A Matter of Choice

Being an avid fan of pinterest and a lover of organising parties I was in my element when Leo decided he'd like to have a Lego themed birthday party!  Plans were put into action months ago and I'd spent the last few weeks in preparation for the big day. In previous years we've had Mickey Mouse , Thomas the Tank Engine ,   Spiderman and The Very Hungry Caterpillar but Lego was the most fun to date! We started with some brilliant invites made by Aaron using the Lego font on the invites to say 'Leo' -something he was really impressed with when he realised that Lego was almost the same as his name.  It was such a simple but effective theme to work with, no need to buy branded tableware and party bags, and so easy to make decorations and themed food. I used the colours red, green, blue and yellow for balloons and decorations and Aaron drew Lego faces onto yellow cups and plates. I used Lego bricks and duplo to make centrepieces and rectangles of ...

We've moved on from Thomas the Tank Engine, the obsession I thought would never end, and that has been replaced by superheroes and lego games,  some things never change though he still loves his 'little orange Raff' and we still have to search the house if he's missing at bedtime!

Happy Birthday Leonida'mou Today you are five years old!!! Every year on your birthday I marvel at how the years have passed so quickly and how my little baby became the gorgeous boy you are today. You are a lovely boy, kind and caring and a great big brother to Louka, even though he drives you crazy at times.  I love to see you playing together and he adores you, copying everything you do!  I'm so pleased that you love to teach him new things and it makes me happy to see how proud you are of him when he says a new word. You are doing very well at school, learning a language which is not your native tongue and doing it much better than I am! Your teacher Kiryia Ioanna is pleased with you and on the whole you are a very good boy at school - as long as you remember not to play superheros in the classroom and 'spiderman roll across the headteachers office. You enjoy school even though you think your Greek is not very good - compared to mine it is amazing and  I thi...

I always said I'd get there eventually and last week I finally got to my Slimming World target, and also got my 2 stone award. Regular readers will know it's not the first time I've reached target - the first being in 2007 with a total loss of 4 stone.   I reached target again (although one 1/2 stone heavier than my pre-pregnancy one) as Leo reached his second birthday.  Now with Louka at 21 months old I'm finally back there once more. I love Slimming World, and while the plan is easy to follow, it's not always easy to keep your head in gear which is why it's taken me almost 2 years each time to lose a couple of stone.   I'm not sure what the secret was the first time as losing the initial 4 stone seemed easier and certainly took less time! But that's it now, I'm done with having babies, and while I don't imagine for one second that I won't stray out of target range I'll still be going to my weekly group and trying to keep it in...

It seems that for the longest time someone in our family has been ill lately, my plans for the Easter holidays pretty much went out the window when I was ill for a couple of days at the beginning which was immediately followed by almost everybody else coming down with a nasty stomach bug. We had a couple of days in the middle of different people suffering where we got out, once just for a couple of hours leaving a poorly Louka with my Mum, and then last weekend we all got out together before the bug got Aaron and laid him up for days and Leo developed an ear infection. Since moving to Cyprus, and especially since starting the Famagusta Parents Network website I've been itching to get out and explore new places, we're a bit rubbish at getting out and about with a list of varying reasons as long as your arm but am I'm loving the fact I 'have' to now its my new 'job'! One of these places was the Agia Napa aqueduct, something that I thought would be inte...

The last couple of years haven't always been the easiest of times, especially when it can be hard to shake the idea that 'we are living the dream' Aaron, the eternal optimist powers through convincing me it will all be fine, and eventually a whole lot more than just fine while I can find it hard to focus on the end of the week let alone any further than that! Don't get me wrong, I have (usually) tried to look on the bright side but often have failed to find one despite the blue skies and sandy beaches (I hate sand anyway!) so being consistently happy is something I have to actively work at. There has been a change this year, despite many of the existing problems still ongoing but it's still worth while realising there is always something, no matter how small to be happy about. A fellow blogger, Karin ( Cafe Bebe) is trying to help us all remember this, and is doing a very good job! After joining in with #3goodthings for a while on Instagram and facebook...

I've been to many events here in Cyprus, some good, many bad but usually leave muttering how easy it would be to improve them in some way. So when I was was offered a venue to hold my own just after I had set up the Famagusta Parents Network I jumped at the chance to do just that! As a child I loved the school fetes, Brownie fairs and enjoyed getting involved in them. (I helped at Brownies for many years after I actually left!) and my ideas for the event I guess were based on those. I knew I wanted to have things for the children to do, and that if they were happy, the parents would be happy.  I knew I wanted to promote and support local businesses and I wanted to raise money in the process for a local charity. From the idea it might happen to the day itself was just 6 weeks, some people mentioned this wasn't very long - I shrugged and said it would be fine! And it was! The support I had from the community was quite amazing both in the run up to the day, with busi...

For the first time in forever, I am more than 'just a Mum'  For the first time in forever, I am busy, having fun! and I know it's totally crazy to think I wasn't 'me'  but for the first time in forever it seems I've found the key! Looking back, I can't really think of a time when I was 'busy', before Leo was born I worked but I finished at 5pm on the dot, never took work home with me or gave it a moments thought once leaving the office and did as I pleased in the evenings and weekends. Never chock a block with social arrangements or struggling to fit things in, always free for any meet ups or last minute plans. For the last five years I've been lucky to be a stay at home Mum, and I've spent a lot of time being busy doing nothing,   'nothing' being washing, cooking, cleaning and general housewifey stuff and looking after one, then two children, which of course isn't nothing at all but often feels like it! I'd arra...

Have I ever mentioned how much I love cake? Admittedly the best bit is eating the cakes but over the last few years I've been slowly improving on my cake creating skills, usually with the help of my more creative and patient husband but we are getting there.  I am always so in awe of professional cake makers who these days seem to create such amazing masterpieces and until now wouldn't have thought of even attempting to emulate them.   Last year, 'Ladies That Cake' created a masterpiece - a Creme Egg Cake.  This year they are sharing the secret! For £10 (about €12)  you can now purchase the 'Creme Egg Cake' tutorial, and make your own in time for Easter.  Due to a major lack of time setting up and promoting my new website and being so close to my Slimming World target, unfortunately I've yet to try to make my own Creme Egg cake but it's on my wish list!  I just thought it was so cool that I had to share it with you! You can...

March 25th is Greek Independence day - and is celebrated in Cyprus as well as Greece. It is a bank holiday, shops and schools are closed and parades are held all over the country.  Leo and his classmates took part in a school play to commemorate the event and came home proudly waving their Greek flags. As usual on these national holidays we were 'treated' to the sound of one of the parades which sets off from outside our apartments, we were lucky to have to unusually late start of 7.45am though this time!  Leo and Louka enjoyed it though, watching over the balcony and then marching round themselves! It was a lovely day and summer must be on its way as the flip flops and 3/4 length trousers made their first appearance this year when we all headed down to the beach path for a walk later in the morning.  It's quite rare that we venture onto the beach while we walk along which is daft but the sand drives me crazy, especially when I'm not prepared for i...

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 ...

It's been a very long time since I joined in with Kate's Listography but I couldn't resist at the mention of books. I couldn't even begin to tell you how many books I've read and I have so many favourites but these are these ones which are the most memorable to me. The 'Little House' series - Laura Ingalls Wilder After reading Little House on the Praire at school, and then finding 'These Happy Golden Years at the library I was totally hooked on the story of Laura and her family.  Eventually I owned the whole set and read and re-read them for many years. I can't remember how old I was when I got rid of them but I dearly wish I'd kept them all now. Flowers In the Attic - Virginia Andrews This was the first time I realised how you (usually) ruin a very good book with a bad film.  I loved Flowers in the Attic and the rest of the series, but I sat in disbelief at the film - it wasn't even the same ending! I went on to read almost every...

Devon for foodies Once upon a time, British food had a pretty poor reputation and the thought of comparing it to the cuisine across the Channel would have brought howls of laughter. However, with the increasing popularity of celebrity chefs and a newfound appreciation for the great quality home grown produce available across the country, foodies have discovered a real love of British cuisine and nowhere more so than Devon. Regional produce With its rolling hills, rich coastline and agricultural history, it’s no wonder that the county produces some of the best fruit, veg, meat and fish in the country, and with its proud culinary tradition, they know exactly what to do with these great ingredients too. The temperate and wet climate of the county, combined with its fertile soil provides the ideal conditions for dairy farming and in turn produces some of the best dairy produce in the country. From clotted cream to fudge and ice cream to custard, you can find some ...

25 years ago today Tim Berners-Lee launched the World Wide Web, and the world changed forever.... Mumsnet today has a thread where they are discussing what has changed in their lifetimes, not just mobile phones, internet etc but things that might not be so obvious to younger people such as making 'mix' tapes from the radio, having to wait at home for a phone call,getting your photos developed at the chemist,  three tv channels that closed down at night, and  the 'amazing new indestructible music format - the CD. It was a fascinating read and I could relate to most of the list having been born in the late seventies, what got me though was the amount on the list that are not so different in 2014 in Cyprus, and how they did not seem so strange to me. I would love to be able to travel back in time 25 years here in Cyprus,  the changes in the UK have been huge but nothing like they have seen here - in some ways anyway! Although it is becoming more common,  wh...

Green Monday in Cyprus is traditionally a day for family get togethers, bbq's picnics and I'm not sure why but kite flying seems to be a compulsory activity on the day too! Although I don't think I've ever seen a kite in the sky here on any other day of the year, without fail the skies are full of them every year on this day! Leo has never had a kite before and for some reason thought it would be quite difficult to fly one.   I did have a kite as a child but I don't remember flying it myself, in fact I don't think we had it very long as I seem to remember my Dad got it stuck in a tree! He redeemed himself though by buying Leo his first kite and joining us in flying it.  Despite a few failed attempts and several crashes to the ground I think we did very well, even handing over the line to Leo was very successful. ' Καθαρά Δευτέρα'  (Kathara Deftera)  Clean Monday, or   Green Monday as it's more commonly known is a feast da...

This weekend saw the carnival come to town and for the second year running we managed to play a part in it!   Last year Leo and I were just going to watch when at the last minute we realised our friends were walking with their school and joined them and he had such a fab time that I asked my friend who runs a dance school if we could join them this year. Some of Leo's friends go to classes there so we had company on the float, and the little ones looked so cute in their orange capes to make their superhero outfits, I even got to wear one too! The older students did a brilliant job dancing along behind us with their synchronized super hero routine. Leo thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon, and was so well behaved considering how long we had to wait before the parade set off - what a difference a year makes! Of course I had to be there for Leo's benefit but having a 4 year old is also a great excuse to dress as a superhero and wave at strangers from the back of a ...

After a few very focused weeks back at Slimming World I fell off the plan in a spectacular fashion this week with a new record of a 4lb in one week! That's a week with no special occasions, holidays or nights out, my largest gain in all my SW years has been 3lb and that was after a two week all inclusive holiday. But, Slimming world works, when you stick to the plan and last week I can't say that I did - 2 days after weigh in and a Valentines evening celebration at home with pizza knocked me sideways and I went off the rails somewhat! Hey ho, after my shock on the scales on Wednesday I've been back on plan.  Superfree, scan bran and lots of water are my weapons this week, and of course my new favourite Slimming World muffins. After the success of my 'Magic Pancakes' I decided to try a variation I'd seen mentioned in a facebook group, they are fab and I've been making them every few days. Slimming World 'Muffins' Makes 24 mini muffins. ...

How many times have you asked a question to be met with 'Google it' as a response? These days we have come to expect information at our fingertips, and it came as a big surprise to me when I first arrived in Cyprus to find that Google was letting me down! I looked for places to go, baby groups to attend, local information, bank holidays, how to register for schools, you name it I looked for it  and for the most part I couldn't find it.  A while ago, due to my frustration I set up the 'East Coast Mum's' facebook group which in the end had over 100 members, I often shared information I saw online that I thought might interest other Mums, everything from local events to scheduled power cuts and enjoyed spreading the word to those who might not have heard, here it's not always that easy to know what's going on! Over the last 4 years things have improved a lot but our little bit of Cyprus seems to have always been sadly neglected! Well, no...

Recently I was asked to contribute to the HiFX Expat page , which offers advice to those looking to move abroad. After contributing to their campaign, I realised that I have lots of useful information which I could offer future expats and my favourite... Let your new country become your home. People always say that 'Home is where the heart is', this has never been truer than when moving abroad, because if you still consider England to be your home, then that is where your heart will be. The day we arrived in Cyprus back in 2009 was the day it became our home, from the moment we stepped off the plane we made the conscious decision not to refer to England as 'home'. I figured that every time I thought of it as home I would feel like I didn't belong here and for me at least I didn't think I would be able to settle well if that was the case. I've met many expats who still refer to England as home even after many years here, they go back 'home...