I’ll never forget the first time I made an Amazon Prime purchase. I was 20 weeks pregnant and had heard so many moms say this was “the key” with harsh emphasis on “key” so I took their word for it. A yellow baby bath sponge and some swaddles showed up two days later. It was magic. I was hooked. While I’ve been no stranger to a brown prime box on my doorstep, these past few months have ramped up the arrivals a bit since we had 20+ hour of road trip time, a mini-move and a school switch. Here are a few of my more recent purchases plus a couple old favorites just for good measure:

fjallraven backpack: I have had the same backpacks for the kids for years and now that they’re both a bit bigger, they’re able to carry more things on their own back. No more of this just toting around their lovies business-they’re packin’ alllll the good stuff now. I love the colors offered in these backpacks and how durable they are.

write and wipe pockets These pockets are so great if you have kids learning to read or write. I often place letter sheets or words we’re working on for him to practice over and over again. Both kids also love coloring over coloring sheets with these packets.

hydroflask You guys are aware by now that my love for the kids’ hydroflasks knows no end. I’ve had people message me and say “hey, are they really worth it?” Friends. Yes. Yes, yes, yes. They keep water ice cold, are stainless steel inside, the straw and lip are made of BPA plastic and the colors are so stinkin’ cute. These go everywhere with us. Stick a lemon in there or some cucumber or orange to make water exciting all summer long and watch your kid gulp down more water than ever.

dot stickers If you love Busy Toddler as much as I do, you’ll know dot stickers are so much more than forgettable office supplies. No. These are teeny, tiny, miracle stickers. Start here and see what I mean, but I also make little line drawings to take on flights or to restaurants or football games and they stay busy every time. This one is another favorite activity which also includes the dot paint from this post!

big preschool workbook We’re really, really big into workbooks around here. Especially since living here in Memphis and being out of our normal routine, plus Lema going to preschool a couple days a week, we paused our current curriculum and swapped it. Now, he does a page or two from his math book (see in this post), a couple pages in this workbook and also his Brain Quest one. The thing I love about it is that Keogena just enjoys coloring and playing on the pages and feels like she’s doing work too.

stainless steel lunchbox Oshiolema chose a zip around Transformers lunchbox for school since the rules say the lunchbox has to have an ice pack every day-no questions asked-which meant the bento box itself wasn’t an option. His giant bento box we use most often doesn’t fit inside said Transformers lunch box and that’s where this one comes into play. I put a sandwich, fruit and veggie or fruit in here and it works like a charm. It’s the PERFECT size for kids lunches.

‘funtainer’ thermos In addition to the stainless steel bento box, I add this thermos daily. Sometimes it’s just a sliced apple, sometimes it’s veggies with hummus at the bottom, sometimes it’s almond yogurt with berries and if he’s not headed to school this thermos is perfect for soups and stews. It’s also the perfect size.

reusable snack bags I’ve raved and raved about these bags but Amazon is my favorite place to scoop them up. Each of the kids has one of these mini ones and a couple larger ones as well. The colors make everything more fun!

500 sheet construction paper Two toddlers. Homeschool mom. We go through a whole lot of construction paper over here.

watercolor set (which I love to use with this watercolor paper for the kids.) I get so many questions about this watercolor set! It’s so inexpensive and the color range is wonderful. They each have a set since Oshiolema keeps his fairly clean and Keogena’s is practically brown all over.

humidifier I used to keep humidifiers in the kids’ room when they were babies because I was all cautious and careful and into cracking the code for the most sleep possible. Then they grew up and the whole sleep situation as a whole got a bit more janky. Well, turns out Memphis is the land of the ill and also of the dander and mildew and all that fun stuff because my kids were congested or runny nearly the entire time we’ve lived here! I did my research, these humidifiers won the gold and we’ve used them every night in both of their rooms ever since.

Buddies in my Belly book: The kids are obsessed with this book and I’m so thankful we have it in our library too. The book makes good bacteria in our gut into “buddies” and breaks their long, intense names down into fun ones like “Biffie.” It talks about why we need certain foods to feed the buddies and keep them healthy so they can be strong and fight off germs. The best part is a color chart in the back that suggests you eat at least one serving of each color every day. The kids love looking back on the day and listing off how we got our colors!

magic detangling spray I’ve used this for 8 years now. Eight. You can read more about my thoughts on this hairspray in this post here, but know I don’t comb through their hair (or mine!) without it.

dot paint I mentioned this paint above but these no-brainer, cost next to nothing paints are a homeschool mom/toddler mom/ mom essential.

A-Z Magnatab These tablets are so much fun! I keep them in the center divider in our car as entertainment but they also get packed in backpacks for plane rides. The pen included with this “tablet” is magnetic and makes metal beads pop up as the kids trace the letter or number. It’s wonderful and they still love it a year later.

ABC Bible Verse We forgot this book in Dallas and it’s a tragedy! I love this book so much. It has a quick story based on the Bible verse and the letter of the week which the kids truly look forward to. Especially because the homeschool curriculum we use masters a letter a week, it aligns really well with the letter system. I typically spread the verses over more than a week, though.

AVAUMA Unisex pajamas If you’re as irrationally passionate about matching neutral pajamas as I am, this is your answer. They’re inexpensive and the color range is stunning if you’re into muted colors, again, like me.

Math lessons for a living education This was another book that came as a result of lots and lots of research. Lema is pretty naturally interested in Math and I didn’t want to wait to introduce a specific book on the subject. This Math book is really fun for both of us because it’s essentially a story book about twin brother and sister at their grandparents farm for the summer with math woven into it. There are daily stories and lessons and I can’t quite rave about it enough.