Sunday, what a lovely day to be out in the garden. Even if it does look as though it may rain later on today. The rain will be good for the vegies. I have been planting vegies like crazy for a few months and have finally got it all sorted so that I don't have to buy any from the shops. All our vegies are fresh from the garden. Although my onion seeds were too old and didn't take and I plan to plant a patch of potatoes out at my parents as soon as I get some spare time. At the moment we have cauliflower, carrots, parsnip, silverbeet, turnips and heaps of herbs. The children love to help with the garden. Daniel collects all the snails, slugs and bugs, Amber helps with the weeding (with the occassional accidental removal of veg seedlings), and Jacob aerates the dirt (he just digs around in the garden with a little spade). We have a good little compost heap going that the children help with by putting stuff into it. And the chooks have finally started laying. Amber feeds them and Daniel checks the eggs. Not enough eggs to feed us all yet, so we may have to get a few more 'laying' hens. I ran out of room in the back yard so I have planted a herb bed out the front, along with some cabbages, and in the flower garden out the back (to attract bees) I have dotted broccoli throughout. Hubby and I just potted up a whole heap of fruiting bushes. Banana passionfruit, pepino, blueberry, and I think there was a guava. Our pots of strawberries all around the garden are fruiting. Not that any make it to the kitchen, the children eat them straight off the plant! So we are going to be busy in the garden today, and I am going to be busy in the kitchen. Rhubarb marmalade, carrot cake and cauliflower cheese are on the list of things to cook so far. And I am sure it will grow. As will our garden!

Well Amber is happy to be back at school. So I guess that solves my little dilemma for the time being. I have talked to her about homeschooling but it is her choice if she wants to do it or not. So until she asks me to homeschool her she will be attending the one across the road.

Hubby gets home today. Yah! Our youngest has missed him like crazy and keeps walking about the house calling out 'daddy!' So to keep busy we are out visiting this morning. Daniel has been asking to see his little friend Hayley so his mum and I have organised a play date and then this afternoon I will be busy cleaning the house getting ready for hubby to get home. And we have his daughter staying for a night on the weekend, so I like to have a fresh house for when she comes. Hubby says I don't have to be so worried about the house being clean but it gets one every three days as I have asthma and dust accumulates rather quickly when you have a wood fire. And my parents own the place so every time they come over it is like a little inspection to see how we are keeping the house. He he... Being pregnant always aggravates my asthma. It can be quite tiresome. Especially with all the cleaning and dusting!

I have had my daughter home from school the past two days, she has a runny nose and a bad cough. So she is on the herbal tea and has decided she is well enough to go back today. At least her cough has gone. Thing is she says she wants to go but she is dragging her feet and complaining about all the work she will have to do and that she has no friends at school. It's funny coz I have been looking into homeschooling a lot more seriously and the more I read about it and talk to people in the area I live, the more convinced I am that it is the best thing for my daughter. And my sons! My husband supports me in the idea of homeschooling but I will have to sit down with my daughters father and see what he has to say. He was homeschooled as well, and he should be involved with the decision on how she gets schooled. It's been great the past two days, having her home. I don't really get to spend much quality time with her as she gets home from school at 3.20 and is in bed by 6! And in the morning she is up at 7 and at school by 8.30. Then once a fortnight she stays at her dads for a weekend and the alternate fornight we have my husbands daughter overnight and A would rather play with her than spend time with her mum. I'm worried I am thinking a little selfishly but she has been struggling at school, (she has a short attention span), and she really doesn't have friends, she tends to drift between people. So much to think about and so little time in which to do it. I love having three and a fourth on the way. It keeps me busy and I just hate having nothing to do. Hubby is away so it looks as though things around here will be even busier!

The sun is shining and the sky is blue. The weather is lovely, which is a little odd for where  I live and especially this time of year. So the boys are outside making the most of it. Sand is flying in every direction but the sand pit. And their bikes are zooming up and down the path. If the neighbours are trying to have an afternoon nap I feel sorry for them! But they have children themselves so I am sure they understand the current noise level. It can be difficult living in suburbia at times, but finding a rental out of town takes time and knowing the right people!

Haven't been on minti for a while! I miscarried twins earlier on this year and it took a while to get back into the swing of things. But hubby and are I pregnant again! This time we waited til I was twelve weeks and had been to the doc for a check up before we told anyone. So last week we told all the family. I think my daughter was the most excited. She hasn't been quite right since losing the twins, it hit her really hard. But now she has something to look forward to. She rubs my belly every evening and tells it to hurry up and get bigger. She told me she would love a sister, but a brother would be just fine.

We have stowed the tv and accessories away into the garage for a whole month! We are seeing how much electricity we will save and what the children will do without it. It has been packed away for four days and my eldest son has just noticed that it has gone. Instead of watching tv we listen to the radio, go on the net, read books or just head outside. It's been great so far and it might just stay in the garage forever! We haven't been using lights for over a month now and the electricity bill has gone down a whole ten dollars a month. It's great. We use a lantern at night when the children are up (it recharges in the van during the day) and we light a couple of candles when they go to bed. I know candles can be quite dangerous so we have bought some nice sturdy ones and I have just read that some candles can be quite bad for your health in confined spaces so I am going to have a go at making some bees wax candles. They smell delicious as they burn and are much better for your health.