April at The Cupcakes...

Finally it's the 1st of May. April wasn't awful but it wasn't exactly my idea of a good month either. It's taken me every ounce of strength, some wonderful friends and my children to get me through April and I'm keen to look ahead and put April behind me and keep moving forward.

As I said however, April wasn't all bad so here are a few things we got up to:

• Costa with the Mini Cupcakes
• Beach cleaning at Porthleven with the little ones, my Mum and Dad
• Beach fun in Porthleven. Paddling, sand art, running, picnics, sunbathing and photo taking!
• Dad helped with the beach cleaning!
• Little A spending time with his Dad at the park doing football practice
• On a bad day we went trampolining in town with friends, it was tough but the children had a lovely day out with their school friends and I had some distraction

• We spent Easter at my parents and had plenty of eggs, a roast dinner and  chilled weekend
• I read some books this month which was nice
• I did some crafting and put together my postcard frame, I like to swap my postcards around
• I went to Tehidy Woods twice. Once with my aunt for dog walking, which Peppa loved and once with the school for an all day trip
• We saw lots of animals, had an outdoors story, walked in mud and saved a few wanderers!
• I volunteered at school reading, doing phonics, handwriting and just generally being helpful. I'm gutted I have to step down soon thanks to the lovely job centre but I intend on sticking to it for as long as I can, I'm gaining more confidence every time I go in
• The pooch and I chilled out on my down days, I got a lovely photo of her smiling in her sleep
• My sister sent me a brand new toaster which is one of the best things I've ever had (I'm serious!)
• We celebrated Trevithick Day on Saturday 29th April and it was such a great day with the Mini Cupcakes, Mum and Dad. I took plenty of photos and will be doing a separate post so do look out for that!

So that was our April. The children enjoyed our little day trips, they've been doing school stuff and enjoying their outside school clubs too. They're pretty happy and that makes me really happy, I'm doing something right anyway!

May should be a nice month. I have to job search, and visit the dentist and doctors for all my reviews and I start some counselling which I really do need. I also plan on having more Costa mornings with my friends, reading more, Midge is off to London on Wednesday, A starts his football club next week and we have half term at the end of May too!

Hope you've all had a good April, here's to May.

Cupcake Mumma x

Reasons to be Cheerful- End of October Joy

Better late than never, here are my reasons to be cheerful for this week.

Last weekend Mr B and I had a wonderful break in Plymouth. I won a stay at The Jury Inn back in August I think and booked to stay the weekend after my birthday so I could be with the children and not compromise Mr B's football (reluctantly I might add) We had such a nice evening on Sunday simply spending time together walking around Plymouth. I love these breaks. No matter how short it is it feels so nice to be with each other. We have decided next year the children can come with us because they'd love the hotel.

I had a wonderful meeting with a homeless man in Plymouth and in all honesty I haven't forgotten about him since. It all started when he asked if I could buy a Big Issue from him. All I had on me was £2 but he said that was fine, all he wanted was to buy a sandwich anyway. Mr B and I went for our walk and got some chips and we ended up back where we started. As Mr B went into the shop and bought a drink I ended up talking him again. I gave him my chips; they were a huge portion, more than I could manage and we spoke about how he got there, about The Big Issue, where he sleeps, what help he had tried, he was a lovely man. We parted on a smile and a tight hug. I wanted to go back to him in the morning but we got held up when an elderly man collapsed in front of us in the town center. After we sat with him it was time to catch the train home. I felt bad but since then I have decided that my purpose was not to be with the homeless gentleman that day but to be there for the older gentleman who would've had a much nastier fall had we not seen him and been there first. 

One thing is for sure, I will be buying The Big Issue more often when I have the change and I will continue to remember my encounter. 

Finally, the children had a lovely Halloween and I had a lovely end to my favourite month. My birthday was great, I had a visit from my friend, our half term was good and didn't cost me a fortune either and we are all settled in the new home.

What are your reasons to be cheerful? Link up by clicking the badge below!

Tight Belts and Half Term..Plus some Budget Friendly Ideas

Yep, another half term has slowly crept upon us. I do love spending the time with my children, love that they get a break from all that homework and that we can enjoy some lay ins and lazy days. I like to get out every day with my 2, even if it's just walking the dog like it was today but I do wish we could do so much more sometimes.

I've been reading through the booklets that have come home from school in the book bags and some blogs online about what to do this half term in your area and it's had a real effect on me. Money is super tight these days; like it is for a lot of us. I don't have enough to save for every half term as well as pay all my bills and get Christmas sorted (no matter how budget friendly I'm being this year!) It's just not there.

It isn't that all of these places are stupidly overpriced (some are though..) but even a reasonable cost soon turns far too much for us when you have to add up everyone else plus travel. So, I've decided to write this post for all those who are struggling with the pennies this half term and can only afford super cheap or free activities to do and places to go. These places are in Cornwall but if you have some free time to do some Google searching, I'm sure you will find something too.

Free Activities for Halloween:

Library time:

Head down to your local library and find some Halloween themed books. Find books on witches and wizards, children's books or slightly older books like famous Harry Potter and have a little read together in your own little circle. Some local libraries hold half term events or activities too.

Pumpkin Carving

With many supermarkets selling a pumpkin for £1, this is a fun and cheap activity for the family. Using a pen to draw a spooky face on your pumpkin then a kitchen knife for the carving and (if you're like me) your bare hands for the 'gutting' you'll have a spooky pumpkin for you all to enjoy. Why not light it up or place false tea lights from Poundland in it, switch off the lights and admire your veggie friend!?

Film Night

You could grab some popcorn from your local pound store or make your own with kernels from Tesco for £1.90 and sit together to watch a film. We've so far watched Minions and Rio this half term but to get into the Halloween spirit Hocus Pocus is on my watch list! You don't even need popcorn, just a duvet and someone to snuggle with.

Visit a Woods

Totally free of charge in most places unless you want to buy food from a woodland cafe or you're joining a specific event/activity there is no need to spend the pennies. Enjoy the leaves under foot, walk your dog, spot some wildlife and have fun!

Have a craft day making autumnal pictures, leaf rubbing, collecting fallen leaves and conkers. Play around with paints to make an autumn themed picture or make a collage out of the leaves you've collected.

Places to Go in Cornwall:

Paradise Park are holding a disco again this year in their Jungle Barn. As it has a separate entrance I'm sure you'd enter there and pay to attend the party at the reception of the play barn. For under 3's the party is free, over 3's are £5 and adults are £3.99 Enjoy a disco, fancy dress, prizes and pumpkin soup!

If you can get to Bodmin on the 29th and 30th October there is Bodmin and Wenford railway which has a half price event on; so adults will be £6.50, Seniors £6.00 and children FREE! I really love trains and have yet to experience this day out but I think if you can afford it, it would be fun! Trains are running from Bodmin General Station at 10.50, 12.10, 13.35, 14.45 and 15.50.

I've found a Godolphin Cross village trail to hunt for pumpkins. You hunt for pumpkins around the village on 29th October starting at the Chapel from 6pm. Pick up a map for £1 and enjoy the fun! There will be refreshments available all evening too!

If you're in Newquay on October 29th there's a family friendly event from 1.30pm! Children of Newquay are invited to join the free Zombie Crawl; a fun Halloween event dressing up all gory and walking the parade full of Halloween spirit!

Children aged 5 to 16 are encouraged to join in the spooky fun, which will start with Titan the Robot at 1.30pm on Newquay's Piazza opposite the Lighthouse Cinema. There will be face painting in Whiskers coffee bar and at 3pm the parade will begin, along Bank Street and East Street. The parade will finish at the Hotel Victoria for more ghastly goings-on; another visit from Titan the Robot at 4.45pm, more dance and live entertainers, plus you can have your photo taken in the creepy, but very cool campervan photo-booth. The Hotel Victoria will also be hosting a children's disco after the final Titan show. This sounds awesome and I'd totally be going if I lived in Newquay! 

Those are a few ideas I've managed to find. For some people (like myself) these ideas may not be manageable for various reasons but I still hope you can do the at-home and out and about activities that we will be doing. 

If you know of any free activities or places with free or cheap admission or want to add an at-home half term idea then please do leave me a comment below!

Cupcake Mumma

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

A Half Term Saved By DKLToys

Our Half term was getting a bit boring by the end. We hadn't really done anything, hadn't adventured out all that much and were getting pretty bored of baking (yes, it does pain me to admit this!) We were saved from our boredom however by DKLToys, who sent us a lovely package of toys to review! 

There was a toy for Little Man and a toy for Midge. Midge opened the parcel (her favourite bit!) and pulled out some Miniland toys. First we have a Miniland Clock. This clock is a handy size for your toddler to carry around. Midge has taken to placing it on her pillow and wakes up every morning asking, "Mummy, what's the time?" to which I reply, " 7 o'clock." She'll tiptoe back into her bedroom and return a few minutes later with her little clock adjusted to the right time.

Midge is 4 years old so it's not necessary for her to learn to tell the time. What I like about this product is it makes them want to learn. There is a set of cards provided with the clock which allow you to help your child learn the time. Not only do the cards provide you with the diagram to help your little one move the hands correctly, it also states the time digitally and both in a daytime and nighttime format.

The only thing with this product is it doesn't hold attention for long. If there is a more exciting toy or activity in the room, the clock will quickly be cast aside. Having said that, the cards are always about the house and the clock, as I said before, is kept on Midge's bed which means she is always curious about what time it is and how to show this on the clock. That can only be a good thing in my opinion!

Midge was really in to the clock for quite some time before joining her brother

and playing with his toys.

The second product we were sent was Miniland Giantte. This is a set of building cups with numbers on. There is also a lid and shapes to practice that good old shape slotting technique. Little Man is 20 months old so this is a product which I knew he'd enjoy and which he can continue to enjoy and benefit from for quite some time.

 We had a go at slotting the shapes into the bucket but this didn't hold his attention for very long. I left him to play by himself and with Little Miss before having a go at building the tower with him.

Turning the bucket upside down, the cups are numbered 1-9 which is great. You can count together with your toddler and your toddler can start to recognise the numbers. As Little Man is too young to count and recognise numbers just yet, I counted them out loud whilst handing the cups to him. I believe it's never too early for number and alphabet learning.

My two played together for nearly an hour with no squabbling! Midge helped Little Man to build the tower, counting the numbers as she went. I enjoyed leaving them to it for a bit and loved how this one toy brought them together. Most children love building towers and from counting to shape sorting to naming colours, its a really great educational toy. I have no faults with the product at all.

We were also sent an animal mask to make and show off which I will post as soon as Little Miss and I can have some one on one time so please do look out for that if you have some crafty creatives amongst you!

Cupcake Mumma

* I was sent 3 products from DKLToys to review during the half term. As always, all opinions and photos are my own and not influenced in any way*

Poorly Tummies, Birthday Prep and Half Term!

Hello! I am back after a fair few days of being quiet on the blogging front. I was very unwell last Thursday. It all started off at midday just before I was due to leave home and watch Midge at her Harvest Festival when I developed a terrible pain my stomach. Because it was such bad cramp I figured it was something to do with my IBS, took a few remedies and went to watch Midge perform anyway (I wasn't missing it for anything!) The que to get into the hall was huge, Mum and I were very lucky to get a seat (even if it was just the end of a bench!) We were right near Midge who was desperately looking out for us in the crowded hall.

Her Harvest Festival was really brilliant. I videoed it for Husband and her Nanny who has just had an operation so was unable to come and watch so I don't have any photos but what I did snap a shot of  was her fantastic drawing on the 'Dazzle Board.' She was put on the board for her great piece of work on observational drawing. Definitely another creative little person to add to the family!

Midge's daisy drawing

Unfortunately, when I got home my cramp and sickness become worse. Husband went out to get some special tablets for me to try which helped a little. My Mum, in the mean time, had to go and do some of my weekly shopping! Midge tagged along and Little Man was napping.
I spent the rest of the night clutching my sick bowl and feeling sorry for myself!

By Friday I was shattered and mostly slept. I managed to eat a little as the day went on and saw Midge off for her last day of school before the Half Term. I'm really looking forward to this Half Term as we have our Halloween Party and I promised we'd go swimming too.
Midge had a great time at the after school monster party and came home loaded up on sugar! (Thanks staff!) Husband took another day off work as I just couldn't keep my eyes open.

I woke on Saturday feeling a little delicate but no longer in pain which was enough to make me happy! My sister in law popped over and gave me a onesie which is all pink and covered in cupcakes. It's so warm but needs a little taking up as I'm so short! Look out for photos soon (yes, I do look like a giant baby and no, I don't care.)

Later on in the day Husband left for football so I took Midge and Little Man to Penzance on the train all by myself! Little Man was pretty ratty and ended up sleeping on me as we traveled home. Midge developed another earache but was really well behaved. I bought a few more Christmas presents which is the main reason we went over there in the first place so I was pleased.

In other news, it's my birthday tomorrow which I'm really quite excited about and I just know I'll blog about it. Husband has been swearing as he wraps gifts in the kitchen and has baked me a delicious smelling chocolate cake (with a little guidance from me of course) By the looks of things I've been a little spoilt this year but I'm always grateful whatever I get. I'll be seeing my Gran and Aunt in the early evening before the children go to bed and my parents will spend some of the evening with me as Husband works in the evenings not returning until 11pm.
So, tomorrow I'll be showing off my birthday post as soon as I can. There are a couple of other special birthdays out there tomorrow so happy birthday if it is yours too! I'll leave you now with my freshly carved little pumpkin. x

CupcakeMumma

Half Term Wash Out!

I was going to wait until the end of the week to post about our half term but considering the weather hasn't exactly been on our side and it doesn't look like we'll be doing much other than duvet days, movie nights, baking and colouring (unless Saturday brightens up) I figured I may as well post what we have done now.

The Jubilee weekend was great wasn't it? We watched all those wonderful boats and barges travel down the Thames, Little Miss started singing 'God Save The Queen' everytime she heard it sung on the tele which was really sweet. They'd been learning it in school you see.

On Saturday it wasn't just the Queens Diamond Jubilee but also my Gran's birthday which we celebrated as a big family down at the pub. It's a lovely pub but it was apparent by the end why I don't visit pubs (a part from the rather frosty atmosphere if you don't appear to be a regular- heaven forbid if you're not a local!) it's also the fact that there isn't anywhere to change your children. This goes without saying, it's pub, I don't expect anything different but I didn't think about it until the time came when, with Little Man still a bit unwell decided to fill his nappy. The poor boy had to be changed on the sink side in the ladies room! I was very annoyed with some unhelpful comments made by family members and it did ruin my good mood slightly but altogether we had a lovely day.

Little Miss loves putting on some nice clothes. She chose her lovely daisy top and accessorised herself with the headband. What you can't see is her tutu which I made on her nursery dress up. I made a ladybird one and added white and blue especially for the Jubilee.

I actually got to wear some nice shoes. These cost 6 pounds and I bought them a year ago! 

My Aunt, Mum and Gran at the top of the table waiting for their starters. Gran had a lovely day and enjoyed her chocolate and card that Little Miss helped make and wrap.

 Pops had to share his starter with a rather impatient and hungry Little Man. The landlord didn't hear us order the children's meal either so they had to wait even longer for the main course which he was most apologetic for! There was just so many of us ordering i didn't blame him!
My Aunt is a vegan and always gets served this special dish for her whenever she eats at this pub with my Mum. I believe inside this pineapple it is literally stuffed full to the top with risotto.
I settled for haddock with chips and veg which was okay. The chips were nice (I'm really fussy with chips) the veg was great too as it was slightly undercooked giving me that crunch I love. It was the haddock I didn't enjoy because it was just so bland and thin. I prefer my frozen smoked fillets!

Still, as I said it was a lovely day and luckily we got some sun on Monday too so we did lots of waiting for buses to get to the theme park Flambards. It's really expensive (for a family on a tight budget) but we saved the pennies specifically for this day out. Can you believe we were ALL charged though? Even my 1 year old who couldn't actually go on anything? Okay they do have the younger rides but they are pants to be honest and as much as Little Man would've liked them I would've struggled to get in ALL of them (and I'm not even big OR tall)

Little Miss had fun though- she loved the log flume and went on it again and again. Daddy also took her on the go carts which she thought was a laugh and we went on the roller coaster together which scared her a bit to start with but by the end she was laughing. If the que wasn't so long we would've gone again! We purchased some photos from the photo booth set up by the log flume (with hilarious consequences!) and both children had so much fun in the ball pools. I wouldn't use the big play area because you have to pay and again, it's just too expensive for us.

We brought food in for the children which was lucky because at £3.75 for 8 big chicken nuggets I nearly cried (well, if i bought them I would've done!) Other half and I settled for some nice fries then carried on with our day. Little Miss was very upset to leave which is always a good sign! You do get to validate your ticket at the exit which is great because you can then return to the park once during 5 days from your visit for free. Due to the weather though we may have to give that a miss sadly!

I'll leave you with some photos of our day out which overall was a great success, especially for Little Miss and Man which is the most important thing and we could still go again because there's no way we were bored after just one visit. There was face painting and other bits and bobs we couldn't do because we were short of a few pennies which we would make sure wouldn't happen again!

This sensory room is so much fun. The mirrors are great!

Riding on the indoor cars. This was his first time on the
 ride ons and he loved it!

On their way round...

At the top!

And splash!

I spotted this flower on the way to the museums. How beautiful?

 I hope you're having a good week despite the weather! I've really enjoyed looking through everyone's Jubilee photos and reading what you've been up to, it's been wonderful!

CupcakeMumma