Beware of the Frog

The other day we found a frog (dirty old brown cane toad to be exact) crouched down a hole in our backyard that our totem tennis pole normally goes into. James put his hand in the hole thinking it was a stone and then screamed and realized it was a toad (for the purposes of this story the toad will be referred to as "the frog"). Anyway, after the scream I made him go and wash his hands straight away and Sienna was crying because she was scared of it. I did not want to get it out of this hole myself as we were in the middle of something else so I grabbed a spare brick and covered up the hole so he would stay put and I would worry about it at another time.

Fast forward to 6am the next morning and Sienna comes into my room saying that the frog had escaped. I asked her how on earth it could escape when their was a brick over the hole. She said James took the brick off to have a look and it jumped out of the hole and they both ran inside screaming and closed the door. Late on when I came out to breakfast the kids said we've made a sign Mum so we remember the frog is outside and they stuck it to the door. I saw it and it made me laugh, but now I have a dirty old brown cane toad on the lose in the backyard.

When the kids wanted to go out to play in the backyard I convinced them that the frog would hop away and we basically forgot about him for 2 days until this afternoon when I heard screaming and 2 kids running inside the house...the frog, he's outside. I won't bore you with the intricate details of how this frog (aka yukky cane toad) came to be now be no longer breathing however, it did involve one brave mummy, a spade, a big bucket and a garden hose. After I had taken care of the toad problem the kids yelled out something like "mummy you are a hero" or words to that effect which made me smile....their mummy had come to their rescue yet again. I certainly did not need that in my life this afternoon but as the ordeal was now over Sienna walked inside and ripped down the sign. Kids have a really funny way at looking at things and that's the end of my frog/dirty old cane toad story for today. Credit for the signage I believe goes to James (8 years old) for the hand writing and Sienna for the picture of the frog (5 years old).

Sprinkler Action

I bought an old fashioned sprinkler to attach to the hose to cool off in the afternoons. I love how the kids need goggles to run through the water. Simple backyard entertainment, don't you love it!!!

How to cool off on a hot day without a pool

On Monday afternoon it was a bit hot and since we don't have a pool any more the only other option is the good old garden hose. The kids had a ball taking turns in spraying each other. Sienna felt she needed to wear goggles and from the looks of James with the hose I think she was onto something.

Dinner outside

This afternoon we had an early dinner of sausages cooked on the BBQ (at the request of Sienna) and bread rolls. It was such a lovely way to enjoy dinner tonight. Really enjoying our new home it feels so right.

Farewell Nanny & Pop

We had our last lunch out the back today with Nanny and Pop before we dropped them off at the airport to go back to Melbourne today. After we had lunch the kids had time to play "chicken red-rover" out the back which was very amusing to watch and Nanny and Pop had a little bit of time to finish up their cross word puzzle. It has been fantastic to spend time with them and we will miss them when they are gone.

Endless amount of fun

Cocoa and Fluffy have been getting a lot of attention from James and Sienna these holidays and they have been making little cubby houses for them in the backyard out of cardboard and plastic lids. They are very tolerant and good natured chickens. Here's today's activity of making them a cubby house near where they like to rub themselves in the dirt. After a while the kids went into the chicken coop to pretend they were chickens. All I know it was a good place for them but they made more noise than the real chickens.

I'm back

Well after our big move and no internet for 2 weeks I have been busily unpacking and doing things that need to be done when you move to a new house. Engage locksmiths to change all the locks and key them to like so there is one key that fits 5 doors, get the tv antena man to install points and fix the existing one, get the bushes trimmed and lawn mowed and on my to do list is the electrician to install some extra power points and an outside light in the alfresco area. Lots of exciting things to do when I have a new place to make my own.

Our backyard is small but flat and very private which I love. Yesterday afternoon after school James made a kite for himself as Sienna had come home from school with one and they ran around the back yard flying their kites. James made a little room on his and drew a person and a bed in his (very inventive). I love our new home and look forward to doing the place up bit by bit. Here are a few pictures from our backyard yesterday afternoon.

Homework - Backyard Safari

James had to go on a backyard safari as part of his homework and find four creatures and document it by doing a drawing and writing down where you found it. There were strict instructions that they were not to take the animals out of their environment and bring them to school. We did the first 2 on Friday afternoon, a spider and an ant and then this afternoon he found a worm and a lizard. If you are looking at the spider and think a bunting may have fallen across his face you would be wrong. When questioning James what is this he said the spider is wearing spy glasses and the thing at the side is a microphone. James got some spy glasses from the last school bookclub. I think it looks like a very trendy spider don't you. Loveed this little homework activity.

By Day and by Night

By day we have hours of packing........ by night we have a full moon and in between we have Sienna looking like a clown. This was her attempt at packing toys, gotta play with them first which makes a lot of sense when you are 5 years old!!!