What about Ewan???

With all this talk of Liam and bilbies, you may be wondering what's happened to Ewan!

Well he's still here, albeit a little quieter than Liam - but that's not hard! Ewan, while quiet, has a strong character and won't back down if there's something he wants to do or say. That's only at home though - when we're out he's very shy and likes to stay close to me or Ben. People often remark, "Oh so he can talk!", suprised when they actually hear him speak!

He is very loving and affectionate - always wanting cuddles and kisses. He is still very much our "baby" and not because we want him to be but because he insists on it! He loves just cuddling up and making babyish cooing noises. And he has "that" look - you know that one where they smile and look at you with big eyes that just melt your heart. Totally irresistible! He hooks everyone in - not just us! Even young girls around the 6-8 yr old mark will take him under their wing and follow him around catering to his every whim. He is certainly a charmer!

And like Liam he is switched on - he just does it without as much talk! His "thing" is bugs and insects. He's always been drawn to little things so bugs/insects are very exciting for him. Liam bought him a bug catcher for Christmas and he adores catching creatures to put in it. Evidently we are looking at upgrading his bug catcher because there is never enough room for everything he finds! He's had spiders, beetles, huge caterpillars, grasshoppers, and countless ladybugs (one of his favourite things!). Sadly they end up dying in his catcher because he never wants to release them and the catcher is too small for them to set up home in.


Ewan and I admiring caterpillars in the bug catcher!


So that's Ewan in a nutshell - though we wouldn't use a nutshell really for him - he's allergic to cashew nuts!

Our Quest To Save the Bilbies Continues!

I wrote to Frank Manthey, from the Save The Bilby Fund, to thank him and let him know that he has inspired us. Frank replied asking us to

"get all your friends to fill in the form in the link below and tell Woolworths how much you would prefer an Easter Bilby colouring-in competition at Easter, instead of the rabbit one that they use each year. As you know, the rabbit was brought from Europe about 150 years ago and has cost Australia trillions of dollars in trying to get rid of it. I have tried for the past five years to encourage Woolworths to change this, but they are not listening. If many people start saying the same thing, though, I think that we can make a difference. If you would like to help, please can you ask your friends to do the same?
http://www.woolworths.com.au/contactus/index.asp "

We made this our Easter mission - we emailed everyone we know, posted in online forums, and spread the word among all the groups we're a part of. Liam has taken it very seriously - he is not going to let this go! He is still telling everyone he comes across - young and old!

On Monday (Easter Monday), he was talking to our 4 year old neighbour, Kyle, over the fence. Kyle's dad started calling out to him to come as they were going out. Before he did though, Liam made sure he got his message across!

Liam - "I just need to tell you something Kyle. The bilbies are dying. Rabbits are taking over and killing our bilbies. They are in danger. You have to get all your friends to write to Woolworths and tell them that they should have a bilby colouring in competition."

Kyle wasn't paying attention and asked him what he was talking about, so Liam launched into it again! Kyle's dad was ready to go by this stage so Liam got down off the fence and came back inside. I could hear Kyle and his dad talking as they got in the car. Kyle was saying "Dad the bilbies are dying. The rabbits are killing the bilbies".

And so I had one of the proudest Mum moments ever! Liam never ceases to amaze me with his understanding of the world and his persistence to make a difference. It is really hard at times to let go of my adult pessimism that creeps in.... as if one person can make a difference..... that type of thing. But hearing him go off on his own and initiate a conversation like that, with no prompting or promise of personal reward, makes me so proud and thankful that he's my son.

If you haven't contacted Woolworth's it's not too late! Go and do it now - it only takes a few minutes!

Save The Bilbies!

Last week, at Learning 4 Life, (our home schooling group), we had Frank from the Save The Bilby Fund come to talk to us about bilbies and the work they do with them. He was a great speaker and very inspirational. With a voice that commanded the children's attention, he spoke about bilbies and taking responsibility for their survival. Queensland bilbies are the most threatened and Frank and his team have worked hard to build a fence at Currawinya National Park to keep predators out and re-establish a wild breeding population of bilbies. Frank asked us who we thought owned the Currawinya National Park. Most people respond that the Government does - he is very quick to correct everyone that it's not the Government that owns it - it's us. He told the kids that their parents pay money to the government and that the government acts on our behalf. And unless we start speaking up and letting them know what's important to us, nothing will be done about issues like saving the bilby from extinction. The children ranged in age from 1 up and there were a lot of young ones around 3 - 8 sitting, listening, and paying attention to him. He really captivated them and it made us think a lot about our role in society.

Liam is a real thinker and on the way home started talking about bilbies and what Frank had said. He wanted to know why rabbits were a threat to bilbies and why it was important to buy chocolate bilbies at Easter. The Save the Bilby Fund works hard trying to get support from major supermarkets and confectionary suppliers to adopt the Bilby cause.

Liam's train of thought then went to what we can do to get rid of rabbits. And his brilliant solution..... "We should write to the leader of the Government and tell him that when the soldiers come home they should be sent out to shoot all the rabbits. Do you think there would be enough soldiers, mum?" I love it - great job for the armed forces if you ask me!

He then started asking if one person can make this happen. So we talked about one person starting it and getting the idea out there but that the Government would listen if he had the support of lots of people because they represent our whole country. I explained that a government has to do what the majority of it's people want.

Liam is still thinking about his idea and I am going to help him to write to Kevin Rudd. And we'll let Frank know too - I think he'll be proud to have got his message out and to know that he had an impact on us.

If you're interested in finding out more information visit The Save The Bilby Fund website. And if you're planning on buying chocolate bilbies for Easter make sure you get the Darrell Lea ones - they are the only chocolate manufacturer that contributes money to the Save the Bilby Fund though the sale of chocolate bilbies.

Sleep is For the Weak!

The boys slept in this morning till almost 6:15am! Ben was ready to go to work and went to say goodbye to them. The boys were still asleep so we stood at the door and watched them for a bit. Ewan stirred first so Ben gave him some cuddles until Liam woke up. He went to Liam and the first thing Liam said was "I'm hungry". Ben said that he must have been dreaming about breakfast.

Liam, in a disgusted tone, said "I wasn't even asleep. I couldn't get to sleep all night!"

I couldn't help the grin that spread across my face and poor Liam was very upset that I didn't believe him. Still laying in bed, he rolled over to face the wall, with a "Hmph!"


He is always saying that he doesn't sleep. Not sure why but it does sound a bit like he feels he'd be admitting defeat if he told us the truth. Not sure why because Ben and I certainly love our sleep!!

We're Back!

We apologise for the break in programming. We will return to normal programming as soon as possible.

We are back from a long hiatus, Liam and Ewan's World is still alive and well, so sit back and enjoy a few tales on us.