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

It never fails- I’ve had a long day. I’ve had a million things on my plate, a million tasks to accomplish, and too many things to keep track of. I’m downright exhausted, and all I want to do is fall into my bed and spend the next eight hours in blissful, unconscious rest.

So why can’t I turn my brain off and fall asleep?

If you suffer from anxiety, this experience is far too familiar for your liking. We are exhausted, but our poorly wired brains won’t give it a rest so that we can GET some rest. One thought spirals into the next, and before you know it you’re agonizing about that comment you made to Sharon three days ago and if she’ll hate you forever because of it.

No? Just me?

At any rate, if you have difficulty falling asleep because your thoughts just won’t quit, we want you to know that you’re not alone. We’ve been there (you know, only like, every night or so). And as a result, we’ve come up with some fool-proof strategies to help you shut down your brain and fall asleep fast.

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Uncategorized

Frozone Ice Challenge: An Easy STEM Preschool Activity

November 13, 2018November 13, 2018 Salty Jaymi

Do you ever find yourself with a block of time with your kids that you’ve just GOT to fill somehow? Maybe you need to prep dinner, or you’ve used up all your screen time for the day, or they’re just driving you nuts and need a little more structure. Whatever, the scenario, you need an activity to fill some time, and you’re willing to try ANYTHING.

And so it was that this Incredibles 2 themed easy STEM preschool activity was born.

Around 2 p.m., it became abundantly clear that A.) my two year old was not going to take a nap, so B.) he would go to bed early, and thus C.) our family walk that takes up the last hour of the day was clearly NOT going to happen. So what in the world would I do with Lila?

We’ve been obsessed with ice lately (read about the time we painted it here!) and so I decided that I would trap some of her favorite toys inside a block of ice. Originally, I had planned to freeze Belle. But ice makes me think of Frozone, so I grabbed the Incredibles toys instead. This fun, engaging little Incredibles themed educational activity was born.

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Mom Humor

Moms Guide to Surviving Kids and Daylight Saving Time

November 6, 2018November 6, 2018 Salty Christine

Arguably one of the worst things about kids is that many of them have an irrational hatred for sleep. The worst part of parenting is navigating all of the things that mess up our kids already delicate sleep cycles: teething, climate change. But the greatest of these is Daylight Saving Time. We here at The Salty Mamas firmly believe in keeping it real, so we won’t lie to you. Dealing with the time change is going to SUCK. BUT, there are a few things you might be able to do to help cope with the double trouble of kids and Daylight Saving Time.

Good luck, and we’re pulling for you.

via GIPHY

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Cleaning

7 Bathroom Cleaning Hacks to Get a Sparkling Clean Bathroom

November 1, 2018November 1, 2018 Salty Jaymi

I was a late bloomer in the cleaning-bathrooms department. I did have bathroom cleaning lessons, but they didn’t come at what I consider an appropriate age- say, between the ages of 8 and 16, for example. Nope. Two days before my wedding, in a hot panic, I desperately asked my mom to show me how to clean a bathroom. How I had avoided it until then is a complete mystery, but it was one of those life skills I was pretty sure I was supposed to have, but failed to, pick up along the way. I was eager to learn some bathroom cleaning hacks before I had to confess to my new husband that I was a complete failure in the adulting department.

Presumably, you learned how to quickly clean a bathroom somewhere along the way. It is rarely anyone’s favorite household task, but it is one that you’ll certainly notice if it hasn’t been completed in a while. It’s a proverbially dirty job, but somebody’s gotta do it. Spoiler alert: that person is you.

So if you’re trying to find out how to make cleaning a bathroom easier, you’ve come to the right place. I’ve come a long way since those wedding-week-lessons, and I’ve accumulated the best bathroom cleaning hacks in the past eleven years or so. They’re not going to make the need to clean your bathroom go away, but they WILL make it easier. And frankly, that’s about all we can hope for in the toilet-scrubbing department, am I right?

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Toddlers

5 Ways You Should Be Teaching Toddlers About Consent

October 25, 2018October 25, 2018 Salty Christine

Consent is a huge issue in today’s climate. As we’ve started to realize, kids are never to young to start learning about what consent is, and how to receive and give it. That means you should already be teaching toddlers about consent. As parents, we are the front line in facilitating these discussions and teaching consent to kids. Perhaps more importantly, it’s also our jobs to model this behavior in our own lives. Here are 5 ways to model consent in your everyday lives.

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Kids' Art Projects, Toddlers

Halloween Art for Toddlers- 3 Projects for Spooky Fun

October 23, 2018October 23, 2018 Salty Jaymi

I love some good Halloween crafts as much as the next person, but you know what happens at our house? I spend about an hour prepping materials for the craft, the kids spend about three minutes doing the craft, and then I spend the next twenty minutes cleaning it up. It’s MUCH easier to set up some process-based Halloween Art for Toddlers instead.

Process art varies from regular arts and crafts in that it’s focused on the art creation and not upon the product, or outcome, of the activity. Luckily, the products often come out pretty darn cute, too.

As an added bonus- they usually don’t take much time to set up, which makes you a LOT less cranky if you’re kids aren’t into them. (Sidenote: my kids usually spend MUCH more time on a project if it’s process based, which makes the prep feel SO much more worth it!)

So if you’re looking for some fun Halloween art for toddlers (or your big kids, too!) keep reading for three fun Halloween activities for toddlers you can try today.

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Tips & Hacks

Guest Room Touches That WIll Make Company Feel Right at Home

October 18, 2018October 18, 2018 Salty Jaymi

It’s that time of year again. And I’m not talking about Pumpkin Spice Lattes, or even holiday cheer. Nope- we are rapidly approaching houseguest season.

Before we know it, my too-small house will be filled to the brim with friends and family members hoping to crash with us for a few days. Sometimes they’re just on their way through, and other times, they settle in for a week or two. Either way, we want to make them feel at home.

So if you find yourself with a few extra guests on your hands, we’ve got some tips to help make get your guest room ready for holiday houseguests.

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Toddlers

How to Potty Train a Boy (Without Driving Yourself Crazy)

October 16, 2018October 16, 2018 Salty Jaymi

If you’ve hung out around the site for long, you know that I do NOT believe in gender stereotypes. I want my boy to play with dolls and my girl to play in the dirt, and I want them both to grow up to be whatever they want to be. But sometimes, there are undeniable differences between the sexes. And nowhere are these more obvious than when you’re trying to figure out how to potty train a boy.

My daughter was stubborn as all get out, but potty training a girl seemed to be pretty straightforward. You sit. You pee. You receive your ~~bribe~~ reward. A couple weeks later, you’re walking around in big girl underwear like it’s no big deal.

But with a boy there are certain…physiological differences. Namely, a penis. But you might also find that your son has different interests and energy levels to contend with, and that presents its own challenges.

So if you find yourself with a kid of potty training age, and that kid happens to have a penis- here’s how to potty training a boy (without going crazy in the process).

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Why We're Salty

The Unwritten Rules for Parents During Open Gym

October 12, 2018October 18, 2018 Salty Christine

We love going to open gym with the kids. We love the energy our kids get our running and jumping and tumbling. We love watching our kids learn balance on the beam and strength on the bars. However, we do not always love that some people take the “open” part of open gym a little too far. With dozens of kids running around, it can turn a little Lord of the Flies real quickly without parents being involved. And while we’re generally team “Let the Kids Explore and be Kids” there are just too many kids at an open tumbling session for us to stick to this. To keep some order, we submit to you the unwritten rules of open gym:

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Mom Humor

Most Hillarious “My Kid is Crying” Tweets

October 9, 2018October 18, 2018 Salty Christine

If you have kids, you are NO stranger to all the crazy reasons that they’ll throw a fit. And yet, no matter how many tantrums you’ve witnessed, you’ll never stop being amazed at the things kids can freak out over. So we scoured Twitter for some of the funniest, craziest, most ludicrous reasons kids cry. Then, we asked our followers – Why did your kids cry?

Here’s what they told us!

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