Essentials for stay at home moms

2 Shares

As a stay at home mom to 3 kids ages 3 and under there are somethings that I absolutely cannot function without. Below is a list of things that make each day smoother and much more functional. They are in no particular order.

Patience! If you have nothing else please invest in some patience. You will need this when your child wakes you up at 7am looking like this!

Baby Signing Time. I absolutely love BST! It has been so helpful. The Baby Signing Time DVD Collection is a fun way for kids to learn ASL. Zion started watching Baby Signing Time when he was about 13 months old. At the time he didn’t talk much, just a lot of babble and grunting (it was very cave man like). I could never understand what he was trying to communicate and that left us both frustrated. After about 2 months of watching BST he was signing and talking. I was so excited I still remember the day he signed milk for the first time! Vayda caught on even quicker and I’ve recently started introducing it to Zaniel and he is hooked! I can’t suggest it enough, Baby signing time is an awesome educational tool for children of all ages.
Timer. A timer is critical when you want to stay on task. I also use a timer to encourage my kids to pick up toys faster. Vayda will do it with no problem but Zion always needs a little motivation. He thinks it’s a game and if he picks up the toys before the timer goes off sometimes I’ll give him a snack. It works wonders!
Daily Planner. I have so many planners it’s not even funny. This is absolutely necessary when you have to keep up with dental appointments, physicals, karate and tumbling classes for 3 people. If you don’t have one please make your life easier by getting one.
Baby Gate. For obvious reasons. There is nothing worse than sweeping up a pile of trash, turning around to pick up the dustpan and turning back around to see that someone has tracked their tiny little feet through it. I use this baby gate because it’s pretty large and it can fold into a couple of different shapes. Also when I unhook the ends I can gate off the entire living room.
Snacks. I don’t know why but my children snack a lot. It’s like every 15 minutes someone is “Rungry”. I always have some Wasa Crackers , string cheese and fresh fruit on standby.
Flashcards. The state of Hawaii only offers public preschool for children that are in special education. And to be quite honest the schooling system here sucks, there is a huge community of moms here that homeschool. Although I don’t homeschool (yet? I’m considering it) I teach my kids the basics like numbers, letters and colors with Brighter Child Early Learning flashcards. I really like these because not only do they come with numbers, letters and colors but also, vowels, first words and sight words so it’s a great learning tool that my children can grow into.
Camera. For all of the memories you’ll want to keep.