A Matter of Choice

This week sees our 13th anniversary of our move to Cyprus. On 26th November 2009 we ran through Gatwick airport desperately trying not to miss our flight to Larnaca with 3 suitcases, 3 cabin cases, a pushchair and car seat, and of course a slightly confused 6 month old Leo!  Strangely on the 26th November this year I will be flying back to Gatwick for a week's visit for the first time in almost 10 years. (With less baggage, no baby and hopefully not running late this time!) 2019 was an obvious milestone for us, and I wrote about it in my "10 years in Cyprus" post so I will try not to repeat myself by reminiscing on our time here. The last couple of years have been lacking in visitors or major events apart from the obvious so I've not got too much more to add so far.  You can also read the story of our move here "Let's move to Cyprus"  written as we approached our 5th Cyprus anniversary, in which Aaron first brought up the idea of moving whilst we were w...

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 ...

The boys went back to school today after the 2 week Easter holidays,  we had a good break, a few days out, lots of time at home,  playing games (board and xbox)  and seeing friends.  I thought I'd share a few highlights. In the first week we went to WOW (a soft play place in Larnaca) with Sam and the kids, which was probably the boys highlight of the holiday.   We only tend to go once a year or so as we have a similar place closer to home but they prefer WOW as it's more of a treat.  We were there for almost 5 hours and apart from a short stop for lunch they played non-stop, meaning that Sam and I had a nice chat over tea and chocolate croissants, we are loving the fact that we actually get to almost finish a conversation after all these years! After WOW we went back to their house for cookie and egg decorating and then the kids enjoyed dinner at a film together - after leaving our house at 9:30am  it was no surprise that they were exhausted b...

If in doubt, get out!   I have no idea if someone once said that to me or if it just popped into my head but I've decided its a good phrase when it comes to deciding what to do.   I've never been very good at just getting out the house with the boys, always over thinking it - too hot, too cold?  Too windy?   Will the weather change?   Will we be hungry?  Should we eat first, take a picnic?   Are we too tired? Will the kids have fun or just moan at me?  - you get the idea! As I mentioned in my last post, I was suffering from 'Crimbo Limbo'  (yes I am just making random things up now!)   We hadn't left the house in days, I was missing the excitement and anticipation of Christmas and there was far too much pyjama wearing, Xbox playing and chocolate eating going on for me to to stay sane. The problem had been that it had been raining on and off for almost a week, dry spells have been very short lived and I'm sure the sun has only been...

Last month I got to act like a tourist for a week when my friend came to stay with us from England and I finally got round to having a proper trip to Nissi beach in Agia Napa.  I had been once before with Leo as a toddler but it was unsuccessful due to a temper tantrum (him not me!) and we ended up staying only 15 minutes! It's a gorgeous beach, and recently voted one of the top 5 in Europe, very busy in the summer and packed full of tourists every day.  As I prefer to visit quieter beaches when I take the boys out it's not one that I fancy taking them to, so I thought my visitor gave me the perfect reason to go and explore. We went on a Wednesday morning, not that the day of the week matters to anyone on holiday, it was heaving with people by mid morning, all ages and families with kids were there but there was a distinct younger crowd  - after all it is known as the party beach of the town and THE place to go. Nissi beach viewed from the island We sat and had...

My Mum recently sent me these photos as she realised that she was the same age in these photos that I am now, and coincidentally Leo is about the same age I was.  They were taken in Son Bou, Minorca in 1984 on our family holiday.  My earliest memory of going abroad is probably this holiday,or the one after it as we we went to the same place.  I can remember several things from them although I guess many of the memories are due to the photos I have seen so many times over the years.   In the picture above I am holding a little toy monkey which was called Pepe for some reason. I don't remember how or where I got him but I know I carried him around the entire holiday. No idea what happened to him afterwards though as I don't remember having him at home.  It was also the holiday of the 'Whisky Cake' a story which has become a long running joke over the years. Mum had ordered whisky cake in a restaurant after having it a few days previously ...

The summer season is well underway here in Cyprus, and in a months time the schools break up for the summer holiday.....yes you did read that right, the school year finishes mid June and the kids are off until September! Aaron has been back at work now for over a month and so far we have survived, the next challenge is to do so without Leo being at school every morning. I want to enjoy the summer with the boys and get out and about even though I do find it very hard with both of the boys.  It's always so tempting to take the easy option and do the same old things but last summer I feel I missed out on lots of things while struggling with a big baby bump in the heat. I've been thinking of ways to keep us all occupied, both the boys and me, and in typical style I decided I had to make a list. It's more of a list of ideas to come back to rather than a definite 'we must get all these done'  and as I don't like the name 'bucket list' Lauren from Real H...

I burn my candle at both ends,  It will not last the night.  But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends,  It gives a lovely light. My Dad grew up with his Dad telling him not to 'burn the candle at both ends' and he often said it to me too. Although I quite like the quote now at the time it drove me mad! Then I thought it a load of rubbish and decided that I'd rather pour petrol on the bloody candle and have a huge flame - that sounded much more fun! The thing is, a youthful candle is much longer lasting! This is one of my all time favourite photos of me, although my Mum hated it! It was taken in 1994 in Minorca on my last holiday with my parents. I loved that dress although I didn't ever have the confidence to wear it anywhere other than on holiday. Not sure why looking at the photo, I wish I'd realised I was that slim at the time! Once upon a time I could drink, party and stay up late and still get up for work in the morning, nowadays I ...

As two of my blogging buddies Lauren and The Boy and Me are away at Butlins, Bognor Regis at the moment it got me reminscing about the times  I've been there and how much I love it. Ive blogged about it before, - my hen weekend,   and some of the best weekends I've ever had  but my love affair with the place started way back in the 80's when it was then known as 'Southcoast World'  It was 1987 and my friend and I were old enough to go off by ourselves around the resort which is probably the main factor in my long standing love affair with the place, it offered a sudden and amazing freedom as we chose where we wanted to go and what we wanted to do, a feeling that was similar in some ways with the adult weekends we went on in recent years. There was so much choice, we spent hours in the funfair, messing about on the boating lake trying not to drop our oars overboard  (I believe the lake now has a hotel on it - I was quite sad to see it was cov...

Last week I flew back to England for four days, for the first time in nearly 3 years.  I left Aaron and the boys here, as Louka does not have a passport yet and it was going to be a whirlwind trip. I was very excited about it  and couldn't wait to see my friends again.  Over the time I was there I wasn't online much, although I did manage to keep up with my 365 project even though I took surprisingly few photos. Between us all we only ended up with one very blurry, and  unattractive picture of us all together which is not going to make it onto facebook let alone here! I shopped, I slept, I drank, talked and ate, and I was very cold! Overall it was fantastic few days and I wish I could have spent more time with the girls, but I could not handle that grey weather for much longer!   Apparently I missed some nicer days either side of my trip but it was pretty miserable the whole time I was there - cold, grey, wet and dark.   I must admit that although I...