Keeping your kids busy on the Road: Travel "Doctor" Kits

I honestly can't remember where I got the idea for these but it read something like this: toss a couple bandaids and an alcohol swab in a ziplock and let your kids pretend to be a doctor.  I decided to take the Travel Doctor Kit a step further and added a few more items that would fit into small plastic boxes.  I didn't want to spend any money (isn't this ALWAYS the goal?) so I wracked my brain trying to think of any plastic boxes I already had to I would not have to purchase small totes.

GENIUS

Do you know those wet facial wipes that cleans makeup off your face?  I had two of those plastic boxes empty and a small plastic tote that my son uses for his mini lego guys.  These 3 boxes were perfect for the doctor kits and they were graduated sizes as well.  They will know easily who's box is who's. 

Here's what I put in our Doctor Kits:

2 latex gloves, medicine bottle with m & m's, digital thermometer, bandaids, alchohol swabs, medicine giver syringe, and a surgical mask. 

I love the fact that there's a built in snack that will take little fingers a while to get into.

**YES, I realize there are risks involved in letting the littles think that medicine is candy...but you know what? They already do!  Half of the meds kids take these days taste like candy and my 2 year old already calls it candy...so, we are oober careful with these types of things. Extreme precautions are already taken in this household to ensure no accidental taking of meds.**

Here is a better view of the plastic facial wipes boxes I had on hand.  All of our items fit perfectly in the boxes.

Some ideas if you don't have these on hand already: I got the gloves and masks from my old job.  I worked for a company that is in the medical field and was able to get ahold of both for free.  Other posibilites would be your pediatrician may be willing to give you some if you call and ask. :)  A veterinarian's office... or if you're a seamstress, these should be quite easy to sew.

Ask your friends if they have any digital thermometers they don't need.  When I went looking, I had FOUR (not including the one I kept and all the regular mercury ones) that I was willing to dispose of. One was broken leaving me three perfectly good thermometers to give to my littles. 

Who doesn't have medicine bottles in their pantry?  I disposed of the old meds and cleaned out the bottles...then filled with m & m's.  (of course there's also skittles, tic tacs, you name it...)

The only thing I wish I had but could not locate at the last minute was a stethescope.  Would still like to get one of those as I know my kids would love one!

I'll be sure to let you all know if the littles enjoy this as much as I think they will.

So, what would YOU add to this doctor kit?

No Cost--Kids Travel Journal tutorial

I was browsing the site Mom's Minivan recently and read where as a child, she kept travel journals and still has them to this day.  She shared one she had written as a nine year old.

I decided to try this idea out with my littles as well.  The only one I think it will really click with is my oldest, but I'm hoping over the years, that they all get a kick out of it as well.  Here are mine:

I used 3 file folders and the long copy paper, both of which we had on hand already.  This is a very simple journal that you can create with your kids as well.

materials: long copy paper, file folder, sewing machine, scissors, envelope

Here's what I did:

Trim off the tab on the file folder.

Fold the copy paper in half.  Align the crease in the paper with the crease in the folder. 

Place in your sewing machine sew a running stitch down the crease.  I used my longest stitch length and made sure to backstitch at both ends a couple times. 

On the inside back cover, I used a gluestick and glued an envelope.  This is to hold items that they collect along the trip and during the vacation. 

This whole project cost me $0.

Don't have the materials in YOUR house?  You could use a cereal box for the cover and construction paper for the inside.  Don't have a sewing machine?  Try brads, a stapler, or punch two holes and tie string through it.  There are tons of possibilities just lying around your house!

For my 2 girls who can't read or write yet, I will help them write in their journals.  They can dictate to me what they want (just a couple lines) and I will write it in.  Then the girls can draw whatever they saw for that journal entry.

As always, I'll be sure to report and let you know how these things panned out!!

Just a few more days!

Happy Memorial Day!

Just a little of what my days look like...

Baby Bath Time :)

When she's good and awake (not too often still) her eyes open wide and she stares at you like you have 3 arms sticking out of your ears!  So funny!

Playing with caterpillars...

check out the face on the top right of the collage.

My 2 year old who has NO FEARS! 

We bird watched and catepillar played...(this was last week)

What's on your agenda for today? 

Be sure, when you're out...to thank a veteran or someone currently serving.  We have been blessed in this family to have not lost any of our men in a war, but have loads who have fought.

I would like to publicly mention a couple men:

Great Grandpa Oscar C. Jones who served in WWII and Korea--wounded in both.  Now living with his Jesus in Heaven.

Great Grandpa John H. Stiens--served in WWII in Japan. Now living in Heaven.

Great Grandpa Raymond Fitzsimmons who served in WWII--wounded severly in the abdoman and who to this day has no belly button.  The grandkids and greats have always gotten a kick out of that!

To my brother in laws:

Micah Fitzsimmons--currently serving in Iraq/Afghanistan/Kuwait and away from his wife and son.  We miss you and are praying for your safe return! 

&

Noah Fitzsimmons--currently on post in the midwest awaiting long term overseas orders. 

Fly your flag proudly ladies and gentlemen!!

Keeping Your Kids Busy on the Road: Maps and Games

As my kids get older, one thing that I think will interest them on our family road trips is keeping tabs on where we are.  Last night, my son asked me where our hotel was...I believe he asked if it was going to be in Cincinnati which is a place he is familiar with.  

You should have seen his face light up when I told him that the hotel we are staying in is in North Carolina!  This is a state he has never been to so I know this is crazy exciting for him.  I then went on to tell him that from the time we leave until the time we get there, we will be going through 7 different states...

...and his jaw dropped!

So cute!

In the interest of allowing my littles to follow along with where we're at any given moment, I decided to put together a folder of maps documenting our trip.  

 

They each have their own color and I drew their initial on the front.  Here is what the BIG littles have in their folders:

Maps that I printed from Google Maps that detail our trip in about 2 hr time segments.

 

 I decided to go ahead and add some games that I found at Moms Minivan. Below is Road Trip Bingo for smaller children.

 

Tic Tac Toe

 

Lines and Dots (I can't tell you how many times I drew this game out and played it when I was a kid!)

 

And a car scavenger hunt.

 

At this point, I have only put the road trip bingo in my 2 yr old's folder.  I think the maps are beyond her but I didn't want to leave her out of the "folder" that he big bro and sister get.  I'm thinking on going ahead and adding the scavenger hunt though.

Here are a few thoughts I had:

Use page protectors!!

The littles can use dry erase markers or dry erase crayons to write on the page protectors and it will wipe right off.  Then all of these can be reused for the trip home (and subsequent road trips in the future).

 Another idea I found on Prepared Not Scared were called "car bucks." Unfortunately, the file download is no longer working! :(  So, I created my own to use in the same way.  

I also created my version in printable form if you would like to steal it.  I am sorry it's in pink!  I didn't really care about the color so I just clicked on the first link I could find.  I printed in black ink anyways so color doesn't matter.

CAR BUCKS PDF FILE

If you'd like to create your own in a different color I found the template for mine

HERE.

The car bucks are meant to help keep your littles from acting up while on the road.  I plan to tell my kids that they can earn 1 car buck for each portion of the trip that they did not lose their "kid tag." (a future post) A "portion" of the trip is from potty break to potty break which for us will be scheduled about every 2 1/2 hrs.  These car bucks can be used by my littles to purchase surprises that I have pre purchased and brought in the car.  The items I have up for purchase are the magnetic paper dolls, magnetic alphabet game, doctor kits (a future post), photo albums (future post), travel go fishing game, color your own puzzle, sunglasses, giant coloring books, disposable cameras, flashlights, balloons, and bubbles. 

Another great idea that a reader left me in a comment is to give each child a role of quarters at the beginning of the trip.  For every time they act up, you take away a quarter.  The money they have left over can be used however they want for spending money on the vacation portion of the road trip.  

That sounds like the most well spent money on any vacation involved children!

Keeping Kids Busy on the Road--Part 2: Magnetic Paper Dolls

As many of you know, we are preparing for our summer vacation that will commence in t-minus 9 days, 4 hours, and some minutes. :) We ARE counting down, but I don't know exactly when we will be leaving as that's kind of up in the air right now.  

I do know that it's going to be a nice long drive in the car with 3 kids and a 6 week old baby.  I just might be crazy, but I also see it as a challenge.  

The mission?  To arrive at said destination with the same 3 kids and a 6 week old baby that we left with...with all body parts in tact, having had no auto accidents, and all in the vehicle having kept their sanity for the duration of the trip.  And I might just add to that mission, that we all have a good time while doing it!!  Because really, what is the main goal of any family vacation?  

To create long lasting memories for ourselves and our children.  When its my littles (only they'll be bigs then) taking their littles on a family beach vacation, I want them to remember all the great memories that we made as a family...and hopefully they won't remember the stressful times :) 

 This activity (not a game) should be fun and on age level for my littles.  Remember, I have a 4 year old daughter and a just turned 7 year old son.  A couple months ago, I was searching for some good "new" travel activities for this year's road trip and I came across this.  I loved the template, but it was no longer available. So what does a crafty girl do?

BROWSE ETSY!  

And look what I found?

Anne Made Art

 

There's really not much to doing this.  I'm not even gonna call it a tutorial.

Materials: pizza pan from the dollar store, magnetic paper, paper doll template, inkjet printer

 

Follow the directions on the magnetic paper for printing in your inkjet printer.  Our printer had some special settings for printing on this paper so you'll want to check into that as well.  

Color using your choice of coloring tools.  If you so desire, leave it for the littles to color.  I chose to do this myself and cut them out because I wanted the activity completely ready for them to play with on vacation.

The etsy shop I showed you also has the paper dolls in BOY!  So, I decided to go ahead and purchase both girl and boy templates and I made a set in both.  One for my girl and one for my boy. :) I wanted to see how markers handled on this paper so I used them to color the boy set.  Personally, I like it better than the colored pencils/crayons I used on the girl.  I'm thinking about coloring over top of the colored pencil in marker.  We'll see. 

 

 Overall, both sets turned out beautifully!  It's pretty thin paper so you have to be careful not to cut an arm or leg off.  On the flip side, it would also be very easy to tear a part off as well, so be mindful of that.  I know things happen with little kids :) but I'm hoping this set lasts at least through this trip!

So, what are your ideas on travel activities?  Be sure to share with my readers what YOU do on road trips in the comment section :)

Home Based Handmade Business: packaging

First of all, I am in NO WAY a professional, so please don't take what I say as anything more than another owner of a home based business sharing what she's learned!  Back in March, I did a feature on my Heidi Bag for Gigispetals, a great feature website who is closing down soon.  I learned so so so much in doing that feature!  I had to come up with a good way to package my product in a manner that was pleasing to the eye, branded my business, and was economical for me!  This is not easy! 

There are many different ways to package a product.  There are also a ton of different things to keep in mind when trying to settle on a way to package your product.

Some things I tried to keep in mind were:
product size
cost of packaging
looks of the overall package

For the time being, here is what I have decided on when packaging my larger products:

cellophane bags with a Vibrant Designs sticker, my business card, and "Thank you for your purchase" card.

In choosing the cellophane bag, I am allowing my product to speak for itself.  If your product looks good, then the packaging looks good!  I simply fold the top of the bag over once and close it with a VD sticker.

For my jewelry items, I prefer to use a drawstring organza bag, but sometimes I have to settle for a jewelry size ziplock bag.  The packaged item then nestles into a bed of tissue paper for cushion inside it's shipping box. 

To help aid in costs as well as staying "green", I also do my best to reuse boxes!  My old job frequently gets boxes and they know to save them for me :)

So, what about you?  What's your favorite way to package your products?  I am always on the lookout for more ideas so please, email me a photograph of your packaged product or comment here with what you do. 

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Ember Sophia: a birth story

Ember Sophia

April 21, 2012

8:14PM

7lb 12.9oz

19.5"

On Monday, April 16^th at 36 weeks, I saw a midwife in my OB’s group for my normal checkup.  She checked me to find that I was 70% effaced and 4 cm dilated.  Being 36 weeks, she looks me square in the eye and asks how many pregnancies does this make for me?  Due to the fact that this was my 4^th baby and the last took 4 hrs start to finish to be born…well, she cautioned that I NOT sit having contractions for too long without coming in to be checked.  Note taken and filed away!  THIS ladies husband has NO plans to deliver a baby in the car!! 

The week prior to April 21^st, had me praying to just “get through till Sunday!!” then Ember can come at any time she wants.  Why Sunday?  Well, this was my last complete week before reaching 37 weeks and being considered “full term,” AND on Saturday, April 21^st we had a HUGE competition that the teens in our church were competing in…and I was the only female leader who could make it.  I began to wonder about whether or not I would make it to term when on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday nights I continuously woke in the night to strong contractions.  Oiy.  Each morning I woke still pregnant though...

Saturday morning of the teen competition dawned rainy and grey.  We woke bright and early and dropped the kidlets off to the babysitter at 6:40am.  Left our church at 7am with a wheelchair in the trunk and car load of excited teenagers!  We were headed an hour away from home and had to leave early!

The first contraction that I made note of was around 7am…about every 30 minutes.  BUT for me this was no big deal.

Until I realized that around 10:30, while listening to someone else compete, they had jumped to 3 minutes apart.  Remember the wheelchair?  I had not gotten out of that chair the whole time!!  We were doing everything we could think of…even to the point of the director finding a couch in a nursing room for me to lay down on!!  At 11:30 I was headed to said couch…once again, this was all normal for me!  I would contract every 3 minutes for 2 hrs and then they would stop.  I assumed hoped this time would be the same way…

…until I felt the urge to go to the bathroom frequently without actually going…

This is what had my husband concerned….me too, but I was still hopeful!  Around noon I made the decision to call the doctor on call and get some advice. 

The advice?  Get to the hospital and get checked: pronto!  Seriously.  This was honestly not what I wanted to hear.  As much as I was dying to meet Ember…our sweet baby E…I really wanted to get past this day without incident.  It was not to be. 

After making sure our teens all had rides home, we headed back home and to the hospital.  We arrived at the hospital around 1:15 and I was checked at 1:30.  I was now 5 1/2cm dilated but the midwife on call did not want to do anything until I had changed there at the hospital.  It didn’t help that while on the monitor the contractions began to peeter off.  I arrived with them 3 minutes apart and they were now 5-6 minutes apart…So I was told I needed to walk and see if there was change, or I could leave.  Eh? Leave at 5 1/2cm?  My husband agreed: we didn’t think that was a good idea, so I walked. For the first time in my life, I walked to TRY to start labor!  My husband left to finish packing the bags for our kids and pick up my bags which I had JUST packed the night before!  I proceeded to walk…for 2 hours.

Around 4:10 I was 6 1/2cm…and relieved to find out that we at least had an answer!  You see, for 2 hours I walked and prayed that God would be very specific.  What I did NOT want was a wishy washy answer.  We needed to know that there was significant enough change that the midwife was comfortable with saying I was indeed in labor. I was thanking God that at 6.5cm that was indeed the case.  We made our phone calls, made sure our kids were headed to the “babies coming babysitters” and called my Mom to let her know she had exactly 3.5cm to get here!  (Her drive time was 3 ½ hours!!  Cuttin’ it close!) 

Strangly enough, at 7cm, the midwife broke my water…roughly at 5 oclock at which time my body promptly decided it was done.  And I quite dilating.  From 5pm-8pm---nothing, nada, caput.  At 8pm, the midwife ordered up a minimal amount of pitocin but before they began it I was checked again and was still 7cm…at 8:10 pressure and intense contractions had me calling the nurse.  I swear that midwife was lurking outside my door!  She walked in as soon as my finger came off that button!  (Oh yeah, mom arrived at 7:30)  The midwife checked me at 8:10pm and now I’m 10 and complete.  Whaaaaa??? 

I do believe I have become proficient at pushing babies out!  Whew!  The midwife did not get ready when she had me start pushing at 8:10.  At the end of the second contraction she announces that this baby is going to come with the next contraction, stops me and orders me NOT to push until she’s back.  She then does an about face raising her arms in the air at which time the nurses put on her scrubs and opened the “table” with all of those doo dads we all hope don’t actually NEED to be used during the delivery.  And that is the only time I have ever had a doctor/midwife correctly say, “this baby will be born with the next contraction!”

Our sweet Ember Sophia was born at 8:14pm on the third contraction!! 

I chose to go ahead and have the epidural...which worked very well up until I reached 10cm.  BUT that's how they're supposed to work. And truthfully, this was probably my easiest delivery! 

I didn't feel any pain in the places that mattered...to ME that is. :)  Of course, the epi worked so well that it took quite a while for it to wear off!  And then I had the craziest feeling in my legs...basically restless leg syndrome.  I learned that this is normal although a new one for me! :)

Keeping Kids Busy on the Road: Magnetic Alphabet Matching Game

It's THAT time of year again.

We're preparing for a 13 hr road trip this time in approximately 2 1/2 weeks and we've added another little body this time around!  As a result of the afformentioned "little body," I am trying to keep the cost of my time to a minimum!  You know, because most of my time is spent making breakfast, chaning diaper, nursing baby, making lunch, changing diaper, nursing baby, shower, console baby...but every now and then I can squeeze in a little crafty time.

just a little

but enough to show you this game which I adapted from this blog post to suit my time needs.

Here's what I used: sharpie marker (permanent), package of heart shaped wooden discs $2.99, magnetic tape $1, steal pizza pan from Dollar Tree $1. 

total cost: $5

Randomly write the alphabet in sharpie marker on the pizza pan.

Write the alphabet with the SAME SHARPIE (no, this doesn't matter) onto the heart discs.  Cut 1/3" pieces of magnetic tape: 26 pieces.  Attach them to the backs of the heart discs.

The most time consuming thing was pealing the paper off the back of the magnetic tape. 

This game is intended for my 2 year old so I only used capital letters.  She is completely capable of matching her letters, but she can't completely identify the lower case just yet.  However, my 4 year old CAN, so this would be a great way to change it up for a slightly older child.  Write out the capital letters onto the pizza pan and write lower case letters on the discs. 

This would have been a $2 project if I had chosen to use the plastic magnetic letters that our Walmart carries in their $ section.  Since I'm making this for a young child, I wanted to stick with a very basic "font" instead of the crazy font you get with those plastic letters.  Which is why I chose to make my own letter magnets. 

This is a surprise so I'll have to update you all on how well it's received in a few weeks!  I DO have a couple other ideas to show you so check back. 

Amateur Photography

A friend of mine makes gorgeous crocheted baby items.  A while back I had offered to photograph her items on my newborn once she [the newborn] arrived. There is actually only one item in the following photos but I will be sure to share more with you in the next few weeks.  The following photos were my favorite photos of our Ember Sophia...trying to choose a few to have printed and hung in our house!  Which is YOUR favorite?? 

**Newborn baby goodness**

I own the large wooden bowl...so I had some batting that I covered with one of my white gauze receiving blankets.  Tucked it all in...and laid Ember on top.

At her 2 week checkup she is 19 1/2" long and 8lbs 3oz.  Apparently, she got my short jeans!

This is a ruffled diaper cover...but everyone thinks it's a tiny tutu! 

A ruffled petti romper with one of my headbands

A luxuriously soft cocoon with a matching hat...and it's for sale

right here.

and another for cuteness.

Knock Off--Mai Tai Baby Carrier or Moby Wrap

Some of you may remember a post from last fall where I mentioned having made a baby carrier for my sister in law and nephew Jack.  Unfortunately, I didn't have any way to model my creation...UNTIL NOW!  Here I am "wearing" my sweet Ember Sophia this evening while at the playground with our older three littles. 



And I have to say that this carrier is working out wonderfully!!  I can't recomend this thing enough!!  Back in the day BEFORE I had a blog, I made a baby sling after my 2nd baby was born.  I wore that thing once and from then on was dead set against it!  It hurt my neck and back so much, I couldn't understand how other women could physically wear a baby and keep their sanity. 

Once a person begins sewing, one realizes that if it's made out of fabric, there's a good chance you can make your own.  So when I saw these carriers a while back I figured the same thing.  And these days, with the internet being what it is, you can find a tutorial for just about anything!  There are a couple tutorials out there for making a mai tai wrap or moby wrap.  Let me just say, they are SO easy!  I believe this is the tutorial that I originally found:

HERE

You do NOT need to add the additional fabric to the center however.  The next time I sew something I plan to add one of my sew on labels at the center fold.  Knowing the center mark is important when tying the wrap so the label will help make finding the center easier. 

In a nutshell, you simply purchase 5-6 yds of knit fabric.  Make sure it's nice and stretchy. 

5 yrds--short/petite person (I purchased 6 yds.  My SIL is taller than I am so I wanted to make sure it fit her well.  Turns out there was plenty for her as well. I could have gone with 5 yds)
6 yrds--tall/larger person

The completed wrap will be your desired length by 25" wide.  Find a place (long hallway?) to lay out your fabric.  Cut one long strip that is 25" wide.  That's it.  You can get 2 wraps out of one cut of fabric.  My 6yds of knit fabric was $18 so my wrap cost me $9 total.  Pretty sure the moby wraps at Target are going for $45-$50.

Here is why I believe this wrap works so much better than a sling does:

the weight is distributed across the shoulders evenly,

the upper and lower back bears weight evenly as well.

The stretch of the fabric gives freedom of movement that the sling most definitely did NOT afford! 

I have worn Ember for 2+ hrs straight and had NO back pain! 

So tell me, were you a baby wearer?  What was your favorite mode of wearing? 

Please disregard the extra poundage ooching out in various areas.  We've got a little ways to go yet!

Carseat Tent: Tutorial

First of all, this tutorial is not laden with photos of the process.  If you have basic sewing skills, this tute should be clearly understood.  I am also happy to answer any questions you may have!

One of my Baby Bucket List items was a carseat tent.  Our carseat canopy is gone.  Not exactly sure where it got gone to, but it's gone. :) Also, we've had some pretty windy days and those canopy's are NOT enough to keep the wind from blowing on a newborn.  So, after taking a couple trips out with blankets that blow off the carseat, I decided I needed to get this little project completed!  Here is what you'll need.

Materials:

1 1/4 yrd print fabric

1 yrd fleece or flannel

scrap of heavyweight fusible interfacing

thread

velcro

When I purchased my fabric, I asked them to cut the printed fabric into two cuts: 1/4yd and 1 yard.  Be sure to wash and dry your fabric first!  I use the demensions of a yard of 44" fabric which is 44"x36".  Straighten up your edges.  If you lose a couple inches, it's not a big deal. 

Cut two straps measuring 4"x7" from the printed fabric and interfacing. 

Let's get those straps done!  Iron the interfacing to the wrong side of each strap.  Fold in half length wise with wrong sides together.  Sew around the three open edges making sure to leave a 2" hole for turning.  Press flat and top stitch all the way around each strap.  Set aside.

Let's make the tent portion of this next.  With right sides together, pin all the way around the square yd pieces of fabric.  Sew all the way around the four sides leaving a 4" hole for turning.  Clip the four corners to cut down on fabric bulk.  Turn right side out.  Iron and press the edges.  Pin the 4" hole closed by folding the fabric edges inward and pinning.  Topstitch all the way around making sure to catch the 4" hole.

To make sure your fabric pieces don't move and bunch up, I sewed/quilted 2 lines diagnally from corner to corner. 

ALERT!!

Cute baby feet :)

and the baby those feet are attached to.

I used velcro to close the straps around the handle.  You could just as easily use snaps but I hate fiddling with the snap setter so I use velcro whenever I can!  Sew the rough side of the velcro to one end of the strap.  Flip strap over and sew the soft side to the other end.  Repeat for second strap.

Drape the tent portion over the carseat with the handle UP.  Pin those straps where you want them.  Remember, the straps attach from underneath the handle, so be sure you are pinning on TOP of the tent potion, not underneath.  I attach the straps with a rectangle and X shape for security.  Backstitch at the ends for security. 

Here is the beauty of this product: by completely draping it over the carseat, you completely keep out all sunlight and wind.  I LOVE this!  Our van does not have tinted windows so sometimes I'm reaching back to cover her up to keep the sun out of her eyes.  For those hot, stifling days of summer, simply pull the front portion of the tent over the handle.  It creates a canopy still keeping out the sun but allowing for some breeze to reach baby. 

I made one of these for a friend a couple years ago and she seemed to get some great use out of it.  I personally think this is better than the canopy's that come with the carseats.  Just sayin'.

Questions?  Let me know!  I'm happy to help. 

I really think this would make a great baby shower gift.  Pair it with a Duo Pocket Changing Pad Clutch and there you go!