{Kids Craft} - Easter Bunting

Over the weekend the girls were eager to do some Easter Craft. We have had so much on over the last few weeks that I think that they were just happy to be at home doing ordinary things.

Ever resourceful, I turned to Pinterest for inspiration. There are some great Easter crafts at the moment. We then decided to make some Easter Egg bunting.

We drew an egg template on a piece of cardboard (a empty cracker box) and cut it out. We then used these templates to trace the egg shape on the back of patterned papers (we used spare scrap booking paper). Meg had some trouble holding the template still to trace around, so we used the sticky part of a postit note to hold it in place.

We then cut out all the eggs.

After stopping for lunch we got a roll of string and used some sticky tape to stick it to the back of the eggs.

{Recipe} Rhubarb Crumble Cake And I Find My Inspiration Again

I haven't been putting together many food posts recently. I can't seem to get my head into the creative space I need. If I do think of something I want to try, I inevitably, don't have either the ingredients or time (or possibly both).

Over the weekend I got my hands on some more rhubarb (one of my favourites), but still couldn't find any inspiration, so it sat in the fridge until Wednesday, when inspiration finally hit me (at last)

Rhubarb Crumble CakeIngredients
8-10 rhubarb stalks
1/4c sugar
100g butter
1c castor sugar
2 eggs
1t vanilla extract
1 1/2c SR flour
1/2 c milk
2/3c brown sugar
2/3c quick oats
1t cinnamon
50g butter melted

Method
1. Preheat oven to 180*c.
2. Slice rhubarb into 2cm lengths, place on a baking tray and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 15 minute or until soft.
3. In a bowl, cream butter and sugar until pale.
4. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then vanilla.
5. Add the flour and milk alternately.
6. Pour into a lined lamington tin.
7. Spread cooked rhubarb over the batter
8. Combine brown sugar, oats, cinnamon, and melted butter in a bowl.
9. Spread over top of cake mix.
10. Bake approximately 40 minute or until cooked through.

So yummy - I ate some still warm from the tin. And then I got some more inspiration. Stay tuned!

Channeling My Inner Farmers Wife

I realise that I haven't given you much of an update on how our gardens are going. I haven't bought vegetables other than onions for months now, and I am still frantically trying to find things to make with the produce that just keeps on coming.

We are almost out of zucchinis (at last). Country Boy pulled the plants out the other day to make room for other things. I have grated a heap and put them in the freezer for zucchini slices etc over the coming months.

Over the weekend we dug up the potatoes (so far we have about 50kg), so I am moving into potato recipe time. Luckily we love mash - I imagine that it will feature heavily in our menu plan over the next few months!

The pumpkins are also almost ready to pick. Country Boy says there aren't that many - only about 20 large ones and 20 or 30 little ones (I call that many)! Will have to start researching pumpkin recipes - I am going to try pumpkin gnocchi sometime, and also a Thai pumpkin and coconut soup.


We still have lots of carrots, and spinach and it is great to be able to just walk out to the garden and pick some whenever I need to.

The tomatoes are almost finished and to be honest I am sick of them! I have about 20 jars of tomato sauce in the cupboard, and a heap of stewed tomatoes in the freezer to be used over winter. I have also oven dried a heap to use in pasta. Just halve them (quarters if they are huge), place them in a single layer on a tray and leave in an oven at 80*c for 12 hours or until completely dry. Soak in a little hot water before using. They taste so much better than the shop bought varieties.

Many of the cucumbers are rotting on the vine because we cannot eat them fast enough. Country Boy tried making cucumber soup. He quite liked it, but he was the only one. He has also made some pickled cucumbers: slice cucumbers in a pickling mix (salt, sugar, and vinegar) with dill and peppercorns. It smells just like the pickles on McDonalds burgers, but tastes sooo much better!

After the rain we had a month ago, Country Boy bought back huge beautiful mushrooms, fresh from the field. We made the most amazing mushroom soup (though it looks awful), which is now also in the freezer for an easy meal when we need it.

The figs are finally ripening, and the kids are loving them. Toby stands under the tree pointing at them and saying "more" whenever he is near it. I made a couple of jars of fig jam the other day. FIL loves fig jam, and has (apparently) eaten an entire jar already. I am going to try to make something else with figs too (I am imagining that figs will go nicely with pork).

I have picked bags of peaches off trees that are on the side of the roads near by. I stewed them up and have frozen them for desserts over the winter (alternately peaches would also go beautifully with pork).

Country Boy has planted lots of beetroots, broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, and onions this week, so in a few months I will be over run with these vegetables.

The chickens have slowed down their egg laying. Hannah and Meg have a theory that they don't like laying on shredded paper, so we have gone back to using straw to line their nesting boxes, and we will see if things improve.

We plan to get one of the pigs 'processed' (the nicer way of saying butchered or slaughtered) in a few weeks time. Mmmmm pork! I need to rearrange the freezer to make room for half a pig. Apparently you can't just ring up an abattoir and book it in - you need a 'pig pass'. I did some research on the internet about it, and Country Boy thought I was making it up because it sounded so absurd. The things you need to know to live the country life continue to astound us!

I kind of feel like I'm Ma in Little House On The Prairie, squirreling away as much food as possible for the long winter, but I am also proud of Country Boy and myself for being resourceful and frugal. I love that I can trust the food that we are eating. This is what we wanted most of all when we moved to the country. Definitely channeling my inner farmers wife at the moment.

{Wordless Wednesday} Water Bead Play

Toby enjoyed a morning playing with some water beads.

Linking up with My Little Drummer Boys for Wordless Wednesday.

Weekend Recap

We had a whirlwind of a weekend. So many good things packed into a short time. 

We were excited to have some good friends visiting. Their 3 boys loosely match up with our 3 in age. To say that their boys were excited to be here was an understatement. Within 5 minutes of arriving they were begging to see the chickens, the pigs, tractors, trucks, motorbikes, etc. So we had a wander around the home paddock to tick off the main "attractions".

On Saturday morning, after harassing feeding the chickens, we put some hay bales on the back of the truck, and went for a drive around the paddock to see the sheep, and other farm type scenes. The kids took turns of shutting gates and enjoyed bouncing around the on the back. Country Boy, who was driving, may or may not have deliberately hit every pot hole possible - the jury is still out. When we got back there was the obligatory ride around on the quad bikes, and then the adults sat on the veranda and talked, whilst the kids did laps of the paddock on their bikes.

Later we dug up the potatoes that we planted last October. The kids had a great time, and we found lots of hilariously shaped ones.

After lunch the blokes and some of kids went for a walk to the dam to throw rocks into it (we have all the great things here in the country!), whilst my girlfriend and I sat and chatted, and assisted with a serious game of "Guess Who". We also lit a fire in our new slow combustion fire.

Later in the afternoon we headed off to Harvest Festival in the village. Country Boy and I put together some of our produce and pickles for the auction. We came home with some rhubarb and a variety of cakes and biscuits - country cooking at it's best.

Sunday, we slept in, and after breakfast, retreated to the sunny veranda to watch the kids playing in the yard and solve the problems of the world. The kids were very busy filling buckets with dirt, and other important tasks.

Later we went for a walk down to visit the pigs,  throw many rocks into the creek (and a game of pooh sticks), pick figs, and then a quick canoe on the dam.

I definitely miss having friends close by down here. It was great to have friends come and visit - can't wait for them to come again. The only problem with the weekend was that it wasn't long enough!

Harvest Festival

This weekend our village celebrates Harvest Festival. Its an annual event that the whole community turns up to. There is a short service in the village hall, followed by an auction of produce and homemade treats, and then finally dinner.

We are thick into harvesting our own late summer vegetables. On Tuesday, Country Boy pulled out the last of the zucchinis, so I only have 5 giant ones left to use. We have had over 45 cucumbers, so Country Boy has made some pickles. We are over run with tomatoes, and  I have made several batches of my spicy tomato sauce. I also have boiled up heaps of tomatoes and frozen them in portions to use in cooking.



This weekend we are planning on digging up the potatoes and seeing how they went. The pumpkins are still getting bigger, and there are so many of them. We really need a whole room just to store all the produce we are getting (when I get my dream house!).

The nights are getting cool, and there is always dew on the ground in the mornings now. Autumn is definitely here. It wont't be long until all the leaves start to change.

I am planning on sending several bottles of tomato sauce and pickles along to the harvest festival, and also plan to do some baking.

Our harvest has (so far) been very plentiful, and it seems appropriate that we should go along and give thanks!

{Wordless Wednesday} Big Sister, Little Brother

Meg and Toby love playing together.

Linking up with My Little Drummer Boys for Wordless Wednesday.

Church

We visited our old church in the mountains while we were there over the weekend. Finding a new church here in the country has been a bit of a struggle, and going back to our old one only highlighted how much we are missing it. We miss the friends that we met with every week. We miss the great teaching and worship, and the kids miss their friendships and feeling of belonging too. It was obvious that the girls were comfortable there, because they wandered off to play on their own, and happily chatted with the adults (not something my introverted children do in strange places!). It felt like we had never left.

Going back to our old church also reinforced the importance of making a decision about where to go soon. We have been here 3 months now, and need to get settled.

I know I have written about some of this issue before, but to recap; there is a church in our local village, but it doesn't really suit us. There is also a really good church in a town 35 minutes away, but the distance means that it is too far to be really involved in.

With this in mind we have decided to try the local home church group. There are several other families who, like us, find the options available to them don't suit, and so have started meeting together on Sunday afternoons. By coincidence, someone rang to invite us along on Sunday but we were away.

In the mountains, we were spoiled for choice when it came to church. Here, a church that will suit us is a little harder to come by. We have never been part of a home fellowship group, and are a little unsure if it is for us, but we have decided to give it a try.

Perhaps settling into a regular church routine will help me to feel more at home here on the farm! Here's hoping!

Still Home

Over the weekend we went to visit my family in the Mountains. It was the first time that we have gone back since moving over 3 months ago (doesn't time fly). From the moment we drove up the pass to the mountains, it felt like I was home. Down here on the farm we have so much space (which is great), but I didn't realise how much I like having neighbours and other people close by too. 

We arrived around 8pm on Friday, and after we put the kids to bed, we sat up talking to my parents.

Saturday morning, the kids got up and headed straight into the play room. The kids worked on a train track set up, with lots of 'help' from Grandy and Country Boy. I had planned to go to some garage sales, but it was drizzly (not good garage sale weather). The kids stayed with my parents, while Country Boy and I went to the local markets, and did a bit of shopping. I had forgotten how much I love going to the monthly farmers markets. Lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, breads, cakes, jams and other tasty treats. Just looking at all the produce is inspiring. I also love the convenience of having everything so close by (I took the opportunity to purchase all those things that are hard to get in a small country town).

In the afternoon, I got out all the Lego I had as a child to sort through. My siblings and I were all Lego fans as kids, and now Hannah and Meg are quite into it. I had decided to take my sets down to the farm, so that Country Boy the girls can play with them, but first we had to make them up.

My sister brought her kids over and all the cousins enjoyed playing together, while the adults sat and chatted, and played with sorted out the Lego. Dinner is always a noisy affair when the whole family gets together, and Saturday evening was no exception. Toby and my niece (who is the same age), spent dinner making chicken noises to each other, and Meg, Hannah, and my nephew (3 years), also chatted away, whilst the adults all tried to participate in 3 different conversations at once.

The cousins have always been great friends, and before we moved, my mother minded all five on Wednesdays and Thursdays (my girls went to school during the day), so they spent a lot of time together. Now they (obviously) don't get as much time, and this is another thing I really miss about the mountains.

After dinner we put the kids to bed and sat around chatting until 11.30pm - very late for us. My brother and SIL had to go at about 10pm, but we powered on. Having not seen my sister since January, we had heaps to talk about (can't wait for the Easter weekend when they are coming to visit us on the farm).

We had a bit of a sleep in on Sunday after our late night talks on Saturday. Luckily we had put Toby into bed with us (love a king bed), and he slept late too. We headed off to visit our old church after breakfast. We loved being back there, and it was obvious that the kids felt at home immediately. Visiting our old church really brought out the issues we are currently having finding a church family near the farm. It was great to catch up with friends, and to hear that the youth group is planning to come and visit us for a weekend next term - another exciting thing to look forward to.

After lunch with my parents, we visited some friends whose girls are the same age as our girls. Hannah misses them terribly and we had promised that we would try to have a play with them when we came up. The girls had a great time, while we sat and chatted, and I felt guilty that I had dragged Hannah away from her school and friends where she felt so comfortable to live somewhere so isolated.

As we drove home, I felt like I was leaving home again. I was sad to be leaving my roots, and wondering why I had ever agreed to leave. Visiting the mountains has stirred up a lot of thoughts in my mind, and I have a lot more to brain dump on here over the coming days, but for now, the mountains are still home.

Sunset on the way back to the farm - I know I am lucky to live in a beautiful part of the world.

Country Road, Take Me Home...

We are going to visit the mountains this weekend and I am so excited. The mountains are home to me. Even Country Boy tends to refer to them as home now, which is funny because for as long as I have known him, the farm had been called home.

I haven't been home since we moved down here in December and I can't wait. The girls are hoping to have a play with Hannah's friend, and I am hoping that there are lots of good garage sales, or that the markets are on so that I can get some clothes for the kids. My brother and sister, and their families are coming up for dinner, and I am hoping that the kids have a good time playing with their cousins.

We were planning on going up on Thursday night, but last week I got offered a (second) job, one day per week at the local high school. It is basically my dream job, meeting with senior students and supporting them as a mentor, through their HSC (final exams). I didn't really want any more than 3 days per week work, and I loved having Fridays off (who doesn't love a long weekend??), but the job was just too good, and the prospect of picking up work so close to home was one I couldn't turn down.

Anyway instead of a long weekend swanning around the mountains, we are doing the mad dash up after work on Friday, and will drive back on Sunday afternoon. I was planning on a visit to the shopping centre to find a dress to wear to my Brother in law's wedding in two months time, but I have put it off for another trip.

I'm actually a little scared too. I am basically enjoying being down here, but I am worried that being back in the mountains will remind me too much of all the things I love about them. The idea of home is so complicated right now, I'm not sure anywhere else will ever feel right.

On Blogging Conundrums...

I got an email the other day from a PR company offering me a voucher to try out a product for a sponsored post. It was the first time I have received an offer like this, and I felt a little flattered. It even had my name on the top and not 'Dear Blogger'.

To be honest, advertising and sponsorship and all that stuff is not something I had really considered before. I blog because it is fun, and because I want to record our life experiment and share it with friends and family. But now I really feel I should at least think about my position on this kind of thing.

On one hand, I could make a little bit of money on the side, which is always useful. On the other side, I have some very strong ideas about advertising and ethics. I do not dress my kids in clothing with obvious labels, because I don't want them to be an advertisement for a multinational corporation. We actively avoid exposing our selves and our kids to advertising (as much as is possible in this day and age). I hate the way advertising turns everybody and everything into a commodity.

So I am not sure what to do. Should I enjoy the benefits offered to me or do I keep my blog the way it is? Can having advertising or sponsored posts fit with my personal ethics about advertising?

I would love some advice from other bloggers who have dealt with this issue. I would also love to hear from my lovely readers: would you still read my blog with an ad across the top, or an occasional 'sponsored' post?

*P.S. I sent back an email saying that at this stage I wasn't interested in doing any sponsored posts at this stage. I feel I need to get my head around the issue and come up with a consistent way to deal with it.

{Wordless Wednesday} Sally

Meet Sally, the newest puppy on the farm. 

 

The only thing getting in the way of Sally learning to be a sheep dog, is being spoiled by 3 excited children.

 

Toby trying to feed Sally some grass.

Linking up with My Little Drummer Boys for Wordless Wednesday.

Fireplace

I am taking full credit for the warm dry weather we have had the past few days! You can send your thanks my way, because we installed a new fireplace over the weekend. If there is one thing that is guaranteed to ensure nice sunny warm weather, it is my desire to try out our beautiful new fire.

My lovely parents came down for the weekend to help. My mother took it upon herself to help me clean my house (always a good thing), and my father helped Country Boy install the fire.

The old fire was very small and didn't really keep the house warm. I really feel the cold (pity the farm isn't in Queensland), so I was keen to get it in early before it gets too cold.

After they pulled the old fireplace out, they had to patch the hole. They then built a hearth with fibre cement and tiles.

After that they pulled back the roof and cut a hole for the chimney to get through.

Here is the finished product. We still need to just put a finish around the edge of the  hearth. This weekend I am going to buy a fire guard and then we are ready for the cold weather.

Country Boy picked a whole lot of little pumpkins on Sunday, so I stuck them along the mantle piece until they are needed (or I light the fire). Very Autumnal looking :)

Bye Bye Bottles

All of my kids were bottle fed for part of their first year. Hannah was a shocking breast feeder, and after a complicated pregnancy followed by a fairly horrendous birth, I was not in much shape to do a good job (one day I will write a post and tell the whole story of that one). I persevered for 3 months and was relieved when I finally decided to just put her on a bottle.

Meg was a much better feeder, and I managed to feed her until about 5 months when she refused to suck for longer than 10 minutes and started to loose weight. Knowing what I do now, I could have kept feeding her, but I was about to return to work, and so I put her on a bottle.

Meg (aged 9 months) demonstrates her unique way to hold a bottle

Toby was my success story with breast feeding. It was so much easier, and he was a good sleeper and a good feeder. When his weight gain began to slow down, I felt confident enough to keep feeding and introduce solid foods. I returned to work when he was 6 months, so he became bottle fed during the day, and I continued to feed him morning and evening. When he was about 8 months he decided he preferred to be bottle fed and refused to be breast fed any more.

Hannah adored giving Toby a bottle

Both the girls were weaned off the bottle at about 12 months. At this stage they were both walking, and sleeping through the night, and they no longer seemed to need them.

Toby however, was different. At 12 months he showed no interest in either walking or sleeping through. We continued to give him a bottle in the morning and before he went to bed for his day sleep and at night. I guess with the move and everything else going on, it was easier to keep going with them. In the last 2 months Toby has both started walking and sleeping through (thank goodness), so we have decided that it is time to wean him off the bottles.

We are fans of the Cold Turkey method of weaning. We have got rid of the bottles, and are just offering him milk in a sippy cup instead. So far it is going pretty well, though he is not interested in drinking very much from a cup. I hope that this will get better with time, because he definitely needs the milk in his diet.

He is also a little whiny at the times he would normally have a bottle, and points to where he knows the bottles were kept. Generally he can be distracted easily, and the moment soon passes.

I am definitely glad to be getting rid of the bottles - one less thing we need to take everywhere with us. However, it also is another reminder of how quickly my small boy is growing up.

Archaeology At Home

The farm has been in Country Boy's family for over 100 years. All over the farm are things that the various generations have added to the property. Trees that have been planted to celebrate important occasions, old farm machinery that is now out dated, and the discarded detritus of our ancestors. Our house was built by Country Boys' great grandfather in the 1940's, on the same site that a previous house sat.

Both Country Boy and his father feel very attached to this property, and the girls are enjoying hearing stories of how the farm was when they were children.

They also enjoy scrabbling around in the dirt just outside out yard, finding all sorts of 'treasures'. We have found parts to several plates and cups, some with beautiful patterns, and recently we found a marble which (we guess) was FIL's when he was a boy, and has been in the dirt for the past 50 odd years. All these treasures have stories attached to them. The girls enjoy finding beautiful pieces and imagining what they once were.

It's our very own (mini) archaeology dig and there are treasures to be found everywhere.