celebrating our first month with bunnies

Greetings all,

Well, on Valentine's Day we went to pick up some chicks from a farmer who was selling up & moving to the city.  On the way to collect them, i received an SMS saying "we have Flemish Giant bunnies if you'd like some??"  My eldest daughter was with me (fresh from Xrays confirming her wrist had healed completely & she could resume sports) & i'll just refer to her as an 'accomplice.'  Once we were handed that first bunny, we weren't leaving without one.

 After babysitting a Miniature Rex bunny in the school holidays, i had completely fallen in love with them, their sweet Beatrix Potter nature (unless they are trying to escape) & sheer cuteness.  Flemish Giants are my favourite breed too.  I was the perfect sucker . . . 

 . . . to say "sure, we'll take four!!"  Meet Pollen (Pollie), Tabitha, mama Josephine & Cecily - flashing her cotton tail below. 

 We took mama (18 months old) & the 3 daughters from her second litter.  Mama is a little cranky since this litter (8 weeks prior), so we're giving her space & time to learn to love us.  Her girls, well, they are oozing love, snuggles & hopping gorgeousness.  I can't help but gently stroke mama's belly, with all that beautiful mottled colour on her paws & belly.

 I spent $35 on bird wire & garden stakes, made them a 7m long bunny run (inside the 40m long chicken run) & they sleep in a large (Great Dane size) travel cage at night.  Chickens hop in & out, they play games & get along famously.  I've even added some palm trees for shade & nibbles.

 We've of course invested in harness leads & shampoo & other bunny accoutrements . . . so they can experience fresh grass daily (we also give them chopped grass, lucern, hay, carrots & rabbit food mix) as this breed (mama is a Lop, the babies are cross Flemish Giants) will need a lot of exercise.  We staked them to the ground while we washed the car the other day, they created a May Pole with their leads!!

 Bunnies are a great investment, the love & cute factor are a bonus, however, they are easy pets (so long as they are very secure in their run/ hutch/ cage) toilet trained & oozing love.  Not to mention . . . way better than chocolate for Easter.  Love Posie

PS did you hear bunnies are no longer used in cosmetic testing??

& the school holidays continue . . .

Greetings all,

I'm all about free fun for children during school holidays.  I guess it stems back to when we first had children we didn't have cash to throw around, so we made the most of free activities or hanging at home.  Personally i use school holidays to clean out the children's rooms & they need them to relax from going hard at school all term.  Staying home is not a chore, it's a pleasure.

So here is a typical free fun day at our place . . . 

starting with a dose of home juiced goodness.  I did wash these celery sticks again!!

 Nothing wrong with window shopping & not spending, my children are largely unspoilt with stuff, this Santa falls under the category of unnecessary stuff, no dropped lips or tantrums, she completely understands the word 'no'.

 This is our 3rd school holidays now with chickens, they are the pet that doesn't get old.  Chickens have so much personality.  Pets are the ultimate school holiday activity, to feed, play & nurture.  Dare i suggest our chickens have a fabulous diet.

 I have always found that my children naturally pair up, or enjoy a good dose of solitude in their own rooms during the break.  I have strived to make their rooms inviting & cosy, so they want to be in them.  Actually my twins have talked about moving back in together. 

School holidays are the perfect time to exploit child labour - gardening, cleaning, tidying, baking & cooking.  My guys make a mean chicken schnitzel.  As a housewife, these jobs are normally mine during the day, so i trade with them . . . i unpacked the dishwasher!!

 Then there are the not-a-school-night treats like sleeping out in the lounge or siblings bedrooms.  This is still a huge hit with my son, he's 8 & will bring half his bedroom with him too.  He got a bit cold one night so slept with ear muffs on.  I cannot get enough of this little fella.

So we've stayed home these holidays, one trip to the cinema - with $6.50 tickets - it was hard to resist while i was recovering from a migraine, in the dark with quiet children.  This is how we roll almost every school holidays.  We're not massive must-go-away people, it's too expensive for a family of 6 on a single income, we remain realistic & homey.  Love Posie

a dysfunctional week where things fell into place

Greetings all,

Dysfunctional, disjointed & disconnected are the words which best describe my week, yet, somehow everything has fallen into place.  Overflowing with school activities like the annual WalkAThon, learning journeys, Dad's-Day, high school Japanese trip to Sydney, sports & signing countless indemnity forms for more sports - i feel like a lawyer attached to an ATM - i've run all my errands & ticked all the to-do boxes.  I like being at home, it's serene, happy, chores are done & i'm prepared for the weekend, however, sitting here eating corn cakes for lunch on the 12WBT, i just feel exhausted.  I am getting the new iPhone 5, my first smart phone ever, but i looked at the long queue, yawned, i can wait. 

While i've spent most of this week out, i've been knocking over small jobs at home like finally purchasing the correct hooks to hang some of my metal signs!!   

Our neighbours dumped all their weeds into our chicken run.  We asked them to.  The chickens have had the most incredible week chowing down on various greens & mulching the rest.  They are so inquisitive, you just have to flip a bunch of weeds & the chickens think it's new food.  It rained heavily during the week, to my surprise, chickens are completely brutal when eating snails!!  I thought they were pecking small rocks, then the commotion, noise, frenzy & excitement as they gobbled them down.  RIP snails.

 Our wee little Hamburg bantam Piccolo - did indeed break his tiny rooster leg.  My darling husband put it in a paddle pop splint (muttering under his breath "it's a rooster for goodness sake") & a miracle, he's walking again.  My husband is a saint.  First act of sainthoodness was marrying me!!

 The learning journey (open class room) was so much fun.  I learned the hard way, to cover 3-4 children & all their work/ art/ projects individually in one hour is impossible.  So this year i gathered my 3 primary schoolers & we did it as a family, everyone got a fair share . . . except handsome soldier who was stuck at the medical centre & missed the whole thing.  Year 5 made movies of their New Olympic Sports - one daughter had created Don't Let The Balloon Touch The Ground, she was also the commentator.  Her confidence & personality shone through, she was very entertaining.

 A little bit of a thrill on the way to school, we swung by a new McDonalds restaurant opening as our favourite radio stars were there - Scotty & Nige from 104.7 - very entertaining & so happy to chat to us.  My children's heads were exploding with the excitement of meeting Scotty & Nige then having McDonalds for breakfast, as i'm such a health & homemade devotee.  As we left, they said "that mother was hilarious" so i'm officially cool in my children's eyes.   

Have gorgeous weekends folks, i'm off for a run, i can't believe in just a few weeks i've fallen back in love with running & dare i share . . . several mummies at school have noticed, saying my skin looks great & my face looks slimmer.  Yahoo.  Love Posie

a colourful weekend

Greetings all,

Ah, nothing like a few days off blogging to enjoy a colourful action packed weekend & generate new ideas for posts.  With Spring almost here, my husband & i have been preparing our crappy-state-of-backgarden-grass for weeks, we're starting to see results.  I also planted a new barrel of herbs & vegetables, following the no-dig-garden advice from these wonderful books.

 I kicked off the Michelle Bridges 12 Week Body Transformation this morning with berries & ricotta on grainy bread - i have two new tips - defrost frozen berries in a colander & don't let berries roll off your toast, raspberries stain!!  

 Indulged in a couple of new dresses & tops from Country Road - to say i have fallen back in love with green is an understatement.  I adore stripes & this retro pattern, neat way to side step the-fluorescent-movement this season.

What a gorgeous way to say i-heart-leopard print, in a cute handbag case.  I picked up the rattan version of this last season from Seed, i use it as a sewing case or picnic-for-two with my husband.  I love having him back in Canberra, we meet for lunch twice a week, it's like dating all over again, when i was at Uni, he'd meet me for 10 minutes here & there between lectures, then drive me home, just to say hello.  

A gift for a nephew's birthday - he is obsessed with Eric Carle, but really, who isn't??

The colourful imagination of my eldest daughter, make what you want out of these fresh eggs . . . bulls eyes right??

Ah, glorious sunshine on the weekend had me in a flowing dress & back in Birkenstocks.  I picked up these purple patent leather beauties in Venice 2 years ago.  I do need a pedicure (i say seeing i've had like one in the past decade) & i'm thinking of a fun polish colour, maybe purple, green or orange??  Ideas!!

Poof, there you have it, heading into a busy week with a huge smile on my face, i'm up early enough to do 2 loads of washing, walk the dog, feed the chickens, make school lunches & a post before the school run, bliss!!  Love Posie