Mom Talk

5 Ways to Keep the Kids Entertained These School Holidays

December 8, 2015 by Jen

“I’m bored!”
There are very few parents who haven’t heard those two inevitable words coming from their child during the holidays. Be prepared these school holidays for when your child/children utters the dreaded B-word by having a range of fun and simple activities up your sleeve. Here are five ways to keep your kids entertained.

1. Get Sporty

Teaching your kids to play sports is one of the best ways to keep them entertained while also keeping them fit and active. With so many different sports out there, every kid will have his or her own favourite so why not try them all? You can pick up some basic equipment from sporting stores like HART Sport and play a different game every week and see which one your kids enjoy the most. Who knows – you could end up creating a hobby for life.

2. Get Crafty

If your kids prefer creative exercise to physical exercise, why not get them into arts and crafts? It’s an easy and inexpensive way to keep them occupied while also sparking their imagination and motor skills. You can come up with your own craft ideas with things lying around the house or, if you get stuck for inspiration, scour the internet for crafty ideas you can get your kids involved in. Shh… they don’t have to know it wasn’t your idea!

3. Get Baking

If your kids are old enough, why not get them to help you with some baking or cooking? The kids will love being assistant to the chef and can even help you decorate holiday-appropriate items such as Christmas cookies. Best of all, afterwards they get to eat what they helped to make!

4. Get Outdoors

A world of fun and entertainment for your kids could be as close as your backyard. Set up a tent or two and invite their friends and neighbours over as they spend the night camping, telling ghost stories and eating marshmallows as they sleep under the stars. If weather conditions are less than optimal, or if you want to keep a closer eye on things, you can always move the tents indoors and create a slumber party instead.

5. Get Wet

Your local swimming pool can offer hours of fun for little ones. You can relax with a good book as your kids splash around – or you may want to consider jumping in and having a frolic yourself. Many pools also have swimming lesson programs on offer if your kids are inexperienced in the water. Your kids will thank you, especially during the hot summer holidays.

Let’s face it, it’s easy to plonk your kids in front of the TV to keep them busy but that can only go so far. By thinking of more creative ideas and getting them out of the house and active, you can make sure they keep entertained these school holidays. The only hard part will be convincing them to go back to school when it’s all over!

Seven apps and websites for the modern mom

September 25, 2015 by Jen

Everyone knows that the life of a mother is not always straightforward and smooth sailing. There is so much needing to be done during the day and only a limited time to fit it all in! Thankfully there have been many technological innovations in the form of apps that help everything run a little more smoothly and take some of the enormous load off. Here are seven helpful apps for the everyday mom:

Rustle up something delicious with this app

The Annabel Karmel Family Cooking app is full of recipes and delicious treats to feed you and your family. It is a steal at £3.99 with recipes that can be completed by children from ages four and up to help them develop their culinary skills.

Keep on top of the family schedules

It can be difficult to keep track of everybody’s schedules, especially when after school activities are concerned. Using an app like Calendar All will help you keep your family schedule a priority and keep everybody organised! This is available from the App Store for £3.99.

Relax and unwind with this website

After a long day spent chasing after the children, the evening is the reserve for you to relax and unwind. Now is the perfect time to curl up on the sofa and enjoy a game of bingo or two on Coral’s mobile website. A perfect antidote to the stresses and strains of the day!

Share snapshots with loved ones

Grandparents aren’t always known for their social media presence, so it may also be an idea to use Postino. This helpful app is free to download, and allows you to make your snapshots into snail-mail postcards. They print off your designs and post them on your behalf, and all you need to pay is the postage!

Keeping the little ones entertained

There’s nothing worse than being in the queue at the bank or post office with a screaming toddler who’s bored and would much rather be elsewhere! Thankfully there are a great range of games available, such as Elmo’s World and You, which will keep them occupied.

Manage the shopping list

Trying to remember everyone’s favorite sandwich fillings on top of keeping track of what has run out and needs replacing can be a nightmare. An app like MyShoppi will significantly reduce stress and minimize the time you spend in the supermarket as it allows you to keep track of your grocery list and organise products by section.

5 things you need for a new baby, and 5 you don’t

July 13, 2015 by Jen

Getting ready for a baby can be overwhelming, to say the least. If you are a first time parent, you may be facing a long list of things for baby and wondering how you are going to fit it all in your house and afford it. The good news is, you really don’t need all that much for a baby. People will tell you that you need loads of gear and clothing, but in reality, babies are pretty simple to care for in the first few months.

Let’s start with the things you absolutely do need for a baby.

Diapers: it doesn’t matter whether you are choosing to cloth diaper or use disposables, the fact is you need diapers for a baby. While considering your options, weight in on your budget and lifestyle, and don’t forget the wipes! You will need those along with the diapers.

A few outfits: You can get by with about 10 outfits for baby. Make some of them sleepers to keep baby warm at night. When they feel swaddled and secure, babies sleep better and are happier.

A car seat: Baby needs to be safe in a car, so you will need a car seat. It’s illegal and unsafe not to have one, so make this one a priority.

A few blankets: You will need to keep baby warm and secure, so grab a couple of swaddling blankets and a few larger ones.

A place for baby to sleep– even if you co-sleep, you will need some place to put baby that is safe. A play pen, crib, bassinet, or swing will give you some safe, hands-free and baby-free time.

These are things that you do NOT need for baby. They are a waste of money.

Baby towels and rags: rags and towels specifically made for babies are a waste of money. Use your own towels and rags and save some money. Plus, they will dry baby off better than the thinner, smaller baby towels.

A stroller: You do not need a stroller. You can carry baby or even use a baby wrap, but strollers are not a necessity.

A changing table: A blanket laid on any flat surface will suffice as a place to change your baby. It is not important to have a specific place to change your baby.

Baby Shoes: They look cute, but for the first few months of a babies life they don’t need shoes. They aren’t walking and most likely will just kick the shoes off. Save the money and buy them practical footwear once they are walking.

Wipe warmer: they seem like a nice idea, but they really take too long to warm wipes and they can dry the wipes out. Skip this gadget and just keep the wipes in a room with a regulated temperature so they are not a shock to your child when you use them.

Is social media ruining your relationships? #besocial

July 7, 2015 by Jen

*The video in this post is sponsored*

Have you wondered lately whether or not social media is ruining your personal relationships? If so, you are not alone, and (sadly) the answer is all too often “YES!” Whether it is not knowing how to speak to people in a crowd, or (worse) letting text speak annoy your friends and family away from you, it is time we all stepped away from the computer or phones and got back to real interactions.

Like this hilarious video from Chinet shows, social media is great for keeping in touch, but face-to-face conversations will always trump computer screens and text messaging. We should all remember that and try to remember how to behave in those interactions, whether you “like” or “dislike” real life gatherings. There is no app to make you a better friend. Only experiencing life can do that for you! Get out there. Your friends are waiting. #besocial

Stay Connected:

Be sure to follow Chinet on these social media networks today,Facebook|Twitter|Pinterest|Google+ and be sure to check out the rest of the hilarious videos on YouTube! And don’t forget to join in the conversation with #besocial

Learn to weigh what matters #WeighThis

June 24, 2015 by Jen

Everywhere you look, there is someone or something telling you how to lose weight, how to measure your weight, and how to feel better about your weight. In the face of that, you have the body positive campaigns that tell you to be proud of your body and love yourself as you are. What they are all missing, is that you are more than your body and your worth goes further than a number on a scale.

Lean Cuisine released this wonderful video to show women that it’s more important to weigh what matters in life, and not yourself. You can see women of all shapes and sizes telling the interviewer what their greatest accomplishment is in life, and then weighing that instead of themselves on a provided scale. As one woman says, the weight of her accomplishment is “immeasurable.” This video is tear inducing, but it shows what women need to see- we are more than our weight. What do you want to weigh?

My days are filled with chasing kids, running them to and from school, activities, and doctor’s appointments, night classes, and writing for my blog. On top of that, I find time to still volunteer two days per week at my daughter’s school. I try to eat healthy, but most days it’s impossible and I grab what I can. This video showed me that the other things I have accomplished, and continue to accomplish, outweigh the number on the scale I haven’t achieved just yet. If I want to weigh something, I should #WeighThis.

Join the conversation

If you’re going to weigh something, weigh what matters. Share how you want to be weighed with the hashtag #WeighThis on twitter or Facebook today!