This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and Walmart Family Mobile. All opinions are mine alone. #DataAndAMovie #CollectiveBias
I must hear at least once a week…“I don’t know how you do it!” This is in reference to my six kids (7 years old and younger) swarming around me. We added three children to our family in one 14 months time. It’s been a huge change for our family and it seems the world just can’t fathom a mom of a big family. Adoption has been a huge blessing in our families lives. We love our crazy big family. But, well, survival for this momma has been a learning experience!
When you have a big family you have to be on your “A” Game when things get busy or you are on-the-go with kids in tow. You need to anticipate the kids need to feed and to be entertained. I have two 1 year olds and two 3 year olds. They don’t understand the term “almost there” or “in a few minutes.” Nope. They do not understand it at all. So, I arm myself with a simple arsenal of distractions. These tricks work well at home, in the car, at the doctors office, in the grocery store line that is 10 miles long, or anywhere else where a meltdown is 2 seconds away. I promise my secrets are not too profound. But they are oh. so. good. My secrets to Mom Survival is to ALWAYS have a bag full of snacks and my Walmart Family Mobile PLUS phone with 10 GB of data ready for distraction, redirection, and entertaining!
I learned VERY quickly that kids can suck your data dry when you aren’t looking. By the time each child had their turn with the phone, well, there was no data left for mamma and her need to pin more recipes from Pinterest! It became my mission to find an easy and economical solution for this data sucking problem. Walmart to the rescue!
I went to Walmart on a mission to find a solution to my data issue. There was a Walmart Wireless Section at the front of my Walmart store with a very nice man who was more than willing to listen to my data woes. We immediately focused in on the new Walmart Family Mobile PLUS service plan. Unlimited Talk, Text, & Data which includes up to 10 GB of 4G LTE. That my friends is a LOT of data. Of course, Walmart prices won’t be beat. All of this for $49.88 per line, per month. That works extremely well for me!!!
Disclaimer: All prices for phones and plans included in this post are accurate as of the date of posting; however, these prices are subject to change. Please refer to http://cbi.as/28aqc or your local Walmart for current pricing.
Oh, and here is the cherry on top… a FREE movie. Yep. The plan includes one free movie on VUDU each month! (New releases too!) Well. That takes care of movie night in our house! We can stream the movie through our Smart TV right in our living room and eat snacks the entire time! WIN! WIN!
There were several SmartPhone options for the Walmart Family Mobile PLUS. We chose the Samsung Galaxy Core Prime. It was a great price at $79.92. It has a large screen (4.5 inches) which makes it easy for my guys to hold it and see the games, ahem, Educational Games they are playing. It puts speed at the forefront with 4G LTE speeds you can upload high quality videos and video chat with Daddy (who is willing to help even through video chat with the kids! Bless him!) with a clear picture. We can’t forget the camera which everyone loves using! It has a 5 MP camera and records video in 720p. It also has a very long battery life, which frankly is super important, because with everything else I need to remember to bring with me… I don’t want to have to pack a charger too!
The kids LOVE having a phone dedicated to their needs and entertainment. They are OBSESSED with taking pictures! (Maybe because mommy is a blogger and is constantly taking pictures and videos of them???) They love taking turns taking selfies. I must say that I get a really good laugh going back through their pictures… Sometimes I am shocked at the really amazing moments they capture. And other times, I think… Is my house really that messy??? There are a LOT of crumbs on my floor…
Now on to the second half of my small treasure trove of distractions…the SNACKS! (or as my little 19 month olds says, SHHHNWAACKSH!) Gummy snacks are my favorite. Small, portable, easy to distribute and share. Crackers are my second favorite, but not my first favorite. They seem to have a unique way of accumulating more crumbs than the actual size that the cracker originally started out at. (And most of those crumbs are on mommy.) However, despite crackers ability to create an enormous amount of crumbs, they are filling and everyone is a fan. I also like to bring little containers of berries or grapes. My children are rather fruit obsessed. And that is totally okay by me! However, with six hungry bellies, we can polish off a whole pint of berries in one snack time! (HOLY MOLY! What am I going to do when they are teenagers?!?!?!?!)
There you have it. My simple guide for Mom Survival with six kids, snacks and data. Not as overly profound as you may have expected. But with children…I find simple almost always works best.
Happy Motherhood,
Keikilani
Do you have a Mom Survival Tip or a Mobile Family PLUS plan?
Walmart has so many affordable phone options and all too often they are not considered. But people can save themselves a great deal of stress by checking their plans out.
This sounds like a great plan. I might look into it after my current contract is up 🙂
I agree, simple is usually the best option! I depend on Walmart to offer just that…simple (and affordable) solutions to my parenting needs! lol
I like affordable and do I have to give up my phone? I just got a new one.
Love the post! My tip…always have an ink pen and paper. My kids love to draw so it’s an easy distraction when they are getting a bit out of hand.
If I knew mine wouldn’t draw on all the walls…. LOL
HAHA this is a cute post. I have never checked out the plans at Walmart. Wonder if they are the same in Canada?
I’m not sure if they are the same in Canada, but I know it would be worth looking into!
Wow, you do have your hands full! We have three Granddaughters under the age of six and I’m impressed you can keep up. Mine love to take pic’s too. I’m a blogger too and we play with the video,It’s really cute! I didn’t know Walmart had plans, I’ll have to look into that.
I never thought to look at Walmart when we switched our phone providers!
I’ll have to look into that the next time I am at walmart.
I’m not sure any of my survival tips would be helpful since I *only* had two kids and NOT six, but I guess my best suggestion would be to make some for yourself. Even if it’s just 15 minutes a day, you totally need/deserve it!
You still were a mom! We all had to have a learning curve!
I had no idea Walmart such amazing phone plans. I will have to look into it. BTW I will be a mama to 6 too when baby 6 is due in May. 🙂
Yay!!!! Congrats Nicole! Six is a crazy, awesome number of kids!
I’m actually looking into Walmart Family Mobile for my youngest son. They go through tons of data like no tomorrow.
Our kids all have their own devices and we tend to bum wifi wherever we go, but yes children are little data suckers. Glad WFM is there!
WOW six? I only have fur kids but I admire your love and tenacity!
I can totally relate! I am a mom of 5 and my go-to mommy survival tip was to always have snacks on hand for potential meltdowns. Especially when traveling on airplanes.
That’s a great idea to bring little containers of berries. My son is raspberries obsessed!
Smart phones are a great tool for keeping children occupied and engaged. I embraced technology and enjoy seeing my children use my Walmart Family Mobile phone.
I like keeping my children occupied with my Walmart Family Mobile plan. It is good to make your technology work for you and you cannot beat good healthy snacks.