We all love a good baby registry list. 

The adorable footie outfits, the cute little shoes, the soft and snuggly stuffed animals, the practical swaddles and blankets, early development toys, and on and on an on...

Yes, these are ALL necessities (well, minus the shoes...they are pointless regardless of their cuteness) and pretty fun to register for if you're a first time mom...

BUT...

If you're on #2, #3, #4.....

OR

If you're in my shoes, and have received the news of BLUE 5x in a row...

There is not much left that you will need for your little one, aside from diapers, of course! No items on a registry that you don't already have stashed away somewhere in your house.

BUT...

There's still a little part of you that would like **something** to celebrate your new little life who's on their way to join your family.

ENTER THE 5 MOST THOUGHTFUL GIFTS FOR EXPECTING MOMS WHO HAVE IT ALL!!

My friends and family are masters of thinking outside the box, and without them, there would be no list like this in existence...

THE BEST GIFTS THIS MOMMA OF *almost* 5 EVER RECEIVED...

...wasn't something you could scan onto a registry...

...wasn't something I had to find a home for in our closets or drawers...

...wasn't something I had to wash or clean daily...

BUT IT WAS...

...something that saved me time...

...something that saved my sanity...

...something my baby would NEVER grow out of...

...AND something that made me SO HAPPY because I would have never bought it for myself.

If you're looking for the PERFECT GIFT for a family member or friend who is expecting, someone who seems to have it ALL already...

These 5 Thoughtful Gifts for Expecting Moms Who Have It All has you covered!!

I will never forget the scene.

I walked into another twin momma's home...desperate for tips...but also desperate for a good deal on a twin nursing pillow.

Our 5 littles played while we managed to try and have an adult conversation. 

As much as I wanted to listen to her advice, I was SO DISTRACTED....

Lining every wall of their playroom was TWO OF EVERYTHING, and along one wall were plastic tubs stacked to the ceiling! 

I couldn't believe my eyes. SO. MUCH. STUFF.

I decided in that exact moment that I would do everything in my power to NOT aquire TWO OF EVERYTHING just because I was having twins. 

I'm no minimilist by any means, but I also can't handle chaos and disorder, and I could only imagine adding two more of everything to the everything else that we already had from our older two would be the end of my sanity.

PLUS, NOT buying TWO MORE OF EVERYTHING would help cut down the costs heading into this new life with 4 kids. 

As we journey this life of DOUBLE JOYS, DOUBLE TROUBLE, and DOUBLE LOVE, I am striving to keep the STUFF (and the chaos) at a minimum...

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I could tell what kind of morning it was going to be the second they woke up.

Legos dumping, bed jumping, car zooming, and the mischievous laughter before 7am did not bode well for any sort of calm morning...despite my deep desire for it. 

I'm not sure how my kids wake up with more energy in one morning than I am alotted for the year, but one thing's for sure, that energy turns to CRAZY real fast if I'm not careful.

Too much freedom can lead to too much craziness in our home, and for me, it's a serious frustration trigger.

Rewind to having only 1 child (I now have 4), and I could already sense we needed some structure to the days that had no structure.

My oldest needed some gentle boundaries as he played or two things would happen...

1. He got CRAZY (and destroyed stuff)
OR
2. He got BORED (and destroyed stuff)

It's a lose lose...no matter their age, no matter how many there are.

Independent play time has always been important for me to instill in my children. As much as I LOVE to get down and play with my kids and believe that the INTENTIONAL time spent with them is incredibly important, I don't want to be seen as their only source of entertainment. I've got things to do too!!

I knew I needed a plan to save my sanity yet still entertain my kiddos (and back then, with one child, I had time to plan).

I knew I needed to step in and guide his "free play" to maximize the minutes in our day FOR GOOD, cut back on the craziness, cut back on the destruction, cut back on the discipline, and give him an environment to thrive!
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Snow days, Spring Break, Summer Break...whatever your need for some sanity saving activities, these 15 Minute Activity Stations will sure help break up the crazy and bring some sort of structure to your days.  

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"It's raining, it's pouring, the old man is snoring."

Don't you just WISH you were THAT OLD MAN in in the song?

Able to sleep away a rainy day...

Able to drift off to sleep with the sound of raindrops and thunder rolling in the background...

AH! It's sounds glorious.

HOWEVER....

If your house is anything like mine, a rainy day just means EXTRA LOUD FOOTSTEPS in the house,  EXTRA COMPLAINING because there's "nothing to do," and an EXTRA CUP of coffee for you...cause you're not really sure what time it is.

In our house, we try to embrace a good ol' rainy day and make the most of it...so momma don't go crazy!!

So, if you're stuck at home, here are 10 of our family's favorite rainy day activities...

(This post contains affiliate links. Click here for full disclosure and explanation.)

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Family Fun Nights have become a staple in our family's weekly routine. Our kids look forward to it as the busy week comes to a close. Not only are we spending intentional quality time together while our our children are young, but ultimately, we are hoping to instill a love for coming together around the table as they grow up. 

I am a firm believer in starting kids off young with structured games and activities. They are capable of so much more than we give them credit for. Our first son, at 2 years old, could legitimately beat us at a game of Toy Story Memory (or Toy Story Matching as he called it), however, it wasn't until our second son was 3 years old that he became interested in structured games (despite being the very reason we started Family Fun Night's to begin with). Every child's interest level for these types of activities will be different, and I'm not suggesting to force something on them that they aren't ready for or enjoy, but I would encourage you to periodically revisit certain activities that your child may not show interest in initially.
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I can't take credit for bringing all these awesome games into our home, as many of these were gifts from our thoughtful family members, but we have made them our own and they have all become our absolute favorites. We don't always play by the rules. We don't always finish each round. But we are smiling, laughing, high fiving, and bonding with each game we play. 

**This list is compiled with children ages 5 and under in mind. It also contains affiliate links.

Raise your hand if you love Fridays!!!

I'm guessing most of you moms are raising both hands, if you're anything like me.

Early on in motherhood, Fridays became just like every other day of the week.

I still had to do all the same things that I did every other day, and no break was in sight.

But this Momma needed a break! I needed something to look forward to!

So, Friday's became our family night OUT!

My husband  and I, and our little guy would head out to a family friendly restaurant...no planning, no cooking, no cleaning...perfect!

We actually really enjoyed these nights out as a family of 3.

People would come up to us and comment on how great it was that we were exposing our young toddler to public places.

We kindly nodded in agreement, but really, we were thinking, "yeah, we're doing this for more for us...he's just along for the ride."

Then, enter child #2....we were determined to keep our tradition going.

So, for several months, we powered through...

through the crying,

through the bouncing,

through the rocking, the shushing, the nursing in the booth,

through the glares we got from others trying to enjoy a meal in peace.

No one was coming up to praise us now...

Finally, we'd had enough. This was not fun anymore.

Something had to change...but I still really wanted to look forward to Fridays and all that it represented.

SO, enter Family Fun Nights. 

STRESS FREE FAMILY FUN that happens in our home every week.

No worrying about meltdowns, bedtimes, running out of snacks for the little ones, or ruining anyone else's evening meal.

Just family time!

Now that our kiddos are older, they are just as excited as we are that it's Friday!

Most Friday mornings, we are greeted with their cheers of, "Yay! It's family fun night tonight!!"

It makes my heart overflow with gratitude that we have these moments together as a family, and as our kids grow, our activities will look a little different...but the purpose will be the same!

We are together! 
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(note: affiliate links included in this post.)