Blackberries, hens and clocks...

Ivan (Mr Bicknell) has now returned to work and Noah and I have been left to our own devices! I have found it a bit strange to not be in the thick of it at college - no frantic labelling of drawers, no mind numbingly boring meetings, no excitement about new faces or those which will return so much older and wiser (!), no catching up with colleagues and no could it be Ofsted panic! Instead I have a term of little ducklings, talking tots, stepping stones, monkey music and babes in the wood ahead of me.... Surprisingly (to me), I am not missing work at all, instead I am enjoying getting to know our little boy, loving the fact that he can now show me where his ears, teeth, nose and toes are, that he loves to have a huggle (hug/cuddle) and anything hot is an ooooo! I never really appreciated that these little people really are the proverbial sponges they are promised to be - he doesn't miss a trick - upon blackberrying it was explained that green and red berries were not a go, consequently only  the black variety were deposited into our jug - of course more found their way into his tummy, but you can't have everything can you!

Noah wearing his bee baby reins - a marvellous invention which means I can actually hang on to him - actually the task of grabbing as many berries as possible meant that he didn't feel the need to make a super fast getaway!!

Roger, our lovely assistant!

Add a couple of Bramleys and you have yourself a crumble!

Much of my week however has been divided between making party bags for my besty Lynda's hen do and making clocks with roger for my stand.

A New York themed party - badges - just so we remembered who she was and so she remembered who he was......!

Aspirin for the morning afterwards (I needed mine...)

For all those cocktails

Little black books ready to receive all that necessary info about how to be a good wife, or top tips on how to survive!

Party poppers to help the evening go with a bang

Glow sticks so that no one got lost....

Jelly beans and tootsie rolls for that necessary injection of sugar when we start flagging!

Gum to combat morning after breath

Individual tiaras because we are all in our own little way, a bit of a princess!

Every party needs some bubbles - and I couldn't afford ( you know stay at home Mum at the moment) the real deal!

Just so we didn't feel left out....

Because Lynda is one, and I love the fact that the next morning she still had one stuck to the side of her face!!

New York styly lunch bags to keep everything together

A few extras to get the party started - the Dare cards? Best £3.99 I have ever spent!!!

Bags good to go

So lets have ourselves A Kiki - cheers Paul for the text idea for the balloon - and yes, they are real $ bills!

All present and correct!

Fez - bakery Lane Petersfield - a den of iniquity for the night!

quite a small space for 17 mental hens!!!

It was all worth it though - she did us proud!!!!

On a more sombre note - Roger and I have finished our clocks, and guess what, I have sold one already!!!

Just got to shift the draught excluders now!!

Have a good week . XX

The rest of the summer....

We have had a busy time of it this summer - getting used to being a family and making the most of this glorious weather - for once said with absolute sincerity! Noah continues to surprise and amaze us with his ability to simply go with the flow - camping one minute and spa-ing it up the next and then sleeping in a tent indoors in yet another strange place to top it all off! We are incredibly lucky, and whilst I can quite clearly see just how capable he is of throwing an almighty tantrum, I think we will cope!

Thedden camping with the gang - an interesting experience which would have been completely uneventful had I not woken Noah in the early hours of the morning in an attempt to go to the loo - yes, could have done without that hour of an overly excited child shouting "hiya" and waking the rest of the gang up!! You can see by the wheelbarrow transport that we had all the essentials for the evening!

Early evening socialising

The boys on their way to breakfast

Me trying to recover from a broken nights sleep!

But all was not lost as we were installed at Peterstone Court soon after and enjoying awesome food, hot stone massage, cocktails and the countryside! Noah was a hit with the staff and was fed far too many hand-baked cookies!!

Because we hadn't exposed Noah to enough different places already (!) we then headed to Glastonbury to stay with Ivan's (Mr bicknell's) Dad. Yet more nice weather allowed us to frolic in the Abbey grounds and to feed the ducks, although cousin Max taught Noah to eat the duck bread himself rather than share it!

Max still can't get that ball!!!

It was all too much for Grandpa Renchi!!!

Eventually however it was he who managed to convince the greedoids to share their bounty with the birds!!!

The Abbey

Noah did earn his keep though by sweeping up!

This week young Mr Bicknell has mostly been spoiled....

A new wheelybug to get from A to B(ee)

A new push along giraffe

His own "scratch" cat - this one keeps still and doesn't mind being pulled about!

Playing on the swings (a number of times)

and going higher and higher!!

Acquiring a shiny new yellow mac - thanks Grandma Oma! 

and getting new Gruffalo wellies from Daddy...

This week I had my first whole day away, leaving Noah with my Mum and dad who couldn't get their hands on him quick enough (!), so that I could head up to London to meet my best friend Bex, who sadly lives in Switzerland now, so I rarely see her - this time however we had 3 whole days together and she finally got to meet Noah! A wander along the Southbank took us back to nature, saw us watching the skate-borders, shopping for robots and drinking fizz underground at Gordon's wine bar!

Bex XX

The fizz didn't last long!

Given that we had the luxury of time for a change we got to have a day by the coast to shop a bit more at Gun Wharf and of course, to play in the sand! Someone small and naughty seemed to enjoy it!

My Brother and his girlfriend Talita came for supper and a simple game of Taboo proved to be too much for us all - I haven't laughed so hard in a very long time!! I think Bex had a good visit!

And at last! I caught up with my wonderful friend Caroline who practically showered the spoilt boy in wonderful gifts including some home-made bunting - she is VERY clever - but doesn't seem to know it! CAROLINE - YOU ARE VERY CLEVER, and, not only is she super creative, she makes great soup!!! A lovely end to a really great few weeks! X