About Us Critters

Hi there and welcome to my blog

Critter Cottage

My name is Rachael and I live in Sydney, Australia in our little cottage near the bushland and down the road to the river.

Alex (L), Me - Rachael (R)

I am a mum to 5, (yes 5!) gorgeous children who range in age from 23 years old to 11 months old.  I live at Critter Cottage with my partner Greg.  

Our focus is to pay off our mortgage as quickly as we can, while trying to have as much fun as we can - but on a budget.  We also have 2 rescue dogs - Donut & Poppy and 3 rescue cats - Squishy, Victor & Honey.  I love making handmade soap as a hobby and I have a blog called Soaptastic Soap (which I should update more frequently!) and a Facebook account with the same name.  I also love chickens and hope to get some more soon.  I enjoy lots of things, so please check out more of the blog to see what they are.

We have very recently  found out that we have a genetic condition called Fragile X in our family, which has been passed to some of my children from me.  It causes intellectual disability, amongst other traits, to those that are affected and my son Michael is affected by it.  One of my twins is a carrier for it (as am I) and we are still proceeding down the path of testing everyone at risk.  

This has been a huge shock, especially for Greg and I. I personally have had to face some of my worst fears in this time - having a child with a disability.  However, through the shock, sadness and probably most importantly, the FEAR - I have come to see that this isn't the nightmare that I first thought it to be. 

Yes, it is hard. Yes, sometimes I wish it was different. Yes, it is upsetting.

But it is not a nightmare, it is not terrible, it is not bad..................

It's just different and different is great!

L-R (back) - Jemma & Alex  (front) - Michael, Ben & Rhys (twins)

Rachael & Greg

I will add more pictures of the non-human critters soon!

I hope you enjoy my blog :-)