How to make your own moby wrap:

You’ll want to get 5-6 yards of interlock fabric.  Each batch of fabric can create 2-3 wraps.   You will want to cut your fabric into long strips.  I folded the fabric like a hotdog.  The width of each strip needs to be a minimum of 16 inches wide (I have some as wide as 25 inches – but they are more bulky).  I laid my fabric out on our couch to help contain the yardage as I cut them.  Viola!  You now have 2-3 moby wraps!

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How to wrap your baby:

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New Toys: Keep your preschoolers entertained in those early baby days.

I’d like to say I thought of this one myself, but I didn’t.  The kind souls at B.You Toys were super generous and sent us a big box of Stackadoos bristle blocks.  To say that I can not thank them enough is an understatement.  Really, my preschoolers are bored with the toys they already have and receiving something new and wondrous to play with means that I can sit and breastfeed in peace!  I love these blocks (and the kids do too!)  Once life calms down a bit more I’m sure we’ll incorporate them into learning activities.

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Moby Wrap (or any hands-free carrier).

I prefer the moby baby styled carrier as it feels so snug, almost like I am giving my baby a big hug!  And they are super easy to make!  I have about a dozen of them (post coming with instructions on how to make one yourself sometime next week).   If you have a preschooler you are trying to chase and take care of, having a hands-free carrier is a must so you can still get “baby-cuddles”.  I use mine while cooking dinner, playing with blocks on the floor, and/or watching the kids and mediating play outside.

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Feed your Freezer!

We can only eat macaroni and cheese and frozen pizzas so many times in a row.  I am so thankful that I spent a few weekends before Baby K arrived making meals so all I have to do is pull it out of the freezer in the morning and stick it into the microwave in the evening.  We do have several friends who have brought us meals, and I am grateful for them, but I am also thankful that I planned ahead of time with kid-friendly foods.  The last thing I want to do is fight with my preschooler about eating his dinner while trying juggle my fork and infant.

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Snack Bags: Feed the kids and entertain them in the process.

I love giving the kids a chance to be independent.  We use snack bags for road-trips, but they are also really great if you want to lengthen a snack time, to make it into more of an event.  I made the bags in advance, then put them in reach of the kids.  When baby K is getting a mommy snack, the older kiddos can go grab their snack bags.  They enjoy the variety and digging out their favorites first.  The snacks that go into the bags vary each time we make them.

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Cayenne Pepper (TMI warning!)

Pepper?!?  I know you are probably wondering why this is a must have, but for a recuperating momma with preschoolers it is requirement!  Lifting older siblings is unavoidable.  It seems that I have to rescue someone who climbed onto the top of the dollhouse, or who can’t get out of the crib, or separate two tasseling kiddos, you get the idea.   All of these are big no-nos for recuperating postpartum moms!  And yet, we can not not intervene!  Cayenne Pepper has been used in WWI and WWII as a clotting agent on battlefields.  It really helps speed up the recovery process.  I have used it with two of my four pregnancies and have had a much quicker recovery the two times I took Cayenne pepper (in spite of lifting heavy objects/children after delivery).  Take it in pill form daily and you will heal in record time.

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Have you brought an infant home to a household of preschoolers?  Feel free to share your recovery and survival tips in the comments and I’ll be sure to link up to you!

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Sorry guys, we cheated in these photos.  The originals I took on the actual trip and they were incredibly out of focus… hope you don’t mind our “recreation” of the bucket system, from the comfort of our driveway.  We are glad to be home!

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Crib Sheets as Seat Protectors:

These were great!  I don’t know if your kids are like mine, but the car always looks like a disasters has struck after a long car ride.  Using Crib Sheets as seat protectors was great!  They were the perfect size to cover a full bucket seat, or to use as the bottom of a bench seat.  The crumbs and bits of trash were contained.  Car clean up was a breeze.

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Frozen Juice Boxes:

Freeze those lovely juice boxes and they will serve multiple purposes on the trip.  They will be harder to drink from (if you give them the boxes frozen), meaning the kids can only take sips – no guzzling and the subsequent bathroom break!  They also work great as doubling as a refrigerator.  We layered our frozen juice boxes in an insulated tub with breakfast burritos and sandwiches on top of them.  Having ready meals meant less stopping on the road (or we could stop at fun places like a park vs. a restaurant).

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Trinkets, Toys (and a toy schedule):

Every year this has been great!  We package the toys in different ways, using some of those old plastic Easter eggs (my toddler especially loved putting the egg together and apart), wrapping paper, aluminum foil (not for kids who still put things in their mouths), etc.  Half the fun was playing with the gift wrapping!   We had our kids on a 20 min schedule (with an hour break in the morning and a two-hour nap break in the afternoon).  Every twenty minuets they would get another toy, a crayon, a book, or we’d listen to a CD/silly song, play a game, read a story, get a snack/drink, do seated exercises, etc.  Having a schedule gave the kids something to look forward to – and helped break up the monotony.

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Podcasts:

These were in part for us, the adults, driving for multiple days in a row can lead to highway hypnosis – fast!  My hubby and I enjoyed RadioLab, Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me, and podcasts from the NewYorker.  The kids enjoyed a few of the iphone apps, especially interactive books from PicPocket Books (They loved , and listening to books on tape.  Thanks friends from Mom Loop, Mom Forum, for helping inspire our playlist!

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Read part two of our Top Ten Traveling tips for Kids or check out our DIY Toddler Clipping Toy, great for entertaining a toddler!

I picked up these paint chips at my local Lowe’s store. I love that they have a window you can use to see an object behind the paint chip and see if it matches. The little window made it a great tool to take to the grocery store and look for green foods. JDaniel loves to have something to do while sitting in the cart. This activity was a lot of fun and a great way to both entertain and teach at the same time.

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We looked like we were having so much fun another mother of a two year old mentioned she would like to try this activity with her child.

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For decorations we grabbed some sheets of shaving cream finger painted papers that we had lying about.  If you don’t have time to make them and wait for the paint to dry, consider coloring with crayons or markers, you can even print a collage of pictures of the kids on computer paper.  As the cupcakes were baking, we cut the triangles out of our pages and then stapled them to a long strip of paper (you could also use a ribbon).   We now had one-of a-kind decorations and the kids had the joy of “making something” for their friend!

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We then grabbed some Cornstarch, school glue and Borax and mixed together a quick batch of goop = Instant gift!  Check out our recipe for homemade goop for more detailed instructions.

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While our fella was mashing the baggie of goop, my gal began to help make the icing for the cupcakes.  We mixed some powdered sugar and some milk together in a bag, added a few drops of food coloring and let the kids smash the bags to mix the cupcake icing.  Clip a corner off of the ziplock baggie and now you have a terrific, mess-free piping system.
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The cupcakes were done!  Our honored guest arrived!   The girls had fun decorating their cupcakes as the “activity” and while the goop wasn’t quite mixed all the way, it was fun for them to take turns mashing it some more and our neighbor liked the decorations so much she asked if she could take them home!   It was a smashing success – a great half hour of work and an hour of fun fellowship!

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There is nothing better than camping with a preschooler. My little boy is four-and-a-half and we’ve been on nine camping trips so far. Every one of them is filled with unforgettable memories. We live in Los Angeles and we’ve camped with friends and with my son, Roman’s, entire preschool on the beach and in the surrounding mountains. It’s by far my favorite thing to do with him. There is something so magical and beautiful about sleeping under the stars and waking up and cooking breakfast outside and spending day after day in the wilderness. My son enjoys it so much. He now counts down the days leading up to a trip, and he loves all of the traditions that we’ve created surrounding these expeditions. What I love best is watching Roman and his friends endlessly finding ways to amuse themselves in nature without any other stimulation. It’s important to me, a mom who loves organic living, to instill in my child the love of nature, and camping is a great way to accomplish that.

Tips we’ve used to have a great time camping with preschoolers:

Bring your child’s favorite stuffed animal and sleeping pillow from their bed and any favorite blanket. It can help with bedtime.

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Headlamps! They are endlessly entertaining for the kids and really help them navigate through the dark on their own.

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Create food and drink traditions that your child will remember and love that you save just for camping. S’mores are the obvious but we do “cowboy coffee” in the morning which is either chocolate milk or hot cocoa.

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Try to pick a site next to hiking trails or a creek. Even a small little trail can be hours of fun for little ones to explore. Also, don’t be afraid to take them out for a bit on longer trails. They become so engaged in the experience they forget how far they’ve walked! And it makes for real, sleepy campers that go to bed easily. Roman’s favorite way to fall asleep is curled up in my lap sitting around the campfire. It’s great because he keeps me warm.

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Bring a wagon if you have one. They can help haul things from the car if you have a walk-in site and take turns giving each other rides in it during the trip. They’re safe and sturdy and don’t require constant parent supervision.

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Children burn through lots of energy because of all the fresh air, excitement and activity. Make sure you have lots of healthy snacks around at all times to offer them and don’t expect them to eat meals like they do at home. They’re just having too much fun and too distracted.

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Invest in a good air mattress! It’s so nice to get a great night sleep so you have plenty of energy to enjoy all the fun.

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Bring metal marshmallow sticks as back-up to roast marshmallows over the fire but finding the right marshmallow stick can become quite the adventure.

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Kids love their own chairs too that are just their size to go around the campfire.

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But most of all remember to relax and enjoy yourself. These are memories you will cherish and your child will remember.  Thanks Kristina for showing me that kids can learn to enjoy nature and showing us how camping is feasible!  Go check out her store for organic home products.

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Steps to Sock Mop with Your Preschoolers:

1. Remove the table from the room – not an easy feat for an 8 month pregnant Quirky Momma, but we managed.
2. Sweep the floors… then sweep them again.
3. Fill a shallow pan with soapy water
4. Put on some of Daddy’s socks
5. …and have fun stomping and sliding!

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My oldest daughter was great at spot scrubbing the floor with her feet.  My son preferred traditional mopping, he’s such a “tool” and gadget boy!  While my youngest liked splashing and making a mess.

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Want to get your own cleaning supplies?  Head over to Mom Loop and join in the cleaning fun!  Thanks Scrubbing Bubbles for providing samples for the Quirky Home to try and giving some to one of our readers to enjoy.

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Thanks to Brandie from Rudy Rukus for joining in our cleaning fun and to Jackie, from Pocketful of Posies for sharing her Sock Mopping Post!  Love them!

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Want some free toys?  We are giving away over a dozen toys!  Tell us which one is your favorite and check out our giveaway page to see what you might win!

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Wikki-Stix are a great mess-free crafting activity. Our kids have used them as window art in the car, to mold into creatures, make rainbows, even have mock mini-swordfights. Being mess-freee they are great to take out and about.

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The B.H2-Whoa is an awesome mess-free doodle board, it comes with refillable water pens and is reversible with two coloring surfaces. Hours of doodling fun!  Look for it at Target.

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The game Loaded Questions: Junior is a fun way to engage your kids and learn something about them in the process.  Keeping score might not be possible in a car-ride, but the questions are sure to get some laughs out of your kids!

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Grab and Go Games by BriarPatch help your kids work on memory skills or pattern recognition during a car-trip or when stuck in a hotel.  They are packaged for traveling!  Want other game ideas?  Check out The Big Toy Book!

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Do you want a new book to read?  Even my youngest will sit and read while sitting in the Dr. office or driving and doing errands.  Basie & Paisley is a great series with themes, like bellybuttons or monsters who play polka music, that preschoolers just love full of bright pictures, sure to entertain your youngster!

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Why not make up your own story?  Pack these Rory Story Cubes by Gamewright and waiting for a table at the restaurant will no longer be a dull moment! The cubes have different images which you can incorporate into your story.  Brilliant!   The Big Toy Book referred these to us! 

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For a great selection of iphone apps developed for especially for kids, check out Pic Pocket Books. They have educational games, stories and lots of silly fun ideas to entertain your kiddos. Available at Pic Pocket Books & Amazon.

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Getting the kids their own Kidz Gear Wireless Car Headphones means you don’t go crazy with kids music or DVDs during your trip! Check out KidzGear!  They also have a wired version.

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Eddie Bauer has a Travel Tray
that attaches to car-seat straps. It is perfect for containing toys and snacks during road trips!  I am looking forward to using them on our road trip – hopefully, they will cut down on the amount of dropped toys!  Note: Not a great drawing surface.  Available at Target.

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Going out to eat? Second to waiting for a table, being patient waiting for food to arrive can be difficult for any kiddo.  These buildable straws will keep any kiddo happily hydrated and engaged. Note: Not suitable for young kiddos.  Available at Museum Tours.

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Quiet play is always a good thing when cooped up, either in a highchair at the restaurant or on the confines of a car!  Cahootie Catcher has a wide variety of cootie catchers for your kiddos to decorate with stickers, manipulate, pick the outfit of their person, ask eachother questions or create a story.  These are especially loved by kinetic kids.

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Finger puppets are our activity bag.  Your kids can use them to create a pretend world.  My son loves the animal finger puppets at Ikea, he likes having the animals chase each other.  My daughter loves the little people series.  I love how they are small!  I can easily stuff several in my pocket for a last min errand-trip.

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Museum Tour has some terrific Magna-Tiles that are great to build with.  As they stick together they are easy to use in the car with a travel tray or while waiting at the Dr. office.

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B. Toy’s Stackadoos
are easy to grab and stick together making them another great item to pack in your diaper bag to entertain that bored preschooler.  They can also be used to help your child develop pattern recognition.

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We are having a giveaway of over a dozen of these toy guide items, with several other items from other sponsors added to the giveaway bonanza.  Be sure to join in the fun!

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Quirky Momma was not paid for any of these reviews.  All products included in the giveaway/guide are toys we love or have on our wish list.  Some review toys were given to us as compensation.

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Chloraseptic Sore Throat Spray

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I hear that Chloraseptic has a new line of throat lozenges.  I’ll have to check them out for throat care as I am sure to use this up on our bug bites.