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Tips for making life with kids easier
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Yael




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Aug 26 2005, 1:05 pm
I think it would be nice for everyone to share some tips that work for them to make life easier when you have young kids.

for me I know that to survive a shopping trip with 3 little ones, I bring with me sandwiches and snacks and a drink. when they start to kvetch I hand things out one by one to make it last through the trip. and bring a bottle of water so when they are thirsty you dont have to go searching for the nearest water fountain and waste time.
be sure to bring something tasty for yourself so when you start to lose patience you can give yourself a boost! Wink
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RedVines




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Aug 26 2005, 1:09 pm
I have really found that feeding them dinner before, my DH and I sit down is so helpful, they eat make a mess I sit with them, then when Dh comes home the kids are full and fed and can play while we enjoy our meal, however I cant wait to be able to sit down as a whole family, we have tried but then I can never sit and eat like a mentch.

I cant wait to heear other replys!

great thread, yael!
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Yael




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Aug 26 2005, 1:13 pm
for middle of the night fedings:
nurse lying in bed and to burp lay the baby across your stomach, feet touching the bed and head on your tummy, stomach down. you can fall asleep like this too.

to keep them busy while I do their hair, I give them perfume bottles to smell. they absolutely love it!!
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Tefila




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Aug 26 2005, 3:19 pm
Yael great thread Very Happy
If I'm on my own w/h the twins then I carry each one down in one arm in the morning and have other stuff like diapers and towels 4 downstairs (since my laundry area is upstairs.) To take downstairs I will put it in a canvas bag and slide it down the banister so all I have are my twins, and I don't have 2 go up again. Very Happy
When I shop, park or just walk I stock up w/h their sippy cups water bottle 4 me and snack always. So when they get kvetchy this is my emergency bag . Ditto yael Tongue Out Also one time I forgot to bring wipes along so when they ate their faces looked terrible so I used my water bottle and a kleenex and washed their faces that way.
From then on I just have a wet washcloth put into a ziplock bag and take that along for last min or unevitable cleanups.
Also I will not shop in general under pressure w/h little ones if I can help it. Exclamation
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cr2005




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 28 2005, 12:38 am
well friday night is all always hard trying to keep my 3 and 1 year old happy and entertained. Its a busy time trying to either feed them make sure there playing nicely, while getting the shabbos meal ready for when the men come home from shul.
well I usually have my three year help me out either getting the last things on the table( its amazing how happy they feel when asked to help out) or getting different things from the frig. This way I don't have to worry about my 1 year old, I just take out some books, toys..........or just sing or have conversation with both of them. Sometimes it gets out of hand. ( Im mean I try my best)but when the hour or two goes by and you had everything under control its a really satisfied feeling
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lucky




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 28 2005, 1:05 am
when my kids were little, I used to fold the laundry in the playroom while they played. If mommy is in the room, there r less arguments.
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Aish




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 28 2005, 9:39 am
lucky wrote:
when my kids were little, I used to fold the laundry in the playroom while they played. If mommy is in the room, there r less arguments.

how old are your kids lucky?
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lucky




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 28 2005, 9:48 am
Now my yougest is 5. Oldest 13
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Milk Munch




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 28 2005, 10:39 pm
When I have no choice but to take my two boys (ages 4 and almost 2 ) shopping, I always brings snacks ( as aforementioned) but I also bring along a little pad of paper and a pen. My 4 yr. old loves to sit in the back (aka "trunk") of the shpping cart and draw. For my 2 yr. old I will bring one of his favorite board books with lots of pictures. If I'm grocery shopping I will also ask my 4 yr old to be "in charge" of the groceries...he places them "neatly" in the cart and makes sure they don't get "squished".
Playing some form of "I Spy" is also a good way to keep them busy. Also one little matchbox car can occupy them for a good while wherever we are.
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Aish




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Aug 29 2005, 5:49 am
Milk Munch wrote:
When I have no choice but to take my two boys (ages 4 and almost 2 ) shopping, I always brings snacks ( as aforementioned) but I also bring along a little pad of paper and a pen. My 4 yr. old loves to sit in the back (aka "trunk") of the shpping cart and draw. For my 2 yr. old I will bring one of his favorite board books with lots of pictures. If I'm grocery shopping I will also ask my 4 yr old to be "in charge" of the groceries...he places them "neatly" in the cart and makes sure they don't get "squished".
Playing some form of "I Spy" is also a good way to keep them busy. Also one little matchbox car can occupy them for a good while wherever we are.

wow, your kids sound so cooperative. mine just want to get out of the cart and go about the store themselves, not hold on, and pretty much do what they want. but im tempted to try your suggestion...
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Aish




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Aug 29 2005, 5:54 am
1 thing I found really helpful for me is that I bought the kiddies a little tykes picnic table for the kitchen. I was soooooooooooooooo sick of the messes on the big table and I felt for my sanity I need to eat at a table that had a nice table cloth and not food splattered all over. so they have their "own" table for breakfast, lunch, snack, and maybe part of dinner. and the time we eat together as a family, ill put out cut up veggies for the kids or something like that, and hubby and I will eat our food, but were still "eating as a family" minus a big mess.
its helped me.
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RedVines




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Aug 29 2005, 10:51 am
what a great idea...I think I might try that!!!
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Yael




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Aug 29 2005, 2:13 pm
I keep tiny toys in my purse for when I'm unprepared and have to wait and the kids are bored. I have a lilttle car, and a funny looking pencil. when the kids were younger (less than a year) I used to give them the diaper cream or brightly colored papers to play with.

when taking long car trips, whenever we stop at a reststop I take some of those free brochures they have tons of pics of water scenes, boats, planes, flowers, horses, trains and my kids love to look at them. I hand out the papers one by one and it keeps them occupied for at least a half hour.
younger kids are happy with coffee cup covers or straws, etc. any of those free things at reststops. not for very long though Rolling Eyes
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613




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Aug 29 2005, 2:33 pm
Milk Munch wrote:
When I have no choice but to take my two boys (ages 4 and almost 2 ) shopping, I always brings snacks ( as aforementioned) but I also bring along a little pad of paper and a pen. My 4 yr. old loves to sit in the back (aka "trunk") of the shpping cart and draw. For my 2 yr. old I will bring one of his favorite board books with lots of pictures. If I'm grocery shopping I will also ask my 4 yr old to be "in charge" of the groceries...he places them "neatly" in the cart and makes sure they don't get "squished".

I also have started letting my two year old put the food from the cart onto the check-out counter. she thinks she is SUCH a big helper! she usually is most bored when we're standing in line.
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Tefila




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Aug 29 2005, 2:44 pm
Quote:
I also have started letting my two year old put the food from the cart onto the check-out counter. she thinks she is SUCH a big helper!

My 3 yr old does that but prob is she has her own small cart and will put stuff from shelves she feels we need And thats nowhere anything near my list though creative I must say Rolling Eyes
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uandme




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Aug 31 2005, 6:28 pm
landsend.com overstocks (catalogs are great for window shopping, easier to look at than the website,so I just look at the catalogs to know the merchandise, then look for it online in the clearance/overstocks section. I get winter boots and coats in summer, backpacks and lunchboxes in the middle of the year, etc.), you measure your kids and they have everything from knee socks for me and coat for husband and winter coats and button down shirts for me and lunchboxes, etc. keeps me out of the mall, its 24/7, and the overstocks prices are good. comes right to your doorstep, and you can send it back if there's ever anything wrong and they replace it.

grocery shopping I almost never do accompanied by anyone unless they actually enjoy it.

I make time to exercise and be by myself on regular basis.

I keep wedding bubbles containers in my purse for tense moments or waiting times.

I remember what rebbetzin braunstein a'h said 'a husband would rather come home to a wife with a shiny face than to a house with a shiny floor' and I don't get hung up on the mess (even tho it bothers ME) when I am spending quality time with my kids, doing what I need to do and what they need me for, for what noone else can give them, like making UPS trucks out of clay (I guess that one is related to the landsend comment, huh? Very Happy )
and teaching them to throw and catch and explain themselves instead of calling names and getting frustrated...

also books that come with audio tapes like amelia bedilia and corduroy, etc. are great and kids listen in the a.m. sometimes on their own and follow the books (I'm talking as young as 2-3yrolds) with their preschool tape recorders

outdoors, outdoors, outdoors
also use items like shoeboxes and rubber bands and glue to make a zillion things and teach your kids to make something from nothing
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Aish




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Aug 31 2005, 6:35 pm
[quote="uandme"]
Quote:
grocery shopping I almost never do accompanied by anyone unless they actually enjoy it.

??? can you explain that?????


Quote:
I make time to exercise and be by myself on regular basis.


who watches the kids?

Quote:
I keep wedding bubbles containers in my purse for tense moments or waiting times.


what is that?
Quote:
also books that come with audio tapes like amelia bedilia and corduroy, etc. are great and kids listen in the a.m. sometimes on their own and follow the books (I'm talking as young as 2-3yrolds) with their preschool tape recorders

this is a great idea. do they have these for jewish storys?



Quote:
also use items like shoeboxes and rubber bands and glue to make a zillion things and teach your kids to make something from nothing


can you give some examples?
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uandme




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Aug 31 2005, 6:44 pm
ok aish, a lot of good questions.
wedding bubbles are those tiny bubble containers u can get at party stores. I guess some people have them at weddings to blow as the couple go down the aisle instead of rice???!@!?!?


grocery shopping- I'll try to do w/out kids (they're in camp/school/sleeping with someone at home to watch) except for with a kid who really likes it (my daughter will ask to go to more stores even after shlepping a long time) so I am more efficient and don't have any complainers

taking care of myself-depends on ages of kids or times of day/year but whether it is my husband, a babysitter, or school/camp I find a way
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uandme




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Aug 31 2005, 6:48 pm
about the books and tapes
so far the only ones I've noticed were 'the wheat kernel' we had, but broke (good book tho) and parsha tapes on Beraishis.
I haven't found any other 'read-along' type tapes with jewish books.
but we really enjoy the 'zaidy' tapes which have stories and music (no book)

also, menucha fuchs has some wonderful tapes which are similar but not exactly same in content as some of her young chapter books. some of the titles of the listening tapes are:
shabbos queen
friendship
little scientists

they are really good and teach good middos and illuminate a healthy variety of emotion and navigating social skills, etc.
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Aish




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Aug 31 2005, 8:07 pm
[quote="uandme"]
Quote:
ok aish, a lot of good questions.
wedding bubbles are those tiny bubble containers u can get at party stores. I guess some people have them at weddings to blow as the couple go down the aisle instead of rice???!@!?!?


sorry! I STILL dont know what that is!
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