Friday, August 21, 2009

Bridal Shower Invite: New York, New York

I'm not really a card maker, but I did think these bridal shower invitations turned out pretty cute for my level of scrapbooking expertise. I like how they look like mini newspapers. I found an image of the first volume of the New York Times, made it smaller and then copied it onto some translucent silver paper. Folding them made me feel like I was 10 again getting the papers ready for my route. My fingers got black, too.

Travel Ideas: What Worked!

Alright, it's about time to review what really worked for us on our trip.

First, snacks. Really, I think these were the most important thing and I took advice from other places online that suggested avoiding a lot of sugar. Maybe that helped, maybe it didn't, but the girls did pretty awesome so take it how you will. Snacks were especially helpful with the under one crowd since nothing really kept her attention for longer than a minute or so.

Second, the secret wrapped gifts came in really handy when we had unexpected occurances/frustrations (i.e. extra time on the tarmac, kids not wanting to be in seat belts...mostly just Lucy emergencies). They were all cheap toys (cars, small dolls, toy camera, finger puppets)

Third, favorite books and magazines.

How about a couple free advertisements. I'm not usually one to shout out specific brand names, but there were a couple things that were great to have on our trip:

-Fisher Price Stack and Roll Cups
I would recommend this to anyone because it is SO versatile. You can nest it, stack, roll it, make a rattle, build, bang, stick things through the hole, put on your head, play peak-a-boo etc, etc. DEFINITELY one of the best things we took for the baby (and the 2 year old). Plus it was nice to have once we got there. I only took about 5 or 6 of the cups and I left the tiny ball home so we wouldn't lose it.

Zoobie Pets:
These are cool little 3 in 1 blankets and even though they were super cute, any 3 in one blanket would be fine (I know there are other brands). It was wonderful to have a comfort toy that could be used to sleep with as well. I saved these until we got on the first flight and then gave them to the girls. You can unzip the blanket from the animal for washing or whatever. And just for those who are curious, we got the pink hippo "Pinky" and the blue elephant "Cosmo" (Creative names given by Lu and Brig).

Now that I'm done advertising, here is a quick list of the age specific stuff that I'd take again.

Under 1 year:
silk handkerchief (or cotton or whatever fiber you may have)
finger puppets
A bag full of stuff that can be taken out and put back in. This is what Char wanted to do most of the time. I don't know how many times she unloaded the diaper bag.
The stuff in the pencil holder was pretty good for short amounts of time (feathers, pom poms, pipe cleaners)

2 year old:
Loved almost everything in her folder (see post below)
I succeeded in getting the glue and the scissors into Romania, but had to check them in my luggage when leaving Romania.
I-spy, picture finds, water color pictures, scissors (of course) were a hit.
Stickers'tape are always a great time consumer.

So, I guess that's it. Somehow we did it (and without the use of Benadryl), and it was fun.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Travel Ideas: Ready for Testing

The following items/ideas are untested. When we get back from our trip, I'll update on their effectiveness - if any is to be reported.

Lucy's Plane Pack
In the pencil holder:
*markers...yes, crayons are safer...maybe I'll switch
*white board marker
*pen
*tape
*glue stick (if it makes it through security)
*kids scissors (4" blade is approved, we'll see)
*balloon
*paintbrush
*pipe cleaners

In the binder:
Laminated I-Spy
Laminated hidden picture (use dry erase-low odor, we hope:)
Story
Activities to go with stories.
Cut and paste printed on sticker paper.
Finger puppets.
Watercolor pencil sheets:
Also included in folder: extra paper, coloring book pages.

Charlottes Plane Pack
This one was hard (she's only10 months)
*popcicle sticks
*clothes pin
*balloon
*big pom poms
*googly eyes
*pipe cleaners
*feather
In her folder:
Textured papers.
Other:
Small Scarf, magazine (to rip up), nesting/stacking/balls all in one
These story cards that have little plastic animals you can touch on each card as you read the story.
To keep them together I hole punched the stack and used a binder ring.
Some small surprises to open along the way.
And of course, lots of snacks. I tried to keep them fairly sugar free as I don't want to add to the "stuck on an airplane for 16+ hours" effect.

Wish us luck!

Happy Birthday, Harry!

In celebration of Harry Potter's birthday: July 31st, 2009
Edible wands: A Pirouette "entertaining cookie" (that's what it says on the tin:), dipping chocolate, and sprinkles.