So last week I went over a few things we have done since this whole quarantine jazz has started…and I can’t lie… I am pretty proud of our little accomplishments! That being said, we have also had to keep our kiddies occupied! That isn’t always easy and sometimes its downright stressful, but we are taking it one day at a time here!
When I say keeping them entertained in stressful-I am not even coming close to conveying the thought. I thought we were doing ok here at home, but being stuck here started to weigh on me last week….Like-hit me so hard that I had a 2 hour all out cry sesh. It was rough. *I woke up the next day much better …..proof that sometimes a good cry is all you need to fix yourself.* But seriously, I lost it. I was so overwhelmed with parenting and feeling so STUCK that I broke down-(pooor Dale.) I complained and cried and sassed and sobbed and it wasn’t pretty.
Chasing a 19 month old with the broom all day-nonstop-cleaning up messes, vacuuming after sweeping because now the carpet is trashed, wiping up spill after spill, cleaning up pee puddle after pee puddle, (not to mention the poop all over…potty training is a nightmare in case you didn’t know), feeding snack after snack, 2 loads of dishes some days, laundry overload, the nonstop children nagging to do this and that and eat and this and that and eat this and that and this and that and eat…..am I repeating myself? Was that annoying because all I have felt was ANNOYED with it here too. I’m gonna stop here because I don’t want to fall back into my negative rabbit hole…just know last week wasn’t good here..but now I am DETERMINED to make this quarantine work for us, so now were are a #quaranteam.
How are we going to accomplish this? I’m going to share some of the things I have done to save alllll the sanity in this house and hopefully you all will like them too!
1.Video games first thing
Oh yes. I said it. Wake up and first thing screen time? uhhh huh. You know why? PEACE. QUIET. It’s genius and yes I am a bad parent for all that screen time, but I know that baby girl and momma don’t want to get up at 6:45am. Hard pass on that. So if they want to play their games, so be it. I’ll take the extra sleep.
2. School work
Yup. Even for Cashy boy who isn’t in school, we do a little school work every day. It’s good for their minds and does wonders for me. Cash is actually doing really well lately since Ford has been home working too, he seems a little more motivated to learn and I am here for it! I can’t lie, it’s not my favorite thing to sit there and explain every worksheet to him, but to see him light up when he gets something absolutely makes my day. Ford is Ford. He is studious and learning comes pretty easy to him-and he enjoys it…but that being said-working from home is more of a challenge for him! Either way, we chip away at it and it’s doing wonders for our brains.
3. Water beads
I bought these on amazon on a whim, but sometimes those whim purchases are the best! We got these water beads and they have been such a fun little addition to our quarantine time! All 3 kids loved using them and we played in them for a few days before we pitched them. So the link above is 50,000 beads. 50,000 of anything seems like it would have to come in a huge box-welp. Not these. But don’t be alarmed….
So this teeeeeny little bottle is 50,000 beads (Or I am assuming. Hoping they didn’t lie to me.) And when I opened the package I was pretty disappointed…but see how much we used out of the tiny bottle? That gave us this many beads….
That is a rubbermaid tub full of beads! It was sooo many and were barely used a few teaspoons of beads. Amazing! Callaway got in there and sat for probably an hour while the boys put legos, cars, ramps etc in there and they all had the time of their life! Totally worth the purchase and we can use these time and time again!
4. Stepping Stones
I ordered the cutest little stones for the kids to make, and I am so smitten with them! I can’t find the exact ones we used, but here is something similar. The kids LOVED this project and I felt like we got some art time in..Ok I loved it too. This may have been more out of my selfish desire to have their tiny handprints saved in a keepsake for the rest of forever…shhhh…they will never know. Here is how ours turned out!
Aren’t they so cute? I will say, the first rain came and washed the paint off..that is pretty upsetting. So my input? Only let the kids paint one and just make hand/footprints in the others. Use the gems they give you, but the paint is worthless. Just my two cents.
5. Make them clean
Seriously. You are raising tiny humans to grow up and take care of a household of their own one day. Teach them to help! My kids have to clean their own room, (for the most part) put away their clothes, take their plates to the kitchen, clean spills, etc. Of course, they need help, but I feel like instilling these work habits young is so important-also-helpful in the here and now. So don’t be afraid to have them help! Callaway comes RUNNING when she hears me unloading the dishwasher. She says “here ya go” with every single dish she hands me, and while it takes longer, I feel like it’s going to make a difference in the long run *or hoping so*.
So these are just 5 activities, if you will, that we have tried and have proved to be lifesavers in our house amidst the craziness. Have you tried any of these? If not, give them a try and let me know if you feel they were somewhat helpful!
Take care and of course,
All the love yall
*Please note, if you click any links and make a purchase, I may make a small commission. Thanks for supporting my little blog yall!*
Smitten With Three 