Well, we are well and truly on our way to becoming self suffcient. We have a bit of land to build on and have planned a lovely little home. Little... yes, so now I have to work out exactly how much we can take with us and what will have to be sold or left behind. Less is more! I think that is the saying. We won't be without anything when we move, solar power, water tanks, veg garden and fruit orchard... are all in the works. We will even have a toilet (which will hopefully be made into a bio loo a few years down the track!). We are planning to move by December, even if the place isn't finished. I could live in a caravan on the land right now, but hubby thinks I will miss all the mod cons. And then again it is just the end of winter where we are, so it is a bit wet and miserable. I can't wait for all the space and freedom! But of course it all means I am doubly busy. Home educating, caring for 4 children, looking after the house and garden, tending hubby (he must be kept well fed at all times LOL) and now planning, building and moving. You would think I would be utterly exhausted, but I am the happiest I have ever been. Our dream is slowly coming true and it is so exciting. I am so glad we are able to do this while the children are young, so they can experience this lifestyle as they grow older. And it is going to be one amazing experience!

Well, last week was Daniels last week of kindy. I am now homeschooling all of my children. I think I was just allowing him to go to kindy to keep my parents happy (they don't agree with homeschooling) and that wasn't making me happy. Anyway, Daniel arriving at kindy on Monday morning and giving his teacher a hug and a kiss, and telling her how much he loves her and that I am a nasty mummy, made me realise that I should be doing what I believe is the right thing to do. Not what my parents want me to do. So he had his last day on Wednesday, said his farewells... So now we are incorparating a 'kindy' day into our homeschooling routine. Monday will be 'kindy' day. A day of paint, playdough, colours, alphabet, counting etc... Which at the moment also includes cooking and gardening, as I am ultra busy cooking produce from the garden and getting seeds and garden beds ready for planting. Amber is excited about having a 'lazy' day. Thats what she thinks of kindy day, but she will still be learning lots, even if she doesn't realise it. Life is the biggest lesson of all in this world! I much prefer to be teaching my children that lesson, than sending them off to strangers. So this week we are learning about nutrition and all the foods we should eat and which ones we should limit, and the benefits of a healthy diet. Which is a good subject as I can incorporate maths, reading, cooking, gardening, english, science, health studies, phys ed etc into one lesson. Hopefully it will stop raining long enough for us to take a walk! 

Well the seasons are passing quickly. maybe a little too quickly! I can't believe it is nearly September! Time for me to start sowing beans, peas, tomatoes, zucchini, rockmelons, pumpkins, cucumbers... The list goes on. We will all be busy seeding, watering, weeding, planting... Amber is particularly excited. She is a member of the Little Diggers Club, and received a packet of seeds in the mail. She will be planting peas in a couple of weeks and tending them as they grow. Now I just have to find some space in our little back garden among all the other vegies that need planting for the spring/summer growing season. But I guess that is the fun of back yard gardening! The lawn needs mowing but it is being ignored, as the weeds have tried to take over the onions and need to be removed. The turnips are ready to be picked and the tamarillos are slowly ripening. Waiting for the pepinos to ripen is driving us mad. They are the size of a rockmelon and still refusing to go yellow! I want to have a go at making pepino jam, I think it will make a very interesting condiment. The children are keeping their strawberry garden beds weed free, but it isn't the right time of year for fruit. Although they still check for fruit every day. They are kept busy every day checking for eggs (we have a chook who has a taste for egg), playing in the sand pit and dodging the rain. O what fun to be a child!

We have a busy weekend ahead. Trying to become self sufficient in small steps seems to be the way to go at the moment. We have been able to grow enough onions, garlic and pumpkins to last us a year. So now we are moving on to potatoes! We have to plant 45 (!) seed potatoes to keep us fed for only 4 months and so we have enough potatoes to seed for the next four months. Of course this is if everything goes to plan and all 45 seed potatoes give us a good crop of potatoes. But it's good practice and the children are looking forward to planting the potatoes on the weekend. We built the garden bed last weekend out of rocks strewn about the property, and will be adding the soil and seed potatoes on Sunday. The children had fun picking up the little rocks and looking under the larger ones that hubby lifted with his crow bar and sack trolley. After an afternoon of carrying rocks and wheelbarrow rides we were all thoroughly exhausted! Which was just fantastic!

It's funny coz a couple of days after I last blogged Nathaniel decided to start rolling. He only goes from his back to front, but it's a start! And at 5 months old he is getting very interested in what we are eating and it looks as though it may be time to start solids. But he has a slight sniffle at the moment so that won't be happening for a week or two. I got mastitis again! It's the fifth time in the last five months! So I have been plodding along and the garden is going to need a serious weed next week. I just haven't had the time or energy to get out there. But the house is clean, the children clothed and fed, and hubby is happy so I guess I haven't done too bad.

The rooster has started to crow, so we are giving him a week to shut up... and if he doesn't ... well lets just say we will have one lonely bantam chicken. If the rooster has to go then we may think about putting the bantam chicken in with our layers. And the chickens have started to lay again. We are only getting one egg a day, but it is a start. We could have fed them 'laying pellets' to make them lay but we figured if it must be natures way of giving the poor things a rest.

It's wet and cold and the children have insisted on having the cats indoors. I don't mind too much. The cats tend to sit under the clothes airers in front of the fireplace, so they don't get in the way at all. And I vacuum every second day or so, because of my asthma, so their hair loss is kept under control. The children just love to sit beside the cats and read, so it's nice and peaceful... well most of the time. LOL!

We've been busy the past few weeks, so I haven't had much time to myself. But that doesn't bother me. The garden is managing to look after itself with all the rain we have been having. I just have to duck out between showers to do a spot of weeding every now and then, and to pick vegies for meals. The chickens have stopped laying because of the cool weather and short days. Ambers rooster hasn't started crowing yet, we think that is mainly because of the cool weather and it hasn't got any competition. I need to go to the library and get some books on chickens so Amber and I can research breeding of chickens. We will need to design a pen, laying boxes etc, for when we move to our new place. We have been busy chopping firewood and burning off all the branches etc that are left behind. Makes the place less of a fire hazard during the summer months. My aunt and two cousins are visiting from Scotland. It's cheaper for them to come at this time of year, even though at the moment it is warmer in Scotland than what it is here in the south of Western Australia. They are visiting for 7 weeks which is just fantastic. Amber has been busy with swimming lessons, dance classes and drama classes. She has a performance on Thursday and all the family is looking forward to it. For me, I am going to a piano recital on Friday night with my brother. It only goes for an hour or so, but hubby says I deserve a break. What a sweetie! But maybe he is feeling a little guilty for going to the movies with his mate and watching Terminator 4! The boys have been keeping me busy. Controlling what Daniel eats can be quite difficult some days, but if he eats the wrong things then his gut goes haywire or his behaviour gets out of control. I might have to start homeschooling him sooner than next year, as when he goes to kindy I lose a little of that control over what he eats. Generally they are quite good, but if someone brings in cake it's not really fair for them to say no to him. Jacob is trying really hard to talk and be understood. He is miles ahead than what Daniel was at 2, so I am really proud, but sometimes the constant babble can give everyone a headache. He he!!! Nathaniel swivels around on his back when he has time on the floor, but hates his belly and doesn't seem keen on rolling. But he is nearly sitting up all by himself. I'm not too worried, Daniel wasn't much of a belly crawler either. Hubby has the next couple of days off, he needs a rest and we need to catch up on a few things as a family. Hopefully I will find some time to get on more often! We'll see!!!

My daughters silkie bantams are looking so cute! We finally hit the jackpot and got a chicken! So we have one of each and until the rooster starts to make himself known (crowing at all hours!) we have two extremely cute, white, fluffy bantams in the backyard. I designed and banged together a little run for them on the weekend, as hubbys 'temporary' run blew to pieces in the first puff of wind. He helped me stretch the wire on and make a little gate, that he then screwed on to the run. (The gate is so Amber can get in and out.) So I guess we both had a hand in making the run in the end! I have a tray full of strawberry runners that need planting this week, I just have to find somewhere that I can plant them. We are running out of room. But the more plants that go in, the more strawberries that can be harvested. We also have to find time to go and pick up some raspberry canes from my grandparents. Berries are such fun, and the children not only love to pick them but eat them too! Hubby dug up our three potato plants with the children on the weekend. There were enough potatoes for one meal! But thats ok, next year we should be in a position where we can plant enough potatoes to last us the entire year. The children enjoyed digging through the dirt and pulling out spuds. And then eating them for dinner! A great way to get children to eat vegetables is to involve them in the entire process. Even if it is just buying them from the supermarket, it's fun weighing them up and packing them into a bag. Then preparing them to be eaten! At the moment broccoli and cauliflower are the favourite vegies, so I am glad I have a few planted in the backyard!

The wet, winter, weather has finally set in! So I have been extra busy keeping the fire going to warm the house, dodging out inbetween showers to tend to the garden, cooking warm winter food, keeping a close eye on our chicken run and hoping it won't flood again this year! As well as cleaning the house, schooling my children, going out (to keep sane!), planning the future and getting my hands dirty with all the odd jobs around the house (hubby has been away at work so it is down to me to be the 'handyman' of the house!).It's been fun searching the local salvage yard, tip shop and second hand stores for items that may come in handy for when we finally become as self sufficient as possible! Which is becoming more possible as the months fly by. Hubby is particularly looking forward to no longer working for 'the man' and spending more time with the wifey (me) and all the children. We were hoping everything to be in place within 12 months but it looks as though it may be more like 18 months... but we really don't mind, we are just happy to be working together as a family, for a common goal! So for the time being it's board games, reading books, art and craft, letter writing and cooking activities unless the weather fines up and then we make a dash for the fresh air!

I just love it when your baby gets to the age where they start to smile and slowly but surely they begin to giggle. Nathaniel smiles at any new face he sees, they must amuse him greatly! And the giggle... It started as a squeal, and now it is starting to sound more like a giggle. But the entire process is just so darn cute! Babies are just too cute for their own good! Don't you think?

Daniel went to kindy yesterday and had a really good time. Well he had a good time. He was playing monsters with his little friend Hayley, and I think by the end of the game she was a little fed up with 'Monster Daniel'. Luckily it was only a morning session and she didn't have to put up with an entire day of monsters. Amber and I were busy all day in the garden. The boys enjoyed being outdoors all day. The weather was lovely so I also got a heap of washing done at the same time. So Amber and I watered, weeded, picked beans, beets and capsicums, fed the chickens some green scraps and gave the vegie garden a nice feed (with Seasol). Jacob did a lot of digging, mainly in the wrong place at the wrong time. But he had fun. And when Daniel got home he fed the chickens some weeds that he had picked out of the path around the house. He also checked the eggs, but our chickens have gone on strike for the time being. Today will be another day in the garden, but we will be sowing seed and harvesting some of Ambers baby carrots. But I am waiting for it to warm up a little bit because at the moment it is freezing cold outside and nice and toasty in here!