Thursday 9 July 2015

This Week I've Loved....The Garden, Party Planning and Paddling

July is always a busy month in our house. With two birthdays to celebrate, holidays to pack for, fruit to be harvested in the garden and high temperatures luring us to the pool or the lake, we are kept on our toes. 

The past week has been especially busy but in a fun way - the ideal kind of busy. 

Our apple tree has been dropping hard, unripe apples all week, our kohlrabi plants are ready for harvesting and our Turkish plum tree has come into crop. The boys and I have spent a lot of time in the garden, alternately picking fruit and paddling in the paddling pool. With temperatures well over 35°C, we had to keep in the shade as much as possible. Where better to do that than under a plum tree?



Number Three was fascinated with the paddling pool and couldn't get enough of it. He was so brave, standing and splashing away with his hands, even though he is barely ten months.
We also celebrated Number Three's birthday with a Lego Movie themed birthday. Despite it being near 40°C we had a brilliant afternoon of fun with him and six of his friends. I find the German birthday party rule of thumb great - the number of children should be approximately the same as the age of the child. Number Three turned seven and invited six friends  - seven children. It makes for a manageable party and since most people go by that rule, there is no pressure to invite the whole of his class at school. 
Those were the highlights of my week. Tomorrow's bake sale at school should be lovely, seeing all the children queue up for cake with a Euro or two in their hand. This is my contribution (sorry for the bad photo). Dolphins are the latest craze with my boys. 


This Week I've Loved

10 comments:

  1. Sounds like a lovely week! Love the German birthday party rule of thumb - I'll definitely bear that in mind for future parties! #ThisWeekIveLoved

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    1. Thanks, it was.
      Yeah, it is a great rule. I've been using it since my eldest's third birthday and it has always worked well.
      Thanks for stopping by.

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  2. Oh how I envy fruit trees in my garden. I remember being little and having them in our garden. And I'm very jealous of having a plum tree to shelter under in this gorgeous weather. I've never heard of the party rules for the age of the child; I think it's a great rule and one I will definitely remember! Thanks so much for linking up. xx

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    1. Did you Ali? It really is great having your own produce and the kids love it too.
      It is a great rule. I read it somewhere before my eldest's third birthday and it has always worked well for us. I notice almost everyone goes by it over here.

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  3. oooh I love home grown food. I've just started a veggie patch and green house be sure to check out my greenhouse goddess section in the next few weeks. There's something really satisfying about eating something you've grown yourself and what's even better is its free!!

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    1. Oh good on you Zoe! I just had a look at your greenhouse. It is a good size. Good luck with all your home-growing. If you are looking for recipes for all your produce, pop over to my recipe blog, www.mykitchennotebook.blogspot.com for a browse.
      Thanks for commenting here.

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  4. Replies
    1. Heehee, I am terrible for remembering to mention which linky I've come from. Glad I'm not the only one!

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  5. Wow it sounds like it gets pretty hot where you are - my son loves going in the paddling pool to cool down! #thisweekIveloved

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    1. It does, and humid too. It is unbearable come days but with time I'm learning to cope. I'm Irish and we are just not make for hotter than 25 degrees over prolonged periods of time :)
      Paddling pools are a great invention, aren't they?
      Thanks for popping over to read.

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