#survivaltips

Here's another post on how we get things done around here.  Just to clarify, this is not parenting advice...just tips on how we make it through the day with 3 small kiddos.  Some day I'll look back at these posts and laugh at the fact that just walking across the street was a difficult feat.  You can find my first #survivaltips post here (on how to cook a meal with no boiling water, no knives, no handwashing while wearing a baby in an ergo...fun times).  Today's topic is, as mentioned above, crossing the street.  Or the parking lot.  Really, just getting in and out of places in general.  I know this seems trivial, but the most stressful part of my day is often getting in and out of the car and in and out of school/church/stores, etc.  Here are some things that make the process smoother for me:

1. Giving the kids specific directions before we get out of the car always makes things go better.   For example, if we are just running into target to grab toilet paper, this needs to be explained before we walk past the princess toys and the legos or there will be a melt down.

2. Giving them something to do works better than telling them not to run out or to wait for me.  Everyday while I get E out of her car seat, I tell the other two, "Backs to the wheel".  This means for them to turn around with their backs touching the car.  It helps them focus on something instead of thinking about how much they want to run away.  I may or may not have a "backs to the wheel" song to the tune of "everybody move to the back of the bus".  Outkast.  I'm cool like that.

3. Practicing when I know it's not dangerous also helps.  If I absolutely know there are no cars in the parking lot and no cars coming, I will let them practice crossing the road and walking without holding hands.  This is mostly for H right now because W doesn't usually hold my hand in the school or church parking lot (because I only have 2 hands). If we go to a store with a busy parking lot, I try to get a cart before I get them out of the car or have W hold H's other hand.

4.  Sometimes getting everyone in their carseat is just a free for all.  Teaching them to buckle their top buckles has helped, but one of them will still often hop in the front or lie in the floor board...it's definitely a work in progress, especially when it's 5:00 and everyone's hungry and tired, including me.  The concept that hurrying into the carseats will make supper come faster has not sunk in yet.

All these little things remind me of how far they have come.  Even tackling these little obstacles is a victory, but sometimes it's hard to remember to celebrate one child learning to buckle a seat belt when another is currently beeping the horn or eating cheerios out of the depths of the carseat.  I'm trying to notice when they get better at things and encourage them in even these little victories.