The Salty Mamas – Motherhood is Sweeter with a Dash of Salt

I don’t know how it happened, but my daughter somehow knew all of her colors by two years old. I don’t remember doing a lot of kids’ learning activities with her- she just picked them up the color names on her own, and I didn’t think much of it.

So when my son didn’t know his colors at a few months past two, I decided that A.) This was a problem and B.) That he is color blind.

Clearly- it’s not. And he’s not.

The average child should be able to name at least one color by age three. So the first step for us was accepting that we did not have a problem, by any stretch of the imagination. But it did also make realize that Abe may need a little more focused practice to learn his colors, and as a result, I’ve been making a greater effort to teach him.

So if you are ready to start teaching colors to your child, we’ve got some fun kids’ learning activities that will keep the process light and stress-free.

Have some fun teaching your toddler their colors with these 16 engaging actvities. Find them all at TheSaltyMamas.com. #colors #rainbow #teachingcolors #learningcolors #toddler #kids #parenting #kidsactivities #kidsart #toddlerart #toddleractivities #education #school #preschool #daycare
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momlife

An Open Letter to Moms on Vacation

August 13, 2018August 13, 2018 Salty Christine

Hey Mom,

I want you to know that if you’re on vacation and reading this, you are not alone. Whether you’re hiding in the bathroom, reading on your phone in the dark while you try to breathe silently so you don’t wake the kids, or – mercifully – enjoying a cocktail and a moment of what vacation is supposed to be, I’ve been there too.

Maybe you packed for two, three, four, five – God forbid more than five people – all by yourself, while your partner clipped his toenails. Or decided it was a good day to re-organize the garage. Maybe when you arrived, he asked where the toothpaste was. And despite going over every list, and checking it twice, you still forgot that one thing. It almost goes without saying that you made vacation plans that you were sure your family would love, but you could hardly even think about them over the screams of, “Are we there yet??”

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Mom Humor, Terrible Twos

Potty Training Tips and Humor for Mamas in the Trenches

August 10, 2018August 10, 2018 Salty Jaymi

Nothing strikes as much fear into the heart of a toddler mama like two simple words can. Did you guess it? No, not “Uh Oh.” (Although YES. So much yes.) But if you’ve got a kid in the two to three year old range, I bet you could guess it pretty quickly- Potty. Training.

The internet abounds with tons of amazing tips for potty training a two year old quickly. But then there are the OTHER potty training tips. The tips unlikely to show up in any other Pinterest feature. And, OH do we ever have your back on that front.

For your reading pleasure- a little potty training humor from the dark (and dirty) side of toilet training.

Rule Number One: No wearing boots. Find more hilarious tips at TheSaltyMamas.com. #pottytraining #terribletwos #toilettraining #potty #parenting #toddler

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Kids' Activities

Six Things You Should Know About Survival Swim Lessons

August 8, 2018 thesaltymamas

If you’re a Mom with a Facebook account, you’ve probably seen the terrifying videos of someone carelessly throwing a baby in footed pajamas into a pool. You’ve probably yelled at your computer screen when the baby seemed to struggle to roll onto his back. You may have even tried to jump into the computer to rescue the baby that’s working way too hard to get back to the side of the pool.

When it was all over, you huffed and said, “Who in their right mind would DO THAT to their baby?” And while I generally don’t insist to people that I’m in my right mind, I will tell you that I’ve done that. Three times. Not to say that it didn’t sometimes have me on the edge of my seat, but now that I’m five years into this survival swimming thing I can definitely help dispel some myths and alleviate some of your fears about infant swim lessons.

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Kids' Activities, Recipes

Cheap & Easy Tips for an Epic End of Summer Playdate

August 6, 2018August 5, 2018 Salty Jaymi

We just finished up our last real week of summer, and we wanted to send it out with a bang. What better way to do it than with an end of summer playdate with some of our friends? We planned a kids’ luau for our end of summer party, and it went off without a hitch (or britches, in Izzie’s case, but that’s another story). And even better- it didn’t cost an arm and a leg!

My daughter is OBSESSED with kids’ party planning. She makes lists, drawings, and diagrams in preparation. She plans menus. She shops for goodie bags. She visualizes the décor.

The only problem is? Then she wants me to carry out her vision. Which is no mean feat, as it turns out, especially when you are as big a cheapskate as I am.

So when she decided “she” was going to throw an end of summer party, I used my powers of persuasion to convince her to throw a kids’ Luau instead. This decision might have had something to do with the fact that I have a garage full of island décor from my sister’s baby shower, but she didn’t need to know that.

By reusing decorations, buying in-season fruit for the snacks, and keeping it simple, we found a way to throw an amazing end of summer playdate for my daughter and her friends. And there were cocktails. Because of COURSE there were. Read on for the recipe for a perfect end of summer luau (and those cocktails. Because YUM).

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Crafty Mamas, Holidays

DIY Candyland Fairy Costume

August 1, 2018August 2, 2018 Salty Jaymi

I don’t know why, but when it comes to kids’ Halloween costumes, my daughter can never choose something simple. I love her originality, but DANG does it create a lot of work for me. While all the other girls were busy being Sofia, she wanted to be Totoro. When Aurora was all the rage, she requested to be a “pink bakery chef.” And while I could easily have gotten a Moana costume off the rack last year, she insisted that I get her a kids’ Candyland costume.

And, as luck would have it, I DID find it on the rack. But it was more like Sexy Candyland Fairy, and she’s four, so that was never gonna fly with me.

Which means that, yet again, it was up to me to make it happen in the DIY toddler Halloween costume department. I typically sew her costumes (like Totoro), keeping it as simple as possible. But as (bad) luck would have it, my sewing machine broke down just before it was time to assemble her Candyland Halloween costume.

The good news is that this was actually a HUGE blessing in disguise. It forced me to get a little more creative with the costume (and, frankly, a little less crafty). Which means that anyone with a hot glue gun, puffy paint, some felt, and an Amazon Prime membership could make a kids’ Candyland Fairy Halloween costume, too. Follow along below for the instructions!

This super-easy DIY Candyland Fairy Halloween costume will have your kids looking like the real deal this Halloween! Get a step-by-step tutorial at TheSaltyMamas.com. #DIYCostumes #DIYkidscostumes #DIYhalloweencostumes #kidshalloweencostumes #nosewhalloweencostumes #nosewcostumes

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MicroLuxuries, momlife

Mom’s Back to School List

July 30, 2018August 11, 2018 Salty Christine

One of the BEST parts of the summer ending and the kids going back to school is t~~he kids being gone finally~~ getting to go back to school shopping. There is nothing I love more than getting tha list of everything my kid needs, heading to Target and buying ~~only things that are on that list~~ everything in the store. Let’s face it, backpacks and lunch bags and new markers and pencils and pencil boxes are all thrilling, but don’t we deserve a little something too?

Yes, yes we do.

Unfortunately, school isn’t going to send you a list of everything you need. That’s what we’re for. Check out our list of Back to School items for YOU and then get yourself all geared up for the first day of school!

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Kids' Art Projects

Kids Get Creative with These 4 Fun Process Art Activities

July 27, 2018July 30, 2018 Salty Jaymi

If you’ve been watching our stories on Instagram, you’ll notice we’ve been making a real push to get process art into the hands of more children. Art activities for kids seem so daunting at first- people are afraid of the mess, or don’t know where to start- but they don’t have to be complicated. With a little inspiration, and a tiny bit of prep, you’ll be able to get some easy toddler art projects under way in no time.

Process art activities range from the very simple (think an easel with little pots of paint) to the more complex (like our recycled materials painting wall, see below). The beauty is that you and your kids get to decide how elaborate your process based art projects are going to be. The idea is to keep art invitations for toddlers fun, simple, and creative, and to let the kids take it from there.

So if you are looking for some exciting process based art activities for kids, we’ve got a few ideas that you can do this week, with materials you’ve already got on hand. Collect some supplies, bust out the paint, and you’ll be watching your kids create and explore art in a whole new way in no time!

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momlife, Tips & Hacks

Life Lessons Your Kid Can Learn at Chuck E. Cheese

July 25, 2018 thesaltymamas

Before having kids, I was firmly on team “We are NEVER Going to Chuck E. Cheese.” Then we were invited by my #Momsquad and the kids feel deeply in love and I knew my Chuck-Free days were over. We found ways to manage our trips, save some money while we went, and eventually Chuck E. Cheese made it’s way to become a regular activity in our rotation.

So when my husband started saying, “Wow, you go to Chuck E Cheese a LOT these days!,” I found myself trying to justify our outing. At first, I thought I was just trying to make it seem less pathetic that we went there so often, but then I realized that my son really was learning some valuable life skills. So now, I have zero guilt about living at the air-conditioned paradise that is Chuck E Cheese this summer.

And you can too! Just use these little life lessons next time you go with your kiddo and you can mark it down as a practically educational opportunity!

Check out these 5 ways to make Chuck E Cheese more than just a trip to the arcade! #lifelessons #chuckecheese ##lifelessonsdaily #lifelessonsdoneright #lifelessonsforever #chuckecheesetips #chuckecheesehacks #chuckecheeselife #lifelessonsforkids #toddlerlifelessons #howtoteachkidsbudgeting #howtoteachkidstimemanagement #howtodealwithdisappointment #earlybird

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Mama Mojo, momlife

Sing’s Pig Mama is Every SAHM, EVER.

July 23, 2018July 22, 2018 Salty Jaymi

This week, as part of the Regal Kids’ Summer Movie Club, we headed to the theater for a cheap showing of Sing. I don’t know about you, but I tend to use my kids’ TV time as get-as-much-work-done-as-possible time, so I’d never actually seen the whole movie. Sure, I’ll get down to the part where Meena rocks out at the end, but otherwise, I come and go throughout. Not this week.

This week, I was forced to sit and watch as Mama Pig Rosita sat there on the screen, strumming my pain with her fingers for a full two hours (no really though- what’s with that crazy dull stretch three quarters of the way through the movie? It took SO MUCH POPCORN to keep Abe occupied during that part).

If you are a Stay at Home Mama, then you might have noticed before what I am just noticing now- Rosita the Mama Pig is ALL of us.

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