(Guest blogger Dan) GONE CLUCKY

Henny Penny: The Leader.

Mrs Tilly: The Follower

A photo or moment in time can reveal so much about somebody or something by the way they walk, the way they communicate, the way the look and by the way they act. Chickens for example, have what we call a pecking order. There is a dominant one, the followers (assistant's), and the then there is one that wonders why the others want to be a follower and constantly tries to fight against the leadership.

Mrs Peck: The Mother Hen Charlotte: The new girl on the block taken under the wing by Mrs Peck.

We all have the same requirements for living - food, water, air, shelter, companionship, love, social interaction. No matter who we are or what we do behind feather or skin we are all the same. There is a natural pecking order within the coop and within relationships in family, work, and friends and harmony/balance prevails if everyone sends and wants love in their life.

A Ghostly Week

Well its been a strange week around here. Firstly the T.V blows up (not such a bad thing), closely followed by the computer (very bad), the phone is on the blink and a glass of milk was spilled on the keyboard. Luckily we salvaged what was on the hard drive but the computer has unfortunately flat-lined and I have had to borrow one from work for a while.

A friend suggested that all these mishaps were perhaps related to an unhappy ghost that wasn't to pleased about the renovation. Dan and I have always sensed we had a ghost, but we felt that it was a friendly one watching happily over us. Dan believes this is why Fynn doesn't sleep well, as his sleep went to crap once we moved in here. However, I'm sure the baby whisper wouldn't agree with him. I would rather think that if it is a ghost, it is simply sending us a subtle message to stop spending so much time in front of the telly, the computer and gas bagging on the phone and start talking to one another more, start doing things we love and inspiring one another in creative ways.

Its been nice without the electronics, I have started making clothes for the doll that I'm making for Myles for Christmas and have even got his quilt out that got lost in the "to do pile". Amazingly I even started another two small quilts for..........well l'm not sure, I just felt inspired and went crazy with the scissors cutting material that has been sitting dormant for way to long in my cupboard.

Apart from that, the vegetable patch has provided us with an abundance of goods this week. Surprisingly whilst trying to stake up the tomato plants that have gone 'wild' I found two enormous cucumbers hiding under them quiet joy of it all.......

OFF AND RACING

It's been coming for a while but he is finally off and racing.

NO NEED FOR THE PARK

Its a four year old's dream playground,....large mounds of dirt to play in, huge holes to dig in, tree's to cut down, huge trucks that dump stuff, cranes to lift stuff and a huge mound of bricks to build with. Yep the 'renovation' has begun. Instead of feeling stressed about it I'm really trying to focus on the positives of not having a toilet soon or loosing the back third of the house. So firstly I would have to say that the most positive thing is that Myles is endlessly occupied watching trucks come to the house to unload bricks etc..... and;

digging holes, building tree houses from the trees that had to be cut down, making mud pies with mates.... oh sorry apparently this was poison potion....hmmmmmm...

He is in his element and so is dad.

MORNING RITUAL

Every morning when Daniel's dad picks him up for work the kids run outside, jump in the truck, sit on his lap, beep the horn (to the neighbours dismay), put the window wipers on and if they are very lucky pop takes them for a quick drive up the street and back. As much as it pains me walking outside in my P'J's half asleep, no bra on, hair in a mess I love watching the enjoyment the kids get from this very simple morning ritual.

HILLS HOISTING

Well, Myles has discovered the utter joy, fun and exhilaration of swinging on the clothes line.

I can so clearly remember swinging from the 'Hills Hoist' when I was younger and even more clearly remember getting in trouble for it (but never being deterred enough to give it another go). I suppose for a four year old its equivalent to bungee jumping. Secretly I'm terrified for him and keep hearing my mum in the back of my mind as I yell: "Stop.....its to dangerous....your going to break the clothes line.....your going to crack your head open...ambulance...hospital". I think this is just the beginning of the feeling of duality that being a mum will bring......knowing very well that I did that as a youngster, enjoyed it, and survived.

BLUE EYED, BLONDE HAIRED BABY

My blue eyed blonde haired bubbu has so suddenly turned one.

What a strange feeling it is, all of a sudden this little baby who was all about sleeping, feeding, pooing, and waking (way to much) has become a vibrant, cheeky little soul. He is such a beautiful happy soul, much like his dad yet very stubborn and determined much like his mum. I cant wait to see what he has to bring to this world.

BIRD WATCHING

It rained so much last week, I found myself and the kids going stir crazy by the weekend. So as soon as the sun shone through the clouds I declared that it was - "time to get out into the bush". Nothing like a bush walk to calm everyone down, reconnect and get some exercise at the same time. Once I actually got everyone out of the house, in the car, and convinced myself not to got back inside for a nap, had Myles walk further than 10 metres without wanting to be picked up it ended up being a really nice afternoon, with Fynn eventually snoozing in the sling, curled up like a little possum.

I finally invested in a good bird identification book, took that along with Myles' binoculars and tried to do some bird watching. Initially I bought a simple kids bird book just to test out whether we would get any value from a more detailed one and after a couple of trials we all found ourselves really getting into it. It was nice to come home later and still talk about the birds we saw on the walk, have a look at their pictures again and try to draw them, or just sit out in the backyard and try to identify the very limited variety of birds that visit our yard.

ODE TO HAPPY FEET

Happy Feet you were so sweet,

and you had the cutest little tweet. Until, the eventful day kooly mistook you for her treat. When we found you gone, our hearts you broke and we hadn't even tasted your yoke. Now when I sit on our big stone seat, I will always think of you, little happy feet. A chook with dreams who will live forever, in heaven or earth,

as it is in feather.

TINY TOES

Last week I had the privilege of seeing my sister give birth to her beautiful baby son. Apart from my own sons being born this was one the most amazing things I have experienced. It was strange being on the other side - not knowing what to say, whether to hold her hand, cuddle her, and generally feeling helpless. So I just went with it, remaining calm until the end by which time I resembled a screaming football fan barracking for their team as they cross the line to score a try. However, the result was one eight pound beautiful baby boy, two very happy parents and one blubbering mess of an auntie.