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You Are Invited To The #BoogieWipes Twitter Party!
This week on Moms Check In we are talking about our best tips to help our kiddos when they are sick. There is seriously nothing worse than a sick child. Luckily, Boogie Wipes has a line of products that can help.
Boogie Wipes are perfect for kids (and adults!) to use when they are having to blow their nose again and again. All that blowing and wiping can cause poor sensitive noses to be red and hurt! Boogie Wipes helps to eliminate that! They are soft, help moisturize and even smell good! Not just for a cold, these resealable packs are perfect for tossing in your diaper bag, purse and in the glove box of the car. (Bonus: Since they are moist they will help to dissolve any dried on boogies!) You can find out more about Boogie Wipes and their other amazing products (and get coupons!) here!
Join us on Thursday, February 12th from 1-2 PM (Eastern time) for a #BoogieWipes Twitter Party!
We will be talking all about soothing sick kiddos and our best tips for happy, healthy kids.
We will be giving away 5 prizes including lots of Boogie Wipes gift boxes and one lucky winner will win a gift box, adorable Crane humidifier and a $50 Amazon gift card!
[Tweet “I’ve RSVP’d for the #BoogieWipes #TwitterParty 2/12 from 1-2! See you there @momscheckin @boogiemom “]
- Be sure to follow your hosts and RSVP below to be eligible to win!
- @MomsCheckIn
- @BoogieMom
- @SpaceshipsLB
- @SeeMomClick
- @SweetPennies
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Best Potty Training Books
This week we have been talking about potty training for Moms Check In. I remember potty training! And I will admit, I am glad it is over! 🙂 But if you are just getting started or getting ready to start I wanted to help you out! Here are some well loved potty training books for kids to help get them excited and ready to use the big boy/girl potty!
They potty train is coming! All aboard! Time to say goodbye to diapers and take the journey to Underpants Station. Are you ready? Let’s chug away on the potty train!
This Potty Caddy is a set that every potty trainee needs! It contains a book, toddler size ‘magazines’, motivation stickers and more! It answers questions kids want to know with answers that they understand! Plus, it’s a great value!
Look! Up in the bathroom! It’s a boy! It’s a potty! It’s a little super hero who needs to be potty trained! The sturdy flaps, tabs and wheels in this unique, interactive potty book will help boys ages 2-4 learn everything there is to know about potty training—with heroic style!
Super Pooper Book – Potty Training for Kids
The colorful illustrations and cute characters will bring fun and laughter to a sometimes frustrating and challenging world of potty training! This book is certain to become a favorite choice of potty training your little one.
Every princess needs her throne and this 8×8 with a perfed tiara with reward stickers is perfect for the little princess learning to use the potty for the first time!
Potty (Leslie Patricelli board books)
There comes a point in a toddler’s life when going in one’s diaper is only one possible option, and the question must be raised: Should I go in my potty? With pitch-perfect humor and pacing, Leslie Patricelli follows the inner dialogue (sure to have little ones shouting responses) and hilarious actions of everyone’s favorite Baby, winding up with an over-the-top look of surprise and delight that will have both parents and offspring laughing out loud. “I did it!”
Every pirate needs his captain’s chair and this 8×8 with a perfed captain’s hat and reward stickers is perfect for the little pirate learning to use the potty for the first time!
Once Upon a Potty — Girl
Once Upon a Potty — Boy
In 1975, Alona Frankel wrote and illustrated her first book, especially for her son Michael, on how to use the potty. Thirty-two years later, Once Upon a Potty — Boy and Once Upon a Potty — Girl are the classic books on potty training and have sold more than four million copies worldwide. These children’s books help parents everywhere deal successfully with an often vexing challenge for the whole family.
Once Upon A Potty Plush Doll Set With Mini-Potty
Soft, cute doll sets coming directly from the classic, bestselling “Once Upon a Potty” books and videos. Your child will instantly recognize Joshua for his sweet face, curly hair, and other “nice and useful parts”. This doll provides great play value, before, during and long after toilet learning. Each doll comes complete with its own mini plastic potty, with a “Once Upon a Potty” label. Alongside Child Matters’ full size potty or while reading the book, this set makes potty learning fun, relaxed, and easy. Doll set is available in both BOY and GIRL versions.
Even Firefighters Go to the Potty: A Potty Training Lift-the-Flap Story
Clang! Clang! Clang! The fire truck is pulling out of the station. But wait! Where is the firefighter going? To the potty! Even firefighters go to the potty!
Dinosaur doesn’t need to use the potty. Even when he’s making lemonade, running through the sprinkler, having a three juice box lunch, and splashing in rain puddles. See? He’s doing his victory dance. Wait . . . that’s not a victory dance, that looks like a POTTY DANCE! Run, Dinosaur, run!
Big Girl Panties! features a light, positive approach to motivate toddlers to become toilet trained. What could be more rewarding for a little girl than wearing big girl panties, just like mommy? Adult caregivers and toddlers alike will love the snappy, rhyming text and colorful, hip illustrations.
20 Things To Send To Your Child At Camp
Summer Camps are beginning to be in full swing! If your child is heading off on an adventure here is a quick list of 20 (yes! 20!) awesome ideas to add to their summer time care package.
No summer camp? Then this list is full of 20 things to keep your kids busy this summer! 🙂
Either way – lots of fun things for a super fun summer!
BONUS! If you are an Amazon Prime member (not a member? Get a free trial here!) then this becomes even better! Not only will you receive your free 2 day shipping, but you can actually put in your child’s address at camp and include a note! Amazon will ship it directly to them! Which means you don’t even have to pay shipping to get it to your child! Awesome right?
R-E-D…..1,2,3,4…..
I used to make Cootie Catcher all the times! This book will teach your kids how and it comes with 25 premade cootie catchers just waiting to tell the future!
Cats Cradle and Other Fantastic String Games – $13.46
Who knew you could have so much fun with a piece of string! Well you can!
Anna Banana: 101 Jump Rope Rhymes – $7.19
When I was younger, I loved these books! Jump Rope Rhymes (there is also a hand clap games book too!) are a fun way to play with your friends!
Jump Rope – $6.98
What good is a jump rope rhyme book without a jump rope! This one is easy to use, pack and ship!
It’s All About Me – Personality Quizzes For You And Your Friends – $15.25
This book is perfect for answering all of the tough questions like What Kind of Cookie Are You? or find out 8 Ways To Tell If Your Parents Are Extraterrestrials. All of the important stuff.
Flip Books – $12.95
In case you can’t tell, I’m a big fan of Klutz! This Flip Book comes with everything you need to get started making your own flip book! Plus some perforated flip books ready to be torn out!
Spot it! – $10.95
Spot it! is a fun game that kids can play in their bunks! Great for all ages!
Would You Rather & You’ve Got To Be Kidding Me! – $9.99 for both!
I am a huge fan of these games! You will get lots of use and lots of laughs from these!
Fabric Markers – $9.86
Send your child with a plain t-shirt, hat or pillowcase and a pack of fabric markers for their new friends to sign!
Glow Sticks – $9.95
The quickest way to be dubbed World’s Coolest Mom is to have glow sticks. It doesn’t matter if you have the bracelets, necklaces, sticks, shoe laces, glasses – if it glows, it’s cool! Plus, with the prices on Amazon – you can stock up the whole camp! 100 glow sticks for less than $10? Done!
Mad Libs- Try Camp Daze ($2.71) or Letters From Camp ($3.91)
Everyone loves Mad Libs!
Joke Books – We like the Jokelpedia ($10.76) or The Big Book of Laugh Out Loud Jokes For Kids ($8.99)
What do you get when you cross a bunch of kids and a joke book?
TONS of fun!!
Talking Hand Temporary Tattoos – as low as $4.25 for a pack
Have you seen these? Talking Hand tattoos are so much fun! Chose from a huge variety – from robots to farm animals – and let your hands get talking! I think a pack of these would keep a cabin full of kids pretty busy!
Smencils – $12.76 for 10
My kids love Smencils! Send some fun Smencils and some stationary for kids to write home with.
Books are a great item to send to your child! And if you dare, send a book filled with ghost stories!
The Camp Bunk Box of Questions – $9.98
This is one of my favorite items! The Camp Bunk Box of Questions has 82 questions girls can ask each other! Such a fun way for everyone to get to know each other!
Camp Journal – $10.46
I really love this! This camp journal (comes with a pen too!) has games, pages to write in and even postcards! This would make for an awesome keepsake!
Wolly Willy – $3.77
Who doesn’t remember Willy? Your kid will stay busy doodling up crazy hair do’s and facial hair!
Magic 8 Ball – $8.25
What is a fun way to keep a cabin full of kids busy? Have them ask questions on a Magic 8 Ball!
Mustaches – $2.32
Get a pack of 36 self adhesive mustaches for only $2.32! That’s enough for the whole bunk house! (These do not qualify for 2 day shipping so you will need to order these ahead of time!)
5 Things To Do For Yourself…This Week!
Sometimes I think that I forget that I exist. No, I don’t forget that I am here. But I am so wrapped up in being a mom, daughter, sister, wife, volunteer, neighbor, cook, photographer, business woman, and every other title that I have that sometimes I feel as though it’s easy to get lost in the shuffle. I think that it is that way for a lot of us! But it is so important to take care of yourself and to have ‘you time’ (without the guilt!)
Here are 10 things you can do for yourself this week!
1. Go To Bed Earlier
We’ve all been there. You are staying up so you can fold that last load of laundry (ok, so you can finish The Bachelor, but you really are going to fold that last load of laundry!) Or maybe you are trying to get some extra work done before going back to the office tomorrow. Whatever is keeping you up at night, this week, forget it! It will be there tomorrow.
Head to bed an hour early. Trust me, your body (and mind!) will thank you!
2. Spend Some Time Outside
Taking just 15 minutes to just be outside can make a big difference! Whether you go for a walk, sit outside and read, go for a bike ride or heck, even work outside! Getting fresh air and sunshine will help boost your mood, relieve stress, and not to mention, the perfect motivation to get in some more activity into your day.
3. Give 2 Meaningful Comments Each Day
Everyone loves a compliment. It makes us smile. Puts a little pep in our step. And most importantly, makes us feel good. Make it a priority to give two meaningful compliments each day!
Why two? Well, because one is to give to someone else and one is to give yourself. That’s right. Give yourself a break and make sure you give yourself the compliment of “Great hair!”, “Awesome job shaving a minute of your mile today!” or “Way to go! You crossed off your whole to do list today!”
You rock! You deserve it!
4. Eliminate Negativity
The world is full of negativity! All of the criticism can take a toll and can begin to affect your mood without you even realizing it! Take steps in avoiding negativity in your life.
– We all have that person on Facebook. You know, the one who never has anything good to say. About anything. They complain non-stop and usually, the world is out to get them. Maybe they post things that you don’t believe in or agree with. Whatever it is. Delete them! Are you obligated to be ‘friends’ with them? There is this little trick of hiding someone’s messages. Trust me. You would never think that such a little thing would make a difference, but not having to read Negative Nancy all the time just makes things better!
– Is there a Gossip Group at work? Instead of joining in (even if you are just there listening!) start hanging out at another water cooler at work! Surround yourself with positive and happy people and your life will become more positive.
– Do you catch yourself being negative? Make a conscious effort to come up with a positive thought for every negative thought that comes to mind. Eventually you will train your brain to think positively!
5. Tackle a Project You Have Been Putting Off
We all have projects that we put off. Sometimes they are big projects. Sometimes they are just a pain in the butt. Sometimes they are quick and easy and when we finally get them done we wonder why it took us so long.
This week, tackle that junk drawer, clean out the refrigerator, organize those receipts or whatever you have been putting off. By crossing items off your to do list will feel good!
Remember, this is your week. Take charge of it and do something for yourself! Even if it is something small!
Helping Your Child Overcome Their Fear Of The Dark
Life was tough when we were little! We had to eat veggies, couldn’t play in the rain, had to wear silly sweaters that our Grandma made us, but the hardest part of being little was bedtime. Not only because we had to go to bed when we would much rather be playing, but because of the dark!
Most children are afraid of the dark at some point in their life. Whether they are afraid of a monster under the bed or the boogeyman for some reason it’s a fear that comes to us all. Here are a few tips to help your child cope and overcome their fear of the dark.
1. Listen to your child!
Children are always saying that adults don’t listen to them. Fear is a powerful emotion. If your child confides in you that they are afraid, let them sit down and talk to you about it. Listen to their story and ask questions. “Why do you think there is something under your bed?” “How would it get there?” “Why would we not be able to see it during the day?” Then explain to your child that there isn’t anything there. If your child something is ‘living’ under their bed or in their closet show them during the day that there is nothing there!
2. Your bedtime routine is important!
If you have a child who is afraid at night, your bedtime routine can be vital! First, take a look at books that are being read before bed and television that is being watched. Could any of those be putting scary thoughts into your child’s head? Then, if your child is afraid of something lurking in the shadows try doing a night watch. Start by keeping the lights on and before bed explain how there is nothing there. But just to show your child, invite them to look with you. It might take multiple stages to do this. Perhaps at first it’s just Mom or Dad doing the looking. Then the child might. Then, perhaps you can turn the lights off (but keep the hall light on or a night light) and give your child a flash light to look. Eventually your child will see that nothing has been there!
Try letting your child fall asleep to an audio book or while listening to music. If you keep your child’s mind focused on that, then they won’t have time to think about things that are scaring them. (Just be sure to pick out an appropriate audio book. You may also need to move bedtime forward to allow for extra time to fall asleep!)
(Tip: You can sign up for a FREE trial to Audible here and download an audio book for FREE!)
3. Security Items are ok!
If your child has a favorite blanket, pillow or stuffed animal make sure they have it at night. It’s ok to have these security items!
4. No Monster Spray or Monster Cams!
I’ve seen lots of parents that have ‘monster spray’ or who set up ‘Monster Cams’. While many people say it helps their child, it can also hurt your child. After all, if you are willing to play along with the idea that a monster really is under the bed and you need to spray to keep him away – doesn’t that really tell your child that monsters do actually exist!?
5. Keep the light on!
Everyone sleeps better when it is dark, but if your child insists on sleeping with their light on let them. (Just be sure to turn it off before you go to bed!) After a while you can graduate to a night light or just the hall light and eventually to no light.
6. Give them some extra love!
Remember, being a kid is tough. Fear is a big emotion. Be proud of your child for facing their fear each night and for being able to talk to you about it!
By doing these things you can really help your child overcome their fear of the dark! Remember, being afraid of the dark is an age appropriate fear for kids. It’s important to be supportive and understanding so our children know that they can come to us when they are scared. We won’t be upset, we won’t laugh at them and instead we will support and help them.
Here are a few of my favorite products for kiddos who struggle with a fear of the dark. They may work out perfect for your child!
Books:
- The Berenstain Bears In The Dark
- Franklin in the Dark
- The Dark
- Night Light
- Sofia The Snail: The Little Snail That Was Afraid of the Dark
Things that can help your child:
- Cloud B Tranquil Turtle – this has lights and soothing sounds!
- Boon Glo Night Light with Portable Balls – This is a really cool product! The globes are cool enough for kids to hold so if they need to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night they can pick it up and take it with them!
- Try listening to lullabies at night! Some of my favorites include the Disney Lullaby album and Dreamland.
- Audio books are a great thing for kids to fall asleep to! Try classics like Charlotte’s Web! (Don’t pay for an audio book! Get one for free by signing up for the Audible free trial!)
- Good Night, Sleep Tight Reward Chart
Bike Safety For Kids – What You Need & How To Make Sure It Properly Fits
When the snow melts the bicycles come out! I think just about everyone of us remembers being out playing with our friends and riding our bikes. Whether your kids are riding around the neighborhood or over to get ice cream, do you know if your children are doing it safely? Each year 300,000 children go to the emergency room for treatment from bicycle accidents with 10,000 of those requiring a hospital visit lasting a few days. By using these bike safety tips you can keep your child safe while they make childhood memories of their own!
Helmets
- A bicycle helmet should be worn every single time your child gets on their bicycle.
- Make sure your helmet has a sticker inside from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). It will show that your helmet has met safety regulations.
- Your helmet should fit properly. A good fit means that it fits level on your head and two fingers above the eyebrows. The straps must lay flat and meet under the ears in a ‘V’ shape. The chin strap should be snug with a 1 finger gap between the chin and strap.
- If the helmet has any cracks, chips or damage you will need to replace it.
- Do not wear a hat under your helmet.
- Make your child’s helmet fun! Pick out their favorite color or with a fun design! Bicycle helmets should really be purchased in store so your child can try it on to ensure getting the proper fit.
Bicycle Upkeep
- Check your child’s tires to make sure they are properly aired up. This is really important after the bike comes out of winter storage!
- Take a look at the brakes. Give them a quick test and make sure that they are not sticking.
- Watch the chain! You don’t want it to fall off while your child is riding! Keep an eye on it to see if it needs oil or adjusted.
Safety Rules
- Have your child wear bright colored clothes to help drivers see them.
- Wearing the right clothes while biking can be important! Loose pants, untied shoelaces, backpack straps can all get stuck
- Avoid wearing headphones while biking. If your child can’t hear over their music they will not be able to hear important sounds such as cars.
- Make sure your kids know where they are allowed to ride. Teach them that even if they are on the sidewalk, they need to watch for cars. Especially baking in and out of their driveway!
- Talk to your child about what to do when they come up to someone on the sidewalk or bike trail. They should make sure the person knows that they are there. If they are able to pass them, they can announce that they are passing and indicate which side they will be passing on (left or right.)
- Bumps, ramps, stairs and potholes can all be very tempting for kids! But they can also be dangerous!
- Walk you bike across crosswalks and through parking lots. In parking lots, car doors can open suddenly so it’s best to walk your bicycle.
- Always ride on the right side of the road.
- Obey all traffic laws.
Fun Safety Gear Your Kids Will Love
Here are a few bike safety gear items your child will love!
- Bicycle lights – Choose your child’s favorite color and put them on their wheels!
- Bicycle bells – Chose from traditional or find something fun like this hamburger bell!
- Bicycle Flag – These are really important if your child is riding a low bicycle that could be hard for drivers to see.
- Knee and Elbow pads – Chose from a multitude of colors and patterns!
Craft Supplies Every House and Classroom Needs To Have
A well stocked craft closet is like a well stocked kitchen! When you have something that you need to make – you have all the ingredients! Here is a list of supplies that classrooms and homes should have to make sure they are always ready to create!
Paper
Paint & Supplies
- Watercolor Paints
- Washable Paint
- Finger Paint
- Paint Cups
- Paintbrushes that are age appropriate
- Art Smock
Drawing
Craft Supplies
- Yarn
- Glue
- Mod Podge
- Tape ( Don’t forget things like Duck Tape, Masking Tape and Washi Tape!)
- Paper Bags
- Tissue Paper
- Craft Sticks
- Googley Eyes
- Glitter
- Clay
- Scissors
All of these items will lead to countless masterpieces and creations! Not to mention hours of learning and fun! Did I miss anything? What is your favorite and most used craft supply at your house?
Open Ended Toys That Promote Creativity & Problem Solving
Toys aren’t just for having fun! Great open ended toys help teach creative thinking and problem solving. What does open ended mean? It basically means that they don’t come with instructions and that kids can decide how to play with them. Here are some of our favorite open ended toys for all ages!
All Ages:
Magna-Tiles Clear Colors (100 piece set) $120
Learning Resources Gears! $29.95 $26.99
Reusable Sticker Pads (Available in tons of themes! These are great for the car too!) $4.99
Dress Up Costumes – price varies
Pattern Blocks – $19.99 $16.43
Pretend Kitchen – $79.99 $77.56
Play Tent – price varies on tent – This one has a puppet theater! I also really love the space station one! 🙂
Train Set – varies – this 100 piece set is $46.99
Doll house – varies – This house is $149.99 $111.57
Make Your Own Monster Puppet – $24.99 $19.78
Bicyle – varies (Did you know that as soon as your child can walk they can ride a Strider bicycle? They are super cool!)
Don’t forget art supplies! Paints, clay, craft kits, chalk, crayons and lots of paper! 🙂
Five and Under:
Mega Bloks First Builders Big Building Bag (80 piece set) $24.99 $14.99
Tobbles $28.95
Wooden Bear Family – $14.99 $13.46
MixMates (This is the Monsters+Superheroes set – they have many to choose from!) $14.95
Magical Tea Set – $17.99
Pretend Food – Price Varies – My favorites are by Melissa & Doug!
Five and Older:
K’nex Classics 50 Model Building Set $34.99 $26.99
ZOOBMOBILE Fastback H2H – The Head 2 Head Racing Challenge $29.99 $18.49
Draw & Write Journal $8.97 (This would be good for younger children too for an adult to ‘scribe’!)
Melissa & Doug Deluxe Magic Set $34.99 $26.99
Fashion Design Activity Kit $16.99 $11.94
ZAC – The Zoob Alien Creature $39.99 $26.32
Would You Rather or You’ve Gotta Be Kidding! $9.99
Does your child have a favorite open ended toy?
The Marble Jar Allowance System: Behavior and Responsibility Reward Jar
At our house we have to earn video game and TV time. At our house we do chores. And we work hard to use positive reinforcement to help teach good behavior.
I love our marble idea because it can be customized to fit any child, any family and any situation! The concept is simple. You come up with a few goals, whether they are chores or behaviors, and when they are done your child earns a marble. Easy right?
Well here is how we run our marble jar.
First up is morning routine. This means making his bed, getting dressed, brushing teeth, etc. By doing his morning routine – without a fight he earns a marble.
The next 2 are school goals. Josh has Autism so having behavior goals are important for us. Where we live they are turning the schools to a project based learning approach and making them based around technology. It’s actually really neat. Last year Josh’s class ran a booth at the Farmer’s Market and the kids had to graph inventory (bird feeders and other projects the kids made in art class), make change, etc. When they learned about the Titanic they all engineered their own boats to see if they could make one ‘unsinkable’. It’s great because they are excited to learn and for Josh, it forces him to work with other people. But working in groups is hard. And can be frustrating. So he earns a marble for staying on task (it’s easy to get distracted when you don’t sit at a desk and you are in a group!) and doing his best. We break it up as a marble earned for before lunch and one earned for his work after lunch.
Then, he earns a marble for doing his homework and reading in a reasonable time. That last part is REALLY important at our home. Last year we would spend hours on trying to get homework done some nights.
Chores are required in our house. Nothing major, but just something. Josh helps with the dishes, sweeps under his chair after dinner and cleans up his room. Doing his chores earns him a marble.
Lastly, he can earn a marble for his night time routine. That includes shower, teeth brushing, prayers and in bed (on time!).
If he does extra chores, does really well on a test, meets a speech goal, etc he can earn an extra marble. We don’t give extra marbles out for every little thing (that kind of defeats the purpose) but it’s mom & dad’s call.
So what do we do with all of those marbles? Well for one, each morning we count how many marbles were earned the day before. Each marble is worth 10 minutes of TV/Video Game time. So the day before if he earns 6 marbles he would have 60 minutes of tv time for today. If he only earned 4 he would have 40 minutes.
Then, at the end of the week we count up all of the marbles. He has the opportunity to earn 38 marbles (without any bonus marbles). If he earns up to 38 then each marble is worth 10 cents. But just like overtime in a real job, if he goes above and beyond and earns for than 38 marbles in a week he earns double pay and his marbles become worth 20 cents each! It shows that stepping up and doing an extra chore or studying hard really pays off!
So…is it working?
YES!! This is by far, the best method we have ever used. Josh wakes up – makes his bed, brushes his teeth and gets dressed without me saying anything. He wants that marble! He gets his work done. He wants those marbles!! And he really wants double pay! 🙂
Do you have a system that works for you?
Tips for Keeping Kids Happy & Parents Sane on Road Trips
We just got back from our wedding vacation and we had SO much fun. I have so much to share with you guys!! I thought I would start this series with a tips on how to keep kids happy (and parents sane!) during long car trips. We drove from Indiana to New Hampshire — about 17 hours! Here are some tips that helped us ALL enjoy the trip a little more.
1. Get a lap desk! You can get one fairly inexpensively on Amazon and they are awesome. The bottom is filled with a bean bag filling and the top has a flat surface to use as a desk. They are perfect for setting a lap top or DVD player on or for coloring, playing games and even eating on. Having everything with easy access, comfortable, and easy to manage is important for kids (and parents) to keep their interest! Honestly, it’s hard to color without a flat surface!
This is like the one we have (the only difference is ours is a different color) It’s only $12.27 on Amazon and that includes shipping if you are an Amazon Prime or Amazon Mom member! If you are not an Amazon Prime or Amazon Mom member you can sign up for a free trial! It has a cup holder, a place for your pens to stay put and a small light. For us, it has been WELL worth the $12.00! In fact, I just ordered a second one for myself! 🙂
2. Get some fun, new things! For our vacation I made travel bags. I bought bags at the Dollar Store and used scrapbook paper to label each bag with a different state. Then, in each bag a fun, new, inexpensive something (see below for ideas) and some snacks. Then when you cross over into a new state a new bag is opened. It makes traveling fun and exciting! Plus, you have snacks in the car so no need to stop and pick up junk food. AND – just in case you need another reason to make them, they double as a trash can. 🙂 This was the first time we used the travel bags and they were a HUGE hit!
I started purchasing items for our bags when I found out we were going on vacation. I kept a limit of about $10 per bag. Amazon is a great place to find things for cheap!
Here are some ideas to fill your bags with:
– Books – For Josh I got one of the books in the series How to Train Your Dragon (this is a great series!) and a few of the books from the series NERDS (another great series for kids!) The books cost between $3.00 – $7.00 and shipping was included!
– DVDs – We have a portable DVD player (which is a life saver for car rides! If you don’t have one, you can get a good one for under $100!) You can get DVDs under $10 no problem! Even movies under $5.00 are easy to find! Another good option is stopping at gas stations with Red Boxes. There are so many codes for free Red Box rentals out there! Plus, the nice thing is you can rent a movie and at the next gas station drop it back off!
– Books on CD – No matter how old you are listening to a great book on CD is fun! We have Narnia, Geronimo Stilton, and lots of Adventures in Odyssey CDs. You can also join Audible and burn your own CD’s. Your first 3 months are only $7.49 (which in some cases can be a cheaper option!)
– Fun toys – New toys are fun and exciting, and well, new. They don’t have to be expensive! Reusable Sticker Pads (like the one above) can be moved around hundreds of times! There are tons to choose from – for both boys and girls. They are $5.00 – $6.00 each. Travel games like Simon, Guess Who and other classic board games can be found for under $10 too! Scavenger hunt cards are also a ton of fun! We bought this set for $7.50 and it provided hours of entertainment (even for us grown ups!) Would You Rather is another great game to get conversation started! And don’t forget the Mad Libs and Invisible Ink books! 🙂
3. Don’t forget the snacks! I placed snacks in our travel bags and it was like getting another gift! Who would have thought that getting crackers and fruit snacks would be (almost) as much fun to get as new movies and toys!
4. Get comfy! Don’t forget to pack a travel pillow and blanket. When Andy drives he blasts the AC so a fuzzy blanket is a must!
5. Invest in headphones! This is probably my number one tip on keeping sane in the car! After all, there are only so many times you can hear the same song (over and over again). Ear Buds are uncomfortable for adults and are way to big for kids to try to fit in their little ears. Kids are happy because they can listen to their movies, music and books. Parents, brothers, and sisters are happy because they can listen to what they want to! Win-win!
How do you keep sane on long car rides?
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