How is our first family holiday over already?! I’m sitting at home not sure where the week has gone.
Just a quick warning, this is a long one. So if you want something lengthy to read with a cuppa, get yourself comfy.
We went to Centre Parcs after jokingly saying “shall we go to Butlins” back in January. After looking online we found the dates we wanted were actually cheaper at Centre Parcs, and we’d get our own cabin too.
Matt won £100 on a scratchcard which was perfectly timed as Harvey had suddenly had a growth spurt. We popped to Next and picked up basically a new wardrobe for Harvey. We packed all this, along with mine and Matt’s things. I always used to love packing but it feels like we literally pack everything but the kitchen sink now!
We were finally on the way, setting off when Harvey was due a nap so he’d sleep in the car. We drove past a little piggy farm on the way, I do love car journeys!
As we came to the road leading up to check in, (you check-in in your car so it’s nice and convenient when you’ve got a cranky one in the back!)
We were a bit confused as there were A LOT of people driving out... I’m guessing there must have been a shift change because there was only one person in most cars.
We finally made it to our cabin, which was perfect for us for this trip but I do think we’d need a bigger one when we next go with Harvey.
It was perfect location, just a 5-10 minute walk from the main villiage. We’d spent about half an hour studying the map figuring out which would be the best cabin, without spending ridiculous money (the closer you get the more you pay on top of the total price). We figured it was a good location so Harvey would be ok if he was a bit cranky (ha! Good job we thought ahead).
Harvey had napped in the car, so what could go wrong? (Famous last words). We went for Hucks, their American themed restaurant. They really cater well for kids, which I suppose should be no surprise since it’s a big family holiday place. They have a children’s buffet, which as soon as you’ve been seated you can go and help yourself to. So no waiting for food to come and trying to keep the kids entertained! This is when we noticed Harvey just wasn’t right. He didn’t touch any of his buffet, and the waitress was so lovely she didn’t charge us for it.
The waitress brought Harvey a balloon, which helped for a few minutes.
Me and Matt took turns walking Harvey round while the other ate, but sadly we just had to call it a day.
We got back to the cabin, and although Harvey had slept most the way, he watched the swans for a bit and then just crashed out. But not before this insta-mom could get some amazing snaps! I mean, you see these sort of pics in the brochure but I didn’t expect to see it myself!
This was the night we didn’t get to sleep until 4am. We think a combination of bad teething (his tooth had started to break the skin), constipation (from the teething) and a bit of a cold/cough. The poor boy just didn’t know where to put himself. We topped him up with calpol, teething oil and lactulose and he was finally comfy enough to sleep on Matt. We watched some random Disney tv (such a weird programme about a cartoon character using too much spot cream and becoming a raisin??) and then turned on the Apple TV and watched Rampage. Gotta love Dwayne Johnson!
The next morning (which still started at 6am.. why do kids still wake up at the same time even without sleep?) Harvey woke up, still out of sorts.
He struggled to eat breakfast, so we only managed to give him some strawberries and milk.
That day we were hoping to get out and about, and go swimming but Harvey was just too poorly. You can always tell when he’s not well because he will lie on mine or Matt’s chest. So we managed a little walk and a look around the village and then it was back to the cabin for cuddles and naps. He still had energy for Donald Duck cuddles though!
We became familiar with a pair of ducks, a park of geese and a pair of swans. All of whom like to knock the patio door with their beaks.
The village square where all the restaurants and shops are, has a decent selection to be fair.
I haven't been swimming since we went on holiday to Vegas, so getting into my swimming costume was a bit daunting. I've been following WW (used to be Weight Watchers) and I have to admit that I am feeling much better in myself. My costume now fits (thank goodness I didn't throw it away because that saved me some money not needing to buy a new one! I love when we go away though, as it means we crack out the special beach towels (I'm old, ok?) as I don't want to waste them haha!
During the week we tried again to eat out for lunch, this time at Bella Italia. Harvey seemed pretty cheerful, so we were optimistic. However, by the time our drinks came Harvey had already had enough. I tried to take him in the softplay area (really handy having these in the restaurants, isn't it?) but sadly it just didn't help. I wasn't able to just leave Harvey to crawl and wander around as there was another little girl in there (unsupervised) and I'd say she was about 6/7? She had one of the large toys in the middle of the (small) playarea and was literally running, jumping and bouncing off it in all directions. This didn't really help to be honest, as of course Harvey wanted to go right to her but I couldn't risk her not falling into him. The staff in Bella Italia were really understanding (I mean, they must be used to this sort of thing) and they boxed up our food when it was cooked (didn't even make it to the table).
We ate this in the cabin, while Harvey ate some raspberries and had a nap. Me and Matt watched (part of) a film, and then decided to go for a little walk when he woke up. That was one of the good things about Centre Parcs, while Harvey was feeling ok for a walk you could literally just walk out your door and you're straight into nature. No walking through complexes first.
On our last full day at Centre Parcs we managed to go to the Pancake House for breakfast. Matt had been most excited for this one, so although we lost pretty much half the holiday to Harvey being poorly, we still got to try most of the restaurants. Harvey only ate one strawberry and just played with the rest, but luckily it was enough to keep him enterained while we ate (along with a balloon - I never really got why restaurants gave kids balloons... now I get it haha).
