We love to see how families use Tubby Todd in their everyday lives. Follow along with our series, A Day with the Basics to meet some real life Tubby Todd mamas! Today, we are tagging along with Hailey Andresen of @householdmagny as she navigates New York City with a toddler (and another little one on the way!) with a little germ-fighting help from our Coconut Hand Sanitizer. Enjoy!
Q: What does an average day look like for you?
A: My son, Owen, has been home with me since he was born (almost four years ago now)! Our days are about to change quite a bit when we welcome his little sister and he starts pre-k, but at the moment our days look a little something like this: I usually wake up around 5am to work, workout and have a little time to myself before we start our day together, we generally have a slow morning at home (breakfast, reading, music, etc.) and then head out for the day. If the weather is nice we try to explore this city we call home!
Q: Tell us about big city living with a toddler and another little one on the way!
A: Since our son was born in Brooklyn we honestly don’t know too much about life with kiddos outside of a city with the exception of our travels! I think living in a big city with kids intimidates a lot of families but we wouldn’t have it any other way. Regardless of your neighborhood in NYC, you usually have everything you need within walking distance—a grocery store, pharmacy, coffee shop, restaurants, playgrounds and in our case Prospect Park is just 15 minutes away from our front door. For everything else we hop on the subway, which Owen is obsessed with, and I can imagine, just like the suburbs, you find your groove in your place. It’s of course insanely expensive to live in Brooklyn, but we have done our best to offset those costs by keeping Owen home with me during these early years, living in a neighborhood a little deeper into Brooklyn, cooking most meals at home and just generally being conscious of our spending!
Q: What are your favorite aspects of city living? Any drawbacks?
A: I love that we’re raising our kids in a place with so much diversity, culture and history. Which is of course the reason why I also love living here myself. My husband and I both grew up in very small towns and while we will always love the places we called home, in our opinion, there’s no better place for our family.
Since my husband and I were not born and raised here, I think the biggest drawback is being away from our families. In the last year all of our siblings have actually moved out to Brooklyn too (we’re beyond lucky), but we miss our parents, aunts and uncles. We all do a really great job of staying in touch, but I have yet to experience life as a parent where I can call my own parents last minute because I simply need a break or a little help.
Q: We love hearing people talk about their dreams. What are some of yours? They can be simple and small, bucket list goals or experiences, or an overall grand hope for life.
A: I know it sounds cheesy, but raising a happy and healthy family is at the top of my list when it comes to dreams. Making the choice to grow our family was a tough one—we just felt so fortunate already with Owen that it was hard not to feel greedy or that we were pushing our luck by having another baby. After getting pregnant and miscarrying last year, this pregnancy has felt so fragile and precious (especially in the first trimester). As we prepare for our little girl to join our crew this September, I feel a strong pull to dive in to navigating this new family dynamic and finding our groove with two kids!
Q: How do you make bathtime/skincare fun for your kiddo? Does he have a favorite routine?
A: Most of our bathtime/skincare takes place with Owen just before bed each night! He’s a big fan of bubbles—we actually refer to bathtime as “bubbles in the tub” and not only make sure he’s stocked up on good smelling bubble bath but we actually blow bubbles in the bathroom. Since we don’t have a yard we’ve found this is a nice, clean way to play with bubbles!
Q: We just launched our new Hand Sanitizer! What are two places you would want to make sure you had it along with you?
A: Can I answer everywhere? Haha! We don’t have a car, rely heavily on the subway to get from place to place and don’t go anywhere without hand sanitizer!
Q: Do you have a favorite Tubby Todd product? What do you love about it?
A: We love the entire line but our favorite at the moment is the hand sanitizer! I love the smell and that it’s a spray!
Q: What is the biggest lesson you have learned from motherhood?
A: Great question. Motherhood has completely transformed my life and has truly made me realize what matters and what I don’t need to waste my energy on. My priorities shifted the day Owen was born and I’ve learned to embrace them rather than fight it. Meryl Streep has a great quote where she says, “Motherhood has a very humanizing effect. Everything gets reduced to essentials.” and I really think it’s as simple as that. Everything changes in an instant.
Q: What is something you’re most looking forward to in the coming year? In the next five years?
A: September 4th is my due date and September 5th is Owen’s first day of school! I cannot wait to watch both Owen and his little sister, June, grow these next five years, to see how our family dynamic grows, how my marriage handles these changes and where I take my business.
Follow along with Hailey and her family on Instagram @householdmagny.
