2013- Thank-You For a good Year

For myself and my family 2013 has been a good year. We've had ups and downs like many others. We've had personal things to get through, family have landed in difficult situations where we've done our best to step in and lend a hand. Sometimes this is hard but it is good and necessary. I think my biggest disappointment of 2013 was to have both my gorgeous hamsters die and I think you'll agree, that if that's my worst then I should be grateful and believe me, I am. So please 2014, I pray for a good, kind and giving year for my family and a better year for a lot of those who I love and care about.

Here is a little round up of the highs of 2013 in my house. Because you should always remember the good times.

 In January Midge turned 5. She had such a wonderful day and a lovely party too.
She must have lost 8 teeth this year:

With Grandma whom she adores!

Little A turned 2. That was hard but exciting. There's a lot more to come from him yet. 
In 2014 he'll be potty training and starting nursery!


My Dad got a new job:

Having a belated celebratory lunch

I climbed a frickin mountain!!

On top of Mount Snowdon with Team Honk

I met one of my best blogging friends:

Kat and I lagging behind as usual! I'll be meeting you in 2014 again Mrs!

I've sent literally a year in gifts:
Something that has really opened my heart up a lot more to those around me

We had several wonderful holidays:

Midge in Cambridge
Little A in Newquay

There was an awesome Halloween party


My little girl started Year 1!


I had an amazing 24th birthday!


Other highlights:
I met my real life best friend and pen pal for the first time ever in Cambridge
We moved into a beautiful new house
Celebrating our 1st wedding anniversary
We said goodbye to our lovely hamster Crunchie and hello to Maisy. Sadly she only lasted a few months before passing but she made me so happy whilst here.
We saw a lot of my nieces and nephews over this year and that was amazing.

My favourite posts of 2013

A Year in Gifts

Thank-you to each and every one of you who has read and stayed with me on my blogging journey which I do so enjoy! I hope 2014 brings you much happiness. 

Hannah A.K.A
Cupcake Mumma!

Scavenger Hunt Sunday #4


Lights

The lights are hiding under the tinsel brightening it up

Tree

This beauty is on a patch of green near our home

Big

I got a big bunch of flowers from my husband the other day. These are my favourites
Big, pink Geraniums.

Makes Me Merry

Big cups of orange hot chocolate make me merry!

On The Door

A pretty wreath for my lounge door
Merry Christmas!

Cupcake Mumma


My Week That was Instagrammed #16


Last week we:

Had plenty of cuddles and tickle time which left us with some epic 'bed hair.'

Ate double chocolate muffins for breakfast! It's nearly Christmas, if you're on a diet I feel sorry for you!

I bought this gorgeous hazelnut syrup to add to my hot chocolate. It's definitely saved me a few pennies because I only visited Costa once last week and zero times so far this week! When I get an orange flavour I can totally give up Costa..sorry!

I donned the ace Christmas jumper my Mum bought me for the festive season- I love it! 

I baked some mince pies and thought I'd do them a little different by adding hearts instead of closed tops. They tasted so good and definitely got me in the festive spirit/ Little Man ate half of almost every one so effectively left me the scraps!

I posted off my last gift for my Year in Gifts project. 

I had my one and only Costa of the week(chocolate orange of course)

Baked cakes with my Mum on a night she stayed for tea

And received this ace card from the lovely Bex. Thank you so much! 

Hope you're having a good week and have an absolutely wonderful Christmas!

Cupcake Mumma



New Boots for Midge- The Full Review!

Recently I wrote this post showing off a fabulous new pair of boots Midge was to review by Hi-Tec. Finally, after battling the sickness bugs I am able to show you the boots in all their comfy glory and give you an idea of what Midge thought about them once testing them out.

To see more of our thoughts on the look of the boots please see this post. The boots are visually lovely to look at and we've had lots of comments from people saying how nice they look, how warm they look and where do you get them from? Each time we've agreed completely because Midge finds them incredibly warm and they fit nicely.


For the first week we had the 'new shoe' issue where the boots rubbed on the back of midges ankles. We doubled her socks up which helped to cushion her ankle more. After this I've had no more complaints and Midge has been happily running and jumping around with no problem at all. As I said, a fairly common new shoe problem.

In the photo below you can see how thick and snug the inside of the boots are. I asked Midge for her input here: "They are very soft and my feet are really warm especially in the playground. I like the pink colour and the inside feels soo soft. Now my feet are better I really like walking in my new boots!"


So, the boots look good, bar a minor discomfort in the first week they are now completely comfortable and they are very warm. Another thing: they are waterproof! I wasn't sure if they'd do too good in this really wet weather but they appear to be absolutely fine and Midge doesn't come home with soaking wet feet so I'm happy! The boots take a little while to dry off though so we place them under the radiator instead of in our usual spot for shoe storage and this is no problem.

My favourite part of the boots are the orange soles which are fab for walking in this weather in the wet, on the slippy leaves and climbing on play equipment. The bottoms are really well made and have a great grip, better than any shoe or boot Midge usually wears out.


I'm really pleased with these boots and am confident they will last a long time, even with my shoe destroying daughter! Thanks to Hi-Tec for sending these out to us for review!

Cupcake Mumma

Scavenger hunt Sunday #4


The Weather Today...


Today it was pleasently sunny but the sky was covered in fluffy clouds.

R is for


Random Acts of Kindness

 Green


My daughters angel on the school Christmas tree

Joy


Is homemade mince pies!

Drink


A wonderfully warm hot chocolate with hazelnut syrup in front of my lovely Christmas tree!


A Year in Gifts: November

I struggled to send a gift in the actual month of November, a combination of time and what felt to me so many people I felt could do with cheering up made my decision even harder. I opted to leave it and wait for the beginning of December. I felt I'd just know who I was meant to cheer up. I was right!

The lovely Bex from Busy Bee Mummy Bex has had a tough year with little Hugo and his Talipes. Equally she's had a lot of highs because of his condition (her fantastic book for example) just as December came about, both Hugo and his big sister E came down with the dreaded virus that has been going around. With Hugo in particular getting quite poorly, I really felt for my sleep deprived blogging friend and decided a box of goodies for her and the children might just help in lifting her spirits.


I packed up a sleeping mask, cosy socks and chocolates for Bex herself and included some new socks, a book each and some Christmas chocolates for Hugo and Emilyn to enjoy when they're feeling better.

I hope everyone in the Busy Bee household is better for Christmas!

My Year in Gifts has come to an end and I'm so pleased to have done this. For December, I'll be contributing to my local food bank. Thank you for all your comments on my posts and page in the past year. 

Merry Christmas!

Cupcake Mumma

Did you Steal my Christmas Spirit?

I used to love Christmas. My Mum would be so excited by the whole event that as a child and even when I was no longer a child and knew exactly what I would find in my stocking, I was still super excited by the whole event.

These days I'm not surrounded by the same people. In fact, I'm not really surrounded by anyone. My only friends are those I exchange letters with and may one day, but not for definite, meet. The school mums are cliquey and rude. The one person I was friendly with used me as a baby sitter and when a new mum brought her daughter to school they've become best buddies and I've been dropped like rock. I don't want mates like that obviously, but I would like someone.

My husband isn't one to be overly excited by Christmas, my son is too young, my daughter just waits for Christmas Day and her elf box on Christmas Eve. All I keep hearing is 'I'm not in the mood' 'I've not got any Christmas spirit' sure this year has been tough for many but send it out with a kick up the arse please!

I'm just not myself at the minute. My parents are always working, I'm always with the children both of which just aren't sleeping and are grumpy both day and night. My anxiety is making me feel more and more withdrawn but I know I can't let it. I just wish I had more positive people to be around. I wish I had friends that weren't so damn far away. I wish I found it easy to make friends.

Okay so this is a fairly standard woe is me post and nothing is really wrong but to me these things matter. I don't know how to just break through this thick cloud hanging over me. I want to have fun, I want to bake, blog and craft but I don't, I curl up instead. Why?

Is anyone else feeling like this? I'm sure I'm just tired and feeling a bit low and need to dig deep to find this energy and Christmas cheer.

Cupcake Mumma

My Week That was Instagrammed! #15



I've got lots of photos to show off this week for my week that was post. Last week was a busy week which ended in a stomach bug for everyone. Thankfully we're all better now though!

This week:

A was the first to get poorly so we had lots of cuddles and plenty of sleep for a couple of days. I love snapping pictures of him sound asleep.

I got a new tablet in the post and as soon as I got it, Hubby downloaded a football game which I caught Little A playing. I think he scored a few goals!

We had six little ones altogether last week and it was full on but not bad at all. I wouldn't want a big family though! Little T had a cold but she still let me take a photo.

I was so pre-occupied I missed both a dental and GP appointment- naughty! I've now caught up on both, one of which I always carry my trusty ant-bac soap with me to!

I went to visit the school do see the big light switch on. Midge and I made this angel peg doll before school for the tree.

I had a sneaky Costa hot chocolate on one very cold school run. Hubby (in the green) made the local paper with his football team. Little A enjoyed a day out and I treated Midge to a mini hot chocolate with marshmallows.


This collage is more weekend focused.

Mum came over on Saturday and treated the children and I to Pizza Hut! Little A and I sat snapping photos of each other.

Midge and Grandma had a lovely time together, I love this photo so much.

Midge used a gift voucher from her Great Grandparents to buy a Hello Kitty bag. Little A bought a toy fire truck with his one.

We walked into the town center which was decorated with reindeer's and Christmas trees and Midge had to have her photo taken next to a tree! We then walked to the cathedral where we lit candles and walked around admiring the beauty of the building. We saw a sculpture of a homeless man which looked so real.

Little A met and then proceeded leap on a man dressed as a lion at the indoor market- it was so cute!

My delicious pizza. Never have anchovies though, this ruined it completely but I'd never tried them before so thought why not?

On Sunday we put the Christmas tree up and went to Wetherspoons for a big breakfast. It sure was nice to round off the week as a family at breakfast.

Hope your week was less hectic but still enjoyable!

Cupcake Mumma

Scavenger Hunt Sunday #3!


Where I Stood

A wonderfully sunny day with still hints of Autumn on the ground

Silver

Beautiful decorations in Truro

Tiny

Tiny berries spotted on the school run

In The Cupboard

Ready to make festive biscuits!

Shadow

An oldie but a goodie. Midge on holiday

Quiet on the Blog Front

This week has been a busy week and its just hit its peak with Little A covering my bed at half 11 last night with sick. Joy. Of course I don't blame him, I was just hoping it was the Smurf sweet overdose before bed (bad Mumma) and not the tummy bug it appears to be!

This is what I hate about winter, all these bugs hanging around, all the children being kind enough to share and share alike! I'm just hoping we're getting things out the way before Christmas. No one wants to be ill at Christmas.

It's not the best way to finish the week in all honesty though. We've had some (rather special) visitors this week; my nieces and nephews have stopped over for a few nights with their mum. It's been hectic sure but a lot easier than we all assumed! All the children have been well behaved which is obviously even more appreciated than usual when one of them is poorly (especially when it's mine!)

Today will be a duvet day before everything goes back to normal. Hopefully I'll get to the school fayre tomorrow to buy some of the Christmas bits that Midge has made in school before meeting mum with (hopefully two) healthy children to get the curtain material for our front room. I may even get a chance to enjoy Truro a little and spend a few pennies. Fingers crossed!

I Hope any poorly babies are feeling better. I know there's a lot of us in the same boat right now unfortunately. Have a good Thursday all.

Cupcake Mumma

My Week That was Instagrammed #14


This week:

We put up a few decorations to make the home a little more festive. I haven't put up the tree because this week there will be 3 older children, 2 toddlers and 3 adults living in my house for 3 days so we need the space!

Midge got some lovely shoes to review and so far they are proving very comfy indeed!

I ate a good few chocolate mug cakes when I got my chocolate craving but had none in! 

We visited Costa and I finally managed to drink something other than frozen fruits or water! I had a delicious soya hot chocolate and Little A enjoyed their ice cold juice drinks. I loved it so much I had 3 in one week! Won't be doing it this week though.

I baked a few things last week but my favourite bake was when my Mum came over for dinner and we whipped up some vanilla blueberry cupcakes. They were gone within minutes! I had a lovely evening with my Mum. I also had my dad over on Friday night and I baked him a lovely chocolate cake for his birthday.

Finally, my one piece of happy mail last week was my rather lovely new phone case. I'm in love with a phone case!

Hope you all had a lovely week too!

Cupcake Mumma

New Boots for Midge

I've been sent some rather wonderful and warm looking boots to review by Hi-Tec (I say I've been sent them but of course I mean Midge has) Before I let Midge run off to school and mess about putting these boots to the test, I wanted to give you a bit of a first impression post!

I'm going to start by saying I've never seen my daughter so excited by a pair of shoes. But they look very stylish and very comfy. So nice,I kind of wish they were mine and not hers!



So, first impressions? The colour is very nice, I'm pleased to see a zipped back on the boots because Midge struggles to sometimes push her feet into these types of footwear due to the inheritance of 'pasty' feet. Most boots we try on for her she can never get her heel in, let alone her whole foot the poor thing!

I'm not keen on the fur but that's a personal opinion and one Midge certainly doesn't agree with if stroking the boot was anything to go by. The inside of the boots are soft and seem like they will be very snug in this cold weather.

Now we just need to put them to the test and see how well they fair on our cold and wet days out. Look out for our full review soon!

Cupcake Mumma

10 Things to Smile About: November

It's the last Tuesday of November today so it's time for me to look back and list the 10 things that made me smile and feel good this month. I'm linking this post up to Lost On The Cloud's Silver Linings link up so please do share your positives from November too!

1. I discovered an old recipe for some really quick and simple flapjacks They are so good and so quick to make. I love discovering old recipes hidden in the back of less used cook books!


2. It's nearly time to put the Christmas decorations up! I'm really quite excited about this.

3. Although I haven't enjoyed the lack of sleep (I tell myself its not forever) I have been enjoying some rather nice cuddles of late.


4. It's been nice to spend some time with my nieces and nephews now and then. Just the other day Little A and his cousin had a sort of play date. I popped a cute Victorian hat on T's head- she looks so sweet.


5. Midge lost her 2 front teeth! The tooth fairy will be visiting very shortly after writing this post I think. It also means I get to sing a very cute Christmas song to Midge this year (which she'll hate me for eventually!)

6. I've had lots of happy mail from my pen pals recently and that always keeps a smile on my face.

7. We had an early birthday tea for my Dad as he's working on his actual birthday this week. It's always nice getting the family together but will be better when my sister comes home from university real soon.


8. Hubby won £100 on a scratch card! That was just pure luck but it made our day. He bought some Christmas gifts for the children and got mine out the way early too. Such a relief for him I think.

9. We all saw the Christmas lights get switched on in town. Titan the robot was there, he was pretty cool (what 5ft nothing me could see of him!) Little A liked him from afar but as soon as Daddy got near the front of the crowd he wasn't so keen! Midge hated him full stop. We met up with my sister in law and her little ones and grabbed a taxi back to our house where the children played for a couple of hours. It was quite relaxing actually.


10. I've bought all my Christmas presents, made a bunch of cards and yesterday night I sat down and wrote them all out. I've run out of handmade ones so the rest will have to be bought ones!

I hope you've all had a lovely month with more highs than lows. 
Cupcake Mumma