41 weeks...and counting...

Well, I never in my life thought that my third baby would take this long to be born, he is now 9 days past his due date. It's not like we haven't tried to evict him, either - we've been eating spicy food, taking long, brisk walks, tried acupressure points, among other "old wives tales". I have now come to the conclusion that these are all myths, and babies take no notice of these things, unless they are ready. However, he is being born this week, whether he likes it or not, although I'm not really looking forward to how big he is going to be :( after so many extra days of "baking". At least in a few days time I'll finally have a baby to put into the empty pram, bassinet and baby swing that have been standing around the house collecting dust for several weeks now. Stay tuned for baby photos and a blog update, hopefully before the end of this week!

Rumble in the Jungle (well...bush...)

So, I am writing this in the calm after the storm that has just passed through here. And when I say storm, that's a bit of an understatement, really. What started out as a few raindrops progressed slowly into small hail (5c piece sized). None of this was really anything to blink at, except when the winds suddenly blew such a gale that our trampoline, normally in the backyard, was blown over, then clear over the fence, around to the front yard, and now sits in the bush out the front of our house. It's a little bit bent up. It was also hard to calm down the distraught 5 year old girl who plays on it everyday. however, after my promises of a new trampoline, L came home from work, thinking about covering up the car to protect it from the ever-increasing hail, and has decided the trampoline can be fixed. We'll see. Even more suddenly than it started, the storm ceased, leaving our front yard somewhat soggy (excellent gumboot weather for the kids), and our backyard in a thorough mess. A couple of stray chairs here and there, the lack of a trampoline (obviously), a sandpit that has turned into a lake, and the roof of the chicken coop was blown clean off. The noise from the thunder and the flashes of lightning were incredible (we looked up weatherzone's radar, it passed directly over us), hence the post title (just in case you didn't get it). Our chicken is oblivious to the fact her home was almost destroyed and she will have to face a soggy bed tonight.

The good thing to come of it, I suppose, was a double rainbow after it was all over, and the gorgeous little finches that are using our front yard as a giant bird bath.

Pictures to be uploaded later...

Post Script:- we were told today that it was in fact a mini-tornado that went through, which explains the freakish winds.

An Update...Finally

Well, yes, it has been a while since we have updated the blog, life gets busy, doesn't it? Let's see, for those who aren't yet aware, the new little addition to our family is (supposed to be) a boy (in a few days we'll see, but the ultrasound tech was quite sure). Choosing a name for the little monkey has been quite the task, though, although the middle name has always been certain. I have been having awesome fun shopping on e-bay finding little things that we need, since many of the things we bought when Miss A was born were already second hand, and are not suitable to hand down to another baby (my most proud purchase so far is the new pram :D it's awesome). As usual, I have bought my big bucket of sweetworld lollipops, the most delicious lollipops in the world. They are not lasting as well as I'd hoped, thanks to the help of two little children (I usually buy them towards the end of pregnancy, as a reward, sort of ;) ). OK, enough baby news, it will have a post of it's own in a few days anyway.

In May, my accident-prone husband (although he resents and refuses to use that terminology) once again had a trip to hospital (and a few days staying there) after cutting his arm with a knife, being in somewhat of an awkward position whilst trying to cut a pipe inside a roof space at the shop. He severed 3 tendons. His arm has been healing well, and has been discharged from the fracture clinic and now is just attending occupational therapy. The doctors say tendon strength is completely back, and it's now just a matter of working on flexibility and building up general strength. His arm was in various casts for 6-8 weeks. It seems to be something new each week with that boy, this week's drama was him attempting "death by itchy-grub". It didn't work.

Miss A is doing well in her schooling, and I will update the home-school blog shortly (if I remember, pregnancy brain has hit me hard this time :D), and is gaining confidence in being able to read. L is encouraging her in a new hobby - photography, and she has taken to it quite well, some of the below pictures are her handiwork, she will be the "official photographer" of the new bub.

Master B is also coming out of his shell a lot more, he even announces his name when asked to at Sabbath School, which I was starting to doubt would ever happen. He has never been as withdrawn as Miss A, though.

We've had all the birthdays in our household for the year, apart from the obvious one that will occur in the not too distant future, I am now ten times as old as my son, and six times as old as my daughter, and beginning a new decade. Hmm.

As I'm sure you are getting tired of reading, here are some recent pictures:

Pictures Miss A has taken:

Ankle

Master B, and Miss A's toy ladybird

Our little chicken coop

lavender from our front yard

L's birthday

li'l ponies

Some other photos, but not taken by Miss A:

trying to fill Daddy's big boots

helping out at Daddy's shop

A very big fish for a little boy

L couldn't resist taking a photo of his stitches, this was after his surgery and two weeks of being in a plaster cast

And finally, pics from Agrotrend 2011:

It was awfully tempting to buy one of these this year :D

Miss A on the steps of a rather massive tractor, we all felt quite dwarfed by it, actually

Master B, wishing he were bigger