Goin' up country

During the recent school holidays we took a break at Willaura, near the Grampians, staying at the farm of MasterF's and LittleMissF's grandparents ('Pa' and 'Grandma'). The plans were put in place earlier this year when we bumped into The Librarian and The SchoolMaster at a local cafe, popular with parents of small-fry due to it's baby- and toddler-friendliness. They arranged with the SchoolMaster's parents for us to stay in a house that they also own, located 7.5 km up the road from their farmhouse. In the country, 7.5 km is 'just down the road', but to put it into perspective, it's about the same distance that DeepSpice travels to work each day. (Although travelling at 100 kph does make the journey go a little quicker!)

Departure (Thursday)

In a re-enactment of the preparations for our last holiday at Ocean Grove, it took us all morning to get packed and ready to go. Sigh. We finally left at 1.30 pm, about 3 hours after I had planned to leave. We had a few stops along the way and arrived in Ararat at about 3.30 pm. After a short exchange of text messages with The Librarian we worked out they were nearly in Ararat too, so we waited at the tourism information centre for them to meet us. BallFiend and MasterF went completely silly upon first sight and started running laps around the centre, distracting Thumper and LittleMissF from their synchronised-breastfeeding. We all piled back into our cars and drove in convoy to our accommodation: Turascai.

The driveway of Turascai

The house was a cute little 3 bedroom place, originally a soldier-settlement house probably built sometime in the 1950s or 1960s, but sadly had not been shown much love ever since. So the accommodation was very basic, which we didn't mind at all since we were only paying $10 a night, but the bed was rather uncomfortable and Thumper decided to resume 4.00 am wakings while we were away, so I didn't really feel at all well-rested throughout. Nevertheless, the holiday was lots of fun. We spent almost every day with our friends, so that BallFiend and MasterF could keep each other company, thus relieving us adults of the task of keeping four-year olds entertained. This alone made the holiday more restful than it would have been otherwise. However the days were busy, as is dictated by the company of children... 


Sheep (Friday)

On our first morning, I took BallFiend and Thumper (in the Ergo carrier) for a wander around the property where we met MasterF's great-uncle John, who was crutching some sheep. He showed us through the shearing shed, where a recently slaughtered sheep carcass was hanging up - thankfully covered in a bag, but it's skin (hide?) was draped over the rails in plain view. Luckily BallFiend didn't notice this so I didn't have to explain that one. He has been obsessed with death and dying recently so I'm sure it would have been of interest if I had pointed it out to him. 

John dragged out a lamb and a ewe for us to pat. Unfortunately though, BallFiend wasn't particularly enamoured of farm life. BallFiend wouldn't go near the sheep - he stood off to the side cringing. Thumper showed a lot more interest and even touched the sheep. John talked about the ewe, expressed some milk from her teat and then pointed out where she was missing an eye. I asked how that had happened and soon wished I hadn't! Apparently it was pecked out by a crow whilst the ewe 'was down'. I later found out 'down' referred to the time when a ewe is birthing a lamb. As if birth isn't enough to deal with, without being attacked by a crow! John then proceeded to go into detail about all the other things that happen to sheep, including foxes attacking them and eating their tongues or udders, then leaving them alive. Then BallFiend announced that "It's too smelly in here. I want to go out!". I thought this was probably a good idea. Farming is not at all like the sanitised picture that is shown in children's storybooks! 

Next John took BallFiend for a ride on a tractor. Next we went into another shed so John could get us some merino fleece to take home. While we were in the shed, BallFiend spotted a tub of filthy, old golf balls. He immediately turns on his ball-charm. "What are those for?" he asks in a sweet little voice to reinforce the deeper meaning behind his question. "Oh you can have one." says John, falling under BallFiend's ball-magnetism spell. Apparently a neighbour practices his golf in the next paddock and then crows pick up the lost balls and drop them in John's paddock. John hands over a white ball but BallFiend has his eye on the one and only orange one. A swap is quickly transacted. Then I drag BallFiend out of there before we end up leaving with the entire tub. 

We go back to the house, collect DeepSpice (who has finally got dressed!), then drive into Ararat to stock up on some groceries for the week. As it turns out, this was almost completely unnecessary because we ended up having dinner each night with MasterF's family at the farmhouse. 

The Draw (Saturday)

The next day was grand final day. I had sneakily timed this holiday to ensure we were away from all the footy fever, but it followed us. However, on a much smaller scale - just the family and us watching the game with a hot dog in one hand and a beverage of choice in the other. Before the final started, The SchoolMaster led us on a nature walk, down to the dam where we collected some frogs' eggs in a jar, then past the windmill that pumps water back up to the house (BallFiend was fascinated by this, and by all the old broken tyres lying around the place). The boys each picked up a stick and started to whack at everything in sight. Then it started to rain and they were told to put down their sticks so we could all run for shelter. BallFiend fell over and got gravel rash and cried and cried, but mainly about losing his stick. 


When we got back the football had started. I chatted to The Librarian, not really paying it much attention and by halfway through the final quarter The Librarian and I had completely lost interest, so we took the boys outside for a play. 

MasterF and BallFiend play on Pa's bridge
during the last quarter of the grand final.

Moments after the game finished, DeepSpice came out to tell us that it was a draw. When I came back inside all I saw on the TV was forlorn-looking footy players with their hands clasped behind their heads.

Obligatory Minigolf (Sunday)

On Sunday, we drove into Halls Gap, via Pomonal where the monthly Sunday market was on. Of course we had to stop and sample the devonshire tea. I also picked up some homemade beetroot chutney, lemon slice, white chocolate cheesecake, and an everlasting daisy to plant in my garden at home. DeepSpice found a book about aeroplanes, of course. At Halls Gap, we enjoyed a picnic lunch at the park, carefully positioning our picnic rugs to avoid sitting on any kangaroo poo. Then it was time for the highlight of BallFiend's holiday - mini golf! 18 holes proved too much for MasterF and LittleMissF. So they headed back to Willaura early, while we stayed on and finished the course. Then we set off back to Willaura for dinner. Unfortunately we took a wrong turn out of Halls Gap and ended up in Stawell. Oops. The scenic route! 

Volcanoes (Monday)

Our last day was spent touring other country towns in the area, on route to Penshurst where there is a Volcano Discovery Centre (ie. museum). Ever since that volcano in Iceland blew up earlier this year, BallFiend has been fascinated with volcanoes; MasterF is equally fascinated, but from a 'dinosaurs' perspective. We had lunch first, in a little tea room and antiques shop next door. The boys were warned not to touch ANYTHING before we went in, and amazingly they behaved beautifully. BallFiend was very interested in all the 'old-fashioned things'. Next we went into the Volcano discovery centre. Thumper and LittleMissF gave it their seal of approval as a great crawling venue - nice carpet and a few interesting nooks and crannies to explore. Then we went to see the actual real live - extinct - volcano, Mt Rouse, that over-shadows Penshurst. 

Approaching Mt Rouse

Thumper and me on Mt Rouse

BallFiend running amok on top of windy Mt Rouse.
The Grampians can be seen in the background.

The SchoolMaster took us on the scenic drive back to the farm, and it was spectacular. Unfortunately I drifted off to sleep in the car and missed a lot of it. Then the SchoolMaster took us for a drive around the farm in the 4WD. The boys climbed up into the cabin of combine harvester and we drove down to the paddock to look at some sheep. 

Homeward bound (Tuesday)

The next morning, we headed back to Melbourne, leaving early so we would have time to stop in Ballarat to visit Great Gran Billy. (We had planned to stop on the way up as well, but ran out of time.) I also took the opportunity to stop and visit the church where my mum's ashes are buried. Then we grabbed some pies at a local bakery and drove to the nursing home. Great Gran Billy was in fine spirits and happy to see us, although she didn't seem quite sure who we were. Still she is doing well for 94 years of age. 

Great Gran Billy tries to get Thumper
to look at the camera.

Most of the other residents enjoyed seeing some children, but when BallFiend nearly knocked one over with his ball, we decided it was time to go. 

Thumper slept most of the journey home and BallFiend nearly slept, so we had a nice quiet drive. After a quick dinner - spaghetti bolognese, of course! - we put the kids to bed and I couldn't wait to follow. After a week on a lumpy mattress, my own bed has never seemed so good. I was asleep by 9.45 pm. 

It really was a nice holiday - being with another family made it much more enjoyable than when we go away on our own. Now to catch up on all the washing! 

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Atoms

"I want to be a scientist and study atoms." 

- BallFiend, during dinner tonight when asked what job he would like to do when he grows up. 

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Cujo

Thumper is getting more and more vocal - mostly it's lots of cute baby-babble, but today she clearly said her brother's name, it came out sounding more like that evil dog from the Stephen King book. Somehow it's very cute, despite being a little bit creepy.

Her crawling has improved too, even after just a day and half, she is faster and much smoother in her movements.
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R.I.P. Simpson Minimatic heavy duty agitator action

We've had death in our household: our 25-year-old clothes washing machine. I knew it was old, but I hadn't realise it was that old... we had toyed with the idea of upgrading, but decided not to. It was so simple - just one dial for the programs and one for the water level, and so reliable - in the 13 years we have had it, it has never failed us.

But then it started having problems a few weeks ago, just before Thumper's 1st birthday actually, when it wouldn't spin/agitate properly. (In truth, it has been having a little problem for quite a while - every now and then it would trip the mains power switch on the fuse box cutting power to the whole house. This was annoying but the machine kept on going, so I didn't worry about it.)

So DeepSpice pulled it open and tightened up the drive-belt which had come loose. Then we tried a load which got most of the way through but wouldn't drain. So I pulled all the sopping wet washing out and tried to get it to drain when it was empty of clothes. Thankfully, it did, but very slowly. So I switched it off and decided it was time to call a qualified washing machine repairer.

Luckily we had someone in mind, because a few weeks ago Gran and GrandPaul had to get their 15 year old washer repaired. The repair-man (Craig) had told them it was worth repairing old machines because the new ones are rubbish - they are designed to fail after about 5 years so people are forced to buy a new one. Apparently he was really good at breathing life back into their old machine. So I called Craig and he said he would come 'either tomorrow or Thursday'. I was happy to wait because I was quite confident that he would be able to work his magic on our old machine too. However, two days with no washing machine when there are two kids in the household (one of which is in cloth nappies) is a long time. So when he still hadn't shown up by 3.30 pm on Thursday, I was really annoyed. I gave up on Craig and rang another repair-man (Paul) who had been recommended to me by one of the mums I know through BallFiend's kindergarten.

When Paul arrived he took one look and I could tell he was trying not to laugh as he thought: 'why on earth would anyone bother to try and repair such an old machine?'. He turned on the machine and set it running, it made a horrible noise while spinning and then we saw a big spark from the motor, then the mains power went off. He shook his head, and started unplugging it whilst telling me that it was gone... not worth fixing, "...and you see how it tripped the power, well that's an earth-leak. You can't use this machine again until that's been looked at, and it's not worth the cost of fixing it - both the motor and the pump have failed."

I mentioned Craig's comment about old machines being better-made than the ones available now. Paul agreed. He said our old Simpson machine was made by Malleys, and that Malleys went out of business because their machines were too good so people didn't need to buy new ones often enough, "not a good business model". However, to fix our machine was going to require a new motor ($200) and a new pump ($300) and he could sell me a reconditioned top loader for $250-300 (or a front loader for $400-450) and take away the old machine.

So DeepSpice and I took a day to think about options, then came to the conclusion that we would get a front loader and that we would buy a new machine rather than a reconditioned machine. We could get a bigger capacity machine that will fit in the space available, and even though the initial purchase price will be higher than a top loader, it will cost less to run as they use less water and electricity. The downside is a longer cycle (the old machine took about 30 minutes, whereas the front loaders take 2+ hours for a standard cycle) and that all the new machines have fancy new fan-dangled electronic controls (which, Paul the repair-man had warned me, can fail if you use a hot wash and get them all steamed-up). Our old machine had a mechanical timer and not much is ever going to go wrong with that.

Then we had to work out what machine to buy, and in the interim, find a way to wash our stuff. The latter being much easier than the former...

Gran and GrandPaul mind BallFiend every Thursday so when I took him over, I took all our washing too. I put the first load on and Gran insisted that I leave the rest and she would do it for me. That night, when they dropped BallFiend home, he was accompanied by all our clean, dry washing (which made me think that maybe we don't need a new machine after all, even though Gran stridently disagreed.) However, when it came to Thumper's stinky nappies, I decided that rather than transporting them to Gran and GrandPaul's laundry service house (and risking a nasty mess in our car), BallFiend and I would take them up to the local 'Rainbow Bubbles' coin laundette. We had recently read a Mo Willems book 'Knuffle Bunny' which features a toddler and her dad going to a laundromat, and since BallFiend had never heard of, let alone seen, a laundrette before reading this book, it seemed like a good opportunity to address this crucial gap in his education.

Needless to say, it wasn't quite as exciting as BallFiend was anticipating. But he still managed to find things of interest to ask plenty of questions about. Luckily for me, there was an old Greek woman there, washing her husband's smalls, so she got to bear the brunt of the questioning instead of me. Most questions started with 'why', including 'why is it spinning around?' and 'why are you using that one (pointing to the dryer she had selected) instead of that one (pointing to a dryer that she had considered then rejected). Once the nappies were in the machine, $6.00 in $1.00 coins deposited and the machine was spinning away, I took BallFiend for a walk and we bought a biscuit each from one of the many local middle eastern bakeries that line Sydney Road.

Then it was home and back to the more important task of trying to decide which machine to buy. After much deliberations (ie. a week's worth) and visits to a couple of large retail stores, we finally decided on a size, brand and model (Bosch WAE24271AU Maxx EuroWasher). Then I hunted around for the best price and found a suitable machine through AppliancesOnline.

Our new washing machine is to be delivered on Monday, and included in the purchase price is free delivery, free installation and free removal of our old washer. I'm happy so far... and I am looking forward to using cloth nappies on Thumper again: we have had to use disposables for the past two weeks and in that time we have had three major poo-leaks. This is compared to a grand total of one cloth nappy leak over the past year (and this only happened because I took too long to get around to changing her and the nappy was already very wet). Most of all, I am looking forward to a time when BallFiend and Thumper can do the washing, and with a front loader, they will even be able to reach the controls.

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Living (crawling) doll

At about 8.00 am this morning, Thumper worked out how to crawl on her hands-and-knees, you know, traditional-style.

She started crawling commando-style back in May, at 8 months of age, which is very cute to watch but makes clothes very hard to wash (although does a good job of dusting the floors).

She's pretty slow and clunky-looking when she crawls on hands-and-knees - it looks just like one of those battery-powered crawling dolls; so she reverts back to commando-style when she wants to move somewhere fast. But I'm sure she will master it in no time and then it will be fun for one (Thumper) and all (BallFiend) as they play a higher-paced game of crawl-chasey around the house.

It probably also means that Thumper is not that far off walking, maybe only a month away - as much as I hope not! This prediction is based on a very scientific study with a sample size of one: BallFiend spent months commando-crawling, then after about four weeks of learning to crawl on hands-and-knees, he progressed to standing and walking.

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How to make 5 o'clock rock

Arsenic hour. Crying hour. Witching hour.

Call it what you will, every mum knows that when the clock hits 5.00 pm, kids everywhere go mental.

I was warned when BallFiend was a baby: "newborns are known to cry more in the late afternoon and early evening... maybe they're overstimulated by the day's events or something... just feed 'em more and they will settle down eventually". I learned from a Breastfeeding Education Class run by the Australian Breastfeeding Association that this behaviour of frequent feeding is called 'cluster feeding'. I suspect it has very little to do with the Witching Hour that strikes kids as they get older.

And I used to think it I had it bad when BallFiend was a toddler - 5 o'clock brought out his inner-demon and he would try to simultaneously play with scissors, stick his head in the oven, stick the scissors in a powerpoint, have a cuddle, scream and/or bang his head on the floor when what he really needed to do was eat a quick dinner then go to bed. Trying to prepare dinner was challenging. Trying to get BallFiend to eat it (in less than an hour) was even more challenging. Getting him to bed after dinner was a little more straightforward, usually because DeepSpice arrived home from work in time to help out take over.

But I really learned what the Witching Hour is all about once Thumper came along. It is not just that there are two kids hitting the wall at the same time; it's worse because between them, they amplify things and play off each other. At first, Thumper just did the typical newborn cluster feeding, and BallFiend was relatively easy to deal with because DeepSpice took 7 weeks leave from work so one of us could prepare dinner uninterrupted. Piece of cake, I thought. Then Thumper grew up, got mobile and got attitude!

Usually DeepSpice doesn't get home from work until 6.00 - 6.15 pm, and my aim is to feed the kids 5.00 or 5.30 pm, so Thumper can have her final breastfeed at 6.30 pm and be in bed at 7.00 pm. So getting dinner prepared with two kids underfoot is horrible. No matter how early I start preparing dinner - even if it's 3.00 pm - they seem to know what I am doing, and they just start the Witching Hour early.

So when The Adel-lady invited BallFiend (along with Thumper and myself) and LittleMissL (along with MasterS and ArizonaGal) over for 3.00 pm playdate last Friday with LittleMissP and LittleMissA, I was expecting nothing more than an hour or two of play-time, a cup of tea, a chat, then home in time to rush through the dinner-then-prepare-for-bed routine.

But once there, I realised that The Adel-lady had much more bigger plans: forget the cup of tea - we had a bottle of sparkling wine instead. The kids had a riot, literally, but no one got (seriously) hurt. We didn't end up leaving until 6.00 pm, so when I got home DeepSpice was already there, ready to share the joys of the Witching Hour... which, I might add, hit with full force! But at least we only had to endure it for an hour-and-a-half as the kids were packed off to bed at the usual time. And a glass or two of wine really does help...

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Beware of poos at the door...

Knock Knock

Who's there?

Poo.

Poo who?

No, poos don't say who. They fart!

- BallFiend tells his first-ever joke... during dinner, of course! Charming.
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Happy Birthday Thumper!

It's been a whole year since Thumper emerged into the world (well actually it will be a whole year in about 1 hour's time, since she was born at 4.49 pm).

Her birthday celebrations began on Sunday when we had a lovely little party with family and friends. It was to be a teddy bears' picnic at a local park but the Spring-time weather was not at it's most cooperative, so we invaded Gran and GrandPaul's house instead. In attendance to honour the birthday girl was: DeepSpice, me, BallFiend, Gran, GrandPaul, CutLuce, DesignerSis, Wigward, DesignerMonkey, The Bibliophile, MasterW, LittleMissIz, The Librarian, MasterF, LittleMissF, GreatAuntF and GreatUncleM and ElspethR.

The birthday cake was a raspberry butter cake - raspberries because Thumper is an expert at blowing them!

Today, Thumper's actual birthday, began at 6.30 am, when we woke to hear BallFiend yelling at the poor child: "Be quiet Thumper! You are being too noisy!" Apparently, Thumper was murmuring in her sleep and it was loud enough to rouse BallFiend; he in turn woke Thumper by yelling at her. Sigh.

The morning went by as usual: breakfast, getting dressed, etc. then waving goodbye to DeepSpice. Thumper has recently become very attached to her dad and she always cries when he leaves. Today was no exception - I stood with Thumper in my arms, waving bye to DeepSpice, whilst she attempted to lurch from my arms after DeepSpice, saying "Da! Da!" (no, not channeling our Russian ancestors... she does actually mean 'dad').

Next, it was time to take BallFiend to his Kinder Circus class, so as usual, Thumper was dragged along. During the class I took her for a walk in the pram so she got to have her morning nap. (Essential for today, because she had an important birthday lunch date ahead!).

After Kinder Circus, I took BallFiend for a stroll to allow Thumper to have a full hour's nap. BallFiend wasn't too impressed with having to wander around for a while, but he did enjoy seeing a fire engine, a water-company worker opening up a drain, a local primary school and the opportunity to ask me question after question about the street trees... Why:

• does this tree have a post [stake] next to it?
• does that tree not have a post but it does have a broken post?
• are these little pebbles on the ground around the tree?
• is there a hole there? [a spot where a tree used to be]

At 11.40 am it was time to wake Thumper up so we could head off to lunch at Heide with VolubleK and PetitAmi. Lunch at Cafe Vue was an experience, very nearly civilised... if it wasn't for BallFiend's (lack of) table manners and Thumper throwing her food all over the floor. But Voluble K and I enjoyed ourselves anyway... once we had a glass of bubbles in hand, nothing much else mattered! :)

After lunch, PetitAmi and BallFiend ran amok in the sculpture park whilst Voluble K and I took turns pushing the pram around... until PetitAmi realised she was missing her chance and took over the pram-pushing duties.

Then it was time to go home, where I got the news that Australia now has a (very, very, very minority) government. What a great birthday present for Thumper!

For the record, here's the other gifts that were bestowed upon you:

• a jack-in-the-box (actually a monkey-in-the-box);
• Playmobil 'coastal search and rescue' boat and car, with two people to drive them;
• a stacking ring ball toy;
• "Where is the green sheep?" by Mem Fox;
• "Can you Moo too?" by David Wojtowycz (a board book);
• clothing: a Sooki Baby wrap-around top, socks, hat;
• Miffy blocks that both nest and stack;
• a Roll Along Ball (a large inflatable ball with little bell-balls inside);
• Wooden letters that spell her name (for the bedroom door);
• an oil painting of a teddy bear (a shared family heirloom from VolubleK);
• a soft-toy snowman.

And guess who has had the most enjoyment (so far) out of all the toys? Yes, of course it is BallFiend.

So, happy birthday Thumper! Over the past year you've made us laugh, kept us company on countless nights (sigh), and despite the exhaustion, brought us lots of joy. We love you and we are looking forward to watching you grow up despite feeling sad that your babyhood is fast disappearing.

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Look who's talking

Thumper has spoken her first words, and I do mean words, not word. She very clearly said "there you go" several times yesterday. DeepSpice and I couldn't believe it, but we have heard it again a few times today and now we are sure. We are also sure that she is just parroting us when we say this to her (ie. she hasn't actually worked out how to put a sentence together!). She has learned the 'there you go' phrase whilst playing her current favourite game 'pass the toy', which involves:

1. mum/dad passes a toy to Thumper and says 'there you go',
2. Thumper passes the toy back and mum/dad says 'thank you',
3. repeat steps 1 and 2 until Thumper gets bored, or your head explodes (whichever comes first).

The use of thank-you in this game also explains her other new utterance: "gang-oo" for thank you.

She has also been using sign language for several months now, after first signing 'mum' at about 7 months old. Her signed vocabulary now includes 'mum', 'dad', 'sleep', 'drink', 'more', 'hello/bye' and 'light'. Not bad for a kid who is not yet one year old.

However, when she wants something right away, she still just shrieks or cries. Sigh.

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Famous last words...

"Is this too much glitter?"

- BallFiend, decorating with the glitter-glue pens.

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Beware of robbers

"I'm just locking the door to stop the robbers taking balls from my shop."

- BallFiend, closing the velcro tabs on the door-flaps of his play-tent which is currently being used as his Ball Shop.

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