Hever Castle

On July 12th, Mr K and I decided as I was staying with him and it's always been on my list of things to see and do that we should pay a visit to Hever castle.

Brief history (because I couldn't help myself!)

I'm a huge Tudor fan and was so, so excited to visit the castle and the gardens. Hever Castle was built in the 13th century and is best known as the place where a young Anne Boleyn grew up until leaving for The Netherlands in 1513 to receive an education at the court of the Archduchess Margaret. Anne returned to Hever in 1522 when her Father requested her return to England to marry her cousin James Butler. The marriage plans were broken up by Cardinal Wolsey and Anne went to the court to serve the current queen; Catherine of Aragon. 

Hever came into The Kings' possession after Thomas Boleyn died and he later gifted the castle to Anne of Cleaves as part of their divorce in 1540. 

After the Tudors, Hever Castle passed through various owners, the first being the Waldegrave family in 1557 and the Meade Waldo family from 1749 to 1903. During this period of ownership, the castle fell into a poor state of repair, it was leased to private tenants and at one point even housed cattle!  In 1903, it was acquired and restored by the American millionaire William Waldorf Astor, who used it as a family home. He added the Italian Garden and in 1983 the Astor family sold the castle.

The Visit

The Cupcakes Go to Cambridge ~ Beyond The Ice House 2017

Every 2 years we venture up to Cambridge to visit family and listen to local music at Beyond The Ice House on my Aunt and Uncles land. We meet up with cousins from Cambridge and Portsmouth plus Grandparents, several aunts and uncles and a lot of friends of the family including a real friendly bunch from Mount Dora, America, who were camped out in the meadow we were in.

The Mount Dora Crew

The ice house is an invite only event my Aunt and Uncle run every couple of years. There are drinks, live music, loads of food based on the bring and share theme plus laughter, games and plenty of people to chat to. The main aim of this event is not just about having a good time but raising money for Camfed, a charity that works to educate girls and support young women in rural communities in Africa. My Uncle worked in Zambia years ago and saw first hand the lack of education for girls. Ever since then Beyond The Ice House has raised money for the charity. The total I've just seen for this year is £6550.15 which is AMAZING

The Holiday

As usual we had ourselves a little caravan, it was difficult to be here given this was our first holiday as a single parent family. The kids took a day to adjust too. By Saturday we were all much happier. We had bacon in the field in the morning, then went in to Cambridge (that was a near disaster, thankfully my friend rescued me!) we managed to catch up a bit whilst the children played but didn't spend nearly enough time together so have decided to do a girls day out somewhere in the near future!

When we got back it was pool time which is probably the highlight for all the children. Mr K met us at the house too which was so wonderful. We all got to chill out together with the children getting to know him a little before going back to swimming. We listened to some local bands and some American groups (including those folks from Mount Dora who got people in the spirit!)

Here are some photos from the holiday:
With thanks to my sister 

 I asked the children what their favourite bits of the holiday were:

Midge: "My very favourite part of the holiday was having loads of fun in the swimming pool, especially when I swam on my own! I loved seeing all my cousins so much"

Little A: " I liked the swimming pool and eating 'macon' (bacon) in the morning."

A successful event and a successful first solo parenting holiday for me!

Cupcake Mumma

Time for Myself

On Thursday I ventured out with 2 of my close friends to Truro for time on my own, well time on my own with good company!

I'm not hugely fond of places with lots of people but equally I can cope and I always love coming to see the Cathedral. I usually go in whenever I'm visiting but I didn't on this occasion. I still made my friends wait while I took photos of bunting and the beautiful building.

We visited Pennyworths Sweet Shop which is next to the Cathedral and full of goodies. I didn't purchase anything because I only had my card on me but next time I know I can take the little ones there and bring some pennies with me! We went to collect a parcel and I picked up some awesome pink headphones.

We stopped at a place called Vanilla where we had a bite to eat. I enjoyed a strawberry and raspberry with cracked black pepper drink which was nice but not really my thing so next time I'll try something else. I had a huge Cornish smoked mackerel salad which was really, really delicious and very good. There isn't much option for free from eaters but I was happy with this. After paying the bill we headed home.

I ended up picking Little A up from the train station and we headed home to chill out together. He's really come a long way with his reading and I really love it when he gets excited about stories at bedtime.

So I've taken some time out, just a short space of time which was nice. This weekend I'm off to see family and my boyfriend which is really exciting and has been something to look forward to for ages. I'm hoping I come back with a clearer mind, a lighter soul, some positivity and a bit of healing.

Cupcake Mumma

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

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

Seal Life Sanctuary: Gweek!

Before the half term a few weeks ago, Little A came home with 2 tickets in his school bag which we could use to get money off at The Seal Life Sanctuary in Gweek. Because it's a bit out of the way it would normally cost a fortune to get to the sanctuary let alone go in and have a good time. In the half term however it turned out Pops and Grandma had some time off and took us all to the sanctuary for a lovely family day: Yey!

I haven't been to The Seal Sanctuary since I was a young girl and used to holiday in Cornwall before we moved here when I was 10. I'm so pleased I took Midge and A during half term because we had a wonderful time. We had amazing weather and as it was the first day of the half term (and a Monday!) the Sanctuary wasn't really busy so everyone could see the seals and penguins without being pushed and shoved!

Mum and Dad in front of the Helford River

The first thing we did was to walk the short walk to the start of the sanctuary instead of taking the make shift bus they have (it looked fun though, we just wanted to see the view walking) as you go up you pass the hospital where poorly seals are kept. We did go in but there were no poorly seals (good news! we said) we had a wonderful view of The Helford River which was a perfect photo opportunity for all of us. We then went down to the rehabilitation pools to see the seals before heading to the larger pools.

Beautiful views

Seal standing up waiting for his fishy lunch

We got to see the seals playing and then being fed, we then had a lovely picnic on some seats with the same beautiful views before seeing some rather large and shy sea lions. Occasionally they poked their heads out but mostly they stayed hidden in the cool water; I remember wishing that I had a pool to slip in to myself! After the seal lions we headed over to see the Humboldt penguins (who blush by the way!) before checking out the rock pools where you can look close up at the fish and learn more about star fish (there are some ace facts that we all enjoyed learning about)

In the underground spying on the penguins

Lots of Humboldt Penguins

A, Pop and Grandma looking close up at fish and starfish

After we checked out our fishy friends the children played for 15 minutes in the park. The play park is very basic consisting of a wonderfully built pirates ship which has slides, ropes and various other bits and bobs attached to it. There are more picnic tables here and loads of bins so no one has the job of carrying the rucksack with the rubbish in! Behind the play area is a wide area of grass which stretches back up to the top of the sanctuary and there are some ponies behind the fences all happily grazing. We didn't visit the farm animals, we chose to walk down to the otter enclosure and had a walk around the woodland area before returning to do some sea life based crafts.

Artwork by Midge and Little A

Midge and Little A at the Mister Maker station

You used to be able to see this little place, now it's pretty overgrown but makes a lovely photo

Before we left we had a walk back to say goodbye to all the lovely seals and sea lions. By the time we were going they were all sunning themselves, yawning, stretching, looking so relaxed and cute I love the below photos in particular. It was such a lovely day. The staff were friendly and knowledgeable, there were so many places to eat your lunch and a nice cafe selling food and drink (and ice cream of course) there's also a shop and a bus stop so you don't have to walk back to the exit. We decided to walk back again to get a last glimpse of the scenery and find the loo (make sure you use the loo! There isn't one after the seal medical center so unless your toddler feels like holding it in up a hill I'd recommend using the loo before enjoying the fun!)

This Sea Lion reminded me of my dog when she's be lazy and stretching!

I adore seal pup eyes!

If you fancy checking out The Seal Sanctuary while on holiday this year (or even if you're a local!) then their website is really good, plus if you book online you'll get cheaper tickets which is something most attractions do these days; don't forget that!

Cupcake Mumma

What We Got up to In April

Wow April just flew by huh? I don't think it was a very busy month all in all quite chilled out really. I started it with a visit from my friend who brought her 3 little ones down to stay locally and that was a nice visit even if it was a quick one. Because of tooth pain I have spent a lot of April being pretty lazy and chilling with the pooch who kept me company on my low days. We did a fun colouring book Twitter party and the children got their own books, crayons and masks to wear while I Tweeted along, I thought it was fun!

 A masked Midge// Peppa Dog sunning herself// My happy place on the sand// Porthleven harbour// Seaside// Footprints in the sand// Siblings on the beach// Breakfast in bed// Frank the cat

I also spent a weekend at my parents house with Midge and Roo at the beginning of April. It helped take my mind off things. We went to the beach, I got caught on 3 occasions by sitting down watching the children and not noticing the tide coming in! The children had so much fun running around, Roo really enjoyed himself once he got used to the feeling of the sand. I think I'll get him some beach shoes soon. I was really in my happy place. We baked cakes, watched Iron Man, had hot chocolate, a lovely hot bath each and I made Mum and Dad breakfast in bed as I got up early leaving Roo watching Netflix and Midge still snoring away.

 Peppa and I chilling// Quick Costa// The Dawlish line// Time with Little T// Roo on the merry-go-round// Blossom// Breakfast// Roo reading// Scrap booking letters

I went away for 3 days to Trowbridge to see my friend and her brood. The train journey up there wasn't fantastic, well once we switched at Plymouth it wasn't so bad! I always get nervous going across the Dawlish line because the waves can get pretty big and you'd have to live under a rock not to have heard of the damage caused by the sea in that awful storm last year. It's a lovely bit to pass but it always unsettles me! Coming back to my babies was wonderful though, I really missed them and Mr B as I always do. 

Peppa in the sun watching me clean// Pen pal writing// Delicious salad// First visit to new dentist// Screen time with the kids// Roo as Iron Man// Steam engine at Trevithick Day// The Viewers band// Roo admiring hand crafted boats

The end of April I had my first appointment at the new dentist (he's fantastic by the way) and I got everything sorted for future appointments including 1 filling and 1 root canal but I'm not so frightened about them anymore. We had a lovely day at Trevithick Day on April 30th. We only saw a few steam trains because Roo was with us and it's really about how much he can deal with. He loved watching the band for 10 minutes and we escaped to see the miniature railway, hand crafted boats and Meccano projects, all very interesting. They both had fun bouncing around on the giant bouncy castle and bought a Slushie to share plus getting a treat each. Roo chose a new dog which was red and reminded him of the red dinosaur teddy he dropped on the train track last year heading to Cambridge *sniff sniff* 

It's fair to say April was a bit tough much like March. Now I'm in May and am pretty much pain free my mood has lifted considerably. The weather has helped a lot too of course but it isn't that reliable! I have no big things planned in May, we are just plodding along with school, hygienist appointments and whatever else life has planned for us.

April on the Blog

I pretty much had a blogging break over April but I did write about a lovely crafty day I had with the children, our March catch up plus doing my usual blogging on a train thing I do whenever I'm well, on a train.

Hope April was good for my lovely readers

Cupcake Mumma x

Trevella Park in Autumn ~ A Review

I have been kindly offered to return to Trevella park this year and review the park plus some of Cornwall's attractions and see what we all think. It's great to come here at a different time of year. When we last came we were holidaying in the summer, Little A was 2! You can read that review here, it was a great time so returning is just wonderful. I've decided to write this blog as a type of diary, so each day I'll write about our day, a different way of reviewing!

Monday 26th

Today we arrived at Trevalla Park, all very excited despite the rain. We are situated in The Meadow which is a lovely area to be, and it appears to be host to the dog friendly caravans on the park which I have to add as lots of people have asked about the park and rules on dogs. Our caravan feels slightly smaller than last time but it is cosy, it's a 2 bed luxury caravan with plenty of heating and actually pretty spacious given that there is an eating area and a large sofa plus generous storage space. We brought our own food but yet again there are plenty of things I appear to have forgotten! It's okay though because there is an on site shop. We are using it for top ups and those items we forgot to bring from home.

The children have been incredibly excited despite arriving to pouring rain. We had trouble with our TV but a member of staff sorted this straight away and so CBeebies is going to be viewed this evening! We have just enjoyed a simple sausage, mash and peas all cooked easily in the caravan with all kitchen equipment provided by the park.

Tomorrow we are heading to Newquay zoo! I've been using the App for Cornwall to check what attractions are near by as we are using taxis and I've found this app to be really useful. You can also find places to eat and other things too, it's worth checking out and downloading if you're visiting Cornwall. Using it, I've been able to see entry prices of the attractions we want to visit which is very handy as my Internet isn't working great here and it saves me using my 3G for ages looking on line!

Right now though, I'm going to put the children to bed in the same room and Mr B and I will chill on the sofa having cake and watching television. It won't be long before we go and enjoy our rather comfortable bed in our warm room!

Tuesday 27th

Slight change of plan today! Because of the pouring rain we have decided to head to the Blue Reef Aquarium. We've just had breakfast and showers, it took me a while to get my shower to be as hot as I like but once I looked properly I was in shower heaven! We were up pretty early this morning so time has gone very slow, it's okay though because I've got lots to do before leaving for our day trip!

***

We had an amazing time at the Blue Reef Aquarium in Newquay, it's a small aquarium and as it's half term was pretty busy but we had an enjoyable hour or so there. We booked our tickets online which meant it was slightly cheaper and brought our own lunch with us too. Before the aquarium we went to the beach, which the aquarium overlooks and it was so good to feel that soft sand. Check out our lunch view below.

We drew pictures and wrote our names in the sand ticking off one of the 70 Great Adventures in Cornwall on Trevellas website.

Then we enjoyed seeing the fish, sharks, turtles, frogs and various other creatures at Blue Reef Aquarium. I'm going to do a separate post on our trip so look out for that.

Once we were dropped back to the site (we don't drive so used 2 taxi firms, getting to the town cost us £7.00 each way. It certainly limits the activities you can choose because we can't afford to go very far) I nipped into the shop and then watched Midge and Little A play on the parks play equipment. Both are big fans of the tractor! I also checked out the Rangers activities for the rest of the week which were written up by reception.

Now I'm chilling with my hot chocolate and enjoying the peace. Despite seeing a lot of dogs around The Meadow you hardly hear them at all which is obviously a good thing. We had sunshine from 12pm, maybe earlier and the evening is lovely tonight as opposed to last night! Tomorrows plans are breakfast, crazy golf, on site party and then a spooky walk at 5pm!

Wednesday 28th

What a day! We started with crazy golf in the late morning (FYI I won!) that was 50p each and I have a feeling the cheapest activity will be the favourite one! We all had a laugh anyway. After crazy golf we headed back for lunch and to get ready for the Halloween party being hosted at the cafe. Little A wore his power ranger suit but Midge unfortunately left all her dress up at home. They still had fun at the play area, playing pin the boo on the ghost, getting a face paint and eating cupcakes. We didn't win the raffle but I got some lovely bits at the table top sale and all the money went to a good cause. There were some fab pumpkins on display too:

In the evening we wrapped ourselves up for the spooky walk. We were early so went to see the rabbits, degus and Ollie the owl. We got to go in Ollie's cage! It was wonderful seeing him fly over for his food.

Then we joined some other families for a short circuit of the woods. All but Mr B got suitably spooked by the dressed up staff! We loved the pumpkins dotted around and the hanging ghosts! I could tell the staff thoroughly enjoyed their Halloween roles! To warm up we bought chips from the on site cafe which were really good. For £2 a portion they were generous and the ideal ending for a busy day!

Thursday 29th

It's my birthday! I've had a big cooked breakfast, my lovely cake and opened my gifts in bed. Looking forward to trying out my new wellies in the woods later and going to the zoo!

***

We have had a great day. I'm writing this tucking into more chips and feeling totally shattered. We had a little walk this morning then headed off to the zoo. I was given a press pass for 2 adults so after we paid for the children we were off on our zoo adventure! We saw zebras, fossa, lions, lots of birds, penguins, frogs and a lovely racer snake too. There was so much more there to look at as well. Little A enjoyed it the most I think but we all had a great time and spent all day there. I would recommend bringing your own packed lunch though, the cafe is so incredibly busy and high priced but I will say I thought their food was tasty. I had a good look round the gift shop which was full of great cuddly toys, nick knacks and games. We're now at home snuggled under blankets and all feeling a bit sad it's our last night here. We've had a great time though.

We had such a wonderful time at Trevella Park and hope to go back next year. I wondered what we would get up to at this time of year but I'm pleased to say, as you can see we were not short of things to do. A big thanks to Trevella park who provided us with accommodation for our stay.

* We were provided with a 2 bed luxury caravan by Trevella Park for our stay. I also received a press pass to check out some of Cornwall's attractions which we used at Newquay Zoo but we paid for the Blue Reef Aquarium. I was also asked to review the App for Cornwall which I have mentioned within this post. This is a free app available to download now.

Cupcake Mumma