Someone laid an egg!

No idea who, though the silkies are about two weeks older than the wyandottes, so maybe it was one of them.

And was it in the comfy, cosy little nest boxes, all set up in hopeful anticipation of some egg laying?

No no, we found this one at the side of the brick path. ON the brick path actually.

They only use the nest boxes for sleeping in I think.

Ah well, I'll just be doing a perimeter check every day now, though the perimeter isn't that large so it's not too much trauma. Silly chooks.

Or maybe it's these two clowns that keep them away from their nest boxes...

Hmm, I wonder...?

Matching pants and environmentally friendly weed killer

My little monsters today....

As soon as the temperature rises above 12c, they are ready to get their gear off and race round like mad things outside. It didn't actually reach 25c I'm sure, but that did not deter them one little bit.

Do ya like their matching shorts?

Haaaahaha, yup, I've turned into one of 'those' mums, but I just couldn't help myself when I found them in Mr 3's size. The boys think it's cool, so I'll milk that for what it's worth while I can. Poor things.

I thought I'd give the new veggie garden a sprinkle but that soon degenerated into a bit of a free-for-all with the hose...

They don't need a beach to have fun with their bodyboards, either.

And, just LOOK at these dying weeds:

( I just know you're drooling with excitement)

My mission was to find an environmentally friendly weedkiller.

Answer to problem: straight white vinegar in a spray bottle.

Now, these are not huge weeds, as evidenced by the toe of my shoe, but I sprayed them yesterday afternoon and they are surely looking very much worse for wear now. Whether or not vinegar would work on the waist high jungle that was our backyard a few years back I'm not sure.

So, armed with vinegar for weeds, and a torch and my husbands big ol' shoe for snails, I am all set for gardening this summer. Yeah.

Another busy week

We've had a house guest for nearly a week much to the boy's delight, my sis-in-law has no kids of her own and is endlessly patient with my two. Despite the fact that she spent the week sleeping on the top bunk and being woken up early (by her standards, hehehe) by enthusiastically loud small children.

And, she spent a large amount of time with Master 4 putting together her Christmas gift to him, which is an Ant Mine.

Yes, it is sitting on what passes for my sewing table, the dining table and general crafting and crap-gathering table.
I'm finding the whole idea a bit icky, especially as the little buggers kept escaping through the breathing holes. Eewww, I really dislike ants inside!

Master 4 has also been creating his latest masterpiece...

A train, in case that's not immediately obvious. The poor kid is suffering a bit of a creative materials dearth, as most foods that come in boxes I no longer buy. Those boxes he used are from a bygone era, haha.

And Master 1 is having a current obsession with saws. The cutting wood kind. Not only does he want to use them, he enjoys using the word too. With many different inflections.

Saw. Saw? Saw! Saaaaawwwww!!!

In fact, I am ready to delete the word saw from the English lexicon.
Oh and he signs it too, just to make sure I know exactly what he's talking about.


One thing I am itching to do soon is a bit more fun baking, maybe some cupcakes? Problem is, I'm suffering a little bit of guilt now knowing exactly how not-good-for-you cupcakes in general are. Well I did know already, but now I know exactly and given the health issues of my extended family on one side, I'm trying to keep us on a very good path, food wise.

It's a bit of a balancing act, hey?