Clothes Shopping

With the start of spring I need to go clothes shopping. I know I should be happy about this because I am getting back to(wards) pre-pregnancy weight, but I am dreading it.

My style of clothes shopping is best described as commando. I have an hour after work before I need to get the kids and so I go to 2 shops; one for work/good clothes and one for everyday clothes. I pick up everything I like, try it on, and buy everything that looks OK. Then I go home, and don't go back for at least 3-6 months.

Decisions, decisions

So far this doesn't sound too bad. Unfortunately one of those stores was Colorado… and they have closed down. So now I have to find another shop to buy clothes in.

I love the idea of spending a day swanning through shops, finding beautiful clothes that make me look 'stunning'. Unfortunately reality sets in, and I have limited time, limited money and limited patience. I need clothes which don't stain when they come into contact with Weetbix or snot (or both). I need clothes that look OK despite the fact that they will never be ironed. I need clothes that will forgive the fact that I have had 3 babies and 2 caesareans. And I need a new shop to get all this in.

Alternatively, I could just continue to wear the same old, slightly too big clothes… doesn't sound so bad really!

P.S The Country Boy just read this over my shoulder and offered to take me to the disposal store for some army pants and shirts - how thoughtful!

If you liked this post, please share it...

A Hint of Spring

It feels like Spring - Yay! I love that the mornings are no longer freezing, just very cold. I love that it is still warm enough to sit outside when I get home, and I love that it stays light a little bit longer too. I know that we will have some more cold spells, but we are definitely on the way up.

Yesterday, after Hannah got home from school, we pottered around in the backyard all afternoon. It was fabulous.

Toby had a great time climbing in and out of his toy car, and the girls arranged an elaborate "tea party". They made all my favourite foods out of sand (sand lemon meringue pie, and sand shepherds pie), and they even garnished them (so proud - I have taught them well)! Toby got in the sand pit with them for a while and then decided he would rather play with his car.

  

Whilst all this was going on I just sat back and enjoyed the sunshine and the peace that only come with 3 happy kids on a warm afternoon.

If you like this post, please share it...

Toy tips

For Toby's first birthday we bought him a toy tool bench. I got it during the recent toy sales. There was a choice between 2 which looked very similar; one was made by a well known company and was $40, whilst the others was a store brand and was $20.

Both had several activities, both made a range of  'fixing' type sounds, and both played a tune or 2. They genuinely looked so similar, so I naturally bought the cheaper of the two.

Unfortunately, there was one difference that I didn't notice until later: the cheaper toy does not have an off switch. That’s right; we can not turn it off when we have had enough of the noise. The off switch would definitely be worth the extra $20!

Here is my tip for purchasing toys; check there is an off switch. While Toby is asleep tonight, I may just need to remove the batteries… just for a day or 2.

If you enjoyed this post, please share it.....

Our house, in the middle of the farm...

Today I thought I would tell you a bit more about the house we are moving to. I have been asked a lot about what it is like. I know I have previously posted photo's of the outside, but today I want to share the inside and talk about how we imagine we will live there.

Like most older houses (it was built in the 1930's or 40's), it has lots of distinct rooms with doors rather than the nice flow from one area to another found in most newer houses. This will be quite a change for us as we have an open plan house, but this may well have it's benefits if it limits the amount of space the kids have to spread their junk toys around.

The house was probably last painted in the late 1970's so it really needs a paint throughout. We have decided to wait before doing any major redecoration. This is because we have only committed to 12 months on the farm to begin with. There are several other projects that need to be done to the house to make it comfortable and they are more important. So I will have to put up with mint green walls for a year. I will try to get some curtains though!

The house has been empty for about 10 years, since the Country Boy's grandparents moved to town. Since then it has been mainly used as somewhere for the family to put all the spare furniture and things we don't know what to do with. So one of the first things we need to do is to empty it out (There are 7 spare single beds!).

We have 3 bedrooms, a kitchen, dining room, lounge, and sunroom.

The bedrooms are quite large, so we are going to put all 3 kids into 1 room. This will give us a spare bedroom which can also be a play room.

Our bedroom

The kitchen is original with the exception of the stove. The benches are low and narrow, and there is not much space. As a temporary measure we have got a modern bench which we will turn into an island  for additional space. I love to cook, and do quite a bit of it so I am going find the kitchen a bit challenging to work in.

Kitchen

There is a very small fire in the dining room, which is not really effective in heating the entire house so we have bought a second hand slow combustion stove, which we will install to take care of the heating. We also need to take up the old lino in the dining room as it stops the door to the verandah from opening. Under it is unpolished floor boards. When we have time we will polish them. We plan to use the dining room as our main living room, and the fire is in this room.

Dining room

The sunroom was originally the back verandah, and is absolutely beautiful to sit in during winter where it traps all the sun. It may be a little hot out here in summer though.

Sun room

We are going to use the original lounge room as a study, come guest room. We really want people to feel comfortable about coming and visiting us, so we need to have a room that can easily put guests into. It has a beautiful open fire place, which hasn't been used for years, and (I think) is blocked up.

 

Lounge room

It is a really lovely old house, in need of a bit of renovation, but come December, it's our new home!

Christmas Shopping Already?

I love Christmas. I love everything about it. I love the decorations, the carols, the lights, and yes, even Christmas shopping! I have always tried to do my shopping throughout the year to spread the cost and work out. Despite this I still usually have a few last things to buy in December.

This year though I am trying to finish it all off now, so that I am not Christmas shopping and moving house at the same time. The plan is to get all the presents bought and wrapped before the school holidays, so that I can take them all down to the farm and just leave them there, ready for Christmas.

We generally keep Christmas pretty simple. Last year we splurged and got the kids a trampoline, so this year we really want to keep the gifts small. I have been shopping at the toy sales, but there wasn't a lot of things which I thought the kids would like or use. 

It sounds great to have all the shopping done 3 months in advance, but to be honest I am finding it quite hard. I always try to get them something to read, some new pencils/textas etc, and something to play with outside. But beyond this I am stuck. I hate the idea of buying them something just because I want them to have a gift. I have been googling gift ideas but still lack the inspiration. The Country Boy and I both love Lego, so they may get some. After all if I can't think of something they would like, I should buy something we would like, shouldn't I?

Help me out please! What Christmas present ideas can you give me??

Mischief

Toby's absolute favourite thing at the moment is the bathroom. I guess to a 13 month old it is terribly exciting, but I just see it as terribly dangerous. Given 10 seconds of no supervision and he power crawls up the hall just to check if the door is open. Boy is he getting fast!

Wonder what is in here?

If the door is closed, he lies down on the floor and tries to look under the door, just to check whether the bathroom is still there.

This looks fun!

He has worked out how to open up the drawers of the vanity, and even though we don't keep anything dangerous in them, he has repeatedly scattered band-aids over the floor, unrolled toilet paper, and cleared out the bottom shelf. It is infinitely more fun than any toy! He has worked out what toothbrushes are for and has a go at putting them in his mouth.

Oops - did I drop that?

What???

The girls are hopeless at keeping the bathroom door closed. Usually the giveaway that they have left it open is that Toby is unusually quiet and cannot be found. When he is discovered and removed, he cries like his heart is breaking. It is just as well he is so gorgeous!

1 Month old today!

Well I have been blogging for a month now. I am having heaps of fun, and I am learning a lot. I am learning to not get hung up on statistics and to take a longer term view. I am learning where Moldova is (hello to the 5 hits I got from there). I am learning that I need to learn a bit about HTML. I have already learnt that blogging can take up as much time as you want it to (or more). I need to learn how to manage my blogging time more effectively.



Image credit



In celebration of 1 whole month, I thought I would  share with you some of the blogs I enjoy reading.



Planning with kids is a great blog which gives lots of practical ideas for streamlining life. A mum with 5 kids, the author is realistic and makes me feel that I might actually be able to achieve being organised.

Picklebums is a blog I have been reading for a while. I enjoy the beautiful photos of family life, the great ideas that it gives me for activities to do with my kids, and the discussion of life.

Free Range Kids - a blog dedicated to the idea that we are doing our kids a disservice by being overprotective and not allowing kids to have many of the experiences we had as children ourselves. It sits very well with me as I think that as a society we have become so risk adverse (doesn't that sound fancy) that it is damaging our kids confidence in themselves and others.

BabyMac - another nice read. Musing from a woman who has recently made a tree change. I love to read this one.

Mummble - a blog about blogging, and a wealth of information for a newbie to the "blogosphere" (see I am even using blogging jargon)

What are your favourite blogs?

If you like my blog, why not share it...

Logistics

I am trying to plan how we will move all our gear at the end of the year. When we moved into our house 8 years ago, we had hardly any furniture and no kids! So what could fit into 5 friends cars to be driven around the corner, has grown considerably and will not fit in for a 4 hour drive down to the farm.

Our plan has been to take a load of stuff down to the farm every time we go down there, and get things which we don't need on a day to day basis out of the house ahead of our actual move. So far our Christmas tree, a pile of folders containing work for classes I am not teaching this year, and a whole lot memorabilia, have gone down to the farm.

Now I am stuck with the harder choices. During the September school holidays, we hope to take a couple of loads down. Do I need the bookcases and books? What about the keyboard? Can the kids do without the trampoline? Do they really need toys? I may be getting a little overzealous.

We are planning to move out of our house in early December. The Country Boy, Meg, and Toby, will go down to the farm then. Hannah and I will stay with my parents for an extra week or two, until school has finished. There is really only 10 weeks between the September holidays and our moving date, so I am trying to get all non-essential items moved early and put up with not having everything for 10 weeks.

The list of things I can move early is getting longer - perhaps it would be easier just to move the family earlier!

What things could you do without for 10 weeks?

If you like my blog, why not share it...

Would You Rather Be.....

There is a Doctor Seusse book called "Would you rather be a bull frog or a butterfly". My parents bought it for me when I was a kid, and now my kids (particularly Meg) love it. The premise is that you are given a choice of being one of two things. You need to say which thing you would rather be.

My sister has turned this into quite a game with Meg. They take turns of asking "would you rather be…" and then answering.

A few months ago, Meg posed the following: "Would you rather be a flying princess or a toiletries bag?". Talk about a hard choice! Whilst we all thought the obvious choice would have been flying princess, Meg would rather be a toiletry bag! Perhaps toiletry bags are exciting to 3 year olds.

Recently for Meg's birthday, my sister (who is sickeningly artistic and clever) made Meg her very own "Would you rather be…" book. It is doubly clever when you realise that all the choices she has given in the book relate to Meg and her likes and dislikes.

I am going to miss my family when we move to the farm!

Would you rather be a flying princess or a toiletries bag? Let me know in the comments, and don't forget to give a reason for your choice!

If you like my blog, why not share it...

Lamingtons ..... mmmm

On Play School on Friday, the presenters made lamingtons. Meg thought that this was a great idea and when the presenters suggested that perhaps she could make lamingtons, she took it as a direct instruction. The Country Boy, ever eager to include more bakery products into our diet (and I am his number 1 supporter in this), saw Meg's 'need' to make lamingtons as a win-win situation. Not only did he have an activity to do with girls, but he also gets to eat the lamingtons.

I haven't had a lamington in years. When I go to the bakery, I tend to overlook the lamington in favour of something with (frankly) more chocolate and cream (hello neenish tart). Also the memory of picking coconut out my teeth for the next month tends to turn me off.

Anyway… Meg and CB made the cake on Friday and dutifully left it over night before making it into lamingtons. Yesterday, both Meg and Hannah had a great time spreading icing and coconut liberally around the kitchen all over the cake.

The Firebrigade came to school on Friday - hence the "tattoos"

Well it turns out that Lamingtons, when home made, are extremely yummy (who would have guessed?). Unfortunately I am still finding coconut everywhere!

Do you cook with your kids? What do you like to do with them? Leave a comment and let me know!

Country Girls

When I got home from work yesterday afternoon, the girls were involved in an imaginary game of "farmers". It was quite complicated to follow, and continued for several hours, but they were having a great time.

They had turned over chairs which were used as tractors (John Deere of course), and there was a complicated way of getting into them by crawling through the chair legs. They drove around the "farm" looking at the animals and crops, and making appropriate comments. The crops needed "dusting". They then moved on to chasing the sheep ("not chasing them" said Hannah, "rounding them up") and erected some fences out of cushions.

Meg enjoying the real country life.

Over the afternoon, I got on with my own bits and pieces, whilst the girls continued to play. They gave the lambs bottles, fed the animals in the laundry, sheared the sheep, and did other "farm type" things. I was impressed by how much they appeared to know about farming.  They have been visiting the farm since they were born, and have clearly been paying attention. Granted a few gaps in their understanding emerged, most notably when Meg wanted to dust the crops with a 'duster'.

A year on the farm will certainly fill in some of those gaps. It seems that they are getting ready to embrace the country life.

Too Much To Do

My brain is about to explode. We are moving in about 4 months so we have so much to do. The house has a lot of small things needing to be done; repainting doors and laundry, fixing up the garden to make it suitable to rent out. At the same time there is heaps of things that need to be organised for the move. And in between these things, there is still the day to day stuff that needs to be done. Kids need to be fed, house needs to be cleaned etc.

I am really excited about our move, but I think know I am more excited about actually being there, than about all the stuff leading up to getting there. There is just so much to organise. I find myself waking up in the night and thinking of something I need to do.

I also want to enjoy being in the mountains while I can. I want to enjoy going to the markets and bumping into friends, riding bikes with the kids to the park, lazy Sunday afternoons spent reading and playing. I want enjoy being close to my family.

This weekend The Country Boy and I are going to sit down and plan out what needs to be done and when etc. Hopefully a written plan will help to give me the peace of mind I need, and help to clear out my brain so that I can enjoy the here and now, and be excited about the future at the same time.



Have you got advice for me to help make moving easier??? Please add a comment below!

Cupcakes

If you pay any attention to food at all, you would have noticed that cupcakes are very popular at the moment. There are "cupcakeries" popping up all over the place and fancy flavours and icings are all the rage. And why wouldn't they be? Cupcakes are cute, easy to eat, and tasty. They are also incredibly easy to make and decorate.

This is my kind of cooking. I like to make foods tastes great, looks good, and is super easy to make. Take a plate of cupcakes anywhere, and you will have people fawning all over you like you are some kind of Nigella Lawson, domestic goddess type. And lets face it, Nigella I am not!

Our church had a women's outreach night last Saturday, and I did what I do best - I organised the food. Several women from the church made other slices and biscuits (church women are always brilliant cooks - it must be a spiritual gift), and I did good old cupcakes.

There is no trick to it. I made a nice moist vanilla cupcake recipe that I got from Taste.com.au. It make about 80 mini cupcakes.

I then iced them with a butter cream icing - my tip for icing quickly is always to use a piping bag - so much faster and more professional looking than a knife.

Finally to make them look a bit fancy I topped each one with a chocolate heart that I had piped. Again it looks fancy but is super easy.

Put some chocolate into a snap lock bag and microwave on medium in 30 second bursts until the chocolate is melted. (it is important to stop and mix it every 30 seconds so you don't burn the chocolate). Then simply snip one of the corners off the bag and pipe little hearts onto baking paper and allow to set. You can really do any shape you like, but hearts are easy. When the chocolate is set just use a butter knife to lift the chocolate onto the icing.

It would look great with dark chocolate ganache icing and white chocolate hearts too!

Yum!

What are your favourite quick and easy, impressive foods?

Losing our marbles (literally)!

The Country Boy helps lead our church youth group on Friday nights. Last week he was in charge of the activity and so he supersized one of the things he enjoyed doing as a kid: making marble chases.

When I was a kid we used to collect toilet rolls etc and make a small ramp to run our marbles down. CB supersized his idea by collecting large cardboard rolls, giant pvc pipes (good old council clean up) and other large tubes, and getting the youth group to build huge marble runs strung from the roof etc.

Since we had all these pipes sitting in our garage, the girls used some of them create their own giant marble run around the backyard. They used the slippery dip and other outdoor things to rest their pipes on. CB helped with some of the assembling and logistics as the girls had a bit of trouble managing the large tubes.

The girls have really enjoyed it. They have rearranged the design several times. Hannah has drawn up charts and counted which marble goes fastest, or most often. Meg spent an hour on Monday seeing if she could get all the marbles down at once. Even Toby enjoyed putting a marble down the hole (though on reflection, teaching him to put toys into holes may not have been our best parenting moment).

We have left it set up in the yard for a few days and the kids regularly go back to it for another go, or to make it "even better". If you want a new activity for a couple of days, try a marble run!

What fun things have you done with your kids? Share your ideas below!

Communication Breakdown

I am starting a community campaign, and I haven't even arrived in the community yet! Well sort of a campaign. OK I'm complaining a lot to a large corporation in the blind hope that something might change, and I am letting everyone else know how to do the same! That's kind of like a campaign isn't it?

I may have mentioned that where we are moving to there is no mobile phone reception. If you talk to a Telstra customer service representative (and I use that term in the loosest possible sense) they will get out a map and show me that I have mobile phone coverage on the farm.  I then invite them to come to the farm and show me where. Perhaps if I climb up one of the many tall trees, hang up side down, turn my head to the left, and poke out my tongue I may get reception, but there is none on the ground.

Telstra claims to cover 99% of the population, including the inhabitants of our farm. Unfortunately this means they have just drawn a line round the phone tower on a map, so saying we cover this area doesn't make it true!

I found out that under Telstra's service agreement if enough people log a complaint about lack of reception, they are required to do something about it. So I am going to get everybody who visits us to log a complaint every time they come! In fact my invitations to come stay for weekends are really just an opportunity for me to annoy Telstra. I'm even printing out the web address to give people!

People who live in rural areas actually need mobile phone reception more than those in city areas. Think about it, if you fall down in the street and break your leg, someone will come by fairly quickly. If you fall down in a paddock and break your leg, no one except the sheep will come past, and sheep are not very good at summoning ambulances!

So next year, everyone is invited to visit the farm! Just make sure you contact Telstra and tell them you had no mobile reception when you came! Now don't get me started on internet…

Rant over. Could you survive with out mobile phone reception?

Meal Planning

Earlier this year I began planning our meals for the fortnight before doing the grocery shopping.  I could never think of what to make for dinner, and then once I finally did, inevitably, I didn't have the ingredients.  It came to a head in April when I ended up driving up to the shops 3 times to get ingredients for a curry (including curry paste). It occurred to me that once we move to the country, it will be a 1 hour round trip to the shop  - don't want to do that once let alone 3 times. I had to do something to make life easier.

I am a total convert to meal planning now. I can't believe how much money we are saving by not throwing out so much food that we didn't end up using, and I love not having to make a decision at the end of the day (one less thing to think about is always great). Also the variety of foods we eat and our nutrition has improved because I am no longer making pasta 4 nights a week when I can't think of anything else.

Here's how I did it:

1. I made a list of all the meals that I make regularly  (or should make more often).
2. I then divided them into categories e.g. make ahead, vegetarian, takes time, kids favorites, easy.
3. I then did a quick calendar grid for the month on the computer.
4. With the kids help we choose the meals for the fortnight, taking into account what else is happening in our life. I generally don't plan Saturday dinners. We might do something with friends or family or go to the market that day and buy something fresh for dinner. Alternatively we can have eggs on toast.
5. I make up a shopping list and go shopping.

So here's what our menu plan looks like this week:

Monday:	Meatballs with mash and salad
Tuesday:	Chicken curry with naan
Wednesday:	Vegetable Soup
Thursday:	Vegetable Soup
Friday:	Sausages and vegetables
Saturday:	Not planned
Sunday:	Homemade Pizza

We always have the same thing on Wednesday and Thursday because they are the days that the Country Boy also works. We always get home after 5pm with 3 tired hungry kids and need to feed them quickly so I make something on Tuesdays for the following 2 days.

I also try to include at least 1-2 nights a week without meat for both health and budget reasons.

Since I started doing a meal plan I have noticed that there are heaps of resources on the web. Some even have the recipes and make up a shopping list for you. Planning with Kids is particuarly good.


Do you meal plan? Do you have any other good ideas to help me become more organised?

Job Hunting

Over the last two weeks I have been focusing on getting my CV organised to find a job when we move. Schools are already planning for next year, so I need to let the schools in the area where we are moving to, know that I will be available for casual work.

I find the whole concept of putting myself out there a little daunting. I got a job at my current school based on an interview while I was still at University. A lot has changed since then, and whilst I feel that I do a good job as a teacher, I am not sure about what to put in a CV or how to approach the schools. I have been putting it off for a while, but I know crunch time is coming.

Last Friday night while the Country Boy was out I got my act together, put "Escape to the Country" on the television, chocolate on the side table, and spent the night putting it together. Turns out it wasn't as hard to do as I imagined - perhaps the chocolate and cola induced frenzy helped me!

Any how, it is now done! I have a CV. All I have to do now is contact the schools…

Wish me luck!

Have you got any advice for me? Please help me out!

P.S. Over the weekend I am going to spend sometime tweaking my blog. I have been spending heaps of time learning as much as I can about blogging and site management. Hopefully things will go smoothly. But you might notice a few changes. Let me know what you think!

Space

Our backyard is tiny… and I mean tiny. In it we have managed to pack a trampoline, cubby house, paved area, lawn area, herb garden, several large trees, and a large assortment of bikes and out door toys. We used to have raised vegetable beds but we took them out to make more room for the kids to play, so our vegetable garden is now in our front yard (which is also tiny). The good thing about this is that we don't have a front lawn to mow!

My kids love to run around, ride bikes and play outside, so one of the things I am really looking forward to in our country life experiment is the space. I'm hoping for swings tied to the trees (if we can get up them to tie the rope), lots of flowers to pick, room to play hide and seek and genuinely not know where the kids are hiding. I'm looking forward to them running and climbing outside. The girls are looking forward to being able to ride their bikes to their grandparents house and around the farm. I am looking forward to no traffic while they do this.

The Country Boy is also looking forward to the space. He often says how there is not enough space in the city. He has already planned his new vegetable garden which is as big as our current front and back yard together. I am looking forward to the produce from his new vegetable garden! He is looking forward to roaming the paddocks, planting as many trees as he can, and doing other country things that a suburban girl like me just doesn't understand.

Having grown up in the suburbs, I don't crave the physical space the way CB does. I love the idea of lots of room for my kids to run around in, but don't personally need physical space in the same way. The kind of space I am hoping for is a little different … I'm looking for some mental space. I'm looking for a more purposeful, slower lifestyle. I want time to be unhurried and relaxed. I want more time to focus on the things that are important to me. With 3 kids, that kind of space might be hard to achieve. I hope that with the physical space, will come the mental space that is missing in much of modern life.  As I have said before, the country life will be a bit of an experiment, and so I might as well give space a try!

Do you think that physical space equals mental space, or am I just dreaming??

Cranberry Lamb Shanks

After the beautiful warm weather of last week, we are back into the bleak cold of winter. It did give us a taste of the coming spring though, and I can't wait. I am already looking forward to eating outside (much less mess on the floor!)  and loads of salads and bbq's.

In the meantime I made the worlds easiest comfort food for dinner. It's also a family favourite. I love the fact that it takes about 10 minutes to get into the oven, and then you just leave it  until you are ready to serve.

I first came across the recipe at work, but I just remember the ingredients and not the quantities.

Here is how I make it.

Ingredients

4 Lamb shanks

2T Plain flour

2T Butter

2T Oil

3 Garlic cloves - sliced

1/2 bottle of red wine

750ml Beef stock

1 jar cranberry sauce

6 sprigs rosemary

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 150 *c.
2. In a large pan heat oil and butter.
3. Toss lamb shanks in flour to coat.
4. Brown lamb shanks in oil and butter.
5. Add garlic and allow to soften for a minute.
6. Deglaze with wine.

7. Add in beef stock, cranberry sauce and rosemary.

8. Cover and place in the oven for approx. 3 hours or until the meat is tender. Turn once or twice.

I served it with mashed potato, peas, and carrots, but I some time serve with sweet potato mash and green beans, which looks amazing (and tastes great too). The Country Boy doesn't like sweet potato, and since he is so great and accommodating everywhere else in our lives, I accommodated his dislike of sweet potato.

Census - Yay!

Tonight, in Australia, is Census night. That night where we all have to fill in forms and several hundred people put Jedi Knight as their religion. I know this sounds crazy but I love the Census. I love the feeling that I am giving my input into the future of our country. I even enjoy filling out all the forms.

I also enjoy doing phone surveys (providing they are not trying to sell me something). I love that my opinion matters and that I get to influence all sorts of things. I have given my opinion on plain packaging for cigarettes (I' m in favour), who I would vote for (several times), what issues influence my vote, what toothpaste I purchase and why, how often I eat chocolate (too often). No survey is too mundane for me to have a thought about.

I think I must be on the call list of several research companies because I get a call every couple of weeks. A couple of times I have even been paid to watch some ads and talk about my "feelings" about the ad (Including 1 time when I was 9 days overdue with Hannah - I think I freaked them out and they were convinced I was going to go into labour right there. Don't argue with a heavily pregnant woman!).

When we lived in England, I was blown away when I realised that voting wasn't compulsory. How could you not vote? To me it is one of privileges and responsibilities of living in a democratic nation. I feel the same way about the Census. Here is an opportunity for me to voice my concerns. I know my voice is only one of thousands, but it's my voice and I get to talk about what is important to me.

Happy Censusmas Everyone!

P.S. If you are into twitter the census twitter feed is hilarious... see @Census2011

FAQ's - Part 2

Yesterday I started answering some of the many Frequently Asked Questions we have answered over the last few months, when we attempt to explain what we are doing next year. Here are some answers to more of the FAQ's

What about your job(s)?

As  you may know, the Country Boy is a stay at home dad, 3 days per week and works the other 2.  He is planning to resign (and has already told his boss - other wise I wouldn't be writing this post) in mid October so that he can have a few weeks to do some house fixing and organisation.

I work full time at a public high school in Western Sydney. One of the benefits of working here is that I am able to take leave without pay for up to 12 months and still keep my job at the same school. So I have taken leave. If we love it on the farm I can relinquish my job, and if we find farm life is not for us then I can return in 2013.

I know that we are extremely lucky to have this to fall back on. We both tend to be rather cautious and this "back up" certainly gives us peace of mind!

What will you do down there?

We are not really sure. I hope to pick up some casual teaching at either of the 2 towns within driving distance of the farm. CB will help his father out on the farm, and has also been told that he can pick up work around some of the other properties in the area.

Part of our hope is to spend less time working and more time as a family. CB wants to grow lots of vegetables and  I am looking forward to having time and space to resume some of my craft hobbies.

What about the kids and school?

There is a great 2 teacher school in the local village (about 5 minutes away). Hannah will go there and be one of four kids in 2nd class. Sometimes she is excited about the move, but at other times she is sad about leaving her friends and school. We anticipate that she will have difficulty with the initial adjustment more than the other two, but are confident that she will cope well.

Meg will go to preschool (also in the village) for 2 days per week. We have heard good things about the preschool and she is a tough, resilient little girl, so we feel confident she will be fine. Toby, of course, will be too young to do either. He is already proving to be an outdoor kid, and we hope that he (and the girls) will enjoy the additional space.

What are you doing with your house in the mountains?

We will rent it out. (That one was short and easy)

What about your family? Won't you miss them?

Yes, of course I will. We live close to my family and see them several times a week. My parents care for our kids when CB works. This is not a reason not to go. We will miss all our family and friends a lot, but are hoping for lots of visits, and we plan to visit the mountains regularly too!

What about CB's family?

As I have mentioned CB's parents live on and run the farm. They have never placed any expectation that one of their children should return to the farm. At the same time they seem to be quite excited at the prospect of us moving back, even for 12 months. While we are there, they are planning to take a big trip around northern Australia. CB will look after the farm in their absence. We are really pleased that we are able to help them out and give them a well deserved break!

What about church?

Well there is a church in the village, as well as several in the 2 towns near by. We are confident we will find somewhere to call home.

Why are you blogging about this?

I am sure that this change is going to provide lots of challenges and thought provoking moments. I enjoy writing, and see this as an opportunity to keep up with friends and family, and share my experiences with a broader audiences. I don't know where this is going, but the "journey" will be fun (now I sound like a reality show contestant). If you enjoy my blog, please share it around, comment, or become a "follower". I am learning a lot as I go and I  love to receive feedback.

Have you got any other questions? Any advice? Please comment below!