Making Motherhood (just a touch) Easier

***Stamp found at Etsy Shop: Altered Attic

Most mothers, at some point, feel like they aren't doing a good job at being a mom. Oh sure, they're still alive, but you're pretty sure that you're doing something to screw them up in one way or another. 

As The Hubs jokingly asks  "which one do you think will need therapy?" 

When we were in the final months before K3 was born, I realized that I needed to teach my older two to be a little more independent. I was going to be nursing and knew that, for at least the first two months, I was going to be a little tied to the rocking chair! 

That's not to say they aren't independent at all. They both are quite headstrong most of the time! But, they often needed me to help them with little things, wipe their bottoms, reach the soap, turn on the water on to the correct temp for hand washing, fill their sippies etc.. 

Realistically, they knew how to do most of those things, but weren't great at it. Bathroom help especially with K2, who decided she was ready to potty train one month before K3 was born. And yes, I was thrilled! 

So, I've had to improvise with how they do some things, but by George, they do it themselves! 

A few of my tricks:

~ Diaper wipes in the bathroom for them to use on themselves. Let's face it, they aren't going to be great at getting totally clean, but wipes are probably better than toilet paper!

~ Have them learn to turn on the tub faucet, and not burn themselves! They wash their hands in the tub faucet, fill their own sippies, get their own washcloth wet to wipe up their spills etc.. While they could have gotten a chair to do it all at the sink, I wasn't sure I wanted a chair screeching across the kitchen floor while trying to keep a newborn asleep. 

~ I taught them the steps to do certain thing, and key phrases so that I could tell them what to be doing, and stay hands off. For example, when getting dressed. I taught them to lay their pants and/or panties on the floor, with the words/tag on the bottom, then sit down behind it and pull it on. This eliminated two legs going into one pant leg, them falling over and getting upset or hurt. 

~ When I go grocery shopping, or a shipment comes in with snacks, I immediately separate snacks out and put them into a basket in the pantry. I sort cookies, crackers, and pretzels into snack size ziplock bags. Granola bars and other individually wrapped things all come out of their boxes. The girls know that if I tell them to get a snack, they get to choose out of that baskets. If it's breakfast time or I want them to have something 'healthy', I'll tell them to get something specific, and they know were to find it. At some point I plan to get a few more baskets and color code them with ribbons:

Yellow=Breakfast items

Blue=Salty Snacks

Red=Sweet Snacks

Purple=Candy 

Etc. 

Is it bad parenting that I don't have the time to be at their side every minute to help them do everything? No, I don't think so. I choose to see it as helping them develop their independence. 

What are some tricks you've established to get through your busy day? Leave yours in the comments!

A Little Mom Money

I've almost always had 2 jobs at a time. I like to have that financial security! I've held several different types of jobs, and have loved them all.

Then I went to just one job: Mother (and I love this one too!)

Once I took on one job, the job of being a mom, I found that I felt a little on the useless side. Now, realistically, I knew I wasn't useless, but I hated not helping financially. And even though The Hubs made enough for us to live on, I didn't feel like I should be spending anything on myself, or any extra treats. There was also no way for me to surprise The Hubs with any gifts or treats. He knew exactly how much was going into the bank account, since he was the one putting it there!

So, I started to do little things on the computer, to earn just a little extra 'mad money'. I've actually been able to bank a decent amount of cash in the short time I've been doing it. I also had a few total misses. So, take my advice (if you'd like) and save yourself the trouble of sorting the good from the annoying!

Treasure Troopers (for me) was a total bust. Way too many bells and whistles to keep track of! I don't even remember my account information for that one anymore!

Mypoints is working ok for me, but there is a pretty high cash out volume, and you can only get gift cards. I prefer cash! If you'd like an invite to Mypoints, please contact me!

Swagbucks is where I've landed and it's really working well for me. I've found several little tips and tricks to get the most bang for my (swag)buck! 

    

 ~ Get the Swagbucks App for your phone. You can't do everything from the app, but you can grab a few points a day while you're waiting in line or stuck under a baby at naptime!

 

    ~ Get the Swagbucks TV App... this is a big swagbuck earner for me for mobile! I turn it on and just let it play! You will earn 2 swagbucks for every 5 videos that play on your phone. (secret tip: you don't have to watch them, just let them keep playing!) I actually find some of the videos really interesting! You can only earn swagbucks for a video once a day, but there are a couple of hundred videos throughout several different categories, so it's not hard to get the variety you need. You can earn 70 Swagbucks a day, just by letting these play through on your phone. You can click individual videos on your computer on the Swagbucks site and earn even more! They don't count towards the same total!

 

     ~Shopping... yes, I know, this is the one that everyone hate to hear... "I have to spend money to get money?"... I get it, trust me, I do. I don't do a ton of online shopping (save for Etsy), but I've found a way to increase my online shopping, without spending a penny more than I normally would at the store! I buy my essentials from Walmart (have to click from the Swagbucks link to get your points) online. Diapers, Wipes, Toilet Paper, Napkins, Paper Plates, Food (dry goods or non-perishable food is all you can get online), Dishwasher Soap, etc. If you spend a certain dollar amount (right now it is $35, normally it is $50), shipping is free! So, not only do you save yourself a trip to the store and the gas to get there, but now you are also earning Swagbucks for your shopping! 2,500 Swagbucks=$25 in Paypal cash! There are plenty of gift cards available for smaller amounts of swagbucks, but the Paypal cash is the one I always want! I can use it to shop online, or put it into our bank account!