Play area is up and running

This week has been all about painting the playhouse for the little man. If you're going to buy something new then you really need to look after it. For a wooden structure that means painting. Doesn't it always seem like it's a good idea to start these jobs? I've spent literally hours and hours and hours this week painting it. 

Yesterday, James and I started putting it together, but the kids were having the day from hell and about 3pm we gave it up until after bedtime. 

Butter wouldn't melt, but it all went downhill!

Baby girl contributing brains not brawn to the operation

So come 7pm we were back out and putting the beast together. We'd levelled the ground and put some slabs down midweek as well as constructing and painting the base so we just had the house to put up.

It went together pretty smoothly and today we decided to move all the plastic into the play area. Kids sure are a magnet for plastic crap, every birthday and Christmas it just accumulates!

Playhouse complete with underground parking

So now the play area is full of toys. I often have a look at freecycle and have managed to get a toddler slide and little trampoline from there. The little tikes car came from one of James' trip to the tip. Someone was about to pitch it in when James asked if he could take it home, saved from landfill and all the children gravitate towards it when they come to play. The swing was given to us by a neighbour when his daughter outgrew it. When my children have outgrown it all, I'm sure most of it will be good for some other person who's not too proud for hand-me-downs.

The sand pit was a present from some of my friends. We decided last year to all contribute towards something of value for each others children at birthdays. It has meant that we get something that we want and less cheap plastic, without breaking the bank, fantastic.

Now I just need to paint the trim. I did nearly all the painting before we built it, but a few pieces I just couldn't figure out where they'd go so I left them until the end to paint in situ. The last piece of the set is a swing that attaches to the front and hopefully it'll get done this week.

We moved some large stones and found an ants nest, so little man spent ages watching them moving their precious eggs to a safe location.

We also had a bit of a weed in the veggie bed and we picked the first peas, although they never made it into the house. I also got some pots of compost and put the runners from the strawberries in them weighed down, ready to start some plants for a new bed next year. All in all a productive weekend. 

We also went to booker and I won't bore you with the details but we got the most amazing bag of tea bags for £12.99, with 1200 tea bags! They'd last me a lifetime as I don't like tea but James now has plenty to keep him happy.