The Grass is Always Greener!

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That's pretty isn't it?

NO!

I always thought I had a nice lawn but according to the lovely man from Green Thumb just because it's green doesn't mean it's a good lawn. So look at that picture and tell me what's wrong with it?

If you guessed that 75% of it is made up of clover, you'd be right. If you also guessed that there is a further 10% of other weeds in it, you'd be right. Now I'm no mathematician but even I can work out that that leaves me  with only 15% of my lawn being grass.

As a part of the Bosch Garden Makeover Challenge, we will receive two lawn treatments. Which, quite frankly bearing in mind what the lovely fellow from Green Thumb told me on Friday, is just as well! I never knew that lawns were so complicated. Surely you just keep them watered and mown? No, no, no! You also need to aeriate them (which they did for me), scarify them (!) and preferably give them some lawn treatments. Many of the DIY lawn treatments just kill the leaves, the Green Thumb treatments get right to the root of the problem (ha, see what I did there?).

I expressed my concerns that in four weeks time, the lawn would look a little naff to put it bluntly, but I was reassured that whilst that may happen temporarily, the fertiliser that they put down would help the grass to grow.

Green Thumb recommend four treatments a year and at only £15 (starting price) a time, I think that's quite good value for money, especially to have the ability to walk barefoot in emerald grass in the summer.

Meanwhile, our tools from Bosch have arrived. I love gadgets and we have two new ones! A cordless strimmer for Mr. TheBoyandMe to use, and an Isio Cordless Shape and Edge (for me, although hubby is having kittens with my safety: I'm known for saying, "I'll be fine" and then cutting myself).

Now, Mr. TheBoyandMe need not worry because while I am a klutz, I'm not a complete idiot with garden tools (that's why I've chosen him a cordless strimmer), and neither are Bosch. The Isio Cordless Shape and Edge is really nifty and has a brilliant safety catch on it which means it stops if you release the pressure on either of the switches. It also has an edging tool for the lawn which is going to save hubby from having to manually cut them with shears and comes in a nifty metal storage case. I'm going to test it out on the lavender and rosemary bushes that line the drive, I've left it until now so that the bees get their fill of them, but now they are gargantuam.

Wish me luck!

TRu Review: Little Tikes Town Playhouse

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There are some serious bonuses to this blogging lark, you know. We've been really lucky and happy with all the lovely toys that we've had to test from Toys R Us, and then, just when I thought they couldn't do any better, they send us a house. Yes, that's right a house.

The Little Tikes Town Playhouse is one of the best designs of outdoor playhouses that I have seen. There are four sides to the Town House and this is where the flexibility in the play lies, something for every child.

I especially like the fact that the petrol station has a pump which is compatible with the Little Tike Cozy Coupe car we have, all the children in the garden have headed straight to that to fill up the car. The other most appealing side for boys seems to be the sports side with the football net and basketball hoop. The Boy doesn't take much notice of the fire station entrance at the moment, preferring to crawl in through the tyre hole in the petrol station side.

Construction was relatively easy, it took Mr. TheBoyandMe about an hour with some extremely useful help from The Boy. Tools needed included a drill and a screwdriver, that was it.

One person on their own will not manage it as it needs one person to pull the roof into shape, while the other screws from the inside-up to firmly attach the roof. The only thing that went wrong with the building was a mis-aligned screw from Mr. TheBoyandMe which unfortunately made a small perforation in the roof. Aside from that, it was quick and simple.

The Boy could not wait to get started on playing with the sports features, incidentally this remains his most favourite side of the house to date. 

One of the other features that I really like about it is the height, it is quite a bit higher than other playhouses I've seen, which means that he is going to get a good few years play from it. So much so that when a friend came over with her three children (8 years, 6 years and 2.5 years) they played with it for well over an hour, using every single one of the sides and really playing nicely together!


If you are looking for a sturdy, outdoor playhouse, then you would be hard-pushed to find a more adaptable and engaging one than this. The Boy adores it, and happy Boy means a happy mummy!

Thank you Little Tikes and Toys R Us!

The Little Tikes Town Playhouse is available to buy from Toys R Us online and in store for £314.99. For more Toys R Us reviews, please visit the ToyBox application on Facebook by clicking on the banner below.

We Were provided with this free of charge for review. My opinions are, as always, honest.

The Gallery: My Back Garden

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The past few weeks have been dull and dreary, following an early burst of summertime. I'm desperately hoping that we will have more Summer, especially for The Boy's birthday in a fortnight. I am panicking about the weather, it makes a change from panicking about the patio furniture and tableware. However, we're lucky because generally the weather in June is good and we have a lovely back-garden in which we can have many a party. No fuss and nonsense in soft-play centres for us, not until I discover the reason why everyone goes there (I suspect that it's because hosting a party is expensive and messy, I'm yet to find this out).

Tara is also obviously feeling the need to celebrate our own little patches of turf or bark, patio or railway sleepers.

I thought it was time we give our Gallery a bit of colour. A bit of oomph. I thought it was time we got out into the fresh air and enjoyed the spring sunshine (well, certainly here in the UK) and take in lungfuls of fresh air. And I thought it was time we showed the world just how beautiful the simplest of things can be. Who needs lots of fancy when you can step into your back garden and discover ladybirds, the most gorgeous blooms, vibrant trees and all manner of adventures?

So, this week's theme is: My Backyard.

I love my garden, it is my own little patch of heaven and one of the reasons that we bought this house. It's an ex-council house and, by and large, they are known for having decent sized, rectangular gardens. Which it is.

70 foot long  by 30 foot wide.

When we bought the house, the garden was much the same as every other garden in the neighbourhood; a concrete path to a concrete washing-line post, grass and a hedge. Now, it is the only garden on either side for 5 or 6 gardens (that's as far as I can see out of the back bedroom window) that is anything but that.

This is the before and preparation.

I'm a little OCD about things, especially in my garden and so I planned the decoration of my new blank canvas and this is what the result was. Yes, if I remember correctly, it is drawn to scale.

Everything  panned out almost as I wanted it to, although we've made a few adjustments to it over the last year in order to create more play space for The Boy. Also having been to The Getty Centre in Los Angeles and been inspired by the beautiful gardens there, my water feature changed somewhat.

This is the picture that I posted last week in my 365 to show what my garden looks like now.

And these are some of the reasons why I love my backyard.

— Now pop over and see the other entries using this nifty little gizmo.

I am beginning to panic.

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Why am I panicking? "You are normally a beacon for tranquility" I hear you all chorus (not quite loudly enough, especially those of you at the back)

In just over two weeks it will be The Boy's birthday. This is a time to celebrate and be happy; plan a party and have a great time spoiling my little cherub. So why am I panicking?

Because I haven't done a thing towards his party yet at all! Or so it feels like it. Last year, I'd been preparing this moment for months and months. I'd been making Very Hungry Caterpillar bunting to hang around the garden. I'd bought all the tableware. I'd weeded, or rather had cajooled husband and, on one occasion, my mother into weeding (my pelvis was still dodgy from the SPD). The patio furniture had been sanded down and everything looked stunning.

However, this time I'm having issues. Hubby is useless at weeding and I still can't physically manage it. I don't need to make bunting because I have 50 metres of the stuff from last year. I can't find any tableware to go with my theme of 'cars'. That's 'cars' with a lowercase 'c' not 'Cars' as in the Disney film because I don't want that. I want 'cars'. And here's the other problem: even if I could find tableware for the party, I don't have a table to put the stuff on since I made hubby bin the main component of our patio furniture set. Oh don't worry, the benches and chairs are going  to follow in the next few days.

Why am I doing this so close to The Boy's birthday? Well the wasps are eating it. Or nesting in it. Or something. Whatever they're doing to it, it's covered in the damn things. And after nine years, I really do feel that I deserve some new patio furniture. Aside from the wasps molesting the wood, it's also had several winters of being left out uncovered and so has warped and is now splintering. Not safe, not comfortable and more importantly not attractive in my perfectly south-facing beautiful paradise.

So now, this weekend I need to find a new garden furniture set.

Which is just as well because Tesco Direct have a whole load of them on offer this forthcoming Bank Holiday weekend! Hooray for the place where every little helps!

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This is an editorial post for which I was sponsored. The links were put in on behalf of Tesco Direct, but the rambling content is mine; they can get their own.

And I really do need new furniture because the wasps are eating it, why would I make that up?