This gypsie family is back on the road again!

Well, I have no real excuse for my recent lack of blogging apart from the fact that we have been- and still are-traveling yet again. We're in the UK and have been spending time in Brighton with Jody, Amber, Rich and Mooch & have now landed in Hunstanton. The weather-as you can see-is beautiful. We've even burned a tat whilst walking on the beach. But apparently that's all going to change tomorrow as major rain will hit the British Isles, accompanied by gale force winds!!!! Not looking forward to being on the coast in a flimsy log cabin for that (they call them log cabins, but they really are luxury caravans). But we'll see how things work out. Hopefully we won't blow away.

By the way, aren't these photographs stunning? I am so delighted to have a Fujifilm Finepix camera back. My old one died a while ago and I had replaced it with a Canon Powershot. But no camera seem to be able to do what Fujifilm cameras can, so I decided to get my broken camera sent off and to spend some more on a new Fujifilm replacement camera (a great service they provide)

Most these pictures were taken against a bright background with forced flash. You also can edit and chop pictures in the camera. If you are thinking of buying a new digital camera...buy a fujifilm (unless you want to buy my old Canon Powershot of me. It's for sale ; )

Lucas and Aidan are having a blast. Playing on the beach, going to the funfair, hanging out in the playground, riding around on scooters. It's great to see them having so much fun.

Of course, Lucas had to catch disgusting creatures again. If he isn't digging out worms, he's catching frogs and here he is on Hunstanton beach with some crabs. Nice!

This last weekend we spent with Russel, Sarah and their two boys Jack and Sam. It was lovely. It's so great to spent time with old friends.

Nice Jungle Dome reviews

It's always great to hear how much people enjoy staying at the Jungle Dome. The atmosphere at the lodge is rather unique, unless you've been there it's hard to explain in words. I guess you could say that it's like a luxury bed & breakfast experience (even though we feed everyone fantastic dinners there too). Our guests usually end up becoming good friends with everyone else at the lodge and they all love our staff! Some guests are virtually in tears when they leave the place and tell us that they feel like they've been visiting family, instead of feeling like they were guests at a hotel.

Just have a read of the Carrie's blog, a newly-wed who recently stayed at the Jungle Dome:
http://newlywedgal.blogspot.com/

Our all-inclusive resort experience

It's so funny, just over a month ago I wrote 'No more travels please!' and what have we been doing lately? Yep, travel, travel and travel some more.

Last week we drove to Playacar, Mexico and we stayed at one of those big all-inclusive resorts. We've never stayed at one of those before and had never had felt attracted to them, but thought it was a good idea now because of the kids. All the reviews on Tripadvisor go on about how great these places are for children, with kids clubs and activities for them, etc. So we tried it out.

Well, what can I say...in order to decide who and what you are in life, you sometimes have to experience that which you are not. And people for large all-inclusive resorts we are not. Don't get me wrong, we had a nice enough time. The food was over-flowing and good, we were right on the beach and by the pool, there was nightly entertainment that was good fun and it was an easy vacation/holiday for parents like us with young kids.

One of the down-sides was that Lucas, our jungle boy, was totally intimidated by the size of it all and refused to go to the kids club or take part in any of the organized activities (he liked watching the evening shows though), it was hard to make any friends, even for us, in a place that was that big. The activities around the pool were incredibly embarrassing, with the aqua fit sessions looking more like something from an 18-30's holiday (a cheap excuse to touch up members of the opposite sex). And I found it hard to admire the beauty of the sea and the beach as it was so full of 'stuff' (palapas, beach chairs, hammocks, etc.)

On our last day we drove to Tulum for the morning and as soon as we arrived there I realized that that is where I would want to stay again next time. Tulum is so unspoiled, with cute character-filled little hotels, restaurants and gift shops. It's got a slight 'hippie' feel to it & I find the whole place rather magical. I can't exactly explain why I feel like that.

The only down-side to Tulum is that it hasn't got a golf course nearby. And Andy, of course, is totally into playing golf. It would therefore be a shame to go to Mexico without making use of the incredible golf courses that are there. Oh well, we will figure out where to stay next time we go back to Mexico. Maybe we'll go again when Andy's mum is with us in September?

Great golf vacation for the whole family!

We just returned from a 3-day break on Caye Chapel, a private golf island off the Belize coast.

When Andy first suggested going to Caye Chapel with the kids I was slightly sceptical of the idea. First of all, I thought that only millionaires were able to afford to stay there & I was a bit worried about what the kids and I would do for the three days that Andy played golf. It turns out that I worried for nothing. Caye Chapel feels like a playground for the rich and famous, but it actually is quite affordable (but don't tell anyone...otherwise we'll never be able to get a room there again) & the kids and I weren't bored for a minute.

We were given a lovely 2-bedroom casita, with satellite TV, wireless Internet and a DVD player (so when we needed the kids to wind down, we'd stick on one of their favorite movies). We also were given 2 golf buggies and bicycles for whizzing around the island. There was a lovely pool, a spa, a gym, coconut skittles, a basketball court, volleyball, swing sets and of course the beach. We didn't need to lock our door for the whole weekend, the kids were safe to run in and out of the casita and Andy would practice his golf swing right outside our door (the golf course was just across the sandy road). Whenever Lucas wanted to join Andy on the golf course, he'd run over and use the little kiddies golf clubs that the Caye Chapel staff provided us with.

The place is both swanky and relaxed at the same time. Our food was brought to where ever we wanted it (lunch at the pool and dinner in our casita) and it was funny to see men playing the golf course on bare feet and with just their swimming shorts on.

Lucas never even missed his friends. Which is unusual for him. Even after 3 days there, he did not want to leave.

So anyway, we'll be going back soon. Until then, Andy is practicing his golf skills almost daily at the Roaring River Golf Course near our house. He really has a the mindset of top sports man. When he gets in to something, he gets in to something. And right now that something is golf. It's inspiring to watch his determination, even though I could never be like that myself. When Karen and I played tennis for instance, we weren't even able to keep score. We were too busy chatting to be serious about the game. Andy was baffled. Why would anyone play sports and not even care about how well they do? Guess that's why he he's the sports man in the family ; )

This is great news!!!!!!!

Wow, I've just read on the Channel 7 website that the Belize Government is going to start giving free text books to all primary school children! That is fantastic! I'm absolutely delighted. This is what has been needed so badly for so long now. And I guess that means that the job of the Jaden Foundation is going to change quite a bit. A big part of our job used to be the sorting out of school books each year. We used to collect last year's books, see which ones could be re-used, collect all the new book lists (some hand written and barely understandable) & then go up and down the country to all the different book stores in an attempt to buy all the books we needed. It was never a straight forward process & it used to cost us a fair amount of money too.

We can now use the Jaden Foundation funds for school transport, supporting high school students and sponorship for those wanting to attend the private school, BCA.

Here is the news story:

GOB To Offer Free Textbook for Primary School Students

Free textbooks for primary school students - that was the announcement made by Education Minister Francis Fonseca at this morning's PSE Awards Ceremony.

It's been general knowledge to parents and educators for months, but details have been scarce. And in the absence of information, apprehension has developed in some quarters because parents want to know, what will their children be learning and will it be up to standard? But those answers were not forthcoming this morning. Fonseca only made the general announcement that starting in September all primary school students enrolled in public and church run schools will receive free textbooks.

Hon. Francis Fonseca,"The standardized books cover the five core subject areas of mathematics, language arts, science, social studies, and Spanish. The textbook program will provide quality and relevant textbooks free of cost for all children attending primary school. This textbook program takes effect September, 2007. We have consulted widely and deeply and we are doing the right thing for the children of Belize. Yes, there are cynics and those for whom the Ministry of Education can do no right. I urge all our people, but particularly our principals and teachers and parents to embrace this important opportunity for our nation."

After this morning's ceremony, Fonseca declined our request for an interview to elaborate on the program's scarce details. He promised that those questions would be answered next week when he holds a press conference to fully detail the initiative.

Finally...pictures of our new house!

We are still working on the finishing touches to the house like landscaping, paving, hanging up pictures, etc. But apart from that we are done!!!! We never thought this day would actually come ; )

So anyway, this is one of the entrances. It's the one we use when we move between the Dome and the house & as you can see everything is starting to grow up nicely around it.

Our open-plan kitchen. You can't see the breakfast bar in this picture though. I have to say, I really love this kitchen. It's cozy, made of local mahogany (recycled from our old cabinets) and finished with Mexican tiles. By the way, the river views from the window by the sink are amazing. It makes washing up almost fun!

Our Mexican tiles...

The living room, with its bay windows and DVD shelves. As you can see, one of the local boys is in the picture. Our house has become the community's playground, with children running in and out all day.

The living room goes straight into the dining area and to the left of this picture is the breakfast bar and open-plan kitchen.

This is our family deck. It's a great place to hang out with the kids. We spend a lot of time out there. The views are incredible.

Although not as incredible as the views from the deck on the top floor. The top floor is made especially for our friends and family, with its own bathroom and private deck. Our pampered guests will have the best views in the house (yes, that's the river you see there)

That's it so far. I'll post more pictures some other time.

Investment in the Cayo district of Belize!!! Riverfront property for sale!

Aha! So you can go fly fishing in Aruba!

Yes, I apparently laughed too soon when I blogged about my brother-in-law's plans to start a fly fishing business on Aruba. I thought that fly fishing wasn't possible there as it would be too windy on the island. It turns out that I was very wrong. Laurenz (My brother-in-law) is out fly fishing all the time & has now set up a free fly fishing service for visitors of the island. Of course, I think he's crazy offering that for free, but there you go...the guy is just obsessed about fishing & wants to get the whole fly fishing industry going on Aruba.

From the website:

Fly Fishing in Aruba for free !

"Welcome to the only web page about fly fishing in Aruba. Check us for all your info on fly fishing in Aruba.

Our big idea is to get more people interested in fly fishing on the beautiful island of Aruba so Me (Laurenz) and Ben started a non profit organization, to offer tourist and locals a chance to experience saltwater fly fishing at no fee.

The goal is to learn, teach and meet people with the same interest.We can take people who contact us on a guided fly fishing tour or help them with anything they need for a non guided fishing day. Learning from different people from different parts of the world will make us better fishermen and more expert on the subject!

For the local training program we are looking for sponsors from abroad. We will take no money, but instead fly fish gear/ leaders, fly’s, fly lines,bag, rods, books and anything we can use for teaching. Donations can also be in the form of sharing expertise or advice. If you have a nice story to share, and you have been to Aruba and did fly fishing, please send us an email at: info@flyfishingaruba.com All stories are very welcome and appreciated.

All stories will be read and if interesting for others, placed on our web page.Thanks for your interest and hopefully see you soon, Laurenz and uncle Ben. "

Well, I wish them luck and of course I'm sure that Lucas will want to join them some time ; )

Norman Cook & Zoe Ball's fabulous yacht

Wow, Norman Cook (AKA Fatboy Slim) has just sent me through the info on their 'boutique hotel' charter boat. It's called the Barracuda Yacht Charter & it is amazing! What a great idea to offer the boutique hotel experience on a private charter. And of course it gives you lots of bragging rights when you can tell your mates: "Oh yes, we'll be spending a week on Norman and Zoe's yacht".

It holds up to 8 people plus staff and is available in the Mediterranean between the months of May to October. Hmmm...maybe I can persuade them to bring the boat down to Belize from November to April? ; )

My thoughts on the Educo gym

It seems that a fair amount of people come to my blog by Google-ing 'Educo gym' and 'does Educo gym work?'

Well, let me just share my opinion on it then with a list of what I like about the Educo gym system and a list of what I don't like and then you can make up your own mind.

What I like:

1. It is a fast work-out (2o minutes per session)
2. You always are accompanied by a personal trainer
3. It kick-starts you into eating better and exercising with their 12-day program. During these first 12 days you work out every day and you are put on a special diet.
4. It is a nice looking, fully AC-ed gym (most other gyms I have seen in Belize are not particularly flash and most have no AC!!!!)
5. They offer personal support, a diet plan and nutritional supplements
6. I believe that the system works well for those wanting to lose weight and/or adding muscle mass

What I don't like:

1. Their work-out routine and diet is too rigid.
2. They offer no real cardio exercises. By doing the resistance training at a fast pace you are told that you are doing a cardio work-out. Personally, am not convinced that resistance training alone can offer this.
3. The system seems build on a 'one size fits all' policy. In my opinion there should be more variety and people's own input should be encouraged and listened to. Also, not enough attention seems to given to pre-existing conditions and injuries.
4. Because of the short intense work-out time, there is no warm-up or cool-down period and no stretching. One of the trainers told me that by extending each muscle fully in between each power move you are getting all the stretching you need. Again, I disagree with that statement.

All in all, I'm sure that the system suits some people down to the ground. I'm just not one of those people. I want more variety when working out & less emphasis on all this body building stuff. I have bought dance and yoga DVDs and am working out by myself again here at the Belize Jungle Dome : (

Aidan can use his water wings and Lucas can ride a bike!

By the way, I'll promise to start writing about other things than just my children again soon. I must sound so boring!

It's just so easy to love him

I always thought that Lucas was an easy child, until Aidan came along. It's virtually impossible to not like this kid. He is just so happy and easy-going, an absolute delight. Lucas is funny and emotional, but he can also be a complete wind-up.

Aidan on the other hand is totally mellow. When you stick a hat on him, he doesn't try to pull it off, when you want him to swim with water wings he does so. He may protest for a moment, but then he realizes that that's too much work and gives up. Lucas would battle with me constantly about stuff like that, but Aidan just isn't too bothered.

And Aidan loves all the good things in life: music, food and good company. As soon as music starts, his face lits up and he starts dancing. And he'll dance for hours (he's just like his mum ; )
When I look at him, two things go through my head:

1. I will have so much fun with this boy when he gets older
2. He will cause me as many sleepless nights as I used to cause my mother (what goes around, comes around)

Yep, He'll most likely become quite a party animal. And he loves to entertain the crowds. He's a hit where ever he goes. Sometimes I feel a bit sorry for Lucas as Aidan seems to get all the attention. Still, it's just what happens with the little ones, isn't it?

By the way, Lucas has learned to ride a bike! I'll post some clips of it later. I am so proud of him!

Domestic Goddess

Yep, I've been feeling like a super fantastic domestic Goddess. Well, I felt like that yesterday. I enjoyed my mother/chef/cleaner role so much that I couldn't even pull myself away from it to go to the US Ambassador's house, where his wife had invited me for lunch together with the other International Women's Group women. I had really wanted to go to that, but just couldn't get myself into the right state of mind yesterday. I felt like walking around the house on my slippers and with curlers in my hair (I don't use curlers, but you get what I mean, right?) & so I just cooked, cleaned and played with the kids. It was wonderful!

Today I've already fallen out of my domestic role again (it never lasts long) as my patience with the kids was near zero this morning. Thank God we have a babysitter. I told her that I needed to be in the Jungle Dome office this morning and left her in charge of playing with the baby. Lucas won't be back from school until 12 o'clock, so I have a few hours of blogging peace. Maybe my domestic Goddess feeling will return this afternoon, if not then I will just heat up left-overs for dinner and throw all the scattered toys in one big box at the end of the day.

No more traveling please!!!!!

Wow, it's nice to be back home. Don't get me wrong, I love traveling and it was great to see my mum and my sister, but I really needed to be back in my own space for a little while.

I remember this 'please bring me home' feeling from my MTV time as well as I was constantly on the road back then, at an average of 2 foreign trip per week for 8 years. Back then I'd often crave to just stay in, curl up on the sofa with my cats (this was obviously pre-motherhood) and watch a movie. That was one of the things that was hard to explain to people who weren't 'in the industry'. If I told someone who was a shop assistant that I had to go to New York the next day and that I just didn't feel like it or that I had begged my boss to send someone else to that festival at Mount Fuji as I had already gone from Japan to LA and back to London and therefor did not know anymore when to sleep, eat or play, they would surely think that I was bragging & so I would only talk of this kind of stuff with those who lived a similar lifestyle.

Anyhow, what I'm trying to say is that it's great to be back home again. In our new home! Yes, it's (pretty much) finished. Even though my washing machine and cooker don't work yet, some sockets give no power, there's a missing moskito screen, the fence around our deck isn't finished and even though I have to go around the house with a fine paint brush to touch up dodgy paint lines, it is all wonderful. I mean, just the fact that I'm able to make breakfast and coffee in my own kitchen is heaven to me!

Oops! Got to go...have to get Lucas ready for school....adios!

The way kids minds work

My four-year-old boy Lucas keeps cracking me up with the things he says lately, like: "Mum, I can run really fast. As fast as a coconut falls from the tree. And even faster than diarrhea comes out. That fast."

And yesterday he was rather tired and moody. When I asked him what we could do to make him happy again, he looked down at the floor, shook his head and said: "I don't know mummy, I think my happy is stuck".

Anyway, I've decided to write down all these funny comment, as I know that it's impossible to remember them all. And I can't wait till Aidan adds to the list too. Moments like these make all the hard work that we parents do worthwhile. Don't you think?

Our family 'on tour'

Oops, I just realized that I never told you yet how the principle of Lucas' school reacted to us asking for yet more time off school for Lucas....well, he was totally cool about it. His mantra turns out to be 'travel is a different kind of learning and no less valuable than time in the class room'. So obviously this is my kind of principle.

We've been in Aruba since the 16th of May and the kids have only just started to get settled in. I guess we've under-estimated the effect that all this traveling would have on them (2 weeks in the UK, one over-night in Houston, four days back in Belize, one over-night in Miami and then on to Aruba)

The effects of all this upheaval were mainly visible in sleeping problems, being moody (Lucas acted like he entered early puberty...I've never met such a moody 4-year-old!) & fear of new children, something my kids normally never suffer from. We had hoped to enrol the kids into a playgroup for the 3 weeks that we were here, but after 3 failed attempts and some rather hysterical scenes, we gave up.

So now our days are filled with:

• Watching rented childrens DVD's in the morning, whilst mum drinks coffee and slowly wakes up (we don't really have rental places back home, so to rent a DVD is a luxury for us)
• Dad taking Lucas to the driving range to practice their golf swings
• Shopping (big supermarkets are extremely exciting to those of us who have lived in Belizean jungle for the last few years)
• Spending time on one of the many beautiful beaches in Aruba
• Hanging out with my mum, sister and their partners
• Exercising at the local gym (I'm in heaven! Some real time for myself)

My two boys being nice to each other. I wich they were always like this. Lucas has been fighting a lot with his little brother, even though yesterday he told me how much he loves little Aidan: "Mum, I love him so much! I love him like fire! I love him like the night time when there are really hard winds, that much. I love him like a hundred thousand!"

A few hours later he tried to drown him in the sea....



One of the many fun nights in Aruba. Here Lucas tries his hand at 'spijkers slaan', where you have to try and knock a nail into some wood in as few hits as possible.


My sister Miriam and her husband Laurenz outside 'the Plaza' bar in Aruba during the pole sitting competitions (strange Dutch tradition where people sit on a pole for days on end & start halucinating after many sleepless night)That's all for now. The baby just woke up again... For more pictures of our Aruba adventure, check out my sisters blog.

Back in Belize for 4 days only!

This is crazy. We arrived back in Belize on Friday and tomorrow we're off again, this time to Aruba. The Aruba trip had been planned ages ago & we couldn't change the flights anymore, so off we all go again!

This morning I'll have to talk to the principle of Lucas' school and ask for three more weeks of school. I hope that he'll be cool about it & that it isn't too big of a deal as Lucas is still so young. Anyway, if because of all this he'll be held back next year it wouldn't be the end of the world either. He is meant to start going to K5 after the summer and go for full days, yet he's only 4 and
I am a bit worried that that may be a bit much for him. Anyway, I'll just see what they say today.

Here are a few pictures of our England trip. I better get a move on. Lots to do before we leave again....

Belize to England

Yes, there obviously has been a lack of blogging on my behalf recently, but this is because we suddenly and quite expectantly have flown off to England earlier in the week. Andy's nan passed away and his mum is due for triple surgery next week, so we decided that we needed to be with the family.

Right now we're in his nan's old house, getting everything ready for the funeral & in a few days we'll head up to Norfolk to be nearer his mum & dad's house.

The kids have been amazing through this whole upheaval. They were as good as gold on the flight over, which is always a worry, as you never know how your children will behave when they are forced to sit down and share a confined space with tons of other people for such a long time. Lucas was actually trying to figure out which cloud was heaven & was expecting to see his great-grandmother fly by when we were up the air.

Anyway, I'm going to keep it short. Just wanted to let you all know where we were.

Enjoy your family and friends! They are precious!

So what's new?

Well, it's still hot here. There was meant to be a cold front coming in now, but apart from it being pleasantly cool last night, nothing much has changed in the temperature during the day. Maybe it's a tat cooler than it was, but that's it.

Some good news: the house is getting closer and closer to getting finished. Yeeha! There are so many people working in there today, plumbers, electricians, carpenters, builders...it's quite a sight. I think that in another week or so we'll be able to take out the partition wall and live in the whole building.

Lucas is back in school (another 'Yeeha!') and little Aidan is still fighting off a cold, the second one he's had in a row now. He's still happy as anything and he doesn't act sick during the day, apart from the fact that he's gone off solids almost completely now (how on earth can I start weaning him, when he keeps getting flu's and colds?) But at night he has such coughing fits that he ends up vomiting the phlegm all over the place. It's hard to figure out what to do. Are these just viruses he picks up, is it something else? Am I worrying too much? Am I worrying too little? Oh, the predicaments of being a mother...

And then there's the Jungle Dome, of course. Well, we're still very busy, with a lot of families staying with us (which Lucas is very happy about). But starting next week it will be a bit more quiet again, so we can look at going away for a weekend soon.

And that's all really.

Mini-heat wave in Belize

Boy, it's been hot the last few days. Apparently it was 105 degrees F. (about 40 C.) yesterday?

That's pretty hot in my books. And our house has no AC (Andy and I are not crazy about AC most of the time)

Anyway, even when it gets real hot in Belize, it usually cools down at night. And that's the main thing for me...that I'm able to sleep comfortably at night with just a fan on the ceiling.

Oh, and that's not me in that fridge. I just found this picture online and found it quite funny...

Is our house ready yet?

No, it still isn't finished. But we're getting there now. Our kitchen is coming along nicely as you can see. It's going to be finished with lots of Mexican tiles.

Anyway, in another month we should be done. And, even tough the end result will be great, I don't think I'll ever build a house again. It will have taken us more than a year (about 14 months in total, I expect)

Still, we will be living in our dream house & that can't be too bad. We may even forget about the whole process once we're in.

A day at the San Ignacio Easter fair

Andy, John, Lucas and (barely visible in the cart) Aidan. Behind them is the scariest ferris wheel in the world. It goes incredibly fast and there are no rails around it, so if you don't watch out you'll walk straight into it. I also noticed an overall lack of safety features on most the rides, with little kids flying up in the air on all kinds of machines, without even a basic safety belt or bar. It's all so Central American.


Check out Lucas and Andy in some sort of go-cart/buggy thing...


Plus some rather fun live music. The woman dancing with the MC is a person from the audience, hoping to get a free CD. Oh, and isn't the little girl dancing at the side cute? By the way, I'm sorry for the awful sound quality

Flu, etc.

Little Aidan has had the flu again this week. He has been struck down with it several times in the last 6 months or so. It's weird, Aidan seems like a much sturdier baby than Lucas was, yet Lucas never seemed to be ill & Aidan has been sick a lot. I guess the difference is that when Lucas was a baby we weren't running a resort yet. Nowadays we receive visitors from all over the world & I guess people bring us the occasional foreign viruses too. I assume that's what's happening. I have heard that this kind of stuff is meant to strengthen an immune system. So let's at least hope that that's true.

Anyway, he's getting better. So if we're lucky we may even get a decent night's sleep again tonight.

A bit of work, lots of chilling....

Andy, the kids and I just went on a rather fun adventure. We spent the week at a San Pedro recording studio, where the English music producer Norman Cook (better known as Fatboy Slim) was doing jamming sessions with several Belizean artists (Andy Palacio, the Grandmaster and the Garifuna collective). It's a thing I had set up with my friend Caroline, so we went along to see how it all went.

It was so much fun. Andy and I really got to relax as well, as we brought a babysitter out with us to help with Aidan & Lucas made friends with another little boy, so he didn't need us to entertain him constantly.

Anyway, Norman Cook is just the nicest guy ever. He is totally down to earth. I knew him from back in my MTV days and he does not seem to have changed at all. I mean, we've all grown up since then, but as far as him being an ordinary guy, he's still the same old person.And then there was Nathan, who runs Norman's record label Southern Fried Records. I never met Nathan before, but he was just the easiest person to get on with. The guy is crazy. He grew up in London, but is able to climb coconut trees the way the locals here do, he manages to do back flips on the beach like Lucas' 6-year-old friend Justin did and, to top it all off, has incredible speed when chasing after nurse sharks. The guy is just full of surprises.

We all got on so well. And watching Andy and Nathan row off into the horizon in a kayak loaded with beer made me laugh, as Andy never does anything like that anymore these days. He's always so focused on his work and our family, so to see him like that, without a care in the world, was just wonderful. I, obviously, loved hanging out on the beach with my dear old friend Caroline Prothero. We shared a house in London many, many years ago and have stayed friends through all our ups and downs in life.

Caroline, Aidan and I soaking up the last bit of sun on our final day in Ambegris Caye.

Miss Prothero and the nurse sharks...

Snorkeling on the reef.

Norman and Lucas checking out the sharks. To swim or not to swim?

Every afternoon, the boys tried to catch dinner. But this crab was sadly enough the catch of the day.

Lucas' friend Justin was at the studio with his mother, who was one of the singers of the Garifuna collective. They were meant to be leaving on our second day there, but we so enjoyed the way the two boys got on, that we asked his mum if little Justin could stay behind with us. We told her that we'd drop him off in Belize City at the end of the week. And, surprisingly enough, she said yes.


Now, to ask a mother to just leave her child behind with us is something I would have never dared to ask anywhere else, but things in Belize are just so chilled. Also, the woman's boss and other her other colleagues were still there at the resort/studio with us, so it wasn't like she was totally abandoning her child. Still, it was a bit of a crazy set-up, as I didn't know the mother's name, I only had a phone number of one of her band members (she had just lost her cell phone) & some rather confusing instructions on where to find her house. It all worked out perfectly though. Justin actually flew back with the woman's boss in the end, so we didn't even have to try and find our way around Belize City, looking for the woman's house.

Everyone had such a great time that even Lucas, who is always the first to want to go home, was wondering out loud on the final day 'Mum, why do we have to go back to the Jungle Dome?'

Oh well, all we are doing is move from one piece of paradise to the next, so I guess we can't really complain.

Caroline, Andy and Lucas on the boat on our way home. We'll be back soon!

A little 'Aidan photoshoot'

Isn't he a beauty? And he's a proper little Buddah too. Always happy & oh so easy-going. We're very lucky to have two such wonderful children...

Progress gone mad

I always feel relieved in more ways than one when, after long travels, I once again visit a public toilet in Belize. Now, I know that that is a strange thing to say, but I just hate all these 'top of the range' public toilets that are now all over Western society. I mean, what's wrong with flushing a toilet? I hate these toilets that are meant to flush by themselves. They either start flushing before you're finished or they refuse to flush at all and you end up moving backwards and forwards in the cubicle in the hope of of your movements being detected somehow.

I understand that people don't like touching anything in public toilets, but come on! This is just progress gone mad as far as I'm concerned. You can just flush the damn thing and wash your hands when you're done. Oh, and then there's those stupid taps too that are meant to start running as soon as you put your hands under them. They never seem to work the way they are supposed to either.

Now, I'm sorry to say, but it made me laugh to hear that during a power cut in New York no one could use public toilets, because none of them would flush and the taps gave no water either. Something like that would never happen in a developing country like Belize...because here we are still able to manually flush away our own crap.

Giving machines this much power is just ridiculous.

So there you go, progress is not always about going faster & it's not about sanitizing the hell out of life either.

So flush and be happy!

How long will it be before he starts bringing home dinner?

Dr. Tim was kind enough to go fishing with Lucas several times whilst the Intervol group was here. I get the feeling he is improving, even though he still does have a hard time following instructions.

Anyway, next week on San Pedro he'll be able to practice every day with Andy : )

Our Beautiful boy at Old Belize

There he goes!

Aidan's walking!

Oh, it is just the cutest! He is wobbling all over the place. Lucky enough, Cindy from Intervol (yes, my lovely doctor friends are back in Belize) brought me my new camera, so I can actually document his early walking moments, before he loses that adorable wobble.

The only problem so far is that he refuses to walk when the camera points at him. But once he's had his nap I will try again & I will post it later.

Oh, and I'm not feeling 'blah!' anymore. That only lasted a day or so. Thanks for the lovely reactions to that post though. I guess the experience is quite universal.

Messages about Darfur, Sudan

My dear friend Suzanne Doyle has worked with some of the greatest music stars in the world. At one point she was Bono's personal assistant & I guess that 'like attracts like' in this case, because like Bono, Suzanne is a person who can not watch by in silence when she sees an injustice, in this case the genocide in Sudan. Please have a look at the emails she's been sending me. I hope they'll inspire you to take some action...

Suzanne:

So last night, in our PJ's, with full tummies, warm bed clothes and no pain or fear, I sat with my 8 year old and my 2 year old watching the amazing Eclipse of the Moon or 'La Luna' (as my 2-year-old calls it) from the comfort of our sheltered and safe bedroom. I couldn't help thinking of the innocent men, women and children all over the world who would probably wish upon that Eclipse for NO FEAR, PROPER ACCOMMODATION, PROPER FOOD AND MEDICINE, THEIR MURDERED SONS & DAUGHTERS, FATHERS AND MOTHERS TO BE ALIVE AGAIN and most importantly for HOPE TO BE RESTORED....

It really is SO wrong that so many people are suffering at the hands of other humans - and for what? For those of you who don't know, the situation in DARFUR, SUDAN is being compared to the GENOCIDE in RWANDA. The rape, killing and pillage has killed an estimated 200,000 people (some reports say it's actually far more than this) and it has driven 2.5 million from their homes in four years...

This week there has been talk of the The Sudanese interior minister threatening to BEHEAD ANY PERSON attempting to arrest the individuals indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) and I ask myself if that is the sort of government in Sudan, IS THERE ANY HOPE FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE in DARFUR? I have been trying to read as much as I can, speak to as many people as I can, to get my head around DARFUR and I just cannot make sense of it...

I know about the oil. I know about China. I know about the U.N. But I don't understand, and will never understand how the International Community and smart business people can turn a blind eye at the MASS DESTRUCTION, KILLING AND TORTURE of fellow human beings.

I was told that the media does not give it the coverage it deserves because 'It is AFRICA'... I've been told that people in general are 'de-sensitised' to the troubles and strives - especially in Africa. Well, shame on us.How easy it is to turn the other way...

I wonder if the same thing was going on in France or Spain or even Ireland,would the world be OUTRAGED, CONCERNED AND ACTIVE...? Africa just doesn't count in the same way.... How any of us can sleep at night is beyond me....I wonder when the next Eclipse happens, will AFRICAN HUMAN LIFE BE SO CHEAP?

For more information and to get the current information and what's in the news about Darfur you can read and/or take action by looking at the following sites...

www.LifeNets.netwww.amnesty.org/sudan
www.myspace.com/savedarfurcoalition
http://www.msf.orgwww.goal.ie/

Thanks,
Suzanne Doyle


This is what Suzanne wrote in an earlier email:

As some of you will know, I have been researching DARFUR for a couple of weeks now and have set up two pages to try and spread awareness:
www.myspace.com/suzannedoyleconsultancy and http://www.irishfordarfur.bebo.com/

Since doing this, one positive thing I have heard about is a money lending initiative called Microfinance/Microcredits which I think is worth checking into (although the term 'money lending' tends to send shudders down my back!). It allows you to connect and lend money to small businesses (a lot of the time directly to a woman, usually a mother) in the developing world and help them achieve economic independence...

The loan can be as little as $25 and may last 6-12 months. You can get your money back once the loan is paid or maybe choose to give it to someone else to give them the 'leg up' we all have needed at one time or another.

If you have time to spare, you can watch a programme on the net about it: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1640009667534997960

Two such groups that were recommended to me are KIVA and UNITUS. Maybe have a read at what they are doing to see if it sits right with you:
http://kiva.org/app.php
http://www.unitus.com/

Thank you!

Suzanne Doyle

Feeling restless

Now, I don't quite know what's up with me the last few days, but I've been feeling rather uninspired and restless. I feel in need of some excitement, I just have no idea what kind of excitement that should be.

I would like to feel really passionate about something, but I just don't know about what. It's a rather frustrating feeling. I mean, of course I feel passionate about my family...my husband, my kids, we also have a very successful and enjoyable business that I am very proud of, we get to travel a fair deal, and in another month or so our new house should be ready. These are all wonderful things, I know they are. And I am grateful for all of them. But even so, there is nothing that makes me jump out of bed in the mornings (I get up because my children pound on me before the sun is even up)

Maybe it's just that I don't feel like I'm growing enough as a person, that I'm learning anything new or that I'm stretching myself in any way these days.

I assume that most mothers of young children feel this way from time to time? We all want to learn and grow and challenge ourselves, but it's so hard to take on any other challenges apart from the raising of our children. I really admire those women who feel 100% fulfilled just by being a mother, even though I can't feel that way personally. It's all a bit of a catch-22 for me...I want my children to be my main priority, but at the same time I don't want them to be my 'be all and end all'. Please tell me I'm not the only mom feeling like this....

Anyway, it does prove that even whilst living in paradise can you can feel 'blah' from time to time ; )