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This day I love.......

Something BIG has come to this day I love.  Its time to reveal, but first here is the background to the project.

A year ago we moved into our dream house, it had everything even a beautiful play house and swing slide set in the garden for the girls.  My eldest was keen to play on them and the first thing that happened was one of the rungs on the ladder broke,  We checked and did repair work to make it safe but the equipment and the house are 12 years old, never been painted or really looked after and so we kept doing more and more repairs.  We were then faced with a decision, do we keep making repairs or do we rip it all out a start again?  We decided that we would make do and mend.  We are incredibly lucky and grateful to have the equipment so lets restore it back to new.  Let's clean, fix and paint and get the girls involved.  Start a project with the girls so they can value their play equipment, want to play and take care of it.  More important let's get them outside playing.
looking out

So a project was born, lets Restore, Recycle and Renovate our outside play areas, so the girls can be inspired and motivated to care for them as they get older.  So they have somewhere safe to play and somewhere that will last as they grow older. 

This bank holiday weekend we began our Project.  First up, cleaning!

Luckily we had sunshine for 3 days, day 1 was spent cleaning the playhouse and the other 2 days the swing slide set.


swing slide setwooden frame

dirt

My husband and eldest got to work with the Karcher K2 Pressure washer along with the Karcher Wood detergent to clean the wooden frame.  As you can see from the above pictures the frame was incredibly dirty  from 12 years worth of outdoor dirt.  

My husband set up the pressure washer really quickly and got to work.  As the idea behind the project is that the girls help too, my eldest could not believe her luck when she got to have a go.  The Karcher is so light to handle that she had no problems with it.  My husband stayed with her just in case though.  

cleaning begins

The power of water from the vario lance and cleaning power from the Karcher K2 was absolutely amazing, it made really light work of all the dirt and debris on the wooden frame.  My husband did this patch in less than 20 seconds just to show me how good it really was.  

spot differencegetting there

Due to the Karcher K2 light weight and compact size my husband found it really easy to manoeuvre round the swing slide set.  The long handle made it really easy to push or pull.   

karcher k2vari lance

Although it took 2 days to finally clean the swing slide set it would have taken a lot longer had it not been for the amazing cleaning power of the Karcher K2.

Of course my eldest did not want to clean all the swing slide set what she wanted to do was play on her bike from Galt toys.

red bike

She absolutely adores her bike, she loves the bright red colour and how easy it is to move.  She loves that it is as she puts it 'a proper bike'  It so easy for her to steer that she was riding up and down the patio for most of the day

bike

I love how well made it is, and that it is helping her gain better balance.  As she was having so much fun on her bike I could get on with the sanding whilst my husband cleaned.  

We made a good start to our Restore, Recycle, Renovate project, the play house and swing slide set are amazingly clean.  I keep looking at them through the window in the pouring rain at how clean they are.  I managed to sand everything down, which means next job is repair work and painting.  My husband had fun with his new toy, a Karcher K2 pressure washer and my eldest had fun with her lovely red bike from Galt toys.  I cannot wait for Part 2!  Oh and the red bike from Galt toys has made its way indoors and is been rode up and down the hall way, its safe to say she enjoys it!

If you are undertaking a similar project at the moment, which encourages kids to play outside, Restoring, Recycling and Renovating Outdoor play spaces then please let me know and leave me a link in comments, thank you.

This Day I love the Big reveal. 

We were very kindly sent a Karcher K2 pressure washer, and a bike from Galt toys,  The words used are my own honest opinion on the products.  


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This post is a little late as I have had a few long nights with a poorly youngest, but I wanted to share our fun bank holiday when the weather was nice and sunny and not raining like its done all week.

We made the most of the sunny weather, I started the morning with a long walk with the girls in preparation for my three peaks challenge, [Please head over to my sponsorship page].  We spent all morning walking which was great and it was really lovely to be outside

sunny walks

After lunch we then went into the garden to plant some of our new plants.  I had two lovely helpers to dig holes for the plants

digging

All our garden with plants is pebble based with soil underneath it takes some digging so I was quite happy for some help.  My eldest loved digging, until she found a worm.  Not just any worm but a big fat one.

my wormworm

It did take some persuading but eventually she agreed to put the worm back in the garden so that it can look after the plants.  She was ever so pleased that she managed to find one.  I just love how happy she was for finding one.

This day I love a big fat worm.

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I am always up for a fun challenge, and tots100 have teamed up with Walkers Hoops and crosses to do just that.  I love making the girls food interesting for them, and I find that they often eat more if they are fun and interesting.  I set about making this creation for my cheeky monkeys

cheeky monkey

This photo is our entry into the tots100 #hoopsandcrosses competition.  I took the crosses and made some hair.  I used a cookie cutter to make a jam sandwich into a perfect circle, for a face.  The hoops were used for eyes.  With a raisin nose and a fruit button smile added to pepper ears and cucumber grass my cheeky monkeys loved their cheeky monkey lunch!

cheeky monkey lunchenjoying lunch



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The Tots100 monthly competition to find the next Center Parcs Family blogger is for a family fun perfect picnic.  The girls and I have had a lot of fun with this competition, first there was our lets have lunch on the trampoline

picniclunch on trampoline


outdoor lunch


This was a lot of fun.  Both girls really enjoy the outdoors and to have lunch outside was great for them.  We had to have it on the trampoline because if we did the traditional blanket on the floor, the dog would have eaten all our food.  He is very quick and nothing would have stood a chance.  Trampoline lunch are a new favourite in nice weather.

We tried on several occasions to also have BBQ, but the weather always caught us so we ended up indoors.  We did however have lovely weather on my daughter first birthday were all the family came round and we all got to have a family picnic outside.  I made these lovely ladybird crackers

ladybird crackers



They were very easy to do, cream cheese on a cracker with half an olive for the head of the lady bird and two quarters of a cherry tomato to make the wings.  Everyone enjoyed them and and we had a great ladybird themed party.

dinner outside

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Vital baby Soft Flip-Spout Free-flow cups come in a choice of three colours, blue, pink and orange.  The cup has two handles, which is a lovely change to other flip-spout cups on the market.  They are lovely and soft to hold as some handles can feel quite rigid, but these have a good flex to them.  They have a slight angle to them too, which helped my daughter with the grip.

I was impressed with how easy the lid was to get on and off, yet how it remained securely in place.  Often the case is that I struggle to get the lid back on cups, as they are usually too tight.  This was not the case with the Soft Flip-spout Free flow cup.  When the soft spout is in a down position the cup does not leak.  This was great for me so that I could put the cup in my bag and take it out and about.  I also prefer a free flow cup so this was a great bonus that I could use free flow when out, without the fear of leaks in my bag.

The spout itself is a lovely soft plastic.  My youngest is 1 and she really loves the feel of the spout and is very happy to drink from the cup.

drinking

It holds 180ml, is PVC, latex and BPA free.  My daughter has a latex allergy and she had no problems with this cup.  An extra bonus is that it can be used on the top shelf of the dishwasher.  

Overall I am really impressed with the Soft Flip-Spout Free-flow cup, and my daughter loves it too

soft spout cup

We were provided with a Vital Baby Soft Flip-Spout Free-Flow cup for the purpose of this review, all words and opinions are my own.
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Let's explore the jungle, look at all those plants, I wonder what we might find?

lots of plants

Walking through the Jungle

walking through the jungle


What can you see?

what can you see

I think I hear a noise?What can it be?

I hear a noise

I think I hear a Lion, ROOOOAAAAR.  Everyone run away

run away

Phew we made it, what time is it?

blowdandelion clock

 Time for ice cream of course

ice cream

After all the fun in the Jungle its time to set up camp

set up tent

This day I love Walking through the jungle


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Kiddy is a brand the girls and I love. Award winning products, innovative and safe. Tidy Books are a brand I would love to work with with their unique children's Bookcases and storage ideas. Both are award winning.
Kiddy Evolution Pro from Kiddy UK and a Tidy Books Baby Buddy
Kiddy and Tidy Books have teamed up to offer a Kiddy evolution pro and Tidy Books Baby Buddy, a prize worth £200. To enter and for further information head over to www.facebook.com/tidybooks and http://www.facebook.com/KiddyUK.
Good Luck
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'Mummy, lets go, come on Mummy lets go outside'

My eldest repeated this from 5.30am as she had awoken to sun and wanted to play outside on her bike.  Not wanting to pass the opportunity of a nice day out we went

bike
bike riding


My daughter could hear the neighbours cutting grass, so she wanted to do the same.  Only she decided to Mow the trampoline, I have no idea why.

mow trampoline

 'Where has the worm gone Mummy?' My eldest then asked me, remembering last time we went in the garden she held a worm.  We then set upon the task of finding her a worm

worm huntingfound one

We found a rather long worm, which she decided was a snake.  She wanted to put it on the moss, as she said the snake lived here.  

It was a really lovely day spent in the garden

This day I love snakes, bikes and mowing the trampoline
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silentsunday260513

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Sunday

giraffe

We were very luck to attend the Baby show at Birmingham NEC.  It was a really great day out and we met some very lovely people.  My youngest daughter loved all the different stands.  She was caught posing with the giraffe from funky giraffe bibs, whilst wearing a funky giraffe bib!  This has to be one of my favourite pictures from the show.

Monday

twist it up

One of my favourite finds from the baby show, is the Cuddle Twist from Cuddle Dry.  My eldest daughter has wanted to tie her hair up after the shower for as long as I can remember.  The Cuddle twist let her do this and she is ever so happy.  She calls it her hair towel and she keeps asking for when she can wash her hair, just to wear the towel.

Tuesday

chocolate smile

My youngest is now becoming more independent and wanting to feed herself.  She is getting better but still makes a huge mess, I figure she is enjoying herself.  She has also started posing for the camera, this photo is my favourite of the week,

Wednesday

tick tick

My youngest has a new skill.  She comes up to you lifts your top, says tick tick and then wiggles her fingers on your tummy.  

Thursday

mess

The girls decided to play with everything and created a huge mess.  If the images are moving my youngest is signing where.

Friday

boo

Whilst I was doing some admin for work my youngest kept coming over the laptop screen and saying boo!yes the mess got worse if you look in the background.  I added the monsters to hide my work.

Saturday

my pet worm

The sun was shining, which after yesterday weather is hard to believe.  My eldest daughter and I played out in the garden whilst my youngest napped.  She found a pet worm.


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My youngest decided to show me her new skill this evening.  She would come up to me lift up my top say tick tick and wiggle her fingers on my tummy

tickle mummy

After an hour or so of tickling it was time to go to bed.  My eldest had fallen asleep, I think from a busy day at nursery but my youngest would not settle.  I tried everything and in the end decided that as it was not raining I would take her on an evening walk.  We did not go far just round the block, but it was lovely to get some fresh air. 

It also gave us an opportunity to try out our Bundle Bean.  I was happy knowing that she was wrapped up very warm and that it was secure on the pushchair thanks to the Velcro straps.  She did try a few times to put her dummy in the pocket on the front, I think my eldest will put her hands in here.  I found it really easy to attach to the pushchair.  The inside feels lovely and soft and with the outside waterproof I knew that she was well protected.  We will hopefully be using our Bundle Bean as a picnic mat this weekend, which I am looking forward to.  I shall also be using it as a blanket on the carrier when we go walking for the training to the Yorkshire 3 Peaks challenge [please sponsor me].

My youngest kept herself amused by pretending her dummy was an aeroplane

aeroplane

She also pointed out all the birds she could see

bird watching

She really did not want to go to sleep.  I would love to say she finally did but after an hour of walking it started to get dark so we headed home.  

It was really lovely to get out for an hour and get some fresh air and really nice that the rain held off just long enough.

This day I love tick tick and an evening walk
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About me

About Me

Welcome to This Day I love.

My name is Leyla, also known as Mum to my 3 humans and dog Mum to J. I have a passion for the outdoors and love to run. I can often be found off road exploring the trails and fells and covering distances all the way up to 50 miles. As a family we love travelling and discovering new adventures, as I try and run around the world!

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