Raising Awareness for World FSHD Day with Orange Sliced Smiles

Tomorrow is World FSHD Day. FSHD (Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy) is a chronic and progressive illness I had never heard of until Martyn from Inside Martyns Thoughts started blogging about it over the years. Now FSHD is a part of my life because quite wonderfully, Martyn is now a part of mine.

When I first met Martyn I didn't notice anything different about him. He was sat in his car and then I realised his car had been specially adapted so he didn't have to use his feet to accelerate or break. When we arrived at our hotel Martyn got out of his car, he walked around and I saw how he had to stand, move, sit and I got an insight into how disability un-friendly the outside world can be - slopes, lose stones, pebbles - nightmare!

I wasn't shocked by Martyns' disability; it doesn't bother me. Do I need to adjust to some things? Of course! We both know that's to be expected but it's not a problem. One thing I do know is that FSHD is a cruel and progressive illness and it's hard to watch someone you care about very much be in constant pain, stared at and limited. I haven't seen the full extent of FSHD but I know I will. Please have a read of Martyn's posts about his Muscular Dystrophy:

My Muscular Dystrophy

I'm Scared it Might be Time

My Son is My Hero!

Pain

Trapped Inside a Broken Body

I'm Proud to be Sabled

Here are some facts about FSHD:

• Between 2,000-2,500 people in the UK have FSHD. Several generations of a family are often affected by the condition.  It can be diagnosed at any age and can vary widely between individuals, even within the same family. One-third of those with the condition are unaware of the symptoms right into old age.
• The earlier the muscle weakness appears, the more severe it is likely to become. Between 10-20 percent of people with the condition eventually require a wheelchair. It affects the muscles of the eyes and mouth, including the ability to smile.
• FSHD is caused by a genetic mutation which causes a toxic protein to be produced in the muscle, killing the muscle cells. There is currently no treatment available targeting the underlying genetic causes of FSH. Muscular Dystrophy UK is funding research investigating the mechanisms leading to FSHD.

To help raise awareness I'm joining in with The FSH Society's #WorldFSHDDAY and sharing some orange slice smiles! Orange is the Muscular Dystrophy colour and Martyn and I would LOVE to see your sliced orange smiles on all social media platforms. Please don't forget to use the tag #WorldFSHDDay so we can find and share your fantastic photos too and thank you for your support. Don't forget to get friends and family involved too!

If you wish to read more on FSHD, get help for a loved one or donate, then please check out the links below:

The FSH Society (US)

Muscular Dystrophy UK

NHS Choices

Donating pages

The FSH Society (US)

Muscular Dystrophy UK

Thank you so much for your support!

Race for Life 2016 ~ In Loving Memory of Anne

I was going to write this post soon after I finished the race on Sunday, 10th July but I never got around to it. I wanted to do the Race for Life this year as I didn't participate the year before. What spurred me on was learning a friends mum, an extremely close friend's mum, was undergoing treatment for the third time for cancer. As the time drew nearer it wasn't long before we all knew that she just wasn't going to win this round. I wanted her to know that I cared, that I loved her family like it was my own, so together myself and my own Mum made sure we raised funds and completed our race for life. Anne was on my mind the days leading up to the event and whilst tied to one of my mum's legs, hobbling around with an aching muscle and bruised ankle, it was Anne and my friend that kept me going. 

Below are some photos I took of this race event which was in Truro like it is every year. There were nearly 900 people taking part and many, many supporters cheering us all on. This post, much like my race, is dedicated to Anne, Mother of an extremely close and wonderful friend not just to me but to many. A lady who I know did a lot of good and leaves behind a wonderful man and many grandchildren but who led a full life and fought to the end. May you rest peacefully Anne and enjoy the view from upstairs 

xxxx

 My back sign

 Everybody getting ready for the warm up. So many people there again this year.

 Dad presenting mum with her medal after the race.

 Mum and I before the start of the race

 If you'd like to sponsor us for taking part this year and help us reach the £200 we're so very close to, you can do so below, A huge thank you to all those who have sponsored us both before and after the event. Also a huge thank you to the lovely ladies who sent happy mail to Anne. I know it meant a lot to her and it also meant a lot to her family too. Thank you x

Our Just Giving Page

Spoonie Survival Kits ~ A Guest Post by Pippa

Today I bring you a guest post from Pippa who I found via Instagram. I quickly found her GoFundMe page which helps her produce what are known as Spoonie Survival Kits. I donated and thought, why not get a post out to raise awareness of this fantastic idea that helps brighten the day of chronic illness suffers? I'll hand over to Pippa now, please do share this post!

Hey everyone! The lovely CupcakeMumma invited me to write a post for her blog, so let me tell you a bit about myself. My name is Pippa and I’m 20 years old. I am about to go into my final year of studying Psychology and Education at university, which I really enjoy. I live with a handful of chronic conditions including ME and Anaphylaxis, and would like to work in the field of chronic health in the future.

Each bag is a surprise for the recipient and tailor made for them.

Bags are £2.99-£6.00

In April, I began a little fundraising project called Spoonie Survival Kits. I decided to make some little bags of happiness tailored specifically towards those who live with chronic illnesses. I wanted the kits to contain items that would provide comfort to the recipient and remind them that they’re not alone. Being chronically ill is not easy, and I wanted to give a gift that people could treasure and turn back to on the bad days.

I use kind donations and my own money to create the kits, and then sell them online. 25% of the funds raised go into creating more kits and different products, and 75% goes to Action For ME; a charity that promotes awareness for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis.

The first few batches of kits have sold out almost immediately and the spoonie community has really got behind what I’m doing, and because of this I’ve been able to expand my project. As well as the kits, we now sell a range of items including bracelets and quote cards. I have two lovely volunteers and also have volunteering opportunities for other spoonies, many of whom have been crafting items to go in future kits. We are a non-profit organisation made for spoonies by spoonies, and we’re on a mission to spread some love to those who need it!

Some of Pippas wonderful kits made up ready for posting!

Here is our Etsy shop where you can view and buy our products

My GoFundMe Page

If anybody would like to find out more or get involved, please email spooniesurvivalkits(at)gmail.com or have a chat to me on social media; I’m on Twitter and Instagram!

Love and spoons,

Pippa

Thank you so much to Pippa for sharing her story and her fantastic work. If you know a sufferer of chronic illness do you think a Spoonie Survival Kit would help them on a bad day? If you are a chronic illness sufferer, I'd love to know if you've had a kit and if it helped you. Look out for a future post where I'll be giving away several items from Pippa's store that I have purchased!

Dettol's Baby Blanket Donation!

I remember leaving the birthing unit where I had both my children. It was chilly on both occasions (it was winter after all) I had dressed them in their chosen hats and baby gros (both outfits made my babies look incredibly small!) and I placed their very first blankets across them for their very first journey home. 

I loved that they both had their own 'blankies' and I love that Little A is still very much attached to his knitted white blanket too. That is my memory of my babies and their first soft, clean and cosy blankets and I'd love to hear yours!

Dettol is asking each of us to #sharethememories in their new Baby Blanket Campaign with fellow Mum Rachel Stevens. With everyones help, we can also give others a chance to have their happy memories with their babies first special blanket.

As part of their campaign, Dettol are asking people to collect blankets or even post just one to help those families, both in the UK and abroad. Many babies are born into underprivileged homes each year and with your help, Dettol will collect your blanket donations, wash them with Dettol Anti-Bacterial laundry cleaner which kills 99.9% of bacteria when washed below 30 degrees (incredibly important since baby blankets understandably can collect and carry a variety of bacteria, even after a 40 degree wash!) 

Each blanket donated and washed will be passed on to a family in need and Dettol will also donate £1 for every blanket to the charity Sparks (a children's medical research charity which works tirelessly to fund pioneering research into medical conditions including (but not limited to) Spina Bifida, Cerebral Palsy, birth asphyxiation and childhood Cancers)

I hope you'll agree that Dettols Baby Blanket Donation is a fantastic idea. Please consider posting a blanket or more then one (no stamp required!) to:

FREEPOST RTKJ-YSGS-SSHR

Dettol Baby Blanket Donation

Balcombe Place Stables

HAYWARDS HEATH

RH17 6AZ

Please share your baby blanket memories on Twitter using #sharethememories or share them on Facebook here. You can see full details of the campaign by visiting- www.dettol.co.uk/donate

Thank you so much for reading!

Cupcake Mumma 

*Dettol did send me a free bottle of their laundry cleaner which you can buy in supermarkets for £4.50. This didn't however have any influence over my decision to work with Dettol on this campaign. I genuinely think this is a campaign worth supporting.*

Sleeping Rough for Charity (Julian House)

On Friday 7th 2014 I headed to Bath to meet up and sleep out in Alice Park with my good friend Kat. We were a tad apprehensive as was expected but it seemed, to me at least, as a bit of an adventure. That feeling soon disappeared when we bedded down for the night with a 3 degree temperature and reality sunk in. This wasn't an adventure at all but an experience. One I won't forget.

Our 'roof' photo from Kat Sighs

We slept with some sheeting over us to protect us from the damp and rain (thankfully it didn't rain) I wore 3 jumpers and my waterproof jacket, 3 socks and some pj bottoms under my jeans. We started settling down around half nine just talking and catching up. It was far too early to contemplate sleep knowing it would feel like forever wasn't a comforting thought!

At half past midnight I felt the temperature drop so made myself as comfy and warm as possible in my sleeping bag and nodded off..until 2.30am when I woke feeling an unbelievable cold in my legs. I was shivering, all I could think of was "what do people do in this situation?" Curl up? Fidget? I moved my feet, I rocked side to side but nothing helped. I cheated; took a cosy toe warmer from my foot and placed it between my knees. Instant warmth just to that small part of my body spread. It was wonderful. It was now one degree in temperature, so I'm going to forgive myself.

At 3.30am I woke again but this time with earache. This was probably due to squashing my ear in my sleep against my rucksack (temporary pillow) not that comfortable as you'd imagine but I decided to turn over and pretend it wasn't happening! After this wake up I was on and off until half six when others were also stirring, tidying up and waiting for their thank you bacon sandwiches.

I had a very humbling experience, a real eye opening one at that. I don't really have anymore words, I just have feelings. I will be a better person because of this experience, that's for sure.

Cupcake Mumma

The Big Sleep out for Julian House

On March 7th, myself and my beautiful friend Kat are heading to Alice Park in Bath with many, many others to sleep out for one night. Why are we sleeping in the cold, damp, dark night? To help raise funds for the fantastic work that Julian House do and need to continue doing.

Julian House help to support individuals providing them with warmth and shelter. But they do more than that. Julian House allows these individuals to seek some hope for their future by enabling them to do courses, training, get their birth certificates and many other important things that mean they can move forward in their lives.

Of course, sleeping for 1 night in a park isn't going to give me a true picture of how it really is to be homeless. I won't be searching for a place to sleep.I won't be facing the possibility of abuse, physical or verbal from passers by, some ignorant, some intoxicated. I will have with me many layers and a good sleeping bag to keep me warm. I'm well aware that sleeping out for 1 night could be considered a bit of a joke to some but it'll give me a lot to think about. It'll be a hell of a lot different than when I think of all those who have no home as I'm tucked up under my warm duvet in my bedroom listening to the pouring rain.

I'm hoping to raise £100 for Julian House so they can continue to support some of the most vulnerable in our society. If you would like to help me hit my target, please click this link which will take you to my Just Giving page. You can also text donate by texting HBBS £1 70070

Thank you very much for your support.

Hannah

Cupcake Mumma

Ten Good Things February

It's a little late but I'm sure I can be forgiven seeing as I was busy climbing a mountain for charity when March 1st came around (and rather quickly too I might add)
I would like to share with you the top 10 things that made February special for me. This post has been linked up with Emmy Mom here.

1) I volunteered myself, (rather stupidly) to climb Mount Snowdon for Comic Relief with a bunch of other bloggers. I knew this was going to be a challenge like I have never experienced but I was up for it. What a way to kick March off hey?

2) My Little Man turned 2! It seems wrong for him to be 2 years old already but he had a lovely day with gifts, cake and a very nice meal out with just his Mummy, Daddy and big sister Midge.

3) I woke up the day after Valentines Day and was presented with a huge bouquet of flowers, a large glass of orange juice and a yummy cooked breakfast from my Husband. What's not to love about that?

4) I discovered the best dairy free chocolate spread in the world and ate so many pancakes because of this. I don't feel guilty in the slightest because these were the best pancakes I have ever consumed!

5) Midge has been doing really well with her ballet and I am so proud of her for finally feeling able to take the classes on her own like most of the other pupils there. It's taken about 7 weeks for Midge to feel okay with the fact I'm not in the same room as her. Instead, I've made sure she knows I'm just outside the door.

6) Yet again I sent out a gift to an unsuspecting friend who needed a smile put back on her face. I'm pleased to say my gift went down well and I'm still feeling optimistic about my Year in Gifts mission.

7) I went to an open day at Midge's school where I got to look through her work books. I was so proud and I can tell she's proud of herself too which is just wonderful.

8) I completed another 2 units for my Anatomy and Physiology coursework, leaving me with just 5 more units until I am ready to revise and be tested on all my knowledge (which currently is actually very little!) Still, I'm very glad I'm over half way there.

9) Due to a back problem, Husband returned early from work one night this month, then ended up having 2 days leave before returning to work and then being off for a tooth extraction before the weekend. This isn't good at all you're thinking right? Actually, we got to spend some much needed time just cuddling on the sofa and being 'us' despite the occasional whimper which just made me cuddle him more!

10) Our savings for our holiday in June are starting to look really good at last which means we can finally look forward to seeing family, exploring Cambridge and hopefully meeting a friend I've known for a very long time but am yet to meet!

What were the best bits you could draw from February? I hope March is good to you all and you never know, I might be on time with the next one!

CupcakeMumma

Mount Snowdon Conquered!

Hello! I'm sure you've all heard the wonderful news that Team Honk made it to the very top of Mount Snowdon. It was amazing, it was beautiful, peaceful and it was..the hardest thing I've ever done! I have used every ounce of my being to get up that mountain (and leave Cornwall!) so right now I'm still feeling pretty drained (and I really need to find a knee support)

I am so proud of myself that I made it to the top. By the end I was completely shattered and aching like I have never ached before. You know what though? It was totally worth it. So, here's how this amazing adventure turned out:

We all woke bright and early for a 7.30am breakfast which we wolfed down before climbing into cars and heading to Pen-y-Pas at 7.45am. As we were driving the temperature was -2.5 but the journey was pleasant with wonderful views. Snowdon didn't seem like such an impossible challenge at this point.

 1) Kat and I got up early to snap some photos of the views from our place of stay 2) The youth hostel we stayed in which served us a warm breakfast and although we pretty much all had a bad nights kip on the first night, the second night was bliss! 3) My Best Blogging Buddy Kat (Kat-A-Pillar) travelling with myself, Jen (Jennifer's Little World), Steph (Imcountingufoz) and Annie (Mammasaurus).

Kat and I got all dressed up for the climb wearing our pink tutus and red knickers (which are lush) and kindly donated to us by Who Made Your Pants? We all got organised with our outfits and made sure we were comfortable for our long hike.The lovely Tanya (Mummy Barrow) dished out supplies, took important phone numbers, snapped essential group red nose shots and wished us luck on our journey!

1 & 2) Gower Cottage Brownies provided us with some delicious chocolate brownies and for myself and Laura, Kate made them gluten free. I'm pretty sure we burnt nothing near the calories we ate! 3) Annie provided some excellent moves to warm up our unsuspecting muscles.

We set off at 9am sharp with a beautiful sunshine beaming down on us, the heat leading me to peel the layers off within only 20 minutes of the journey. Above 1) Myself, Jennifer and Kat looking rather pleased with ourselves 2) Having a quick break: Kat and Nikki (Stressy Mummy) 3) I kept stopping to look around and take photos which lead to me being miles away and the rest of Team Honk completely oblivious to my plodding along!

As the walk went on I was struggling, I'll be the first to admit that one! When I reached the large, frozen lake I collapsed and dived into my lunch box feeling a bit grumpy until I looked up and saw this view:

We set off again at a slower pace which helped a lot. I still found the climb pretty hard going and as the second half involved a lot of rock climbing and hanging on for dear life I found myself a fair distance from the large group in front and the smaller group behind me. Being alone gave me the chance to have a good motivational talk with myself. The other person I should thank is this lady:

Gemma: Leader, motivational speaker, kept me going! Photo: Mammasaurus

Gemma kept me going through the whole journey with her constant encouragement so for that I thank her a lot! I also got to spend some time with Greg and I should thank Laura and Kat for hanging back with me and having some blogging chat when the going was getting tough! I even got to speak for a fair while with Annie, who in all honesty made me totally 'star struck' (what a moron) so thank-you Annie for making my day!

Once we reached the top there was cheering, laughing, smiling and I felt the relief and pride just wash over me. It's the most amazing experience I've ever had.

I want to leave you with some photos from this amazing journey with some of the most wonderful and inspiring people I've ever met.

Laura (myinternalworld) and Kate photo: KateTakes5

The Gorgeous Hen Mari in her knickers! Photo: Mammasaurus

We climbed that!? Not as soft as it looks trust me!

At The Top- Kate Takes 5

Here we are in all our Red Nose glory!

Team Honk Snowdon are, Annie, Penny, T, Gemma, Kate, Laura, Mari, Greg, Marit, Al, , Danielle, Steph,Kat, Jennifer, Nikki, Bruce, Kim, Emma, Leela, Stefan and Myself!

A huge thank you to everyone at the Snowdon Ranger @yhaoffical who served us warm food to set us up for the day, dug around for dragon keyrings and gave us nice, firm mattresses and a lovely hot shower after our climb.

Thank you to Hi-Tec who provided all of us with a pair of absolutely superb socks. My feet may have been squashed during the four hour walk down but I had zero blisters which I can't thank them for enough!

Thank-you to Clare Balding who kept the Tweets going whilst Team Honk climbed Snowdon. Thank-you to everyone who re tweeted any Tweets and links to our page as well, we found out at the summit we had hit the £4,500 mark!

 @whomadeyour donated red, lacy knickers which we all wore over our trousers to mark our trek for Comic Relief. A big thank-you from myself (and my Husband!)

Finally, thanks to Kate from Gower Cottage Brownies who kept us energised and gave me something to focus on every time I knew a stop was coming!

Lastly, Team Honk are now over £5,000 and we would not have gotten there without the generosity of everyone who has kindly donated so far. We would love to smash the £6,000 target and I myself am only £9 off my personal target. If you haven't sponsored yet, we would be so grateful if you could so here is my page and here is Team Honk's page. Thank-you all so much!

CupakeMumma

*Gone Up a Mountain, Be Back Shortly*

That's the note I'll be leaving my Husband with tomorrow (I jest) but in all seriousness, tomorrow I am departing the Pasty Land (Cornwall for those not in the know) and making my way to Wales to climb a rather high mountain in a pink tutu and some saucy looking red underpants kindly being donated to us by Who Made Your Pants? I am definitely looking forward to this adventure...

I am going to miss my children terribly though! We've decided that it's best for me to take Midge to school tomorrow instead of her getting totally distraught at Mummy leaving for 3 days on a train. She knows I'm climbing a mountain, she has said she will miss me but she will remember why am I doing it. Oh yes, she is proudly telling everyone that:

'Mummy is climbing a mountain for poor people so they can have more money,' Sort of right, I suppose. She really does melt my heart! My Limpet (Little A) has no idea I'm going and will be joyfully waving goodbye to me having no clue that he's being with left with the 'Hairy One' we call Daddy for quite a long time.

Tonight we had pancakes for dinner, talked about all sorts of rubbish that children natter on about, read a really long bedtime story and had extra long cuddles before bedtime. I'm all packed and ready to go for my 10am train tomorrow morning. There is so much to look forward to on this journey but a hell of a lot to be nervous about. Not only is this a wonderful challenge Team Honk are undertaking to celebrate 25 years of Comic Relief and raising some serious funds, but this is also a personal challenge that I will blog about at a later date.

I'm so very, very nearly at my £250 target. Team Honk have been raising a truly wonderful amount of money thanks to the generosity of everyone and the Teams hard work. I can't wait to get up this mountain! If you can, please sponsor me here, no matter how much or how little, it really does help to change a life in the UK or Africa.

CupcakeMumma

A Bargain of a Day!

I visited Truro a couple of days ago with my sister. I went primarily to get a few bits for the Halloween party I'm really looking forward to treating my 2 and their cousins to. I hope they like my bunting and tinsel! All of the above was from Poundland so no where too exciting but for once I was with someone who didn't mind doing a bit of good old charity shop 'scavenger hunting.'
I'd like to show you some really pleasing finds.

First of all I bought this fab mug which my sister spotted. This was in the Cancer Research shop and although it wasn't second hand the money still goes to a good cause right? This was £6 and is a totally cool mug. It's made like those Starbucks coffee cups. The top is silicon and has a plastic covering. I had my first hot chocolate in this last night and it retains heat so well I'm going to need a knitted mug warmer so I don't burn my hands! I love it though, very CupcakeMumma!

My second find was from a box containing a few fabric scraps and old dolls clothes from a lady in the market. I found this very cute little handmade cushion. I'm not usually one for nautical themes and to be honest, I'm not sure where it'll fit in but because I love it I know I'll find a home for it.

A beauty one here. Poking about Superdrug waiting for my sister to decide between two different types of stick on eyelashes (she bought both in the end in case you're interested) I found a little box of polishes and trashed make up. I don't wear make up and the varnish colours where fairly ugly. However, amongst the brown varnishes I found this top coat polish which we all know can be very handy. As it was 99p I thought I'd better not miss out on it!

 How cool is this cupcake? The perfect finishing touch to my kitchen decorations I thought. I've placed it on my windowsill and as you can see it's also a handy little box. I don't think ill use it for anything but maybe a few stray 5p's will find their way in? 

I love bunting. No. I adore bunting! And this is roughly 2 metres for £2.50 from the same lovely old lady at the local market. I love the colour and already have a place in mind. It does have some letters sewn on so I'll unpick them and give it a good iron before pinning it up on my desired spot.

Finally, a couple of very retro and very cool postcards for my collection. I've decided to get some of my favourites (these included) out of my tin and put them in photo frames to display around the house. Watch this space!

I had a great day and am up at the crack of dawn tomorrow to jump in a rather cramped and full to the brim car with my sister and our parents for a 6 hour trip to Keele University. I'm hoping we'll be doing a bit of walking about before coming back to good old Cornwall, I don't escape very often after all! I've packed lunch and baked some cupcakes for the journey so all that's left is to hope the roads and the weather are kind (and I don't get too travel sick sat in the back!)

Have a great weekend what ever you get up to.
CupcakeMumma

What A Week!

My my what a week! I'm sure most parents are feeling pretty happy that it's finally Friday (this week has gone so slow for me) I am ready for the weekend! Tomorrow we are having a lovely little party for my sister (whose blog you can check out here) she's off to university next week so I thought we needed to have a little 'send off' for her. I've gone with a 'rainbow' theme. Not so many rainbows included but more like bright colours.

Anyway, for a little re-cap, Midge has just finished her first full week of school and she has loved it. We've had a certificate for settling in so well, made a new best friend who is very quickly becoming like another limb and already been placed 'on the cloud' for leaving class without telling the teacher and then fibbing. I may have to do another post entirely on this subject!

The days have felt pretty long but Midge is already settling in well and her teachers seem pleased with her. She's still pretty stroppy as the evening goes on but hopefully as time goes by her body will get used to these longer days of fun and learning and eventually my little angel (I wish) will return.

Little Man had his first pair of wellies this week (big, blue pirate ones no less) which he just loves to stomp around in. I'll be sure to post those photos up soon. I have managed to get out and do a bit of what I call 'scavenger hunting' this week in my local charity shops and have two items I want to share with you. First is this not so nice necklace (if you like it fair enough but it's not my thing)

Why buy it then? I hear you ask. Well, I'll show  you why I bought it:

Isn't it lovely? I'm going to pop her on some silver chain to wear around my neck. I have wanted an item of jewelry like this for a long time and when I saw this just hanging there added to this chunky necklace I had to have it.

There are also lots of lovely beads I can use to make bracelets and anklets, not mention this beautiful cross which is also on it. 

The second item I wanted to show you is this beautiful teacup I found surrounded by all sorts of ugly mugs (real mugs- not people) I had to have it! My plan is to fill it with wax and make a tea cup candle for my Gran as a Christmas gift. I'm also going to make her some earrings and soap. What do you think?

It's even got a cute tassel!

As for now though I have to get back to baking. So far I've made 3 cakes to sandwich together with thick icing and jam, I let the husband decorate (it is now resembling some sort of creature from Monsters Inc.) but it's creative and after my marzipan disaster I think it looks better to be out on the table!

I've also got a bunch of balloons to blow up and hang from the ceiling (talking of ceilings, my cupcake bunting has been made so that's also going up tonight!)

Hopefully I'll get a chance to blog tomorrow.

CupcakeMumma

Race For Life 2012- A Big Thank-You!

Thank-You so much to everyone who supported myself and Little Miss. We have added up our pennies online and offline and we have smashed last years total of £70 and have managed to raise £100!!!

I'd now like to share with you our fantastic day at Race For Life 2012.

 Before heading off we had the good old final preparations. Little Miss wanted to be a pretty cat so I sat in the car with her and popped on some face paints as Mum and my sister sorted out their back signs. We made sure there were plenty of safety pins this year!

Little Miss, Aunty Issy and Grandma. 

Mummy and Little Miss all pinked up!

 We were the pyjama party (It was even shouted at us as we all joined hands and ran across the finishing line!) Such an amazing experience.

After the very fun workout we followed our designated flag and made our way with the crowd to the start! Everyone was really excited and keen to get started. The music started playing, people starting clapping and before we knew it we were off! 

There were hundreds of people doing Race For Life in Truro this year which was fantastic. There were women jogging with pushchairs, boys walking with their Mums playing with sticks amid the sea of pink and plenty of fancy dress- both the young and old!

These ladies did the whole race 3 legged! 

This little dog was one among many but I loved her little pink bow and she
was so friendly.

These ladies were bonkers! They did pretty much the whole race on their space
hoppers which is fantastic!

  We played a game of 'collect the fallen feathers' to keep Little Miss occupied on the way around. We now have a fair amount of pink feathers that were blown off by participants feather bowers! We're going to make a collage of our special day. Not only that, but we saved the environment from a lot of pink feathers! Although I'm sure the birds will love the ones we didn't manage to collect to pink up their nests!

In the final bit, Little Miss got very tired and it was getting hard to spur her on. Our angel came as a high vised Marshall armed with a spare chocolate bar- how kind! That little chocolate bar and that mans kindness got us all past the finishing line with huge smiles and laughter with a round of applause from so many people who had waited around long after their loved ones had finished.
Yes, the pyjama party had crossed the finish line and Mummy was the proudest Mummy on the planet...

What better way to round a hot day off with a well deserved ice cream?

Thank you again to everyone who sponsored us- it means so much to me and many out there. Here's to 2013!

CupcakeMumma and Little Miss

xx