A Giant Outdoor Play Pen!

As my mum is always reminding me, my garden is not safe for small children. I have not one but two drowning hazards (or as I like to call them, my fishponds).

There are benefits to my water features. I can teach the children to respect the dangers and how to be behave responsibly. There is an amazing amount of wildlife that is attracted and can be enjoyed. And of course,  feeding the fish is something the children love to do.

So far, the only person to have ever fallen in is my husband on a particularly memorable bonfire night as he was carrying our fireworks a safe distance from where the spectators would be, ready to set them off later. The first thing I knew about it was I saw a 6'5'' dark figure hurriedly tearing his clothes off and shivering outside the conservatory. It did neither him or the fireworks any good - but that is another story!

The simple fact is though, my mum is right. My garden is not safe for small children.

It was with this in mind that we decided to build a fully enclosed decked area with access from the conservatory so that the little ones could play in the fresh air with minimal supervision whenever they wanted to. It was quite a mission turning our plans into reality with my husband doing all the work himself (with a few willing volunteers)  to keep the cost as low as possible. 

What we ended up with was a space that can be enjoyed by all the family but is essentially a giant outdoor playpen. We added a sandpit, trampoline, inflatable sofa, various outdoor toys, the occasional large cardboard box and fairy lights so the fun could continue after the sun had set. All it needed was the active imagination of a three year old for it to become an outdoor paradise. From "jumping on a moooon!" to Human Hoopla, the adventure never ends!

This is my entry to the Tots 100 Outdoor Adventure Blog Hop.

A lovely cake of a day

Some days just leave you with a smile on your face. Yesterday was one of these days.

The last time I had my hair cut was for my wedding in February this year. I am the sort of customer that makes hairdressers shake their heads and tut. I do not enjoy hairdresser small talk, I do not have any clear ideas about styling, I do not particularly like putting my head in someone else's hands and I feel uncomfortable having to look at my own reflection for so long in the obligatory hairdresser mirrors. You could say I am not a fan of getting my hair done which is a big factor in why I go so long between appointments.

At least now I have met Beth. Beth is lovely. Beth is young and natural. Beth is happy to just get on with the job of cutting without engaging in the whole 'where are you going for your holidays' nonsense. She also seems to have a very good understanding of my hair and what might work for me. Whether this is enough to motivate me to have my hair cut regularly remains to be seen but at least it meant that today's cut and blow dry was a good experience.

Feeling quite buoyant with my new hair style, I popped into Boots to check out the free gift on offer when you spend £22 on their No7 products. I am a big fan of the No7 range and an absolute sucker for the free gifts. I bought Stay Perfect Lipstick and Trio Eyeshadow and to take it above the qualifying spend threshold, Cleanse and Care Eye Make-Up remover. I am now the proud owner of the free gift - a dinky little make up bag containing a variety of goodies. Some of these at least will be ideal for when I go away for a weekend in the Lake District later this month. I am quite stupidly pleased with it all!

Next I popped into The Ivy Suite, a local beauty saloon, and booked myself in for a 'deluxe pedicure'. Now I have to admit that the thought of a stranger going anywhere near my feet in a non medical capacity is quite abhorrent to me but as my husband had already purchased a gift certificate (one of my rewards for losing weight) I feel obliged to go through with it. I'm often spouting the 'you don't know until you try' cliche at my girls so i guess it is time to live by my own philosophy. I might really enjoy it. I certainly enjoyed going in to book the appointment - the salon itself is wonderfully flamboyant in its decor and the beauticians are so meticulously made-up and adorably up beat and enthusiastic. They are like a different species.

The icing on this lovely cake of a day was being taken out for a curry at the new Indian restaurant that has opened in town.

I rarely wear make up on a daily basis but I do enjoy putting it on for special occasions and I was dying to try out my new No7 purchases. I didn't dress up in anything more glamorous than clean jeans and a jumper (the baby managed to poo on the ones I'd been  wearing all day) but I did put on as yet unworn jewellery which made me feel ready for an evening out.

The restaurant was tastefully colour co-ordinated, clean and warm and there were plenty of vegetarian options on the menu. The food was nicely presented and I thoroughly enjoyed everything we ordered. Best of all, getting to spend dedicated time with my attentive husband without the distractions of home and family was long overdue and very much appreciated.