The Great Garden Project (part one) with Johnstone's Paints

I think of our garden as the biggest room in our house and there is so much of it that I've decided to set it out as different areas depending on who uses it. Hubbie has plans for a shed at the end of the garden - he's been talking about it since we moved here 5 years ago. Each year we've bought something big for the garden so the main part of the garden is dedicated to a play area for the boys with a swing, slide, various ride-on toys and the den. Hubbie built the den from a pile of wood that was delivered to us on the back of a flatbed truck and while it was treated with wood stain years ago it is in need of a refresh. The area I spend most time in is what would pass for a patio. I have battled with the gravel and finally given in so now we have tables, seats and lots of plants in pots. What we don't have is any semblance of order or a theme with a mish mash of plastic furniture and folding chairs. I decided to change that.

Ooh lots of lovely paints

My plan was to refurb and upcycle the furniture that's been weather beaten and make it more appealing to sit outside. I want to have a nice area to enjoy the outdoors in and even to sit with a glass of wine if I'm feeling really indulgent. Just as I was pondering what paints to buy and whether to pay a visit to the DIY mecca of Purley Way the nice folks at Johnstone's paints asked if I'd like to try their range of Garden Colours outdoor paints and I jumped at the chance. I asked the boys what colours they would like and we chose wild bluebell and calming stone as well as some gold metal paint for finishing touches and dark oak wood stain for the den.

BEFORE: Side table 

AFTER: Side table 

The first hurdle was the weather. As soon as the paints arrived I was raring to go, but it rained for days. I looked forlornly out of the windows waiting for a dry day and finally it came. I decided to start with the tables that we use for drinks and as the metal legs are black decided that stone would make a striking contrast. I think they look simple and elegant now.

BEFORE: Picnic  bench 

AFTER: Picnic bench 

We chose a two tone look for the kids' picnic table with stone for the table and blue for the seats. I was going for a beach hut feel and it looks much better and the finish is great. It's weather proof, but doesn't disguise the wood so the natural grain still shows through. Unlike before I can wipe clean the surfaces when the boys have eaten so it's practical too.

BEFORE: Swing seat and tables 

AFTER: Swing seat and tables 

The seating area is much more appealing now. The swing seat and side tables work really well together and with the picnic bench is playful and fun. I'm not done with the garden project just yet, but wanted to share progress. The pirate boat has also had a lick of paint, I'm going to replace the sail and hopefully she will be good to go on a seafaring adventure again.

Upcycled pirate ship

I've really enjoyed upcycling our garden and it was so simple. I used two coats of paint to ensure even coverage and the colours and finish are impressive. Next is the den which will take longer, but I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out. I might even use the wood stain on these cut logs to make a feature of them.

I'll keep you posted.

Disclosure: We were sent a range of outdoor paints by the lovely folks at Johnstones for our garden project. 

I'm obviously too cool for my scooter

In a vain attempt to look cool to my kids I chose to scooter to school with Brown Bear last week. It was all fine getting there and I even stopped for a cuppa with the other mums at the school cafe before scootering home for yoga class. However, as I slowed to a stop at the top of the very steep hill that we live on it all went into slow motion as I fell and managed to cause a pretty painful and bloody injury to my knee. As I hobbled back home carrying the scooter I shrugged off how bad it was and carried on with teaching. It was only afterwards that I checked and noticed how badly I had cut and scraped myself. Since then I've been recovering slowly - I think it's an age thing. This evening I fell asleep on the sofa and woke up in time for the final episode of The Good Wife with the cat asleep on top of me.

Enforced slowing down doesn't agree with me really. I prefer to be at full pelt the whole time so it's surprised me that doing so little can be this tiring. On the flip side I've also had time to stop and look around a bit more. Earlier in the week I spotted that a neighbour was having some trees cut down in their garden so I asked the guys doing the work if they could spare some of the logs they had cut. One of them kindly dropped off these for me and I'm looking forward to creating a fun play area in the garden for the boys. I have big plans for the garden which makes the current wet weather all the more frustrating.

My Fitbit doesn't know what is going on as a I'm struggling to reach my daily steps goal before bedtime and I usually hit the magic number by lunchtime. I was considering putting it on Neo this week, as he has four paws I thought I'd get more steps, but his level of activity is second only to a sloth at the moment. I'll be honest the main reason I exercise so much is because I don't want to be fat (that ship has sailed unfortunately), but the second reason is so that I can have treats and not feel too guilty. At the weekend we took Hubbie out for an afternoon tea for Father's Day. It was Brown Bear's first time and he absolutely loved the fresh scones. This bodes well for our holiday in Cornwall in a few weeks.

I'm off to Britmums Live this weekend and am looking forward to seeing blogging friends and enjoying wine, cakes and delicious food. I'm going to walk around a lot to try and get my steps up for the week. If you're going to be at Britmums please do come and say hello. I'm a greeter this year and can't wait. Before then I'll be recording a radio show with a lovely guy who's been on my show before a few times. It's a busy few days.

A long walk, a newborn and part lego child: my week in photos.

Survival kit for walkers

At the start of the week I was recovering from the Shine Walk for Cancer Research UK. It was great to take part and I'm delighted that me and my walking pal Carole did it in such a fantastic time of just over 4 hours. I did feel it for a few days afterwards though !

Oi, Legohead !!

This week Big Boy turned 5 years old and he had so many presents it took ages to open them all. He is so very lucky to have so many people who love him so much. I bet you'll never guess what his favourite toys are ?

Teeny tiny baby 

By far my best moment this week was having baby cuddles with my first nephew. He's so adorable and I could quite easily have spent all day fussing him, but I gave him back to my sister - albeit reluctantly.

A rose between, well many thorns 

I'm often embarrassed by our front garden as all the neighbours have such neat and tidy lawns and borders and ours is such a jungle in comparison. Then I noticed this beautiful rose and it made me forget all the straggly plants around it and appreciate the beauty in one single bloom instead. 

Nose to nose - fur to fur

Tonight I'm typing this while sitting up in bed and Neo is lying at my feet with his new friend. I'd say that's a pretty good way to end the week.

He can't say Mum, but he can call the cat - pah !

I was dreading the week just gone as it was the only week of the school holidays that I didn't have Big Boy booked into play schemes. He did a swimming crash course every day, but that was only half an hour a day and I had whole days to fill and two boys to keep occupied. I sent an email to the other mums from Big Boy's class and made plans to do things to keep us all from going bonkers with our kids at home. The response was heartening as they all seemed to be in the same boat as me and jumped at the chance to get out and do stuff with us.

In the end we did something every day and I spent more time with the mums than I have since he started at school and it was great. We spent drizzly mornings in the park, a spectacular sunny afternoon at the fire station (more of which in my country kids post later this week) and I had conversations with adults every day. It was brilliant ! As a result I learned some stuff I didn't know before which I thought I'd share.

Samuel's mum told me on Monday that she spends one hour every evening gardening. I thought this was such a genius idea I immediately decided to do the same, so this week I've spent up to an hour in the garden most evenings which means I've already spent more time in one week than in all of the previous months this year. It also means I can do manageable chunks without getting the chronic backache that is inevitable from the 'binge gardening' I usually practice. It has been nothing short of a revelation !

You probably already know I love Waitrose and this week gave me a concrete example of why. I took Big Boy to Asda with me - it was close to where we were at the time, it wasn't my first choice - and as I parked in a parent and child space the women in the car next to me threw a McDonalds bag at the back of my car. I looked at the bag with the remains of a milkshake and various containers in it and looked at them and for a moment considered throwing it back, but decided it wasn't worth the fight that would ensue if I did. The next day I needed to cleanse myself of the experience and while pushing Baby boy in the trolley at Waitrose a man politely pointed out to me that Big Boy had dropped the plastic lid from his disposable coffee cup on the floor. Now I have to explain he wasn't actually drinking a coffee, but he flutters his eyelashes at the ladies on the counter and they always let him have a cup to play with. I smiled and said thank you to the nice man who proceeded to apologise for his presumptuousness in trying to tell a parent how to parent. I told him it wasn't a problem and we went about our shopping trip with Baby Boy pointing at everything in the store and Big Boy going loopy in the aisles. I love that in Waitrose someone would be kind enough to worry about my boy dropping something on the floor and putting it in his mouth that they would tell me.

It was while we were driving to Asda that I heard one of my favourite of Big Boy's latest malapropisms. He is usually a pretty eloquent conversationalist, but he does say some funny words. There's the usual lellow for yellow of course, but when he asked, "why are we going to Asbo ?" I had to laugh. Others that I've spotted include, Teenage Newton Ninja Turtles and when he finished watching Cinderella he told me that it was the garden mother who sorted out her dress for the ball. In fairness to both boys I should also point out that Baby Boy is now saying a few intelligible sounds. His clearest word to date is Neo (of course, they always learn the cat's name first !) and he is also saying something like Hello and Bye Bye, both of which make him sound like a Minion. It's hilarious, but also really cute.

So I'm not saying it's rocket science, but what I've learned this week has given me a laugh and my garden looks a little bit nicer as a result. I call that a win.

An egg hunt, some tree climbing and an offer we can't refuse :)

Over the Easter weekend we had hoped for warm weather - but not too warm - so that we could do our annual Easter Egg Hunt in the garden. With two boys taking part this year I bought new collecting buckets in fetching yellow and we made an early start to ensure there was plenty of time to eat the finds and to prevent any animal pilferage. As it was a little damp underfoot they put on outdoor shoes and matching hoodies to seek out the tiny chocolate bunnies, the beanie filled eggs and finally the big eggs they all got - yes even Daddy.

In the afternoon the weather was so nice that we decided to take a trip to a local park so with one boy on his scooter and another in the buggy we trotted off down the hill and saw that a lot of other families with children were doing the same - probably also trying to wear off the effects of chocolate overload I imagine ! You may recall my big boy has a thing about climbing trees at the moment so he was delighted when we spotted this massive tree with enormous exposed roots and lovely, crunchy pods underfoot.

The next morning was a lot sunnier so Hubbie kindly took the boys outside to kick around a football so I had the house to myself for a little while. I did nothing more exciting than a bit of washing up and sorting out, but it was much easier - and faster - without the small persons around.

While the boys were outside I heard a jangling sound and I was puzzled what it was. I did wonder if it was a rag and bone call or something similar so I went out the front of the house to look and imagine my surprise when I saw a fire engine a few doors down from us ! My boys love fire engines and I called them to come and see the real life one that was in their road. I have never seen my big boy move as fast as this when I've asked him to do something.

The kind chaps on the engine were checking fire hydrants in our road and they were more than happy to show my boys all the equipment on the fire truck. As a devotee of Fireman Sam my boy asked to see all the axes, tried out a hose and even checked out the ladders. We were invited to pop over to the fire station any time to see more engines so with a few more days of school hols I think we might just take them up on that :)

This post is being shared with the #countrykids linky hosted by the lovely Fiona of Coombe Mill 

  

Flowers, fruit and fun - a garden for all seasons

I always feel guilty for neglecting my garden in the early part of the year as it's such an austere time anyway and the garden could probably do with some love - couldn't we all ? As I wandered round in the fine drizzle this morning taking photos wearing my oversized t-shirt bearing the legend 'idiot' (from a wonderstuff song - not high level and public self-loathing) I observed how much it's changed.

In the front the bulbs we planted last year are starting to poke through the ground - they're a bit subtle still, but the colours are lovely and vibrant.

The crocus revolution

Our daffodils are always early and they really are quite hardy - in previous years they've survived show and ice. These chaps are an inspiration !

My hardy daffodils

I had a lot of these plants taken out of the ground last year as I don't like their 'cabbage-y' appearance. The lovely pink flowers that they've sprouted have given these ones a reprieve for this year. They still look like cabbages though.

Unloved 'cabbage flowers' 

The far end of our garden - or 'the woods' as our boy calls them - are the reason we bought the house. When it's sunny this place provides shade and hiding places and in the winter it's a playground with a lovely soft floor and amazing trees and branches to climb over.

A pair of wellies and waterproofs and this is a playground !

I often call our garden the 'pudding garden' as we have apples, blackberries and - as I discovered last year - quince growing in it. The glut of apples last year had me handing out bags of them to anyone who came to our house, this included delivery drivers, Jehovahs Witnesses and random strangers. It's sad that they've all gone now and it's hard to believe these trees were covered in apples only a few months ago.

Not long ago these trees were heavy with apples 

We are so lucky to have such a diverse garden with so many different functions and facets. I'm looking forward to getting back out there and enjoying it again this year. 

This post is part of the epic Mammasaurus's How does your garden grow linky 

What makes me smile ? A man, a boy and a cat :)

I'm joining Mummy never sleeps in her new linky to remind ourselves what teeny tiny things can make us feel a teeny tiny bit better when things aren't feeling so great. So for the inaugural All The Small Things I present the following:

1. Homemade soup with homemade bread - nicer than expected and my boy even said, "it's very tasty Mummy."

2. The first daffodils in our front garden - a delightful surprise every January :)

3. Looking out of the kitchen window and spotting our cat sitting in the window of the den - an unlikely sunbathing spot :)

4. A walk with my boys on a winter's weekend 

and finally

5. Finding a packet of cookies named after my cat :)

I hope at a least one of these things made you smile too - see you next time :)

[All photos are mine - please ask permission before reproducing them or any content]

A room of one's own

When we bought our first house together me and Hubbie were keen to have a garden. We were both living in flats in South West London and wanted some outdoor space. He had a small courtyard garden in his bachelor pad in Wandsworth and we would have brunch sitting outside and the neighbourhood cats would pop over to visit. On one memorable occasion when he had the front and back doors open one of the feline neighbours ran through the flat to make a hasty escape from someone or something, not even so much as an 'excuse me' if you don't mind ! My flat wasn't so much of a cat thoroughfare seeing as it was on the sixth floor overlooking Battesea Power Station and with about 12 train tracks running past the window. It was a spectacular view of the River Thames and the New Year's Eve fireworks alone were worth the mortgage !!

 Anyway, when we were looking for a home we wanted a garden because we knew we wanted to rehome a cat and we love spending time outdoors. In our first home together we had a lavender filled idyll where we spent most evenings and weekends in the summer months. I always called it our 'favourite room' and it really was - even with the East Grinstead line going past. Yes train lines are a theme with us. Then as our family grew with our boy joining the fold we decided to move somewhere bigger and even toyed with the idea of leaving the area so that we'd be nearer our respective parents.  After some to-ing and fro-ing and not a little bit of stress we finally found this house and when we read the details Hubbie said, "this must be a misprint, it says the garden is 200 ft long." We came to have a look around with our tiny little baby boy and saw this enormous garden and I just knew we had to live here. Yes it's a lot of work, but more than anything it has given us a whole new massive room to play with.

At first we didn't know much about what was in the garden as we moved here in Oct so the apple trees were full and the leaves were starting to shed, but it took our first year here to appreciate the full beauty of how many flowers and plants we have. Only today I realised that the white flowers growing on the plants I gleefully hacked back last week are Lily of the Valley (and only then because I saw our beloved bees on them and took a big whiff of the scent and it had a distinct hint of Yardley about it !). There are roses all over and after an apple free year last year we have trees groaning with fruit this Summer - bring on the crumbles and pies !! I also have a plethora of beautiful flowers that I can pop into a simple glass vase to bring some of the garden indoors - it adds to my love of 'indoor-outdoor' decor.

This year we've been able to construct more of a play garden space for our son to enjoy. We eat outdoors every chance we get (and Hubbie needs little excuse to fire up his prized gas barbecue when it's as hot as it is at the moment) and he sees it as we do as an extension of the house. Whether he's playing football or chucking water around it's all about having some fun and being outside. We do, however, draw the line at having a trampoline in our garden. I'm not going to get all Kate Hopkins and judgey about it, we just don't want to have one in our favourite room.

Having said that Hubbie has been busy this afternoon building our boy his own 'quiet space' outside. A room of his own where he can contemplate deep thoughts and park his favourite cars underneath when he's finished playing. He's already got some furniture in there and I expect at bedtime tonight he will run in there and hide as he knows Daddy can't fit in there to get him out.

I'm out this evening at a ball - which I need to go and get ready for, like ten minutes ago.

I expect to get home and find them both asleep in the 'new house.'

My festival baby collection (Next competition entry blog)

I went to spend a Next voucher that I'd been given for my birthday yesterday having decided that I wanted to get a new bag for the summer. I was distracted on the way in not only by my boy straining on his reins to rush over shouting "buggy !!" at any he saw, but also by the range of t shirts they have in for children this season. 

When I was pregnant I spent time looking at the children's clothes in Next and loving the styles for boys so much it made me glad I was having a boy. The clothes aren't twee and they also don't all say "little monster" on them. The girls clothes also look pretty good and I can see why when they have the massive half price sales it's always the childrenswear that sells out first. I've been in my car at 6am waiting for the sale to start only to find it was open at 5am before now so I gave up trying. Instead my sister does the legwork and finds some great things for my boy to wear and I get to lie in :o)

This season has really surpassed the usual at Next as they've gone for cool young dude look which I love. The ones that caught my eye were the Stone Roses designs, but they also have the Jam, the Beatles and various other 'I'm with the band' themed styles. http://www.next.co.uk/boys/younger-boys-best-of-british/2

Now, I've spent a lot of time looking at rock t-shirts for kids online and they are not cheap. The collection at Next averages at under a tenner so I'd be able to get the whole range to ensure my boy has a new one for every festival this Summer. They're also 100% cotton so I can wash them and they should look just like the originals that Daddy and I have. 

In fact if they also do matching ones for adults I'd take father and son in matching clothes to go for maximum dude appeal. After all the comments a Daddy gets when he's out with his cute son are far more gushing than they ever are for a Mummy aren't they ? 

If I had any money left over I'd get myself some of the pretty cotton summer outfits and probably something nice for the garden from homewares. Even if we don't make it to any festivals this summer I think we can all look the part and listen to music in the garden pretending we're surrounded by thousands of other people. 

Rain, rain go away...

As the month comes to a close we have had repeated weather reports announcing it's been the wettest April on record and incredulous news reports about how the UK is still officially in a drought. I don't mind either way as I rarely use a hosepipe and we have a water butt to collect rainwater in. I do, however, find it bizarre that a bit of rain causes everyone so much distress as though they've never seen it before.

It's like we've all forgotten what a normal Autumn is like with the almost constant drizzle and permanent feeling of dampness and that smell of wet coat that followed you around in your schooldays. What amuses me most is the small talk we make about it. A friend once told me about an American who commented that she never understood why the British are so obsessed with weather until she moved here. Then she realised that weather is the main topic of conversation (other than tea) because we have so much of it. In a single day it can go from torrential downpour to blazing sunshine and back again by bedtime.

To make this demoralising experience bearable we have adopted a few choice phrases that are bandied about when we have this climate. Some of my favourite lines are:

"Nice weather for ducks"

"Well the garden needs it"

"It's the kind of rain that wets you right through" (as opposed to that really dry rain you mean ?)

In our house we also have the twin joy of having a toddler who has discovered the joy of jumping in puddles (I blame Peppa Pig for that !) and a cat who when he comes in cannot disguise that he has been in the rain as a) he miaows loudly to be dried off with his special towel and b) he smells of wet fur and that smell travels !!

Of course following a weekend of dismal weather it was gorgeous and sunny today and with Bank Holidays coming up we can look forward to a few more rained off barbecues before the Summer does finally dawn on us.

Oh do you see what I did there ? I managed to blog what would usually be a bus stop conversation. Thanks for listening :o)