February is the month to….

February is the month to celebrate love, particularly at DG Manor where, within the space of a few days, we will celebrate Valentine’s Day, our Wedding Anniversary and the First Birthday of our precious Dimples. The plans are in place for the birthday party, and I have a  stash of these fabulous Valentine’s Lollipops ready to put in the party bags. They are so easy to make, and are recommended by Mini-Mads according to their Mum! I also tested a batch of Heart-Shaped Jammie Dodgers on them too, the recipe for which will be posted on Friday.

It’s always an expensive time of year to buy flowers, but Sarah at Maison Cupcake is running a wonderful giveaway with Interflora: you can win a bouquet and a hamper on her blog. And if you like crafty things, then visit Marie at Heartfelt Handmade, who has a super Valentine’s Giveaway! Talking of handmade, what about making your own Valentine Placemats like Cherry, or a Heart-shaped Wreath like Ali. I’m thinking of taking a leaf out of Dots and Spots‘ book and putting up hearts all round the house. And of course there are plenty of Kidling-friendly crafts at Red Ted‘s that you could try too (including cards by a certain Domestic Goddesque!)

And when you’ve done all that, there are plenty of other things to do in February. Why not get out and about with the children to the beach. Even in winter there are plenty of rock pools to scope out for sea-dwellers. You can still dig for treasure in the sands. You can collect shells and make pictures with them. You can bird watch. And when you’ve had enough, you can come inside out of the cold and warm up with a big mug of hot chocolate.

There are also lots of things that you can do at home. Vent your frustrations with a little pruning: fruit trees and Wisteria need tidying up before they start flowering. Rake the leaves from the lawn so that the grass is free to grow when it wakes. If there is a dry spell, get out and tidy the garden so that the green shoots can come through. Clean your pots, sandpit, garden toys in preparation for the spring. It’s really just around the corner now! And don’t forget the birds: it’s a dry food spell for them so keep the feeders topped up.

Inside, there’s a never-ending list of jobs to do on a daily basis, I know. Yet, as I said, it will soon be Spring: I can’t cope with the idea of cleaning the house from top to bottom in one giant Spring Clean  hit, so I tend to break it down into smaller jobs. Starting with the obscure, checking all the bedlinen and towels are in a good state of repair, cleaning the cleaning cupboard and it’s contents, the under-sink cupboard and it’s contents. Updating supplies if cans are almost empty, throwing away cleaning rags that are too worn. This week, I’ll be checking the bathroom cupboards and specifically, the medicine cabinet. If you have one, it’s worth checking the dates on medicines. You should also collect old  and unused prescription medication and take it to your local pharmacy, where they will dispose of it for you. Check that you have all the relevant First Aid supplies too.

What will you be doing this month? Do you have any tips?