Firstly, hi, sorry it’s been a while… it’s been a little chaotic over here this last month and I don’t really know where to begin so let’s begin with my holiday in pretty Provence in the glorious south of France. I’ve been trying to decide on which pictures to share and different ways to share them as I have literally taken hundreds of photos, which would take you FOREVER to scroll through! This was my end result after doing a flipogram which turned out really pixelated on here which was a shame as I put a cute little French song on it too while it played haha… oh well!
I’ve got to say that Provence is one of the prettiest places I’ve visited and is somewhere I’d love to revisit one day to discover more. I don’t often say that either as I love experiencing new places and new loves but who can beat French macarons?! 

Pre-holiday & Hugo’s illness…

So let’s start from the beginning… Hugo was so ill the week we went on holiday, in and out of the doctors and then being referred to the hospital, to be told we probably wouldn’t be able to go away because they thought it was chicken pox. I’ve never seen Hugo so ill, my heart was broken, as even mama couldn’t console him. He developed really bad blisters all on his hands and feet and worst of all inside his mouth and throat, which meant he didn’t want to eat or drink. Even mama’s milk was pushed away so I knew that something serious was going on in this little boy’s body. It was one of those times I just wished I could take on all his pain and ailments instead of watching my poor baby suffer. After being let home in the early hours of the morning, Hugo only managed to rest whilst lying on me, ‘literally’ and as nice as this sounds I didn’t sleep a wink but Hugo was the priority here. 
The next day when I was assessing his body I was surprised there weren’t any more spots but the blisters seemed to have developed in abundance in the places mentioned above as well as a few more on his limbs, this was when after research we realised it was hand, foot and mouth disease and not chicken pox. The rash that was all over his body had calmed down slightly but the other symptoms were getting worse. It meant a lot of dosages of Calpol, ibuprofen and throat spray to help reduce his temperature and to help him to get some liquid down him without it hurting too much. I don’t actually know how we made it on holiday as I hadn’t even packed when he got ill so it was a case of throwing anything and everything into the case as every time I put Hugo down he just burst into tears… he and I were complete damsels in distress.  

General life at the farmhouse…

I’d say that when we actually got to France it took Hugo another two days before he was really back to his normal cheeky and inquisitive self and by this point his blisters were very minimal so it meant that Hugo and Jemima (his cousin) could eventually play together, yay! These two were the highlight of my holiday watching them play and bond together was so lovely and they kept us entertained for hours. Where we stayed was just so beautiful, the pictures really don’t do it justice… it was a beautiful farmhouse which was so gorgeous inside and out, it really did exceed all our expectations. They were totally kitted out for children with lots of different toys and equipment and even an alarm on the pool incase an accident happened. Ayman and I spent lots of quality time together playing table tennis which we found we’re both actually quite good at although we also got very competitive with each other too haha. It was great going with Ayman’s family too as it meant they didn’t mind looking after Hugo at different times which was nice and also a relief when I needed it most. The only thing I did struggle with the whole time I was there was Hugo not sleeping well in the night. Due to being ill he upped his feeding on me, which pre-holiday I only fed him first thing in the morning. It wasn’t just in the night either it was in the day, he’d be pulling at my swimsuit until I gave him milk. He only rested while he was on me and feeding just for comfort in the night and most times when I tried to lay him to even the side of me he’d start screaming and with the walls being quite thin I didn’t want to wake anyone else up so back to the boob it was. To be honest he never sleeps the same in a cot bed at the best of times so that combined with heat, new surroundings and not being 100%, what did I actually expect? It didn’t seem to affect me having minimal sleep because when you’re on holiday you can do everything at you’re own leisurely pace can’t you, and sort of rest during the day a bit without actually sleeping. 

Aix-en-Provence…

Aix-en-Provence was so pretty and the best thing about it was there were so many yummy macaron bakers! We spent about an hour in one whilst we decided on which ones to buy and also to see how many free tastes we could get too haha… the salted caramel macarons were a definite winner! We also enjoyed probably our most yummiest meal there too, it was one of those times that everybody was so pleased with their choices and no-one was left feeling jealous of what their neighbour picked, I’m always the worst culprit at this!

Cassis…

Cassis was another superpretty town in Provence, this was where we took the boat trip to the stunning Calanques and could see all the beautiful hidden beaches tucked behind caves and cliffs… sadly we never made it onto one ourselves but this is why I’d love to visit again so we can discover more of the hidden beauty. 

French cuisine…

The food, oh the food, in France it’s all about the freshly made baguettes and croissants isn’t it and woe to me because I’ve got coeliac disease so I can’t eat anything with gluten in it, so none of this even entered my mouth. I did squidge a few fresh baguettes and inhale their lovely freshly baked scent which only made me feel more jealous that I couldn’t eat it but at least I could imagine it. Even though I couldn’t eat these things I don’t think I’ve eaten as much as I ate on that holiday. Alex my brother-in-law is a cook and he absolutely loved preparing big meals for everyone, which on my part was great as I’m super lazy in this department. He made truly delicious meals and we enjoyed every mealtime all sitting down together as a family.

Hugo’s new discoveries…

Hiya, hiya, hiya this was his favourite word on holiday, if we paid a pound for every time he said ‘Hiya’ and someone said it back to him, I’m not even joking but we’d be millionaires! Peekaboo reached a whole new level too especially when it came to playing with the curtains. Finally climbing stone stairways and giving everyone heart attacks!

Nightlife…

Pfft nightlife when you’re a parent?! Ok we did manage one night out when Ayman’s parents looked after both Hugo and Jemima. It was a really lovely and chilled night out in nearby Aix, the vino was flowing and so were conversations, mostly about the kids of course… why does this always happen, I end up getting my phone and swiping through all my videos and pictures of Hugo feeling so proud and then can’t wait to get back home to him.
I could write more but this post is already ridiculously long so well done if you’ve got this far, you deserve a pat on the back! I promise my next one I’ll try and keep short and sweet but until then have a great week my lovelies!
Lots of love
Sally
xxx
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