How old are your kids and how long have you lived in Westport/the area? I have 3 boys, aged 7 yrs, 6yrs, and 10 months. I moved to Westport 2.5 years ago (when living in NYC with then two wild things (or 3 if you count my husband in) was no longer sustainable for my sanity:-)
How did you end up where you are now in terms of your job, or whatever passion project it is you might be doing? When too many daily routines (like washing your face and hair, or applying sunscreen) turned into battles, I started mocking up my own products kids would want to use – like putting cleanser or moisturizer on a foundation brush and asking them to just “paint your face!”. It added so much more ease and fun to our routines, I knew I had to get other moms in on this! That’s how Daily Jungle, and our first product the Rush Brush – Double Duty Paint-On Face Cleanser & Balm was born. I want my Aha! Moment to become every moms’ Aha! Moment. We deserve this thing called parenting to be a bit easier and more fun!
What was your best memory from 2020, a strange year we know…I got my weekend husband back! (And a partner to do bedtime with:-) As he was always traveling for work. And lots of backyard dates:-)
What are you most looking forward to as the world has opened up a bit? Traveling – absolutely my most favorite thing to do.
What is the last book you read? The Happiest Kids in the World: Bringing Up Children the Dutch Way. It takes even the laid-back Scandinavian approach that I’m used to up a notch. Being a mom in the US could be so much less stressful if we had our kids do more independently. That’s also the idea behind Daily Jungle. Our products allow kids to own their routines!
What’s your favorite app right now- for you- and for your kids? Mine – Instagram – I love stories! My kids – none! They get screen time about once a week – Scandinavian style, they spend their free time outdoors no matter the weather – and my latest wellness habit is to be very intentional about my screen time as well. I try to decide in advance how many circles I’m allowed to click on & my intention for watching:-)
What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you? That I spent time in 6 countries, and a few years in California, before settling on the East Coast, from Helsinki, Finland where I grew up.
What was your most memorable family vacation and why? After a 36th journey to Thailand from NYC with then 2.5 and 4 year old boys, my husband rented us a moped with a side cart and I held onto the kids in the side cart while he cruised us to various beaches through herds of water buffalos. I call it family adventure travel!
Are you a morning person, or a night owl? After having an almost hourly waking baby #3 for 7 months, my sleep is now my #1 wellness priority. I sleep trained myself & now stick to a bedtime and routine, resulting in huge benefits including less brain fog, more patience, and getting closer to thriving not just surviving through the days with three super active boys and a business!
What thing has surprised you most about being in the suburbs? For a girl who only lived in major cities with no plans to do anything but: that I love aaaaaall of it. And nothing feels like a “suburb”. It feels like a super cool little beach town with super fun people and things to do and I feel so lucky we found this place.
QUICK THIS OR THAT:
Cake or Pie? If vegan: I’ll take both!
At a movie: Candy or Popcorn? Neither. But I might bring my own Finnish Panda licorice.
Pancakes or Waffles? Waffles. I can put the mixture in the waffle maker, but I can never get good looking pancakes 🙂
Iced Coffee or Hot Coffee? Hot coffee.
Beach or Mountains? Beach.
Puzzle or Board Game? Can I skip it and do extra sleep?
Chocolate or vanilla? Chocolate
Reading or writing? Reading
Ketchup or mustard? Mustard but only if it’s organic Dijon.
Watch or play sports? Play.
Winter or summer? Summer!
Comedy or Drama? Comedy.
Annabella Daily is a wellness entrepreneur and the co-founder of Daily Jungle, likes making bath and body care fun so kids want to do It themselves!