Happy New Year

So 2013 is almost over and it is time for a summary post. 2013 was the year The Grumpy Egyptian and I decided enough was enough and made the difficult decision of the Mini Grumpy Egyptian and I to return to the UK without him. It wasn't an easy choice to make, but we made it for our daughter because being selfish was not an option now we have her. We miss him horribly, but know 2014 is the year our little family will be reunited and we can get on building our future.

2013 was the year we stayed in a dodgy roadside motel in Oman that looked as though it came out of a horror film, got turned away from the Dubai/Oman border TWICE and ended up eating burgers for 3 meals in a row as it was all we could find. We went shopping to buy what we thought were essentials for Bump as she was known then, but later discovered you don't really need 400 babygrows. I continued to suffer awful morning sickness and that combined with 5am wake up calls due to building works alongside our apartment, led to me crying in our landlord's office and swiftly moving to a better place 200m along from our old flat. I struggled to keep up with work as was heavily pregnant and very tired. Bump gave us a scare and got me admitted to hospital before jumping into our lives with an emergency c-sect a couple of days later.

We had a visit from my mum who arrived laden with infacol and oreo cookie brownies when the Mini Grumpy Egyptian was 3 weeks old. She keeps telling me about things I said or that we did, but I have very little memory of those early days as it all seemed to go in an exhaustive blur. We celebrated the Mini Grumpy Egyptian's first Christmas and she was thoroughly spoilt as princesses should be.

Resolution wise, 2014 will be the year I get my fitness on track and lose some weight. I have always put this as a resolution, but this year I am going to really get stuck in as I don't want to be that chubby parent at the school gates! It will also be the year I find the time to sit down and start writing the two books I have had in my mind for the past couple of years. One is a children's book and both are inspired by my time in the Middle East.

So here is to 2014. I hope you all manage to achieve everything you want to this year and don't be too hard on yourself if you don't. Here is to the next big adventure for my little family of three xx