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Leaving lock down in Cyprus

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Like most of the world Cyprus has been in lock down since March.  It all happened quite suddenly here, first the schools closed on 12th March, and these were quickly followed by bars and restaurants closing on 15th March and airports and borders closed with exceptions for repatriations who had to go straight into government quarantine for 14 days. 
I was really surprised at the speed it all came about, it seemed like one minute people were sharing info on facebook with a list of European countries that were free of the coronavirus of which Cyprus was one, and then the next everything was closing around us. 
Towards the end of the week of March 15th,  there had been cafes and bars voluntarily closing,  I was watching the comments and the general mood on facebook as it started to change.  Some were being praised for shutting up and many were being judged and also slated for continuing to open,  it was even said that bars were trying to 'profit from a pandemic' - I thought they wer…
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The one where we've not done nothing

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I last published a blog post on here at the end of March.  The Cyprus lockdown had begun but had not yet reached the strictest measures. 
What a strange time the last couple of months have turned out to be, a time that none of us could have predicted or even imagined just a short while ago. 
Like many others I was full of plans, ways to keep busy, and making lists of educational online activities, home schooling plans and fun family activities to do. Exercise plans, jobs around the house and work.  I was going to blog!  (I always say that, but I do still miss the ol' blogging days) 
I've not done everything, but I've not done nothing either.
While it hasn't all been wall to wall productive time, I'm doing pretty well I think, I'm sure others out there are 'doing better' but I'm even more sure there are many doing worse..... and by worse I don't mean doing less productive things, but fighting with some sort of guilt that they are not 'doing enoug…
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Location: Cyprus
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Be careful what you wish for

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Be careful what you wish for...you might just get it

I don't know when I first heard that expression but it was a long time ago and I remember thinking how ridiculous it was,  surely if you wished for something it would be good to get it right?

I also don't know how many times since then I've realised just how true it is.

This morning I woke up at 6am. 

The curtains were open as they usually are on weekdays to make it easier for me to get up for school. I'd left them open for the last two weeks despite the shutdown just so it was waking me up naturally around 7 ish.   Not as early as a usual school day as my alarm is usually set for 6:30am, but not as late as I'd normally get up on a weekend these days.

The clocks went forward yesterday, but I forgot how much lighter it would be in the morning so when I woke at 6am it felt later.  I lay there for a while trying to get back to sleep, I tried for about 5 minutes and but restless.   I debated whether to pick up my ph…
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Home with the Kids - R2BC

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Well, that escalated quickly didn't it?

Only a couple of weeks ago the word seemed like a different place,  then schools closed,  followed by restaurants, cafes and pubs,   then 'non-essential' shops and now  we have to text for permission to leave the house (or complete a form when the text message service is not working.)

It's a crazy situation and totally surreal.

We are doing fine,  feeling grateful for many things knowing that so many people are struggling in so many different ways.   We can't go out to the beach, and we can't meet our friends but it's a small problem compared to many, we can power through.

At the start I thought slightly enviously of the people who could lay around watching endless TV, and spending their days exactly as they wished, while we tried to work from home, cook dinners and entertain and educate two over excited kids.

Then I realised that they are actually a great distraction, although drive us crazy, they keep us busy, keep…
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Photos with the boys

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When I was going through old folders of photos to make my decade slideshow I came across a set of photos that Aaron took back in 2014. 
I'd just started the Famagusta Parents Network as it was called back then and had been interview by the Cyprus Mail, and to accompany the interview I had to send them a photo. 
I decided to use the boys as a cute distraction and asked Aaron to get a pic of the three of us. 
Here it is...

Looks lovely doesn't it, blue skies, gorgeous boys, happily family by the sea.  Just sit down, take a quick photo and then carry on with a carefree family outing. 
If you think that you are spending too much time on social media!
At the time I used the photo for the article, and I posted it to facebook.   While I've never deliberatley tried to portray a perfect online image by any means, I don't post the bad stuff - who wants to read that anyway, and who wants to look at 100s of photos of the same thing.      I post photos online that I would put in a…
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A strange time

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I'm sharing a photo for no apparent reason other than it was taken exactly one week ago when everything was normal on our little island.

Some people were worrying about the spread of coronavirus.    I wasn't really one of them. 

Don't judge me,  I'm so over debating it,  if you were worried then, or you are now, that's fine, just do it quietly.

Over the last few days I did start to worry a little,  not about contracting the virus but at the panic that was starting to set in here in Cyprus and across Europe and the imapct it would have on the economy and tourism etc.   I know 'health is more important than money'     - if I had a euro for everytime I read that this week I wouldn't need to worry about money!

Anyway,  it's out of my hands of course,   what will be will be,   maybe Cyprus is right, maybe the UK is right,  no-one really knows.

Cyprus along with many other European countries is effectively on lockdown until 30th April, pretty much only s…
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Waterworld vs Fasouri Water parks - Our opinion

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Cyprus has three main waterparks,

Waterworld Themed waterpark, Ayia Napa, Fasouri Watermaina, Limassol and Paphos Aphrodite Waterpark. 
We live on the east coast about 15 minutes drive from Ayia Napa so Waterworld has always been our park of choice but I'd fancied visiting one of the others for a while now and we decided last year to try it. 
My boys are currently 10 and 7 years old and our annual trip to Waterworld is one of the highlights of the year.  It's not cheap for a family costing easily over €100 for entrance tickets, food and drink throughout the day but it's our special treat and you can often make savings by looking out for discount vouchers towards the end of season. 
We were lucky enough to also get discount vouchers for Fasouri last year so visited both.  
We had a fantastic day at both waterparks and we spent a lot of time comparing the two.
Waterworld Themed Waterpark, Ayia Napa. 
By far the boys favourite attraction is the Minotaur's Labyrinth,  or t…
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