The Williams World - A family travel blog

21Jun 2018

Getting Swimsuit ready for Mexico with Ample Bosom

With our upcoming holiday to Mexico now less than 70 days away, my thoughts have been turning to swimwear. Being plus size with big boobs, I must admit that buying a swimming costume is never my favourite thing to do. Thankfully this is where Ample Bosom makes things as easy as possible for me.

As you might guess from the name, Ample Bosom is the place to shop online if you are blessed with bigger boobs. They stock a great range of plus size swimsuits, and I have been buying my swimwear from them for several years. Being a regular swimmer, I need my swimsuits to be chlorine resistant, comfortable, and fairly flattering.… Continue reading

15Jun 2018

Are 24 exams too much for our teenagers ?

by Tracey Williams ⋅ 12 Comments

Today my teenager completed his penultimate GCSE exam. Exam number 23 out of 24, with his final exam being taken next Wednesday. 24 exams between the 14th May and the 20th June, 24 exams to revise for, 24 exams to feel anxious over, 24 times to walk into the school hall under exam conditions, and to remember everything you have been taught over the past 3 years.

I remember looking at the exam timetable a few months ago. I naively thought that the 2 page document in my hand was every single GCSE, not just the ones my son would be taking.… Continue reading

06Jun 2018

Being made redundant

by Tracey Williams ⋅ 16 Comments

I never thought I would be sat here, writing a post about being made redundant, and if truth be told that is probably quite naïve of me. Losing my part-time job, working as an administrator in a children’s nursery, was never at the forefront of my mind. But on the 12th March it became a reality for me. The job that I had loved doing for 6 years was being taken away from me.

I am not going to lie, the past 3 months have been tough. I know that I am extremely lucky that we don’t rely on my salary to pay the mortgage and bills, but I have found losing my job an emotional rollercoaster.… Continue reading

28May 2018

Family days out when you have teenagers

by Tracey Williams ⋅ 14 Comments

I have lost count of how many times I have suggested a nice family day out, only to be met with a ‘Kevin and Perry’ moment from the teen. And of course our days out as a family are getting few and far between, as both children spend more time with their friends.

But holding on to precious family time is really important to me. In just over two years, the teen could well be heading off to University. So instead of my ideas being met with a resounding NO, I asked them to give me some ideas for our family days out together.… Continue reading

22May 2018

Getting the best out of your next family trip

by Tracey Williams ⋅ 2 Comments

Half term is on the horizon, and if you are going on a family trip, I am pretty sure you are going to want to make sure that you get the best out of it.

If you are like me, you will probably have high hopes for your trip. They’re expensive, for a start, and with things like work and school, it can be tough to get the chance to spend quality time together, especially if you have older children in your family, like us. Here are some tips you can use to make sure you’re getting the most out of your next family trip.… Continue reading

15May 2018

Celebrating the start of GCSEs with cake

by Tracey Williams ⋅ 78 Comments

Over the past few months there has been one thing that has dominated our lives, and if you also have a child in year 11, you will know exactly what I am talking about. Yes, GCSEs. The exams finally started for my son yesterday, and I am pretty sure that teens all over the country will be wishing the next few weeks away.

Talk of GCSEs start the minute your child hits year 11, and thankfully my teen has been revising since the start of September. He has dragged himself into school at weekends for revision classes, stayed late after school, and forfeited a few games of Fortnite in favour of putting his head in a book.… Continue reading

11May 2018

17 years of being married

by Tracey Williams ⋅ 14 Comments

The country might be all getting excited about the forthcoming wedding of Meghan and Harry, but rewind 17 years and I was getting ready to marry my very own ginger prince.

I know it’s a huge cliché, but the past 17 years have gone in the blink of an eye. I still remember our wedding day like it was yesterday, getting married in the hotel where Hywel had proposed to me 14 months before. We were surrounded by friends and family (and John McCardle who used to be in Brookside) , on one of the hottest days of the year. And just like Meghan and Harry, we also got married on FA Cup final day.… Continue reading

08May 2018

A New Addition to the Ikos Family – Ikos Dassia

by Tracey Williams ⋅ 4 Comments

Regular readers will know how much we love Ikos Olivia, having holidayed there in 2016 and 2017. But from the 3rd May the Ikos family is growing, with the addition of Ikos Dassia located on the beautiful island of Corfu.

We visited Corfu back in 2014, when our friends got married in Corfu town. A stunning Greek island that offers beautiful beaches, amazing Greek hospitality, and of course an abundance of Greek gastronomy. And of course Ikos Dassia will be offering this, and much more for the discerning traveller.

Ikos Dassia is larger than its sister hotels of Oceania and Olivia, offering 411 rooms which are divided between 2 hotel buildings, villas and suites.… Continue reading

29Apr 2018

Little Loves – Prom Suits, Zip Wires and GCSE Exams

by Tracey Williams ⋅ 8 Comments

It is always my intention to get my Little Loves post out on a Friday, but I have spectacularly failed this week as it’s now Sunday evening. Looking back it has been a pretty ‘normal’ few weeks, and I can tell from the lack of pictures I have taken that life has been filled with school, work, and just the usual life stuff.

Read

I read a lovely message from one of the teen’s teachers, who said that Morgan was extremely lucky to have such a supportive family, and that it shone through in him. Parenting teens is HARD WORK, and parenting teens going through GCSEs is even harder, so it was lovely to hear that we are getting parts of this parenting journey right.… Continue reading

26Apr 2018

Money Saving Tips for your Summer Holiday

by Tracey Williams ⋅ 8 Comments

There is no denying that if you have school age children, summer holidays are going to be expensive. For the past few years we have chosen to have our main holiday during the Easter break, thus avoiding the high price of a family holiday during peak summer months. But this year due to GCSEs, we were unable to travel during April and May, and our main holiday this year will be in August.