Viva Espana!

Good morning,  it feels good(ish) to be back in the real world. I mentioned yesterday that the blog had taken a back seat whilst we were on holiday and working on my shop launch. Now it’s finally gone live, I feel I can breathe a bit more and concentrate properly on this little space of mine!

Here a few snaps of our trip to Spain last week. And when I say a few, I mean a few as far as i’m concerned. I took bloody loads and have obviously become one of those people with a camera- it look quite a while to edit them, so these are a mere handful in comparison (hehe).

We went with my in-laws which was ace, and also meant that Adam and I got to have a bit of time to ourselves, both during the day and in the evening which was nice, as well as having some great family meals out. I genuinely love my in-laws, but I can imagine it not being a fun experience for everyone, so I feel hugely lucky. When I was younger and on holidays with friends, I would look around and never understand the 12 strong families of kids right through to wizened granparents wilting in chinos in the sun, all crowded around a table and necking Sangria. Mad, I thought, why the hell would you want to do that? But now I totally get it. As much as I love and adore Adam, two weeks with just one other person (whoever they may be), plus your kids, is a recipe for divorce and/or murder, and given that we’re not married yet, I really didn’t want it to be the latter. Having other folk on your family holiday who you like is good for harmonious relations, plus 4 adults Vs 2 ankle biters means the child-induced stress levels are significantly reduced.

As it happens, we had a fanastic break, that really DID feel like a break. F and S were brilliant on the whole, despite frequent changes to their routine (11pm bedtimes and 4 hour siestas anyone?), and the plane flight that we were dreading so much was a breeze, with both little ones either napping or fueling the Peppa addiction on the IPad. In fact, the only plane related drama was when S fell backwards off her Trunkie before we got through passport control at Gatwick and smashed her head on the floor. (note to self: there is a reason why these things are for aged 3+). The kid is as hard as nails though, bless her, so all was okay and we carried on uneventfully for the rest of the journey to our holiday villa.

The majority of the holiday was spent playing on the beach and in the pool, going for long walks and eating ice creams (the smalls) and drinking ridiculously cheap wine and Baileys (us). I swear if I lived in Spain I would either go right off the stuff or become a full-blown alcoholic. I mean, a bottle of pretty decent vino blanco is 1 Euro 90. 1 EURO 90!!!! Obscene. No wonder booze has to be so expensive in the UK, we’d all go mad and kill each other if it was this cheap down the road in Croydon.

This has to have been one of my favourite holidays, mainly because the weather was perfect (not too hot, not cold at all), and when you have children you really get to see everything through their eyes and in a whole new optimistic light. At 3 and just turned 2, they really enjoyed digging in the sand and would’ve played on the beach all day, something I would never have wanted to do previously, but you do it and you love it because they totally love it. I also fulfilled a wish to go rockpooling with Freddie, and i’ll remember the delight on his face when we spotted a fish, or a crab, forever. The innocence at this age is just lovely too. F wanted to get naked pretty much all the time on the beach, which was of course fine, and probably one of the only ages you can do this with abandon and take a leak in a bucket in full view of everyone and actually get away with it.

We celebrated Sasha turning two out here (post to follow), and I also enjoyed taking my DSLR out for a stroll, and have yet again confirmed my sleighride into early middle age by snapping some of the Spanish flora, fauna and dirty viaducts and the general Spanish landscape. More pics of these soon!

So, it was great, but now it’s good to be back (providing the weather stays as it has).

What have I missed?!

B x

Becky

Meet the award-nominated UK lifestyle blogger behind Spirited Puddle Jumper – a mum of three living in South East London! Becky shares the real ups and downs of family life, parenting tips, and lifestyle inspiration, proving that being a mum doesn’t mean you stop being fun or having other interests! Follow along for honest insights into UK family life and opinions on a whole range of topics, from travel and food, to beauty reviews, home and DIY, business and health and wellness.