Have you wondered if breastfeeding twins is possible? Well I’m here to tell you that it absolutely is possible – more sore than people think. This article will help set you up for successfully breastfeeding twins.
Continue readingPRINTABLE
Cooking for a Party
You’ve just volunteered for the yearly family party. Panic ensues. How do I cook for all these people?! Relax! Cooking for a party is not rocket science. Let’s talk through it together. Tips, tricks, theme/meal ideas and a free planning printable!
Continue readingScissor Skills
Working on scissor skills does so much more than just plain scissor skills – if that makes sense. It helps strengthen fine motor skills which in turns help with shoe tying, writing, drawing, etc. I know it seems scary to allow a child to have a pair of scissors and a piece of paper, but I’m here to help you see that it really isn’t!
Continue readingAnimal Action Dice
Large motor activities are so important – especially in the winter months when you feel like you’re stuck inside all day. Grab this animal action dice printable and get to moving!
Continue readingQuestions to ask a Group Child Care Center
If you’re looking for group care for your infant, it can be incredibly overwhelming! I have given countless tours to families so I made a list for you of questions to ask daycare when searching for infant care.
Continue readingWhat Your Wife Really Wants For Mother’s Day
Are you wondering what your wife really wants for mother’s day? Well wonder no more, my friend. I have asked some real life, tired, over worked mothers what they want – and I’m sharing the “secret” with you.
Anniversaries, Birthdays, Christmas…All of these holidays are to celebrate something, right? Mother’s Day is no exception.
Being in all these mom groups on Facebook, I feel like every single year on Mother’s Day, someone is posting saying they were not celebrated on Mother’s Day. They got nothing.
Yep, you heard that right. NOTHING. When you have small children who don’t know how to express their gratitude (or simply don’t have the money or means to shop), as the partner, you need to step in.
Every year when I read these posts I am baffled. Baffled that there are men out there who do not celebrate their wives/girlfriends on Mother’s Day. If this is you and you are reading this right now, shame on you.
These women made you a father for those kids you love so dearly. These women sacrificed their bodies to become a mother for these littles. They worry all day about them and they bust their asses to be the best mom they can be.
Everyone loves to be appreciated. So I reached out to my mom friends and asked them….What (attainable) thing do you really want for Mother’s Day?
I have compiled some of the best non-material (and material) gifts. What you do with the information is on you. I am here to help 😉
What your wife really wants for Mother’s Day
- Sleep – A pretty popular one was simple – just let her sleep in. If that means you have to sleep on the kid’s bedroom floor so you can intercept them climbing into bed with mom, then so be it. Whether your wife is a working mom or SAHM, sleeping in is a thing of the past! Maybe even take the kids out of the house early in the morning. Treat them to breakfast (but make sure you bring some home for her!)
- No Responsibilities – One mom suggested she wants to do their regular outings like they normally do on the weekends, but she doesn’t want to make the plans or pack the diaper bag. She wants her husband to do it all. This idea got the biggest reaction from our group of moms. Someone also said to just spend the day with them – she feels her husband doesn’t spend any time with her and her son.
- Do It Yourself – In relation to this one, lots of other moms said they want a day (if you’re feeling extra nice, a whole weekend) where no one needs them to tell them what to do. You finish eating? Wash your dishes. Dirty clothes on the floor? Put them in the hamper or just do the laundry.
- Silence – alone time. Movie by themselves, shopping alone, whatever. Feeling brave? Take the kids out for the whole day. Not just until nap. The whole dang day. And don’t call her to ask her questions. Just figure it out.
- Other mothers – Moms don’t want to have to worry about other mother’s Mother’s Day plans. Split up your weekend and spend Saturday with the other mothers.
- Material Gifts
If your wife’s love language is gifts, here are some ideas for you… - Pampering – Spa day, manicure, pedicure, massage. Or all of the above. Send them away for the day and do all the planning for her.
- Jewelry – The popular theme with jewelry was child related jewelry. So, stackable rings with the kids’ names on them, bracelets with their names, necklaces with their names. Google will be your best friend.
- Cleanliness – Clean the house. If you don’t trust yourself, spring for a cleaning lady. We just want a day where we don’t have to clean. Or lift a finger, really. Also, a few of the ladies wanted a clean car.
- Family photos – Moms are usually the ones to schedule these so if you take the initiative, that would be so much more meaningful.
Bottom line, put some thought into it. And involve your kids when you can (handmade cards, painting on a canvas, whatever). Speaking of which, here is a cute printable you can give your kids. Ask them the questions and fill it out for mom. I promise, she’ll smile.
Dialogic reading: How to Facilitate Extra Conversation With Your Child During Story Time
If you are looking for a way to make reading a little extra special, look no further! Dialogic reading is what you need and I’m going to walk you through the whole, easy process.
Continue readingFather’s Day Gift idea – FREE printable!
Every year we fill out this super easy Father’s Day Printable and put them into a book to look back on and remember. It’s free and has some really cute questions to ask your kiddos about dad each year on Father’s day!
Continue reading6+ Sensory Bins for under $30 – with tons of other ideas!
Sensory bins are the best for keeping small hands busy. You can switch out all the “fillers” and create tons of different combinations! Sensory bins are so versatile and are perfect for all little learners.
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Check out all of my sensory and activity posts here.
***2023 Disclaimer – this post was written in 2015, when I was a brand-new mom, my son was almost 3, I had no job, and I was very pregnant with my second kid. 7 years ago. I now have 4 kids (11, 8, 5 and 5) and have a more realistic “mom head” on my shoulders. I’ve done my best to update it to the current me but have recently decided to move my blog in a little more mom centered direction. To find out more about that direction, you can find out more about it here – “6 Essential Self-Care Tips for Moms – How to do Self-Care Right.”. ***
When my son was about 3 years old and I was very pregnant with his little sister, I didn’t want to go ANYWHERE. I was a new mom, trying to prep to welcome baby #2 but also felt as though I needed to entertain my toddler because we couldn’t afford preschool.
I thought making sensory bins for him was self-care for me. In a way, it was. It kept him busy while I could watch a show or drink hot coffee. But I was young and had no idea that there was a whole other self-care world out there.
Now, I consider myself the Self-Care Advocate for the Modern Mom.
What is self-care for moms?
Self-care is an umbrella term. Over the years, a lot of focus has been on self-care for moms, however not many people have truly defined it.
Self-care covers a wide variety of things. From taking a shower with no interruptions to a weekend away with girlfriends.
The 3 types of self-care under this umbrella are:
- Self-maintenance: these are the things you need to function. For example, showering, eating 3 meals a day and snacks when hungry, drinking your water, taking medications, making doctor appointments, etc. These are basic human needs.
- Self-preservation: These are the things you can do during the day that fill your bucket, but that you can do when you are responsible for the kids. Listening to a podcast while making dinner, reading a book while they’re watching TV, planning a park play date while you chat with the other moms. These things get you through the days to your bigger self-care items.
- Self-recharge: These are the things you do outside of the house, without the kids and it’s something for yourself, not the family. For example, dinner with friends, movie by yourself, getting a massage, going to a workout class, getting coffee before work. The frequency is going to depend on your support.
How do sensory bins relate to self-care for moms?
Setting your kids up with sensory bins allows you to take a break and get some of that self-preservation we so desperately need and deserve every single day. Obviously, this is also going to depend on how old your children are.
TIPS FOR DAILY ESSENTIAL SELF-CARE FOR MOMS
Now, I know you came here to learn about sensory bins, not self-care for moms. Consider the self-care for moms a little bonus. 😉 The box above will take you to the sensory bin guide printable.
Read on for the sensory bin content…
I could not WAIT to get to Dollar Tree and try all of these sensory bins. I went armed with a list after scouring Pinterest. The fact that I actually thought I would stick to my list was comical. The *list* also was for under $20. My trip was $40, BUT I bought some stuff that wasn’t for my sensory bins and since everything was $1, it was easy for me to take it out of my total and get a new total. Here is how I started:
Sensory Bins Shopping List
- 6 bins (I know I said that this would make 6+ – sit tight, we’ll get to that)
- 2 bags of cotton balls (I ended up using only 1)
- 2 bags of dry beans (again, I ended up using only 1)
- 1 bag of pasta (I bought Ziti)
- 1 bag of creepy crawlies
- 1 bag of lizards / frogs (obviously these and the previous ones can be switched out with anything – this is just what D likes)
- 2 sets of 3 rubber ducks
- 1 set of play kitchen tools
- 1 set of tongs (D calls these “pinchers”…he loves to play with ours at home)
- 1 box of baking soda
- 1 bag of decorative rocks
- 1 bag of decorative sand
- 1 bag of decorative pebbles
- 1 set of coffee scoops
- 1 set of 3 toothbrushes
- 1 container of oatmeal
- 1 bottle of vinegar
- 1 set of funnels
- 2 cans of shaving cream
- 1 foam alphabet set
Here is a breakdown of my sensory bin items:
The shaving cream is part of the “+” of my bins. I will get into that also.
Here are the items that will be in the bins:
And then here are the tools that he’ll use (he LOVES tools):
So first I am going to show you the 6 bins that I made, then I will give you ideas for the “+” bins. I will have to run to the Dollar Tree again and pick up 1 or 2 more bins that will act as “messy bins.” The bins that need to be switched out and can’t hold certain stuff (ie, clean mud, shaving cream, water, etc).
The first one I tackled was rocks and sand. I was super excited about this one because of the pretty colors I picked out.
I let D pick out which toy he wanted to put in this one and he chose the creepy crawlies.
In true sensory seeking kid fashion, he could not WAIT to get his hands in there. His imagination went wild with this one. They were all on a mission together to save the good guys and fight the bad guys Kids can learn colors, numbers, get their sensory output fix for the day, whatever.
Next one was the rocks and D actually had the idea of what to add to the rocks. I have to admit, those construction vehicles were not purchased at the Dollar Tree. But how could I say no, when it was his idea to toss them in after seeing the rocks? I just couldn’t.
Next, we loaded up the bin with dry oatmeal. You could very well use wet oatmeal, but don’t reuse it. You would have to toss it out after you played with it but I bet it would be very fun.
I was going to write numbers under the creatures bellies but there just wasn’t enough time with this guy digging in.
Next up was beans! I don’t know why, but beans are my favorite sensory item. Maybe it’s because it was one of the first that I used when I was a developmental therapist? They are heavy but not too heavy and they’re cold. I even like playing in the bean bin. We added the toy kitchen utensils and a scoop in this one. D loves the kitchen utensils so he enjoyed this bucket.
Next was cotton balls and rubber duckies. I wrote numbers on the bottom of the rubber ducks because we’ve been having some problems with a few numbers. He wasn’t too thrilled with this one, (probably because it makes the least amount of mess) but he’ll come around.
Finally, we did dry pasta and a mini foam board I found that he could put the letters into. I love this one! We are trying to learn the difference between numbers and letters and this one is awesome because it has letters and numbers.
As for my “extras….”
*Baking soda and vinegar is just awesome together. I’ve never shown D before but I will. It’s a really cool reaction, so this will be in my “messy bin” (the bin that needs to be cleaned out after every use!)
*Shaving cream is also awesome and will be a part of the messy bin.
*The toothbrushes will be in a soapy water messy bin with his cars so he can wash them.
*The funnels can really go into any bin. D found a home for them in the oatmeal bin!
Other things we will do in the messy bin:
*Clean mud (shaved bar soap and torn up toilet paper mixed with water)
*Baking soda and water (3:1)
*Play dough (homemade or otherwise)
*Water beads (these are found at most craft stores and some dollar stores)
*Pumpkin guts
*Hair gel
*Cooked spaghetti noodles
The opportunities for sensory play are ENDLESS! You can also add any small plastic toys really to these sensory bins. I could go on for hours on sensory activities.
