Traveling with Kids Tips

On our trip to California, the kids did great.  We wanted to share some ideas with you that helped.  AND, share some ideas that we'll definitely be using next time.

1) Pockets on the back of seat in front:  perfect for a clipboard, coloring books, reading books.

2) Bucket or Table in between two (booster) seats: perfect for toys they can both play with.  (we had my little ponies in a bucket.)

3) Activity Box between seat and window:  stickers, index cards, postcards, pencils, bracelets/rings/crown, etc. (good for kids with motion sickness - no reading involved

4) Toilet Trainer seat/potty in back of van/car with clorox wipes and a gallon jug of water:  with a seat you can set it on the ground or ontop of rocks; the potty trainer - kids can go potty in privacy of car where it's mostly still warm.  

5) Flashlight:  can help you see when it's dark and they NEED to pee!

6) Blanket & pillow in easy access.

7) DVD Player:  we don't like to use this too much, but it definitely helps the time to pass quicker.  Especially when there's an hour to go before our next stop.

8)  Cards and little booklets are great for documenting your trip.  The girls drew pictures of the windmills that we passed in Tehachapi, CA.  Also, they drew pictures of the family we were going to see and wrote their names.

For Next Time:

9) At the dollar store, there are these plastic shower caddy baskets with hooks:  They fit quite nicely on the metal pole of the headrest in front of them - above the pocket.  Can be used for quick access to shoes or whatever.

10) Suction cup baskets:  great to hold and separate the little items that need somewhat easy access to (like crayons, snacks, etc.).

11) Speaking of snacks:  With the suction cup holders, you can have one for a snack bag for them to snack on.  

What else might help?  

Have lots of little snack baggies ready for when they're all done and they can get another baggie at the next stop.

12) We had one kid behind the driver seat.  We needed something to go behind the driver's seat that provided lots of dividers and pockets.  Something like this can be made out of fabric.  Until I come up with something else, a fabric divider or a shower caddy should work great.  

13) Oh yes! Don't forget to use those handle bars above the windows.  Porter likes his pull and vibrate toys there - hooked on with one or two of those plastic links.  Use those to hook whatever you want onto those bars!

14) Have a list of games that you can play with the kids while on the road.  (ABC signs, songs to sing, traveling bingo, etc.)

*** I can't tell you how nice this trip was!  The girls absolutely LOVED the stickers.  They had their own sticker book.  And it kept them busy for a LONG time.  We drove for more than 24 hours this past week.  The wierd part? I can hardly wait until the next time!  Hope this helps!  You're totally welcome to take and manipulate these ideas to fit your kids' ages and needs.  Hey, share the wealth!  My kids are getting older every day!***

Pumpkin Carving

We got our pumpkins carved!

The girls started with spoons and then went to using their hands to get out all the fun gooey insides!

So, that's what's inside of a pumpkin.

Our 'Holey' Terror

Need I say more?

Porter scoots around on his bum to get anywhere.  

I've seen other kids do this.  I NEVER knew that they had to 

invest in pants until I had a kid of my own do the very same thing.  

We've had to revert back to the summer shorts until Jenn gets the holes 

patched (with steel!).  The running total now - 10 pairs of pants and still going strong.

Thank you discount kid clothing stores!

Daddy - the 'Pizza Man'

To help make ends meet Dane took on another job, and the girls just LOVE that daddy is a 'pizza man.'  Now they go around telling EVERYONE that's what daddy is.  Too funny.  It's a lot of fun to see how excited they get about it!

Gilsons' Are On Fire!

So, a friend of ours and all of our kids went to a local fire station.  It helped that her brother was an ambulance EMT there, but it was so much fun and soooo educational!  They took all of us on a tour of the Fire Truck, let us try on the equipment (it was really heavy!), and got to see the ambulance that we always see and hear all over Utah.  

The firefighters and EMT's talked about all kinds of things.  They put on their masks to show the kids what they looked like with it on so they won't be so scared if they saw someone like that come through the fire.  They talked about how important math is with water pressure.  There's all kind of really cool equipment.  If you can take your kids on a tour of a fire station, I definitely recommend it!

Hands Have Talent

I came across this and many other REALLY neat hand acts at  

www.dawn-dish.com/en_US/handshavetalent/home.do

My favorite acts are 'Mystical Hands', 'Digital Divas', and 'Fingerlina.'

Enjoy!  It brightened my day.

Porter Speaks!

Any parent knows how hard it is to understand a toddler and their wants.  "Eat?" "Drink?" "Sleep?" (The last one's my favorite to toss in when I'm ready to give up.)  

Communication is the idea that someone can say something to get a response in return.  Essentially, to get what we want.  Porter has finally made this connection, and quite nicely I might add.  

The other day, I went in to get Porter out of his crib.  As soon as I walked in, he signed the word 'eat'.  Usually, the first thing I do is give him a bottle and change his diaper.  So, I helped him sign 'drink' and then 'diaper'.  After that was done, he signed again the word 'eat'.  So, then I said, okay, Porter wants to 'eat?' And he started kicking his legs (a sign that he's really excited about the idea).  We came in and got him something to eat.  That's what he's really wanted the whole time!

<*Heavenly Music*>

Okay, so later on in the day, I decided that it was time to clean the girls' room.  IE: put away more toys because they're not taking care of the ones they already have out.  So, getting close to being done, Porter starts getting a little bit fussy.  I look down at Porter pulling on my pant-leg. He's signing the word 'eat.' (I'm thinking, 'he's such a boy.') 

I look at the clock and, low and behold, it's lunchtime.  I tell Porter we have to 'wait' (again another sign I like to share) until we're 'all done' (another sign) cleaning.  I pick him up to help him know I haven't forgotten about him.  He starts to yawn.  (a sign to me that he's tired).  Porter signs again the word 'eat' and then he starts to wave his hand (which is what we do when it's time for bed - we wave 'nite-nite').  

You catching on to this?!  He wants to eat and then go to bed...  My 18 month old son is telling me that he wants to eat so that he can go to bed!  

<*Heavenly Music again*> <*looking around to find out where it's coming from*>

I particularly liked that because I'm tired enough of telling my older girls it's quiet-time and all the 'but, but's' I have to deal with from them.  

I wanted to share this grand new feat of Porter's!  The speech therapist was quite ecstatic about it, too.  We love her!  (Thank you, Sheila.) Enjoy your day and remember what a thing it is just to be able to speak.