tips Archives - The Ten Thousand Hour Mama

Portland’s The Grotto with kids: Outdoor Christmas fun

December 7, 2017December 6, 2017catherinemryan

This week we checked off a Portland bucket list activity: Visiting Portland’s The Grotto with kids. The families from Kiwi’s homeschool preschool planned a p.m. field trip to see the Christmas lights there, and since I didn’t exactly know what was in store, this Portland Christmas activity gave me so much more than I expected!

Visiting The Grotto with kids is a painless, fun outdoor activity to get in the Christmas spirit in Portland.

If you’re looking for a family activity in Portland that’s

inexpensive
easy for little kids and entertaining for older kids, too
not stressful

then I recommend visiting The Grotto with the whole family. (I didn’t receive compensation or free entry for this post; I just really enjoyed our visit and am glad we finally went to see the Christmas lights there!)

Family Christmas activities in Portland: The Grotto with kids Read more →

Holiday shopping with kids: 10 tips to survive the season

November 21, 2017November 20, 2017catherinemryan

Shopping is not my favorite. It ranks somewhere below scrubbing toilets and clipping my kids’ fingernails in the things I’d rather do. But, alas, Christmas presents don’t buy themselves. And with research I’ve been doing about how shopping locally and at small businesses keeps 3-7 times more money in the local economy, I’m avoiding my Amazon Prime account when I can. But shopping with kids? That’s a whole other challenge.

I know I’m not alone here: Parents agree that shopping with kids is like herding cats, only if the cats were rabid. And drunk. And hangry. And loud enough to draw the stares of an entire block.

So I put on my thinking cap (and asked a few other bloggers) to come up with these tips for shopping with kids this holiday season. If you’re heading out on Black Friday or waiting until crowds die down, these ideas will help you keep your sanity—and family—intact.

How to keep kids busy at a restaurant: Mom tips

July 12, 2017July 12, 2017catherinemryan

Back in my pre-kid days, I had grand visions of taking my children out to eat in restaurants. I imagined them sitting properly in high chairs, ordering their meals with a “please” and “thank you,” trying new foods and making only a minimal mess—with no screen time, of course. Oh, did I have it coming.

But my imagination doesn’t have to be all wrong. Now that I have two kids—who happen to be picky eaters, BTW, and won’t eat unless they are being read to—I have learned some tricks on how to keep kids busy at a restaurant.

7 tips on how to keep your kids busy at a restaurant - tried + true tips from a mom of picky eaters! Ten Thousand Hour Mama

That doesn’t mean we eat out often, and it doesn’t mean my kids are always model citizens at a restaurant. But it does mean I’m not crushed by anxiety at the thought of my kids throwing french fries. It does mean I get to eat my meal when we go to a restaurant as a family. (Or at least most of it.) And it even means I was brave enough to take my kids to a sushi restaurant—and that my picky eaters actually tried sashimi! (The tempura helped.)

It’s not magic, and it’s not rocket science. Here’s how to keep kids busy at a restaurant. Read more →

How I organize my blog with a bullet journal

August 31, 2016August 28, 2016catherinemryan

I’ve always been one of those people who has to write everything down; that need has become even more vital since I became a mom and all my brain cells were sucked, zapped and fried out of me. So when I thought of a blog post I wanted to write, I jotted down a note in a to do list notebook.

I got more ideas. And more ideas. And soon enough, my ideas were so cluttered that the blog post list wasn’t helpful. The disorganization took a toll on my productivity.

When I actually had a chunk of time to write a blog post, I didn’t know where to start. I’d sift through messy list of ideas or click on the many drafts in my WordPress dashboard to figure out what I needed to do to complete a post.

By the time I actually got to work, I’d have wasted a half-hour. Busy moms and bloggers feel me: We do not have a spare half-hour to waste.

So when I started bullet journaling a few months back, I knew I wanted to keep track of my blog posts: ideas for future posts, posts in progress and scheduled posts. (Don’t know what I’m talking about? Read this beginner’s guide to bullet journaling. You might get hooked, too!) So I started to organize my blog with a bullet journal spread.

Voila: my BuJo blog post page.

Home Sweet Preschool: Start your own homeschool preschool

February 3, 2016May 28, 2017catherinemryan

homeschool preschool

Forget health food crazes and packed gyms; the nuttiest New Year phenomenon is preschool visits, if you ask me. But a handful of friends and I are skipping the preschool tours altogether; we’re starting our own. You can, too! Read on to learn how to start a homeschool preschool of your own!

How to start a DIY homeschool preschool = Ten Thousand Hour Mama Read more →