The Messy Bun Life

Messy Bun, Get Parenting Done

You are here: Home / Archives for Laura Epstein

Laura Epstein

Ten Top Fashion Picks for Moms

By Leave a Comment

Just because you are a mom does not mean you have to start caring for what you wear. When you are a mom you do need more functional clothes though. Here are some of my favorite fashion finds for when you want to look cute and pulled together even when you are running after a toddler or carpooling a pre-teen.

Leggings

The staple of mom style is the legging. I think sometimes they get a bad rap but really they are amazing for chasing kids while looking cute. One of my favorite brands is Zella, Nordstrom’s brand. They have a high waist (my #1 requirement) and thick so my underwear will not show through. They are sometimes a little too thick in the summer but are definitely worth the money to splurge on. Z by Zella is the Nordstrom Rack version and I think they are just as good. The styles and colors are more limited but they are significantly less expensive while having the same features.

My other favorite are Mono B leggings. A little more obscure but these leggings pass my first two tests: they have a high waist and are thick enough not to show too much. They also feature four way stretch and some amazing wicking technology. The patterns range from shimmery with exclusive sparkle thread to really cool moto ribbed black leggings.

[Read more…] about Ten Top Fashion Picks for Moms

Mom Hacks: How To Never Go Shopping With Your Kids Again

By 3 Comments

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you I may earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.  Thank you for supporting my blog.

Well, by never go shopping I mean never drag your newborn, your sick child, or your three super active little boys to the store if you do not want to.  Like most moms I enjoy a good stroll through Target by myself.  I’m a little less enthusiastic about dragging tired twins to the grocery store when they’d rather be doing pretty much anything else.  Here are my favorite programs for shopping while keeping your sanity by not having to actually go IN the store.  Because that toy aisle at Target is always RIGHT in the middle and hard to avoid and really, why waste time shopping with your kids when you can go to the park instead.

Groceries

There are several great options for getting groceries to you without going in the store.  My current favorite is Marianos Clicklist (it’s also offered by Kroger stores).  You have to go in the store, but not INTO the store.  You order online and pick a time slot you want to pick up. You the drive up, call a number and they bring the groceries out to the car.  Perfect for a napping child or a quick run to the grocery store on your way home.  I like Clicklist because the groceries are picked by store employees.  They know where things are so I find there are less “out of stock” items and the produce quality is the highest.  There is a fee by delivery or by month/ year.  If I know the kids are going to be off school and I won’t have time to shop in peace I’ll turn on monthly then go back to just by trip.  You can use the code LEPSTEIN at checkout for $10 off your first order.

This does not solve the problem of when you don’t want to or can’t leave the house.  I like Instacart but I don’t love it.  That said I actually used it today so it’s my favorite of the don’t leave your house at all options.  I was planning to grocery shop after the kids went to bed but my husband got stuck at work and Instacart rescued me for pretzels and strawberries I need for tomorrow’s lunches (and a bunch of other stuff too).  Better planning would probably have solved the whole issue but you’re on a blog call The Messy Bun Life so we can’t expect perfection.  I like the ease of Instacart.  It comes right to your door and is usually pretty quick.  The fees are about the same as Clicklist.  The problem is that for some stores the prices are significantly higher.  But some are comparable and sometimes I have a sick kids, or poor planning, and just need my groceries.  The other problem is that the you are at the will of the picking skills of your independent instacart shopper.  Sometimes they are fine, and sometimes they aren’t.  As long as you doublecheck and provide feedback when necessary instacart is a good option for when you can’t, or don’t want to, go anywhere.

Supplies

Well, Amazon is the big one. It has pretty much everything and with prime sometimes it’s within one to two days.  The downside is sometimes even with prime it takes a little while longer (things aren’t in stock) and you have to be careful about the price of things that are being resold.  I spent $10 for 6 kids bath bubble pens that were clearly marked as $1 (probably from the target bullseye section from the packaging).  Whoops!

I may have mentioned I love Target.  I actually grew up in downtown Chicago and we didn’t have Target until I was in my mid-twenties (gasp!) which is probably part of my obsession.  I don’t usually love taking my kids to Target.  I have three boys, a 6 year old and twin 4 year olds, that have more interest in the pokemon section then guest bedroom bedding sets or the amazing array of dry shampoo.  The order online, pick up in store option has always been my favorite way to do quick target runs.  When the drive up option started rolling out I was a little skeptical if I would ever need it.  Then my twins got sick.  Not super sick but that grumpy, needs to nap but doesn’t feel well enough to comfortably sleep sick.  Then we ran out of pretzels (this happens a lot) and were running low on everything else.  Plus I was looking for a reason to get the twins in the car so they would take a good nap.  So I tried the drive up and it was awesome!  It’s like it sounds: you order online, then drive up and they bring it out.  My biggest concern was how long it would take once I stopped before they came out.  I didn’t want the twins to wake up.  It was quick.  Future trips, which now happen regularly, were equally fast and it has become my go to for small to medium size target runs when I don’t have time but I am driving somewhere close to it.  Prices are the same (and right now they seem to be running a lot of specials), they pick perfectly and the selection is most of your everyday stuff you would buy from Target.  Target for the win!

Clothing

I hate clothing shopping in store.  Honestly, I hate going clothing shopping with OR without the kids in a store.  That’s why I’m sort of obsessed with Stitch Fix.  If you aren’t familiar Stitch Fix is where you fill out an online style survey including sizes and the approximate price you want to spend (items range from $25 to $500).  Your personal stylist sends you five pieces to try based on your preferences.  You pick what you want (and pay for it then) and send back what you don’t want. There is a $20 styling fee that is applied to your order.  I have my account set for an automatic box every three months so I have new clothing seasonally but you can order on demand or set up an autoship.

I did not realize until someone brought it up how much of my wardrobe staples are from them: my favorite shoes, jean jacket, sweater, and jeans are all Stitch Fix.  Those stylists are pretty good.  I have never had an order where I didn’t love something and sometimes they are dead on.   You provide feedback every time so the more you shop, the better the boxes become.  You can get $25 off your first order here!

That’s my roundup of my favorite programs to avoid taking your kids shopping. Be sure to check out some of other mom hacks about learning fine motor skills and outfitting your basement for motor skill development and fun!

 What are your favorite resources and store to avoid spending the time, energy and sometimes money, of taking your kids to the stores?

how to never go shopping with your kids again

20 Easy Activities For Fine Motor Skill Development

By Leave a Comment

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you I may earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.  Thank you for supporting my blog.

Developing fine motor skills in your child can be easy and fun! Whether your child is neurotypical or has special needs these activities are great for helping them develop these essentials skills. Check them out and be sure to check out my top 15 gifts for fine motor skill development too!

Fine Motor Skill Game- Eat The Cheese from Your Therapy Source

Slime Themed Duck in a Truck from JDaniel4’s Mom

Dinosaur Loom Band stretch from Laughing Kids Learn

[Read more…] about 20 Easy Activities For Fine Motor Skill Development

Parenting During the Covid- 19 Pandemic

By Leave a Comment

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you I may earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.  Thank you for supporting my blog.

Stay Calm, Or At Least Fake It

As this pandemic was getting worse I was talking to an aquantance who grew up in the UK. She said that she never knew that the IRA was constantly a threat. While I think that our children should absolutely know what is going on, we should hide our fear from them. This doesn’t mean lie but do not let them see your panic when the grocery store is out of frozen food. They see it too already and are worried and will look for you to comfort them.

I know my children can sense when I am upset or dysregulated. They then proceed to get dysregulated too. I do not want to be stuck in my house with a bunch of hyper, worried kids. I am going to do my best to reassure them despite my own fears.

Accept That This Kind Of Sucks, But Is Absolutely Neccesary

School is out in many places. While I will try to provide educational activities. It is not the same. My son who has special needs has an IEP and extra supports that I cannot fulfill or provide him. I have also had to suspend my children’s occupational and speech therapy. Even though we will work on things at home I worry that the progress they have made will go away. Our vacation is cancelled, Passover dinner may just be us, and my kids will slowly drive me insane BUT this is important. We need to stop the spread of Covid- 19 even if our lives are inconvenienced. But, it’s also okay to say that it sucks. Tell your spouse, your BFF, probably not your kids, but maybe your mom too.

Stock Up

We have a months worth of food just in case, we have a lot of toilet paper (but we always did because we buy it when it’s on sale at Costco), and we have some basic medicine. But while my husband was stocking up on milk I was finding ideas and activities for the kids. I went to the dollar store and got whatever crafts they had, bubbles and glow sticks (if I give these to my kids they disapear into the basement for hours)

My oldest son is seven and his school is doing e-learning but that is probably not enough and he needs more educational activities. I ordered him an extra Minecraft workbooks (we already had a few) and will be encouraging him to use our Osmo more. I have also set the computer up with all his school websites to use and also Khan kids. If you have not seen this website/ app it is a great source of free educational activities

[Read more…] about Parenting During the Covid- 19 Pandemic

The Best Basement Toys for Your Preschooler

By 2 Comments

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you I may earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.  I hope you find some great new basement toys and thank you for supporting my blog.

Why have great basement toys?

A great indoor gross motor play area (in your basement or elsewhere) will help your kids grow their  motor skills, increase balance and sports skills, help with sensory regulation, and allow you a bit of sanity.  Below is a list of some of our favorite toys we keep in our basement.  A lot of these toys were originally purchased for my oldest son who has Autism.  They helped with his motor delays and sensory integration struggles but they have been equally successful and fun with his  little brothers who are more neurotypical.  One of the twins has hypotonia and a few of these toys were very helpful in him making progress on increasing his muscle tone.

The Basement Toys

Mini trampoline

Kids need to bounce.  The motion and input are regulating to many  kids and it will burn a lot of energy on rainy days.  We love this 36 inch folding trampoline.  I did not want a trampoline with a bar (I didn’t want to worry about one kid pushing another into it) but having seen my twins jump super high on this little tikes trampoline at their occupational therapist’s clinic there is definitely a lot to be said for having a removable bar. That’s a personal preference so I’ll leave both options here.

Ball Pits

I love our ball pits.  We started with what my husband calls our “sensibly sized” pop-up ball pit.  We had this ball pit tent at our smaller town home.  We kept it folded in the closet with the balls in a garbage bag and popped it up with my son needed to swim in the balls.  Even if you don’t have a dedicated open space for your equipment lots of these toys can be stored in a closet and pulled out when you want them.  Despite having a larger ball pit now we still pop this one out of the closet and use it all the time.

When we moved to the ‘burbs one of the upgrades was in ball pit size.  We got the Fun and Function Air Lite Ball Pit.  It was an expensive purchase but was absolutely worth it.  This ball pit has been used countless hours for the last two years and has no no wear and tear on it.  It has been used at a ball pit, a tent, a cave, a bounce house and more!  I will warn you at one point or a few all the balls will end up out of the pit.  Speaking of balls I have tested a few types and these packs of 200 are the best we’ve had.

air lite ball pit

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Crash Mat

If you aren’t familiar with crash mats they are basically giant pillows to crash into.  You can jump on it, climb over it and wrestle on it.  Climbing on and out from under our crash mat has greatly improved my twins’ muscle tone and balance and crashing into this mat is highly regulating for all my boys.

crash mat

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Giant ball

A giant ball has been a lot of fun.  I originally meant to put it outside but it was given to us for the holidays so it went in the basement and hasn’t come out.  The kids jump on it, roll on it and throw it at each other.

 

 

Scooters

Do you remember scooter races in elementary school gym class?  This is the type of scooters I’m talking about.  The boys love scooting all over the place on these and they are great for their core strength and coordination.

scooter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hopper Balls

Hopper Balls (Hippity Hop was the popular brand in the 80s) are another classic from my childhood that my kids are now starting to like as well.  I particularly like the ones we got from Fun and Function and they have held up well.

 

hopper balls

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ogo Sport

The Ogo Sport is a fun toy that goes both inside and outside at our house depending on the weather.  It is essentially two paddles (I like the ones with handles) and a squishy ball with a tail on it.  It sounds a little weird but it’s a great toy for practicing eye hand coordination without smashing up your house too much.

 

Step 2 Train

I was actually not originally sold on this toy (it was a gift).  Not because the step 2 train didn’t look fun but it really only does one thing: the train goes down the track.  That said, I was wrong.  The train does definitely only go down the track but the kids practice taking turns, ride on it together and it has helped my twin who has hypotonia’s muscle tone.  When we got the train he was absolutely opposed to going down it.  His core was not strong enough to make it comfortable to go down.  We slowly worked on it and he gained the confidence to try it with support and now knows how to go down it.

 

Mini Slide

We also have a mini slide in our basement.  It was originally outside because our bigger play set was too big for one of the twins to comfortably used but I decided to test it out in our basement and it has been a success.  If and how big a slide you want in your basement is a personal choice but having a small one allows the kids a chance to climb without a huge safety risk.

Mats

Buying floor mats was another large purchase but well worth it.  We have this type from Amazon on a couple of the walls so the train can run into them and also on the floors.  These have the right amount of firmness and squish to both be useful when the kids fall on them but also when my husband drops weights on the floor.

 

I hope this helps you decide on some great toys for your basement or other play area!  Check out my article on great fine motor skill toys for more ideas to help your child develop great motor skills and let me know in the comments what your favorite basement toys are!

The Laura Chronicles

Subscribe to the Newsletter
the best basement toys

How to Trick You Child into Great Fine Motor Skills (or 15 Great Toys for Fine Motor Skill Development)

By 3 Comments

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you I may earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.  Thank you for supporting my blog.

Fine motor skills are important to develop.  From cutting with scissors, using utensils or learning to write these skills take time and patience to develop but they can also be fun.  I have three children.  I have a six year old with autism and twin neurotypical three year olds.  These are some of their favorite toys that are also secretly helping with fine Motor skills.

Pop Beads

Pop beads are a fun way to build hand strength and coordination.  These colorful beads were hard for my little ones at first but they quickly got the hang of them and started making necklaces, snakes, dragons and other monsters.

Discovery Putty

Discovery Putty  is a type of therapy putty with objects hidden inside.  There are lots of different types with different objects hidden: animals, dinosaurs, trains, etc. so there is something for every kids interest.  In addition to being a great way to grow grip strength and dexterity this type of activity can also be very regulating.

Scissor Skills

My kids love this scissor skills workbook (yes, they actually love what is really a workbook).  It is full of fun pictures to cut.  Because I have three kids I also got a fun set of extra scissors which led to lots more great scissor skills practice.

Tape Activity Book

The Tape Activity  book was a huge hit with my six year old starting when he was about four.  He loved it so much we had to buy more wiki tape for it (an easy buy from Michaels or sometimes the dollar store).  It is pretty simple in design.  It has various pictures and youR child tapes over them.  When Ross started using the book he still needed my assistance to help rip the tape but by the second roll he had figured it out.

Play-Doh

This classic toy has lots of fine motor benefits.  It builds hand strength and dexterity plus you can add in scissors and other tools to practice with those as well.  My twins currently love to play pretend kitchen with their playdough.

Play Foam

Playfoam is a fun alternative to play dough (with the advantage that it doesn’t dry out).  You can often find single color packages, perfect for small gifts, at the dollar store or bullseye section of Target.  My kids also love the number and letter sets (picture/link below).

Fine Motor Tool Set

The Learning Resources Fine Motor Tool Set includes four tools; a tweezers, a baller, a scooper and a syring (those definitely aren’t their titles, just ours).  We use this set with kinetic sand, play foam, water, and water beads.


Kinetic Sand

My kids love kinetic sand!  It is a very regulating activity to most children as well as being a great way to build hand strength and coordination.  We pour the kinetic sand into plastic boxes and use it in conjunction with the fine motor set.  They also make portable boxes of kinetic sand and colored sand as well.

Water Beads

Water beads are another great toy to use with the fine motor tools.  They are little beads that get bigger and squishy when the are placed in water.  My three year old twins love to place them in water, monitor them growing and then play with them!

Wiki-Stix

Wiki-Stix are fun, flexible sticks of wax.  They are great stocking stuffers or small hanukkah gifts (I’ve actually used them in goodie bags too).  They build dexterity and also hand strength and endurance.

Magnatabs

We were handed down the A to Z Magnatab and it has been a huge hit.  It is a portable board with a magnetic pen.  Users trace the letters and the pen brings up the magnetic balls.  It’s great for in the car or quite solo play.

Magna Tiles

Magna Tiles are semi-transparent, colorful magnetic blocks.  They require fine motor skills and control to properly put them together and they are so much fun to build towers, castles and more!

Wacky Links

We were given a small tube of Wacky Links as a gift and they have been a hit with all three boys.  They are flexible sticks that connect to fun shaped connectors.  My kids build crowns, jewelry and of course, swords (because I have all boys and everything is a sword).


Plus Plus Blocks

My oldest is obsessed with LEGOS but I’ve tried to find him a few other alternative blocks.  Plus Plus blocks have been a fun alternative for creative block play (while working on motor skills).  They come in two sizes.  The basic size is great for my six year old and the larger size (“duplo” size) is suitable for my twins.

Those are my 15 favorite toys for fine motor skill development.  What toys do you love?  What did I miss?   Tell me in the comments.  Please contact me if you have any questions and I would love to have you on my newsletter.  I also have a list of great basement toys and sensory tools you might be interested in and tips for surviving the holidays with your special needs child.

The Laura Chronicles

Subscribe to the Newsletter
How To Trick Your Child Into Great Fine Motor Skills