Hi Claire, how are you? Talk us through a typical day for you and your children.
Hi! We are well thank you. The ‘norm’ varies really! Nens is seven, so she’s in school full time. I work part-time, so I have two full days with Mimi before she starts school in September. We try to do fun activities each week together, meeting friends, farms, play parks etc. Mimi is so happy just to be out and about, we try to keep busy! We love dog walks in the countryside… walks by the river and seasonal activities like pumpkin picking. We love going out on the girls Micro Scooters or doing craft activities.
You take beautiful seasonal pictures on your profile. Do you enjoy creating posts with your children?
Thank you. I absolutely love photographing the girls, I love finding new places with beautiful lighting and opportunities to be creative. Photography has always been a huge passion of mine, I’m so pleased the girls are happy to let me snap away! I have random moments of inspiration sometimes! I get these ideas of the image I’d like to create, then try and work a way of making it happen.
How do you all like to spend your weekends?
The weekends are the normal mix of ballet lessons, swimming classes and visits to grandparents. We try to do fun things as a family with their daddy too, such as trips to the seaside or to a National Trust property. This weekend we stayed on a houseboat! It was such a fun adventure and the girls loved it. Often their daddy will take them for a bike ride, which gives me some time to get bits done around the house and put a playlist on to sing along to! In the autumn and winter we love making s’mores by the fire. The girls love them and I enjoy seeing their chocolatey faces grinning up at me.
What other activities do your children love?
The girls are quite happy go lucky really. They love planned day trips, but are equally just as happy going on autumn woodland hunts, animal and bird spotting and dog walks in our local countryside. They have access to tablets and an iPad, and although we let them have time on them, it’s limited.
They look like they love being outdoors. Do you find that outdoor play helps improves their develop and confidence?
They love being outdoors. We are so lucky to be surrounded by the most beautiful countryside and we love exploring it. The lockdown gave us reason to find so many beautiful new walks nearby, and we love revisiting them - as well as continuing to find new ones.
The girls love climbing trees too! I can’t help them unfortunately, so that’s an activity their daddy has to help with. There’s a rope swing near us too, and they love it. It’s so nice speaking with them as we walk, interacting with them and hearing them tell us about all sorts of things that interest them. They make up funny little songs and dances too! We get so much more engagement from them when they’re not distracted by their screens, we are more likely to find out about what’s going on at school too.
The girls seem to love her fashion. Are they starting to develop a taste for what they like to wear?
Yes and no. They both love buying new clothes and enjoy choosing what they would like to wear - but at the same time they’ll generally wear anything and are happy to wear matchy matchy too. I’ll keep that going as long as I can! Nens likes to follow fashion, but I can sometimes find it very difficult to find clothes in her size that are what I think are age appropriate. I usually give Mimi a few choices when she’s getting dressed, just to speed things up, but she knows what she likes and she’s quite good at putting outfits together herself.
What do you look for when buying shoes for your children?
Firstly they have to fit properly. I like shoes that the children can be independent with and that they can wear all day comfortably. I’m terrible at wanting shoes in every colour. I love coordinating the colour of an outfit with their shoes. The girls are so active that I need the shoes to be comfortable for them, but also to be robust and to last.
How do you like to shop – do you mainly buy products online or instore?
I like both. With clothes I like to see the products in person if I can… but I’m not a fan of trawling the shops. I tend to know what I’m looking for before I go out. I do love convenience ordering – a few clicks on my phone and the item is delivered within a day or two. Although that’s a little too easy to spend too freely!
What are your favourite styles from our new autumn/winter collection?
The navy Chelsea boots with the floral elastic have always been a favourite here. They go with everything and hold their shape whilst being comfortable and robust. We have had these in several sizes for both girls and have just bought the next size up for Mimi again. I think it’s fab you’ve done a collab with JoJo Maman Bebe! We love their clothes and style so their characters on the boots look very cute! We also love the Start-Rite Fantasy shoes in purple metallic - these may well be an order in the near future!
Follow Claire over on Instagram @mimi_model_nens
Author: Stacey, published 26-10-2021.
