A tidy room for Jude

Today Steve took Sam to stage school whilst him and Luke went trampoline shopping. They managed to pick up a 13ft trampoline from Smyths Toyshop in Belfast (out of the 94 they had left in stock!)

Jude was disappointed because she thought she was going too. So we had her friend from her old school round to play for a little while. They played Beano Top Trumps in the hammock for a while, made some things out of quick drying modeling clay, and then they both helped me to plant some seeds. T planted some red lettuce and some broccoli and Jude planted green lettuce and cabbage. The idea is that they will be ready to go into the soil just as we are eating the ones that are already there. T was very excited about the whole thing. She wrote her name on some sticks and put them into her seed trays. I told her that she could come back when they were grown and take home her own lettuce and broccoli (fortunately she likes both those veggies).

After she left, me and Jude spent the rest of the day sorting out her bedroom. We started it weeks ago and never finished it. Sam had sorted out a big box of things he didn't want any more, to sell at a boot fair. Jude sorted out half a box and we got distracted. So there has been a big box in the middle of Judes room for quite some time. Today we went through everything she owned and either put it away neatly or put it in the box to get rid of. It looks like a princesses palace in their again now. She quite enjoyed doing it with me. We had music on, and no boys to interrupt. So it was good quality time. And there's nothing like the feeling of going to sleep in a really tidy bedroom!

Tonight Sam has his best friend from his old school coming to sleep over. He is very excited about that. He came home from stage school elated this evening, because he was asked to sing the male part to "All I Care About Is Love", from the musical Chicago. He was singing all the lines... "I don't care about expensive things..." etc, and then all the girls (about 20 of them) were singing the ladies part "All he cares about is love". He said he started off quite shy but by the end he was singing his heart out. He was really pleased because he loves the soundtrack to Chicago and knows every word. Many a happy hour has been spent in his room in front of the mirror with a microphone singing "And all that Jazz". I'm glad he is enjoying the stageschool but wonder whether he will have time for it once he starts full time school in September.

Well, Steve is out mowing the lawn and I have to make some dinner. He needs some assistance in the garden for a while. I have 4 butternut squash plants that need planting into a bed somewhere, but no where spacious enough to put them, so Steve is going to make another veggie bed for them. But I have to tell him where to put it. I am suprised the butternut squashes are growing. The seeds went through the washing machine. They didnt get detergent on them as they were in a sealed plastic bag, but we thought the heat had destroyed them. They took a lot longer to germinate than the other squashes, but they did eventually, and are growing fine now!