It's coming around fast!

It hit me like a train today. This time next week, we will have the cows in at the show. Bloody hell. I feel a tad out of control with it all...I have a feeling deep down that something isn't done, that I should be better prepared. But everything seems to be coming along nicely. Let's hope it stays that way.

I got a phone call today from Carl Moon - who is the guy from northern Victoria who basically gets the cows looking 100%+ for the show - who tells me that he is judging the Warrnambool show this weekend. Seeing as he is in the neighbourhood, he is going to call in and check out the girls a few days early. This is such good news, because if I have to do anything to get them better prepared, I may be able to squeeze it all in. Carl will be back down our way next Thursday to start clipping cows.

Maybe I'm feeling a bit apprehensive about the show because Mark is not going to be there with us. He is taking off to Queensland next Friday to play baseball in the Australian Masters. He will be gone for about 11 days. And so, just so he doesn't miss out on the experience of taking a cow to the show, I entered the 3yo (Craiglands Luckystrike 3111) in the Noorat show as well!!! Yeah, I'm sure it was words of thanks he was mummbling under his breath. LOL.

As far as what's going on here, we are in full swing of silage making. A number of paddocks have been mown and tedder raked, ready for final raking for the contractors to come in and pick it all up and put it into the silage stacks. It is a very demanding and tense time for everyone here....stuff it up at this point and future fodder for the summer period is potentially ruined. As I write this (at about 11.45pm), Mark is still out on the tractor raking paddocks, trying to work the evening moisture into the grass that got a bit dry over the day today. The forecast is for some hot days ahead of us (up to 30 c) so I reckon everyone is going to be on tenterhooks for a while.

Family-wise, I took Bridie to the maternal health nurse on Thursday for a weigh. After last month's good weight gain, she has again slipped back and has not gained very much at all. She is once again teetering close to falling off the bottom of the growth charts. In the past month she only put on 10 grams, and at almost 10 months weighs 7.1kg. But she eats like a horse (much more that Tom does), is healthy, happy and alert. I admit that I started to get concerned the last time she went through a period of slow weight gain, but we know that she can put on the weight, so I think it is more of a metabolism thing. She is possibly going to be one of those lucky girls that can eat anything and not put on weight. Obviously, she does not get this from my side!

Rex is having some teething issues fitting into our family. LITERALLY. The damn dog chews anything and everything. Must be a terrier thing. The other day it did a poo (!) and there were remenants of a peg in there. Honestly. Tom is very rough with the pup and Rex is very rough back. I have reservations about how this relationship is going to progress.....both are as bad as one another and I'm not really sure who is the worst influence.

On a positive note, Tom has begun toilet training in earnest. Since Thursday, he has been wearing undies for the majority of the time and been going to the potty. This has always been at my prompting, but tonight, in the midst of playing with a friend and Rex, he stopped, ran over to Mark and said he needed to wee. Progress. Today we also had the first poo-in-the-pants episode. I'm pleased to say, that instead of sitting around in them (like he would a nappy), he took himself into his bedroom, climbed up on the change table, took off his trackypants and poo laden undies and then yelled for me to come and fix it up!

Now some of you may balk, wince or even dry retch at the thought of this, but for those of you out there (especially mums) that have gone through the whole toilet training saga, I'm sure you'll agree with me that whilst it really is one of the more disgusting aspects of parenting, these things do make you happy in your heart because you realise that your kids are growing up and developing.

But may I say....I can't wait for it to be over!

And our thoughts turn to.......

barbequeing!!!

Yes, that's right. It's BBQ season. Actually, we BBQ most of the year round, but during spring and summer, we cook a hell of a lot on the hotplate. Our BBQ also has a spit attachment so there is also rotisseire beef, pork and chooks to be had in addition to the usual fare. Yesterday was the first real hot day of the spring season (got to about 31 C) so the notion of cooking meat outside, eating salads and drinking a couple of cold ones just got too much for me! Ahhhhhhh, I love it. And this time of year is perfect, because the flies haven't managed to breed up too much yet. In another month or so, we won't be able to get out the back door for fear of being bombarded by enormous blowflies. The damn flies are constantly going while the sun is up and then when they decide enough is enough, the rotten mozzies start up! Argghhhhhhhh. It's enough to drive you to drink. And it usually does.

So, whilst we have this period of nice weather and low bug numbers, I am going to sit on the verandah, let the kid and dog tear up the garden and enjoy a glass or two of wine while watching hubby tackle the traditional role of BBQ cooker.

Bliss.

Introducing Weraireds Craiglands Rex

He's here! And ain't he just soooooooo cute? We've been getting reports about his progress over the past couple of weeks from the stud owner and also the vet, whom we both use, and both have told us how much of a big boofer Rex is. Apparently he turned out to be the most aggressive of the litter and would only let the other pups eat after he was finished. I was imaging that he was going to be ENORMOUS but really, he is soooooo small. I guess my perspective of animal sizes is a little different seeing as our "babies" (the calves) are so much bigger.

Tom has been waiting for Rex to arrive and actually started to get a bit teary about the fact he wasn't with us yet. 4 weeks is a long time to wait for a 3yo, which was the last time Tom saw him. He was the one that eventually named the dog Rex (oh, ok.....I 'helped' a bit) and with his slight lisp, it sounds quite funny coming out of Tom's mouth.

But he is here now, tearing up the place and battling the overgrown lawn. He is initially allowed to sleep in the laundry until he is a bit older and has acclimatised to the outside a bit more (he has lived all his life in a laundry so far), but I am keen to get him outdoors 100% of the time. And after last night, when he whimpered most of the night, my resolve is now set in cemet!



He is going to be really good for Tom. Tom has never been much of an animal kid, which is strange considering how many we have around here. The most affection he has shown to any of them was our duck (RIP duck). I thought that he was a bit apprehensive about the dogs because our other two (Tottie and Blue, both kelpie X) are quite big in comparison to Tom's size. But even with little dogs - and particuarly those that rush at you - he is VERY wary. And of course, Rex is just so excitable and leaps about. But over the past 24 hours, Tom has started to warm to the pup. So much so, that he has to be supervised lest he loves it to death.