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As a child I loved to read books. I read the old books of my mom by Enid Blyton: ‘The Twins at St.Clare’s’. I guess it is fair to say I have had a fascination for twins since I was very young 😉 Around the age of 10, I became a huge fan of another typical girls’ book series, the title of which unfortunately I can’t remember. The books were about the daily life and adventures of a high school girl and her friends. I remember how excited I was each time my mom would come back from the bookstore bringing home the latest release. Also, I vividly remember that feeling when I had almost finished reading my new book. As soon as I reached the last chapter, I would read slower to make the book last longer. While reading, I always felt as if I was actually living the life of the main character. If it were up to me, I would finish one book per evening. Obviously, my mom always told me to turn off the light at 8PM to go to sleep. And since I was a very obedient child, that’s what I did. Always! 😉

During my teenager years I only read books during the holidays. To me the mandatory schoolbooks were too boring. During holidays, I would sit on the beach all day, reading a book, applying sunscreen, take a swim and continue reading. I could read a book a day cover to cover and start all over again with a new book the next day. Those were the days…

Nowadays, the only books I read are childrens’ books about monsters, heroes, heroines and princesses. I love reading books to the children. I am confident it helps them develop their imagination, but more importantly, their language skills. Unfortunately, the past couple of years, I haven’t been able to find the time to read books of my own preference. Every time I would receive a book as a birthday present, it would end up on one of our bookshelves. Luckily that has changed! A few weeks ago, bol.com sent me a Kobo e-reader to try it out. Frankly, I have always been skeptical about the pros of an e-reader, because let’s face it, reading from a tiny screen and not having to turn the pages is not the same as reading a real book, right? I have to take that back. I must admit that the Kobo e-reader is just perfect. It is light and just so easy to use! Also, given that the e-reader is as light as a small leaflet, reading in bed has now become such a joy: goodbye to those tingling arms from holding a heavy book! I downloaded a few books that I always wanted to read. I love to pick books from the non-fiction department on the bol.com/Kobo Plus site. There are so many good books to choose from, both in Dutch and English. Of course I like to watch television as soon as the kids are in bed, but reading before bedtime is an even better way to unwind after a busy day with the kids. So, my new goal is to finish one book a month and get back on track with my reading habits from my younger years 🙂

As you might have seen on my Instagram, I have also installed audio books on our ipad for the kids. When you subscribe for a Kobo Plus subscription, you will receive access to many ebooks AND audiobooks. The first 30 days are for free so it is really worth a try!

That’s it for now, I’ll go back to reading instead of writing!

In January we went on a three-week tropical holiday to Sint Maarten, the Caribbean. I have received many questions about tips and tricks for traveling with three toddlers and two preschoolers and I promised to make a list of must-haves for a long haul flight. Also, I wanted to give you a list of everything you need for a (relatively) relaxing holiday at the beach! I will publish this one later this week (if the kids allow me, of course ;))

Preparing for a long haul flight is really important. You won’t get away with taking one tablet and a lollypop. No, you will need a wide range of articles to survive a flight like this. The most important thing is: BRING FOOD, not just a few snacks, no, REAL FOOD! One thing I learned over the years is that hungry children are the worst people to hang out with. Even though cabin crew on long haul flights will usually be very willing to help, they simply cannot bring food to your seat whenever it is needed. So, a few days before we left for our holiday, I made loads of the kids’ favourite sandwiches. I put them in the freezer to keep them fresh. Right before we left for the airport, I put everything in our hand luggage. By the time everyone was hungry, the sandwiches were defrosted and fresh, just the way we like it 😉

If you like what you’re reading so far, click here to see my top-10 of items to bring on long haul flights.

And once again, it has been a while since I last posted on my blog. Story of my life 🙂

Fortunately, from now on, I expect to be able to spend more time on my blog. We have finally found a new aupair who is helping me out with the triplets during the day. Having her around should definitely allow me to spend a few hours a day on my website and the many exciting collaborations that I am currently working on. Also – more importantly – I will be able to leave the triplets at home when picking up Bas and Julie from school, which should at least spare me from having the usual nervous breakdown trying to manage five kids in a crowded school yard!

Let me take you back a few months when Julie and Bas started to go to primary school. Every morning, Jorn would bring the twins to school and in the afternoons I would fetch them. The last part is easier said than done.

In order to be able to leave the house to pick up the twins from school, I would need to take the triplets with me. This meant I had to wake up the triplets from their afternoon nap, dress them, give them a drink, put their shoes and coats on, put them in the car one by one. If everything would go as planned (which obviously would never be the case), I would manage to arrive at school on time.

Upon arrival at school, I had to take the huge – and way too heavy – stroller out of the car and put the triplets in one by one. After fetching the twins I had to do the same thing vice versa only with two (very tired) children added to this whole circus.

It didn’t take too long for me to get really fed up using the stroller. Instead, I figured it would be a great idea to let the triplets wear leashes especially designed for runaway toddlers. This definitely seemed like a great plan. Little did I know…

Seconds after I had put the leashes on and started walking towards the schoolyard, it happened… Faye started running directly into the schoolyard (enthusiastically), while Hannah had decided that she wanted to go straight back to the car and started screaming. Meanwhile, Cécile had stopped walking entirely… no movement, nothing. Eventually, I had to pick up and carry Cecile, while holding on to screaming Hannah on one leash and pulling back enthusiastic Faye with the other leash. As a result, Faye fell and started crying too. I hadn’t even entered the schoolyard when I saw Julie walking out of the school entrance, crying (for no reason by the way) and Bas with a very sad face because he had bumped into something on his way out.

Then, heading back to the car was the worst part. You know when your kids go to a new school, you want to make a good first impression with other parents, right? BIG FAIL! I really looked like a maniac; I had five crying toddlers all walking in different directions. The leashes were completely tangled up as a result of which the toddlers were tumbling all over each other. Smiling politely whilst casually ignoring my hot flashes was really all I could do as I was trying to make my way out of the schoolyard.

Now, we are lucky to have Leana living with us, which allows me to divide part of the many tasks. For instance, Leana will take care of the triplets when I pick up the twins. Also, during the day she takes the triplets out for walks to the farm or a park and entertains them with handicraft projects such as drawing and painting. It gives us all much more peace of mind now that we have an extra set of hands living with us.

For those of you who are exploring the idea of having an aupair instead of other childcare, I can highly recommend the service of House o Orange Aupairs! To us it is so important to have an experienced, service oriented aupair agency. We have hired other agencies in the past for our former aupairs, but their service did not even come close to the service of House o Orange Aupairs!

House o Orange Aupairs has a great screening program, they work very accurately and fast and they carefully prepare the aspirant aupairs on their new life as an aupair in a foreign country. Also, they take care of all the administration (e.g. visa application, risk insurance, health insurance ,etc) which is quite a hassle to do on your own. As very busy parents we would definitely recommend to choose the efficient way, and let House o Orange Aupairs find the most suitable aupair for your family. They do it best!

People who know me well know that I am not a big fan of dolls. As a child I really did not know what to do with a doll except for cutting her hair, which was usually a once in a doll’s-life experience.
Nowadays, my daily conversations consist of at least 20 percent doll-talk. And this percentage will probably increase by 60 percent in the upcoming years.

Julie has a doll, her name is ‘Dot’ and she treats her as if she is her own daughter. I sometimes feel as if she is doing a better job as a mom than myself. She can stay in her playroom for hours talking to her doll, feeding her, changing her nappies (every five minutes) and changing and ironing her clothes. Every set of clothes has its own story. A bathing-suit can be worn to swimming class, a dress with marine-stripes is for a glamorous boat trip and of course she has pyjamas for bedtime.

The pyjamas for bedtime are extremely important to Julie. Every day before we take the children upstairs for a bath, Julie goes into the playroom to undress her doll and put on her pyjamas.

A few days ago, she was busy with this whole changing ritual when Jorn called her and told her to come upstairs immediately (she had been ignoring him for about ten minutes already, so his voice sounded a bit annoyed). Julie started crying and went completely nuts. I asked her what was wrong and she told me while sobbing: “Dot is not ready for bed, I didn’t have enough time to put her pyjamas on”. So, in order to avoid a big drama I immediately said: “No worries, I will take care of her when you are in bed”. Julie went upstairs and pointed her finger at me when she was halfway up the stairs: “Make sure Dot is dressed for bed properly, she can’t stand the cold”. And up she went.

Now, you might think: “Ah, well, she’ll probably forget about it”. No! Trust me, Julie doesn’t forget important things like these!

When she was sitting in the bathtub, Julie asked me: “How’s Dot? Is she in bed wearing her pyjamas?”

My answer was: “No, I’ll do it later when you are in bed”

The moment she went to bed she asked me again: “Did you put on Dot’s pyjamas?”

I replied: “No, as you know, I was with you the whole time, but trust me, I will put her pyjamas on later”

So, after bathing all the children, putting them in bed, reading them a story, singing them a song, folding all the laundry, I finally went downstairs.

And there I was, tired and hungry (we usually have dinner when the children are in bed) standing next to our changing table with Dot in one hand and a diaper, a romper and her pyjamas in the other. One might think I should by now have enough experience to finish the job in a blink of an eye. However, it took me at least 15 minutes to get Dot dressed and to put her in her tiny doll bed! Trust me, it really takes a professional to put on these diapers, rompers and pyjama’s: nothing really fits and the doll doesn’t exactly cooperate.

Jorn started laughing when he saw me struggling with the fake diaper. He mumbled: “I knew you had a secret love for dolls after all!”.

It was the first time that I was actually ‘playing’ with a doll. I can’t say that I was really enjoying it, but the smile on Julie’s face the next morning when she came downstairs was priceless and almost worth the effort 😉

Outfit Julie: Levi’s Shirt Dress and Tiny Cottons Leggings.
Find it on the Melijoe website by clicking here.

Finally the sun is out! I have been longing for this for such a long time. Especially since I am spending so much time alone with all five kids, going outside is the best way to keep them busy. I bought new flowers and plants to put in the garden and we all know that two preschoolers and three toddlers are the appropriate persons to turn to when one needs help in the garden 😉

The Spring & Summer collections of my favourite brands have been available for a while now, and I ordered the cutest outfits for my team. The first sunrays were a good reason to dress all children with their new clothes. I bought all items on the Melijoe website which is really the perfect shop to buy your kids clothes! It offers a great variety of brands and the shop offers perfect basics as well as beautiful designer outfits for the little ones. Check out their webshop and I know for sure you will love it 🙂

Outfits:
Hannah, Faye and Cécile are wearing my favourite dungarees from the Stella McCartney Kids Collection combined with a cardigan of Petit Bateau.  Bas is wearing a super soft sweatpants of Marc Jacobs with a sweater of Le Petit Coco. He loves the stripes on his new outfit! Julie is a very happy camper in her new Levi’s shirt dress and she usually wears it with her Tiny Cottons red/white striped leggings.

Recently, we had the honour of welcoming Gonda Meurs into our house. She is an award winning photographer who takes documentary style pictures that tell real stories (Check out her website). She stayed with us during an entire day from 8AM until 8PM to take pictures, capturing ‘A Day In My Life’. I am happy to share a selection of this amazing photoshoot with you here!