I am a French mum in Bondi.
I’ve been happily living in Australia for the last decade.
I’ve had my 3 beautiful, gorgeously healthy kids here. “A la natural” as we like to say it: all drug free, despite 2 of them being ultra chubby, my girl was even born in the water.
I love them, I miss them when they are at school/ daycare, they drive me nuts when they are around...   I have a pretty normal life.                                               
Originally, I come from a small village in the South East of France.
Not exactly Provence, not exactly the Southern Alps and not exactly Cannes or Saint Tropez nor the Riviera. Somewhere in between. And this is where my happy childhood lives. For ever.
Where olive trees, lavender, jeunets and cicadas are.
This village, Seillans to name it,  before living “for and with” tourists from all over the world, built its “glory” on a perfume and fragrances factory. Some of the best roses essences for Dior and Chanel  were made there. 100s year ago.
This era is long gone*, never new it personally, despite what my kids tend to think: I didn’t meet dinosaurs either..

Meeting visitors from other countries and continents made me want to travel, often and far. This is partially how, the father of my kids, - also a childhood friend but not a high school sweetheart- and I ended up living in sunny Sydney.
10+ years in and I am trying to finally mix the 2 parts of me.
Do I miss France? Not really. Not at the moment. Not anymore.
I would love to have my family and childhood/sister-like friends near me. But this is not their plans, yet. I haven’t said my last word on this.
I’m not homesick.
However, some days, I wish I could go down the road, to the shop and buy the products I know all my friends are using for their kids.
And all their mums before them.
I occasionally miss the roots, the traditional way of living back there.

I guess globalisation is not total and I can’t blame it.
That’s what creates diversity. And I love it. I adore it.
Anyway, that is a bigger subject..
Back to my kids life and what I miss from the country where I grew up.
Bread is getting really good now in the area, crepes are at each and every corner in the Eastern suburbs of Sydney, cheese is good too, fashion is definitely getting better …
So what do I need?
When my first bub was born I was offered by my mother -in-law, a large bottle of Liniment Oleo-calcaire.
A bottle of what? Even for Frenchies, it is unpronounceable.
A lotion, you squirt on a cotton pad and clean your baby’s bum.
No wipes, no chemicals, and no lukewarm water spilled.
You squirt, you clean and you put the fresh nappy back on. Et voila!
You know the saying, “ if the mountain won’t come…”
I have been doing this lotion in my own kitchen for my own kiddos for years.
I now have a "little bit" of time, energy and focus to realise that this is something other mums in Australia don't know they are missing on.

There comes the original idea for creating my own baby liniment: Petit Kiddo Baby Bum Cleanser.

*note that it’s actually coming back. More on this subject soon.