A play date, floorboards and bulbs!

So here we are for another catch up post. It will be a weekend one this time which is more of my thing. I prefer to write those as there is more activity going on. I struggle on what to write for week days as it's all sooo samey! Although I guess that is the routine of life. And why we need to plan exciting things into it to spark it up a bit! This is quite long actually. So make sure you have your coffee and cake in hand and a comfy seat! Here goes ...

Saturday 9th October:

Today is clean out the chickens day. The chickens are getting very brave now and often seen up by the pond. No one has fallen in it yet ... Ha! Although it's so full of weeds! Whilst I was cleaning them out hubby had a friend come over with her 2 little boys to meet the chickens. Then they went over to the park with my girls for a play. I stayed behind as I hadn't eaten yet and had a sausage roll quick from our local bakery whilst watching them. I took a video of them scratching around. Peachy is loving that bush: https://photos.app.goo.gl/2cpQDWeQMsUPFxQJ8

Autumn is only just really starting to get it's act together here. There are lots of yellow leaves on this bush in our garden some red and some still green.

Today I bit the bullet and cleared Jessica's desk. It is full of old bits of paper, pencils, a trillion rubbers and other things she wants to keep. So I filled a bag with rubbish, put aside some pictures to keep in her memory box and some to go up on the walls. (When hubby gets round to it - Yes I know your reading this :-p!) The desk is now actually too young for her and she has finally come round to wanting a big girl desk. Which tbh is good timing as as of next year she will need to start taking homework more seriously in preparation of secondary school! Think i'll aim to get this for her birthday next year? Then either Sophie can have it or we can sell it. I would rather give to Sophie for a bit plus she will want it. Get our moneys worth out of it! But that means reorganising Sophie's bedroom! As it is we still have the old baby changing table in there. Now this isn't though sentimentality or laziness but does have 4 large wicker baskets underneath that brilliant for storage! I totally love them and all her toys are in them so this would mean having to move the trofast unit up from downstairs into her room for the toys and well that's just replacing something with something so we still don't get the space lol! She will also be outgrown the toddler bed next year too. The one she is in goes up to age 7 so she will need a single. And again this will take up even more room. I think the thing that will need to go is the rocking chair and stool we still have in there. Now this will be a big loss for me as this is where I put all the stuff behind it that needs to go up into the loft. I have done this since they were newborns. Then sorted it every 6 months all one go. So I might need to either move the dumping ground to Jessica's wardrobe somewhere as hubby will not only divorce me but also kill me if I was to just keep a permanant box on the landing to keep adding too when something becomes too small. I need somewhere to put that too small thing before it all goes up in a batch. See this sorting kids stuff out isn't easy I tell ya!! You need a system. Clothes are sorted her twice a year. When they have their birthdays and the next size clothes come down from the loft and too small stuff/to sell goes up and then again at the Autumn term when the winter clothes and summer clothes are combined to go up too. Any way I have totally digressed here. It looks like the nursing chair will need to go BUT I have always wanted a rocking chair so I would love to be able to keep it long term. We'll see ... I might not really "win" that one. Trying to work out just how much I actually care and would use it. Meh can probably sell actually. Sad times as i've never really used it with Sophie. She was in our bedroom until she was well into her 2's then she moved into cot in her room. Might have sat in it for a few stories and bed time breastfeed. She stopped feeding around 2 though so it wasn't long. Any way i've totally gone off at a tangent here!

Whilst clearing Jessica's desk I got a little helper who wanted to help me to organise it.

Below we have some empty boxes ready for me to put their old clothes in to go up in the loft. 3 boxes to go up and her suitcase which now needs tidying away. Whilst i'm at it I am now going to sort the boxes on the landing ready to go up. I have been putting toys and too small things on the top ready to put in empty boxes. Just needs sorting into boxes then it's ready. Before and then after photos below! Then it's tea time and quite late so no time to go up in the loft this weekend tomorrow is my down day of calm. So it will be next weekend now.

Sunday 10th October:

Sooo much for a down day! The weather is totally glorious! It's sunny, It's warm and I am scratching to get out in the garden! Well not much to do out there so I think it's time to go to the garden centre for some bulbs for Spring and get planting! I saw some garden dude on TV say this plan which I quickly wrote down in notepad as he said it - so excuse the spellings ha! Whilst sorting my shopping list into my phone someone brought a visitor upstairs! Yes it would appear she can walk up and down stairs just like a human! Here's a video of her making her exit: https://photos.app.goo.gl/kQHmERmuKGDiMu6t8

We check homebase first for bulbs and plants. Hubby says before I put boxes in the loft he needs to add some more floor boards. So he goes looking for some and I go to the plant section.

I see some cyclamen but they aren't what i'm looking for plus they are expensive. There are 6 plants to a pack and I only want 4. They even have individual plants but again practically £4.50 a plant. So I go to look at the bulbs. They are equally as rubbish with no daffodils in sight! Ok if you want Tulips or Irises though. So I vote we go to Hillers I want to get everything in one place.

We arrive at Hilliers garden centre and low and behold I not only find a recognisable garden gnome but I also manage to find everything I want - Horray! 

I find small pots of cyclamen at 4 for £10. Bingo! So we match out some colours so they are all different. I find a fern indoors on a clearance aisle for a few £ - A quick google instore tells me it's ok outside and hardy so "I'll 'ave that"! (Said in best burgler bill voice). I find tons and tons of bulbs of all different shades, varieties and sizes. I'm in bulb heaven (if there is such a thing!) I manage to get everything I want so I am one happy bulb bunny. Here it all is in the boot of the car. 

Once we get in I throw some food down me as I haven't had lunch and it's late now. And then I run outside to get bulbing. First I lay my plants out how I would like them to look once planted. Then it is time to empty the plant pot and put in some new compost. Well this was QUITE the feat! It have never emptied or changed it since we moved in in 2007! It seems the previous owner though half filling a pot with bricks was the done thing ... Like everything we found in this house that's been done it was all very cowboy-ish!

With the pot emptied it's now time to start filling up. I start with compost and a layer of tulips on the bottom. Cover with compost and growmore then add in the alliums ... soil on top add the daffodils ... soil on add the crocuses then end with irises. Once they are all bedded in in layers I add the plants on the top. In theory the bulbs should all poke through the plants to give a good display all year round. Sounds good aye?? But wonder IF that will happen!!Time will tell ... this is my handiwork though so highly unlikely LOL!!

There!!!What do you reckon? Think it looks good?? I'm quite pleased. Just hope none of it dies ha! I have some bulbs left over so shove some in another pot for a display too and some more left so go around the back garden shoving in random places!

I come in and it's dark by now so time to settle down for a bit of knitting. I manage to turn out another leaf before tea. A quick 20 mins sit down then off for tea then school prep for the morrow.

Floorboards stored on the landing outside J's room until next weekend and the chair that was on the landing now in her room until they have moved. Her poor room is the new dumping ground! lol.

Right that's it for another weekend round up. Hope you enjoyed this one. It was a little more interesting with lots happening so it was a busy one and no downtime to relax. But shopping and gardening are relaxing in different ways! I'm not going to give a mini current times update here as this is already quite long! So i'm just going to post it up and start on with the next update! Hope all are well! Do tell me how you are all doing please! I often wonder! Keep looking up. Lots of love to all from The Mad House Xx