A Matter of Choice

Louka's favourite thing at the moment is football, he spends ages on the balcony kicking a ball around (and often over the edge!) or down with his friend on the field outside.  He loves anything and everything with even a hint of football about it, so you can imagine his joy when we gave him a football themed water bottle! Since then he's taken it to school of course - as that was the intention He's carried it around the house, used it at the dinner table, in front of the TV and taken it to bed! I explained to him that we received the bottle to review and he took it very seriously, telling me that it is a good colour and he likes the footballers on there especially the one with the blond hair.   The best bit apparently is the lid because it looks like a football and he's never seen that on a bottle before. The bottle is by Sigg Cyprus and is part of their Aluminum Kids range.    It's great to have a bottle that the boys like to stop them wanting...

It's almost the end of October and I can now announce that I am out of the swimming pool until next year.  I was last in a week or so ago and although I managed to swim several lengths I wasn't happy unless I was moving,   Leo loves his swimming and being the 'English' baby of the two he can take the cooler temperatures more happily but I think even he agreed it's just a little too chilly now. From April Leo and I swam,  actually I think Leo even managed a little swim in March,   and Louka started to join us in May.  We call him our Cypriot baby (born here in August and covered in blankets by the midwives in 45 degree heat)   as he is always cold and really only enjoys the pool in the hot summer months. This was Loukas year though,  although not strong enough to be on his own out of reach of us or the edge of the pool he has ditched the armbands! With a bit of help and confidence building from his SwimFin he went from not being able to swimat a...

Living in Cyprus, and spending as much time in the water as we do it was obviously very important for us to get our boys swimming as early as possible. When Leo was small I went through many different options and swimming aids - armbands, flotation vests, swim rings, you name it we tried it! Well, nearly all of it! Leo hated every single one and refused to wear any so I spent the entire time holding him in the water and being envious of the other Mums who weren't quite so nervous about their little ones happily wearing armbands and being too close to the edge. Although it was not fun at the time it did have the ultimate advantage of getting him swimming unaided quicker than many of his arm band wearing friends.  Wanting to get out of my arms was a great motivator! Despite this I was dreading the same happening with Louka, at least until he understood not to walk too close to the edge but he loved his armbands and would happily wear them even when playing at the side of the...

I've heard it said that once you have kids, a trip to the supermarket alone feels like a treat and I have been known to agree with that on many occasions! Working on that theory, what does a morning at a Spa feel like? Especially one which looks like this.... If a supermarket trip feels like a day on a tropical beach, my morning at the spa was a full on summer holiday! Last week I was treated to a morning at Malama Spa and Wellness Centre in nearby Kapparis, and what a treat it was!  Once upon a time, a long time ago I used to regularly use a spa in my local gym, back in the days where I had more free time than I even began to appreciate, when a visit to the gym after work and a quick spa session didn't feel like a treat as such. The spa itself is amazing, set in a cave with a sunken pool, and seating areas all around in little nooks in the 'rocks'.  It has a mosaic tilled jacuzzi, where I got to enjoy a glass of chilled rose - at 10am in the morning..... I ...

I have always been an avid reader and yet apart one a couple of instances of writing something in return for a copy of a book, I've never felt the urge to comment on one before. That is until I read 'The Sunrise', a novel by Victoria Hislop set in Famagusta, Cyprus and centered around the Turkish invasion of 1974. 'The Sunrise'  tells the story of three families in Famagusta from the sunny days of 1972 when tourism brings riches to Cyprus, to 1974 when a Greek coup forces the island into chaos. Greek Cypriots flee in one direction, Turkish Cypriots flee in the other, and the Turkish army invades under the pretext to protect the Turkish Cypriot minority. The city of Famagusta empties as people run for their lives.  The story is based around three families, the Papacostas, the Ozkans, and the Georgious. as the Turkish army advances the inhabitants of Famagusta flee the city in fear of their lives but the Ozkans and Georgious are left behind, hiding in their own...

I'm sorry to say that over the years I am becoming increasingly bad at sending greetings cards at any time other than Christmas (I never have a problem with Christmas, they are usually in the post by the 1st Dec!)  I could blame 'baby brain' or the slow postage from Cyprus or facebook for enticing me to send a message as a lazy way out but really its me being just a bit rubbish. I have ordered cards online before and it makes sense, especially living in Cyprus and sending cards to the UK but I do miss the ability to write in a card as it seems to make it a bit impersonal when printed even if you have chosen the words. So when I was invited to try Inky Cards I jumped at the chance to see what they had to offer. Inkly Cards enable you to send a card via their downloadable app with the option to put your own handwriting inside. I downloaded to app via google play and it was so easy to use. There are 1000s of cards to choose from and you have the option to upload...

I've lost count how many times I've recommended the Reading Eggs website to people since discovering it 2 years ago but just in case you're not one of those people, I'm going to do it again! Reading Eggs, I thought would be a great assets in helping Leo not only develop a love of books but also to read English seeing as he won't be learning English at school for a year or two yet.  At the age of three he loved to play on my laptop, usually on the Thomas the Tank engine website but I introduced him to Reading Eggs using a free trial offer.    He loved it and over a long period of time merrily worked his way up to lesson 120, pretty much abandoning poor old Thomas and sticking to this instead! Now it amazes me to hear him reading, books, adverts, you name it he's giving it a very good shot and usually figures it out.  He still loves Reading Eggs as there is so much to do on the site, and it doesn't feel like learning - the only problem being was having...

Leo's party theme this year was the subject of much debate between him and I, originally going to be 'Superheroes' and then eventually (after a quick peek on pinterest!) became Lego.  With a bit of teamwork going on, Aaron and I came up with a brilliant Lego Party for him and he enjoyed every second of it, playing with his friends and receiving some lovely presents.  One of his favourties was his very own 'Leo / Lego' superhero t-shirt from Personalised in Cyprus  Like on the invitations Aaron made using the Lego font for his name and featuring one of his favourite superheroes, it was always going to be a winner with him.  Leo is most impressed that Leo is Lego without the G! We were already fans of Personalised in Cyprus since receiving two of their products for review by the Famagusta Parents Network and it was the first place I thought of for presents from the boys and I for my Dad when Father's Day and his birthday approached. A metal...

I've been a big fan of Rosetta Stone for many years now, ever since I tried the free demo not long after deciding to move to Cyprus. Having previously used the the TOTALe program on my laptop I was interested to see what the difference would be using their new 'Mobile Solution' Designed to enable you to learn 'on the go' away from your computer, your progress automatically syncs to your computer. I used the Rosetta Stone TOTALe Course app on my android tablet and it completely renewed my enthusiam for learning the language after I'd long got out of the habit of using the program on my laptop. It was a much more enjoyable pastime, curled up on the sofa or in bed made it seem easier to dip in and out off meaning that I found it less of a 'chore' to do. For me, the biggest advantage is how much more it appealed to Leo. At the age of four he attends local Cypriot school and is taught in Greek, therefore his understanding of the language is very ...

Although I'm not the best photographer in the world one of my greatest loves is my rather large collection of photos. Since going digital several years ago now I've gradually been taking more and more, and since getting a decent phone last year and joining instagram I've been even worse! The problem with digital though is printing them out, it's so easy to leave them hiding on your phone or laptop unlike the old days of trudging down the high street to pick up your little envelope. Here in Cyprus it's even worse as many of the online photo printing sites do not deliver here, or they charge extortionate fees for doing so.  So I was really excited to discover Instajunction , a great website which enables you to get your long forgotten instagram photos printed on a range of fantastic products.  After much debate I chose a large poster (£19.99) and mini photo book,  I absolutely love the poster, I chose the large size which is A1 size and uses 70 photo...

As Leo is learning the Greek alphabet at school I'm always up for a chance to try and keep him up to date with his English too so when Junior Scholars contacted me with regards to reviewing one of their products I jumped at the chance. We were sent the 'Show-me Handwriting Whiteboard'  The board is a dry wipe A4 size, with lines arranged in groups of three, the idea being to help the children to form the letters in the right proportions. Leo has some dry wipe books already and can quite happily draw over the dotted letters but usually needs to copy when writing them alone so I though this would be a great way to help him, especially as he struggles to keep his letters the same size! Considering that they only teach the Greek alphabet at school I was very pleased with how he got on, although when he got to the letter 'L' he refused to copy the English and reverted to doing it in Greek! I loved the board as it gives a bit more freedom than ...

Recently at a Kids Fun Day held at a local Garden Centre we discovered Banbao bricks. They had a display of some of their sets to buy but also a table set up with various sets for the children to play with. Leo was really taken by them and did well putting them together considering he has only owned big 'Mega Blocks' before. He was fascinated by the Double Bus set. I was really impressed with the range of sets on offer, and more importantly (especially for Cyprus!) was impressed at the prices.  They range in price from just €1.25 making them ideal for presents or even an occasional treat, so I didn't mind when Leo asked to put them on his 'note for Santa'. After meeting with them we were given the chance to review one of their top selling items, the Banbao Invincibility Car Racer. Leo was very excited to go and collect it from 'Garden Plus' (one of the sales outlets for Banbao) but obviously came to the conclusion that it was a 'Da...

As far back as I can remember I've been a fan of magazines, starting with 'Twinkle' which I believe came out on a Wednesday - I used to go to the shop with my Mum and she would get her magazine too and we'd go home and read them together with a treat to eat as well, In my school days it was 'Just 17', closely followed by 'More' magazine which we used to all fight over at school to read with the funny problem pages and 'position of the fortnight' When I lived on my own every time I went shopping I would buy a cake and 'Heat' magazine and when I worked in the worlds most boring office we survived by swapping issues of every celebrity / woman's mag going! I also loved the slighty more geeky 'Web user' and 'Computer Active' Big fat glossy mags were reserved for holidays and plane journeys as an extra special treat. And my favourite bit of planning my wedding was the tons of back issue Wedding Mags I use...

I've always loved the idea of reward charts even before having children, I don't remember having one myself - I guess because I was such a model child (Sits back and waits for my Mum to comment!) We used one with Leo when he was potty training which worked brilliantly but since then despite probably needing to I'd never got round to it. Over the summer I used a homemade chart which worked well but has been put away for a while since it lost impact but I missed having something to help me (and Leo) work towards something.  When I was offered a chart from Radical Reward Charts to review I jumped at the chance to get back into it when school started again thinking I would probably be needing a bit of help getting him back into a routine.    Radical Reward Charts have six charts to choose from, colourful and interesting and with the added option of being able to personalise them with a photo of your child. Being unsure as to how Leo would take to going...

I have vague memories of queuing to see the 'nit nurse' at primary school and the dread that I might have 'nits', I remember how everyone used to repeat like some protective mantra that 'they only go on clean hair' just in case it turned out they had them!  I'm not sure what my childhood fear was, the reaction from the other kids or the thought of my Mum having to sit for hours with a comb and having 'stinky shampoo' to use.  It turns out that I avoided head lice right up until the other week when after a long sleepless night with Louka I discovered that the poor little man had somehow caught them himself.   I guess they had come from Leo although it was a couple of days later that I discovered his and they didn't seem to bother him much at all.  It was relatively easy to get rid of them, although a huge pain to have to do so and ensure they did not come back so I was pleased with the brilliant timing of an email offering me bottle of H...

I was recently asked if I would like to review something from Stuck On You - personalised gifts and the coolest kids labels.  I had a look through the site and was spoilt for choice... I received two products form Stuck on You, although I have now committed the 'Mum of 2' sin of not getting the same products to save on arguments, thankfully Leo's gift is the better of the two (in his opinion)  and Louka is too young to care! Leo is now the proud owner of a personalised height chart. The chart is made of good quality canvas and edged in wood. It's approx 400x1270mm. It also comes with a set of stickers to mark the child's height on special dates. Louka wasn't left out though, he now has a silicone placemat, very handy as I predict it will be some time before he stops making a hell of a mess at mealtimes! The placemat is a good size, approx 480 x 355mm and is easy to wipe clean or rinse under the tap. I'm sure I can persuade them to shar...

I started trying to learn Greek way back in 2007 when we decided to move to Cyprus, and even when Leo was just a baby in England I was looking for ways to introduce him to the language.   I remember one morning looking for Greek cartoon on youtube with a 5 month old Leo sitting on my lap! Last year we went to Greek 4 Kids lessons which gave him a little taste of the language before starting school. Although I'm not really trying to teach him, as my Greek is not good enough, and he is picking it up much quicker than I am anyway at school, I do like to find ways to encourage him to use it - it helps me too! Greek 4 Kids is a brilliant website which aims to teach Greek through fun games and activities, they have a great selection of free printables and recently have added some booklets in addition to these.  We now have a copy of the Greek Nursery Rhymes booklet which we've been trying out. Leo often comes home from school singing songs that I can't join in with a...

Regular readers will know that I am very interested in learning the Greek language and helping Leo to learn it (or having him help me which is increasingly the case now!) I've been learning Greek now via many different methods for several years now but although I always encourage Leo, I don't want to try and teach him myself as I don't wish to confuse him by not telling him things correctly. Greek is not one of the most common languages when it comes to learning materials, and is often not one of the languages available  so I was really pleased to see that Dino Lingo - Language for kids have not left it out! We recently received a set of Dino Lingo Greek DVDs and they have gone down very well so far. Using the top 200 words and phrases from the chosen language Dino Lingo is a fun way to introduce your child to a second language.  Using cute dinosaur characters (which do a really funky little dance, that Leo and I both copy each time it comes on!)  and colourfu...

Once upon a time I listened to music all the time, at home, in the car and in the pub, these days unfortunately I have no idea what's going on in the music world as I don't get to listen to English radio in the car and I tend to mostly lose the "ipod vs Thomas the tank engine on tv" battle. Recently I've got into the habit of making playlists on youtube and listening in the morning when I'm just with Louka as he is still small enough to be amused by Mummy singing and dancing around. So it was well timed to receive a BassBoomz speaker for review. BassBoomz are wireless bluetooth speakers designed for use with smart phones, tablets and laptops, or any device with a bluetooth connection.  They are also compatible with any device with a 3.5m audio jack.   The speakers have a high perfomance Li-ion battery which means you can hear your music at 70% volume for 5 - 6 hours. You can also connect 2 BassBoomz together for stereo sound. I was hugely i...