Moving with Littles

So today we went to check out an apartment. We decided to take it! 😀 It's a nice little place out in the country (YAY!) & a steal for the price! OK, it's ugly as sin, but it does the job & it's one step closer to the end goal (actually buying a house).

Once the excitement wore off, reality set in, and I realized... We are moving with 2 small children. 😨 My brain seriously froze up over that idea. LOL!

While this is fresh in my mind, I want to share with you a few tips for moving with kids. 💖

● Make a plan! We have 30 days to not only move, but downsize from a large 4brdm house to a small 2bdrm apartment. All with 2 young children & very little outside support/help. Yikes! So this mama is planning, planning, planning like a psychopath. 📑📋👌

● Don't be afraid to ask for/accept outside help! I promise you, if anyone offers, I am jumping on that sh*t! I've moved with one little before, and I know just how much easier things will be if it's just me going nutso on things for a little while. Also, if I get overwhelmed, I will be shameless in asking, bribing, & guilting help out of anyone I can. (Only a half joke there lol!) Moving is difficult and stressful enough as it is, don't you dare feel guilty for accepting help. 👌

● Pace yourself! Take a look at your time table & break it up. For us, we are choosing to do a little prep work (cleaning up & taking a handful of toys over there) and then we are going room by room keeping out only the bare necessities. Pacing yourself will help to keep your stress levels down, and help avoid disorganization. 🏃⌚✌

● Delegate, delegate, & delegate some more. If you can enlist outside help of any kind, give each person a job & stick to it. Even if you can't, assign specific jobs to each family member (even the kids). Organization is key in things running as smoothly as possible and delegation removed an misunderstanding or confusion. 👉📦

●  Have some basics at the new place! For us that looks like toiletries, some easy to grab snacks, and a handful of toys. I should probably plan for a place to nap just incase too. Just enough to keep them busy for a little while (hopefully!) 🍩

● Meal plan for the time period. Make a meal plan with simple, quick, easy to make meals & stick to it. After a long day moving you're probably not going to want to slave away at the stove making a gormet meal. So think simple, buy easier meals, premake & freeze... Whatever you gotta do to simplify this aspect of life for now. If you've gotta live off of frozen meals & sandwiches for a while, no one is gonna die.

● Assign older ones to "baby duty" if you can! My 6yr has been so adorably and capably hands on with her 17m old sister her entire life, so I'm going to be leaning on her a bit through this process. She can't change diapers or nurse her, but she can play with her, chase her down, keep her out of stuff, switch YouTube videos for her, and calm most tantrums. She loves being "the boss". 😍😊

● Take turns with your partner! When the kiddos need adult attention, take turns with your partner. For us so far it's been dad does the heavy stuff & I stay with the kids & clean or nurse baby, and when he gets back I load the stuff into the house & start unpacking while he lays on the floor and plays with the baby. During that time we both get our potty breaks & just breaks in general in. The bigger stuff is coming up so things are about to get harder, but that's what a baby gate & ear plugs are for. 😉

● Get the internet/TV set up sooner than later. The one thing that will get my kids to chill for short periods of time is TV or the Internet. If you have a phone with 4g, you may as well give it up for this time period so they'll get off your back, but if you're like me and run on WiFi half the month, I highly suggest either getting the internet set up at the new place or pulling out the old DVD player & a few favorite movies.

● Set up baby gates. My little hates bring confined, but when we are moving big stuff, I don't want her getting trampled. Since we can't really get a babysitter, we will be setting up baby gates & utilizing them during this time to avoid struggle and injury. Is she going to be mad as a hornets nest? Probably. But she'll be safe.

● Involve them! Kids love going through stuff they haven't seen in a while (or ever) and hearing stories from your/their past and toddlers love to "help". I had my 17m go with me late at night because she doesn't know what sleep is anymore & she "helped" me unpack the toys & books & movies. It was a bit of a hassle refixing things behind her but she felt involved and didn't spend the time crying and trying to tackle me to the ground for boobie.

Moving is always tough, but it's especially challenging with little ones who need your time and attention. I hope this list makes this process just a little easier on you. 💖

Now let's see if I can follow my own advice! 😉