Tag: kids

routines

Morning Routine

JustAMom

My morning routine is going to change. There’s no doubt! But I would like for it to stay the same, to a certain extent.

I do have Ricket man laying down and just realized it’s only 7:49 pm!!!! So my morning routine is probably not going to go as planned in the morning.

Anyways…

I have an alarm set for 4:40am. This way I can press snooze twice. Then I know it is time to get up.

I drag out of bed at 5 am and jump in the shower. I usually already have my clothes, towel, and rag in the bathroom ready to go.

I get out of the shower. In this order! I dry off, brush my teeth, moisturize my face, eye cream, lotion my entire body, deodorant, then put my clothes on and fix my hair.

I get into the kitchen at 5:24. Get the coffee pot ready and cut it on. The last few days I’ve had the coffee set to automatic so that it comes on by itself at 5am.

At 5:30 I get Mags up to get in the shower. After I wake her up I grab her a towel and rag and set it in the bathroom.

I go back to the kitchen, drink a full glass of water and the coffee is ready. I make my husband and my cup of coffee and sit at the table with something small to eat.

First, I read my bible. I’m currently doing a “Bible in One Year” study. I then write in my prayer journal. I go over my planner. I go over my bills for that week.

Second, I take my daily vitamins which are magnesium, biotin, vitamin E, iron, elderberry, cranberry, and B12 with a full glass of water.

Third, I make my husbands lunch. Usually it’s already made and I just throw it in a lunch box with a note and snack.

At 6am I get Morgan and Eli up. We always have our clothes laid out the night before. Morgan can dress herself and brush her teeth. So I help Eli get his clothes on. We go to the bathroom and I help him brush his teeth. I spray his hair with water then detangle spray and brush his hair. His hair is very curly.

I make sure Morgan is dressed and has her teeth brushed then I do the same hair brushing routine as I do for Eli. Her hair is also curly.

Last, I get Ricket changed and dressed and we’re out the door by 6:20 and we’re on the road by 6:32.

This may not be helpful in any way, shape, or form. But I hope it reaches someone out there that’s trying to get into a good routine!

As always. Thanks for stopping by and come back tomorrow for more!

inspiration

She was tired!

JustAMom

She was tired, to say the least.

The house was a mess and the baby was sleeping. The dishes were piled high and the clean laundry had taken over the couch.

Her back ached and her eyes burned as she laid peacefully in her bed with only a cotton gown.

She had tiding to do but no energy to bother.

“The dishes will still be piled and the laundry will still be unfolded.” She thinks to herself as her mind drifts away. “They can wait till morning.”

She isn’t perfect. But to the babies, she hung the moon. To her husband, she is enough.

It’s time to rest. Sunrise will bring another day and more time to fret over tidying. For now, peace.

So off to dream she goes.

Good evening. I hope this reaches mom’s that this small message hits home!

I just want you to know that you ARE NOT alone! You are not the only mom who is tired and just ready to sleep.

I want you to know that it’s ok to sometimes go to bed with a messy home.

It’s ok to just relax and try again tomorrow.

I hope everyone has a wonderful evening!

tips and tricks

Help Them Help You

JustAMom

Children are so fascinating, right? I’m currently raising 4 of them! Spanning from 5 months to 12 years old.

One thing I’ve learned over the years with mine, if you help them do a chore at a young age, they do it much easier and better. You’re not only helping them, but you’re teaching them.

Children can’t read your mind so they don’t know that you want that toy in that box or this toy in that corner. Their little minds usually don’t pay attention either at first. But after a while and after getting a routine they do catch on.

Yelling at them doesn’t help either of you!! It stresses you out more than you probably already are and it stresses them out. It also makes them feel insecure and misunderstood. It also teaches them that yelling is ok. Has your child ever yelled at you when they’re angry or frustrated? They got that from you home girl!

Instead, walk into the bedroom with them. Sit on the floor where there is a mess. Pick one or two toys up at a time, hand it to your little one and tell them where you want the toy to go and point to the location. Don’t yell it or tell them in a bossy type way. Be sweet about it with a smile. Trust me, you’ll get a much better reaction.

If the living room or toy room is a mess and covered in toys, ask your little one “hey can you come help me with the living room/toy room?”. Help them do it. Let them take over while you go grab the vacuum or broom. Tell them “clean while I go grab the vacuum or broom”. Tell them that if they finish picking up they can help you sweep or vacuum when you return.

I hope this little trick helps you as much as it’s helped me over the years!

As always! Thanks for stopping by and come back tomorrow for more tips and stories!

heat wave

Water park during a heat wave?

JustAMom
Geyser Falls Water Theme Park in Philadelphia MS. From left to right: me, my husband Jamie, a family friend Ashley, my niece Chloe, my daughter Mags, my son Eli, my daughter Morgan and my Step Dad Clark.

I know what you’re thinking! A water park is the perfect place to be during a heat wave. Or.. maybe you’re thinking “who goes to a hot water park during a heat wave?” Either way! DON’T DO IT!! When I say heat wave, I mean record breaking heat in Mississippi!

If you do, a little motherly advice! Don’t let your pre teen wear anything BUT cheap 50 cent flip flops from Walmart! And we didn’t just have one preteen, no sir!! We had 3! And NONE of them wore 50 cent flip flops. In fact, they didn’t even wear flip flops! Insert palm to face here!

Number 1. The concrete was so flipping hot that about mid day you couldn’t even walk on it. I mean it was painful to even step foot in front of foot! Even running didn’t help. And not to mention by the time it was so hot that we had to run, our feet were already blistered and tender. So running honestly felt like we were ripping skin from the bottom of our feet. But hey, I got my cardio in for the day in multiple ways!

Number 1.5 (because we’re still on the hot concrete topic) I’ve never been to a decent water park that didn’t have a 20 plus minute wait to get on an attraction. But waiting on hot concrete is a no go! Y’all we ran! I felt like I was back in high school running stadiums! Running up concrete stairs to the tippy top of this free fall slide was definitely one way to lock in your ticket on this slide. No way you’re changing your mind once you got up there and realization sets in that you’re 32 years old and about to basically jump off of a cliff. A cliff that you haven’t jumped off of since you were a pre teen and hadn’t had 4 kids and brittle bones and aches that pop up out of no man’s land! Or maybe that’s the way to do it. To set your fate with the massive free fall slide! You decide! Also, maybe I should’ve already mentioned this. You couldn’t take your shoes. You had to leave them at the bottom of the slide.

That brings us to number 2. There are three slides to choose from at the top. You have a “three fall” where you hit three humps on your way down. You have “free fall” where you jump off the cliff. THEN you have “night fall”!! It’s a fully inclosed tube that twist and turns and free falls at every turn! It’s not bad UNTIL you’re in a heat wave. It’s pitch black and it’s HOT. You honestly feel like your breathing in bodily fluids, chlorine, carbon dioxide, and maybe a touch of oxygen. There’s literally steam coming out of each end of the tube! Just don’t do it! Unless you’re good with not breathing oxygen. Then go for it!

Number 3. People stink! Including yourself! Sure you have water cooling you down and washing the sweat from your body, but the smell of your clothes! Have you ever been sweating, cooled off, started sweating again and then cooled off again? That’s the smell of every person at the water park! It’s just stink mixed with sunscreen. And it’s EVERYBODY! Don’t think you’re excluded! Because you’re not unless you just don’t swim or cool off. Then you have to stand a foot apart in long miserable lines and breath in everybody else’s stank and disposed air.

Number 4. The pre teens were hot, tired and bored after about 2 hours. Their feet were cooked. The lines were long. They were hungry and the food was expensive. They were just DONE!

Number 5. The sunscreen doesn’t work unless you reapply every 30 minutes! Don’t ask me why because I’m not a doctor by no means. But we applied and reapplied every hour. We still burned!! And we used 50 spf… and no it was not expired! If you have advice on this, please give it to me!! TIA!

Lastly, number 6. DRINK WATER!!!

tips and tricks

Just Breathe

JustAMom

This morning… hmmm.. well Ricket did sleep in, so I got that going for me! (If you’re lost on a name, refer back to my first post). But boy! He is fighting his sleep at nap time something fierce now a days. He has had a pretty decent sleep schedule since summer started. Wakes up the same time every morning, naps the same time every day, and bed same time every night.

But, the last few weeks have been rough. When he’s tired he wants to be held. But not just held and rocked. He wants to be held and walked around on your hip. IF you can pop the bottle in his mouth for more than 20 seconds while he’s squirming and fighting, you’re good to go. He will gradually fall asleep.

These tips and tricks I’ve learned over the last few days have helped tremendously!!

He’s just starting to hold his bottle. So, if I lay him down on my bed and let him hold his bottle, he does SO MUCH better! He can squirm and get comfy how he wants and he’s not stopped by my arms or stuck in one position. He usually even falls asleep like this.

If I can keep him still long enough, I can rub his little face and eyes. He usually will either fall asleep or he’ll relax enough to drink his bottle. I just gently run my thumb and index finger in circles up his nose, over his eye brows, then under his eyes back to his nose.

Sometimes, if it’s day time and a little bright, I can give him his favorite blanket or a rag. He’ll pull it just over his eyes and he’ll relax and usually fall asleep. This is usually with him holding his own bottle. But then sometimes he’ll finish his bottle and try to eat the rag. Face palm now.

These are just a few tricks I’ve figured out that works for him. You may not have the same outcome. But, if you’re at your wits end like I’ve been lately, it’s worth a shot.

Good luck mama!! If you have any other tips or tricks you think I should try, just leave them in the comments section of this post!

Introduction, Uncategorized

I am Just A Mom

JustAMom

Hello. My name is Heather Martin. I am a mom of 4, a wife, a baby sister, a daughter and step daughter, an aunt, and a very busy woman!!

I have a 12 year old (Maggie aka Mags) going into Jr High and we are just beginning a new adventure with volley ball, band, and beta.

I have a 7 year old (Morgan) that is going into 2nd grade and is starting a new adventure in a talented and gifted program.

I have a 4 year old (Eli) that would’ve started k4, but we didn’t survive k3, so we’re going to revisit our journey in k5. More on this subject on a later date.

And last but not least, I have a 5 month old (Steven Tate aka Ricket). We are on an adventure with a weak eye muscle (more on this later), scooting, formula shortages, trying out new baby foods, and discovering and learning all kinds of new things!

My story is COMPLICATED!! It’s crazy!! So buckle up butter cup, the ride will be bumpy!! Like Mississippi roads bumpy! But I hope you enjoy the ride and be sure to return regularly! Also, thank you for stopping by!!