The Tired Mommy's Guide to Spending Time With Your Kids... From the Couch

Wow. At least once, every mom has the dream of spending time, valuable time, with the kids without leaving the sofa and have it not wrapped around some dumb cartoon you've seen 63 times.  Well, from the depths of our genius, Angel and I have compiled a list of things you can do with your kiddos without using the last bit of energy your body has.

1.  Freeze Face.  Put on your favorite movie that's approved for tiny eyes.  Every few seconds, pause it. Everyone in the room has to make the face of the character on the screen.  {Don't judge me.  I'm tired and I'm trying to maintain enough energy to inhale and exhale.}

A perfectly perfect example.

2.  Fetch:  Yes, this is traditionally a game used with dogs.  We get that.  And, in a lot of ways, children are just like puppies.  We have to train them to be adults.  Enter in:  Fetch.  This actually occurred while sitting through one of the million soccer practices for my older son.  My little guy was bored and wanted me to get up and play.  I had already played... played pass the ball back and forth, played copy-cat games, eye spy.... you name it, I had played it.  So here is the game... the parent, plops down in their chair; this is a very important step, because you are a parent and deserve it.  Next, with the child facing away from you, you throw the soccer ball and they have to anticipate which direction it will go and chase it down before you can count to 5.

3.  Taste Challenges:  Your kid is hungry and won't take "I don't feel like getting off the couch" as a viable response.  Yes, I understand this takes work.  But, let me tell you why it's oh soooo worth it. IT BUYS YOU MORE TIME ON THE COUCH. Jump up, grab every snack you can think of (like 9 or so).  This can include veggies, fruits,  nuts, chips, etc.  ANYTHING.  Did I mention this doubles as a pantry clean out??  Double score!  Once you've lined up all the food items on the table, number each one with a post-it note, or have your kid do it.  Then, write the same numbers, each on one small paper, fold them, and throw them into a bowl.  Your kid draws a number out and eats the snack with the same number.  D.O.N.E.  You're welcome.

This is an ice cream challenge we did for breakfast.  Listen people, sometimes you just have to break society's rules.

And this is our snack challenge.  That girl is actually eating a carrot. Your eyes don't deceive you.

4. Laundry Race:  Now this little gem works to help get the daunting task of laundry done and entertain the little sweeties.  If you have ever gotten behind by a couple of loads and you feel like you should just rewash the clean pile to give yourself time to catch up, this one is for you.  It starts with the sorting phase.  Set the timer on your phone for 30 seconds.  Give the kids their own baskets.  They will all pull out of the large pile, their own clothes and throw them into their basket.  You can make this harder by making the baskets far away and they have to shoot, etc.  At the end of the 30 seconds, count the items.  If they have accidentally added someone else's item, they get a point taken away.  The one with the most points wins.  If at the end of 30 seconds, it's not done, play round 2 and so on.  Once done, move on to the folding round: Worth double points.  Same idea, just time them while they fold and put hangers on items.  Give 5 extra points for neatness at the end.  Round 3: winner takes all!!  They will race to their rooms and put away their clothes.  The winner will be selected by the neatest drawers and closet.  Ta-Da!  Laundry done!

5.  Sock War:  This game is fun for the whole family!  Similar to the game above, it serves a purpose... to match up all of the socks in the house.  Everyone sits in a circle and makes as many sock matches as possible.  The sock bombs will be their ammunition for the war.  Now, everyone can either take an even share of sock bombs or the number that they made (this will have to be determined based on the age of the children involved).  Turn off the majority of the lights in the house and GO!  Everyone throws sock bombs at each other until they get hit 3 times.  Once hit 3 times, you are dead and have to wait for the next round.  Collect the socks and play again.  We like to play both boys vs. girls or every man for themselves.  This is cheaper than a Nerf war and yet still gets your socks folded in the process.  

What are your favorite "Lazy Mommy" games?  No judgement, we promise.