Mummascribbles meets…Diary of an imperfect mum – Mummascribbles

Today we meet the lovely Catie from Diary of an Imperfect Mum. Thanks so much for taking part Catie

Tell me a little bit about yourself and your family
Hi my name is Catie, I was born in Middlesbrough in the North East of England. Since 2005, I have lived in Holland with my long suffering Dutch husband. We have two busy, beautiful boys and a slightly crazy dog called Nova. My sons are mad on gaming hence their pseudonyms Mario and Yoshi. My eldest son is on the autistic spectrum. I work part time in international education, teaching children English. I am a recovering perfectionist!

What do you like doing to be you, when you are not parenting, working (if you do), or blogging?
I am slightly addicted to Vampire diaries and love the script. I also enjoy interior design programs (my dad was an architect).

What is your biggest achievement to date?
Daring to move to a new country.

From your own experiences, what do you find the hardest part of parenting and what is the easiest/most rewarding part?
I wrote a blog post about this (http://diaryofanimperfectmum.blogspot.nl/2015/02/the-hardest-thing-about-being-parent-is.html) the hardest thing about being a parent is wondering if you have done the right thing.

The most rewarding for me is seeing the happy smiles on my kids faces and getting all the hugs of course..

Parenting in itself is no mean feat; how do you juggle everything you need to in order to get everything done on a daily basis?

Juggling family and work is only possible with help from my brilliant in laws, who do our child care and my amazing hubby. Having a child with special needs we have had to make difficult choices. My hubby used to work away from home but changed his job so that he could be more involved. This had huge financial implications but our family had to come first!

Why did you decide to start blogging?
I started this blog in October 2014 because Facebook didn’t have enough space for what I wanted to say and I wanted a way to record my family’s life.

Writing is also my therapy (I can’t not write) it is my time, an opportunity to open up and speak honestly about what really matters to me.

Tell me a bit about your blog?
My blog is about my family, our love for each other and how autism is changing my view of life. I started blogging in October as my scribbles were beginning to get out of hand. It started as musings on life with my autistic son that I posted weekly. More recently I have developed the blog to include photo stories( a visual diary of our life as a family) and a quotes section; Wednesday words of wisdom.

What do you want your blog to achieve and where do you hope to see it go as it grows?
I am becoming slightly concerned with my blog obsession. I started blogging as I needed to write and as a form of therapy. I was amazed that anyone wanted to read my musings. I am proud that in my own small way I am promoting autism understanding and acceptance. I want people to see the children and the family behind the label.

What advice would you give someone who is thinking about starting a blog?
Do it but be warned it is addictive!

If you could have dinner with three people (dead or alive), who would it be and why?

1. George Clarke from channel 4’s Amazing spaces. Intelligent, sexy and a fellow Northerner. I would spend all night quizzing him for renovation tips, between drooling. What more could a girl want?

2. Maya Angelou, a true inspiration. I found her through her quotes and love her writing and what she stood for; “we are more alike than unalike”.

3. Peter Kaye. Funny, funny, funny. Need I say more?

Tell me three random facts about you

1. I’m allergic to penicillin and pecan nuts.

2. I can’t roll my ‘R’s which makes speaking Dutch very difficult.

3. I’m rubbish at cooking, hubby does most of it and rather ironically calls me his kitchen princess.

You can find Catie over at www.diaryofanimperfectmum.blogspot.nl or on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Google+