It’s imperative that moms relax and it’s nearly impossible for a mom to have alone time.   For me, sitting outside, even with the kids, is the next best thing to having alone time.  I am usually trying to relax when I’m sitting outside, so it’s important that the kids have something to do so they will leave me alone for a few minutes (right!?).
After much trial and error, I concluded that sand is just about the coolest outdoor toy ever.  So, now I have a sandbox on both porches.  On the front porch I have a shallow, wide plastic storage bin (the kind you put under a bed to store stuff in) filled with sand while the back porch, the one I sit on more often, has the more aesthetically pleasing Little Tikes Butterfly Beach Sandbox and Wading Pool.

The Little Tikes Butterfly Beach Sandbox and Wading Pool entertains both of my kids, 9 and 3,.. at the same time! Imagine that!
The butterfly’s wings unfold with one wing becoming the pool and the other wing is the sandbox.   It sounds like magic, but it’s not.  The sunshade pops into the butterfly’s back and provides great protection from the sun.  I absolutely LOVE having the sunshade.  When Madelyn is playing in the front porch sandbox (the make-shift storage bin sandbox) I have to move it as the sun shines down on the porch which is a pain because sand isn’t light!  When the kids are done playing in the Butterfly Beach Sandbox and Wading Pool, the emptied pool side folds over the sand side doubling as a secure lid. The Little Tikes Butterfly Beach Sandbox and Wading Pool is great for kids ages 2 and up and holds enough water and sand to occupy my 9 year old for a while.

The Little Tikes Butterfly Beach Sandbox and Wading Pool is sold at Amazon.com for about $45.

GIVEAWAY!
1 lucky subscriber will win a Little Tikes Butterfly Beach Sandbox and Wading Pool!  Stay tuned and subscribe to learn how to enter starting April 1st.