A Big Week for Gman

Gman has officially survived his first week at preschool. He's done very well and charmed the pants off of everyone but the poor soul is exhausted and nodding off at the drop of a hat.

Including on the stairs 😂

Today was his afternoon only session so rather than return home I popped into the town centre for a hot chocolate and natter with my lovely mum. Of course we also visited a few favourite charity shops too.

I found a 50p fairy kit and 2 unicorn notebook and pencil sets for 29p each. All three items will be added to the Christmas stocking pile.

I also treated myself the book in the photo above. It was only 50p and my mum joked it might give us all some tips for Brexit 😂

It has some promising reviews on Amazon so I look forward to giving it a go.

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Busy day

Hurrah! We have survived our first week of school. Sure it was only a 3 day week but it's hit both of the girls quite hard and they are both very tired.

We started the day with a visit to Eastleigh town centre as DD2 wanted to spend her birthday money in the toy shop.

On the way home we walked through the Eastleigh Pride festival but it was very busy and very very loud so we didn't linger to long.

We did however find a few painted rocks on our travels which kept everyone fairly amused.

Once home we had a quick lunch and then visited a pop up forge in our carpark.

Eventually when our estate is finished there will be a sculpture erected on the green in the centre of the houses. It's going to be a giant trowel, which seems a bit rude as the estate used to a big patch of allotments.

At the forge you could make little clay shapes that would be copied and added to the finished sculpture. 

I'll try and post a photo when it goes up but i don't think it'll be for a little while.

Once we were home again I pottered in the garden for a while. I've planted two types of garlic in the garden - White Cassablanca and Pink Germidor. As well as the Thyme and Oregano seeds that arrived with my gardening magazine a few days ago. The green house is looking rather full now which always makes me feel rather productive.

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Back to school

My two eldest returned to school yesterday. It was such a whirlwind of a day that I didn't get a chance to blog about it.

DD1 was a bag of nerves. We had to talk through the most preposterous scenarios and come up with plans on how to deal with them. Everything from "what if I need to bathroom during class" right up to "what if there's a fire and I'm in the library".

She came home with a smile and very proudly showed me her new reading record book.

DD2 bounced happily into her new class. I look forward to seeing how things evolve this year as she finally has a school thats offering her some support.

Meanwhile I am 2/3rds through a house blitz. 

I've decided to tackle a floor a day so next week can back to my usual TOMM routine.

Its also giving me an excuse to try out Zoflora's summer scents - Tropical Twist is wonderfully fresh and fruity. I've not tried the Peach scent yet.

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Ducks, Picnics and Fairys

Today we've spent time with some of our dearest friends and their children. 

We went for a nice walk around Leigh Park Gardens followed by a picnic together.

We fed ducks, climbed trees, hunted for bugs and rocks, played hide and seek in the woods and generally let the kids run a little bit mad in nature. 

"Kids in their natural environment", commented DH as we watched them all scramble up trees and play pooh-sticks on the little wooden bridges.

Once everyone was nicely tired out and slightly grass stained and muddy, we slowed things down with a visit to Keydells Enchanted Fairy Walk. It was beautifully done with fairy lights and gently sparkly music as you walked through discovering all the little secrets and surprises. 

Each year they do a walk at halloween and Christmas but this is the first Summer they have decided to run one.

At the end you can choose to add a donation for the walk, they are usually split between the local neonatal unit and children's wards.

We happily popped in a few pounds.

By the time we got home the children we're just awake enough for a quick dinner before popping into bed. 

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Baking and crafting

Baked goods don't seem to last more than a few hours during the school holidays. If they do it's a sign something is wrong in the household. 

This morning while the children played with water in the garden, I made a quick batch of cherry shortbread. I was planning to make star shaped ones but found the chick cookie cutter first and thought why not.

However... I thought I was being clever by hiding them in the microwave to cool. Nope. Gman was straight over with a dining chair the second I turned my back. He happily polished of 8 chicks before I caught him. Even if he did put his hands over his eyes so I couldn't see him 😂.

This afternoon I find myself with 4 tired children who just want to curl up under blankets and watch tv shows on their tablets. So I'm enjoying the peace and working on a pretty caramel coloured baby blanket. 

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Tiny pricks!

DD2 Quote of The Day;

"Mum! They're growing tiny pricks!"

😂😂😂

Horses, Apples and Cacti, Oh my!

Yesterday my very clever hubby surprised us with tickeys to see Spirit of the Horse at Broadlands. It's the first time in 10 years they have toured the UK and there was quite a bit of local buzz and excitement about it. 

The show however was a little bit "meh!". It started 30 minutes later than stated so by the time we reached the interval the two smallest were fast asleep and DD2 looking very droopy eyed. 

Rather than focus on the horses it was more of a circus with horses randomly wandering around during the acts. They didnt seem to add a lot to the show. The Cossack riders were amazing though.

We didnt get home till midnight! 

 

Today I finished making some apple and chilli jelly. We've just tested some on a pile of cheese and crackers. A resounding success with all the smalls. It felt wonderful to be eating homemade preserves again and the lettuce leaves were homegrown too!

I've also peeked at my baby cacti to find they are exploding into life happily. Between the two batches we have about 20+ plants so far. They are appear to be the same type but that might just be how they all look in the beginning.  I've no idea, I'm just happy they've started to grow. I will keep you updated on their progress.

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