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Happy Family Times

Getting ready for chickens

Broody hen

In two weeks we will have sweet little chicks (fingers crossed)! Our lovely broody hen is being such a good mama keeping ten little eggs warm. And she seems to be settling into her new home well after arriving from the farm.

chicken coop

Before she arrived the children worked with their dad to build the chicken coop. Watching them work together on a project is super lovely. Seeing them problem solve and reach an outcome is rewarding on many levels. He gives them tasks and they quickly jump to them, happy to be able to really help.

chicken coop

Having chickens was high on our wish list when we started thinking about moving home. And we are lucky that my brother-in-law has a chicken farm. So when he knew we were ready he sent this lovely broody hen to us, together with ten fertile eggs to pop under her once she settled.

coop

The children and I check our mother hen a few times each day. And each time we do she is happily sitting on her eggs. I wasn’t sure she was eating and drinking at first – but thankfully her survival instincts remain even while she is broody!

chook coop

I must say I am very thankful for a husband who looks at our weekend ‘to do lists’ with an open mind. He is used to my lists and we always make impressive headway through them. And bee hives are next (*laughing* sorry, just added that for my husband!)

chickens

Have you hatched your own eggs? Any tips?

Blessings, Kelly

Mud pies and other recipes ~ book inspired play

 

I’m quite a bookworm, and love finding new books to enjoy and explore with the kids. So when Jackie from My Little Bookcase recommended Mud Pies and Other Recipes I could not resist!
Mud Pies and Other Recipes by Marjorie Winslow is a gorgeous recipe book for child mud chefs to create amazing delicacies for their doll friends.

 

Mud Puddle Soup
 Find a mud puddle after a rainstorm and seat your dolls around it. Serve.
Erik Blegvad’s retro illustrations are the perfect complement to this sweet book. And it is a wonderfully fun read, that we giggle along to as we go *grin*

 

Even better, it has inspired a new level of mud kitchen play in our backyard *grin*
With the kids getting super creative in their ‘cooking’, and making their desserts look so pretty and delicious!

 

Dollypops
Pick a dandelion from the lawn carefully, so as not to disturb the fluff. 
Hand it to your doll and tell her to lick.

 

Dino Boy likes to scour the garden for pretty petals and leaves… Making wonderfully decorated hellebore ‘chocolate’ mousse for his doll friends. And mud flower soup for me *grin*

 

 

While Little Miss Q luxuriates in the wonderful texture and mess of it all! Running her hands through the glorious mud and tipping the contents from one baking tray to another!

 

 

There were showers at the end of this happy and messy play!
Happy days,
Kelly