Little green fingers

Moneysupermarket.com sent us an amazing children's gardening set to give us a new burst of enthusiasm for the garden and help us join in the Britmums challenge. The minute my daughter opened the parcel she was sooo excited about getting out in the garden and planting her new seeds! This post is an entry for BritMums’ #KidsGrowWild Challenge. 

So here it is – our gardening story.

This was pretty much the case when we moved into our new build – we lovingly called it "our blank canvas"! One month later our first baby was born and together, little by little, on a small budget, we made it our own. At about 40m2 our garden is compact but we have tried to make the most of it and it works. I love it, my daughter loves it and Daddy is quite proud as he did most of the work!

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So let us show you around...

...my little ones have put their stamp on things wherever you look!

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My little ones love the garden. Baby boy loves to sit under the bamboo with Mummy and watch the leaves blow in the wind, and to watch the windmills spin. My little girl loves chasing bubbles, building tunnels for Wiggly Woo in the stones, making fairy gardens, hiding dinosaurs in the flowers beds and making stone animals. This one is a crocodile!

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And of course my daughter loves helping with the gardening and she couldn't wait any longer to plant her new seeds. We don't have much flower bed space so we decided to use pots and luckily found some round the side of the house looking sorry for themselves.

She got on her gloves and forked the soil and pulled out the old weeds that had been growing in the pots.

Then we explored the seeds we had been sent. There was a mixed packet (she has named everything flowers), sunflowers and some pansies.

She was fascinated by the seeds and their different shapes. We spent a long time looking at them and deciding what they looked like!

Squiggle then sprinkled the pansy and the 'everything' seeds in their pots and covered them over with soil. Then she carefully planted a couple of the sun flower seeds in the last pot.

Last year we planted sunflowers but we started them off on the windowsill in the kitchen. They are a great thing for children to grow as they shoot up really quickly, so they can almost watch them grow in front of them. We had 3 sunflowers last year, so Squiggle, Daddy and I chose one each and had a sunflower race. It was great fun, and of course, she won! I hope these do as well after starting them outside.

Once the seeds were planted I cut out the pictures from the packets for her and sticking them to some lollipop sticks she stuck them in as labels.

 

A sure way to get any child interested in the garden is to get them a watering can. Once she had planted the seeds my daughter just couldn't wait to get watering. She loves being allowed to fill it up herself in the sink and carry it through the house (with mummy following behind with the mop). She watered all her pots well and instantly asked when they would start growing. Gardening is a great life lesson in patience for a 3 year old.
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One of the reasons my little girl was so keen to get planting is that I promised she could decorate the boring old pots. We took a trip to the DIY shop and I let her choose 3 sample pots of emulsion paint. At about £1.50 each it is good value and you even get a brush in the lid so it's pretty hassle free.

Mess and paint in the sunshine, what's not to love? She got to work planning and painting and soon our garden was full of smiles and laughter... and her legs were caked in blue paint! We have had a pit of rain since painting them and I'm pleased to say they haven't run. She took so much care and pride in painting them that I was terrified we would come down one morning to find pink puddles on the grass.

She has placed her pots with pride in front of her Wendy house, so that it now has it's own, special, vibrant garden. Every morning she is straight in the garden in her pyjamas to check their progress, so please don't let us down flowers! x

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Our epic dinostraw

Thanks to Britmums we have received our very own set of Cravendale Epic Straws to play with... whoever came up with this promotion is a genius, they are so much fun!!

Our set came with instructions which Squiggle and I had lots of fun building together, she was very good at finding all the parts I needed and actually found it pretty easy to attach them together herself.

You can feel the concentration!

We were both very impressed with the finished result and she absolutely loved drinking her milk though them. It took a while to get to it but she thought it was so funny and we loved how the straws are transparent so you can see the milk making it's way round.

You can do it...

...did it!

We had two sets which meant once we had build the second construction we could have races. Since we gave up baby milk bottles at night there has been a sudden drop in the amount she drinks, this was a great way of getting the good stuff in her – she drank a lot!!

The next challenge was to come up with our own epic invention, so guess what Squiggle wanted to make... yep, a really tall diplodocus. Hmmmm was my first thought, but I don't think we did too badly. What do you think of our very own dino-straw??!!

Epic dinostraw

 

We have had a great time, I'd really recommend getting a set, if you want to find out more visit www.epicstraws.co.uk and happy slurping!

The Joy of Swimming

This is my entry to the BritMums Joy of Swimming Competition, sponsored by British Gas.


Swimming memories...I have lots of wonderful swimming memories – my dad teaching me, my mums face as my little brother chose to swim underwater before above it, braving the British seas on family holidays and always always insisting you weren't cold and didn't need to come out – despite having blue lips and being covered in goose bumps. One of favourite things in the world is to swim in the sea, I find it so peaceful and relaxing... you won't often find me by a hotel pool!

My swimming memory I have chosen may not sound like it should be a joyous one but strangely I always look back at it happily. It was all very exciting to me at the time and the memory always brings me a smile.

I can't remember how old I was - perhaps 5ish - I could swim, just not that strongly. We were on the holiday of our dreams visiting Disney in America and were at the Wet and Wild water park for the day. I was having fun swimming in the pool, I think my older sister and dad were in there too, it was pretty busy and my mum was sitting out with my baby brother. Now don't ask me why but we had no idea it was a wave pool... until the waves began to start. I thought it was really funny when they started, then the pool started to feel very crowded and very deep and as I went up and right down it wasn't long before I wasn't too sure about it, then just blackness.

The next thing I remember was waking up in an American mans arms and being handed to my worried or maybe more embarrassed mum! I don't even think I told anyone I had passed out, I was so worried I'd never be allowed in any of the pools again. I paddled with my brother on the beach bit of the pool instead while the waves were on after that.

Looking back I always think how these memories make me realise how different I was as a child. I never complained of illness or injury (I once skied a whole day with a broken arm) and just didn't have that sense of fear. I just wanted to get back in the water! These days I'm all up for a bit of sympathy!

It's such a shame you lose that as you get older, but I guess it's necessary for survival... and so that you are able to be responsible watch out for your own fearless child I guess.

I love watching my daughter swimming she just has so much excitement in the water. At 2 half I have just managed to get her over her bizarre fear of inflatable things to wear some armbands. She loved it! And kept begging me to let go so she could swim on her own...hmmm. No fear in her yet either then!!


My water baby

Money saving alphabet

a,b,c,d,e,f,g... I'm as thrifty as can be! I feel like since having my little one my mind is constantly on money saving mode – it doesn't always work and it's hard to stick to the rules I set myself but it still helps to have them. I'm more thrifty now than I've ever been and I know it doesn't have to mean misery! Here is my money saving alphabet – it's my entry for the Britmums piggy bank tales competition which is sponsored by Virgin Money.

accept

Admit your financial limits and accept what you have got;

even a little, can then feel like such a lot.

barter

Be never bashful... barter for bargains; 

and be sure your purse is cash full.

cashback

Click cashback sites before you buy online; 

clock up cash for another time. 

Chi ching!

debts

Don't ignore them... 

dig deep, divulge, and do consolidate them.

eat together

Everyone eating the same family dinner; 

saves on expensive different portions – an easy saving winner.

friends

Friends are free!!

green

Get green and turn of lights & sockets; 

get saving polar bears and gain savings in your pockets.

home-made

Hundreds of dishes can be home-made yummy... 

with a small hoard of key ingredients – hurrah for happy tummies!

ice ice baby

Invest in itsy bistsy freezer pots and store portions as you cook; 

mine is full of ice surprises and always worth a look.

justify

Just before you buy it; 

stop and justify it.

kiddie kino

We know with kids you're always up and awake; 

so kick start your day at the cinema – at weekend morning showings, £1 tickets are at stake.

library

Lots of books and lovely activities for little one and me; 

look shhhhhhhhhh listen, it's all for free.

make

Make gifts and cards with your mini makers; 

mine even decorates plain wrapping paper.

natter natter

Now if you natter unlimited on your mobile do you need a landline too? 

when at home skype is a great option and at no cost for me or you!

over-budget

Over estimating and realism with your budget can only leave you with spare;

otherwise you'll only end up spending extra pounds elsewhere.

plan

Planning meals and making shopping lists help food budgets stretch longer;

less waste, less haste, still lots of taste... and a bank account that's stronger.

quick fix

For a quick cash fix rummage baby clothes and old CD's;

there's money to be made at car boot sales, to buy things you really need. 

rewards

Reap rewards with free points cards, when you're out and ready to shop; 

reward cards can bring days out and shopping discounts at a pop.

surestart

Super savers surely see... 

you can do all the same baby activities for free!

travel thrifty

Take note of group discounts and advance travel fares; 

always ask for the cheapest tickets and ring direct to compare.

understand

Understanding your personal money traps is a great first step to helping savings grow,

write down every little thing you buy one month and underlying problems will show.

vouchers

The web is full of vouchers to spend online and in store;

always search before you spend to leave yourself with more.

wait

However much you want something, if you can't afford it wait;

the stress of debt or monthly payments will far outweigh the treat.

X marks the spot

Give your savings account a name that reflects it's end goal;

it makes adding to it so satisfying and will get you on a roll.

zippity doo dah

Celebrate you luck with some lovely family treats and fun;

be in it to win it and enter great fun comps on blogs for mums!

Share your savings story for a chance to win £500 towards a Stocks & Shares ISA