The Dreaded School Lunch Box aka Farmgirl Gets Hands On

I tried hard to channel Nigella this week and did some baking for Farmboy's school lunches.  Filling lunch boxes seems to make me slightly neurotic.  I get performance anxiety about making Farmboy's lunch healthy and unprocessed enough to get past the lunch box police. So many foods are banned and I am constantly worried I will accidentally have a brain freeze and put in chocolate biscuits or something...  I would then be forever branded as the mother that put junk food in her son's lunch box.

Farmgirl helped me with the baking this week.  Baking is something we often do together.  I have used her expertise to help illustrate recipes before (click here if you want to see her polished technique).  She particularly loves helping me ice things.  Sometimes she gets a bit carried away though.

Farmgirl Hands

I think this may be getting a bit too hands on...

Am I the only Mum who hates packing lunches??   Any tips on healthy lunch box snacks would also be very welcome!

A Summer Storm

Our holiday has finally come to an end.  We want to be back on The Farm by tomorrow as there is the threat of some rough weather due to Tropical Cyclone Bianca making her way down the Western Australian coast.  On the off chance she crosses near us we think a weatherboard beach house is probably not the place to be.  Likewise, as with any summer storm, the fire risk on The Farm is huge and we would feel more comfortable being there to deal with anything that may occur.

Tropical Cyclones do not usually come this far down the Western Australian coast but it is not unknown.  One of my first childhood memories is of my mother tucking towels under doors in our home in the Great Southern.  It was 1978 and Cyclone Alby was tracking right down toward Albany.  I am not sure why it stands out in my mind. Perhaps because it was the first time I had seen my parents worried.

Last night we had some thunder and lightning pass over at about 3.30 am.  Both Farmchildren wound up in our bed with their hands over their ears.  Farmgirl was worried the lightning would come through the window and Farmboy just didn't like "the bangs".

Living on The Farm we are so influenced by the weather.  I don't have time to write much this morning but I did write a whole post devoted to the weather when I first started to blog.  Click here if you want to take a look.

Take care everyone, wherever you are.

We Will Be Here Again

Farmgirl Chucks The Mother Of All Tanties

Before we start this post there are a couple of things you need to know.  The first is that Farmgirl looks angelic.  She has almost white blonde hair, blue eyes and loves to wear pretty floral dresses.  Her angelic looks often lull even me into a false sense of cherubic security. How could any child who looks like that ever misbehave?  The second is that the vast majority of the time she is a well behaved little girl. Overall she is adorable and makes me laugh on a daily basis. However she was a hell of a toddler and even at three and a half she still occasionally behaves in such a way that I look at her and think...

"Who are you and why have you possessed my daughter?"

On our recent trip to Perth she came through with the tantrum goods in a big way.

Picture this - I was swanning through a delectable homewares store looking for the finishing touches for my uber stylish home. (Ok - so it was Spotlight and I was chasing a chairbag for Farmboy to take to school)  I had two gorgeous small children in tow and was looking pretty fab. (Well I had make up on and real sandals, not rubber thongs)  As we cruised up to the checkouts I hit a small glitch in my glamourous (largely imagined glamour) shopping trip.  Farmgirl was missing.  And then I heard her.  She had stopped a few aisles back and was half in and half under a display bed.  She was screaming, flailing her arms and kicking her feet.

"Oops", I thought, "Farmgirl is a little upset."

It was about here that all my aspirations of being an uber Mum fell down around my ears with a huge clanging crash.  Because Farmgirl is the Queen of Tantrums.  Big time.  And early signs were that this one was shaping up to be the tantrum of all tantrums.  And it was. And it went on and on, and then on some more. It was loud and Spotlight is very echoey, even with all that soft furnishing paraphernalia.  I tried everything. Prolonged ignoring.  Cuddles.  Whispered threats.  I even tried to reason with her. Hello? Like that was ever going to work.  Obviously I briefly forgot the "don't even think about reasoning with a tantrum throwing child" rule.... All this time Farmboy was quietly standing with a full trolley waiting to go through the checkout.

Farmgirl then upped the ante.  And took off.  Into the deepest darkest bowels of Spotlight. Way back with the feathery, beady bits and the glue guns.  I move Farmboy to the side of the queue and asked him to stay where he was.  Then I sprinted after Farmgirl.

By now every single mother in the whole shop was watching and every single mother had perfectly behaved children who were also watching. To me they all looked like they were thinking smug uber Mum type thoughts.  In reality they were probably thinking "oh, you poor woman..."  I completed my sprint and found Farmgirl at the back of the shop.  All the time I was reminding myself that I am the grown up.  I did this because it helped me not join her on the floor, kicking and screaming.  I picked her up and popped her under one arm (she is quite heavy, obviously sheer embarassment had given me super human powers).  Halfway back to the trolley she stopped crying, looked straight at me and said

"I love you Mummy"

I gave a humfing type noise and proceeded through the checkouts as rapidly as I possibly could.

In the safety of the car I then gave her a huge lecture about behaviour and so on. She was suitably repentent in her demeanour.  Farmboy still remained silent.

As we got out of the car at the next stop Farmgirl looked at me and said (I kid you not)

"There may have been some naughtiness from me at the last shop"

Farmboy was quicker than I and his response was.

"You got that right"

I then decided it was all too hard and we resorted to the peace that a McDonalds' Happy Meal and McDonalds' playground brings tormented mothers.


On a completely different note I am rewinding at Life In The Pink Fibro today.  If you get a chance pop over and look at all the entries.

Duckie Feet

Some friends have given Farmgirl a pair of flippers that their children have out grown.  Her immediate response was to describe them as "new shoes".  Farmgirl likes new shoes, she gets that from her mother.

Farmgirl With Duckie Feet

She is calling them her "Duckie Feet" and has worn them almost non stop since she got them.

On land.  In the water.  Even to bed.

Farmgirl and Duckie Feet, Action Shot

Things That Make Me Smile

A nice place to sit.

Chair On The Beach

Farmgirl's gorgeous new mermaid bathers.

Farmgirl as Mermaid, With Tail

Enjoy your day everyone..

It's Almost Here, Only Two Sleeps To Go

Christmas is only two more sleeps away.  Yay!  Things are already getting very busy on The Farm.  The spare fridge looks like this (all farming families have lots of fridges - food storage is valued!)

Very Christmassy Fridge 

You can tell The Farmer helped me stack it.  It is all very rectilinear.

The Farmchildren and I have made Christmas biscuits for the tree.  We were going to make gingerbread men. But I couldn't find the cutter. Failed the uber Mum test.  Again.  That's Ok - I really like the stars and hearts more anyway.

Hearts And Stars - My Favourite Biscuit Shapes

On The Tree

Star With Farmboy Shaped Bite (Did Not Make It To The Tree)

We had dinner with New York Uncle and New York Aunty last night.  We had a great night.  The mango meringue concoction was a hit.

Mangoes and Meringues

I would love to say the photo was taken on an angle because I was having a stylish, artistic moment.  I think it was more because I was having a post three glasses of champagne moment.

I think the blog will sign off now until after Boxing Day.  Then it will be a lazy beach blog for a few days, so expect a change of scene.

I would just like to wish everyone an absolutely wonderful Christmas.  I hope you all have happy times with your loved ones, wherever you are.

Take good care.

With love
A Farmer's Wife

A Very Pink Skirt And A Very Small Snake

Farmgirl has a new skirt.  As I have discussed before Farmgirl loves pink and loves wearing pretty skirts around The Farm.  A friend who knows this bought her what may well be the pinkest skirt in the world.

Farmgirl has worn it non-stop.  I have had to wash it out at night when she is asleep.  Here she has chosen to wear it over her My Little Pony nightie.

Farmgirl, Crocs (Pink), Skirt (Very Pink), Nightie (Rainbow Pony Colours)

It is a very frothy type arrangement and moves a lot when Farmgirl runs or dances.  Here is an action shot.

Farmgirl Running Very Fast

In other Farm news we have had a close encounter of the snake kind.  This one was only a baby, but was taking a swim in our pool.  The Farmer sorted the situation but I am now keeping an eagle eye out for the mummy snake or any siblings...

I have also been following the flooding up in Carnarvon.  One station owner was being interviewed on the ABC radio and he described spending a night with 3 other people and 5 dogs on top of a rain water tank.  He was pretty relaxed about the concept and considered himself lucky that it wasn't worse.  How tough are country people sometimes?  I hope that the waters recede a little bit before Christmas.

I hope everyone has a great Tuesday and that no one is too strung out about Christmas plans.
Take care.

All That Glitters...

This has been a crazy busy week here on The Farm.  Farmboy has had his last day of preprimary with all the assemblies, parties, waterfights that came with it.  I had my own little party for a friend.  Christmas events seem to have been coming thick and fast.  We finished harvest which was lovely and tonight we have The Farm Christmas Party in town.

What stands out though, in my head, this week is the fact that my house has suddenly been invaded by glitter.  The Farmchildren have brought home a huge amount of stunning Christmas Craft from school/day care and every single piece has been incredibly sparkly.

I present some of their finer work.

Very Glittery Pine Cone Christmas Tree

Not Actually Sure What This Is But It Is Very Glittery Too

I could only choose a few because there were many, many excellent (and glittery) examples to choose from.

As a result of this we have a new decor in The Farmhouse.  Every single surface is covered in a fine layer of sparkle. (Particularly the jarrah floorboards).  It provides an interesting (but unplanned) festive feel.  Likewise all the occupants of The Farmhouse are being seen out and about with a little more shine than you would usually expect.  I have decided I have absolutely no choice but to embrace the glitter, both as house and personal adornment.  For the simple reason that no matter how hard I try to clean the stuff up, it just reappears.

In other Farm Christmas news, Farmboy has informed me that an excellent source (fellow student) has informed him (Farmboy) that someone else (Santa) informed him (fellow student) that it will snow here on Christmas Day.  Despite this extremely reliable prediction I have my doubts.  Not least of all because the long range forecast here for Christmas Day is currently fine and hot at 41 degrees celsius.  Taking into account this extra meteorological information I think the chance of snow would have to be slim to middling, at best.

Farmgirl has changed her Christmas present request to a fire breathing dragon.  She would like to be able to BBQ apparently ( I kid you not). The Farmer and I have refused on the grounds that given the info in the previous paragraph we feel a total fire ban will be declared.  Hence it would be very unfair for the dragon.

I hope everyone else has had a lovely week.

All Partied Out

The party yesterday was a great success.  Yay!  We love a good party here on The Farm.

I managed to resurrect the cupcakes so they looked like this.

Resurrected Cupcakes

I used my best Nanna china.

Nannaware

I got some baby bocconcini, grape tomatoes and fresh basil and made some mini Caprese salads on cocktail sticks.  They were yummy, healthy and looked very Christmassy.

Mini Salads

Farmgirl channeled Sarah Jessica Parker and rocked this somewhat eclectic party look.

And halfway through my kitchen looked like this.

Farmhouse Kitchen In Party Mode

Overall a wonderful time was had by all.

Friends are very important when you are a farmer's wife.  Their support is invaluable.  I love it when we all get together.  And have a champagne or two.

Utes, Rainy Days and A Very Rich Cake

We are well into Christmas Party Season here at The Farm.  Before I got married and moved to the country, December consisted of high heels, marquees and way too much champagne. The social whirl that is Christmas Party Season on The Farm is no less taxing.

We kicked off last week with Farmgirl's child care Christmas Party.  It ticked all the boxes.  There were things like red sausages and cupcakes.  Santa came and everyone got a bag of lollies.

Santa arrived in our local fire ute.

Practical Transport For Santa

(For those readers who are not Australian, what we call a "ute" is usually called a "pick up".  In Australia a "pick up" is what a single young farmer is trying to achieve when he heads to the pub on a Friday night.)

A ute is an excellent transport choice for Santa.  Practical, all terrain and reliable.  I know from personal experience that you can do lots of kilometres in a Landcruiser Ute, no worries at all. This a great feature if you are planning an around the world trip.   A good ute is also a comfy choice.  They even make ones with air con, which would be a handy extra if you were wearing a red, fur lined suit.

We have several more parties to come, including The Official Farm Christmas Dinner for all our staff.  It will be held at a local restaurant.  Then we will have my work party.  Same restaurant. (It is only a little town...)

Our harvest is held up at the moment by the weather. There was a cool change and it rained yesterday  It was a glass of red wine rain. When our crop is wet it can't be harvested.  Today has dawned bright and clear however, so hopefully things will dry up quickly.

Fortunately the rain doesn't look to have done any damage.  Many farms in NSW and Victoria have lost their entire crop to rain.  This is a so sad.  It is awful to get your crop so far into the season and then lose it (and any chance of a profit) right at the end.

A Soggy Fence Post, On Our Currently Soggy Farm

Farmgirl and I have been holed up in The Farmhouse so we don't get wet.  To fill in time we made Ree Drummond's Chocolate Sheet Cake.  It turned out beautifully.  I wimped out on the icing though.  I thought it would already be very rich.  So I just dusted the top with icing sugar.  Sorry Ree, I just couldn't do that much butter.  It was still amazing though.  I would recommend making this cake - let me know how the icing goes if you do.

Ree Drummond's Sheet Cake, Minus Icing

It would be super yummy as a pudding if you just warmed it up, added some icecream and some berry coulis.

Enjoy your day everyone.

The Arrival of Country Style, The Absence of Tinsel and My Wedding

I have just got the new issue of Australia Coast To Coast Country Style.  It has had a name change at some point that I obviously missed completely.  I am sure it used to be just Australian Country Style.

As always it has a super stylish cover.

Country Style - With Christmas Pony

They have put a traditional Christmas tree in the middle of a paddock and have enticed a lovely looking pony to have a nibble.   As I have previously mentioned on this blog, Farmgirl has repeatedly asked Santa for a pony.  I am afraid even a gorgeous photo shoot with a very cute pony is not going to persuade me to give in...

The magazine is full of lovely Christmas ideas.  The photo shoots are always my favorite parts of Country Style, and this is one of the best issues for stunning table and Christmas decorations etc.  Having said that, there is nowhere near enough tinsel (actually none at all that I can find) for The Farmchildren to consider any of it adequate as a Christmas decorating scheme.  As always, I am destined for much more glitter and sparkle than would pass muster in a decor mag.

I spent some of the weekend tidying out cupboards and came across the photo album from my wedding to The Farmer, now many years ago.  The Farmchildren found it hilarious and loved looking at their parents all dressed up.  Farmgirl was astounded that we had a life before she came along and upset because she wanted to marry her Daddy and now couldn't as he was already spoken for....

Our photos were taken in the pre digital image days.  I have tried to reproduce one below.

A Very New Farmer's Wife, On A Country Road

I had forgotten entirely about these photos.  There was a series taken of me, walking along the gravel track to our farm.  The photographer obviously liked them and used them a lot for promotional purposes.  Apparently there were images of me, blown up to life size, at bridal fairs and all over magazines.  Being tucked away in the country, and at the stage where I could no longer bear bridal magazines, I had absolutely no idea until a friend got engaged over a year later!  The memory made me smile.

On a completely different note I would just like to thank all the people who have taken the time to read this blog, particularly those who have followed, commented or emailed me.  I am still amazed anyone is reading it at all so love the acknowledgement I have received.  Especially the messages from readers who have told that, sometimes, my blog is a little bright spot in their day.  Thank you again.

A Furry Babysitter

My dear friend Fussy Eater's Mum posted recently about "Panasonica" who is her in-house babysitter.  On The Farm we do utilize our version of "Panasonica", however we have also got an excellent babysitting candidate in Molly.

Molly is our gorgeous border collie/kelpie/huntaway cross.  She is excellent at keeping an eye on The Farmchildren when they are outside.  She regularly runs border patrols around the house and has scared away more than the odd snake over the past few years.  Molly has good sheep dog instincts and has been known to "round up" Farmgirl if she ventures too far from the house....  Molly is regularly smothered with love and is used to being sat on, bear hugged and generally children-handled.

Yesterday evening I was able to take this gorgeous photo of Molly doing her duty with The Farmchildren.

Farmgirl, Farmboy and Molly

New Shoes

Nothing cheers me up quite like new shoes.  Farmgirl shares this characteristic.  She has a new pair.

Farmgirl's Cute Foot, Painted Toes and New Sandal (very pink)

And I am very jealous.

There is no such thing as too much pink in Farmgirl's world.

A Christmas Tree Snob No More

After saying just recently that I would hold off on putting up our tree, I gave in yesterday.  Not just because we were all excited but also as The Farmer had his first day off in ages and wanted to be involved.

I must admit to being a bit of a real Christmas tree snob.  I, ever so slightly, turned my nose up at fake trees. When at home on The Farm for Christmas we have always had a real Christmas tree.  We have a special expedition and cut down our tree, sometimes a gum tree, sometimes not.  This year I decided the time had come to give in and buy a fake tree.  I was sick of the mess from real trees. They were also often well past their use by date by Christmas Eve.

The romance of a real tree has well and truly gone for me....

I took myself off to Big W and purchased a "Hudson".  I chose it for the simple reason that it was the biggest tree they had.  I have decided that fake trees are like fake diamonds.  If you are going to have one, you might as well have a really big one.

So here it is.

The Farm Christmas Tree

I think it needs a few more decorations.  Other than that I love it.  I am a fake tree convert.   The Farmchildren love it too.  Farmgirl woke up this morning and ran straight in to check it hadn't gone anywhere in the night.  She has also disappeared a few times today and I have found her lying underneath it "just looking".

Here are my two favorite decorations.

Pretty Gold Bird

Egg With Bird, Also Very Pretty

Interestingly both of these decorations were gifts from different Danish friends.  The fact that they were given to us by such lovely people makes them super special.

Farmgirl loves anything sparkly.  I noticed a few decorations were missing.  She had removed her favorites from the tree and chosen to decorate her bed with them.

Evidence of Farmgirl's Magpie Tendencies

I asked her why she chose those ones and she said.

"Because they are pretty."

I haven't had the heart to put them back on the tree...

A Farm Christmas

This year I am getting very excited about Christmas.  The reason for this is The Farmchildren.  Farmboy is almost six and Farmgirl is three and a half.  They are at the stage where they are completely enraptured by the concept of Christmas.  Last year was magical - even if they did wake up initially at 2.45 am and The Farmer and I had to put them in our bed to stop them getting up...

I have been thinking that there will probably not be that many Christmases left where there is this level of magic.  So The Farmer and I have decided to milk every bit of a joy out of this one we possibly can.

It has started already.  Farmboy's class are doing "Hark The Herald Angels Sing" for their item at the Christmas concert.  I know the sight of Farmboy and his gorgeous classmates dressed as angels will make me want to cry.  Farmboy himself is interested in the word "hark".  We have explained it means something along the lines of "stop and listen".  He now walks in the kitchen and says

"Hark.  I would like an apple."

It makes me laugh everytime (and is better than a few other words he has picked up at school lately).

The Farmchildren's Christmas wish list changes daily.  This morning Farmgirl wanted a penguin, but only a small one.  Farmboy wanted a leopard seal.  When asked why he replied

"Because they eat penguins"

The potential of the almost six year old mind for evil is astonishing...

I have gone overboard on the planned decorations for the house.  We will have a big tree and lots of traditional decorations in our formal dining/lounge room.  I have a funkier theme planned for the kitchen and TV room.  I am resisting the urge to put all the decorations up until early December.  I think the wait for Christmas is going to seem long enough for The Farmchildren as it is, without going too hard, too early.  There is also only so many times I want to redecorate that tree..

The Farmer bought Freddo Frog advent calenders.  So I have hyperactive Farmchildren to look forward to every day for 25 days.  The Farmer has also decided he wants lots of lights outside.  It has been suggested I make a trip to the local hardware and stock up on supplies.

With the exception of a few items, I have tried to do as much Christmas shopping as I can in our small town this year.  Like many towns dependent on agriculture for business, it is suffering somewhat because of the poor season this year.  I also like wandering into the local butcher and discussing the size and type of ham and turkey I need.  Or chatting with the post office ladies about the best wrapping options for a lazy farmer's wife...

We have close and extended family coming to The Farm on Christmas Day.  And some friends too.  I am looking forward to planning our menu and cooking for them all.  I have decided to do the traditional Christmas dinner and all the trimmings.  I think that simple things done beautifully is the best way to go.

A Small Christmas Tree - Very Cute According to Farmgirl

I am hoping we have a Christmas to remember.