I opened Asteraki to make parents' lives a bit easier and more fun. Raising our little creatures can be really hard (and fun) and I wanted to take one bit away from the busy parent's lives.
During the last six months since we opened I have come across so many inspiring women, from the designers of the brands we stock to the mums who buy them! I love following their blogs about their lives with kids and these women give me inspiration everyday! That is how the series of posts with " mums who inspire us"came around. Sit back and be inspired with me.
Nadine is one of these women, having three kids in under five years and manage to keep going with her lifestyle blog is amazing. She is honest in her stories and has one of the coolest instagram around. I am so happy to have her as my first guest here !
Photo by © Ruxi Photo
Q: Tell us a bit about your blog?
N: Happy Mum Blog is a Mum- and Lifestyle Blog.
It deals with being a mum, mum to be, fashion, travel, lifestyle, interior, beauty and, of course, kids stuff.
Q: How is your typical day?
N: As our little one only turned 5 months few days ago, we still don’t have a typical day yet as there are always surprises.
Usually my alarm clock rings at 6.30 am. I get up and get ready before I have to wake up the big one as he started Kindergarten this summer.
I make breakfast for the kids and get the big one ready. After he has left the house I get the girls changed and dressed.
The little one sleeps again and I do either household chores, run errands, play with the middle one or do other things that needs to be done.
Then it is time again to prepare lunch and pick up the big one from Kindergarten. Unfortunately my kids don’t nap anymore. So the afternoon belongs to them and we see friends or do things together at home or outside.
At around 7 pm we all have dinner together before we try to get the kids to sleep, which isn’t always easy and can take a while.
I try to go to bed lates by 11 pm but it is difficult as there is always stuff to do.
Two days a week, we have a nanny helping us. This is also the time where I find time for myself and to do some blogging.
Q: How is life with three children? Do you see much difference between having two and three?
N:It is a full-time job. There is always something with at least one kid.
As the kids are still small (4 years, 2 years and 5 months) they still need a lot of attention and help. On the other hand they play with each other and sometime they even play with the little one which gives me some extra time. I love my three kids and try to enjoy every minute with them as the grow up fast.
Beside the organisational topics (new car, house, etc.) there is not a big difference between having two and three kids. But then the little one is only 5 month old…
For me the change from being childless to one child was the hardest.
Q: What is your favorite activity with children?
N:Travelling ;-) I like to travel with them, discover new things and feel no time pressure.
Q: Do you feel a lot of pressure getting back to form after childbirth – especially considering your role as a blogger?
N: Good question. I never had a bikini body and I know from my previous pregnancies that my body takes nearly a year to get close to what it looked before (just to get pregnant again ;-) ). Sometimes, when I see the WOW bodies of other mums I get, of course, a bit jealous. I guess, I just love sweets too much and sports too little.
I had three babies in 4.5 years. Therefore I want to take it slowly and do postpartum exercises before I start with proper sports again.
To say it short: I am super proud of what my body has accomplished but that doesn’t mean I do not wish to have my prenatal body back (before the first kid ;-)).
Q: What would you say is the most important baby outfit?
N: For me it is a romper suit / onesie with push buttons from top to toe in good quality.
Q: What do you look for when you shop baby and kids clothes?
N: Of course, it has to be nice and comfortable. Then I check the material. I try to buy only natural fibre like (organic) cotton, wool, etc. The quality is very important as the kids are outside all day long and the washing machine is constantly running with kids and baby clothes. I also like clothes that are made in Europe.
Q: Tell us about the outfit you chose from Asteraki?
N: I chose one outfit for each girl.
For the little one I chose the softest cardigan ever, from serendipity. It looks super stylish and fulfills everything I look for when shopping baby clothes. Next to the cardigan I chose FUB wool leggings in grey for cold winter days. I would like to have that outfit for myself. In general I have to say that I love the clothes from serendipity that I haven’t known before Asteraki.
For the middle one I chose something I can’t find everywhere. I felt in love with the skirt from FUB and the fitting cardigan. The material is just so nice and my daughter wants to wear it everyday.
Shop Nadine's PICK here