- When you’re tired, hand your kids a brush, point to your head, and tell them to play beauty parlor.
- Take a bath with your infant. Make sure your husband is around for the handoff, so you can relax until the last minute. (Don’t forget to smell your baby right afterward. Heaven!)
- At the end of every summer, take a family photo for the holiday card (you’ll be happy to have this accomplished once December comes). Every year, add a framed 11-by-14-inch print to your front hall. Your kids will be proud now and laugh later at the funny styles.
- In the dead of winter, fix some snacks, get under warm quilts, and watch Happy Feet on DVD.
- Go to the beach in the off-season. Throw rocks in the water and collect shells. Put them in a vase and use it as shelf decor in your living room.
- Skip the Dora and Barney. Turn your kids on to Bob Marley, Whitney Houston, and Gwen Stefani.
- Take your kids to live music performances from very early ages. Cheap ones outdoors are great to start with in case you need to make a hasty exit (like when a diaper explodes).
- Use your kids as an excuse to do the things you want to do, like going to silly feel-good movies, eating mac and cheese for dinner, and jumping in the moonbounce.
- Every Mother’s Day, have a picture taken with your kids. Keep the photos all together – along with special cards, ticket stubs, mementos, and anything else that makes you feel good about being a mom
- Give your kids quiet time every day. Let them learn to be by themselves with books, crayons, or blocks.
- Let your whole family take a day off and hang out in pj’s all day long.
- Pitch a tent in the backyard. When there’s a full moon, plan a family campout with sleeping bags, a transistor radio, and s’mores, of course.
- Sit on the floor with your children and play with toys.
- Every night, remind your children to brush their teeth, tuck them into bed, read them a story and tell them that you love them to the moon and back times infinity!