A Matter of Choice

Our girls day out for Sam's birthday was a surprise for  her but was also a mystery road trip for me in some ways.  It has all been organised by our friend Lucy and I'd not seen her before the day to hear about any of the plans so it was great just jumping in the car and having nothing to do with the organising - not something I am used to!  You can read about the first part of the day in my earlier post - Girls Day Out. For lunch we stopped at a lovely forest picnic site in the village of Mosfiloti called the Agia Thekla Excursion Area,  it was well equipped with toilets, bbq areas, lots of benches and a play area and even wheelchair access and benches designated accessible, which is very good for Cyprus, apparently according to the website there is also photovoltaic cell systems to provide lighting at night but we weren't there that long to find out.  We didn't explore much of the area, in fact we just headed to a bench and started eating - moving once as the ...

 Happy 8th birthday Louka! I know you are very excited that your birthday is here and we hope you have an awesome day. You told me that you can hardly believe you will be 8 as you feel you are getting big fast,  I agree because it doesn't seem like a whole year has passed since you turned 7.  You often say that you don't remember things you did when you were younger, and you don't remember much about your previous birthdays or anything about the years that have passed.  I don't think you will have any problems remembering this year though.  2020 will be talked about all your life so I'm sure you will remember this one. It's certainly been a strange year for you, but you have coped with it all very well.  Last September you started 2nd class in school, although due to covid19 and the lockdown you've not been there since March.   Likewise with your Taekwondo lessons that you started earlier this year, I think you only went to 5 sessions before they ...

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...

Since I started my blog I have written a post for boys on their birthdays, it was getting harder to do as they got older and last year I decided to stop at 10 years - conveniently of course as Leo turned 10, but it was a nice round number and also a good time to print them all off and give them to him now he was old enough to appreciate them all.  So this year I've saved myself a job but I can't have a birthday go by without a birthday collage... And a little flashback to his first birthday... For the last few years we have had Leo's party on a different day to his birthday because the last week of May is 'crazy week'.  Due to half term in the UK it's usually the busiest week of the year here in Cyprus for weddings, of course this year is a little different as we still have no tourists but luckily we are out of lockdown and so we can still have a party for him.   Our parties are always very small so we fit within the rules too! Every year I end up retelling the ...

We celebrated Louka's 7th birthday in our usual way this year with a pool party.  It's an obvious choice for a birthday in Cyprus at the end of August. He was so excited in the lead up to the day,  it always seems to him that his birthdays take a long time to come round,  being that he is only 7 of course, and the fact it's later in the year than Leo's.  This year, as the youngest of the group is now 6 it was much better knowing that they can all swim very well.   Still quite stressful keeping an eye on 6 crazy loud kids (plus a crazy adult!)  with a load of inflatables in the pool but between 5 adults in and out the pool too it was easily doable.  We made water balloons for the first time which was a huge success,   they were surprisingly hard to break too. I'd always thought they broke so easily and took a long time to fill but that was before I'd discovered the packs with the attachment to go on a hose pipe! ...

I love a party when I get a theme I can work with and Leo has given me some great ones over the years,  Harry Potter, Star Wars and my favourite.. Doctor Who.  This year Pokemon was his choice. I'm not a Pokemon expert but we had been playing Pokemon Go for almost a year by the time of the party, on the way to and from school and on adventures out and about.  It's a great way to get two tech obsessed boys (and their Mum!) out and walking about. Because of that, and of course aided by Pinterest I was able to come up with lots of bits to suit the theme and have a very happy birthday boy. The Decorations I didn't go overboard and apart from buying new bits to make the Pokeballs I recycled what I already had, hence the fact we had a blue tablecloth. Ideally I'd have got one red and one white to make a Pokeball table but I do try to draw the line somewhere.   I like to think I'm enthusiastic rather than obsessed! When it comes to crafty homemade deco...

Dear Louka, Happy birthday little dude! So now you are 7 years old, and we should probably stop calling you the 'little one' but as Dad says, he's in his 40s now and is still the little'un according to Auntie Bek so you're going to be stuck with it too. You've had a great year,  started big school and you have enjoyed it so much more than your little school.  You like going to school with Leo for the first time, and now even walking together without me.   I hope you enjoy 2nd class just as much and do even better this coming school year. What else can I say about you,  you are a contradiction - very loud and crazy and very quiet, such extreme opposites! We are proud how you talk to many more people these days, even if you don't really want to it makes such a difference when you answer questions and acknowledge the fact that you are being spoken to. Your swimming is amazing, you have definitely nailed that now, jumped straight in at the st...

Just before we celebrate Loukas 7th birthday I thought I'd better share some photos from last years.  The themes have never come as easily as they do for Leo's birthdays, I think because Louka generally is not one for being really into something.  Leo's a bit like me in the way that if we like it we LOVE it and everything to do with it,  we will read the book, watch the film and know all there is to know about it.  So when it comes to parties we love the little details.  As Louka approached his 6th birthday however it became clear that a Minecraft party would go down very well.   Louka only had one special request for the party which was a pinata,  whatever else happened was not a concern of his!. As usual I jumped onto Pinterest for inspiration, and roped in Aaron for some crafty bits and Leo who is also our resident Minecraft expert. The Food I love food labels! As well as egg sandwiches - a staple of all our birthday ...