Blogger Butts

I thought I'd show you some photos of our farm and of The Money Pit.

If you don't know by now, we are building our dream home, whilst living in a shed.

Never in a million years did I think I would be living like this. We are going on 3 years now, and I think I am nearly over it.

How do I explain....it's like a neverending bad camping trip. The house will be worth it, I know, but at times I get so sick of living in a dusty shed.

I get sick of the frogs and the geckos, the storms and the rain that sometimes comes in sideways..the wind and the occasional cyclone. The lightening strikes that hit the shed because we are living on a hill...

I can't wait to unpack my beautiful things, to find my slowcooker and my electric frypan, because I have NO IDEA which storage box they are in....

I can't wait to have more than one plate and one set of cutlery each, and to be able to use my beautiful linen again.

And I can't wait to have...space. We live on 75 acres but that's not what I mean.

The five of us are sleeping in the same room and it's chaos at bedtime...our cheap temporary wardrobes and cupboards are falling apart even though I've glued them back together twice..

I've given up on scrapbooking for the moment because I have nowhere to do it and be able to leave it out. The kids have trashed my ribbons and used my buttons and baubles for their own crafts.

I'll wait until I have my very own child free craft room, which I am looking forward to more than the kitchen!

We are working as hard and as quickly as we can to finish the house, and because we are owner builders, it takes time. The Hubbster is wiring at the moment and we are nearly ready to organise a plumber. Then a tiler. Then a waterproofer. Then an internal fitout. And it keeps going...

And this makes me frustrated. Because the shed is a metre away from the house so we look at this amazing big Queenslander every day and I wonder how long it will take....

Our farm is beautiful..rolling hill, lots of peace and room to play.....




This is the back of the house showing the verandah.. which is massive.

We plan to have steps leading down to the pool.

The back corner of the verandah, oh and there's the shed right next door!







Egads. I've gained 1 kilo this week. Crumbs.

I've been a bit naughty, I haven't exercised, although I've felt more relaxed.

I've stopped drinking coke zero because it was making me cranky. I've switched to ginger beer and a little more water.

The Hubbster and the kids and I played a game of touch football today and I think my heartrate went up.

Just a bit.

I"m blaming Easter.

The Wifey does hats.

Today I want to talk about hats.

I love hats. It's not often you see me hatless. Maybe at work or in bed but mostly you will see me with something up there....

I love hats. I especially love them the week leading up to the hairdresser (ladies you know what I'm talking about!).

I wear them for sun safety and also for bad hair days.

Here's me with my favourite white hat, looking very arty. And pensive. I could have been thinking of a flowery meadow but I was probably thinking of dinner that night and the large pile of washing to be done.


Here's me with my Akubra and I think I look really good wearing it. I feel like I really am a Farmers Wifey in this.

And here is my favourite cap. I wear this alot. The Hubbster has a matching one that we had our wedding date embroidered on our honeymoon. Mine also reads "we tied" and his says "the knot".



Here's my wedding hat. Well it's kind of a hat. Actually it's a very long veil and a gorgeous tiara. But we'll call it a hat for the sake of this post. I'm also wearing a very handsome new husband.

I had a great photo of a drunken pink veiled hat that I wore on one of my hen's nights (I had two).

But as it's stored away somewhere I'll leave you with an embarrassing hair photo from the eighties where I actually should have been wearing a hat.

HAPPY EASTER!

This is why I don't take my kids to meet the Easter Bunny.

Psycho Bunny. Will eat your children.



HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!

My good Good Friday

I found my Nirvana today (any place of complete bliss and delight and peace.)

You may remember from my recent posts how stressed and busy and rushed I have been feeling.

This week has been a little different.

No lunchboxes to prepare. No after school activities to rush to. I did work two 9 hour days at work but even so, I've felt...different.

We had the most amazing day today.

The Hubbster took the kids and I to the shooting range where he sighted his rifles in for the shoot on Sunday, whilst the kids and I sat in the shade of a big gum tree and took turns riding the quad bike through the good old Australian bush.

We ate mini muffins for morning tea and the weather was oh.so.perfect.

For lunch we drove into town and had fish and chips.

I dare not eat meat today (not only out of respect for Our Lord but because my mother who lives two days drive away would know as soon as I placed a morsel of steak in my mouth!)

We came home and watched an awesome kids dvd in the air conditioning.

My son and I then enjoyed a rollicking game of basketball and I think I may have beaten him but I can't be sure because he likes to make up his own rules as we play....

And it gets better!

I enjoyed a glass of wine while watching The Bold and the Beautiful.

I can't remember the last time I did this - I think it was at the beginning of Term 4 last year, which shows that my life has been crazy even since then.

4.30 pm was MY TIME. The kids knew to go and play for that 1/2 hour while I enjoyed one of my favourite shows......

I really miss this.

And I want it again.

We all played tennis while the sun went down, the girls against the boys, we lost a few balls over the fence and I think I may have been Man of the Match.

And the most special blissful moment in my good Good Friday, was cuddling Miss T(aged 6) to sleep after singing lullabies with the scent of her freshly washed hair invading my senses.....





I didn't get my walks this week. We spent three days in Bundaberg for the Eisteddfod and I worked two very full days....

But I did play basketball with my son and tennis with my family.

And I felt relaxed and .....different....

And hopeful and positive.

I weigh exactly the same as I did last week..so I have neither gained nor lost.

How was your week?

Kids. Look at this.

And she danced.

We had a weekend away.

My big girl and I.

She danced at an Eisteddfod in the groups section in 5 different categories.

The dancing was amazing. So many talented girls and boys.

Miss D's groups did very well, with 3 firsts and 2 thirds. Firsts in National, Contempory and Cabaret.

There is something about watching my firstborn dancing on stage. That exquisite familiarity.

It's almost as if I'm watching myself.

I felt giddy with anticipation as I waited for her to start.

And then she was there.

She was so beautiful.

Her smile. How she danced.

Her confidence.

Her eyes.

In some of her groups there were a dozen other dancers.

But I couldn't take my eyes off her.


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Battle of the Blogger Butts

As you can see by my last post, I simply do not have time to exercise!

That is way down my to do list.

How sad is that?

I need to regroup, refocus and get my blogger butt off the couch and into my gym pants.

We have had such a busy term, my priorities have been the kids, school, work, the kids activities, the farm chores, driving everywhere (sigh) so I physically do not have time for even a walk let alone a gym session.

How sad is that?

Which is crazy.....haven't I got a spare 1/2 hour to walk around the farm?

Don't I have time to chase guinea fowl around the paddock?

As I posted yesterday, change is in the air. Time management is afoot.

Exercise must be moved to the top of my list...because although I am so tired, I absolutely know for sure that if I exercise I will feel better. I just have to start.

Well I weighed in at 67.9, so I've only gained 100 grams. That's okay.

Oh and about that diet thing.....I just ate two chocolate hot cross buns.

How sad (and delicious) is that?

Somethings Gotta Give

As we come to the end of a very busy first school term, and sit on the edge of a most welcome 12 days holiday Easter break, I feel I have to write this post which has been in the back of my mind for a while.

I'm tired.

I'm tired of rushing.

Of feeling stressed. Of not being able to enjoy the little things because I have to be somewhere or I have to be doing something.

I'm a busy mum. I have three children. I work part time. The kids have after school activities. We are building a house. Ourselves. We have our farm. I'm supposed to be exercising........

Something has got to give.

I remember last week, when we arrived home just on sunset. I commented to my daughter how lovely it would be to sit on the front steps of the house (or The Money Pit as we like to call it) and watch this amazing sight.

The little things. We didn't watch the sunset because we had to rush to do something. Or to be somewhere.

And I find that very sad.

If I peel back the layers of my life and sit and observe..I see a mum who is rushing around...with kids doing homework in the car....a mum who is staying up way too late just because she has the stillness of the night....

I know I am not the only one who feels this way. As a good friend recently commented " I feel like I am putting bandaids on all parts of my life". This is how it is for me.

My time management skills are lacking so the things that I NEED to do for me, just don't get done.

My guitar has dust on it.

I haven't scrapbooked for.....?

My new sewing machine still sits in its box.

And it's not only about me.....as a family I can't remember the last time we played tennis, and we always played together at least once a week.

When do I sit on the floor and build with Lego with the kids?

It's not acceptable.

But it's life.

There will be some changes soon....a few less activities....and just some chill out time at home.

I need to discipline myself to go to bed at a reasonable time and get some sleep.

I am really looking forward to the Easter Holidays. To spend time with the kids at the movies, at the Magical Gardens (the Botanical Gardens - our favourite place) and with a picnic or two thrown in.

And to sit on the steps of our unfinished house and watch the sunset.

Battle of the Blogger Butts

Oh blogger butt, why do you mock me so??

Why don't you take your friends - blogger tuck shop arms and blogger saggy baby belly and get out of town?

I can really do without you?

I wrote the above late last night in the middle of a yawn. As you can see I was delusional from lack of sleep.

Another busy week has passed and we have two full weekends of dancing coming up. Then we have school holidays and that could go either way.

I've lost weight again. I'm "back" down to 67.8 kg.

Yoyo anyone? Up and down, up and down.......

I think if I really knuckled down and got serious, I could get better results, but at the moment it's just not a priority and I don't mean it to be that way but that's just how it is right now.

Once the kids grow up and move out and find jobs and get married, I might have some time to focus on me.

Or I can get serious now and wear those jeans for winter!

How was your week??

Typical. Just typical.

Me to Mr C (aged 8) "don't open your new toy until we get home, just in case you lose a part".

Mr C opens the toy and loses the vital part to work the entire freakin' thing somewhere between dancing and home.

Me banging my head against a brick wall because no one listens to me..

That's all.

Goodnight.

The kids are alright.

You guys are really smart! The answer to yesterdays photo of the kinky sex toy (now that got your attention) is that it is a plasterboard lifter for the verandah ceilings.

It can be tilted to put the boards on without having to lift them high and ruin your back, and then apparently you wind it up and the plasterboard is held in place to be secured.

I can't wait to use it. Reeeallly.

Anyway, what an interesting couple of days.

I'm actually surprised that I managed to get a meal on the table this weekend.

After Fridays lasagne episode, I proceeded to drop a tray of oven chips on the floor on Saturday night, and on Sunday, had to drive back into town to the supermarket to buy supplies for the lasagne second attempt.

Even though I was already have way through making it.

It's 7.30pm and the kids are in bed. That's a strange statement but the way they have carried on today and treated each other I had no alternative but to put them to bed early.

They haven't stopped fighting from the moment their feet hit the floor this morning until now.

They do get along. Occasionally.

But lately they only have to breath in the same direction as one another and it's political disorder.

I think Miss T actually growled at me this morning before she even got out of bed.

How the hell did I upset her overnight??

I would love a feeling of harmony in our family. Where everyone gets along and is kind to one another.

I know that is possibly a rare thing to find.

For kids to get along perfectly all of the time. And a mother who says that they have this is either lying or kidding themselves.

Or extremely fortunate.

But I would just love my kids to love one another, to be kind to one another, to not elbow the next while walking past, to not breath in the others direction, to not call the other one a brat, to not want the toy the other one has, to keep arms and feet to themselves, to behave in Bunnings and Lincraft and to give mummy a break.

The funny thing is, when I am just about to blow my curly haired top, they amazingly start to get along. Just to annoy me further.

And the other thing is that if one was in a situation at school or at the park and needed help, the others would rally around and protect.

After all, we are family.

House Update. Yeah we're still building.

I'd love to bring you a house update.

I've had so many new followers (thank you guys ♥) who probably wonder why the heck I'm living in a shed.

You can read all about The Beginning here.

So we have been living on our farm, in our shed for two and a half years. Some days I can barely believe how we are living, but everyone is happy, the kids have space, they ride the quad bike around the 75 acres, and it is.....peaceful.

I love it.

So back to the house, or The Money Pit as we like to call it. We are now wiring the house, after alot of thought about lights, fans and switch placement.



Once the wiring is in place internally and on the verandahs, The Hubbster will be scooting around underneath the house on a trolley cabling up the power.

He will probably want me to help him with that. I can hardly wait. (Insert Sarcasm Here).


Here are the floors with the edges already rough sanded.

Then we will be doing the internal fitout, polishing the floors (the edges have already been done), the plumbing, the walk in robes, the wall panelling, the chair rails, the doors......

I'll stop there because it's just too confronting thinking of how much there is to be done. At least we are making progress and I can see an end to our neverending! kinda bad camping trip that we call The Shed.





Can you guess what this is above? It's not some kind of medieval torture device or some kind of kinky bedroom toy.

I'll tell you tommorrow but don't wait for a prize because I'm a bit slack like that.

Battle of the Blogger Butts

Opps. Me bad.

I completely forgot to weigh myself this morning.

It probably had something to do with the fact I was out the door early this morning, running to a birthday party.

As we have football (at 8.30am, who set THAT time) and another birthday party tommorrow, I shall endeavour to weigh in before I leave and I'll post when I can.

I'm not expecting to have lost any weight. I've fallen off the wagon and I just can't seem to stay on.

Maybe I need a seatbelt.

I'm so tired.

I met a mum in the supermarket on Thursday who told me I looked so tired, and she always sees me running here and there, dropping kids at school, collecting kids early, running here and there, not stopping to take a breath....

(Maggie Smith)
I plan to post more on this issue this week because it's been on my mind - the rushing around that I do.....stay tuned.

I've done no exercise (see above) and I'm eating whatever the hell I want.. I'm sure that little bit of weight I lost may have found me again....

We'll see tommorrow.

How was your week??
Edit: Weighed in this morning at 68.3kg..I've put on half a kilo, so that's not as bad as I expected....

Children Remember....

We had an...incident this afternoon.

It was the way I handled it that was...the important thing.

Let me explain.....

I was standing at the kitchen window making a delicious lasagne for dinner. Mr C (aged 8) was kicking his football in the shed. (the kitchen donga faces into the shed, so I can be standing at the window at the bench looking out into the shed).

I must digress and point out that I ask/beg/plead with my son to take his football into the tennis court to play, instead of kicking it around in the shed.

You know where this is going, don't you?

So what happens? I'm standing there, grating cheese, marvelling at how awesome this lasagne looks, coming from someone like me who sucks at cooking, and suddenly...

The window smashes! Glass shards go everywhere...all over me.....all through the lasagne, sitting on the bench in front of me..and all over the floor.

For the longest moment, I stand there looking out of the hole in the window, at my son, who is standing there, frozen in horror..looking back at me through the hole in the window.

He brings his hands up to his face and starts to sob "I"m so sorry mummy, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry".....

My boy is not a cryer.....this is big.

I realised there and then, the way I handled this was very important. And I remembered back to a moment in my childhood that is still with me to this day..I will explain shortly...

I looked through the jagged football sized hole in the window and said to my son "how many times have I asked you not to do this in here"?..

He knows....he knows....

"I'm so sorry mummy"..he is sobbing and distressed.

I walk out to him and gather him in my arms...he disolves against my shoulder..

"It's alright love....it was an accident"....It's okay..."

"Mummy I was aiming for the concrete block..but I was a bit off target" "I know, honey, I know"...

He goes to bed and lays down and cries..

I follow him and nurse him and hold him tight.... He is really upset...

This moment in time, to an 8 year old, is devastating....his little mind thinking the worst.

Windows and dinners can be fixed. Little minds and hearts and moments can not..

We move on..clean up and realise that this is life....

There is no way I will humiliate my child, to make him feel less than what he is..to make him feel unworthy....

Children remember these moments when they are little...experiences will stay with them forever........

There was a moment that I can still recall to this day, a time that for some reason I can remember...

I was in 4th class, and my teacher asked me to take a book to the office to have copied. (Mrs Player - I'll name and shame because you made me feel like a cheap plastic toy).

I still remember the sunny day, walking to the office and suddenly I lost the page.

I had no idea which page she wanted to be copied.

I can still feel that sinking feeling in my stomach..

I walked back to her and said "I've lost the page"....

She snatched the book from me and berated me in front of the class..her angry voice telling me to "go and sit back down"..she was pissed off.....

I was 9.

And humilated. And embarassed. And bullied by someone bigger than me.

I can still remember how I felt. I refuse to make my children feel this way..because I know they will remember.

So now, the dinner was ruined. But my son knew that I loved him and it was okay. His heart was not broken like the window.