This is a post that I wanted to write almost two months ago. On the day that I started drafting it I went into labour. Yikes. Instead of coming home four days later with a newborn baby, I had to have two more surgeries and both baby and I only arrived home three weeks later. (Read about that here)

It was one hell of an eye-opening experience but now that I’m almost back to my old self, my blog needs my attention and I can finally get back to doing what I love. Posting about the things I feel passionate about.

I regularly read Celeste’s blog My Friend Thinks I’m Supermom (Recently rebranded to Being Me);  She blogs for the love of blogging and it shows in what she writes about. Her blogs tagline is “Blogging is after all cheaper than therapy” and she writes about taking life “by the horns and dealing with it”… now that sure sounds like a blog that’s right up my alley.  If you’re keen to read posts about all things local: food, fashion, fun and life then go RIGHT now (okay wait, maybe first read my post and then go) and check out her blog!! To get you started, here’s an interview I did with the lady behind the blog!

Introducing Celeste!

Firstly, can you give us a small intro into who Celeste is. What inspires you to get up every day and live your life in the way that you do? (Not the official bio version but the real life version that matters).

I am a very easy person, it really doesn’t take much for me to be happy. All I really need is never to feel out of control and that is almost impossible living the life I do. I am a very passionate person and if I set my sights on something you can bet your bottom dollar I am going to make it happen….eventually. What inspires and motivates me daily varies but I am driven by my 3 children and husband to be a better person and they all teach me valuable lessons everyday. I get up knowing that I have a purpose because of them.

Tell us about your family.

I am married to Kobus for 12 years and we have 3 beautiful children. Zoe (9) Reece (6) and Mila (3) We live in Cape Town in the beautiful Helderberg. Both my husband and I work full Time.

Zoe my eldest is a beautiful example of an all-rounder. She is exquisitely beautiful, has a very loving and caring personality. She is extremely academically inclined, focused and determined. She also excels in sports of all kinds. She is heading into a pre-teen stage now so we are experiencing a few personality clash issues and other hormonally related and driven situations.

Reece is my only Son. He is the middle child. He doesn’t seem to be struggling with any of the typical middle child issues but he has a bucket load of other things that make up for it. He is our “High needs child” He has been since birth and this continues to rear its head daily. That aside he is the most loving and gentle soul with a flair for patterns, colours and designs. We are at a point with him where we have come to realise he has similar traits and mannerisms to what is called an Indigo. I plan to blog on this at some point.

Mila is our free-spirited, Characterful & fun-loving soul. She is an immense and really sometimes seems to be the glue that keeps us all on our toes and aware to worry less and laugh more.

What’s the best thing about your husband?

He constantly tries to improve himself. He is extremely focused on becoming a better more “conscious ” individual and I admire that trait. It’s very motivational.

What is your Full – Time Job?

I work in the production team of a busy Economics firm based at a University.

What do you do (for fun) when you’re not being a total supermom?

I love to shop! I also love watching You Tube videos and tutorials on things that interest me. When I feel like I need something really relaxing, I crochet or read or cook something new. If I get a night out or lunch-date out with my Girlfriends then even better.

So I’ve been dying to hear the story behind your blogs name. Can you tell us a bit more about how your friend Michelle inspired you to name your blog?

I met Michelle on a parenting forum. We were both pregnant at the time. We had our babies close together and chatted daily although we lived in different cities. I already had two other kids plus my full-time day job. Along with that though I was running a very busy home based business. I was dealing with issues regarding the death of my Dad and things in general were tough. She would tell me daily I was a Supermom. We talked about how blogging could be like therapy and so I was inspired to try to that is how the blog got its name and tagline it was merely an extension of my life at the time and seemed fitting. When I started blogging it literally was more like keeping a journal, and so my first post on the blog talked about how it was perceived that I was a Supermom but that really couldn’t be further from the truth.

Your blog has been running since 2012, how have you managed to keep at it for the last three years?

Well to be honest for a very long time it was sort of just a journal for myself. When I felt I needed to get something out I would put it on the blog. For long patches I wouldn’t blog at all. In 2014, I probably only blogged once or twice. This year however, I came the decision that this blog was something I wanted to use to inspire other woman like me so I have made a huge concerted effort to get it out there and with that comes the commitment to making sure you put out regular content. It’s not hard really because a lack of something to say is not a problem I suffer with. There is so much I want to blog about and have scheduled to be posted and so now I am all systems go. I am very excited and really hope to be putting out content far more regularly from now on. It’s much easier since my children are getting bigger to find the time to put in an hour or two on the blog in the evening and with great apps like Evernote which I would be lost without, I am able to jot down ideas and even whole blog posts while I am out and about. There is not really much of an excuse or shouldn’t be.

Would you say that things have changed quite a bit since you started the blog?

As mentioned above, yes. When I first started my blog it was purely just a sounding board to myself, it wasn’t aimed at reaching anybody, but in this last year my vision for it has changed almost 360 degrees. The hope I have for it now, is that it reaches and touches people all over, especially working Moms. I need them to know they are not alone in this parenting boat. I have social media accounts now which I never had before and so my blog is being seen all over the place and not just for the few people I gave the link to. I am also reviewing products and services that come my way and interest me which I wasn’t doing before. I love being able to offer other moms like me great things that can make their lives easier or more fun.

Your blog is a parenting and lifestyle blog for the working mom. Tell us what makes your approach different to the other blogs that cover parenting. What do you think is the impact of your blog on your readers (what makes them keep coming back)?

In South Africa there aren’t many Parenting blogs that focus on the needs of the working parent. I really hope to change that. I want to create unique content that provides working parents with ideas and resources that will help them simplify life. I want to talk about the topics that don’t get dealt with often on parenting blogs. Most parenting blogs (Not all) are run by Stay at home parents and often homeschooling parents and so they are usually specific to that lifestyle, there is very little available to the working mom and that is something I have a world of expertise in and can talk about comfortably. What I hope makes people come back is my honestly and the way I write from the heart. I really hope that other Moms like me are able to relate to my blog and find a connection with me.

Do you ever feel completely overwhelmed with all the deadlines thrown at you? How do you find balance between blogging, family and work?

Sometimes I can get quite overwhelmed if I don’t schedule properly. Like any working person will know, a diary is imperative and I have one for my regular job and for the blog, I even have a separate one for the kids. It’s really all about not overcommitting the end which is something I have been known to do. I am working on that though. I usually only deal with blog matters after hours or during my lunch hour at work, where I can focus on it properly. When I go through very quiet times at work I do spend time on the blog side but for the rest I separate the two.

My blog is about coping with real life. What would you say has been your hardest obstacle in life?

Losing my Dad suddenly to Cancer has to be it and living with the fact that I chose not to stay with him in his last hours because of my own insecurities.

How did you manage to overcome that incident?

I still haven’t, not a day goes by I don’t regret it or blame myself for not being there for him.

Do you think there was a lesson to be learnt from the experience?

Yes, sometimes it’s just best to let go and accept. If you don’t, it can eat you alive.

Who or what do you think has had the most significant influence on the type of person you have turned out to be?

It is going to sound cliché but I am going to say my children. They have really taught me so much I never ever knew about myself. Daily I learn extremely valuable and priceless lessons from them. They have taught me a strength in myself that I never knew existed. They have taught me perseverance I hadn’t experienced before as well as how to be more humble and present.

One of the things I love to do on my blog is to use featured quotes in every post. What is a quote that you find yourself going back to time and time again, that has in a way become your “life motto?”

Actress Angelina Jolie said “I think if you love what you do, and the choice you’ve made in your life, somehow that drives you forward to enjoy it all. Even the chaos, even the exhaustion of it, and even when it seems out of balance”.

Just for the hell of it, can you tell us about your most embarrassing moment ever?

Once, unknowingly, I replied to sender in an email to a V.I.P, instead of forwarding to a colleague about said V.I.P being a “Nana” i.e stupid because I felt he was being a little difficult. I have never lived this one down. Even after 12 years.

And there you have it.. If you’d like to follow Celeste on social media, here are her links!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Supermomblog
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Cherrycolagirl1
Instagram: https://instagram.com/celestebooysen

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