Travel Bags for Young Kids

This post would be better for an April or a May post, but seeing as the holidays are coming up quick and a lot of people travel during the holidays, I figure this would be an appropriate post at this time. I will re-post it again just before summer too. Every single summer we make a 13 hr trip to visit my husband's parents. That is a looooong trip especially with 3 kids under the age of 7. AND what should be a 13 hr trip ends up being about a 15 hr trip with all the bathroom breaks and such. This year I decided to put together some fun travel bags. I did some fun things for them on trips before, but this year I actually made them each their own "travel bag". These are some of the things I put in the bags to give you ideas:

1. First of all I made them a little bag and wrote their names with "puffy paint" and a picture of something they love. It is just a simple little bag with a tie string at the top to close it, and I just used left over fabric I had to make them. Or you can just a backpack or a fabric shopping bag.

2. I went to a site called Mom's Minivan. It has tons of travel games that you can print up for free. Games like "bingo", the "license plate game", and scavenger hunts to name a few. I picked a few of these out that fit the ages of my kids and printed them out. They have a word version, or a picture version for younger kids. After I printed and colored them, I laminated them and put velcro on each square.

You can't see the velcro on the top picture 'cause I chose the velcro side that was clear so the kids could see through it and see the object they were looking for. The bottom picture I used the fuzzy size of the velcro which isn't see through but it didn't need to be since the objects they were suppose to look for were off to the side of each box. Then I made "markers" for each game.

I put a teeny piece of velcro on the back on sequins for the scavenger hunt game. For Bingo I just cut up a bunch of squares out of colored paper and laminated them then put velcro on the back of them. An alternative to this if you laminate your own pictures is to just use a dry erase marker to mark the squares. I don't trust my kids in the back seat with a dry erase marker, so I chose the sequins. :)
3. I made a "weaving" craft for them to keep them busy. I bought a little pack of the plastic stars you see below for like $1.50 then just tied the yarn on so they didn't lose it. Since I also don't trust my little ones with needles (and I couldn't find a plastic needle that was small enough to fit through the holes) I just put scotch tape on the end of the yarn to help feed it through the holes and prevent it from fraying.

You can also make a sewing card by punching holes in thin cardboard (maybe the back of an old notebook) or foam sheets and attaching string or a shoelace.
4. I bought them each two cheap new toys. A $1 matchbox toy (my kids loooove those. Glad they're so cheap) and another toy they could play with in the car that was on clearance.

5. Last year around Christmastime there was a great coupon for Hasbro toys. It didn't say you couldn't use it on travel games, but since they're cheaper and I'm sure the coupon was MEANT for the regular sized toys, I got them each a Hasbro travel game for $2. Sweet.

6. I, of course, put a notebook and pencil in the bag.
7. At Dollar Tree they have a bunch of "Activity Books" for $1. So I got one for my older son.
8. Do you remember the "Where's Waldo" books? We LOVED those as a kids. I checked out 3 of those books at the local library just for he trip. Free entertainment.
9. I also checked out a book on Origami and put some paper in their bags for folding.
10. I put a few snacks (snacks that they are not used to eating) and treats like suckers in the bag so they can snack at will without me having to reach into the cooler for snacks all the time.
11. Add a water bottle for each kid.
12. If you have room you can use an old box top or a small metal cooking sheet as a writing surface. It will also keep the pencil (or crayons if you bring those too) from rolling off onto the floor.

Then just relax and make the trip fun! If the car gets dirty, it gets dirty. If you make a long trip without the kids trashing the car, then you are AMAZING. So don't worry too much. You can thoroughly clean out the car after the vacation is over. You can play card games, or paper rock scissors, bring music your kids will like, bring a portable DVD player and surprise them with a brand new movie (borrow one from a friend, check one out from the library, or plan ahead and buy a new one when it goes on sale).

Other ideas:
1. stickers
2. stencils
3. Make your own magnetic checker board
4. pipe cleaners
5. Colorforms
6. puppets
7. new books checked out from the library
8. metal cookie sheet with letter magnets

 
9. paper dolls
10. action figures
11. Scotch tape
12. Portable electronic games
13. If you are crafty you could make a darling crayon holder like this:

Good luck making your travel bags! And remember that they don't need to be entertained the entire time. There will be times they take naps or just look out the window and let their minds wander. These just make the trip a little easier and enjoyable. Even traveling can make fun memories for kids. :) Oh yes, and don't forget to bring plastic grocery bags for trash, looots of extra snacks, and baby wipes for messes!

Cafe Rio Pork

I got this recipe from my husband's cousin. I think the sauce is what makes this dish.

Cafe Rio Pork
Pork tenderloin (about 2 1/2 lbs)
1 c salsa
1 c brown sugar

Cook in slow cooker on low for about 6 hours. When done, shred with a fork.

Cafe Rio Dressing

3 fresh tomatillos, cut into quarters
1 pkg ranch buttermilk dsg mix
1 c mayo
1/3 to 1/2 c buttermilk
1 c fresh cilantro
2 cloves fresh garlic
1/4 tsp crushed cayenne pepper (I hate anything spicy so I leave this out)

Combine all ingredients in a blender and let chill in the fridge for 1 hour before serving.

Serve in tortillas with rice, beans, and any other topping you like.

SCREEN IT!

I am pretty picky about what movies my kids can watch since they are so young still. I can overlook some things, but I absolutely do not like bad language. My kids pick up on things quick, and I don't want them thinking that because we watched a movie with bad words that it is okay to say them. I have been very shocked lately with the ratings of movies. Is it just me or does there need to be a rating between PG and PG13 now?? I am always okay with G movies, and used to be usually okay with PG movies, but more and more PG movies are using bad language now. What is up with that!? So now I have to screen PG movies before my kids watch them. I want to introduce you to the best movie review site ever! I used it as a teenager, and I use it now. It is called "SCREEN IT".

Screen It has the most in depth movie review I have seen yet and I LOVE IT. It breaks the movie down into categories, usually:
Alcohol/Drugs
Blood/Gross Stuff
Disrespectful/Bad attitude
Frightening/Tense Scenes
Guns/weapons
Imitative behavior
Jump scenes
Scary/tense music
Inappropriate music
Profanity
Sex/nudity
Smoking
Tense family scenes
Violence

Under each category is listed every single things that happens in the movie that will go under each category. For instance: Take the PG movie Rango (with the voice of Johnny Depp). Under the Profanity category it says that there are at least 5 hells and 1 damn said in the movie. It also mentions that an animal yells "You son of a" and the last word is drown out by the screeching sound of a bird. So that word isn't said, but screen it will even add scenes and conversations under each category if they are implied too. It's awesome (and to think I WAS going to let my kids watch that. Thank goodness for screen it). The only draw back is that now days you have to pay an annual membership fee of $47/yr, which comes out to less than 0.13 cents per day (or at least that was screen it's math). BUT the good thing is that you can still review the movies that aren't brand new just by doing a google search for free. Type in the movie title and then the words "screen it" and you can review the movies that aren't in the movie theaters anymore. So if you want to rent a movie, that movie will likely come up on a google search. Since my kids don't go to the movie theaters much, it works just fine for us. It's a great resource and is a huge help is choosing which movies to rent or not to rent for my kids. Try it out!

Solar Battery Charger. Free electricity!

Anyone who knows me well knows I'm really into solar energy right now. It's free and even if your power goes out, the sun doesn't, as long as it is daytime you still have power. Love it. Before my first child was born my husband and I knew we needed to invest in rechargeable batteries. We noticed all the infant toys that vibrate or sing songs and such, like the swing, the vibrating bouncer, the dolly that sings songs, the mobile in the crib, etc. And THAT'S just for an infant! Once they get older they have so many toys that require batteries (AHEM, Geo Tracks). We would be spending a fortune on batteries had we not got a battery charger (that plugs into the wall) and rechargeable batteries. Now powering all those toys has gotten a little cheaper for me. Last month I used my birthday money to buy a solar battery charger for $20. Not bad, right? It pays off in the end anyway, then it's all free energy from there on out. I just bought this little guy from Amazon:

Today I FINALLY had enough batteries to charge in this thing and try it out. In order to use it you have to have 4 batteries (not 2, not 3, not 5, but 4) for the circuits to be able to charge them up. I kept ending up with 3 batteries of all sizes. But today I finally made it to 4 "D" batteries and tried it out. I first tested my batteries out to make sure they were dead.

Sorry this picture is sideways. I don't know how to change it now, but notice the red indicator is at 0 DC. So yeah, my batteries were definitely dead. So I stuck all four of my "D" batteries in the charger and left them out in the sun for about 6 hours.

When I took them out I measured their power again:

I'm not sure how to read that but I checked a few brand new Alkaline batteries to compare and they all went to that same line, so I am assuming it is charged up completely. Free energy to power my kids' toys. Love it. It's a nice small device too. No bigger than my foot.

I'm pretty excited about my battery charger and now any battery operated object is free to run. If I can't power my whole house with solar energy (maybe someday) at least I can power my battery powered items. :) Just a note on the charger, it charges "AAA", "AA", "C", and "D" size batteries. The smaller the battery, the quicker they charge. AAA should take 1-1.5 hours, AA 3-3.5 hrs, C 6-7 hrs, and D 9-11 hrs (though mine didn't take that long).

New Generation Sack Lunch. 22+ Ideas for the "Main Course"

Okay, I am completely guilty of packing the same old, same old sack lunches for my son. He doesn't really care for sandwich meat, and since his school has no way of heating up a meal, I have to resort to peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and honey sandwiches as his "main course". Well I did a little research and found some new ideas to put in kids' school lunches. I can't wait to try them out!

1.  Cookie cutter sandwiches that add to the fun of eating a sandwich. I cut my son's sandwiches in rectangles and triangles and sometimes two pieces and sometimes four just to mix it up. Here is a spin on that:

Though it does waste quite a bit of the sandwich. That is the drawback, but right now my son is so burned out on PB&J he doesn't eat ANY part of it, so something is more than what he is eating now.
2. Another cookie cutter sandwich, but this one doesn't waste so much. The Two-toned sandwich. Makes it a little more fun to eat I think. This came from Family Fun. They used a medium sized cookie cutter and a small one to make this. Love it. And you can use the other pieces for another sandwich for another child or put it on the back of the sandwich so both sides are decorative. You can also make it easier and just use one cookie cutter.

3. Here's another idea: Sandwich on a stick.

Some ideas: meat, cheese, lettuce, croutons, grape tomatoes, pickles, olives, and bread.
4. This one is kind of gross to me, but heck if it gets your kids to eat it and makes it fun why not, right? Sandwich Art. To make this you pour a little milk into a few cups and add a few drops of food coloring to each cup of milk. Then you paint your picture (or your kids) with the colored milk with CLEAN paintbrushes and then toast the bread. Interesting, huh?

  

5. Blossom sandwiches. Again another twist on the cookie cutter sandwiches. This one is specifically for PB&J's.

 6. Sandwich Wraps. If your kids like sandwich meat. The wraps in the picture below have: ranch dressing, BBQ sauce, lettuce, cheese, avocado, olives, bell peppers, turkey, and cherry tomatoes.

7. Pinwheel Wraps. A little simpler than above and cut into smaller pieces. I have a recipe I found a long time ago that had this same idea but for the "filling" they used peanut butter, honey, and granola. Sounds pretty delish to me!

 8. Pasta Salad. If your kids like pasta salad.

 9. Peanut Butter & bananas. I have had a lot of people tell me about this, but I haven't been brave enough to try it myself. A lot of people I know seem to like it, so I'm going to add it. You can try other blends too like, pb & apple slices, raisins, honey, or pretzels.

 10. Yogurt with berries and granola. Super healthy! Easy to keep cool in a lunch box.

Other ideas that I don't have pictures for:
11. Sandwiches in pita bread. You can make a pb&j in a pita or put the usual meat and cheese, or you could do something like chicken salad.
12. Bagels. I actually put bagels in my son's lunch every now and then. You can put regular or strawberry (or any other available flavor) cream cheese on it, or make a bagel sandwich. Again I saw a picture of someone making a bagel into a pb&j. Change it up: Use mini bagels.
13.

Forgot I had this picture. Crackers and cheese/meat buffet.
14. Fruit Kabobs, or a mix of fruit and cheese cubes
15. Celery sticks with peanut butter and raisins (Ants on a log)
16. Soup in a thermos
17. Salad (Fruit or veggie)
18. Muffins with butter and jelly
19. Noodle Soup Cups. If your school provides a faucet for hot water. This one is a little iffy for little ones though.
20. BBQ chicken sandwich, cold
21. Egg Salad Sandwich, Tuna Sandwich, BLT's, banana bread...
22. Okay and I just thought of this one as I was typing: Fresh Fruit Smoothie in a thermos. Think it would stay cold enough until lunch in a thermos? Probably. Again, super healthy and kids love smoothies. Try it out!

Well there you go. 22+ sack lunch ideas to try out with your kids if they're getting bored with the usual. Maybe the next post will be on sack lunch SIDES. Those are easier with a much bigger selection than the main though. I would like to hear from YOU. What do YOU pack in your kids lunches? Share with us!

External Sources: http://familyfun.go.com/back-to-school/back-to-school-lunches-snacks/
                        http://recipes.familyeducation.com/slideshow/lunch/66587.html 

Homemade Veggie Wash for Pennies

Apples and pears are easy to wash and scrub with your hands under running water. But what about grapes, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, cherry tomatoes, etc? They are small and it would take way too much time to wash and scrub each individual fruit separately. Many people just run water over them and call it good. But how many hands, boxes, crates, or bugs have touched them from the moment they were picked to the moment you buy them in the grocery store? Yucky to think about huh? There are commercial veggie washes on the market but why waste your money on those when you can make your own veggie wash for pennies at home? The secret ingredient: Vinegar. I use this veggie wash all the time for my grapes and berries and anything else that will take too long to wash individually. The ratio of vinegar to water is:

1 part vinegar to 4 parts water

Soak the grapes or whatever fruit or vegetable it is this mixture for 30 minutes, then drain and rinse. Works great, and it doesn't leave a vinegar taste or smell! The first time I ever used this I was sure it would ruin my strawberries with a nasty vinegar smell, but once I drained and rinsed them, the smell was gone! Try it out. :)