A birthday and a storm

I can't believe how time flies. William was three on Sunday. Amazing. Gone is the 'toddler' label he is officially a little boy! I wanted his birthday to be a special one as this was the first one that he really understood that it was his birthday and that it was all about him. He wanted a chocolate cake (like Nigella made), but didn't want a party, just some friends to play at the park with him. He said who he wanted to come, he didn't want party food, just cake (like Nigella made). He said he had a great day, and he still talks about it almost a week later!

Then there was THE STORM! it hit at 4.20am and lasted all of 10minutes, but boy it made a mess. It was like a mini cyclone or tornado. I remember the reports from the Queensland Cyclone about the noise, just the awful noise. Well, I heard it at 4.20am Tuesday morning.
The power went out before it hit and stayed out till 9pm that night. We had fences blown over. The posts were snapped at ground level. Fortunately the horses stayed in their paddocks. The road to our farm was like a battle field. There were trees down along the whole 3km. Everyone is slowly cleaning up.

Some people who have lived in the area their whole lives have said they have never seen anything like it. Amazing

Just another update

I mentioned here that my Janome Horizon was giving me electric shocks and had electricity leaking out throught the metal parts. Well after taking it back to the dealer I got it from (with them unable to explain it), a letter from an electritian saying it was unsafe to use, speaking to the WA Janome head salesman (Brian) at the Quilt fair in Perth and then getting it shipped to Melbourne headquarters, they are still looking at it but it has been recalled back to Tokyo and I'm getting a new one.
It will be here tomorrow and hopefully when I use this one I wont keep getting zapped!
I know alot of people have been having various problems with the model and have not been getting any help form Janome. Some have even told that it is the operator not the machine as they aren't professionally trained sewers. How many of us are professionally trained sewers? Probably not that many I'd say (I know I most definately am not!) Many have asked for their money back and have sworn off Janome for life now. I am going to give them a second chance but I think that I might mention the treatment of others to Brian when he comes tomorrow. See what he has to say about it.
Here's hoping I just had a dud and that it isn't every machine that is dodgy.

Five months

I can't believe Samuel is five months old today. To celebrate he started solids. A month early I know but he is sooo hungry even after lots of breastfeeds and he is sooo big that I gave in today.


And judging by the way he was hanging on to the spoon, he was ready. After I gave him the first little bit I put the spoon down to wait and see what his reaction was. He screamed! It was like "Hey! Pick up that spoon and give me more!" He had his mouth wide open ready for more! He is so cute, with the best smile. He is as tickelish as his dad and so laid back and quiet. He is just the sweetest little boy ever.

Oh and here is a little thing I made. William is only the model (under sufferance I might add)


It is another of Toni's fantastic patterns. Again it had simple instructions and came together easily. I made this one for William's little friend Harry who turned 3 on Sunday.
It's Williams turn this Sunday.

Back on Deck

Well, we are back from our little overnight stay in Albany. It was really fun, but a long drive. We tried to break it up with stops here and there but it was still a long time in the car. Never mind, William had a great time, declaring before we had even left on Wednesday morning that he loved going to Albany!

See the whale?

We are off to Albany

We are heading to Albany this morning and staying the night. It is a five hour drive, that's NOT including toilet stops and stops for kids! Hopefully I will have lots of photos and stories to tell when we get back, and I'm hoping someone breaks in and steals the toy chainsaw Ben fixed last night...It's driving me insane!

Oh, I almost forgot. We cooked our first pizzas in the woodfired oven. They were fantastic. Photos of those when I get back too!

Updates

Remember some of my photos of William had been taken and used on a hideous 'boy love' website? Well, apart from contacting the webmaster, I also alerted the ACMA (Australian Communitcations and Media Aurthority). They reviewed the content of the website and found that it contained prohibited content. Unfortunately it was a site hosted outside of Australia so they were unable to shut it down, BUT the did refer it to the Internet Industry Assoc. who control the world of internet and asked for it to be delt with.
An interesting thing was that a day after me contacting the webmaster of the site my photos were gone and two days after that the webmaster emailed me and said they couldnt find what I was talking about! Ha!
Anyway, the good news is that it was taken seriously and something was done about it.

Now, onto fun updates...

It's days away from being used! Tomorrow we can light a little fire in there and that will start the rest of the curing process. Three days of little fire, then we cook!
I'd really like to tile around the oven - the top of the 'bench' and mosaic the dome. There is one in town at the community garden I really like. I think it will look great and I'm jumping up and down clapping my hands in joyful excitement at the prospect of cooking in there before the week is out!

Posting of a different kind!

These fence posts arrived yesterday. They are to be used for making some more pig pens, a 'friendly' goat paddock, and another pony paddock. As well as try and keep the kangaroos out of the farm (don't think we'll have much luck with that!).

It is pretty exciting when a giant truck drives in your driveway through the middle of your property loaded with posts! Well, it is according to William!

Can't comment but can post

Is anyone else having trouble with Blogger? I can't leave comments on other blogs and I can't comment on the comments on my own blog! Ever since Blogger went offline for those days last month.
So I'm not being rude, I just can't comment!
But i just want to say that I was sort of relieved to read that I'm not the only one who has had trouble 'adjusting' to motherhood. It is tough going from an independant person to being totally depended on by little people and sometimes it feels like you just can't escape.
Here, in this house, now, I am trying to get things back to basics. Samuel has been having alot of sleep issues, and I think that is partly my fault. I'm too busy worrying about William being bored that I am whisking everyone into the car to go here there and everywhere and little Sam is suffering the interupted sleep pattern. So we are staying home alot more during this time. Get Sam back to sleeping. Poor little man.
There is plenty for William to do here at the farm at the moment. Right now, he's out on the tractor with Ben mulching. Oh, and don't worry, the tractor has a cab with a little seat and seat belt. He can't fall out.
William and I have been making bread. He loves doing it, I love doing it and it is better for us. No preservatives etc.
We are getting stuck into the vegie garden. Again, something William and I both love. I used to sit him out with me all the time when he was a baby and once he could sit up he would sit on a garden bed edge and chew on a silverbeet stem. As he got bigger I taught him to plant onions. They were pretty tough and it didn't matter that he would pull them out to show people that he had planted them. We could shove them back in and they'd just keep on growing! Now he loves digging, planting, havesting and eating. And he knows that it doesn't all just come from the supermarket!
We already grow our own meat - lamb, beef and pork. In fact we are expecting pigglets any day now. Cute!
I am a chook hoarder and now have over 30! I know, I know, strange right? I love them, they are funny and they lay eggs...lots of eggs!!
The house is being de cluttered slowly. This makes me happy, like weights are lifted off my shoulders everytime something is cleaned out or off and it looks neat and simple. I can't stand mess and I think I since having kids and messy husband I have allowed myself to fall into step with them and it has weighed me down. NO MORE MESS.
We are currently having a woodfired pizza oven built. Loving it and can't wait for it to be operational. So many potential meal ideas coming into my head. And a fun way for people to come and gather and eat and connect. Can't wait.
And sewing. Trying to get back to fun. Trying not to compete with what's out there.

This blog, this life

When I started this blog, I had the idea that I wanted it to be a really great quilting blog. I had been frantically sewing quilts and looking around the 'net' surfing some really great quilting blogs. I wanted mine to be like that too. It hasn't turned out like that. And you know what? I don't mind.
Recently I've been thinking about my little family and my new roll as a mummy. I always said that I wasn't going to get married or have kids. I was just going to ride horses. Buy, ride and sell horses. That was how I had planned it.
When I met Ben who is now my husband, I didn't really think about how much my life would change. I was happy to move to WA. I had moved around most of my life. I was pretty nomadic once I left home. No ties, no real belongings, just clothes and a passport. I didn't even contemplate marriage or kids at the time.
Funny how things change and all of a sudden I was the one proposing. I was the one thinking about kids. But I still never thought much about the overall upheaveal of my life and how much it would change.
After I had William I was in a pretty dark place. I didn't think that my life would be that different. While I was pregnant with him I had this idea that the baby would be in its room, come out for feeding then go back in. That idea went out the window the day I bought him home from hospital! I remember putting him in that cot and he was so tiny (well all nine pound five of him!) and that he looked like a little tiny pea in a huge bed. He slept in our room till he was six months old.
My life is so different now. My priorities are different. I think that I have been trying to make sure things didn't change, but I can't. My life has changed, just like my idea for this blog has changed!
I love my kids, I love that I am their mummy.
I don't want them to feel as though they came second to other things. I want them to feel important to me, to have fun, to enjoy being kids.
I'm reading a book at the moment called Life is a Verb by Patti Digh. For some reason I thought it was a novel! It's not but I'm really enjoying it. I'm also reading Seven Cherubs blog at the moment. I'm loving the Happieness Project. I'm loving the ideas for being happier and having a happy home.
I'm trying to make my home happier by making it simpler. I'm slowly decluttering, throwing away, changing, painting, cleaning rooms. It's feeling happier and I think it is feeding to my kids.
So basically, this blog isn't so much about quilting anymore as it is about my journey to a happier family, happier life, happier me.

Bread

Lately I've been feeling like I'm slightly lacking in the 'Fun Mum' department. I've been trying to make a real effort to do more fun things with William. So yesterday we made bread.

Will was very excited to make a small cheese and bacon loaf, and he's not sharing!

William's new jacket

Last winter I bought the Down Town Boy pattern designed by Make It Perfect. I looked at it and looked at it and that was as far as I got.
Well last night I decided to make it. And it is PERFECT!

It very first ever attempt at sewing a zipper to clothing. I used fun pin wale cord from Spotlight, and I found some DS quilting fabric there too so I grabbed some of the blue and green check and they match perfectly.
This was such a fun jacket to make and I am DEFINTELY going to make some more. Samuel needs one too now I think!