Make It Simple

Make It Simple!

 

 

No one, not even your kids, are going to care about you winning an award about being the most elaborate mom of year!  So why do we keep trying?  All they care about is attention, love, and some food to feed their hungry bellies!  And if your kids are anything like my kiddos, the times you go all out and take the time to prep something nicer, more elaborate dinner entrées, your kiddos actually prefer the simpler dishes!

 

I had been avoiding the pool during the mid-day hours for a couple of reasons.  First reason was because of the boys' varied nap schedules for which I have now concluded that a couple days out of the week to stray from the schedule a bit is A okay!  Second, the fear of not only being responsible for all four kids and their well-being at a pool all at one time, which I have done on several occasions for about an hour and a half in the late afternoons, but to implement a lunch on top of it simply overwhelmed me.  I was concerned about trying to feed the older three while also trying to feed a baby at the pool.  After last week, and realizing how my crew just sometimes has energy not suitable for such a tiny home as ours, it was time to bite the bullet and try; and try I did!

 

Packing a lunch was a daunting thing for me to think about as well.  Trying to make and pack a lunch for three kids and a baby just seemed too much.  I thought about the little grill restaurant at our pool as an option, but we had been using that as a family dinner option on the weekends and I wanted a little break from that resource; however, I wanted to make it as simple as I could for my first time out so I took inventory of what we currently had in the house and went for the easiest lunch items!

 

For our lunch, I grabbed easy items that required no prep whatsoever.  Perhaps not the most green option, but it was my survival option and it won't always be like this.  I just wanted the kids to have fun while not overwhelming myself and my efforts in the process.  For a bread type option and a fruit type option, I grabbed Nutri Grain bars.  I also grabbed apple sauce in a squeeze pouches.  I grabbed fun food options and something that provided a crunch aspect of the meal by way of assorted bags of chips.  For drinks I grabbed Gatorade for me and juice boxes for the older kiddos.  I grabbed a small sippy cup of water for Big Mac to hold his thirst over until we got back from the pool.  I also grabbed a quick jar of baby food for him to eat and some finger food for him as well.  

 

I did fail to provide a vegie option but that could have been remedy with baby carrots which do come in individual serving sizes, but I had none at the time.  Also, I did not have a protein option either but hey there are other meals in a day too.  However, if I wanted to provide a protein option something like string cheese would have been a simple choice!  Though I had none in the house that day either.

 

I used what I had to make our first lunchtime outing to the pool!  Although it was simple, the kids enjoyed their lunch and told me so!  They said it was yummy and light for such a hot day.  I think they also were thrilled with the fact that I was trying to bless them with a fun pool outing even if I was trying to make it as simple for me as possible.  They just appreciated the fact that we were there and that they didn't go hungry while having a blast at the pool!

 

We already enjoyed a similar lunch outing at the pool yesterday!  Love getting out with all my munchkies!  Remember many aspects of parenting doesn't have to be rocket science!  Make it simple for yourself!

Play Space

Little Man's play space.  Just ignore the air purifier in the corner!

So as I have stated several times previously, our house is rather small.  We have plans to move, but Scot has decided that now is not the time.  So I am left still trying to make things work and to make due with what we have.

Our house is a small three bedroom townhouse.  With Big Mac's arrival, came the first time that we did not have a nursery for our baby.  Unlike his siblings, Big Mac didn't get a nursery of his own.  He slept the first 5 to 6 months of his life in our master bedroom, then we moved him into Little Man's room to create a boys room.  However, this posed a problem that I never had before with my other youngsters. 

As Big Mac became more mobile, I soon realized that all of the little toys for the older three needed to go somewhere away from Big Mac's reach.  In the past, with the other kiddos, I would just move the older kid's toys into their bedroom as we always had a nursery.  This time that idea was simply not going to work as Big Mac didn't have his own nursery, but actually shared his room with his older brother.  Simply placing Little Man's toys in the bedroom was not going to work; because Big Mac sleeps and plays in there too, so I had to put my problem solving skills to the test.

I ended up placing the girls smaller toys and games upstairs in their bedroom, and I moved Little Man's toys into the dining room.  Yep, you read that right!  I decided to make a play space for Little Man in the dining room!  We have a sunken living room, so as of right now it is a great way to trap Big Mac.  Once he starts accomplishing the step, I will just use a baby gate to keep him in that space.  I removed Little Man's toys from the living room and the boys' bedroom, and gathered them into the dining room.  I grabbed the girls' pink, princess table that they hardly use anymore and I decided to put it to good use right now.  I organized toys and placed them into canvas bags and such to create a play space for Little Man in order to create a safe place for Big Mac. 

I used what I currently had to make things safe for the baby.  I do plan on getting collapsible organizers eventually. However, I am frugal in some regards and I am willing to wait to see what host credits I will get when I have a party in August with a bag etc. company.  I am looking forward to that, and I know that it will make my dining space look better.  Sometimes so many people are just so quick to buy big, new and/or expensive to make great spaces; and while that is all fun, and good, and needed sometimes, other times it is good to just learn to use what you have--like a pink princess table for your son! ;-)

I do look forward to having my dining room back to solely being a dining space eventually, but right now this is my life and this is my house.  And before you know it the kids will up and grow so quickly, that this play space will be gone in a flash, and I will probably miss toys in my dining, living and kitchen spaces (Yes, I currently have Big Mac's infant swing in my kitchen space!).  Perhaps when we do finally get our larger, elbow-room kind of house, I may actually miss this tiny house and what came with it.  I keep telling myself "delayed gratification."

How We Stay

Several weeks ago, we went on an overnight trip up north to enjoy a Day Out With Thomas.  After our stay and overnight experience, I decided that I would share how we stay when we are traveling on overnight trips, or even brief stays that last just a few nights.  When we travel to the beach and other more extended type of trips and vacations, our approach is usually a little different than what I am about to explain, like we rent a house or condo.  Being a larger family, I thought that you all may be interested in hearing how we handle hotels and such!

With in the last couple of years, even before we became a family of six and were still a family of five, we started implementing a new way of traveling.  And we have continued it on after Big Mac's arrival.  Our first experience with overnight traveling being a family of six, which included lodging, was when we went to take the kids to see and ride on Thomas the Tank Engine!

You have to plan being a larger family.  You have to leave planning on whim to a minimum if you want to enjoy perks and take advantage of more roomier lodging, so that you are not right on top of each other in a cooped up small room.  When we start planning we get ready to make reservations at a hotel that has what we are looking for our family.  Scot spends time searching the web for good deals and locations of hotels that come equipped with suites! 

Suites are hotel lodging beyond that of a one room and one bath experience.  Suites come with a living type area with a separate space for sleeping.  The living area also comes equipped with a pull out couch, leaving room, space, and a variety of sleeping arrangements.  Sometimes such options at hotels are not always easy to find or may be twenty minutes from a desired location/target area, but believe me when I say that the 10 to 20 minute car ride may be well worth it.  Also, many newer hotels are starting to have such rooms and lodging available.  It is becoming more common place now.

We also love us some Residence Inns!  These hotels come with a larger option which often include a kitchenette and small dining area.  The refrigerator is often larger than the mini fridge so often used in small hotel rooms.  When we plan on staying more than one night then we enjoy it when we can find this option too for a few reasons.  First, sleeping arrangements and space.  Second, to cut down costs or to save us on time and energy, coming back to the hotel to make a quick meal for the family is a great option, because many times such kitchenettes are equipped with a small variety of cookware, utensils and dish clothes.

Now there are times like last year, when we traveled into the mountains and our options were extremely limited and we just had to make due with what we could find.  In those cases, we were prepared for the smaller room and close spaces.  I brought fans for plenty of white noise so that I didn't have to hear Sky Baby grind her teeth, Crazy Paizy talk or squeak in her sleep, and Little Man running into the sides of his pack'n'play.  Yes, we used a pack'n'play to help sleep him when he was two-years-old.  It was that trip that we realized that he had grown out of that option!  Scot and I did go out and enjoy our balcony and our view as the kids fell asleep each night.  Then we just marched in for an early bedtime, but we made it work!  We also knew that only one television was going to be available in that space, so we brought in our portable DVD player so that the kiddos could watch what they wanted when we were in the room and we could enjoy watching something for ourselves.

When traveling as a large family, or really any sized family for that matter, you need to plan ahead, and be inventive.