'Mowling' the lawn

Cleaning up the grass cuttings..

'Twinkle, twinkle, little star...'

 'Look mumma, a bee!'

'Decorationing' Jacob

'Hey, this is fun..'

Or maybe not...

'Jacob's got green hair!' 

'C'mere you!'

'What? I'm just cleaning up!'

She looks so sweet and innocent..

'It's raining grass!'

That's All Folks!

The sun'll come out tomorrow..

It's been a trying sort of week. Nick has been working super-crazy-only-coming-home-to-sleep-hard and besides missing him massively it can be rather tiring doing the single-parent thing. The kids have both been pretty grumpy this week - I think they've both been feeling a little under the weather, but that has resulted in Ella being particularly bossy and rough with Jacob and Jacob being extra whingy about it. *sigh*

It's also been raining more than it has for weeks (although that's not saying much!) so we've been somewhat confined to the house. It's actually been sort of nice in a way. We've had to slow down a bit and I've enjoyed just hanging out with the little ones, not worrying about having to be 'doing' something (always a challenge for me!) We did manage to escape the house for some fresh air once the rain eased off and we were treated to this beautiful sunset. A perfect reminder that the rain never lasts forever and lovely surprises are usually just around the corner...

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside...

I love deck chairs. There's something so nostalgic about them. They conjure up the most wonderfully evocative images of the British seaside for me. You know the sort of thing, seagulls, fish and chips, pebble beaches, ice cream, fishing in rock pools, old men with knotted handkerchiefs on their heads, little girls paddling with dresses tucked in knickers...

So, you can imagine how excited I was when I stumbled across these gorgeous little pint sized ones on eBay. They were pretty grubby and the seat fabric was mouldy and generally rather unappealing, but it's amazing what you can achieve with some new fabric, a screwdriver, a bucket of water and an enthusiastic helper!

I found the fabric in Ikea (I didn't even know that you could buy fabric in Ikea..) I was originally hoping for a classic navy blue and white stripe, but I loved this multicoloured version and thought it was just perfect for a child's chair.

The chairs were a big hit, with both Ella and Dolly, and got dragged all around the garden, although I think my favourite location is on the cubby deck - don't they look perfect up there?!  It's so satisfying to see something old being given a new lease of life, particularly when you are sure that an hour or two of work will result in years of pleasure!