Santorini

As I mentioned in my last blog, I recently got back from a holiday in Greece. I absolutely love Greece - it’s got great weather, great beaches, great food and most of all great people! I’ve visited quite a few of the islands in the past, and a few places on the mainland - most notably Athens, Thessaloniki, Giannitsa and Pella. I even did some walking in the foothills of Mount Olympus when I was young(er) and more adventurous. I didn’t see any gods but I could see why the ancient Greeks thought it was the home of their gods – much of the scenery was divine!

Speaking of divine scenery, my latest holiday was on the island of Santorini (Thira) in the southern Aegean, probably the most beautiful Greek island I’ve ever visited. It was created by volcanic activity thousands of years ago and the landscape is absolutely stunning, with: steep cliffs, lovely beaches, a striking blue caldera and clear warm waters. And among all this are gorgeous blue and white buildings. It really is a place of great beauty.  

The only negatives I can think of are as follows. First, it was quite windy (in my experience, the islands in the Aegean are all quite windy) so it’s worth hiring a wind break for the beach.

Second, when you wade out into the sea you have to walk on volcanic rock, which can be quite hard on the feet, so it’s a good idea to wear some foot protection when you do this.

Third, if you arrive by boat the bus ride from the harbour to the main settlement involves snaking up a steep cliff face, which is quite hair raising. Fortunately, the island has an airport which makes it possible to arrive by air. Next time I think I’ll do that and forget about visiting Athens first.

Finally, the island is a little on the expensive side. For example, in one of the clothing shops in the main settlement I found some Ben Sherman polo shirts that were exactly the same as the ones worn by my boys at the time and they were on sale for the equivalent off roughly £32 each – about £12 more than I paid! 

Anyway, all in all Santorini is a wonderful place that is well worth visiting. 

     

INCHworm Trainers - Update

Just got back from a great holiday in Greece. I’ll tell you all about it in my next blog. In this blog I just want to give you a quick update on something I wrote about in one of my first blogs.

Back in October 2013 I wrote a blog about a new type of trainers that I bought for my kids called INCHworm trainers. They looked really cool, but the thing that attracted me to them the most was that they could be adjusted to grow with my children’s feet and so (hopefully) last a lot longer than normal trainers. (They could be extended by 1 full size in 2 half size increments.)  I wrote that I liked them, but had a worry that if they aged like normal footwear and lasted a lot longer than normal footwear, then my kids would be running around in tatty looking trainers, which I wasn’t keen on.

Well, before the holiday I had a clear out of my kids’ wardrobes and came across the trainers. All the kids had grown out of them (which was no surprise as they had had them for over a year and a half), but they got a lot of use out of them and I have to say that the trainers had all worn very well. In fact, none of them looked tatty at all. 

I ended my previous blog on these trainers with the following words:

“… I think that the idea of adjustable trainers is a great idea, especially for kids with one foot bigger than the other (which thankfully none of my children have) but I’m not sure that these are the trainers for me … or my kids! Only time will tell.”

Well, time did tell and I’m happy to report that INCHworm Trainers passed the test of time!

A little competition.

I had a great Easter this year (as usual) and I hope that you did too! Ben and I spent much of the weekend driving around the Yorkshire Dales with the kids, taking in the gorgeous villages and beautiful countryside. I especially enjoyed visiting the gorgeous town of Grassington, having lunch in one of the lovely little tea rooms there and walking by the river. I also enjoyed walking from Malham up to the top of Malham Cove (which was featured in one of the Harry Potter films) but it was quite a climb and the kids were less than enthusiastic, to say the least.

In our family, there’s a long tradition of giving clothes as well as chocolate at Easter and this year we were very happy to continue that tradition. However, Ben and I decided that it would be fun to have a little competition – he would buy presents for me and the girls, I would buy presents for him and the boys, we would set a £35 per person limit and we would let the kids judge who bought the best presents. And the winner would gain complete control of the TV remote control for a week!

So what did we end up buying? Well, I bought Ben a lovely bath robe from Marks & Spencer, I bought Keith three stylish black shirts from Cachet Kids (which I knew he’d like as he’s going through a ‘black’ period at the moment) and I bought Simon three patterned leather belts from Cachet kids (which I knew he’d love as he loves leather belts). 

Ben bought me a lovely side zip crepe jumper from Marks &Spencer (which I adore), he bought Crissy a lovely Mayoral blue and white outfit with striped top and three quarter length leggings from Cachet Kids and he bought Sarah a Mayoral girl’s navy legging outfit with handkerchief from Cachet Kids (which may have been the best value of all at only £19.99 in the sale). 

Anyway, after giving the presents we let the kids decide the winner of the competition and (after bribing them with chocolate) I was declared the winner! Hurrah! Now where did I put that remote? J

Twins!

I had some great news at the weekend - my friend Sandra gave birth to two adorable baby girls on Saturday. She and her husband Clive couldn’t be more delighted. They’ve wanted a baby for some time and now they have two! I visited Sandra in the hospital yesterday and I’ve never seen her look so happy. She was positively glowing with joy.

I’ve known Sandra about fifteen years now and Clive for about eight. I met Sandra at a bar while on holiday in Rhodes. She was a little worse for wear and had lost her friends, so my friends and I adopted her for the evening and made sure she was all right. We got on really well all night and then the next day I found out that she lived just around the corner from me back home in Garstang! We arranged to meet up when we got home and our friendship developed from there.  

Anyway, when Sandra gets out of hospital Clive is going to throw a small welcome home party for her and the girls and I persuaded him to let me help organise it. I love organising parties – it’s almost as much fun as attending them.

Ben and I have already given Sandra and Clive a cute congratulations card, but we had a little trouble deciding what presents to get for the girls. Ben was set on buying a couple of Mayoral pink dummy chain with wooden beads, which I liked a lot, but I had in mind buying something for the girls to wear. When I was browsing through the Cachet Kids website I spotted an absolutely adorable Mayoral baby girl’s pink and white sailor dress with a cute little bow that I thought would be perfect, but then Ben found some equally adorable baby girl’s white frilly sock shoes in a gift pack and we couldn’t decide what to choose. In the end we decided to get them all!

I also have some good news about Crissy – last year she was struggling with her English at school, so I arranged for her to have one to one tutoring using a tutor from Tutor Doctor and her grades have been much better this year. So as a reward we bought her some gorgeous Pretty Originals girl’s white shoes, which she absolutely loves. I find that when it comes to my children's education, nothing works better than bribery!

Dina's Christening!

It’s been a really special day today – my lovely niece Dina was christened. Judy and Dimitris wanted it to be an intimate affair, so only close family and friends were invited; and I think that helped to make the occasion all the more special. (They’re going to visit Greece in a few weeks to have a second ceremony for Dimitris’ family.)

Dina looked absolutely adorable in a beautiful silk heirloom christening gown (which came with a free keepsake bag), baby girl’s special occasion scallop pattern ivory socks with bow and Sarah Louise ivory christening shoes, all wrapped up in a frilly ivory shawl with ivory lace trims and sequins. Seeing that cute bundle made me feel all broody again!

The ceremony was held at Saint Mary and St. Michael’s Church just outside of Garstang. To be more precise, it’s located over the river Wyre in Bonds with Barnacre, close to the Bowland Fells. It’s a gorgeous church dating back to1858, located in beautiful countryside. I’m so lucky to live in this part of the world.

The christening went very well, with hardly a peep out of Dina (she’s so good natured) and I was fortunate enough to be one of the godparents, along with my brother Dave. Afterwards we all went back to Judy’s house, where she and Dimitris had laid on a fantastic buffet, including lots of delicious Greek delicacies; I was particularly taken with a honey and baklava sweet, which I hadn’t tried before but will definitely try again!

It was good to be among close friends and family, catching up on all the latest gossip. (Apparently Uncle Jim is in the process of becoming a publican, which I’m sure will end badly: it’s like putting a mouse in charge of a cheese factory!) And it was nice to look through the vast array of christening gifts that Dina and Dimitris were given. My favourites have to be: a Mayoral baby girl’s cute bunny rabbits shorts set given by Dave and Liz and a DolcePetit baby girl’s beige polka dots ruffle dress set with red bow given by one of Judy's friends. Dina will look so adorable in them.

A Great Start To The Year!

I can’t believe it’s February already! What happened to January? Where did it go? It seemed to zoom by, probably because I had so much fun. Where should I begin? Oh yes, at the start of the month I met up with an old friend (Shaun) in Lancaster and we had a fun trip down memory lane. We also had a lovely meal at The Penny Bank pub. I'd never tried it before, but the meal was delicious and reasonably priced, so I’d recommend it if you’re ever in Lancaster.

Shortly after this Judy and Dimitris threw a lovely party to celebrate their first wedding anniversary. When I say ‘a party’, it was actually two parties, one for the kids in the afternoon and one for the adults in the evening. I helped organise both and they were both a lot of fun, but I actually preferred the former to the latter, probably because I love watching my kids having fun.

Most of the kids came dressed in casual gear, as requested on the invitation – there were lots of messy party games and Judy wanted the kids to have fun without worrying about their clothes. My personal favourite was the cream bun eating contest, which I wasn’t allowed to enter! (I don’t know whether this was because I was too old, or because of my professional status!)

Keith and his friend Michael came dressed as scouts, complete with cap, scarf, woggle, shirt, belt and pants! As a prank, Keith wore his uniform and told Michael that it was a scout only party to get him to come in his uniform, then he changed clothes when he got to the party, leaving Michael as the only one dressed as a scout! It was meant to be funny, but only Keith seemed to see the funny side – everyone else just thought that Michael looked smart in his uniform and he wasn’t at all bothered by the ‘joke’. (Unfortunately, Keith gets his sense of humour from his father.) Anyway, it was a great party with lots of fun had by all and a great start to the year!

Christmas!

Well Christmas has come and gone again! I can’t believe how quickly it seems to come and go these days. Like last year, the day started with Sarah waking up Ben and I at the crack of dawn, eager to open her presents. And in no time the whole family was up and gathered in the living room ready to open their presents. 

As usual, the kids all seemed to like their presents. Sarah was particularly excited about receiving a new Barbie doll with lots of new accessories (including a toy car) and a Despicable Me DVD from uncle Jim. We already had it on DVD, but it’s one of Sarah’s favourite films and she wanted to have her own copy of it. Last year she dressed up in a cute woodland fairy dressing up set, but it was a little bit too small for her this year. Instead she persuaded Simon to let her wear the pirate outfit he wore last year, which was much too big for her. But she enjoyed wearing it, so what the heck.

This year Simon wore a combination of his knight dressing up set and a cowboy hat his aunt Judy got him for Christmas. He looked very comical walking around as a cowboy-knight and he gave us all a good laugh. I think that the cowboy hat was one of his favourite presents, but he also seemed thrilled with the Avengers toys we bought him and with a funny pair of elephant slippers bought for him by uncle Jim. If you’ve never seen a cowboy-knight-boy walking around with giant elephant feet you’ve never lived!

As usual, Crissy wanted mainly clothes for Christmas and we bought her a wide selection, mainly from Cachet Kids. She seemed to like all of the clothes but was particularly taken with a beautiful red and black dress with red bow that Ben and I bought her and with a lovely pair of patent leather Mary Jane shoes decorated withleather flowers that her aunt Judy bought her. Crissy wore the dress and shoes all day, and I have to say that the combination worked well together. 

Keith wanted mainly X-Box 360 games again. I don’t know much about the games – Ben is the games buyer of the family. But I think that one was something to do with assassins and one was something to do with modern warfare. Anyway, Keith loved them, so Ben must have made a good selection. Keith didn’t put much effort into dressing up this year – he wore an old Christmas jumper with reindeer on the front and a funny hat that had ‘Bah Humbug!’ written on the front.  

The kids played with their presents until lunchtime, then after lunch we all sat down and watched Elf together (a Christmas tradition). After receiving our annual fix of Will Ferrel, the kids headed straight for the X-Box and Wii and Ben and I headed for the kitchen to prepare Christmas dinner. As usual, it was a lot of work, but well worth it: the whole family seemed to love it. Then after stuffing ourselves silly, pulling a few crackers and playing a few parlour games, the younger kids headed back to the wii and Keith went to a friend’s house, leaving Ben and I to watch a bit of evening Christmas telly.

I do love Christmas, I can’t wait for next year!