In getting out and about with the girls, I always have my trusty aluminum water bottle with me. I also try to remember to bring snacks with me. It helps to battle the demon of low blood-sugar crankiness WITHOUT spending oodles of money at the snack bar. It is easier to do when you keep a bunch of quick and easy snacks on hand to grab as you head out the door.

Here is a recipe for a favorite in our family...

Seasoned Oyster Crackers
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. lemon pepper
1 Tbsp dill
2 (12 oz) boxes oyster crackers

Combine all ingredients in large freezer bag. Shake well. Refrigerate overnight. Package in airtight containers and dispense into smaller sandwich bags as needed.

Simple. Tasty. Great for kicking back on a park bench and snacking on in between turns on the swings!

One of the many things I wish I were better at is keeping a journal. Throughout our house are beautiful bound books with the evidence of my good intentions: a couple of entries, a week or two absence, a few more stops and starts and, then, nothing. Two of my most treasured possessions are a "note" book that Caryn, my best-friend in high school, and I would write in and pass back and forth in between class and a gingham covered book which is the only journal that I kept for an extended period of time. The former is a silly back and forth between two teenage girls obsessed with boys and trying to wend our way through puberty. The latter details Vito and my struggle with infertiliy and subsequent pregnancy with Morgan. Paging through the two is like stepping into a time machine. I'm instantly transported back, laughing and crying as I remember the person I was back then.

Our family took a trip recently to San Franciso to attend the christening of my nephew, Sullivan. I began with the girls what I hope to be a continuing tradition... the travel diary. Armed with books, stickers, glue sticks and crayons provided by Nana, the girls and I would sit in the hotel after a day of sightseeing and discuss our adventures. Since they are still learning to write, I'd jot down a few of their quotes or a memory that I had from the day (ie "Sophie slept her way down Lombard Street" or Morgan says "I'm going to move to San Francisco when I'm in 8th grade.") Then, the girls would draw, color and decorate the pages however they felt. I highly recommend you try this with your kids next family trip as it is a great way to unwind (and keep the kids quiet) in the hotel room and will help all of your relive the fun of the vacation for years to come.

A few tips:
1. Be sure to grab brochures, business cards and area travel magazines wherever you go. They are great items to paste into the books. (And be sure to get enough for each child to have their own. You don't want any arguments over that ONE particular picture of the Golden Gate Bridge!)
2. Look for a book that is small enough to stick in a bag or purse as the travel journals are also a good pastime for antsy kids in a restaurant.
3. When you get home, print out a few pictures of your child on the trip and add them to the book.
4. Remember, there is no "right" way to make a travel journal. Try not to influence their creativity too much. If your 2 year old wants to put EVERY San Francisco sticker layered on top of each other on one page and not space them out evenly so there are enough for each page, let them! You will look at that page and chuckle once you are home.

As I've mentioned before, Vito and I are fans of the roadtrip. Prior to getting married and having children, we both worked for touring children's theatre companies where we would routinely load up the extended cargo van with sets, props and puppets, drive for hours upon end to get to the school or theater where we would be scheduled to perform, unload the van, do the show and start all over again. (Yes, I know, how on EARTH could I have left behind me the glamorous life of an actor?)
In Vito's "bachelor pad", there was a giant map of the US hanging on the wall. We would stare at it for hours, picking the places we'd like to go and plotting out the most interesting routes. When Morgan and Sophie were born, we both hoped that they would be good travelers and, for the most part, they are. (Of course, I am erasing from my memory the emergency pitstop at the side of the road in the middle of the desert when a recently potty-trained daughter-who-shall-remain-nameless simultaneously puked and peed on herself and her carseat. Mommy went through an entire pack of wipes, a roll of paper towels and two bottles of water trying to clean up the mess by herself since her other half is a "social vomiter". But I digress...)


Obviously, road-trips nowadays require more preparation than a full tank of gas and a venti coffee but they can be even more fun. One of the biggest lifesaver that I've found is the Mystery Grab Bag. For a few weeks leading up to the trip, I troll the $1 aisle at Target and visit the local Dollar Tree picking up little doodads and toys. (Be sure to stay away from the ones that make noise or you will be sorry!) I search out sales on DVDs and CDs or borrow some from the library. A few nights before the trip, I pull out all the remnant rolls of wrapping paper left over from Christmas, birthdays, weddings, etc., wrap each thing individually and divide them equally between two grab bags (one for each girl). When the day arrives and the initial thrill of the road trip has worn off, out come the grab bags. Each child gets to pull a treat from their bag and tries to guess what it could be before tearing into the paper. Crayons and a coloring book! A DVD! A princess doll! A new book! Whatever it is elicits shouts of glee before lulling them into blessed silence as they play with their new toy. Ahhhhhhhhhhh!


I find that estimating a treat per hour of driving (plus a few extras in case of emergencies) works well. Just remember to plan for the drive home as well! The grab bag can be even MORE important when the kids are over-tired, overwhelmed and everyone just wants to be home.
Have a great trip!

Travel Tip Tuesday - August 25, 2009

The bane of every potty-training parent is a public restroom with automatic flushing toilets. An extra-sensitive seeing eye and a wriggly, moving child do not work well together. A chance meeting between the two usually ends up with the flusher going off prematurely and a child refusing to sit on one of those toilets
EVER AGAIN.

Thanks to a friend of mine, I now have a solution...

Post-Its

Yes, those little yellow (pink/blue/purple) sticky sheets of paper can be the solution to your child's potty problems!

Whenever we spy one of those ubiquitous sensors on the back of a toilet, I pull my handy dandy Post-It pad out of the diaper bag and, with Morgan shouting "No Peeking!", we cover the toilet's eye and are able to potty in peace. Just don't forget to take the "blindfold" off when you are done!

So, tell me, what are your favorite uses for Post-it notes? Love notes in in your child's lunchbox? Reminders for your honey on the bathroom mirror? Let me know in the comments!

Travel Tip Tuesday - August 18, 2009

Welcome to Travel Tip Tuesday. The first of what I hope are many fun changes in store for Mommy and Me (and Me!)

Vito and I love to travel. Love it. Sadly we are broke not independently wealthy so we don't get to do it as much as we would like. The most ambitious trip we've taken was to drive with both girls from our home in Chicago to visit Vito's parents in Arizona and we've done it TWICE. No, we're not gluttons for punishment. Prior to being married, Vito and I both toured as actors with children's theatres and developed a love for the road-trip.

When not traveling the length of Route 66, I enjoy taking the girls out and about on day trips. It is not always easy getting out of the house alone with two young kids but with a little practice and some tips garnered from other moms, I manage and enjoy it in the process.

That is where Travel Tip Tuesday fits in. Every Tuesday, I'll share with you some of the tips that I found (or have been shared with me) so that we can all get out and about and have a good time.

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This past Friday, the girls and I went to Oak Street beach with Nana. It was the practice day for the Chicago Air and Water Show so we got to watch the Thunderbirds roar overhead while enjoying some sun and sand.


Yes, sand. So much fun to build castles with. Bury our feet in. Dump on our sister's heads... Which leads us to our first Tuesday Travel Tip... How to remove that pesky sand that sticks to your body and hair. Keep a bottle of talcum powder and an inexpensive soft-bristled paint brush in your beach bag. The powder helps to break the seal between the oils on your skin and the sand and the paint brush flicks the sand off of your body.


P.S. While we were at the beach, there was a fundraiser going on for Honor Flight Chicago. Their mission "is to honor and thank veterans - especially now our WWII veterans by bringing them to Washington DC, at no cost to them, for a day of honor." It is a great idea and a great cause. Be sure to check them out!