{"id":36769,"date":"2017-10-20T07:06:36","date_gmt":"2017-10-20T11:06:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ahealthysliceoflife.com\/?p=36769"},"modified":"2021-02-12T08:09:41","modified_gmt":"2021-02-12T13:09:41","slug":"mom-hacks-mom-smarter-not-harder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ahealthysliceoflife.com\/mom-hacks-mom-smarter-not-harder\/","title":{"rendered":"Mom Hacks: Because We Should Mom Smarter, Not Harder"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post on mom hacks is a reader request (you guys have the best ideas!). I loved the idea but had no idea how to really approach it. Then, as the days and weeks passed I found myself laughing at little things I did that may qualify as a mom hack, a little tweak or tip that I had no clue about until I got into this mom gig myself. So I started writing them down and feel I have enough now to share. On ONE condition. <\/em>You guys have to chime in. I want to hear what little tricks you’ve found to make this momming thing a bit easier. Promise? Ok, let’s get started.<\/p>\n

\"mom<\/p>\n

Tell them you hid four quarters, but only hide three. <\/strong>Let’s start off with one from my childhood. During my mom’s tennis matches, she would throw four quarters randomly into a field for my brother and I to search for. I found out a few years ago that SHE ONLY THREW THREE. You brilliant, terrible woman, mom (wink)<\/em>. You can’t argue with success though, as it certainly kept us busy well into the third set.<\/p>\n

For birthdays, buy streamers and for Halloween, buy spider webs.<\/strong> It’s seriously the biggest bang for your buck. They create such a festive atmosphere and you can have enough to decorate your whole house for under $10. They are our go-to decoration.<\/p>\n

\"spider<\/p>\n

Deactivate Sent\/Delivered\/Read text receipts.<\/strong> You can do this on an iphone under settings–> messages. Sometimes I can’t respond to something right away and it eats me up if the person knows I read it and didn’t respond (people pleaser, remember?). So deactivate these and respond when it works for your schedule without the guilt!<\/p>\n

Zoe’s Kitchen because meals for new mom’s don’t have to be homemade.<\/strong> I prefer to make meals (especially this one<\/a>) to be honest, but sometimes life happens (and sometimes sitters cancel last minute). Zoe’s Kitchen has a Family Meal option. The food is fresh and flavorful and they make it easy to order, pick-up, and deliver.<\/p>\n

Provide Proof of the Easter Bunny. <\/strong>It’s crazy how much bunny print resemble all-purpose flour. And how you can find the Easter Bunny’s exact footprint stencil<\/a> here.<\/p>\n

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Set their clocks back by 5 minutes or more. <\/strong>We tried to OK-to-Wake clock and honestly hated it. But a simple large-read digital? Perfect. We have this one<\/a>. Early on (age of 2?) we taught both girls what a 7 looked like and it’s still a hard-fast rule in our house that they can not come out of their rooms in the morning until they see that 7 as the first number. When they were asleep Christmas Eve David sneaked in and set their clocks back 30 minutes, giving us the buffer we needed to be bright-eyed and busy-tailed when Christmas morning came. Call us the Grinch if you want. We called it brilliant!<\/p>\n

Insist that they don’t smile for a picture.<\/strong> If they keep giving me that forced, awkward “are we done yet” smile when I’m trying to snag a picture, I switch my method. I say, “you know what y’all, this isn’t working, so don’t smile for this next picture. I’m serious, don’t you dare smile.” This usually sends them into giggles and BOOM, a great, natural picture is born. (Note: you can’t overuse this or it will stop working so save it for when you really need a good shot).<\/p>\n

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Chick-fil-A has a mom’s valet. <\/strong>I’m not sure if every location does, but at ours I can go through the drive-through with the kids buckled in, order our food, pay, then park. When we walk in, they lead us to a table all set up with all our food, napkins, and even those plastic, sticky place-mats. It. Is. Awesome<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Squeezable garlic. <\/strong>Molly <\/a>convinced me to try it and I must admit, I’m hooked. I’ll still peel and press when I have time, but in a pinch, this stuff is incredible! See also: squeezable basil, ginger, and parsley. (I found this large one at BJ’s)<\/em><\/p>\n

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Tell them it’s spicy. <\/strong>Usually I am all about sharing food and letting them try mine, but sometimes I just want to meal without kid fingers poking into it, so for this I just give this shrug look and say, sorry ya’ll, it’s super spicy.<\/p>\n

Buy squeezable peanut butter or almond butter.<\/strong> In fact, buy squeezable anything. But seriously, check out Yumbutter<\/a>. I know we have it at our Target. They have healthy add-ins, it taste delicious, and it makes it so easy to squeeze on an apple or banana, make a quick sandwich, bring on a hike or picnic, or squeeze right in your mouth (we’ve all done it).<\/p>\n

Make salads dippable.<\/strong> Because kids love to dip. Because it’s easier than stabbing lettuce with a fork. Because nothing is mixed together that way. Because it’s fun!<\/p>\n

\"dippable<\/p>\n

Magical Tooth fairy money. <\/strong>Sometimes she has gold coins (that I hear are very similar to the $1 coins you can get at your local bank) and other times it’s a glittery $1 bill (which I hear she makes using spray adhesive<\/a> and glitter, then letting it air-dry for an hour or two).<\/p>\n

Offer to time them.<\/strong> They don’t want to put on shoes? Don’t want to clear their plates? How fast can you organize the shoes? Any unwanted task becomes fun with this magical sentence: “Want me to time you? Ready? GO! 1… 2… 3…” This one still works for us, even at age 6.<\/p>\n

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That’s all I have for now but I in no way believe it’s a comprehensive list, so please make my day and chime in with your favorite parenting tricks and tips!<\/p>\n

What if I time you to see how quickly you can do it? Ready… GO!<\/p>\n

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