52 weeks of Vicki - weeks 7 & 8 - oops

Morning

Whoops - forgot completely to blog last week and even worse I'm a week behind on my reading! It's been half term here and whilst the boys no longer need entertaining what little routine we have to our lives goes completely out of the window! Late nights, lie-ins, meals all over the place and we're never quite sure who is here for dinner/lunch etc.

So pics from the last 2 weeks - all snapped on something made by Apple - just so easy to snap away on my phone these days;

 Flowers for me - sent to cheer me up when I was having a particularly rough time the other weekend. Still typing up loose ends from my old life - almost there - just one big one to sort.

 Lovely sunny days mean I've dragged my bike out a few times - once on a much needed trip to the bottle bank!! Not all the empties are mine - those boys of mine love their cider and ginger beer too.

 A walk along the prom at Aldeburgh the other day - the sun was shining and reflecting off the sea - reminding me that spring is just round the corner.

 Crochet and rugby watching - a pretty good way to spend a Saturday afternoon - especially as England won :)

 Beer and catching up with the Folk Show on Iplayer - very happy Vicki

 A sunrise - always beautiful to see.

And lastly something that cheers me no end - washing drying outside in the sunshine - meaning for a few hours my house no longer resembles a laundry!!

Right that's all for this week - mostly quite simple things but all make me happy/smile for there own reasons. 

Back to school for the boys tomorrow - a last minute homework panic is happening as I type.

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

52 weeks of Vicki - week 6 - more birthdays

Good morning

Well least I am sticking to writing these posts so far!! The other posts don't quite happen yet but they will eventually - when time allows. Seems weekends have been rather busy.

Today is a very special day here in the VV household - Big Son is 18 years old today. Yep my biggest baby is now an adult!! 

We had a get together yesterday afternoon for him - lots of Grandparents, Aunties, Uncles and Little Cousins - the most people this little house has ever held I think!!

One cake - designed by me and made by a very clever lady who has made so many cakes for us over the years. Of course all 18 year olds need a Toy Story balloon!!

Slightly embarrassed whilst we all sung Happy Birthday to him

Of course all birthday blog posts have to include a few baby photos -

Here's his birthday card - I chose some of my favourite pics and with some technical help they were scanned and turned into a big A4 card via one of those card companies that advertise all over the place.

Whilst all 6 cousins were together, we tried again to get a photo - still impossible to get them all looking at the camera at once!!

Last weekend it was baby nephews christening - as well as getting up early on a Sunday morning for church, my boys made lots of effort and smartened themselves up;

One normal pic - followed by a much more typical one of them;

Right - I'd best be off - have shopping for a steak dinner to do and an appointment at the Opticians for me - I know I need stronger specs and probably need to wear them all the while now.

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

52 weeks of Vicki - week 5 - A hot date with Harry

Good evening

Almost the end of a very busy weekend - the lack of lie-ins is hitting me hard. No time for them this weekend - 2 early mornings for 2 very different reasons. Today the christening of my littlest nephew - pics from that another time. 

Yesterday was a very special day - a belated 16th birthday treat for Little Son - a trip to The Making of Harry Potter Studio Tour. Something he's wanted to do for ages and ages - he's been a Potter fan since he was bought the story tapes to try help him travel better when he was just 3 years old. He feel in love immediately and by the time the first film came out in late 2001, he knew the story almost word for word. Hence at the end of the film, a little voice belonging to a cute blonde boy in wizard robes and armed with a wand was commenting loudly about what bits had been missed out - he gained lots of looks from people who thought perhaps he was some sort of early reading child genius!! We didn't spoil it for them !!

Here's just a few pics from a brilliant day out - if you haven't been I would recommend it - it is really good fun - the boys loved it and so do I.

The last part of the Tour takes you to this amazing model of Hogwarts Castle - the detail is stunning.

There are loads of room sets from the films - this is the Gryffindor common room - I could have happily snuggled up in front of the fire on one of those squashy chairs and sofas.

Ollivanders Wand Shop in Diagon Alley - again amazing detail. You just wanted to be able to go inside and choose your first wand.

All Potter fans will know there is one thing that the students love when they have time to go into Hogsmeade on their time out of school - Butterbeer - very expensive - 4 drinks in special beakers/tankards cost over £20 - luckily the boys Dad was paying!!

They managed to drink theirs without getting a Butterbeer moustache - I didn't ;)

The boys also went flying on broomsticks - I bought a picture of each of them doing that - and after a trip to the gift shop my purse felt rather light!! Luckily special birthdays don't happen to often - oh wait - its Big Sons 18th next week! Not sure what we're doing for that - am waiting for him to tell me!!!

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

52 weeks of Vicki - week 4

Good morning

How did it get to be Sunday again? I had planned to write a mid-week post but it just never happened. Another busy week, working, having work done on the house, family stuff and birthdays.

So instead of 2 posts this week - I've condensed everything into on 52 weeks of Vicki post - or I'll never get caught up!!

Starting with the last thing first!! I went roller skating yesterday - for the first time in at least 6 years possibly more. I use to skate loads when I much younger and even when the boys were very small, I'd take myself off to the local leisure centre at the weekends for a couple of hours of skating fun. Sadly they stopped offering that service and I sold my skates after I tore my achilles a few years ago, thinking I'd never be able to skate again. Well it seems I was wrong - after a very wobbly start the muscles remembered what they should be doing and I was happily whizzing round - avoiding small children who had even less sense of direction than me!! I do ache a bit today but nothing to bad.

This week I've had a plumber here replacing a radiator in the front room - I meant I had to clear some stuff away - including a few christmas pressies that remained on the coffee table. This gorgeous box was painted by one of my sisters;

I also had a tidy in the dining room - there was a pile of recent CS buys I've been meaning to photograph before putting into the right places;

 I love Lucie Atwell's  illustrations - my Mum has a few of her childhood annuals and when I was a small child, I was occasionally allowed to read them - very carefully.

Another Ladybird book for my collection - that elusive copy of Cinderella is still hiding out there waiting for me I am sure!

Lastly for this post - another CS buy - cake/pastry forks - so cute and in their very 50's style box.

Another busy week beckons - music at the pub later, more work, a very special belated birthday treat for little son and most excitingly, my little nephew is being christened next weekend.

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

52 weeks of Vicki - week 3 - with added cake ;)

Good morning

Another week has gone by - its been busy - my to-do list seems to be endless. Things to sort, trips to plan and in this family, more birthdays to celebrate.

This week it was Little Son's turn - though to be honest these days he is little in title only. He towers above me and his feet are catching up with those of his clown like older brother!!

Yesterday, my baby turned 16!!! I must have blinked too long - am sure he was just a little boy when I first started writing this blog!!

Every birthday boy needs lots of cards, a birthday balloon and of course a cake.

You know I prefer cakes which are a bit over decorated!! Hence the edible icing topper and little lego style Doctor Who figures!! 

Here's my boy on his first birthday;

and then 15 years later on his 16th;

He was a lucky boys - lots of cards from friends and family. We're off on a special birthday treat in a few weeks time - not sure who is most excited him or me!! I promise there will be plenty of photos from that day out!!

Right I'd best be off - going out with Big Son and his Dad to choose something special for Big Son's 18th birthday in a few weeks time!!

See you soon - I've got some fab vintage and CS finds to share with you!

xxx Vicki xxx

52 weeks of Vicki - week 2

Good morning

Hurrah another sunny one - I do love them. Our dining room faces south so its been a lovely sunny and late breakfast here today.

I didn't mean to be up quite so late but my body was tired from a lovely but tiring day yesterday. Our first dance event of 2014 - Whittlesey Straw Bear Festival in the Fens.

It was a very early start - we left just after 7 and I travelled with a group of friends. We had an in car breakfast picnic - bacon sandwiches, banana muffins and lots of coffee.

Now I think Suffolk is flat but the Cambridgeshire Fens are even flatter - once the sun came up you could see for miles - I just wish I'd been more awake and taken some photos.

Now as ever with Morris stuff - I can't take pics and dance so I've pinched the first few from a friend!!

 I'm in the middle with my back to the camera!!

As you can see taking pics was tricking - the sun was very bright and the streets packed so moving about to get a better angle wasn't easy.

I've just opened the patio doors and snapped this view - the garden bathed in low winter sunshine;

So week 2 of the year and lots of happy stuff. No more dancing out for a while but we've a winter full of practises to get through - I for one need the practise - I managed to hit myself yesterday on the face and am now sporting a slightly black eye!! Must learn sticks bounce back when you hit with them and if you lose concentration for a second you will get hit!!! 

Right a sister has just arrived so I'd best get the coffee on!!

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

New Year - New Challenges

Good morning

Happy New Year

I was thinking the other day about the forthcoming year and what I am hoping it will bring to me and the boys here at No6. We are hoping this year is calmer than 2013. There are some big things happening this year - GCSE and A level exams for the boys in early summer and then the wait till August for the results. If all goes to plan then Little Son will be heading off to 6th form and Big Son off to University! 

We talked about remembering all the good stuff rather than the bad bits. With than in mind I pinched an idea off the internet and am aiming to do this for the whole of 2014. 

Take one tin and a pile of post-it notes. Each day write one good thing that's happened on a note and put it in the tin. At the end of the year or beginning of next, I can then tip all the notes out and remind myself of stuff that's happened.

 So far so good - 4 days in and there are 4 notes in there!!

One good thing - a day out with the boys. We spent the day with a friend who works in a leisure centre - it meant the boys were actually out of their bedrooms and away from their screens! We played badminton - yes even me! and had a go on a climbing wall. Little Son took to this - he's always been a climber even when he was small and you'd see him climbing onto things he shouldn't!

Another challenge for me this year - this blogging lark - it was a big hit and miss last year - I started several things but lost interest/got sidetracked and never saw them through. This year I am aiming to blog at least once a week - along the lines of the 52 weeks of happy posts - 52 weeks of Vicki ;)

Here the first photo - my Christmas hyacinth has finally flowered - guess our house a bit on the cool side - others who were given them at the same time had theirs flowering on Christmas Day!!

Right I'd best go and get sorted - one last lazy morning here before school and work start again tomorrow. I thing those boys of mine were planning on doing their homework today - that's if they can even remember what they are supposed to be doing!!

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx