There's a reason I named my blog Life...in Leighland

Yea....guess which numpty forgot to take before pics of the spare room?!  Oh yes, that's right....I did!!

So here's a half way through!

And wouldn't you know it, I bought the smallest size can of expanding foam with a view to minimising waste and of course in true Leighland style...didn't have enough!!  His Lordship has a rather ingenious idea though - rather than just removing the excess cured foam and binning it, he cut it into slices then pushed it into the few gaps that weren't filled!

So here's what we did:

• Vacuum floor to remove any debris
• Rub the gaps over with white vinegar
• Immediately fill gaps with expanding foam 
• Leave foam to cure for aprox 4hrs
• Remove excess cured foam with the Worlds Sharpest Knife
• Slice excess cured foam to fill further gaps
• Lightly sand over filled gaps and other unsightly lumps & bumps
• Vacuum (about 10 times!!) to remove as much dust as possible
• Rub entire floor over with rags and white vinegar to remove 
• Starting in the farthest corner, open paint can and start to paint
• Paint half of the floor then leave to dry

The white vinegar helps to remove dirt/dust and the foam adheres to damp surfaces better than it does to dry surfaces.  

I would definitely recommend using an expanding foam for a job like this. The gap you can see here is actually 1"x6" so I really don't know what else could have done the job - a normal wood filler would have just fallen into the hole and landed on top of the living room ceiling!







So why did we only paint half of the floor??  Because the guest bed is still in there!!  We will move the bed to the painted side of the room tomorrow and finish the first coat off then.

I can't say at this point if I would recommend using the floor paint as we only have half a coat on but my initial thoughts are that if you're going for a vintage French/ shabby chic look, you can get it with only 1 coat.  I love that look but the furniture I have and the colours on the walls are a little too modern to pull it off so hopefully 2 coats will give enough coverage as the paint is not cheap - Ronseal claim 12m2 coverage per 1l and I bought 1.5l for £30 or so at my local Homebase.

I'll post more pictures as we get the room finished off and the new wardrobes arrive - or at least I will if his Lordship and I don't kill each other while assembling them, lol!!!

Floor painting in Leighland...

So we've eventually cleared out the spare room (in a vain bid to get the New Years resolutions back on track!!).  As the home made built in wardrobes that we inherited when we bought the house have been ripped out, there'd be a gap in the floor where the carpet ends and the new free standing wardrobes will sit, so up came the carpets!

Unfortunately, our budget can't stretch to a new carpet so the plan is to paint the floor boards white and move the rug from the dining room up stairs!

Some of the discs in the bottom of my spine are damaged so when it comes to DIY (which I love!) I'm always looking for a good cheat that will help me finish the project in half the time while still giving a perfect-ish finish - Ronseal recommend sealing knots and filling cracks with their appropriate sealers and fillers, I'll be using Homebases' own Expanding Foam instead.  They also recommend using a sanding machine to remove any previous finishes.  I can't afford a sanding machine and certainly couldn't manage to sand by hand but to the best of my knowledge the floor boards haven't been treated since they were put in around 100 years ago so I'm going to give the boards a good wipe down with white vinegar before I start painting.

I don't know how well my cheats will turn out so its a good job its the spare room!!  I'll be posting pictures soon so you can see how we get on!  Share you're DIY tales and hints & tips below!

9-5...what a way to make a living

Good god, what in the world did I do wrong in order for me to be punished with a few weeks of working normal, full time, day time hours?!?!?!

Yep, the bosses must have decided the training team weren't earning their keep so had them write up a training course then start delivering it through out the company and I got switched into this group at the last minute.

Seriously, regular mummies need a medal for being able to get up, get ready and get their lil' peeps ready then dropped off and still be in the office by 9am.

Hats off to ya!!!

The lil' lady and I usually wake around 8.30 - or at least I wake up then to find her tickling my toes!!  Then we have a snuggle in bed while watching half an hour or so of kids TV and talking about what we're going to do for the day.  We usually get breakfast around 9.30, normally hit the shower an hour or so after that, drop Loals at nursery for 12.30 and on the days I have to work., I rock in around 4pm....but noooo...not these last few weeks...Instead, I've had to be up with the crack of dawn (6.30am!!), I've had to get ready super quickly, get Loals ready super quickly, cart her off to her grandparents then start work at 9am!!

I'm soooo pleased to be on a weeks break before going back to a. work and b. my usually midders hours (midnight hours)!!!

Me, feeling rather tired...

I think the hardest part has been being away from my baby, I've missed her loads and loads and the best thing is that I've actually started sleeping again!!  Not just sleeping, but going to bed and more or less straight to sleep at a humane hour!!

So, moral of the storey??  Don't agree to training courses - unless the pay is just tooooooo god damned good for full time, oh...and time for bed!!!!

As a working parent, how do you cope with it all?  Do you work unsociable hours??  How do you cope with childcare and staying awake??  Speaking of which...I've dosed off a fair few times while writing this, so good night for now!! <3