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on our island

on our island

thrifting for books

There’s one place in Larnaca I love visiting. The thrift shop. Sad fact about Cyprus: We don’t have many. Don’t get me wrong, they exist! But not to the degree they exist in other European countries. This one is owned by an English lady who has turned this joint into a very popular spot with the locals. Granted, not many treasures are here to discover – isn’t that the case with most thrift shops anyway?-but I have gotten lucky. Besides, nothing beats buying five books for 4 euros and 60 cents! I can’t imagine handing over pennies in most bookshops. There’s a quiet corner in the thrift shop where shelves are tightly-stacked with books of every genre. Georgie enjoys reading time so he loves rummaging through them and flicking through the pages looking for tigers and dinosaurs. I love seeing the names of the old holders and little notes. There’s a sense of greatness being able to show my child that not everything beautiful and inspirational has to be brand new…and come with a hefty price tag.

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October 1, 2013 by
Cyprus, on our island

This is Cyprus— Santa Marina Retreat

Before my sister kissed her holidays goodbye, we had planned to take the kids on a little excursion. We chose the Santa Marina Retreat-which was actually our second choice but that’s only because we were rejected by our first choice due to having too many children! 4 children. Sorry. Too many. I’ll have to tell you about that one day. Anyway, so fate had it we would spend a fantastic yet very hot day in Parekklisia, Limassol, feeding fish, riding horses and walking ALOT. Georgie loved every minute of it. Except-as you can probably tell from the photo above- the moment he was told he couldn’t actually RIDE the horse. He was merely allowed to sit on it. I died when I saw this picture. I felt so sorry for my little dude who thinks he can do everything! One day, my love, I tell him.There are a number of activities to try at the retreat like archery, paintball, golf, wall climbing. We didn’t do half for a few reasons. Very young children, no booking in advance and no papas with us. Yet the kids had the time of their lives. Seclusion in the mountains: good stuff.

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September 3, 2013 by
Motherhood, on our island

dog days are over

Monday signaled the end to our summer holidays. For three weeks, we hopped from city to village, mountains to seaside and back home again. We ate truckloads of ice cream and spent hours at the beach. Alot of fish was consumed and sandcastles were built. And knocked down. And built again. This summer was so different from our last one with Georgie. He is so much more aware now and can actually sit still for an early evening meal with us! With other people present. It’s no secret how much I value a good night sleep for my little dude so taking him to a hotel for three nights where he’s routine was bound to be thrown off the tracks, was a bit stressful. Apart from keeping us up until midnight, the first night, he was my good little boy I proudly watched swimming in the sea and throwing sand at his cousin. There was this one moment where Georgie fell asleep while sitting on the couch with me. He was wiped out. He hasn’t done that since he was a tiny tot and I could lay him down on the couch. This picture melts my heart because my little boy is not so tiny anymore.

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August 28, 2013 by
let's play, on our island

swim with me

Living in Cyprus, where the sun shines most of the year and water is the only escape from the (often) unbearable heat, means that swimming is an essential life skill. This skill is a particularly important one when you have kids. It’s a worldwide fact that little ones love the splish-splash feeling but when you’re faced with a pool or the sea, it can spell danger, fear and stress. Certainly not feelings you want to deal with. I can never relax when Georgie is circling a swimming pool or playing on the beach. However, since we became adamant about teaching him how to hold his breath and kick his legs and wear armbands at all times, I am happy to report that we are both having more fun, waterside. We are lucky Georgie loves the water and doesn’t seem to be afraid of the depth or magnitude, which has made our job much easier. There are lots of tips online to get your little ones used to the water. Try having them put their mouths under the water and blow bubbles. You can do it in the bath if the ocean or pool sounds too scary. A day at the waterpark has become a summer tradition in our family. We had so much fun and with Georgie all set on his ‘safe water behaviour’, I loved every minute of it! My parents, siblings, nieces, nephews and friends get together and head for Waterworld in Agia Napa, which by the way has great discounts over the summer-pity food and beverages can burn a hole in your pocket by the end of the day.I hope we keep this summer tradition alive. If anything, seeing my parents lounging on the Lazy River is something I like. Being with family and friends on a beautiful summer day surrounded by ALOT of water, rocks!

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August 2, 2013 by

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