Mummascribbles – Mummascribbles meets…Janine's Little World – Mummascribbles

This week we meet the lovely Janine from Janine’s Little World. Thanks so much for taking part Janine  

Tell me a little bit about yourself and your family
I’m Janine and I am originally from Germany. I’ve been living in Ireland for the past 9 years in a small town called Sligo in the North West. My fiancé and I moved together in 2009. We have 2 children, Matthew (3) and Chloe who will turn 1 at the beginning of February. We also have 2 cats called Bailey and Missy. My fiancé and I are getting married this summer so you can imagine how busy I am organising everything while minding my 2 monkeys.

What do you like doing to be you, when you are not parenting, working (if you do), or blogging?
My social life is pretty boring to be honest but if I don’t do all those 3 things, I like going to the cinema with friends, going out for a drink (rare occasion) or simply going into town and browse around. Whenever my bestie from Germany is over for a visit we generally like driving around Ireland exploring.

What is your biggest achievement to date?
Biggest achievement has to be being a mum I guess. I never thought I’d be able to do it but it just comes naturally. Other things I am proud of are probably my different DIY projects I achieved in our home.

From your own experiences, what do you find the hardest part of parenting and what is the easiest/most rewarding part?
Hardest part was/is the weaning stage and when the poor little ones are sick. It’s so hard on them and you feel so sorry for them. Both were sick so many times in the last month. It must be the awful weather out there that is constantly changing. Easiest part is the cuddles each morning and laziness we have together in bed.

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?
Routine is the key. My 2 are in crèche full time as I am working full time 9-5. My fiancé is traveling for work 3 days a week but all the other days including the weekend he is brilliant help and helps me out wherever he can. We are a great team. I don’t think I would manage as good otherwise. Regarding having food prepared for the smallies I could be a bit more organised but I am not a big fan of cooking if I am honest so can struggle there a bit.

Why did you decide to start blogging?
I wanted to record my daily life in an easier way rather than keeping it in a journal book. Now that I have my kids I can record their milestones and photos, too and it will be such a lovely time to look back on in a few years’ time.

Tell me a bit about your blog?
You will find me blogging at Janine’s Little World. My blog was established 2010 but only for my own personal use. 2014 I decided to make it more public and use WordPress self-hosted and bought my own domain. Nearly 2 years on and I still love it. (Even with a bit of blogger’s block) I do welcome guest posts on my blog if you have anything in mind that is related to parenting, home interior, lifestyle or even travel. I cover nearly everything. This year I am in the process of creating my first long-term linky called #bloggersgofitbit. Any blogger with a Fitbit can join in but there will be more information coming up very soon. A lot of people seemed to have got it for Christmas and losing weight is big this year.

What do you want your blog to achieve and where do you hope to see it go as it grows?
It’s very hard to achieve when there is thousands and thousands of blogs out there which are so much better but my main achievement would be to have more readers and page views.

Also I’d like to make it into the top 100 TOTS 100.

What advice would you give someone who is thinking about starting a blog?
Write in your own voice, that’s what makes your blog unique.

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

1. My mum

2. Bruce Willis

3. Robert Pattinson

Tell me three random facts about you

1. I can play keyboard

2. My patience is not great

3. I have a good memory when it comes to remembering telephone numbers

You can find Janine over at www.janineslittleworld.com and also on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest