First and foremost…
Spray n’ Wash STAIN STICK. (Only the stick; the spray ones have not worked out well for me)
We have tested this product on everything, and it has never let me down. Baby food carrots spit-up six days ago? Check. Markers in the white t-shirt? Check. Pizza sauce all over, dried nice and crusty? Check. What makes me the happiest is that I can apply it after the stain has been sitting for a week (I have 3 kids people, my life never slows down long enough to stain stick my stuff as soon as the mess happens!), and throw it in the wash just minutes later and the stain comes out! Every time! Hooray!
Next up: My Honda Odyssey
I was never one who wanted to own a mini-van; I despised them. But with 3 kids under 4, well, you can’t exactly buckle 3 large carseats into a Jeep. So adios Mr. Jeep, the love of my life, and hello Odyssey! There are so many things to love about my van, but the thing I love the most is that the 2 middle seats slide together, after I removed the middle mini-seat (yes, by myself, 9 months pregnant, because I didn’t want to wait for my hubby to do it). Joey is buckled in the back seat, and it’s so easy to just reach back and buckle him in, with the 2 babies in the middle. Easy and fast, that’s what my life runs around.
The Safety First Tubside Bath Seat
Have you ever tried to bathe 3 kids by yourself, at the same time, when one of them can’t sit up and another one would love to push her over if she could sit up alone? I love this bath seat; we started using it with Jake was a baby, and it never lets me down. Mia can play happily by herself in the tub while I wash up the boys, and she can interact with them, which she loves to do. We have absolutely gotten our money’s worth out of this thing. I don’t have to worry about her being safe and trying to hold her up while I wash the boys, nor do I have to try to figure out when to fit in her bath and a separate one for her brothers. Some day, yes, but not today my friends.
Sleep sacks, sleep sacks, sleep sacks
Until recently I would tell you that a sleep sack is the only thing that keeps Mr. Jake from crawling out of his crib. He’s now mastered removal of the sleep sack and climbing out of the crib. But that’s beside the point. We had a very crappy builder build our house, who apparently filled the walls with, um, air, and thus the babies’ rooms are very cold…think 62 degrees when the rest of the house is 72. Enter said sleep sacks, to keep my babes bundled and snuggly. My 2 year old loves his, and asks for them at night at bedtime – “I need my nuk, night night, and sleep sack (or shweep shack, as he pronounces it)
Carter’s and Oshkosh B’gosh outlets
Did you know that these two stores have no return policy? As in, if I buy this snowsuit today, and keep the tags on it and the receipt, I can return it next winter if it doesn’t fit the Princess! And I get back what I paid for it, if I still have the receipt! Thus, I can buy now, on clearance, for next winter, and if it doesn’t fit, no big deal! Add to that the every-holiday-sales, with massive % off, and it just keeps getting better! Tip: staple the receipt to the tags, and hang it up in one piece, and you are all set!
My iPhone
I broke down and got the iPhone when my daughter was diagnosed in July with Vesicoureteral Reflux (VUR) – I knew that this, in combination with her anemia and several other issues, meant I’d be spending a lot of time at the doctor’s offices. Little did I know what a lifesaver it would be. There are so many educational games for the little guys, they love going to the doctor and waiting for hours because they can play “Shapes and Numbers”, flashcards, watch videos, and so much more! And when I get to use my phone (i.e., when they are fighting over it so I take it away to break up the fights) I can check all 4 of my different email addresses in just a few slides of the finger. Oh how I love it! Not to mention I have both my work and personal calendar on there, and can add doctor appointments to both calendars as I’m scheduling the appointment, thus reducing the number of forgotten appointments.
My baby sling – Amy Coe Peanut Shell (I have the pink one, and it’s on Ebay or Craigslist if you live in Houston)
Now before you start in on me, yes, I know they aren’t recommended. However, we only put her in the walker when we are right there with her, doing things in the kitchen. She is within eyesight 90% of the time, and within arms length about 89% of the time, there are no stairs nearby for her to fall down, and she is safe. This little girl can work magic in that walker that I’ve never seen with the boys. We put her in there while in the kitchen, to get stuff done. She runs in this thing, easily maneuvering around the table, into anything her brothers are playing with. She chases them, pushes their toys away, gets to the dishwasher and steals the kids’ plates out of it, and then runs away. She can reach the Fridge Farm, and plays with it more than the boys ever did. Her newest trick this week is to walk around the entire first floor of the house – she is strong enough to walk with it on the carpet, and she can get around our living room (and yes I can see her, thanks to our very open floor plan). She visited her brother in the bathroom this morning, to see what he was up to. She can go check on the door when the doorbell rings. And while she loves to follow me around, the fact that I can get things done while she zips around and causes a ruckous really makes my life so much easier!
There are a lot more things that make me so happy, and my life so much easier (the noise machine and the Miracle Blanket, when she was a newborn, for example; Baby Genious videos; Crayola Color Wonder Markers) but for now, I’m just going to enjoy the bliss that the above items bring to my life. Serenity now.
Anything you can't live without? I'd love to hear!
Please, please remind me of all this good stuff when I finally have babies... :)
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