Category Archives: Mother Angst

Athletic or Unco?

When I was younger (and really still now) I was a bit unco-ordinated when it came to sport or any sort of gross motor activity. I’m not sure whether it’s lack of exposure or whether it’s ingrained into me to suck at most physical activity. Either way, sports carnivals were not my favourite event at school, except for the fact that it was a day out of the classroom. I have been hoping that my Muddy Kids inherit Muddy Hubby’s enthusiasm for sport more than mine, so I was interested to see how my Muddy Organiser would go at her first Athletics Carnival. We rugged ourselves up on a windy and cold afternoon and settled in for the fun.
 
As it’s only a relatively small school, they ran it for just over an hour on Friday afternoon and the kids had a ball. They had a running race, a sack race, 3-legged race, jelly bean on a spoon race, dress in footy jersey and funny hat race and a tug-o-war. After watching the whole carnival, I think it’s safe to say that my Muddy Organiser has inherited my gross motor skills (poor thing) but she had a blast and not once did she stop smiling, which I thought was the best bit. As long as we can keep encouraging her enthusiasm and making sure she doesn’t stop trying I’ll be a pretty happy Mum.
 
How do we make that happen though? Is it a matter of lots of positive reinforcement and encouragement, is it a matter of getting out there and practicing with her to make sure she’s not afraid to give anything a go, or is it something inbuilt into them to keep giving everything their all with a smile on their face?
 
Do you have sporty kids, or are they like me and a little un-co? Do they keep trying and how do you keep them smiling and having fun?
 

The Bus Swing

Next to one of the old cottages on our farm there is an old fashioned swing. I LOVE this swing. Every single one of the Muddy Kids fits on it at the same time. There are no fights over whose turn on the swing it is, just where everyone sits and who holds Muddy Bubby.
The Muddy Kids call it the Bus Swing, they pretend to get on the bus and take turns being the driver. They sing ‘The Wheels on the Bus’ and stop at different places to see things or go to school or preschool. There is peace amongst them, the bickering ceases and the squabbling is gone while on this swing.
Maybe I should call it the magic swing? It is the bickering and squabbling over little things that I think wears me down more than anything. From the ‘she hit me’ to ‘it’s mine, they took it’, to ‘she’s hurting my ears’ to ‘Muddy Bubby wrecked our game’, it’s this that eats away at my patience until I can stand it no more.
While on this swing there is happiness in all our faces and hearts, if only they could spend maybe half a day on the swing we’d all be a bit happier! Is it just me or do all kids squabble and bicker? If your kids don’t PLEASE tell me how to help stop mine, otherwise my kids will spend way too much time on this swing.

The Bus

Time and Time again I am reminded that time passes quickly and before you know it your kids are growing up and doing things you thought were so far away. This morning my Muddy Pixie took the big step of catching the bus to Preschool. We have been talking about the possibility for a while and each time she’s seem pretty keen, so with the start of a new term we decided to give it a go.
The Muddy Pixie was practically giddy with excitement, she bolted out the door this morning (unheard of for her who is always the straggler) back pack and all, bounced out of the car when we got to the bus stop and then held tightly onto my hand while we waited for the bus to arrive. Then the time came and up she went onto the bus and off to preschool. Simple as that.

I have been an anxious Mum and rang preschool to check she arrived safe and sound (she did), I was reassured that all the staff did the big ‘Oh wow you caught the bus, how exciting, what a big girl thing to do’ with lots of positive praise and high-fives (again I am so lucky to have such a great preschool and staff). So from now on this will be how it is, two big girls catching the bus to school and preschool and home again, ‘except on special ocassions’ as my Muddy Organiser says.

Chicken Infused Pork

No this is unfortunately not a recipe, this is a horror story (not really, but as close as I get) and yes it has given me nightmares.

We have 2 pet pigs, one girl (Sow) named Alana, and a boy pig (Boar) named Leopard. Over the last few months I have become quite fond of my pigs, they’ve got their own little personalities and they are very cheeky. We have been letting them out in the house paddock during the day, and in the evening they see me coming with the scrap bucket and put themselves in their pen, have a feed, a late afternoon camp in the sun, before they tuck themselves into their tin drum together at night.

A few weeks ago one of my chooks went missing, I put it down to foxes as there’s been a few about. A couple of days later another chook went missing, it was at night and in the morning there were feathers in the pig yard. Now the two yards are next to each other and I had noticed the pigs digging around the fence line but hadn’t thought anything of it, the chooks however have decided to start escaping that way, and unfortunately the pigs decided that the wayward chook that came wandering into their yard was a tasty morsel.

I was initially skeptical that it was the pigs, I gave them the benefit of the doubt, then one day I let them both out in the house paddock together (the 2 remaining chooks and the 2 pigs). What took place next was my stuff of nightmares. The pigs cornered the chooks in the chook yard, working as a team the had them cornered and went in for the kill. I was screaming ‘Stop, Stop’ but the pigs were focused on their goal and as I’ve since been told ‘they’re not like dogs you know, they’re not going to listen’! One chook came squawking out of the yard at full pace, ran straight into the garage where I promptly shut the door to keep her safe. The second chook I thought was a goner, she had escaped to another corner but the pigs had followed and I hadn’t heard a squawk from her, then like Lazarus rising she came flapping out of the yard at full pace, I opened the garage door to let her in and quickly shut it down to keep her safe. Needless to say the chooks and I are both traumatised.

The pigs aren’t quite big enough to become Christmas Pork and Ham yet, so we have them for a little longer. I now only let either the chooks or the pigs out, never both and make sure the kids don’t smell or look too appetising when we feed them at night! I have been wondering though whether my pork will taste a little like chicken and if I’ll be sad eating my pork knowing the reason is tastes so good is because it was fattened on chooks?

Balancing My World

Today marks 3 weeks until I return to the work force! I’m in two minds as to whether I want to cry or whether I want to cheer that I will be getting to have some time that reminds me that I’m not only a Mum 2 days a week, that there are other aspects to me. Please don’t get me wrong I love being at home with my kids but for me returning to work is what I need to bring balance back into my world.

A couple of months ago I knew I was ready to go back, Muddy Hubby came home one day and I was in tears, I had made a big effort to do nothing house related all day, to just play with my kids, the first half of the day was great, by the end I’d had enough. I cried to Muddy Hubby ‘I don’t actually enjoy playing with my kids ALL day’ and I was so upset because I know how many women out there would give their right arm to be able to sit at home and play with their kids all day and I felt guilty that I wasn’t one of them.

I have said it before and I will say it again, I take my hat off to full time stay at home Mums, I think they are a very special breed, with patience and tolerance in abundance, which I do not have.These 12 months have been perfect, I got the last few months at home full time before my Muddy Organiser started school, I got to be there each day for bus drop offs and pick ups for the first 2 terms, I even squeezed in Canteen Duty a few times and have enjoyed being at home full time.

I am making sure I am soaking up the last weeks, making sure I spend time with each of the kids, getting them ready too. I think it will be a bumpy road ahead til we get into a groove!

Balancing it Out

I don’t like getting too dirty. I don’t mind if I’m working around the farm and get dirty, that I can cope with, as long as once it’s done I can have a hot shower and clean up I’m fine. I can be a bit of a fussy parent at times too about the kids getting dirty, I KNOW that it”s all in fun and it helps with learning and creative play and all that, but still it’s dirt! Which is why I LOVE that Muddy Hubby is the opposite, he gets dirty and doesn’t even notice, comes home and goes to sit on the lounge filthy and I have to stop him before he sits down. I love that when the kids go with him it’s almost guaranteed that they will come back having had a wonderful time and covered in dirt. If I go along with them I am fussing and trying to minimise the damage. Muddy Hubby on the other hand lets them go hard until they’re worn out, no matter how dirty they get.

The same goes for risk taking, I am not an overly adventurous person, I always over think things and stop and hesitate before jumping into a task. Muddy Hubby again is the opposite, he whacks the kids in the bucket of the Dingo and doesn’t hesitate to raise them up in the air, while I on the other hand fret about ‘What if they fall out’. When he discovers an Emu nest he jumps right in and gets the kids in to check it out, while on the other hand I am having visions of angry Emus finding me in their nest and chasing me around the paddock (yes I have had this vision several times). Muddy Hubby has the confidence that the Emu has long left the nest and the few remaining eggs will not hatch and it’s OK for the girls to pick them up and bring them home. He doesn’t flinch when the Muddy Puzzler drops the Emu Egg on the Dining Room floor and it smashes open,while I am having a heart attack about how to clean it all up (true story)!
This balance we have evens it out for our kids. I’m sure if it was 100% up to me my kids would end up reserved, clean freaks with no sense of adventure.

Memory Lane

Source

So at the end of last week I found myself talking a nostalgic walk down memory lane. I happened to drive past one of the first houses I lived in when I moved out west for a job, over 10 years ago now. I don’t often end up in that part of town but when I do I make sure I check out my old haunts. I was horrified to discover that the house, which holds such fond memories of the single, carefree life I lived was now a ‘Massage Clinic’. I know it has changed owners several times but was not expecting that. I called my old flatmate who I lived in the house with and we had a good laugh about what type of massage clinic it was, and whether or not if you went for a massage it would have a ‘happy ending’. We had a little catch up and I remembered all the good times we’d had living together.

Then Saturday night we went back to town for my Muddy Brother-in-law’s 30th Birthday, it was held at what used to be one of my favourite restaurants when I lived in town. I found myself remembering birthdays, farewells and dinners I’ve had there and again got a little nostalgic.

I find that this often happens, I go for long periods without thinking about how I got to be where I am, and then through circumstances end up with several things that take me on a walk down memory lane. Sometimes I really love that jog of the memory that ‘Oh so this is how I ended up where I am’, then there’s the memories that bring out the cringe factor ‘did I really do that, what was I thinking’ and trust me, there are lots of cringes!

The best bit about a walk down memory lane is knowing that no matter how I got to where I am, the most important thing is where I am now and that I’m happy. That there are no regrets. These walks down memory lane really got me thinking about memories and what you hold onto and what you let go of. One of my favourite movies is ‘The Notebook’ and it makes me cry every time, because she doesn’t remember the love of her life, only in those rare lucid moments, I am scared that at some point I won’t be able to do these walks down memory lane. For now though I am enjoying them.

Do you take walks down memory lane often, or do they catch you by surprise like they do me?
Do you like them, or cringe at them? Or are you one of those people that never look back?
Did your old house end up as a Massage Clinic too?

What’s up for Discussion?

I was raised in a household where you pretty much did not discuss religion or politics. You could talk in general terms but you don’t come out and say ‘I’m an Anglican’ or ‘I support the Greens’ or whatever the case may be. It was almost like an unspoken rule, you may know what religion people are or aren’t or where their political preferences lay but it’s not discussed openly, it’s just not polite.

So I was a little taken aback on the weekend, when at a party, a fellow Mum proceeded to tell me about the choice of school she’d made for her firstborn son. Now bearing in mind in town there is only a choice of two schools, the Public School or the Catholic School, this Mum proceeded to tell me that she had chosen the Catholic School for her son because 1 – she is Catholic and was raised a Catholic and 2 –  ‘Really where else would you send them’ and then proceeded to tell me it was because she felt it was important to instill ‘Good Values’ into the children the way that she was raised.

Now really I think it’s great that she has strong feelings on her child’s education, and that she is so definite in her choices and what she wants for her children, as I have met many a parent who is apathetic about their child’s education. What was hard to take (for me anyway) was this open discussion of her religion and her reasons relating to religion for her child’s education. When I was growing up, this wouldn’t have been up for discussion it would be ‘oh great you’re sending them there’ or ‘shame we won’t be going to the same school’ the religion discussion would just not have happened, particularly not so publicly or with someone who is not family or a close family friend, it just was not done. I’m more than happy to have a chat about the different schools, teaching styles, the make up of kids in the school and have had many such a discussion without the religion factor, so I know it can be done.

A similar thing happens around here at election time, people feel that it’s OK to talk about who you voted for and share that information with you. This is information I don’t feel comfortable hearing and then they get a little affronted when I won’t return the information exchange and tell them who I voted for out of the slim pickings on the ballot paper.

Have I missed something, a shift in culture or conversation? Am I behind the times, is it now polite to discuss openly your religion or political choices? Were my family and friends always behind the times, was it always OK to discuss this, or am I experiencing a ‘country thing’ I wasn’t aware of before? Am I the only one who feels this? Am I even allowed to discuss it here, or is that taboo too?

Maybe I need to review my conversation rules?

Cranky at Black and White

So I’m a little bit cranky at the local council. About 12 months ago, before my Muddy Organiser started school, we started talking to the chief engineer at council about whacking a load of gravel opposite the end of our road so that the bus could pull off the road safely and not get bogged (it would also save our shoes from getting too sandy or muddy when it’s wet, but you can’t use that excuse with council). The engineer said just tell me what the bus company needs and I’ll make it happen. The bus company said ‘we need not to get bogged and to have enough room to pull fully off the highway’. The engineer said, yes, no problem, there’s a few we need to do so we’ll put it on the list, it’s important especially as you’ll be using it each day.

The start of school came and went (and it was WET), and still no gravel. The bus has slowly been wearing tracks in the dirt and sand, when it’s wet it will spin it’s wheels a few times before grabbing traction and pulling away, much to my relief. By the time the bus gets to us it’s pretty much full, there’s about 30-40 kids on it, and it needs a tractor to pull it out if it gets bogged (yes it’s happened the Muddy Pa has pulled it out once before). I have recurring nightmares of having to ferry kids down in my car to where the crossroads are and they change to the next bus into town.

Yesterday morning on my way to town I got a little excited as I approached our bus stop, the council workers were there, I started to do my little happy dance, then realised they weren’t there for the gravel. They were replacing a perfectly good black and white sign with a new bigger black and white sign. Given our road only has two houses at the end of it and we are the only people (other than visitors and the postman) who use the road in my opinion it’s a waste of time and money. Maybe there’s a new law I don’t know about that says the black and white signs must be a certain size, maybe it’s an RTA thing, but for 2 council workers to come out, remove the old (perfectly good) sign and bang in an extra 2 new posts and hang up the new sign, to me it’s a waste. I’d rather have my load of gravel! My preference (if council cared to ask) is to do everything possible to avoid getting the school bus bogged, to help get the kids to school and to avoid me being a taxi for those 40 kids when it does get bogged so they don’t miss the next bus! I know if it does get bogged it won’t be council workers pulling it out it will be Muddy Hubby on the tractor!

I know it’s a small issue, I know I shouldn’t get so worked up about it. However when you have a council that is continually crying poor and telling us they need to up our rates by 50% (I kid you not) then it really makes me wonder why they would spend money doing something like this. I can cope with muddy shoes and the fear of the bus getting bogged and go without the gravel, but did they really have to make me cranky by replacing a perfectly good sign.

Our flash new sign

View from the bus stop on a warm summer morning
Did you have similar issues with your local council? How do you tackle your council problems?

The Block

I will be the first one to tell you I haven’t been coping some days while Muddy Hubby has been away up north. The Muddy Kis have been largely good, but it’s the whiney voices when they’re tired and the bickering between them that I really struggle with. We have been spending most of our days outside, drinking in the autumn sunshine and warmth, rather than be inside in the cold house going stir crazy.
While it has been so lovely to enjoy the outside time and some old favourites of bikes, the sandpit and my washing, it has not staved off ‘happy hour’ come dinner and bed time. No matter how I work my day it still ends in fights and tears. We are at the point where the Muddy Kids are all in bed by 6-6:30pm as by then we’ve all had enough of each other and they’ll be up in 12 hours to start it all over again. I have moved everything forward, the animals are done either before I pick the Muddy Organiser up from the bus or as soon as we get back. We have swapped dinner and bath time around to see if that makes a difference – it hasn’t. Day sleeps make no impact, it’s still a battle, I still end up doing my ‘block’ at least once before they fall into blissful slumber. I am hoping things settle down a little when Muddy Hubby returns, as I really hate doing my block before bedtime, I feel bad all night and don’t sleep well at all.
The benefit of such an early bed time though is that I have time to run around and get my jobs done before ‘The Block’ starts. I have become a little addicted I must admit, surprising as I was a little put off the last two seasons, but there’s something about this season that has drawn me in, Muddy Hubby too, he’s been asking for updates via phone as he sits on the tractor at night!
Today we have again spent the morning outside and tomorrow will bring some Day Care respite and funnily enough I’ll be eagerly waiting to pick them all up and bring them home right on ‘Happy Hour’.
How do you manage ‘Happy Hour’ at your place, I’m in need of some ideas and inspiration!
Are you addicted to ‘The Block’ too?