it or not a child suggested it and all jumped in
*Guess the number of Lego blocks

*Pin the head on the Lego man

All lolly prizes went into their take home boxes.

They also painted MDF Lego men which I had cut out by a local company.

THE CAKE

I tried to make everything smaller than normal as I know how much kids waste party food. I made cupcakes and a small cake. It meant that the kids were able to take a cupcake each and as they were topped with blue icing they were a hit!

Cupcakes

Guess the blocks

 

MarsBar slice made in
 a Lego silicone tray 

Candles blown out, wearing his b'day top from his Aunty :)

Party boxes

 

All the food was eaten (the plan) and all had a great time. MrT's highlight was playing 'paeleontologists' in the dirt pile with his friends before everything kicked off :) 

And I had a wonderful snooze on the couch. Massive thanks to Aj for all his help. Love ya!

A full week

Wow, it has been a full week now since we found out we were having two babies!! I feel like this has been a really long week but it's Friday tomorrow. Yay!

Aj is away on an Outdoor Ed camp at Walls of Jerusalem for two nights, back tomorrow some time. My days have included feeding goats, moving/feeding cows (chasing cows, cos i left a gate open), attending to chickens and doing all the normal mum stuff.

I have starting weaning Neville (the goat). 500ml, poor kid thought he was very ripped off as he was drinking 1L. The goats are doing really well on the new brand of formula and no longer have scourers. They have settled into their new home to I guess.

I have been making bibs today and looking forward to finishing them off and showing you all.

I have the big scan on Tuesday. Looking forward to seeing mu babies in more detail!!!

Oh dear, look at the time, I'm off to bed. Night all.

Still coming to term with...

Still coming to term with...the fact that we are having ANOTHER set of twins!!!

We have 2yr old b/g twins as you know and just yesterday found out we are 17wks with another set of fraternal twins; making 6 children in our family. (we had said no more, changed out minds and were trying for no5/the last baby, yes you can laugh) Aj researched it yesterday and worked the follow out. 

Having a set of twins 1:285

Having a second set of twins 1:12000

Having a second set of twins after fraternal twins 1:3000

For probability of having two sets of fraternal twins 1:85500

It is 4 times more likely to have a second set of fraternal twins. 

I don't think it is that common here in Australia.

but add another two kids to this picture.

I am well. I'm still in shock though! I guess I know what I am in for this time around. It explains why I have been feeling so tired; unmotivated to clean my house (apart from the usual stuff) and why I 'popped' so suddenly.

I am excited and feel blessed that God trusts me to raise another set of twins. He doesn't give us more than we can handle with His help so I will be ok. I know that the carefree pregnancy I wanted this time around will be a little over shadowed by obstetricians and midwife check ups. Plus I wanted to give breastfeeding one last shot and it is so much harder with twins and four other children to look after. I also wanted to have the baby and come home from hospital on the same day...things to think about and maybe just to see how things turn out at the time. I know the risks involved in home births but I do wonder why it all has to be so controlled these days.

People at Aj's school were saying things like 'you stud Aj' and 'go you!' but it is seriously not his doing. It is me! I released two eggs...I have no one to blame but myself hehehe

I have another market tomorrow. Last weeks market when well and the baby shoes sold well so I am sewing up a few more small ones today. They look great on the new stand Aj made for me. All visible and at a good eye level.

Must go and get on with the day, goats to feed, wood to bring in...

Catch up - part 2

Mable

Richard the Lionheart 

On Sunday after church we headed off to Gunns Plains again to collect two more kids, goat kids. 

Meet Richard the Lionheart, named so because at only a day old he was showing the dog that he was boss, and sweet little Mable. The poor dog thinks they are dogs and is puzzled as to why they will not play with her.

We sold Kevin to a most lovely family up the road so we could get Mable and I bought Richard as well. Some girls like saving up to buy clothes, for me, a goat will do.

b. 22.08.13 Mable's mother is a Nubian x Tog

b. 24.08.2013 Richard's mother is a Saacen and a great dairy goat.

Mable has the most beautiful colourings and semi floppy ears.

Meeting and playing on Sunday.

Neville is now the big boy of the yard.

 

Catch up - Part 1

*DISCLAIMER - Aj has not proof read this hehe

Well, we are a bit of a sick household at the moment, well, the girls that is. The last few days have included exhaustion, lots of sleep and all that yuckiness stuff. Aj took Monday & Tuesday off work to take care of us and is back at school today. I feel blessed to have him in a job where he can take carers leave even if he still has to prepare his daily lessons. I have three kids asleep as I write this and I am enjoying a rest myself.



Last Thursday two year 12 students/bible study friends, the three younger kids and I went off to find snow. It was the day that Aj took his Outdoor Ed students off to Cradle Mountain. Find his story here.


We ended up at Cradle Mountain too but only to the visitor centre. You see the fuel light went on a couple of ks from the visitor centre. Queue the pushing of Mel's panic button. We are on gas and not many places in Tassie sell gas so we had JUST enough to make it but to Ulverstone. I pushed it to the back on my mind and we played enjoyed playing in the snow near a creek for about an hour. MissZ LOVED it. It was amazing to hear 'I want to go home' and then 'Look, look, snow!!! I love snow' just minutes after. I found out that you can roll snow but it doesn't roll easily into balls and it falls apart when you try and lift large rolls. MrW was very weary of the cold white stuff at first but soon enjoyed it after finding out you could throw it at people. Yes, a few snow ball fights were had. MissO hated it. She was cold and not her self. Maybe she had already started to feel sick and it didn't show up til the weekend.

We ate lunch in the cafe and headed back to Ulverstone. We made it to the fuel station on zero fuel in the tank. Ashlee said she thought we had been driving for about 5-6 ks on zero. I real God moment I believe. I really appreciated Kate and Ashlee joining me. I mean if it wasn't for them I would not have gone. The day included, adventure, laughter, and much happy chatting.

We made it back to town a few hours later than I thought so was grateful to friends for collecting MrT from school and allowing him to hang out with them for the afternoon.

A great day had by all.

Adding kidlets to the family farm

Today I collected two adorable kids from Mathom Goat Farm at Gunns Plains.

Meet Kevin and Neville (I wanted to name him Dave but it is my dad's and a friend's name and Aj suggested Neville instead). They are 4 and 3 weeks old and did I say how adorable they were?

They are living in the old chicken house for the time being and we will probably use it as their sleeping quarters as they get older. I am bottle feeding them twice a day and they are able to nibble on the grass and explore, under supervision :)

The dog is fascinated!!! They have four legs like her but make this strange bleating sound, hehe. The goats aren't scared of Essie too much, which is good, but they are wary.

This is my Koala softie. What do you think of my latest creation? I am so happy with how it turned out. It'll be up on the Etsy page tomorrow if all goes to plan. 

Smoothies...mmm...tonight's supper treat.

2 punnets of strawberries

2 pears

1 kiwi fruit

and 1 large orange

Refreshing and oh so good!

Happy Weekend All!!!

Update via photos

New shoes have been uploaded to Etsy. Find them here. Mention that you follow my blog and receive 20% off your purchase. I will have softies to add too but I am waiting on a delivery of eyes from a supplier.

Two of our Aracanas have started to lay. Lovely green coloured egg and look great mixed in with the others that we collect. Mr T took some different coloured eggs to school today for Show n Tell.

The weather has been crazy and wet. We received 58mm in the last 24hrs. Sorry about the bad photo, phone camera and through a window. The rain is more than welcome though as last summer was SO dry and the farmers were suffering.

I have just read this brilliant blog...someone who thinks like me :D yay!

Better be off. Don't forget that 20% off deal.

Etsy, Ideas and procrastinating

Gee I love Etsy! The customer service is excellent and even if you don't buy their products (like me today looking for wooden spools, stupid postage costs) they are happy to chat. I was able to find another listing for more spools making the postage justifiable.

How cool are these! Yep, thanks to a few pictures I am starting the Christmas craft list. I like making gifts to give as presents especially for those with everything. This is what I need the spools for. Yep, procrastination on all the other things I should be doing. I just can't find a rythme to life at the moment. I will start taking some VitD tablets tomorrow so we'll see what they do for me.

I have put together 3 softies in the last two days. A new design, a koala, and two boys. Will start on some girls tomorrow. I am waiting on eyes to arrive to finish them off. I'm also creating some more shoes. I am attending a market on the 7th of September in Wynyard and be be taking the softies there. I know I had said no to local markets but here is to sales and business exposure in a larger more touristy town.

Side note 1 (more procrastination):
I found this on Etsy today. The cost is to high at this time, but at least I know they are out there.

Side note 2 (even more procrastination):
I am thinking of painting one wall in our dinning room duck blue. All the walls in the dinning, kitchen and lounge are an aqua like colour at the moment and I want to change that to white. I think the duck egg will look bright and cheery with the white.

What are you up to this weekend? It is meant to be wet here so not much outdoor stuff for us as a family.

People, pallets, pinafores and popcorn.

It has been a crazy last three weeks with school holidays and in-laws over for a week. But we are back to school term routine and early mornings again now. Yuk! 

I have sold some items at The Brown Dog and was asked to make something new. I now want to make something for the boys...shorts maybe. What a shame, another trip to Spotlight. Although I felt sick after the last trip's total price. "Got to spend it to make it," my wonderfully supportive husband says.

*Yes, these dresses got an iron before going to the shop*

Aj was able to tidy and stack all the firewood that had arrived as logs a while back. His dad helped him put old pallets between the sections for extra stability. I claimed some for garden edging which were put in place with his mum's help. I would love to get some more thin(ner) ones for more garden edging. It really makes the garden look complete. 

Poor Mama Duck. Our dog ate the eggs she was sitting on :( She is off the nest today and looking better but she has seemed so lost these past few days. The kids were upset as they were looking forward to having ducklings around. So upset with the dog!!!

I tried Not Quite Nigella's gnocchi recipe this week. It was really yummy! Next time though I will make a thick creamy white sauce to go with it like La Porchetta do it. Please note, these are best prepared by hand as they do take some time to make up and quick to cook.

And as I write this blog my normally microwave savvy MrT has just put his popcorn in for 10min30sec instead of 1min30sec. My house now smells of burnt popcorn and I have windows open on this cool afternoon. Mmmm. "I think you better do the next one" he says!

A banicoot

So there I was, going to lock up the chooks for the night. As I walked through the door to check for eggs, a brown shape darted back and forth across the floor. Turns out it was this guy (the small furry one):

I've seen two bandicoots here in the last year, but never been able to get this close. He sat in my arm, without moving, for the ten minutes it took to carry him to the house to show Mel and my parents, then return him to the paddock where he made his way back into the darkness.