Vegan Easter eggs

It's very nearly Easter and I think most of us are also on our 2 week break to celebrate. I've got a super simple recipe for some yummy vegan creme eggs. If you've ever tried to buy the free from versions of these you'll know you're looking at a pack of 3 for nearly £10 on most sites and almost £3 an egg if sold individually on others.

Qwerkity Chocolate Teapot ~ Review

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I'd never heard of Qwerkity (now MenKind) before but I'm so glad they got in touch to ask if we'd like to review this fabulous gluten free chocolate teapot! How unique is this? So much cooler than a boring old Easter egg. This teapot makes you a couple of hot chocolates, then a delicious dipping fondue for your strawberries and marshmallows AND you can smash it and enjoy the dark chocolate for days after!

This chocolate teapot is gluten free. Although the ingredients do not list milk there is a 'may contain' for it. Because I am not allergic to milk I actually did get to enjoy the fun with the Mini Cupcakes. The teapot does contain soya though. 

Ingredients: Dark Chocolate, Cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, emulsifier (soya lecithin E322), vanilla essence, Shellac E904 Dark chocolate contains minimum 58% cocoa solids.

Gluten free. Contains soya. May contain traces of milk and nuts.

I made some hot chocolate for myself and was really surprised that it worked so well. Then we dipped strawberries into the delicious chocolate sauce before breaking it up. We still have some sat in our fridge! We all gave the chocolate teapot a huge 10/10 because we'd never seen anything like it before. It worked wonderfully, it's totally unique and if you want to surprise your loved ones with a rather different Easter gift this year the chocolate teapot has been put on sale for £14.99 (RRP £23.99) You can find the direct link at the top of the post. 

Enjoy and Happy Easter!

Cupcake Mumma and The Mini Cupcakes

What We Got up to in March

March went by so fast! Sadly it started with a round of tummy bugs with Midge being the last one to get it (mildly thankfully) On one of her days off I took her for breakfast which was lovely. It was one of those days where she could've gone to school but you have to stick to the 48 hour rule and I wasn't complaining because I was with my girly. I had my toothache start again last month causing me a lot of pain so I had to book a dental appointment. In the mean time I used this Orajel which has been amazing. Spring started to come out with some lovely blue skies and flowers and we had parents evening which went really well. Midge drew a picture of a cheetah which you can see below, apparently that's the animal she'd be if she could be any animal.

Roo is doing well in school, he's been referred for an Ed Psyc to observe him in the classroom so that'll be interesting. I got to look through all their books which was nice and when I had some spare time at home I made the children some Easter gifts for their teachers. I had my tooth out last month too, I got so fed up in the end I just had it removed! I enjoyed a Costa before the ordeal!!

Lots of reading done// Roo's portrait// Midge's cheetah// Sad post dentist face// Easter bunnies// Easter candy cones// Midge being mindful and colouring in

We had world book day at school which the children had fun dressing up for, I do love a non uniform day! I had a lovely Mother's Day receiving handmade pictures, a plant from Little A, a new mug and some biscuits with hot chocolate powder so all my favourite things. We got outside in the first week of the holidays by doing some crafts with paints, card and pasta, the dog enjoyed herself too! We managed an egg hunt and saw my sister on her birthday for gifts and a buffet.

 Roo with his Mother's Day flower// Doing homework// Midge as Hermonie//  Wheat free garlic bread!// Hot dog as big as Roo's face!

Cuddles// Happy mail from Buster Books// Roo's bonnet// Midges bonnet// Quiche// Birthday cake// Roo at school// Outgoing happy mail// A cuppa and a cuddle

Canvases for Mothers Day// Roo's dragon// Happy mail incoming and outgoing// Easter egg hunt at home// crafting// playing with Peppa// New shoes!

What About Me?

I had a bit of a pants month if I'm honest. I'm still not getting relief with my teeth so it's time to look elsewhere for a new dentist and I'll be complaining to my current one because I'm so unhappy. I've put on yet more weight too *sad face* but it's my fault. I loved seeing the family over Easter, having a nice roast with my Aunt and Gran and seeing my sister. I did manage to save £160 in March, which I am so pleased with and is thanks to being up to date with the council tax, whoop! I fear that money will go on private dental care though until I can set up a plan with them.

March's Blog Posts

I blogged about the cool Avengers Tea Party we had for Little A and I felt I needed to post a simple catch up on the blog. We had fancy dress fun on world book day, I wrote about my pesky teeth, what we got up to in February and my 10 reasons to smile. I shared my favourite monthly blog posts from other bloggers and our brand spanking new printer from Epson. Phew!

Cupcake Mumma

Easter with The Cupcakes ~ A-Z Challenge

Yesterday was Easter Sunday. I wasn't over enthused about heading over to my families get together because I'm a bit of a hermit and having been out a fair bit in the last week with the children I really wanted to 'just be' in my home. I've since thought things through and given a recent family scare, this Easter could have so easily not have been how it was today. You have to grab these things, it's so important.

We had a slow morning with the children discovering all the treats. I had muffins, Jason some mini chocolate eggs and both the children had an Easter egg they loved.

We went to see my Gran and my Aunt who were with my Dad and Sister waiting for us. My sister was cooking our roast which we settled down to after having a chat and letting the children play about. We had jelly, ice cream and even cake for pudding which all went down very well!

Five of us then went for a walk and a paddle before settling down for a final drink and chat before Grandma drove us back home. I ate my Easter egg shortly after the children went to bed and enjoyed every last bite of my orange chocolaty goodness! Such a wonderful day.

I hope you enjoyed your Easter weekend too.

Cupcake Mumma

A-Z Challenge: E

Easter Holiday so Far

We're not even half way through and already we've done some fun holiday activities. There's been cookie baking and mixing marshmallow with rice crispies to make the most delicious crispie squares that are gluten free:

We found Easter eggs that mysteriously popped up on Easter Sunday outside our bedroom doors (which were soon devoured for breakfast!) It's okay it's Easter, I'm cool with eating chocolate on Easter morning. Christmas morning I find is also acceptable too...

We've seen the Grandparents and had a lovely roast dinner, Midge has been to the seaside to rock climb with her Auntie who is visiting from university for 3 weeks (yey!) and we've also squeezed in a friend coming to visit along with a trip to a soft play area with a fellow Mum and school friend.

Midge has had her little best buddy over again and next week we'll be meeting up with my (one and only) Mummy friend who has an adorable new baby for me to cuddle (and then hand back of course). I'm planning to build another indoor tent with the Little Ones and also do some marble painting, glop making and probably more baking!

Little A will more than likely be found on the sofa stuffing his face with whatever food he can find until further notice though..

Hope you're all having a fun Easter holiday!

CupcakeMumma

Siblings in April

It's currently the Easter holidays which hasn't seen us doing very much at all but what it has done is force my two little ones to actually play together throughout the day. Largely it's been a success! There has of course been the bickering and Little A still kicks off if things aren't quite going his way but we try not give in to him all the time because it's not fair on Midge. I think she doesn't particularly mind all the time however because he does makes some noise which we're all grateful to not hear anymore!

We've had some fun moments on the trampoline, digging in the garden, playing with play doh, walking into town and spending a day out with Grandma and Pops.

Yesterday was one of our 'sort of' quiet moments! I was trying to grab a lay in but these two monkeys didn't want to appreciate peace and quiet (do they ever?) and played hide and seek,pulled funny faces,striped off and ran around my room butt naked in little A's case too! I took this photo which I love. They're in the process of hiding under the covers. Midge is typically playing up to the camera!

The other photo I love is the one below of us all on the trampoline. We sat there for a while and I handed them their Easter gift from an Instagram swap I signed up to for them. Both were so excited by their gifts and sweet treats. It was a nice moment because it involved no squabbling over the items, not even once.

Cupcake Mumma

Cupcake Mumma's Mug Swap Time!! (UK Only)

If you've followed from the beginning then you'll know Cupcake Mumma hosts a yearly Mug Swap and now it's time for 2014's! I absolutely love mugs and have quite a growing collection in my cupboard. My children seem to be picking up on my love and my daughter in particular adores adding to her collection as well. (We'll need new cupboards soon!)


If you fancy joining in with my Mug Swap, then all I ask is that you are absolutely sure you can commit to the swap. There is nothing more disappointing than sending off a swap to someone and getting nothing in return, not even an e-mail. So please, please only sign up if you are sure you can send by the deadline (no ones going to mind a bit of give or take though!)

If you'd like to join the swap, please mail me: cupcakemumma@yahoo.co.uk you can also leave me a comment with your e-mail address, which ever you prefer!

I'll be keeping the list of joining participants open until the 28th March, which means I will be able to spend the weekend partnering you all up before mailing you on March 31st with your swap partner's details! Unlike previous years, I will simply pair everyone up with just their name and e-mail address, you can then exchange likes/dislikes and addresses (It's hard work hosting a swap!)

Swaps should be made by 25th April (a nice after Easter gift) and feel free to add an extra something if you wish. As it's a mug swap, the only requirement to the swap is that there is an actual mug somewhere in the parcel, any extras are entirely up to you! If you blog, I'd love to see your mug swaps and will be placing a link up on my blog when my own post goes live, so do join in. Please note, you do not have to be a blogger at all, this swap is open to everyone as long as I have a way of contacting you, swap away!

I really hope you'll all enjoy my swap and fingers crossed it'll be as successful as the previous 2 years!

Cupcake Mumma

My Wonderful Spring Swap

I recently took part in a spring swap hosted by the lovely Joy from Welcome to Daisy Row (it's a lovely blog, do check it out) As most of you will know by now I love a good gift swap so I got my friend Kat to pop my name in the comments whilst I was away from the laptop (so desperate I was to not miss it!)

I was partnered with Margaret  who blogs here and is such a nice lady. We exchanged a few emails, got a general idea of each others tastes and then all went quiet as we made (or bought in my case as I have been so busy studying anything crafty has escaped me- sorry Margaret!) our parcels for each other.

My parcel arrived on Friday in a butter tub (which was a requirement in the swap) wrapped inside a really rather nice pink bag (which Midge and I are already fighting over!)

I had some chocolate Easter bunnies and a couple of cute little fluffy chicks just to add to the whole theme of the swap. The children swooped on the bunnies very quickly, even Husband had a fight on his hands!

I received the most perfect cupcake bag which I have already used today to post my parcels and visit the library (so it works very well!) How perfect is this bag though seriously? I adore it. I only just noticed that Margret has sewn an angel into it too which is so thoughtful, I love angels and fairies.

Margaret had also made me a small bag which will be used for all my essentials in my bedroom (I don't want it to get ruined by putting mascara in it. I might store my nail polishes in there?) I also had 4 fabric coasters made for me which again are pink and cupcake themed. Happy CupcakeMumma.

Thank-you so much Margaret for these truly lovely and thoughtful gifts. Thank-you also to Joy for hosting the Spring Swap. I hadn't participated in one for a while so I'm pleased to have got back into them.

CupcakeMumma

Happy Easter

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It's not just about chocolate today it's about family. I'm having a lovely time today at my sister in laws. There are 10 of us altogether. Making up that 10 are 5 highly excited/already tired toddlers and one sleepy baby who occasionally wakes to flash a smile then grizzle until she's fed or cuddled. No complaints from me that's all I'll say!

I accidentally bought a 2kg pork shoulder with my online Asda shop (I was only meant to buy a 1kg joint and in fairness I know I typed in 1!) But hey, as we changed our plans and decided to spend Easter over at 'the big house' turns out 2kg of pork wasn't such an epic fail as first thought! 

The roast is already cooking in the oven and has been since this morning. It smells delicious and I cannot wait to bite into it! 

All the children are spacing out their eggs and various other chocolaty pieces so as not to ruin their dinner. I'm still eating my body weight in chocolate cornflake cakes which are pretty darn good if I may say so myself and don't worry- there is always room for roast!

Cupcake Mumma

Review: Photocards For Easter:

I love photo sites. In fact today I just had some more prints come through for me to hang up on my wall. I spend ages uploading my photos and choosing what I want to do with them. Recently I was contacted by Bonusprint who offered me a voucher to buy some Easter cards.


For all the ordering I do on photo sites I had never even thought of putting my photos onto cards for my friends and relatives for those special occasions and I'm not sure why because if you want something unique and different from the rest of them then creating your own card with your favourite photo on is the ultimate in unique. It's something that people will tend to keep instead of recycle when said special occasion is over and done with.


Creating and ordering on Bonusprint was a really easy process and pretty quick too (once you know which adorable photo to choose anyway!) I chose a blank card which meant I could use their online tools to write whatever I wanted inside. I simply chose to go with 'Happy Easter' because Little Miss can add anything she wants with my help and Little Man can add the odd scribble!


When I received my order I was happy with the packaging. My cards came pre folded but laid flat securely in the box with 2 large, plain envelopes for posting.

The picture quality is brilliant and the card is a larger size than I thought it would be which is great.

Very basic but gives my 2 the opportunity to draw some artwork for their loved ones!

Overall I am a happy customer and would recommend this site to anyone who fancies something a bit different for Easter.

* You can make personalised greeting cards for just 55p on Bonusprint

* I was given a voucher to review this product but all views are my own and honest, as always.

Cupcake Mumma