That was a super day.

It was. A jam-packed day today. I thought it might end up being one of those days in which all I did was make lunch, wash up and then make tea, and then wash up. But it was not at all. It was an in-the-garden day, very much so. Kev and Thomas and James made a fence panel, a very stylish one to replace the evil one that kept getting blown out in high winds. The new one is so beautiful - and absolutely does not match the rest - that Kev will now have to make nine new ones. Ha! I gave the garden its Spring clean in the afternoon. That was very refreshing. It blinkin' needed it. I threw away all of the broken toys that had been taking up space and making the garden look like a landfill for the past couple of years, and gave the patio a good sweep. Our pebble dashing is falling off so our patio is always covered in teeny stones. Hopefully the weather will be good tomorrow because I want to weed the borders and do some mulching! I'm quite excited about that because I have never mulched in my life!!! I don't really know what mulching is, but my dad says that it might be a good idea, so I'll give it a go :D Then we're READY for SPRING!!!! That is an exciting thought :)

So it was a day of grafting today. I love those days. The boys pitch in and help when they feel like it, or just go off and play if they don't. Kev and I do whatever, and then meet up for a cup of tea on the patio from time to time and watch the boys swinging dangerously from the climbing frame, or battering each other with giant foam pirate swords. It's great. And have you noticed that at this time of year it's actually warmer outside than it is inside? Get your jumper on (I donned a scarf as well), get outside and do some stuff - saves on heating bills! I love it when we can get out in the garden, and say sod off to the mess in the house for a while :D

A couple of weeks ago we bought five little ovenproof dishes with lids (two of them a bit

bigger), one each for all of us. I thought it would be a very good idea to get the boys cooking - I'm copying 'I Can Cook' on CBeebies here, totally - and knew that they would be more likely to eat all of their tea without whingeing if they had made it themselves. So I found a recipe for posh lasagne, had a lovely shopping trip with Matthew and Thomas to get the ingredients, and had a super successful tea. We all gathered around the dining table, and infront of each little boy I put an ovenproof dish, a plate with non-liquidy ingredients, and bowls with liquidy ingredients. Then Kev and I explained what to do as we went along. It was fantastic. The boys concentrated beautifully.

They were very tidy, and assembled their dishes very carefully and lovingly. The lasagne has tinned tomatoes, lovely pasta sheets, ripped up mozzarella, squidged ricotta, fresh basil leaves, fresh peppers, ripped up ham, and teeny sprinkles of salt and pepper. Oh, and a little drizzle of olive oil on top. And did they eat it?? Oh yes, they loved it. Matthew wolfed his down, and barely said a word - though this is normal for Matthew, he often doesn't talk because he's so busy stuffing his face! James ate it quite slowly, savouring, and looking lovingly at his masterpiece, and saying 'ohhh, this is good'. Thomas was a little less enthusiastic, but did do very well. He hates ham, and even if he's made the food himself he cannot bring himself to eat it, but he tries. So. Next week we are going to try a fish dish with the hugely successful ovenware! They love fish, so it should be grand.