I’m going to be honest: I don’t think I have ever been so excited to say goodbye to the summer! Saying that, as you can imagine, the temperature here in Ibiza is still 30˚C so in theory, it is still the summer, but just not the crazy hot ‘tourist’ summer of July and August.

It has been such a loooooong summer that I have struggled to know what to do. The children have had 9 weeks off school (yes NINE weeks!) It’s been a great way of ensuring that their brain cells shrivel up to the bare minimum, ie, just enough to let them play Minecraft!!! (Yep, you get me!) As much as I’m a fan of the iPad (God bless the iPad for taking the pressure off me as Entertainment Manager) it drives me bonkers when they become so attached to it! Seriously, thank God for Aperol Spritz as this has been my summer coping mechanism!!

The first few weeks of the holidays were really enjoyable. The island wasn’t too busy, so we could get a sun lounger on the beach and the children had lots of their friends from school to hang out with.  But as we headed into the middle of July, the carnage on the island kicked in. I have always loved Ibiza in the summer (after all that is what persuaded me to live here) but when you do live here it is very different. It is ridiculously hot and humid and that is before the heatwave kicked in (fine when you’re on hols for two weeks but a drag when you’re trying to live your normal, everyday life), you can’t book a decent restaurant without at least a week’s notice, you can’t get parked ANYWHERE and the traffic is immensely stressful (particularly the maniac scooter drivers who cut you up at any given opportunity). On top of that everyone who lives here escapes the island which means the kids have no friends left to hang out with! I’m not moaning and I know the disadvantages are far outweighed by the benefits, but it has been an eye opener.

On a positive note, lots of our UK friends were holidaying in Ibiza during the summer, so when we could, we met up with them which was great. Even better was the suitcases of Waitrose goodies they brought over for us! We did visit friends in Marbella which was lovely for the kids and as per usual a week full of fun and laughter for my husband and I.

The other problem I have had is that I can’t leave the dogs for too long as Martha’s bladder (and the rest) are still not up to scratch! Four hours is my limit. Margo and Martha have each other for company and are in an air-conditioned room so they are happy, but as you can imagine I’m not too chuffed when I walk into the house and am greated by the stench of dog poo and puppy puddles everywhere. Four hours seems like a reasonable amount of time to go out and about, but it’s really not when each journey takes twice as long and the children don’t want to leave the beach to get back home when they are having fun, leaving plenty of time for the dogs to wreak havoc!!

This long Summer holiday has taught me some lessons, firstly to not be on this beautiful island in July and August next year.  I do have moments when I think have I done the wrong thing moving abroad. In the UK, I lived in a lovely little town on the coast, I knew where everything was and had a big support network of friends and family. Life was very comfortable, but as the saying goes, when you become comfortable it’s time to move on and experience new things.

When I have a bad day (and lots of people may be able to relate to this) I’ve got a nasty habit of focussing on what I don’t have rather than what I do have, making the thoughts in my head even more screwy!  Just like I’ve had a little hissy fit about how badly stocked the supermarkets in Ibiza are, when all I’m asking for is a Waitrose and a Coconut Collaborative yoghurt!!! GET OVER IT KATE!!!!!

So, now it’s September, the kids are back at school and I’m back to being ‘Kate’ from Cook Clean with Kate. Saying that, as you can imagine, the temperature here in Ibiza is still really hot, so in theory it’s still Summer, but just not the crazy hot ‘tourist’ summer of July and August.  I sprang out of bed the day the children started back at school and was literally banging on the school gate to be let into the car park! Of course, I gave them all a big squeeze and said ‘I’m going to miss you all so much’ – even if it was through gritted teeth! I drove off to the gym with the biggest grin on my face, listening to my latest Spanish CD which the kids had banned through the summer when they were in the car. Being kids they wanted music on not an audio lesson and I suppose I can’t blame them for that!

As I write this, I realise that I feel so much more positive this past week as we are back in a routine. I love to be organised and I’m not afraid to admit, I do like ‘me time’ (plenty of it … lol). I’m bound to have ups and downs as I settle into a new way of life and regularly remind myself that life is about experience and and it’s important to make the most of what you do have as things don’t last forever.

Anyway, I’m off to prep a huge dinner for my starving boys and will catch up with you lovely lot very soon.

Love Kate xx