6 Questions You Should Ask Yourself Before Going Anywhere with Kids

Going to the park? Play place? Amusement park? STOP! Ask these six questions first to have a successful day! #goingplaceswithkids #dayoutwithkids #goingtothepark #goingtotheparkwithkids #amusementparkwithkids #disneylandwithkids #leavingthehousewithkids #checklist #domykidsneedsocks #howmuchdokidscost #momlife #dadlife #momlifehacks #momlifetips #dadlifehacks #dadlifetips #parenting #parentingtips #parentinghacks

Before having kids, I was hella spontaneous. Whether it was last minute dinner plans, answering a friends invite of “let’s go out!” or literally leaving brunch to hit the road and go to Vegas, I was up for it all and with very few questions. So you can only imagine the ton of bricks that hit me when I had this tiny little baby. A baby that needed bottles and diapers and wipes and extra outfits and binkys and a suitcase full of miscellaneous items for a quick trip to Target. I mean, how much stuff do I need to run errands with kids?

And it’s not just the stuff – the stuff is manageable, and you can tackle leaving the house with a bunch of kids.  But you have to know where you’re going! And I’m not just talking how to get there fastest. There are a lot of things you never realized you need to consider before picking a location to take your kids. So now, I basically never leave the house without answering these six questions first.

Going to the park? Play place? Amusement park? STOP! Ask these six questions first to have a successful day! #goingplaceswithkids #dayoutwithkids #goingtothepark #goingtotheparkwithkids #amusementparkwithkids #disneylandwithkids #leavingthehousewithkids #checklist #domykidsneedsocks #howmuchdokidscost #momlife #dadlife #momlifehacks #momlifetips #dadlifehacks #dadlifetips #parenting #parentingtips #parentinghacks

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Smoothies

Looking for the perfect smoothie? Click here to find out our secret, and giggle along with thesaltymamas.com. #smoothie #secretrecipe

Once upon a time, when Lila was a littler girl, she became obsessed with all cold drinks. First it was the condensation on our soft drinks, and then we transitioned to Jamba Juice IMG_20140721_112451092smoothies.  Pretty soon, we introduced our family’s favorite summer sipper- Icees. And slurpees, and freezes. Whatever you wanted to call them, it didn’t much matter. She was in love with the icy cold sweetness, and at about a dollar a piece, they were a cheap and easy treat on a hot day. I have given her far more Icees in her short little life than I would care to admit. Somewhere along the line, the differences between Jamba Juice whole fruit goodness and sugar-filled-crushed-ice got blurred, and she decided Icees/Slurpees were called smoothies, too. It wasn’t something we did intentionally, but my GOODNESS does it make me look like a better mother.

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How to Entertain a Toddler on a Plane

#momlife #travel #familyvacation #kids #toddlers #screentime #tipsandtricks #momtips #momhacks

Nervous about flying with a toddler? Wondering how to entertain a toddler on a plane? Or worse, how to deal with people on a plane when your toddler cries? DON’T BE! With some airplane prep, prayer and a dash of luck, you can make it to your final destination stress free!

When Cole was a baby, we went on a lot of trips. Before he was a year, he’d flown to Seattle, New York, Baltimore, and Hawaii twice. And generally, it went really well. Then we had Evie, and when she was about 4 months old we decided to try a flight as a family of four. But after a 45 minute flight to Reno, we swore off air travel. It wasn’t for us. We would drive, we would cruise, but there was no way in hell we were getting back on a plane.

Until now.

As a family of 5.

Going across an ocean.

It was time to get strategic. This isn’t a simple toss a baby in an Ergo, bounce and provide snacks type of production. And lots of the tips for road tripping with kids is applicable, but a plane has all. Those. Other. People. So here are plane specific tips for traveling with kids.

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Alexa is My Co-Parent

Considering getting an Amazon Echo? You should. You really, really should. Read more on why Alexa is the PERFECT lady robot/coparent at thesaltymamas.com.