Favorite Outdoor Essentials for a Stress-Free Day!

Now that we are keeping Cameron home (at least for this month), I am constantly trying to find things and activities to keep him occupied throughout the day. In a perfect world, we would have very little to no TV time but let’s be real for a second, we’re not in a perfect world…far from it actually. So, while most days there is TV time throughout the day, I do try and limit it to what his old schedule would have been.

As long as the weather allows, we will go outside mid-morning and after nap time. Once morning TV time is winding down, I will prep us to go outside for at least 2 hours. I have to try and prep everything beforehand because my husband is usually working and I try not to interrupt unless I have to (normally to go pee!)

I have this little bag that is my ‘outdoor bag’, it holds everything that I think we’ll need while outside. I’ll bring with us a BUNCH of snacks (boy mom here!) my child LOVES to snack…honestly, I think he’d rather snack all day than eat actual meals. Then comes his drink (and mine), boogie/face wipes, SUNSCREEN, and depending on the time of day, my portable phone charger.

MAMA/TODDLER ESSENTIALS

Once I am all set up, I bring his stroller outside & get everything ready for our walk. I try to do this BEFORE he comes outside because a toddler gets distracted SUPER easily. I’ve been using the Graco Modes travel system since the day he was born. I love how easily it handles, especially if you are on your own. It’s a one-hand close and it folds up nicely so it doesn’t take up a lot of space. The storage space in the bottom is great (it fits A LOT of crap). Cam sometimes likes to take his bubble lawnmower or tricycle with us and those usually last about 1/2 a block before he doesn’t want them anymore.

The one change I did make was I took off the parent tray table and switched it for this Skip Hop Organizer because I felt like this had a little more storage for my stuff.

Now, momma needs her stuff in order to enjoy our walk. I don’t bring a lot just a few essential things. I have my phone (obviously), and I set it up in a holder that is attached to the handle, headphones (I have the AirPods, which I LOVE), and chapstick (a MUST).

Our mid-morning adventures, usually include at least a 30-45 minute walk (weather permitting, this mama does not like sweating profusely). Once we are all set up to go, I start up one of the podcasts I’ve been listening to (I have a few different ones in rotation right now) and we are off! We walk around our entire neighborhood, I have a little circuit that I try and keep to.

Now that he is getting older, he’s noticing more and more on our walks, so I’ve also gotten into the habit of talking to him while walking. We point out the birds, plants, any animals & airplanes that he sees. He especially loves watching the planes fly overhead.

BACKYARD ESSENTIALS

Once we come back from our walk, we set up out in our backyard. We have this cute Step 2 picnic table that I will set him up at with a snack and drink. Our yard isn’t fenced in (it sucks, I know), so while he is eating, I set up gates in all the spots he could possibly escape from.

As Cameron has gotten older, we’ve been adding more and more activities to the yard. His birthday was at the beginning of June so he actually got a few new things from our families. By far, his two favorite things are this ROLLER COASTER and mini-trampoline.

CHECK out the below to see how much fun he has! Also, spy in the background the gates I use to contain him! We used to have this set up inside but don’t really need them indoors anymore. However, you could totally close these up and make a little ball pit (planning on doing that this fall/winter) or even a playpen area if your little one is still not so mobile.

I also have set up for him a water table that he has a love/hate relationship with. Cam LOVES to fill it up and dump toys in there and he’ll sometimes splash his hands in the water but 9 times out of 10, that table ends up flipped over so he can just fill it again.

I also just got him another little pool because the one we used last year is 1. too small and 2. we accidentally left it out when it rained & it got gross. I got the below one because I am hoping to gain his interest in it with the water slide (he loved it when I set up his plastic slide into the baby pool). This one is also a little larger so he can sit in it & play with some buckets. We haven’t set this pool up yet because right when it came, it decided to rain for the next 2 days. Check out our Instagram to see it in action once it’s up and ready! The gator on this is also a sprinkler but lately, he hasn’t been a fan of that so I just won’t hook up the hose.

Speaking of hoses…anyone else’s child absolutely LOVE the hose?! Honestly, I can give him the hose and just let him ‘water the grass’ for hours! He goes around the entire yard and just gets everything wet; this has seriously been keeping him occupied for longer periods of time than I ever thought was possible. Our hose nozzle is one that has like 8 different settings and he will let me know which ones he likes. For example, he HATES the ‘mist’ option because pretty much nothing comes out but, give him the ‘soaker’ or ‘shower’ option and he’s as happy as a clam.

We usually come inside around noon to get cleaned up and have lunch. I don’t eat lunch this early but Cameron does, so I’ll set him up in his booster seat and he has either chicken nuggets or some ravioli with a side of veggie straws or fruit. This is usually the time he gets a little more ‘Mickey time’, he’s allowed to watch 1-2 episodes while he eats then it’s off to NAP!

After nap time, we get situated to do it all again until Daddy is done with work and it’s time for me to start dinner.

Let me know in the comments if you’ve tried something that has blown your child away!