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What are your little (or big) "lifesavers"?

post #1 of 29
10/25/10 at 12:57pm
Thread Starter 
Do you have things or systems that make your day easier? Those things that you make you say "I don't know what I'd do without it"!

I thought of this question when I was doing the dishes while watching the kids play outside. I love having a window in the kitchen that overlooks the backyard, so I can send the kids out to play while I do the dishes. I can hardly get a thing done when they are in the house. Before they were old enough to stay in back on their own volition, my lifesaver was having a fence back there!!

I'm sure I can think of some others, but I also want to hear about other people's!

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post #2 of 29
10/25/10 at 1:22pm
Coffee.
post #3 of 29
10/25/10 at 1:35pm
Ergo Baby. Ours is literally shredded from the amount of use it's gotten.

And my husband.
post #4 of 29
10/25/10 at 1:41pm
My yerba mate tea, doing yoga with dd, and the dinosaur shaped cookie cutter. DD will eat anything pressed into the shape of a dinosaur.
post #5 of 29
10/25/10 at 1:49pm
My husband, my fenced in yard, and coffee.

Edited to add seems I am not alone in my lifesavers!!
post #6 of 29
10/25/10 at 1:51pm
The gym, my DH and my carrier.
post #7 of 29
10/25/10 at 2:08pm
Our carriers definitely - less so now though.

Near us (within walking distance) is a drop-in centre that is free. We go there many mornings. Mornings are a bad time for me so having something so easy & free to do gets us going in the morning & requires very little of me. Plus I've made some good friends going there.

Grandma's.

My husband.
post #8 of 29
10/25/10 at 2:19pm
Coffee.

Wireless on the laptop. There is no way I could work from home without it.
post #9 of 29
10/25/10 at 3:08pm
Parent's Morning Out. (i.e. childcare two mornings a week)

I am so happy to see my kids when I pick them up, and I get so many things done while they are there that I have more time and energy to do fun things with them.
post #10 of 29
10/25/10 at 3:18pm
Grandparents!

MIL lives next door. She works FT, but she is off from work this week. DD is over there right now, which made it soooo much easier to get DS down for his nap.

My own mom is also a lifesaver, but she already watches the kids one morning a week, so I try not to take advantage of her on top of all that she already does for us.

Now I might actually have the opportunity to get some bday invites addressed, while DS is napping!
post #11 of 29
10/25/10 at 4:22pm
My mothers helper, because she really is a helpful little lady! She's been with kids forever and loves them just like I do. I trust her with my life/my kids lives and she helps a few days a week to just make my life sane and enjoyable.

Coffee!

Trips to the dog park. Seriously, my dogs can play/my DD can play with friendly dogs for an hour and run around. Excersise for everyone!
post #12 of 29
10/25/10 at 5:57pm
Coffee

Great nanny

Good housecleaner

Meals in the freezer

Sprinkles

Our 3 year old will eat almost anything with sprinkles on top. I don't even feel like I deserve to own the awesome power of 6 sided sprinkles container.

Secret Closet of Mystery - small area of the closet with new goodies for when we need a little something
post #13 of 29
10/25/10 at 6:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by JudiAU View Post
Secret Closet of Mystery - small area of the closet with new goodies for when we need a little something
I love it! We have a 'storage pantry' where all the boring cleaning supplies and coolers go, except for the very top shelf where I keep a stash of high sugar-bright packaged-chocolatey-icingey-leave-mama-alone-for-five-minutes-food (er...crap )
post #14 of 29
10/25/10 at 6:11pm
Great question!

Fenced in yard for my 20 month old

Lots of neighbor kids with parents who let their kids run around for my older kids

Coffee

My laptop

A good sit and stand stroller for long walks to school with three little ones.
post #15 of 29
10/25/10 at 6:34pm
Wednesdays. HUGE lifesaver. I now only work 4 days a week, and no salary in the world would get me back in the office that one day.
post #16 of 29
10/25/10 at 9:29pm
DH working from home. SO great right now - I'm pregnant and spending a lot of each day in bed. He works a lot, but he can get DD a piece of cheese or zip up her sweater or whatever, and having another adult around makes her life marginally less boring right now!
post #17 of 29
10/25/10 at 9:58pm
Tea... Warm cups of chamomile tea with honey for stressed out mama. Earl grey with milk in a favorite hand-thrown mug for tired mama. Chai latte-to-go for that little bit of extra incentive to get out of the house.

(fun thread! & interesting to see how many answers are the same...)
post #18 of 29
10/25/10 at 10:07pm
My DH.

1:00 - the time of day each afternoon that DD takes her nap

Annabelle's ever-ready smile
post #19 of 29
10/25/10 at 10:44pm
Put me down for coffee, too.

Early bed times.

Thomas the Tank Engine books on CD. When I need some mental space or a rest, I put one of those on and we all lie on the couch and listen to it.
post #20 of 29
10/25/10 at 10:50pm
Naptime/Quiet time. Mandatory, daily.

And places where they can play, and I can supervise while doing other stuff.
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Mothering › Mothering Discussion Forums › Parenting › What are your little (or big) "lifesavers"?