Mummascribbles – Mummascribbles meets…The Frenchie Mummy – Mummascribbles

This week we meet the lovely Cécile from The Frenchie Mummy. Thanks so much for taking part Cécile 🙂

Tell me a little bit about yourself and your family
I am a Frenchie woman living in the South-East of London. There are three people in my little family: myself, Grumpy Boyfriend (who is actually not that grumpy, but I call him like that because he was not enthusiastic about my blog in the first place) and our gorgeous and wonderful 5 month old son Baba. We also used to have a hamster called Louis or Loulou to our friends, but I savagely caused his death some weeks ago…  

In the near future, I am hoping to have another child. Baba needs to have someone to play with, ideally a mini Frenchie girl. And I would love to have a dog. It will be difficult to kill him, right? 

What do you like doing to be you, when you are not parenting, working (if you do), or blogging? 
I used to be a cultured girl, reading books all the time (I have a degree in French literature) and I loved going to the theatre and museums. Now having un bébé, it’s another story. And I am pretty busy with my blog as well.  

Otherwise, I love shopping and buying expensive handbags and shoes. Anything that involves spending money is good to me basically 😃. 

What is your biggest achievement to date? 
Having a baby is definitely one for me. It was (and still is!) sometimes hard-work. I am a first-time mum so I am learning every day. 

Also, I am proud to have studied at the Institute of Education, which is one of the leading universities of England, and survived a PGCE (certificate to be able to teach in the UK). Especially when it was not in my maternal tongue! 

But I am very happy that I achieved a good career in teaching with students who (I hope!) generally enjoyed my lessons. I have been getting good exam results for the last 5 years that I have been doing this job.  

From your own experiences, what do you find the hardest part of parenting and what is the easiest/most rewarding part? 
I will start with l’aspect positif! The easiest is to take care of your children really. I never thought it would be so natural before I became a mum. Before Baba, it was very much all about me and Grumpy Boyfriend. It’s all changed now. Baba is my top priorité. Even if I miss work sometimes, I know that I made the best decision possible to leave school for a year and take care of him. I don’t want to miss all the little moments 😏. 

The most rewarding is to see mon bébé growing up fast and healthily. Most importantly, he is happy most of the time (like any baby, he has his little tantrums and tears). It shows me that both my partner and I are doing a good job. 

The most difficult part is to see Baba in pain, especially when we can’t do anything about it. As I already talked about it in my blog, Baba has a large VSD and will need a heavy operation. When we discovered it, part of me felt guilty because I thought that it was my fault. However, it’s quite a common heart defect and it’s nothing I did during my pregnancy. I get it now, but it took me some time not to feel bad about it. 

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? 
I get up super early, sometimes before 6.00 am and go to sleep late. But I am not complaining. I made the choice to do this blog and took other engagements. I will stick to it, whatever happens. Plus, I love being super busy. It makes me feel alive. Right now, I am answering these questions with Baba on my lap. Le petit singe won’t go to sleep 😵. I love multi-tasking! 

Why did you decide to start blogging? 
As I explained before in my post about being a SAHM, I needed to do something else. When I started looking into it, I saw a lot of other mamans saying that it was a nice way to keep a journal of their motherhood’s tales. I was convinced. Furthermore, it’s easy for my family to see what we are up to, as they’re all in France and I don’t go back there often. 

Tell me a bit about your blog? 
My blog is not to show how much Frenchie Mummy is amazing. Au contraire, I want to share my adventures and my fails, as I am sure we all experience difficulties. That’s why I try to be funny and I am not scared of laughing at myself. If my readers do so as well, parfait! 

I would love the Frenchie Mummy Blog to get an audience growing nicely and maybe turn it into a more serious thing later on. But I am not delusional; I know I will have to give 150% into the project if I want it to be slightly successful.  

If not, that’s fine as well. At the moment, I am just enjoying writing, putting all my emotions down on the paper. It’s like a cheap therapy, isn’t?  

What advice would you give someone who is thinking about starting a blog? 
As Mandela said so rightly, ‘It always seems impossible until it’s done’.  

Just go for it and don’t be scared! The worst that can happen is that someone at the other end of the country thinks you’re an idiot and you will never ever meet them! So who cares? 

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

1. Russell Brand, because he is a nutter. But actually, some of his stuff makes sense and I love the way he is passionate about issues. His documentary called The Emperor’s New Clothes was very interesting and so true. I think it’s important people are aware of what’s really going on with banks and big companies…Just saying! Check it out and you will be surprised! 

2. Victoria Beckham; just read the next question and you will understand! Plus Becks might drop her off to my party and I will have a chance to give him a peck on the cheek. That would be very nice 😌. 

3. Roald Dahl, because he wrote the most amazing children’s books ever! I was reading his works again and again when I was little. I would love him to give me some tips on how to create the most stunning stories to tell Baba. 

Tell me three random facts about you 

1. I have two tattoos: a small star on the inside of my right wrist and a tribal sun on the nape. I know that some people think it’s tacky but I love them and they’re part of me. The little étoile is actually the same as on my blog’s logo. I am thinking about having another one done when Baba is one, but I don’t know yet what it will be.   

2. When I was a teen, I was a massive Spice Girls’ fan and would collect every clipping I would found on them. My mum still has my huge collection back in France and I also have some folders in our flat (to Grumpy Boyfriend’s désespoir…). Even now, I still can’t resist buying a magazine when any of them are on the cover. I am still a big fan and would love for them to reunite again. I would take Baba to their concert; that would be funny! 

3. Even if I am French, I have never EVER had frogs’ legs. I don’t know why people think Frenchies do so. I tried snails once but I didn’t like it. I used to get annoyed when students asked me about it, but now I just laugh and explain it’s a cliché! 

Along with her blog www.thefrenchiemummy.com, you can also find Cécile over on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.