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5 things to do on Snow Days indoors- easy and fun
Being locked inside doesn’t have to be a bad thing. I kind of enjoy the snow days of school. If you have been living in the Midwest you are use to having a least one day inside during the winter months with kids instead of at school. Lately we have been having a lot more of these and I thought I would share how we keep busy and sane during snow days. So here is a list of 5 things to do on snow days indoors.
Big tasks
Besides being busy doing odds and ends around the house we have been able to tackle some rather large and daunting tasks while locked inside. I love to save some large projects on days like this to get a major overall done. Cleaning out a closet can be too much on the weekends especially when you have tons of kids events so this is a good time to lock those in. So first thing is to clean out a closet or an entire room of one of my kids with them helping. Ok, maybe they don’t help but they do engage with all the items being tossed around. They help decide what stays and what goes. It makes it easier to see what will fit them and what needs to be donated when they are around to try it on.
Baking
Baking is something both of the kids love to do and it is something that during the week locked inside we have the time to do. They can both make something and are under no time constraints so the process goes so much easier. Also you can do something simple like a cake mix you have on hand. Add food coloring in separate bowls and make rainbow cupcakes. You can make jello jigglers and have them cut out shapes. Also can be done with rice krispies and cookie cutters. Just an easy fun food project gets them busy and they are happy creating something they get to eat.
Crafts
Who doesn’t have that random box of crafts laying around that the kids never seem to play with. The random loom kit, lego box that never was done, the big box of crayons and markers that were put aside. Time to grab all of these and put out on the table. My little guy loves playdo but I hate to clean it up. So this is the perfect time to pull it out and let them play all day. You would be surprised at how these discarded items will be put to work making all sorts of new projects. For coloring have them make Valentines for their class or cards for their friends. Brackets for the family members or new pot holders for nana. There are so many ideas put away for a rainy/snowy day.
Pretend
Saving the best for last. My kids love playing pretend. From beauty parlor to grocery store to doctors office my kids love to dress the part. They act out all the parts. Both kids style my hair done and get the best makeup job from Piper. Will loves to give everyone check ups and make sure we are all up on our shots. They have a check out register and they go shopping in the kitchen and buy their groceries. The land of make believe is rich at our house.
Games
Who doesn’t have a stack of board games in their closet? Puzzles gathering dust and hungry hippos that haven’t been feed in months. Time to break these out and remember how much fun they are and if you don’t its time to stock up on some classics. I just added to our collection sight word bingo and I can’t wait to try it out.
It is a fun day when they have lots to entertain them and when you play along, you make memories for a lifetime. Keeping kids busy during snow days can be a magical time that you don’t always seem to find during the weekend. Make sure to take advantage of it.
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How to have balance with kids, job and a life
Something so important to me is balance. Last year it took me a while to figure out what exactly that looked like for me. This blogging journey started back in March which added to an already busy lifestyle of being a mom of two kids. I have 65% of the time with me with, their activities, my full time job as HR for my parents company, and my side hussle of owning apartments. All of the fun that goes along with that and trying to fit in selfcare. Be that being working out, time to myself, cleaning my home and of course my great boyfriend of almost two years now Kyle, doing date night and spending time together.
Mornings
Since starting the #last90days challenge it teaches you to get up an hour earlier which has helped a ton. At first I was using this time to do my Instagram posting and engagement for the morning, but at 5 am you don’t see alot of activity. So I had to change it up and I really didn’t want to workout that early. When I workout I like to read a magazine, scroll social media, or watch tv. I don’t do a rough workout.
After doing the 80 days and doing Orange Theory and all the things for so long I needed a break. Now I am walking on the treadmill for at least a half hour. I do this after the kids get on the bus and I have the place all to myself. During that early hour I now do things for me, like laundry or cleaning or just checking my email. I plan on doing more blogging during this time and that is one of my goals this year.
During the day
After workout is done I get ready and head to work. Sometimes to the apartments to see what needs marked off on the never ending list of to dos. At the office I do HR and all the fun things with it. I manage the payroll and also do the books for myself for my rentals when I get all of my other items accomplished for the day. Lunch lately has been taken at the desk with leftovers or soup. All while trying to get caught up on all my personal bills and emails and if there is time blogging.
Afternoon
Thankfully the mom thing I have down. I have kind of always been a single parent even when I was married so use to doing everything all the time. I did the pickup, drop off, doctors appointments and sports all on my own. So when I did get divorced it was a major shock to the system of having time alone. That is a whole other post for another day. Using a system of when they get home, met them from the bus, doing homework and snacks.
Then activities after that in which everyone goes is part of our quiet time in the car waiting that hour for them to be done. Piper will bring a book or something to do while Will is at practice. Will and I will do flash cards or books or just have some down time while we wait on Piper. This only happens twice a week so far so I am kind of lucky we aren’t running around all the time. Dinner is during or after homework and lately its been Hello Fresh because of the fresh ingredients and so easy to make.
Bedtime
After that its bedtimes, Piper heads to bed and Will and I read books, lately its been Dogman. These are his favorite lately and I love that he is willing to sit and listen to me read them.
Kyle is very understanding of all of my balancing and is there to support me in this wonderful journey. When I don’t have the kids we stay at his place and that can be a nice break. He also joins me in getting up early but he actually does go and workout lol.
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How to get organized and decrease your stress
I feel like we have all been there. Overwhelmed by our stuff, especially after the holidays, and we need to purge. The stuff gets the best of us and there is simply just too much of it. The overall feeling of this year has been fitness and overall well being. But its hard to have a feeling of well being when your overwhelmed. So time to tackle the mess and end the stress. I am sharing my journey of how to get organized to make my home and life a better place.
My biggest issue is well, everything exactly. I am pretty sure I am not alone when I feel like every space needs a clean up and a purge. From the kitchen to the bedrooms to the bathroom to the garage. I have two kids who love their stuff and a wonderful mother that makes sure we are all well taken care of so our home is overflowing at times.
Last year I started in the basement in the unfinished space of the house. It was full of totes, totes full of kids clothes, decor for holidays and apartment stuff. I decided to get rid of all the colors of totes and get all matching. Why is this a good idea you ask? In getting all matching totes it caused the emptying out all of the totes and get rid of stuff we didn’t need. I cleaned out all of the kids clothes, all of the decor and all the other items that didn’t have a home. This went for all of the other spaces that had totes. Under the stairs totes were switched out to all matching totes so all of those got cleaned out and organized. The garage as well had all the multiple colors got cleaned out and reduced to a couple of totes that all match.
Before I had a lapse in the last few months with the downstairs having all of the holidays stuff and Will being down there with me while I work out so it was a disaster. After one morning though I got it all cleaned out and organized. Totes can make a huge difference in how to get organized in the storage area.
after I started working on the kitchen last year and got alot of items in cute little storage containers but the larger drawers will still out of control. I got a ton of cute plastic containers for all of the small drawers. Measured them and thought about what I wanted to keep in them and ordered accordingly. I also did this for some of the pull out containers. This had all the snacks organized and the same for the baking drawers.
I bought cute little containers after I measured for the short pantry in the island. Some Tupperware for all of my baking goods and labels I made with my computer and cute little baskets to hold all of the holiday decorations for cakes and cookies.
For the regular pantry I cleaned out all of the shelves and put down new contact paper to clean it up a bit. Having the paper down gives it a great clean new look and cleaning out appliances I no longer used. Expired food that had been taking up space was all discarded. The roll out pantry I just went through and cleaned out all the slides. Its amazing how you don’t look at it forever and all the items that have gone bad.
The spice drawer I wanted a nice clean look so I got new spice containers and jars that I printed off labels for. I wanted just an organized aesthetic. I think the jars and spices completely captured that. Its so clean and easy to find things now. I love how it looks and just feels clean. Two sets of spice containers were needed and jars for all of the larger spices that take up more space. To keep track of the expiration just write on the bottom of the jar.
The larger pull out drawers I just finished up on. The silverware and all of the things. I pulled out everything and got rid of all of the items that looked like they had passed their prime and usefulness and got rid of anything we didn’t use anymore. Its amazing how much you can get rid of when you just take the time to pull it all out and look at what you have.
I have made great strides in the kitchen and garage so far and plan on keeping it up. I still have a few more rooms to go and plan on sharing the journey with you.
How to get organized:
- Buy matching totes-cleaning out the old ones helps get rid of stuff and makes the space look organized
- Measure all of the drawers and think of what you want in there
- Pull out everything and get rid of what you don’t use
- Getting rid of the clutter makes you feel better
- Having cleaning shows on in the background helps to get inspired.
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