Tell us: Home at suechtignach

Dear Katii! Please introduce yourself, who are you and what do you do?

Hello! I'm Katii, 32, and have been a mom to two small children for almost a year. Before that, I worked part-time at an advertising agency and ran my lifestyle blog "Addicted to". In addition to my role as a mom, I continue to work in social media, because "just" being a mom would not fulfill me personally. I love my two kids more than anything and enjoy every free minute with them (as long as they aren't throwing a tantrum or other kind of outburst), but I have so much fun with Instagram & Co. that I continue to do that on the side - as much as I can manage!

In our series “Tell us how you do it…” we always like to eavesdrop and find out from other families how they go about their everyday lives. What topics do you get inspiration from?

I get inspiration or tips from outside for pretty much every topic. I used to ask my mom about every little thing. Somehow she just knew everything or at least had an opinion. But since she died a year ago, that's no longer possible. But we have a large circle of friends with lots of moms with (older) children, and I ask them a lot about their experiences. And otherwise: Instagram! I love exchanging ideas with my community, my readers always come up with the best ideas!

What does your daily routine look like?

First of all: It seems to be constantly changing, but currently it works like this:
The kids get up between 6:30 and 7:00 a.m., then we cuddle together for a while, then they both get dressed and then we have breakfast together. After that, my husband takes our daughter to the playgroup, and the morning begins for my son and me: We play or do the housework together, he sleeps and I try to do a little work, we go for a walk or meet up with people our own age for a playdate, go to baby swimming - it's really different every day.
At lunchtime we pick up the big sister, who can watch TV for a bit while I put the little man down for a nap. After that there is a round of fruit for everyone and then we go out into the fresh air. On two afternoons I have support from the grandparents, who not only look after the kids so that I can do a bit of work, but who really enjoy spending time with them. When my husband comes home from work, we have a quick meal, we all play together and then it's off to bed.

You have been a mother of two for almost a year. Has anything changed between child 1 and child 2?

Definitely. It was only after having my second child that I realized that "becoming a mother" with my first child had completely overwhelmed me and overwhelmed me. I found it incredibly difficult to "give up" my old life and to accept that things are not going to be 100% the same as before. Of course you hear that, but you only know what it's really like when the time has actually come. Since having my second child, I've simply accepted a lot of things in life, I don't worry so much about everything and I enjoy my life much more. Sure - I've been way behind on pretty much all projects since the second birth, there has never been so much chaos in our house, but that's fine with me. Of course I don't want to disappoint any cooperation partners and I would like our house to always be in perfect condition - but everything just isn't possible anymore. It took me a long time to say goodbye to my perfectionism and I would really like to make "Done is better than perfect" one of my life mottos (although I still find that difficult!). The kids always come first and are always the most important thing to me.

How do you recharge your batteries?

It's totally different... Actually, it's basically when I'm working. I've never been someone who could just sit on the sofa in front of the TV - I've always been writing something, editing photos or organizing things at the same time.
I recharge my energy with the kids by going out into the fresh air with them. No matter how bad the mood is, as soon as we leave the house everything is fine.
And what is also very important to me: time out without children – either a day at the spa with a friend or just a few hours in a swimming pool – even completely alone.

On your blog, you not only take your followers into your everyday life but also on your travels. You and your husband Matthias have always been on the road a lot. How do you feel about traveling now with two small children?

We have always loved to travel a lot and have been to Mauritius, Australia and South Africa several times together, and have had many adventures in our VW bus. With small children, the cards are reshuffled and a lot of things change. I'm not familiar with the relaxed holiday where you just lie on the beach for 14 days and let the sun fry your belly - but with a small child, a trip picks up a lot of speed. You just have to think differently and adapt a lot of things to the children (like swapping the too-small VW bus for a not-so-cool camper van with a lot of storage space). And yet it's so much nicer - you experience travel in a completely different way! There's nothing better than seeing your own children laugh and have fun! And (at least our children) are always much more relaxed when they travel, sleep better and are in a much better mood - just like mom and dad!

What life hacks for traveling with children can you give to inexperienced parents?

Have courage! That's pretty much the most important tip! I'm often asked how we can be so brave and fly to Mauritius with two small children or book a city trip to Lisbon with our then two-month-old daughter. You really just have to have courage - the rest will come naturally! Of course you can also wait for the children to get older - but traveling with children is really so enriching!
Also important: stay calm and don't let yourself get stressed! Otherwise, hecticness and restlessness will quickly be passed on to the kids!

What is your next travel destination?

Although we traveled a lot around the world before having children, we are now always drawn to the same places. Many people don't understand this, but we don't care! We find it relaxing when we know what to expect and when we already know the local infrastructure. With children you can't plan what it will be like anyway - so we're happy when you at least know the surroundings.
That's why we're going to Lignano again this year, to Sardinia with our motorhome and to Mauritius for kitesurfing. There are also a few spontaneous road trips in Austria and Europe with our motorhome.

On your blog, your followers experience you as incredibly authentic. You don't shy away from saying it when things aren't going well or the demands on you as a mother are very high. Why is that important to you?

Interesting question – I actually wasn’t aware that my demands on myself were (very) high… I just live my life as best I can, so that everyone is doing as well as possible – the kids, my husband, but also me.
Why do I often address the not so nice topics? Somehow everything is so perfect for everyone on Instagram - there are never any problems (or challenges, as they say) and it feels like all the moms on social media have their lives completely under control. It is important to me to also portray "true, real" life... because EVERYONE has bad times. Of course, I would never point the camera at one of the children screaming or crying, but I just want to show that every family has its own problems to deal with.

How do you divide the care work as a couple? What roles do you live by?

Basically, we have the classic division of roles (my husband goes to work and I stay at home with the children), but that's mainly because he is self-employed and the question doesn't arise otherwise.
On the weekends, he often goes out alone with the kids (with friends or grandparents), so that I have time for myself (and my projects).
We share the care work completely - everyone does what they can or what they like. Changing diapers, dressing, brushing teeth, feeding, making breakfast or dinner - whoever has time does it. We take turns putting the child to bed every day... But what is always the same is that he takes out the garbage, empties 80% of the dishwasher, does the cat litter, looks after the garden and the house in general and plans our trips. I "do" the laundry, tidying up, organizing appointments and getting the diaper bag ready.

A look into the future: The year is 2030. How are things going at süchtignach?

Hopefully still just as healthy, happy and turbulent. Just maybe with a little less chaos.

Do you want to read more about Katii? Then check out her blog or her Instagram profile

Image credits: Courtesy of suechtignach.