It's raining, it's pouring...

Where did our lovely sunshine go today? Instead of my original plan of pottering in the garden, I spent the morning pottering in the kitchen with Gman. We made nearly 2 dozen chocolate nests using some wheat biscuits no one fancied for breakfast. 

It was much nicer than being outside in the drizzle.

In the afternoon I popped into town for a coffee and cake with my mum. Whilst out I discovered some very pretty umbrellas in the poundshop and decided to treat three eldest to a brolly each. They will be fantastic for rainy days. 

Tonights plans are Easter knits and some Netflix binge watching.  Bliss.

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First garden goodies

I couldn't hold out any longer to use my chives in the greenhouse. I've pinched off the odd stem to chew on as I potter about with sowing and watering, but today I cut the first handful.

With all this beautiful weather we've been having you can almost sit and watch them grow by the hour.

After a quite search for inspiration on Pinterest, I decided on cheese and chive scones. 

Perfect for after school snacking and if they last long enough possibly breakfast in the morning too.

It feels amazing to use something homegrown in my baking. I can't wait to see what's ready next. My money is on the basil or pea shoots.

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Town discovery

Today we discovered The Little Free Library near Eastleigh town centre. 

Isn't it the most fantastic idea? What a fab thing to have in your garden for the community to enjoy.

I left one of the free books I recieved through Facebay, and Gman helped me choose another.

Apparently I should read this one because it has a doggy on the cover. I managed to read the first few pages before the school run and so far it looks pretty good.

Good choice Gman!

I will be popping back regularly to switch out books. It's a pretty popular library so the titles change often. 

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Investing for summer

After having to buy drinjs for everyone on Sunday, I popped to Home Bargains this morning for some new drink bottles.

The ones above were just 99p each.

They are easy to tell apart, sturdy and hold 600ml of liquid.

We're giving them a test run at the zoo again today.

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Nearly there

We are almost at the end of half term. Just one last day left tomorrow. The 3 eldest all have inset days or as DD1 insists on calling it Insect day.

It's been a bright and beautiful day outside warm enough for us all to walk to the park without coats.

We enjoyed the playground equipment including the sandpit. Always a big attraction for Gman. 

Hubby popped over the road to the petrol station to buy everyone a drink. I'd of taken some with us if I'd realised how warm it was.

When he returned he'd also treated me to two bunches of daffodils. My favourite flowers.

After the park we walked home along the river, pausing to play pooh sticks at bridges, look at interesting leaves and convincing DD1 every approaching dog was not rabid and about to attack her. Her phobia of dogs has increased to an alarming level lately. 

It was a wonderful afternoon spent outdoors, hopefully to be repeated again soon if this weather stays so mild. 

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More fun at the zoo

We spent another day at the zoo today enjoying our annual passes. We focused less on the animals and more on the playgrounds as usually we'd skip them. After paying around £80 to get everyone in the idea of wasting most of the afternoon on the slide seemed a bit daft when we could visit playgrounds for free! But thats a thing of the past now. 

All four children were trying to fall asleep in the car on the way home. I think I'm in for an easy bedtime. 

I bet they all grow an inch in their sleep tonight after all that fresh air and exercise.

I've been thinking of ways to make the most of our annual passes. Today we registered a book with book crossing and left it in the mouth of this hungry wooden shark for another child to read. We waited nearby to see who found it and were delighted to see a fellow book lover actually jump for joy when he found it. 

 I'll definitely try and take a book from our charity shop pile each time we visit.

In the summer DD2 is eager to paint lots of hidden rocks to take with us for others to find. She wants to paint them with animal prints and leave them near the correct animals. I think its a great idea, and have already reserved some acrylic paints at The Works to set her to work.

I wonder what else we can try up there.

Ideas welcome.

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More half term fun

We're packing in lots of lovely activities this half term. So far we've made and decorated Gingerbread people.

Enjoyed learning about Gideon at Messy Church. We also went to the churches screening of Paddington on Monday morning.

We made and decorated pancakes.

And we all walked to the local bakery and enjoyed a messy cream cake each. 

This afternoon we're off to a local country parl for a walk in the woods.

 What have you been up to?

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First day of half term

It's half term again. Hurrah! 10 days of enjoying my small people before school restarts again. 

We kick the holidays off with a visit to the local zoo. The overcast weather seemed to keep most people away and although it was still a popular place to go, it wasn't to busy. 

We took the opportunity to purchase our annual passes so they won't run out till this time next year.  We need to visit 3 times over 12 months to recoop the costs but we're already planning a second visit on Thursday or Friday depending on the weather.

Once home the two smallest were tucked up in bed fast asleep by 6.30 so I've taken the opputunity to work on a secret project for Gman. I'm recovering his cardboard letters with a Thomas the tank theme.

Eventually his side of the bedroom will have a T.t.T theme. On our way home from the zoo I picked up a bedroom mat and duvet set from facebay sellers for just £2 each. 

My main aim is to find some budget friendly curtains, I'm hoping Ebay or Facebay will turn some up soon. Fingers crossed.

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A bit blowy

This wasn't quite the start to the day I planned! Overnight my little greenhouse broke in half in the wind. The roof and cover were found in the nearby carpark, thankfully it hadn't cause any damage.

Dragging it home up the street got a few curtains twitching. It's not the best way to meet your new neighbours 😂

I was hoping to fix it but the poles holdingit together are actually snapped rather than come apart at the joins. So I have a brand new slightly bigger one waiting for me in the kitchen. I might let the wind calm down before I put it up though.

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Fingerless gloves finished

I've been working on this gorgeous pair of fingerless gloves today. They knitted up in a jiffy as I knitted both at the same time so I could remember to reverse the cabelling on the second glove. 

I'm tempted to make a few more pairs in different yarns. My mum and I have plans to try selling some handmade craft items between us in a little cottage business experiment. 

It would be a wonderful feeling to contribute a little bit of money to the household again. 

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