Introduce yourself..

I'm Claudia, 28 years old, photographer, blogger and mother of two children: Senn (4, already 5 in February) and Liv (2). Haarspeldjes.com asked me to write a blog and to give you a "peek into our life". Due to the lockdown, our days are a bit different than usual (which many parents will now experience). My husband Stefan works in the port and has recently been able to work a week/week system, so he is at home for one week and away for one week. Even though our schedule is not running as usual due to the lockdown, we try to keep a rhythm in our day as much as possible. I notice that we (Stefan and I) and the children benefit greatly from this. We have always tried to maintain a rhythm and structure (as far as that is possible with children). But especially now I think that is very important. Below I have typed out a small schedule showing the layout of a "standard" day of ours during the lockdown. Do you read with me?

08:00 AM – wake up!

I am really lucky with good sleepers. Liv usually goes to bed between 7:00 PM and 7:30 PM and Senn between 7:30 PM and 8:00 PM. They sleep through the night and when they wake up on their own it is usually at 8:00 AM. We then brush our teeth and go downstairs.

08:30 AM – breakfast (and coffee)

I deliberately do not dress Senn and Liv before we go down, because the first spots appear very quickly with breakfast. I don't think stains on the pajamas are such a disaster. They can then go into the wash again.

09:30 AM – time to dress up

After a nice relaxed breakfast (which is of course a big advantage of the lockdown) we all get dressed and we do our hair. Senn has a short haircut, so that's done in no time. By the way, I always really wanted to let Senn grow his hair. I like guys with longer hair so much! But unfortunately Senn has inherited the structure of his mother's hair and as it grows it takes on a very weird structure: a kind of mix of blow/curl/style and frizz. Really! I also sometimes asked the hairdresser if I could do something about it, but they said that some people have this and that there is actually not really a good cure for it. Well, back to the topic. With Liv my hands itch to make the most beautiful creations in her hair, but I usually don't do that before her nap. Liv enjoys running her fingers through her hair and I don't want loose rubber bands and clips in her bed. So usually it's a ponytail or a bun. We dress upstairs and usually I immediately use the opportunity to throw in some laundry and put clean laundry in the closet etc.

10:30 AM – fruit

Important of course. We also play a bit.

11:30 AM – Liv to bed

Liv sleeps best around this time. That is sometimes quite difficult because of lunch, but she will eat it a little later.

12:00 PM – school

Senn is in group 1 and has a team meeting with his teacher and classmates from Monday to Friday at 12:00. This takes fifteen minutes and then we continue with his other school assignments.

1:00 PM - lunch

2:00 PM – Liv wakker

At 2:00 PM I go wild with Liv's hair haha. No, not always, but I really enjoy making beautiful creations in her hair. I often put her at the dinner table and try to make some of those spiky hairs while she's eating. That way she keeps sitting still a little bit, because as you might understand: that's quite a task for a toddler haha.

3:00 PM – Go outside

We like to be outside, because we have two dogs. One person does not dare to go outside, but the other loves it! It is also great fun for the children to run with the dog. Earlier in the day we already do small walks and around 3:00 PM we often go for a long walk. I also recently devised (as a fanatic mother) to create a group app with the parents of Senn's classmates who live in our area. This way we can meet in the playground with the other children. This is also often around this time.

4:00 PM – playing / TV

Pfoe, I'm so happy that Netflix and YouTube exist. Call me whatever you want: I don't care. I think screen time is a lifesaver! I try to limit it as much as possible, but I notice that the hour from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM is often very difficult for the children. Relaxing in front of the TV is nice for them and for myself..

5:00 PM – cooking

Senn and Liv always want to sit on the counter when I'm cooking. An advantage of this is that they often eat some vegetables.

5:30 PM – eating

6:00 PM – bath

6:30 PM – book

I think reading a book before going to sleep is such a nice time. I am happy that they like books, because I also find it very nice and important to do. The favorite book of the moment is "Borre" by the way.

7:00 PM – bed

About this time Liv goes to bed and as a "big" boy, Senn is allowed to stay up a little longer afterwards.

8:00 PM – mommy time!

And that sounds very nice, but many days a week I use the evenings to work. With two young children, editing photos and taking care of administrative matters during the day is not an option, so I do this in the evening. The evenings I'm not working it is: Netflix and chill! I also enjoy scrolling on Instagram. I can't wait until the lockdown is over, because I really enjoy evenings with my friends!

I hope you enjoyed reading this blog and I am curious if your schedule is a bit like mine. If you have any tips for the daily schedule with young children or the hair structure of Senn: let me know!

Below are some fun facts:

Favorite styling

I think two pigtails are incredibly cute, but I think I prefer a small "messy bun". Simple, yet very cute. It gets really cool with a nice scrunchie or the addition of a hair clip.

Amazing collection

Actually, almost everythingYour Little Miss sells is completely my style (I keep saving up to buy the entire collection). I love classic and soft colors, vintage, boho, hip and (for Liv of course) nice and girlish. The items from Your Little Miss are completely in line with that!

Favorite hair accessory

Our favorite hair accessory is the set with the bows in the color old pink. LOVE IT!