Growing up, we would go on a major road trip every year with our big family of eight (six kids and parents).  Besides our clothes, we packed about 20 comic books, a picnic lunch, and other books and word searches.  Our picnic lunch included fried chicken and boiled eggs, though sometimes we’d stop at grocery stores and buy bread and lunchmeat.  Of course for a family of eight, this was about what we could afford!  I have great memories of those trips.

You can create memories for your own family with a little bit of planning on what to pack in the car – packing that would keep children entertained and not create too big of a mess.  From Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker, here are just a few ideas of what to pack before a long road trip.

1. Food – preferably not messy, sticky, crumbly stuff.  Great if put into big zipper bags for each child to have their own.
2. Drinks – water is our drink of choice (it doesn’t stain and it isn’t sticky), but too much will lead to more bathroom stops.
3. Diapers, wipes and a waterproof changing pad – you never know where you are going to have to change a little one…the pad keeps that surface safe.
4. A Small Plastic Garbage Can – we learned the hard way that you may encounter unexpected car sickness or stomach flu. Have a place for a throwing up child (or children)!
5. Jackets – Even if it’s a hot day, it will get cooler and they can use it as a pillow or blanket
6. Movies – before we bought our Suburban with the built in DVD player, we brought a laptop to play movies. The battery in a laptop is usually good for at least 2 hours of peace. It is worth it!!!

It looks like comic books may have been replaced by DVD players! Still, plan ahead for an enjoyable trip!

Photo by Rob Boudon.

There are two babies in my world. One has a very young mother who is more focused on her own needs than those of her child. The other has an older, more stable mother. The difference in these children is mind-numbing. The older child (of the young Mom) seems almost socially stunted compared to the other child.

How a parent interacts with a child is so utterly important in healthy development. Part of the interaction should include praising your child and his or her accomplishments. Rachel Wojnarowski shares seven ways to praise your children, including,

Notice what makes your child smile. When you see that positive outward response to your words of praise, then take particular note of the time, the words you used, and as many of the circumstances surrounding the event as you can remember. And be sure to use them again. Repetition reinforces positive outcomes.

Praise them. Interact with them. Engage their minds.  Build their spirits.

Traveling this weekend, my daughter asked if after she moves out of the house if I would fill up her Easter basket if she brought it home. I quoted from Love You Forever, “I’ll love you forever, I’ll like you for always, As long as I’m living, My baby you’ll be.”  It was one of my favorite books to read to my daughters. I also liked nursery rhyme books and Blueberries for Sal. Then we got into the chapter books and on into the Harry Potter series.  My daughters still adore reading and I love that they appreciate books.

Like my girls, it’s so important to instill the love of reading with boys, too.  What are really good fiction books for boys? Milk and Cookies breaks down a good list to choose from,

I had to research and ask friends for input, but I managed to find some great series and individual books that pulled my son back into fiction. He became captivated by that tiny Indian in the mysterious cupboard; angered by the injustice poured out on the boys in Holes; heartbroken by the deaths of so many soldiers in The Red Badge of Courage; motivated to explore like the Wright Family, Professor Lidenbrock, and the Hobbits; and inspired by Tyce, the paralyzed boy in Robot Wars who doesn’t let anything hold him back.

Scroll down the detailed list and enjoy!

Photo from Amazon.com.

The things I try to teach my daughter include that they need to be able to earn a living on their own in case they ever find themselves alone.  That they should know what they love and then figure out how to make a living doing that.  That no matter what, they are loved. And as long as I’m alive, they will always have a place to come home to.

Another Mom, Lindsey Mead Russell, offers 10 more things every girl should know,

It is not your job to keep the people you love happy.  Not me, not Daddy, not your brother, not your friends.  I promise, it’s not.  The hard truth is that you can’t, anyway.

I love that so much! It takes so much pressure off kids! And it will help them grow into balanced, confident adults.

If kids aren’t completely wired on the sugar hearts and cupcakes from celebrating at school and at home, they are likely snuggled in their beds for a sweet February nap.  Just because Valentine’s Day has passed for them, it doesn’t mean you can’t create lovely memories all month long!   Modern Parents, Messy Kids shared a sweet heart garland idea,

My heart just melts at the idea of Isaiah creating his own heart every year. It’s hard for me to believe that someday he’ll be writing his own, choosing his own paper, and even arguing with me about not wanting to make one. (Me: I know you’re 18, but do this for Mommy. Please?)

Maybe it’s wishful thinking on my part. But I can’t wait to see a garland full of hearts one day, that I can put up for Valentine’s Days long after my babies are gone to college.

Such a sweet idea!

Photo from the silliest garden.

When my babies were itty-bitty, I did good just sleeping six hours in a 24-hour period. Plus the kids were fed, changed, and bathed regularly and without disaster.  Imagine adding cute little exercises to the routine to help stimulate their minds and growth!  But you can!  From The Art of Making a Baby here’s one exercise,

Leg support crawl
HOW: This one is a bit of a no-brainer if you ask me, but it was and still is a very important part of our day. From about 2 months of age ( it might have been 3 months, I don’t exactly remember), Lexi would make swimming movements whenever she’d get put on her tummy. She wanted to move and crawl. We would naturally place our palms to her feet so that she had some support to push off of and she’d be happy to move forward. It’s still something that we do on daily basis, as she whines and whines until she feels some support and can scoot forward. Once she starts crawling this will no longer be needed, but for the time being it helps her feel like she is getting somewhere.
WHY: Repetitive movement on the floor, forward or backward, stimulates the neurons in the brain to interconnect.

There are several other very helpful suggestions, so if you have a newborn, please go read!

Photo by eyeliam.

Now that my daughters are nearly grown, I freely admit that I miss taking them to girl scout camp or just picking them up from school so we can talk about anything we want to talk about.  I unashamedly took advantage of spending time with my girls and hope anyone with little ones does the same thing.

If you’re looking for a fun play date with your daughter (or son!), here are some great ideas from Because My Life is Fascinating,

14.) Girls Night Out. Get gussied up and go out for a fancy dinner. Just make sure the restaurant is semi-kid friendly

15.) Take her to a children’s museum. You’ll feel like you’re doing something to make her smarter in the end. This is always a good feeling to end with.

16.) Go to the farmer’s market. Eat fruit, listen to local bands play, and buy really expensive balloons.

I love that I’ve done all of these with my girls!

Photo from Girl Scout Camp.

I read on Facebook earlier this evening about a toddler at a local restaurant who kept saying “Shut the f*** up.”  The person who posted it said some people just shouldn’t be parents.  While that is one example of a wildly inappropriate way to talk around kids (so they repeat it), even the best parents can sometimes struggle with appropriate words.

The Kid Counselor offers a list of 10 things not to say to your kids,

 That is what happens when you…

We often try to teach lesson to kids about life at the most inappropriate times. If a child gets hurt because they were doing something dangerous or inappropriate, they already learned their lesson. It is wasted words to try to express a rule when a child is upset, as they focus on one thing at a time. Instead, train yourself to say, “You realized that you jumped off the chair and got hurt when you landed on the ground”, rather than, “See, that is what happens when you jump off the chair”. The former acknowledges that the child already figured out the problem, but is still comforting.

There are some invaluable suggestions on the site, so do go take a look.

When my babies were little, we laid them on their sides to sleep. It kept them from choking if they spit up and also helped their heads form properly. Also, it kept my babies from smothering if they were face down.  Maybe I’m old fashioned and silly, but that guide made a lot of sense to me.

A friend of mine has a granddaughter and they are working visitation rights through legal channels as the parents are unmarried.  At this time, he only gets the infant for two weekends a month, and he worries because the the baby’s head seems flatter every time he sees her.  This is probably why,

Not only is spending most of the day flat on your back bad for your hips but infants who lie frequently on their backs in a stroller may end up with plagiocephaly (deformed skulls, flattened on the back or side) and deformed bodies with poor muscle tone (Bonnet,1998). Research backed by the American Academy of Pediatrics states that “with prolonged immobilization on a firm mattress or a flat bed (as in a stroller), the constant influence of gravity flattens the body surface against the mattress producing positional disorders and infants with decreased muscle tone (Short, 1996)”.

That’s some scary stuff! Hopefully the infant’s mother will pay more attention to what she’s doing to that beautiful baby. Or maybe the father will more equitable custody.

If you haven’t already taken down your holiday lights, we found this great tip for wrapping up your lights so they’ll be usable next year when it’s time to decorate again.  From Lifehacker,

When putting away your Christmas lights, instead of stuffing them in a box, wrap them around a plastic hanger. No more tangled mess of lights to struggle with!

If you use a hanger with the little hooks on the body, you can use those to anchor the ends of the lights. And thanks to the hanger’s top hook, you can even hang the whole thing up for storage.

Great tip!