2016 at The Cupcakes

2016 has come to an end and like many other's I'm feeling reflective. I've been writing this blog for 5 years now and every year I enjoy looking back on the year just gone. It would be more than fair to say that there has been so much tragedy this year, almost more than other years it feels; none of it personal for which I am so grateful for but I do know people who have lost close family and my heart hurt for those friends.

2016 may be a year a lot would prefer to forget and although we've struggled through a good part of this year due to many things, mostly it was good and I have some memories from each month (I think!)

January

I always look forward to January. I like the energy it brings to me. It's Midges birthday first on the 17th and last year she turned 8. She had a party, my friends visited, she got a new bike and had a Frozen cake. Mr B also has his birthday in January but both of our birthdays are low key. We went to Plymouth as a treat for Midges birthday but tied it in with Mr B's too!

 Birthday tea

 Family Selfie

Frozen birthday cake

February

Little A turned 5 in February. He had just started to get really into all the superheroes so his cake was a mix of his favourite heroes plus The Joker.

 Birthday boy 

Topper of Little Mans cake

March

It was probably March that was my worst month because it was consumed by my teeth and the pain they caused! I ended up having a tooth extraction and then finding a new dentist. There was good in March of course. I had a lovely Mothers Day with homemade gifts, I spent time with Midge, read a lot, had a good parents evening and saw my sister who visited for her birthday.

April

Again April was dominated by tooth ache but was so much better and my mood lifted this month. I traveled to Bath for 3 days to see my friend and her children, we pretty much just chilled out. Trevithick day was a good day again last year, we actually got into it more than previous years and a trip to my parents house was just what I needed at the beginning of the month with my little ones.

A at the beach

May

We had fun discovering a few walks in May and one walk in particular must've taken us over 2 hours where we picked flowers, paddled in a stream, squelched in mud and made friends with horses. We really embraced getting outdoors even just in the garden doing messy play and taking nature photos. Half term was spent bike riding and visiting the Sea Life Sanctuary.

 A met some horses on our walk

 Peppa dog went for a paddle

Pops, A, Grandma and Midge at the Seal Sanctuary

June

I started my counselling for my anxiety which has gone really well. Mr B and I had some quality time together when the children were at school but not much else happened this month.

July

Before the holidays there was a very fun and successful sports day and Mum and I did the race for life in memory of my friends mum who lost her battle just weeks before. We took in a homemade cake to say goodbye to reception before the holidays.

 Me and Race for Life

Goodbye for the final year of reception

August

There was a trip to my Mums to celebrate her birthday, we visited Marazion with the family, had some back garden picnics and BBQs plus we saw the amazing Man Engine which toured Cornwall to honor our mining heritage which was just amazing.

 Me with the T-Rex at Paradise Park

 BBq at home with the cousins

 The Man Engine

 Midge and A at The Man Engine event

 A and Auntie Issy at the beach

 Grandma with the mini cupcakes

 Little Man at Marazion beach

 Midge after a summer party

Little A enjoying his pasty in town

September

My little ones returned to school as a year 4 and a year 1! It was quite emotional actually but I always love watching them start another chapter of their school year. It was a quiet blogging month after getting news that we needed to move house.

October

We moved into our new place early October and settled in fairly quick, although we still miss the space and the road we lived. Halloween was good fun as always with school discos, trick or treating and decorating the house. I had a lovely birthday at the end of the month too and great fun at the hotel with Mr B for a night on the 30th.

First cake made in the new house by Midge!

November

We celebrated dads birthday at his house by having a roast dinner, cake and board games. The beginning of the month was mostly dominated by tonsillitis for me, then a bug and lots of antibiotics! I thought I'd never be back to normal! Thankfully I was after a couple of weeks and I started Christmas shopping.

December

We had a lovely Christmas. We did all our traditional things on Christmas Eve, opened our stockings then gifts together on Christmas morning then travelled to mums where we had a delicious dinner cooked by my sister and her boyfriend. A was poorly overnight but we all managed Boxing Day at my Gran and Aunts for more food and gift giving. A was unwell again and then Midge came down with sickness so Mr B and I were tired. Luckily, everyone was better after a chill out day so we headed for a buffet with Mr B's mum and sisters as well as seeing the little ones. Breakfast with my father in law the next morning was so nice. The children loved seeing their Grandad and we all waved him off on his train to Plymouth to catch his ferry.

A in his new onesie//Midge looking pretty for Christmas//Midge and A//Peppa waiting for her gifts//Me and A//A at dinner//Pops and Mr B//Mum and Dad at dinner

Midge helped decorate Grandma's tree

So that's our 2016 rounded up very nicely. There are many smaller moments I've missed out but they are all on the blog for us all to look back on. To all my family, my friends, fellow bloggers and lovely followers, may you have a wonderful 2017. Happy new year.

Hannah

Aka

Cupcake Mumma x

November at The Cupcakes

Half way through December and I just remembered I haven't posted about our goings on in November. Not that it was incredibly interesting! I spent the first 2 weeks with tonsillitis and then what I suspect was maybe a tummy upset or maybe it was just the tonsillitis having one last shot at me! Once I got over my various illnesses (haha) I set about posting off invites to my Aunts party before I forgot (despite it being 3 months away..) and hung out with the children a fair bit as it would turn out.

• Little A finally got his long awaited Star of the Day award from his teacher
• The town started decorating for Christmas and they popped Santa out on his bench which Little A and I couldn't resist seeing
• I had some lovely happy mail over November. One favourite was the invite to my cousin's wedding next July
• I visited my Aunt and Gran a couple of times
• Had a fright with Little A at the doctors when he said he had pains in his side (nothing was wrong in the end)
• I treated myself to some new pink wellies

Poorly me living off milkshake//Party invites//My star of the day!//Me and Santa// Roo and Santa//Wedding invite//train to Penzance//Non poorly Roo at the doctors//New pink wellies

• Midge and I spent some time together which included making big, wonderful hot chocolates
• Pops turned another year older. We had a lovely day and came back quite late from his house after roast and board games which included a very dodgy Scrabble
• I treated the children to a Wetherspoons dinner (and I wonder why I have no money!?)
• We walked around town after dinner the same night to admire the lights. The church had put on a lovely display
• Both little ones wrote their letters to Santa this month

Midge with a monster hot chocolate// Pop on his birthday//Scrabble//Meal out with the little ones//A eating his pudding//Church lights//Letters to Santa

• I made a great start on stocking fillers from Poundland
• Enjoyed several Costa's with my friends as well as with my Mum where we tried out the Christmas cakes they're selling
• We decorated the house and it looks very cosy now with the decorations and the trees all up
• I made up a small gift bag for my Aunt and took with me on one of my visits. She loved the surprise
• We got our Christmas jumpers out! This year they were given to us because we didn't have the money to buy new ones which was very kind
• I baked my first vegan cake and it was lovely
• We watched the official light switch on in town all together and Mr B bought some chips for us all to share. It was very cold but there was a nice atmosphere and we loved the tree the best. 

A Poundland pile//Costa and cake//Warm fire//Gifts for Fiona//Gifts for me//Midge in her jumper//Vegan chocolate cake//Siblings//Midge by the town tree

Such a good month despite the illness. I felt so rotten and it felt like it would last forever I'm just glad I got better in time for the things we spent time doing together. Here's to December!

Cupcake Mumma

December Goals

I think I did most of my November goals and although I'm a little behind I have set up some goals for December which hopefully I'll get to complete. It's such a busy month isn't it? And although we know Christmas is no surprise, the speed at which it has once again come has left me with a few things that need doing in the final days leading up to the big day itself! 

December Goals

Family

• See my aunt and Gran before Boxing Day
• Do something with just Midge
• Enjoy a lovely family Christmas!

Money

• Try out the finance app my sister goes on about
• Pay off and towards both school trips
• Do a meal plan

Me

• To enjoy Christmas with my family
• Enjoy some baking
• Send out ALL my Christmas cards this year
• Do some extra acts of kindness at what can be a difficult time of year for some
• Be up to date with my letter writing

Cupcake Mumma

Having some fun and getting festive with JD Williams

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I'm so excited it's now officially December! My tree finally went up yesterday and we have decorated the mantle piece nicely too. To help me get into the Christmas spirit, JD Williams sent me some lovely items to review, one in particular I absolutely adore. It's a very large throw, wonderfully festive and comes with 2 pillowcases too. I really wanted to make my front room feel more cosy so I decided to keep the pillowcases back and use the throw on our biggest sofa which is old and tired.

It's gorgeous! Everyone who has come into the house has loved the throw, from the design to the feel, it's made my old sofa feel so much more comfy to sit on! It's so big it wouldn't have actually fitted my bed because our bed is quite small. It's perfect for this chilly weather if you want to wrap yourself up and save the heating costs!

Next is making my room a bit more festive. I don't know about anyone else but my Christmas decorations tend to stay downstairs and mainly in the front room so upstairs doesn't look very exciting. You can solve that problem by making your bed look Christmassy! There was quite a variety of bedding to choose from on the website from traditionally festive to rather funny duvet sets. We went with this one:

It looks so nice on our bed and brings a bit of festive cheer to upstairs. It makes me want to bring some tinsel up actually!

Finally, something a little different. Although Christmas is the main thing on everyones' mind right now, Little A had no intention of going festive when he chose his new duvet cover for the recently purchased bunk bed. The duvet set Little A chose just proves what a variety of sets there are to purchase for different ages and themes. I give you...super cool giraffes:

I think it's fair to say we are all pleased with our JD Williams items. I love how my front room feels so different and it's all because of festive bed spreads and some bedding sets! 

Cupcake Mumma

Our Christmas 2015

So Christmas came and went as it always seems to do. Ten days prior to all the festivities our dog Peppa fell ill, in the end we caught everything just in time and although very poorly, she made it through her emergency surgery and is now back to full health; our greatest Christmas present really!

When all of the the drama was over we were all much more relaxed and started to organise those last few bits that had escaped us whilst being so busy with everything else! The children made some reindeer dust with me and we sprinkled it outside our house. We laid out carrots, milk and plenty of cookies then it was time for bed.

As usual we sat down to wrap gifts on Christmas Eve with some nibbles and nervous glances around the corner to make sure no little feet were creeping down the stairs! We got everything wrapped and under the tree, we fixed up Little A's train table and found a few sheets to hide it under. Finally we filled the stockings, did the annual snowy footprints from the front door and nibbled a cookie left out by the children. 

Little A on Christmas morning// Santas treats// Christmas Eve breakfast with my sister// Lots of gifts wrapped// Mr B losing the plot!

New train table!// Midge with her toys// Cider and black current// Christmas dinner say Family!// Roast// Mince Pies for pudding! 

Christmas morning was great. I had slept on the sofa because Peppa was still under observation but it was okay, the tree lights came on early, I could hear the children waking up and then running around after finding their stockings. Then everyone came down and we all opened our gifts from Father Christmas. The children read their letters and got excited seeing all the gifts under the tree. Little A's face was a picture when we revealed the train table. Both children were over the moon with their gifts this year.

I got some lovely new shoes and some nice stocking fillers. I also had a big pink mug with a tub of hot chocolate sitting inside which was a huge win for me! We all got some many nice things from each other and then we opened even more on Boxing Day at my Grans where we ate a lovely roast dinner. It was doubly nice because it was the last day my sister would be here before heading back to her boyfriend up country.

My looking after a poorly Peppa// Midge got hair chalk for Christmas// I got new Care Bears!// New mug being tested// Making mince pies on Christmas Eve

Peppa came with us on Boxing Day// Grans Christmas tree// My angel from my Aunt// New stationery from my sister

Christmas Day was lovely, it was the first time we had celebrated Christmas Day just the 4 of us and I will absolutely be doing it again this year. There was no pressure, just films on the television, gifts opened early, the children playing with their toys and I could get on with the dinner with some help from Mr B. It really was lovely.

The only thing I missed was our usual walk around the neighbourhood on Christmas Eve before bed with the children. It's so nice to see how much effort everyone goes to with their trees in the windows and the decorations outside, I hope we feel more in the mood 

Did you have a good Christmas? I sure hope so and I'd love to hear about your favourite Christmas moments of 2015.

Cupcake Mumma

You are Not Alone This Christmas:

Christmas can be a hard time for a lot of people. Some people are all alone, some may be surrounded by loved ones but feel so very lonely. Some people are struggling with money problems which cause them great stress, anxiety and even depression. There really is a hundred reasons why someone may feel lonely, isolated, depressed or even suicidal which can feel more intense at this time of year.

I want to let you know, that no matter how low you feel you are not alone. There is always somewhere to turn, please don't isolate yourself, please don't give in to overwhelming thoughts and feelings. Below there is a list of numbers that I will be leaving up over the festive period. Please, please use these numbers and websites to contact someone if you feel you need to.

All m love this Christmas and always,

Hannah

(Cupcake Mumma x)

MIND

Website www.mind.org.uk

Tel No 0300 123 3393


Samaritans

Website www.samaritans.org

Tel No 116 123


Alcoholics Anonymous

Tel No 0800 9177650

Stonewall

Website www.stonewall.org.uk

Info line 08000 50 20 20

London Lesbian and Gay Switchboard

Tel No 0207 837 7324

SANELine

Website www.sane.org.uk

Tel No 0300 304 7000

Papyrus, Prevention of young suicide

Website www.papyrus-uk.org

National self-help body for the Transgender community 

Beaumont Society

Website http://www.beaumontsociety.org.uk

Information Line 01582 412220

Childline

Website www.childline.org.uk

0800 1111

Depression Alliance

Website www.depressionalliance.org



Refuge

Website www.refuge.org.uk

Tel No 0808 2000 247

Beat

Beating eating disorders.

Website https://www.b-eat.co.uk

Help line 0345 634 1414
Youth Line 0345 634 7650

Shelter

Website www.shelter.org.uk
Tel No 0808 800 4444

NHS Direct

1111

No Panic

Website http://www.nopanic.org.uk

Tel No 0844 967 4848
youth helpline 01753 840393


Cry-Sis (support to parents with excessive crying, demanding and sleepless babies)

Website http://www.cry-sis.org.uk/
08451 228 669

Hogwarts in the Snow & The Hogwarts Express

A few weeks ago I took Midge with me to make the long journey to London with my mum. We stayed at The Jury Inn in Watford, a good place to stay as it's near the studios and near the town for dinner and shopping if you're there earlier. We met up with my sister and her boyfriend and went for dinner, then after a nice warm bath each we settled down for the night.

We all woke early for breakfast which although at £10 seems pricey it's all you can eat and I knew we wouldn't be eating at all during the day because the tour is as long as you like (long!) and cafe prices there are unsurprisingly high. Fully fuelled we headed to the Warnerbros Studio Tour. You can check in bags and coats, have something to eat and drink, use the loos, order Starbucks coffee and also dive straight into the shop (warning! this is definitely not budget friendly! Cheapest item is a postcard at 95p..I'm not sure I want to know the highest!) we did look around the shop however but didn't purchase anything at this point. We did marvel at the beautifully huge Christmas tree in the center of the waiting area and I measured my hands up to the 3 main stars prints, the one pictured is Daniel Radcliff's hand print.

We started queueing for our 12.30 tour, got our tickets checked and Midge got a passport to fill in, a great activity for the children (big and small!) the queue looks massive (because it is) but you get filed into a fairly large space so the line goes down very quick indeed. Make sure you don't miss the cupboard under the stairs and the 'flying' car!

I won't detail the next part, I know many have but it was the most magical part for me and I'd hate to tell you what happens before you enter the Great Hall. From this point on though it's spoilers all the way...

Midge with Aunty Issy

Beautiful wreath

Once inside the hall we were greeted with a huge feast which would've been in the films. The hall was decorated with trees, wreaths and looked amazing. The next section is full of props from the make up and dressing department, the portraits, Hogwarts gates, the Gryffindor common room, manikins dressed up in the actual clothes used in the films, dark arts props and so much more.

A huge spread

Chocolate table from the Yule Ball

The Philospher's Stone

Prison number from Azkaban

Fleur's hat and shoes 

Lord Voldemort and Harry's clothes at the start of the film on left// On right, the clothes by the end of filming

Gryffindor common room all festive

The newest installment is The Hogwarts Express. You can explore the carriages from the films (keep your eyes peeled on the carriage windows!) there is a shop specifically for the express with keyrings, mugs, jumpers and much more available here. There are luggage bags and of course, you can get a photo of yourself on platform 9 and 3/4:

Luna's trolly

Harry and Ron's first meeting

Me!

From there we saw more new props and then went on to outside. The Night Bus, Private Drive and Potters Cottage are all out here. There is also the bridge to Hogwarts and the famous East Anglia for you to snap a photo of or you can climb in for a selfie! Next you can see the special effects/mechanical props and more. There's plenty of amazing masks, animals and creatures to look at here. If you didn't appreciate the work that went into the amazing films before you certainly will over the last few sections.

Buckbeak is an amazing piece of art

The miniature dragons from the Goblet of Fire

Going into Diagon Ally is great fun! Look out for Gringots, Weaslys Joke Shop, Quiditch Supplies and more! As it was Hogwarts in the snow we got to see how they made the footprints on the snow (and earlier the different types of fake snow) that appear when Harry uses his cloak. Next stop is where you can view more truly amazing work. All the drawings and artwork and plans from the filming.

Once through the art and design you'll see many built up designs of the most well known houses such as Luna Lovegood's house, the Durmstrang ship and the Beauxbattons carriage plus much more. Brace yourself for around the corner though, the best bit is yet to come. No photo of Hogwarts castle could take away from the experience you will have at the Harry Potter studios; it's a piece of art in my opinion and can really only be seen in the flesh, so to speak. Below you can see the photos I took but believe me, they don't do it justice!

One you have dragged yourself away you can look for the names of all the cast, crew and actors/actresses on the thousands of wand boxes before heading into the shop where I bought a bunch of postcards and a chocolate wand for Little A. Midge had £10 pocket money which got her a chocolate frog and a couple of postcards.

It was such an amazing trip and I can't recommend it enough. Ticket entry is reasonably priced, the real cost is getting to and staying in London but Late Rooms was my handy tool for the latter! Now I've done the tour twice I feel happy, I don't need to go again (but if a friend needs accompanying I'm not going say no ha!)

Cupcake Mumma