Getting dirty

This last month has been all about de-cluttering the house and getting dirty. My husband and I had been talking about how much 'stuff' we have accumulated since we have moved in - less than 3 years ago - and knew we had a lot of clearing out to do, especially if we want to turn the spare/junk room into a bedroom for Noah. So it was much to my surprise to come across three separate articles about the same particular book on de-cluttering one day. It was The Life-Changing Magic Of Tidying by Marie Kondo.

This book is fantastic and I highly recommend it if you are fed up with constant mess around you and want to do something about it. I read it over 2 days and was totally inspired! I even put together a spreadsheet to track exactly how many items I was getting rid of. How did I do? Well, I haven't finished every category yet, but so far my average is clearing out 75% of belongings! Not regretted a thing. Loved getting everything out, going through it, cleaning everything and the place it came from and then putting the fewer things back. Loads of dust moved and removed and The Boo has been a great little helper. 

Other messy activities in our household have included lots of finger painting and baking. Paint over the paper, the table and the tea-towel. Spilt water bowl. Flour and sugar over the counter, the floor and in The Boo's hair. Butter smeared over the utensils and The Boo's hands and face. So much mess to be had, but fun to do and she loves both. 

The Boo has also discovered that there is a bald patch in our lawn, in front of our shed (or rather bloody great big brick built man-shed) which gets very muddy when wet. For the last two days she has taken advantage of this and had herself some muddy fun! Yesterday she did so after I watered the garden and she got her hands and feet dirty. Today she just filled her watering can and soaked the area herself and then included her arms and legs in the mess. Will she try it again tomorrow I wonder? What will she include next time? Her hair? Hopefully not her brother! 

Talking of her brother, he's been getting very messy too at mealtimes. He now happily gums bits of toast, small slices of banana or bits of a cracker or biscuit. He happily munched on Bella's unwanted roast potato! He likes to squash and play with baked beans and peas before he attempts to eat them and if he can get his hands on his puréed food or yogurt, he will joyfully slap his hands in it, on his highchair tray. All good.

These two were taken whilst sitting in the car park, waiting for Grandad! Just thought I should clarify!

Little gardener

This last couple of weeks have been all about the garden! We had builders in to lay a new patio and new turf in the back garden and The Boo and I have made numerous trips to garden centres to buy plants, compost etc. 

On one trip, daddy asked the Boo which plant she wanted and she pointed to a little strawberry plant. So daddy and I each chose one too and we are now having a strawberry competition to see whose plant produces the most! So far, daddy's has grown the least! The Boo's is aptly named Sweetheart!

The Boo loves that she has a garden now. As soon as we get downstairs each day, she's straight over to the back door and trying to put her wellies on. A kind neighbour and friend generously gave The Boo a small plastic wheelbarrow and a set of children's garden tools. She adores them and happily sits (or should I say squats!) digging and scrapping at the soil, laughing to herself and yelling 'mummy!' whenever she encounters a worm.

She likes to roll around on the grass and look up at the sky, searching for planes and birds. She likes to kick a football about - she's left-footed! Sometimes she just enjoys running from one end of the garden to the other, over and over.

When I did all the planting, she stood beside me watching intently. She would grab a tiny handful of compost, place it under the new plant and gently pat it down. She would then pull at the watering can in my hands, wanting to do it for me, and would then stamp her feet quickly with joy afterwards and smile up at me with satisfaction. She'll make a wonderful little gardener.

The Boo especially likes the garden hose and always follows me about trying to reach up to take the nozzle from me. I let her take over and just have to ensure she waters the plants and not herself or me! She once pulled the nozzle out of my hands when the water flow was locked on and she turned and got me square in the stomach and drenched me! I gasped out loud and jumped at the cold, which made The Boo laugh. She then took it upon herself to chase me around the garden, absolutely soaking me as much as possible, laughing her head off whilst I shrieked! I had to take it full in the face just so I could grab it back off her. Cold, soaking wet jeans are not comfortable. At all.

Once it warms up a lot more, I'll be sure to get my own back! 

Busy bee

I've been very busy around here for the last couple of weeks.  I don't know if it's the sunshine we've been having or that I have extra energy on my healthy diet but I've just wanted to get up and get on with things!

After my successful quilt making attempt (and a big thank you to all of you that complimented it on my Facebook page!) my husband suggested I make The Boo some clothes. I thought it was a great idea and bought some fabrics, patterns and a 'how to make baby clothes' book.

The patterns looked a bit complicated and I had no tracing paper to copy the one I wanted to use, so instead I used one of The Boo's dresses - a simple shaped denim one - as a pattern. I used a pretty cream fabric with small raspberry coloured flowers. It was a really easy, 2 piece dress and I just had to sew the sides together and hem it. For the neckline, I made a wider hem and threaded ribbon through it to use as a drawstring. I call it my "Dobby" dress. Harry Potter fans will understand!

Once that was finished, I was well and truly bitten by the sewing bug, and dress number two was more complicated, with different sections, pleats, snaps and trims! It took longer and learned a lot. I made some more mistakes and had to unpick a few things, but I enjoyed it all. The Boo grinned, squealed and reached out for them when she saw the dresses, so I will assume she likes them! 

As we had good weather this past weekend, I decided to tackle the front garden. It had been neglected for years and we hadn't touched a thing since moving in so it was a mess. It took me 3 days to transform it, with a bit of help from my husband, sister and of course, The Boo! I'm really looking forward to watching the plants grow and seeing how it all develops! Oh, and I shall be painting the fence cream. 

(I also need to tackle the back garden and have been getting quotes for landscaping work. When it gets going I will write about it all on a new blog I've called "Bunting and Backache". I will let you know when it's live!)

The Boo has been such a good girl. She understands so much more each day and is becoming a little helper. She spent hours out the front with me in the garden, watching me work, picking up and trying to kiss worms, handing me stones, dead leaves and allsorts of debris and sitting digging with her little baby hand tools. My mum and my sister kept an eye on her for me whilst I got on. 

The Boo is such a sweetheart and is so affectionate. At one point in the garden, I was sitting and she walked over for a cuddle. I gave her a big squeeze and then she just pushed me away and held my shoulders at arms length, looking at me intensely. Before I had time to wonder what she was doing, The Boo grabbed my face, pulled my head down towards her and gave me a long kiss on the forehead! Oh wow!

Her little thing at the moment is trying to jump. She sort of lifts her body up and jumps, but one foot always remains on the floor so she looks awkward. She knows she has to lift herself up with her feet and has learned to walk on her tiptoes. The sweetest thing is, whenever she does so, she repeatedly says "tip toe tip toe" as she it! So cute!