I talk a lot about how busy my family is, but in the middle of all of the running back and forth, I also find myself doing a lot of waiting. I think it’s part of the balance of busy mom life. Once you get to where you’re going, there’s usually some waiting involved.
Whether it’s the car rider line, doctor’s office, dance class, baseball, or just enjoying lunch while the kids are at school, I definitely have some down time in my busy days. Deciding what to do with the downtime is always a question… do I try to work and be productive or do I take that time for myself?
This year I’m working on balance so my goal has been to relax. The one thing I always have with me is my phone. That means I depend a lot on apps to help me turn my waiting time into time for myself. Recently I’m hooked on the Jigsaw Puzzle app when I find myself in some of my most common mom breaks.
This post is sponsored by Jigsaw Puzzle but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.
WAITING TIME CAN BE TIME FOR MOM
If your weekly schedule is like mine, then you know you’re going to be spending some time waiting for your kids. For me, there are some very common places I find myself each day (or at least once a week). Mine include:
- Car rider line in the afternoon
- Preschool car rider line twice a week
- Dance classes twice a week
- Doctor/Dentist office
- Baseball lessons
- Baseball practices on various days depending on the schedule
- Baseball games on various days depending on the schedule
And we used to have swim lessons thrown into the mix but we’ve had to take a break from those because honestly they just don’t fit into our lives right now!
I’m not sure why I agreed to let Carrigan take two dance classes and play Fall baseball, but I’m committed and it definitely keeps us busy making memories!
Side note — even though I listed baseball games in my list of where I spend my time waiting, it’s not exactly the same. I don’t sit passively and flip through my phone while my kids play. FAR FROM IT. I’ve fully embraced my baseball mom status and love cheering them and their teams on.
So I should probably take that one off the list. But before the games when they’re warming up, I have been known to open up a game app or two and do a few puzzles.
When you find yourself with some downtime, what do you do with it? As I mentioned, I always have my phone so I depend on a few different things, including:
- Social media
- E-reader app
- Game apps
- Puzzle apps
After a quick trip around social media, I’m all about reading, playing games, doing puzzles.
I’ve always been a reader and a puzzle girl. I’ve been hooked on logic problem magazines for as long as I can remember. Jigsaw puzzles are some of my favorite things to do on rainy days and once the weather cools down.
One problem with Jigsaw Puzzles is that I’ve never been able to take them with me. So while they might be a great way to relax and unwind, I wasn’t breaking out the card table at baseball field to do a puzzle.
I was left to read and play matching games (my favorite kind of game apps on my phone) until I started playing the Jigsaw Puzzles app.
USING APPS TO RELAX AND UNWIND WHILE WE WAIT
Kids are pretty awesome and it was actually Carrigan who first introduced me to daily puzzles on her tablet. She had an app for kids where we could do jigsaw puzzles each day! I’ll admit that her puzzles were a bit easy for me but we loved doing them together.
With the Jigsaw Puzzle app from MobilityWare, we’ve got a mobile game that provides me with puzzles that are a bit more challenging. But it also has the ability to adjust the number of puzzle pieces so we can also do puzzles together!
If you’ve ever had to deal with a younger sibling while you wait for the older one, you’ll know how clutch this is!
You can play up to 1024 puzzle pieces on tablets and 400 puzzle pieces on phones. So you can keep it simple if you’re playing with one of your kids or ramp up the challenge if you’re on your own!
As I’ve started playing, I’ve found that I have some favorite puzzle designs but I love that the app features beautiful puzzle packs including:
- nature
- animals
- food
- artwork
- patterns
- crafting
With so many options (over 20,000 puzzles) to choose from, I’ve found myself working on puzzles when I take a break to enjoy lunch. Since I work at home, I make myself take a lunch break and stay off social media while I eat.
I think one of my favorite FREE puzzle packs so far is Auroras. The images are relaxing but also challenging. When I finish a puzzle I feel accomplished and refreshed. Not many mobile games leaving me feeling that way so I have a feeling I’ll be playing this free jigsaw puzzle app for quite a while!
If you’re looking for a game that you can use to kill time, relax, and stay sharp, the Jigsaw Puzzle app is a great option. Download the game for iOS or Android and start challenging your mind while you wait for your kids!
Download Jigsaw Puzzle here.
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