A matter of choice

Earlier this year Leo turned 11.  It seems crazy to type that, not because it's unexpected, of course they grow older and we all know how fast it seems to happen, but because I'm still here blogging about it.  When I wrote about his first birthday as much as I couldn't envisage his 11th,  I really didn't think I'd also have a blog that was 11 years old!

This year was indeed epic, not because of the party itself,  or the presents but because of the people. The same people that have been to every one of Leo's birthday parties and the people we have always appreciated but never more than this year. As we approached the day it was unknown whether a party would be possible due to COVID restrictions on the number of people allowed to gather and the lock down measures that had been in place. I was starting to think how we could celebrate online and have some sort of zoom party but luckily the first relaxations came into place a few days before and we were able to have …

Time for a flashback post.  It was a weekend that wasn't all that long ago yet seems like a lifetime in many ways,  a weekend that had been planned for many months before hand that was supposed the be the start of a series of events.   Unfortunately that weekend was back at the start of March and no-one expected how the year was going to play out after that.   Last November you may have read my post on the fact that two of our best friends were getting married and I was to be a bridesmaid. The wedding was due to be on 23rd May this year and I had arranged several Hen celebrations leading up to it.  Of course the wedding had to be postponed due to the pandemic, which I am gutted about and it's not even my wedding so I can't even imagine how they feel. We had our weekend away just before the world as we knew it changed, something that I am very grateful for at least.  Once we were in lock down I actually couldn't look at the photos at first though as it felt so surreal h…

Way back in 2011 when blogging was second nature to me, when I wrote several posts a week and joined in with many 'link ups', blog parties and the like, I started a series of blog posts called 'My A to Z'.   In order not to put any pressure on myself and make a promise that I might not follow through I said "I have no time frame in mind for these - just as and when the mood takes me."Which was lucky as I after starting in May 2011, I managed to get to February 2013 and as far as 'L is for Leo and Louka' I'm pretty sure I had at least a vague idea of what I would do for each letter,  assuming I would struggle towards the end but maybe I didn't believe I would make it that far. Reading back through old posts now is very strange for me,  I always want to go and edit them, mainly to make them a bit longer as they all seem so short.   I was always worried about waffling on too much and them being too long, which is strange as that doesn't seem …

So 2020 isn't working out quite as I imagined back in January but we are doing fine and muddling through. On one hand it seems like not much has gone  on this year, certainly it has been quieter than expected, however looking back through my camera roll it is surprisingly full of beach photos.  We have been to the beach more so far this year than we usually manage,  partly because they have been quieter than usual, assuming you pick your beach and the time you visit it well.   Also because I am appreciating the fact the we are able to,  that we are healthy enough to, and that we have opportunity,  and because it is a cheap outing with a bag of snacks and drinks from home. In almost 11 years I had only been to a handful of beaches round here, something that always bothered me because I'm just so nosy and want to see everything.I love the beach - when I'm there, but only for a short period of time. I couldn't imagine spending a whole day on one now like back in my pre-kid…

It's R2BC time!
If you're new here that's Reasons to be Cheerful!  
It's been a good week so I thought it was time to join in again.  Not that I haven't been cheerful, but my slight plan of lockdown blogging went the way of many other good intentions. 
So here's a few of the things making me cheerful this week...
Although the lockdown measures have been gradually lifted since 4th May, we have been waiting patiently for the go ahead to use our pool. It has been crazy trying to work out if we were allowed to use it or not as there was so much conflicting information out there. As well as for our own benefit I needed to know to share the information on the FPN so I had to make sure it was 100% correct, which is not easy when people were ringing the Ministry of Health and receiving opposing answers!
Many people just used their pools, and while I was not worried about catching the virus from doing so, especially as it's only us and maybe one other neighbour at this s…

Last week here in Cyprus the country started to open up and attempt to get back to some sort of normality after many weeks of lockdown.  Not a huge amount has changed for us personally as the boys are not going to school and we are mainly working from home but it is liberating to be able to go shopping without requesting permission to, and most importantly to be able to see our friends. 
We had a lovely afternoon in the park and an afternoon round our friends house,  the boys were so happy to be able to get out and play with their friends. 
I am very grateful though that for us, lock down wasn't too terrible.  It sucked of course generally but thanks to us always finding '3 good things' we had some good times among it all and mostly focused on the positive things rather than dwelling on those we couldn't change. 
PE with Joe was a lifesaver, especially at first and it started off many of our days on a good note. Louka wasn't so keen but would hang around doing the bit…