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

Midges Birthday Sleepover!

Midge in her new onesie

I can't believe my girl is now 9..NINE!? It's crazy how fast these birthdays come around. Her actual birthday was really quite quiet because she had school. Going to school on your birthday used to be a real bore but now they get a birthday certificate and a cupcake in assembly and the birthday boy or girl can bring in cake to share at home time, so needless to say, Midge wasn't too disappointed about it being a school day.

We had birthday pancakes before school and let her open all her cards and gifts before getting her uniform on. We bought her a pug onesie, lots of nail polish related gifts, boxes of Malteasers (her favourite chocolate) and a few other bits. It was odd not having anyone home when I knew there was a birthday but I got all her bits sorted for dinner and tidied up.

Mr B and I collected the children from school. Midge had a surprise visit from her cousins and we celebrated with a chip shop dinner (last minute change of plan!) and Malteaser covered chocolate birthday cake. It's the first birthday cake I've ever made that I couldn't eat!

Chocolate covered chocolate cake as requested

The cousins stayed until way too late and we all went to bed way earlier than we would usually but we'd all had such a good day and as the next day was another school day we all needed some kip!

I'm glad Midge had another great birthday. At the weekend we celebrated a second time with her 2 friends and 2 cousins. Mr B and A went to stay with his sister so it was just us girls. We had a junk dinner, cupcakes, a nail painting session, pillow fighting, we watched 2 movies with lots of popcorn before collapsing into bed gone midnight. I shared my bed with my 4 year old niece who was first to drop off, then the girls slowly went one by one until at 1am everyone was asleep and I could finally shut my eyes!

We had such a lovely evening (I still won't be rushing to host any more sleepovers though!) There were some tears, some bickering, black nail varnish spilled on the floor, bedrooms were trashed, popcorn was everywhere, screaming was most definitely done and I must have been shattered still by Sunday but it was all good! I'm still finding friends belongings down the side of the beds and under things, honestly, girls must pack for a week!

Nieces!

Midges birthday summed up in one word by Midge: Awesome!!

Cupcake Mumma

Midge, Now You're Six

Six years ago I held you in my arms, this tiny 6lb 6oz baby cuddled into my tired, sore but bursting with love body.You were beautiful then and my goodness you are even more so now. You're all girly and love pop music, painting your nails and wearing hair clips. You still like to go for walks, jump in muddy puddles and play outside in general but you're a pink loving Hello Kitty fan inside and out!

For your sixth birthday you had to go to school but you opened all your gifts before you left and wore your new coat which looks so cosy!We picked you up with all your cousins and you ran out with 2 badges and a huge grin on your face, always a lovely sight but even more so on your birthday. Nanny picked us up and we went to the Big M with Daddy, Little A, your cousins, Aunts and Granddad. Everyone had a great evening.

Then G came for her long promised sleep over and you both watched DVDs, falling asleep on the sofa bed in the front room. The covers had popcorn and chocolate bread all over them, I'm not sure how you slept but you did!

At 10.30 the next day we took a bus to Heartlands where you both got a pampering! You had your finger nails and toes painted and you both had a face paint each too. Such a nice morning.

We ended the day with 2 more of your friends coming over and celebrating with you for the afternoon. Daddy and I laid out lots of nibbles, a balloon and we played some party games too. All in all it was a lovely day!

I hope you had a lovely day Midge. My ever growing, ever learning but still forever, my baby girl.

Love Mummy xxxx

Halloween at Our House

We celebrated Halloween slightly early this year with my now-annual kids Halloween party. Saturday saw my two dressed up and excitedly awaiting the arrival of their cousins. I had prepped everything super early (unusual for me!) so I could relax before the impending chaos ensued. I got a hot chocolate and 3 biscuits down before I received a text from my sister in law to say her little ones were on the way!

We had a fun few hours and only one tantrum (from my little miss annoyingly!) First we had a go at 'pin the tail on the witches cat' which was a hit with everyone apart from Midge (because she didn't win) my nephew Z won this first game with his being so very close to the circle! Next up we played pass the parcel with a slightly more calm Midge. Knowing there are layers of chocolate to this game helps me immensely! My niece G won this game (twin power!)

After a couple of games we unveiled the food which didn't last long. They're only tiny but boy, can these children eat. I had a plate of sausage rolls and some Jaffa cakes left over plus crisps from my massive bowl so I was rather impressed to be honest! The winner this year was definitely my pumpkin with hummus dip. What do you think?

Last thing on my Halloween agenda was to face paint. This always goes down well.

G

Midge

Little Z

Even T wanted in on the action so she ran off with my painting sponge!

Calm was restored once half four rolled around and all little people were dispatched safely with their party boxes. All I had to deal with were two little monsters covered in face-paint and on a sugar crash! Here's to next year!

CupcakeMumma

Catch Up Time

Well haven't I been a relaxed blogger? I haven't actually, I've been very tired and grumpy if truth be told. I have absolutely no guilt when I say I'm looking forward to September the 5th! I love my Little Two with everything I have but any more bickering and I think you'll have to bust me out of a locked room because I shall not be coming out voluntarily! 

Anyway, as you know I like to keep this blog fairly free from negativity so lets not dwell on the fighting children. Instead, I shall share some good things that have happened this past week: First, we stayed the night at Grandma's and Pop's place for a mini holiday. They live by the sea so this def counts as a holiday! We planned to stay 2 nights but I had such an awful sleep with Little A that I only just pulled through the day after without jumping on a bus home! 

Little A enjoying the park at Grandma's house

I've been really into my letter writing at the moment and I have some wonderful letters slipping through my letter box. I'm pretty lucky that I deal with everything online so if I don't get a letter from a pen pal then I don't get mail at all...That sucks though right!? I've started Postcrossing again too and have received postcards from this here beautiful country, Germany, Russia and Poland. My postcard tin is filling up wonderfully. We've also been baking cakes and the one below is made with strawberry Nesquik. Give me a shout if you want the recipe on the blog!

I passed my Indian Head Massage! The whole thing feels a bit weird, as if I'm not really qualified but I am so please form an orderly que (and no pushing!) My Aunt was my model and I'm pleased to say she was happy being the guinea pig. My tutor was debatable..but nice enough. I celebrated my success by visiting Archie Browns in Penzance for some Booja Booja ice cream! I don't think any more will come of  my massage though, my nearest college doesn't offer the course I need and in all honesty, my social anxiety just really doesn't allow me to go back to that setting. I hate college. That's a post for a different time. I'm studying with The OU so it's not over yet...

We're moving house! At the beginning of September we'll be lugging some boxes a short 15 minutes away and settling into a bigger and more spacious house. Everyone seems to be moving and/or having babies at the moment, lets hope the latter doesn't happen anytime soon!!

Finally, I'll leave you with some cake. Because it's my Mum's birthday today and she got spoilt for choice with cake. A vegan chocolate cake and my Messy meringue and Lemon cake. Both were delightful and rounded off a picky tea just perfectly. I've already given my Mum some breakfast in bed (yes we braved another night, it wasn't too bad this time, plus Hubby was here) and my Sister and I are cooking a roast for this afternoon.

I hope you're all good. Look out for some more posts this week, one in particular is a new project I'm working on all about Random Acts of Kindess. Have a great Monday all.

CupcakeMumma

Ballet and Birthday Parties

Saturday was a busy day for those of us in the Cupcake House. I usually grab a good lay in on a Saturday, being that it's the day where Husband gets to play his football and then go to the pub until the evening, but this time I didn't have much luck! I may* have woken up in a bit of a panic remembering that Midge had her first ballet lesson today and I had to compete with the 'ballet mums,' who in my mind were going to be looking oh so wonderful...I had greasy hair and had fallen asleep in my slippers- i needed a shower!

*I definitely did

Midge and I had a mad rush to get to ballet on time. I had agreed to meet a Mum friend whose daughter has joined the same ballet class in the hope we wouldn't be late due to my bad geography. As it was she was running late so we both turned up just in time, ushered our girls into the hall whilst being gawped at by the awaiting mums (who turned out on the most part to be completely normal and not so well groomed as I had initially assumed) phew.

Midge cried for the first 10 minutes then spent 5 minutes clinging on to me with her thumb in her mouth as I attempted to balance on one foot and demonstrate how to jump gracefully on tiptoes. I wasn't the only Mum subjected to looking like a prat so I didn't feel too stupid and besides, I always wanted to be a ballerina and the teacher was suitably happy with me (insert big grin).

By the end of the lesson Midge was pretty happy and had enjoyed herself. I'll keep up the lessons for now to see if she can settle better. At the moment she's just shy but as time goes on she won't be such a new face and will hopefully feel able to let me put my feet up and sleep watch. 

The second half of our day was spent at a little boys birthday party. All the Mums from reception invite the whole class so now Midge wants a nice big party just like all the other children. It's great to see them all running around but as a Mum who doesn't get welcomed into the folds I'm always dreading these parties slightly.

This party was actually pretty comfortable. I was spoken to by several different Mums and ignored by the usual. I befriended the children's entertainer who was a lovely lady and Little Man cracked me up with his groovy moves (which I videoed for future bribery) I always secretly enjoy watching the children of the mums who ignore have to deal with a hyped up child screaming because they didn't win pass the bloody parcel when my daughter is over the moon with a Starburst sweet. (Insert another big grin- I'll get wrinkles at this rate)

Saturday was a good day. I even got to scold Husband for turning up nearly 2 hours later than usual. Turned out he had got carried away planning this weekends drinking session whilst watching the football. It was okay, I was cranky because I was worried when he didn't phone or text back. I'm an awful worrier! We made up and had a nice relaxing evening together.

Mum and Dad had the children on Sunday which was a day of house clearing for the Husband and I. I'm going to do a separate blog post on that to show off some of our homely finishing touches which have cheered me up no end! I hope you all had a lovely weekend too!

CupcakeMumma

Our Happy Halloween!!

Yesterday I put on a small spread and invited my nieces, nephews and a friend from school to come and join in the Halloween fun with Midge and Little Man. I spent most of the morning and a little of the night before knees deep in food ideas, baking and decorating whilst my 2 slept soundly. It would seem all the hard work paid off as lots of little monsters left with big smiles and lots of laughter! Here's our day that I couldn't wait to share with you..

Little Man and Midge were really excited to be dressing up properly this year. My Mum popped over with a great little outfit for Little Man (he loves getting dressed up, much like his big sister) and Midge was already wearing her costume the minute she woke up! I painted her face later on in the morning which she always loves me doing (and I love doing it!)

My little skeleton 

Spooky Midge the witch with her pumpkin

 We had a fairly good spread set out on the table. Lots of sweet and plenty of savory to choose from. I went with cakes, chocolate fingers and tea cakes, toffee and chocolate apples, cheese ball crisps and cheese Doritos, dips with cucumber sticks, pizzas and much more.

The real hit of the party was these great little cups I made for the children (but which also got eaten by Husband and his sister!) I used Angle Delight in a vanilla flavour, coloured it green and orange for that Halloween effect and then crushed some Oreo type biscuits on top. This was described as 'mud' by my nephew and 'cremated heart' by the other! I added the cocktail stick pictures for effect and the plastic spoons so there was no rushing about looking for my teaspoon collection (because it doesn't exist...ask Little Man)

Halloween cups were great fun to make! Toffee apples are my favourite and fondant
fancies always go down well.

I went all out with my Halloween decorations this year. There was bunting, tinsel and a pinata in the hallway, lots of balloons floating around the house including hanging down from my kitchen ceiling. I did this at my sisters leaving party and since then I can't stop! More tinsel was strewn throughout the house and over photos. I love a bit of tinsel me!

I made some party boxes for all the children when they left. They all had little name tags on with a googly eye! Inside there was a selection of sweets (no one had to Trick or Treat after this party!) I added spider toys, little nick knacks and some glow sticks. I was quite impressed with myself so I hope the children liked them.

My eldest nephew came dressed as Batman. We did some face painting
at the party and this is what he chose. Cool huh?

 The final thing to show you was this pinata I've been raving about for ages. I didn't think it would be anything special because it was just a pull one. The thought of 5 toddlers bashing things with sticks was just too much to bare so I went for the safe pull a ribbon, win your sweets one! None of my monsters cared very much. My younger nephew was the winner ripping off the ribbon ('That was awesome!!' he cried) They dived in for their sweets and had so much fun.

Eagerly awaiting the 'Go'
Pulling and watching the sweets fall
'Grab!!' And no arguments. Hooray!!

The neat thing is, I can reuse this pinata for next year with a bit of crafty touching up! 

 And because you have to absolutely make sure you haven't missed a single sweet, I give you my niece:

There's always one :-)

My kitchen was covered in crisps (Little Man), my rug has had to be removed because of severe juice spillage (Little Man) and there is green angle delight with biscuit mushed into my carpets (Little Man) but it was a great party. I love all my Little Monsters and am already planning my next get together with them.

CupcakeMumma

A Colourful Farewell!

Next week my younger sister leaves for university, so we figured it would be nice to throw her a little good luck/goodbye party. I chose to go with a bit of a theme (not entirely) of bright colours. I pinned balloons to my ceiling, made a colourful cake and put my new bunting up which added something really special to the celebration (and makes my kitchen look more 'me' again)

Opinions?

The first thing I wanted to do was to give my sister her gifts. I used the cross from the necklace I found in my local charity store to make a nice, simple necklace for my sister to hang up somewhere instead of wear as she isn't particularly religious but I wanted to give her something which I felt would be nice to have in her room. I like to hold my cross sometimes and I also keep a prayer book which is easier for me these days.

I also gave her a letter writing set slightly different from the one I have bought myself (I just love snail-mail) so when my mail comes through I'll know exactly who has written to me: my lovely little sister!

Now for some party photos!

Little Man actually ran off with the hummus and I found
him eating it off of his hands!

Painstakingly aligned!

Mum's lemon meringue pie-Best. Pie. Ever.
(I made the meringue credit where credits due!)

Vegan Cookies

Gluten/Dairy free multi coloured cake!

So, all in all it was a great day. We had a laugh taking photos (they never did turn out right. We were way too busy having a laughing fit!) My sister loved her gifts including a webcam the rest of the family bought for her so she can keep in contact via Skype while we're all so far away.

So that's it. Come Saturday morning she'll be snoozing in the back of a car with Mum at the wheel and Dad on the map all packed up and ready to start her next chapter. A very good chapter I hope.

Goodluck Issy!

CupcakeMumma x

Olympic Party and Beach Day

Several things happened last week in the Cupcake Household. We held a little 'party' to celebrate the Olympics which was great fun. We bought a variety of food with a certain theme (see if you can guess) Hula Hoops, ring donuts, onion rings with a couple of extras such as strawberries dipped in chocolate, chocolate fingers and a yummy cake!

Aunt Issy popped over to join in. We decorated the kitchen, got out our flags from when we watched the torch pass through Breage and tuned in to BBC1 to watch some qualifying races. Little Miss totally got into the spirit watching Team GB rowing, it was great fun.

 Little Miss and I had fun painting marzipan. It was a good opportunity to sit quietly and talk about the Olympics.

We made gold medals using salt dough, acrylic paint and some gold coloured ribbon all from the bargain store.

Having a dance in the kitchen with Aunt Issy.

I made some party bags with little toys inside. We popped the medals in these just for the added fun factor. What party bag doesn't have bubbles in though? Here's Little Miss and Man playing together.

We also visited the beach last week which is the first time in a couple of years for us but the first beach trip for Little Man. We built sand castles, camped out in the tent during a 20 minute down pour and generally had a fun, chilled out time!

 Fetching water for our sand castle building

Picture taken whilst sheltering from the rain. I'm so glad The Man went to Tesco that morning and grabbed a 2 man tent in the sale!

 And building our little castles! We went on a hunt for pretty pebbles, feathers and small shells to complete our castles.

Hope everyone else has managed some beach fun this summer holiday?

 CupcakeMumma