Plymouth Aquarium

A week ago I went to Plymouth Aquarium with year 1 including my little man. We did the panto and Pizza Hut too but it's the Aquarium I want to blog about because I love them.

We were greeted by two members of staff and were soon being shown around by Stu who was lovely and energetic. We started the tour looking at starfish which I love but I have to say I distracted Stu somewhat by asking about the Spider Crabs which I was fascinated by. He didn't mind and all the children who were fascinated along with me got a quick education in rather cool looking creatures. We moved on to a starfish chat and a little story before heading over to the Jellyfish, another sea creature I love.

Lots of lovely Starfish!

Close up of the Starfish

Beautiful Spider crab 

The Jellyfish didn't disappoint anyone least of all me. I took to the upside-down Jellyfish because of their beautiful colours. There were slightly larger Jellyfish, some smaller and a tank which must have been full of baby Jellyfish but I forgot to ask. All their colours were amazing.

Upside down Jellyfish

Beautiful, brightly coloured Jellyfish

Next we moved on to the big boys, the sharks. There were some big ol' sharks swimming happily around the plane wreck in their tank with their fish and stingray friends. Enzo the shark was hard to miss given his bizarre shape. Turns out he's a sand shark, one I've never heard about before. It was quite surreal being this far down, trying to imagine how much water was above our heads! Stu gave us a brief chat on the different sharks in this giant tank and a talk about the anatomical structure of some fish.

We viewed another part of the tank, going even further down! Then moved on to the last section of the tour before lunch. The beautiful octopus who stayed still in his corner during a quick talk soon showed his beautiful long tentacles off to us adults the moment the children moved on. Something that looked so bunched up, small and vulnerable suddenly didn't look much that way once his tentacles splayed demonstrating he was easily the length of his tank.

Octopus giving us a show!

We learnt that octopus can stick their tentacles up their noses and can reach around up there fairly easily. There were some other gruesome facts but they made me feel a little sick to be honest! The final stop was to look about the reef where the children spotted their favourites (Nemo! Dory!) It was sad that the turtle had passed away but she lived a much better life with Plymouth Aquarium than she would've done in the wild; something to do with her shell I think but I forget. It was a great tour, I really enjoyed myself and really want to go again with my family so we can look around the whole aquarium and take our time (the one luxury you don't get on a school trip with 5 year olds!)

Little crab walking along his tank

Cupcake Mumma

*Apologies for the photo quality! Understandably you can't use a flash as this upsets the fish..and my isn't what it was *laughs*

Plymouth with Mr B!

In October (I know, so long ago now!) Mr B and I went off on a little trip to Plymouth as a belated birthday gift to myself. I had won some tickets in a Twitter competition to stay in a Jury's Inn of my choice. We were placed in a gorgeous room! It had free sparkling and still water plus Plymouth Gin, which neither of us liked buy hey it was there and was a lovely touch! Mr B got ridiculously excited by free toothbrushes and shower hats while I got straight onto the largest bed I have ever seen:

 Bargain first class tickets and something I can tick off the Bucket List!

Biggest bed I've ever seen

It was so big and seriously comfortable. Honestly, we had the BEST sleep in such a long time on that bed! We also had some romantic time taking a bath together for example...and getting wedged in the bath together. I thought it would be a call to the fire brigade at one point but proving we are a great team we got our asses out of that tub in time for dinner and a walk around Plymouth.

We walked around Plymouth doing some window shopping and popped into some of our favourite stores. We walked around the memorial and looked out at the view before seeing the lighthouse. I've never been up to these places before and it really is beautiful. I found myself getting really emotional at the memorial. 

 Memorial 

 Beautiful view including Plymouth's Lido

 Plymouth Lighthouse

We found a nice little chip shop to have dinner at before heading back to the hotel. It was so nice to get away for an evening. The children missed us just as much as we missed them but were happy with their Grandma and Pop looking after them for the night. We had a lush breakfast before heading home. We took a later train because there was an accident on the way which Mr B helped with but we got home to our babies eventually who although were happy to see us were more interested in what gifts we brought back! 

Chippy tea

Cupcake Mumma

October at The Cupcakes

We've left October, my favourite month. We spent the first week of October moving into our new place which we are now settled into. I've unpacked and moved things about so it all feels much better now. We had BT over to sort the phone and internet which was a success and came at a good time with needing to sort some things out online. My parents bought the children a new bed which they love. We asked for a bunk bed because the room was going to be too cramped with 2 beds in there. Dad found a triple bunk bed which is awesome and we're all really pleased with it!

Mum and Midge having a hot chocolate//Midge and cousin Georgia having a play date//New bunk bed!//Morning brew needed//Day off school so climbing trees//Heading to Penzance to see my Aunt and Gran//Free From fish//A and I at the park playing football//Mr B got his name in the paper again

I had one too many Costa trips at the start of the month but it's hard to say no to new friends. I'm just loving having good mates, people to talk to and having a good giggle in the mornings. The pooch and I walk everyday and I've been relatively good at sticking to healthy eating (although can absolutely do better, a few too many hot chocolates and a good few chippy teas have been had during the move..)

The children have been doing good at school but mostly they've been counting down to Christmas and Halloween! They've both had poorly days with Midge having a bad head and A getting croup which took a bit longer to clear up. We've all had colds (Mr B spread it around!) but have all plodded along. A has been doing really well with his homework and also now goes into school by himself which is a big step for all the children. Half term sort of came around very quickly but before the children got some time off I managed to catch up on my happy mail and sort out lots of house bits plus get their Christmas presents which have been successfully hidden!

Over half term we took the opportunity to do free things now we're feeling the pinch a bit more. Don't get me wrong, we're better off than a lot of people but throughout the year we have some good months and some harder months like many and just before Christmas plus a house move draining the small savings I did have hasn't made things any easier. We've had some nice walks together (well nice might be pushing it considering it has been raining!) on the Monday the weather was gorgeous so the washing was put on the clothes horse, the dog was walked and then we headed to the park for the afternoon bumping into several friends which was nice.

Midge's first cake in the new house//Autumn trees//Half term leafy dog walks//A getting a Costa whilst waiting for Midge to finish her club//Both children have a children up in the local Boots//A in the park//My birthday potato!//Birthday Costa!

Little A had his first ever friend for dinner experience! He had 2 friends over (they're twins) one took to Midge and stayed with her and A played with his other friend. There was role play games, Lego, colouring in and some Lego Jarassic Park for me sit through while they talked in a little circle on the front room floor! We've had some film and TV days, Midge and I baked a rather lush chocolate cake and we've seen both Grandma and Pops on different days. There has been lots of Minecraft and You Tube in this house too this half term!

I turned 27 last month! I had a great day. My friend visited and treated me to lunch, we went to the park and had a Costa which my Mum also came to. Mum baked me a lovely cake with the help of my little ones. The next day Mr B and I headed to Plymouth for a night where we had a lovely hotel stay, walked around Plymouth, saw the lighthouse and then the memorial which was really emotional to walk around. A chippy tea was exactly what we needed before heading back to enjoy the bath and comfy bed at the hotel.

My birthday cake//Midge and A with their Costa//Mr B and I on the train to Plymouth//Penguin getting ready for his hot chocolate//Plymouth Memorial//Plymouth Lighthouse//The Lido//Yummy chip tea

The Memorial at Plymouth//Happy Halloween//Me testing the super sized bed//Penguin came with us to keep A happy//Bought the Big Issue//New notebook//Pretty Christmas trees going up 

October was a really good month for all of us I think. How was yours?

Cupcake Mumma

Summer Day Trip #2 Plymouth

This trip was planned for a long time but Mr B and I thought leaving it as a summer holiday treat might be a really nice day out. We caught an early ish train straight to Plymouth which wasn't much fun because it was fully booked up and was a hunt the spare seat game for a while! We all got to Plymouth in a good mood and set off to explore the town, sticking to our plan of sports shops, primark, lunch and a little browse around.

I took Midge to look around a shop and met Mr B and A in a sports shop where I picked up some new colourful trainers for Midge and Mr B got some football bits, A picked up some much wanted goalie gloves and new wellies. Primark was on everyone's list and Mr B treated us all to some new clothes which were well needed! We had to go on the carousel first, naturally..

 A on the round about ride

 Blowing the paper off the straw in Mcdonalds

Midge used her spending money on this cute owl

Afterwards we went for some lunch picking the Big M for the little ones, they were happy with that choice! Midge changed into her new outfit just before we headed home (now that was a long journey, mostly in between carriages and on the floor!) we got home safely though. Going through our new stuff waited until the next day, we had a snacky dinner then all went to camp in our bedroom.

Dressed in some new gear after a good day shopping!

 Mr B and A having a funny moment

So yet another outing enjoyed by us all We don't go to Plymouth often because it's obviously not a cheap day out but every once in a while it's good fun to go as a family or sometimes just Mr B and I. Actually, we're heading back in November just Mr B and I after I won some hotel tickets so that's something to really look forward to!

Cupcake Mumma

Plymouth University Art Exhibition

I went to Plymouth yesterday not to shop (although we did allow extra for browsing the stores and having some fun) but to go and visit Plymouth University's art and media exhibition. I really, really enjoyed myself. I love it when the rooms are empty, this may be seen as a bad thing but being someone who enjoys art and being able to flick through folders and stare at photos or other visual art pieces without feeling claustrophobic or having to move on so others can get a good view it's a good thing.

In this post I give you my favourite pieces from the exhibition. Anyone who lives near Plymouth please go and visit the university and have a look around, there are some fab pieces there.

This is the reason myself and my family went to view the exhibition in the first place. This is a photo taken by my brother, William Goode, one of a series of photographs of Loe Bar in Cornwall. I adore this photo in particular and I'm secretly hoping he'll allow me a copy so I can hang in my home! I think he could sell these prints. This is my favourite because he has captured the colour so well, the blue against the brown and then the scenery in the background. I also love the prints left by horse riders.

There was no name surrounding this art but it was a large black and white print on paper stuck to the wall in the corridor. There were crayons hung up and an invitation for you to add your own little mark. As you can see many people have contributed to this and I love the idea for this reason. I'm sure you can see what I added to this great idea?

Couldn't resist! I've effectively tagged it- hope they like it!

Now this was a powerful piece. There were three large canvases all representing Amy's horse, Rosie, who had to be put down after a fall. It's horrible seeing an animal put down but for horse riders it must be particularly painful. Amy has photographed effectively what is left after the loss of someone she loved. One photo was the riding school, maybe where the horse fell I do not know, the other is this very poignant shot of Rosie's reins. Amazing photography.

'Picture Confessions' was another piece I loved. A group of people have been rounded up and asked to write something on a board, something I would say they have never admitted to in their lives. This ranges from one person admitting they stepped on and accidentally killed a pet, a good looking lad admitting to being single for a number of years...and still counting, to a man admitting he found joy in self harming for a number of years..very interesting. I wonder what I would write?

 Now, below is my favourite piece by far. This is probably because I am a mother, so it tugged at those maternal heart strings. Olivia Edmonds followed a young woman through her whole pregnancy recording in photographs every step, even when her baby was transferred to the neonatal unit shortly after birth. What a difficult thing to go through but yet still allow someone to document this time for you.
This piece is called T.R.A.P which I know sounds odd, but the reason for this is because the woman (Miranda) was not only pregnant again and experiencing those wonderful feelings of happiness, delight and anticipation but she was also grieving the loss of one of her children too.

In Olivia's words:
 'With life and death being the components to our existence, you do not expect to have to cope with these conflicting factors at the same time'

Miranda's very generous bump!

Reminding me of the birth of my babies.
A diary kept by Miranda, baby grows and much more..

I can't imagine my baby being attached to all these wires...

 All in all a really amazing experience. I'm hoping to visit my local college to support the students there and hopefully see some more work and learn some more names to look out for! I got some lovely postcards to remember some of the art work above for my collection.

To round off, we did a bit of shopping before our train journey stopping once for doughnuts and another time to spend just short of £20 on a bear!!

'Pretty Star' She's well loved already.

CupcakeMumma