Travel

Travel Toys for Kids

March 18, 2013 By Virginia 8 Comments

If you’ve got a family car trip coming up, you’re probably trying to think of ways to keep the kids occupied in the back. Whether you’ve got one child or six, there are ways to keep long journeys stress-free, and they don’t have to involve plonking them in front of an in-car DVD! In this article, our motoring expert friends, PassSmart, take a look some of the best kids’ car toys on the market, to help make your journey a little easier!

The littlest ones

There are a variety of in-car travel related toys on the market for babies. Cuddly toys which hang from their car seat, for example, will help keep them occupied for a while. You can also buy them their very own steering wheel so they can drive along beside you too. Simply attach it to the back of the rear seat and they can drive around until their heart’s content. Many wheels come with sound effects too, so it will appeal to all of the senses!

For the older ones

When it comes to toddlers and older kids, keeping them entertained can be more tricky. You’ll need to keep their brains active in order to prevent them from getting restless and grumpy, and there are plenty of products out there to make keeping them busy easier.

Doodle

Fisher Price’s Magna Doodle allows the kids to draw whatever they want, without the threat of getting pen on the seats! The Magna Doodle comes in the perfect size for travel, so it’s easy to get out and put away for car journeys.

Travel books

There’s also lots of great activity books for kids available, and – from word searches to puzzles – there’s something every little one will love. Activity books cater to different age groups so you can buy one for every child; no matter how big or small! Whether they’re into coloring, word games or dot to dot, a quick search online will help you find the perfect book for them.

Music!

We know you probably won’t all agree on music, so why not get them each their own portable CD player or MP3 which they can play their favorite songs on. Not only will this keep everyone quiet, but you won’t have to listen to the kids squabbling over music choices either!

Pillow pets

Pillow pets are great if you’ve got a child who loves to sleep, but won’t take a nap unless there’s a cuddly toy on hand! Pillow pets are great for long car journeys as the kids can get comfy in the back for a nap, and have a cuddly toy to play with when they’re awake!

Kids’ snack & play travel tray

A guide to kids’ travel toys wouldn’t be complete without the kids’ snack & play travel tray! This multi-functional lap tray is perfect for eating and playing in the car, and with its high sides, stops anything from rolling off when you’re on the move! Of course, it’s wipe clean, so you don’t need to worry about scrubbing it clean when you get there either!

This content was provided by Isabelle from PassSmart.com; the company who helps learner drivers to get on the road.

Filed Under: Family, Toys, Travel Tagged With: kidfriendly, Kids, Toys, travel, traveltips

Posts May Contain Compensated or Affiliate Links All Opinions are My Own

Go-Go Blanket Review

March 2, 2013 By Virginia 8 Comments

One of the things that I really despise about cold weather is the battle between carseat straps and coats. Go-Go Blanket I want my kids to be warm when we travel in the van, but even more so, I want them to be safe. We all know that there isn’t supposed to be more than a fingerbreadth between the seatbelt and the child. Add a puffy coat to said child, and you’ve potentially rendered the seatbelt ineffective.

I recently discovered the Go-Go Blanket, which looks like the perfect travel blanket for infants and toddlers.

The Go-Go Blanket was designed by a Grandma when her daughter strapped her grandchildren into their carseats on a cold winter night in nothing but their jammies. Where were their coats, she thought? Her daughter explained that federal guidelines for car seat safety indicate that the straps should be no more than one finger’s width away from the baby. That being the case, she said, there isn’t room for bulky winter outerwear, and blankets just slide right off and onto the floor. Of course, Grandma understood the safety concern, but she also didn’t like the idea of her wee ones going without at least a blanket. The following morning, she conceived the idea for the Go-Go Blanket. The Go-Go Blanket is now a patented carseat blanket that is made in the USA, and is designed to be worn by infants and toddlers while in their carseats.

The Go-Go Blanket is fleece, and is designed to be put on after your little one (infants and toddlers up to size 5) is safely strapped into their car seat or stroller. Your child’s arms are still free, so they can play with their toys, reach their pacifier, or whatever. And because it is put on after your child is safely strapped in, you can rest assured that the seatbelt is snug.

We received a Go-Go Blanket for review, in the cupcake design, to use with the new baby. Since she hasn’t made her appearance yet, I decided to try it on Sister, who is between a 4T and 5 in sizes. It fit her well, and she was able to play with her giraffe while wearing it.

I washed the Go-Go Blanket and it held up well with the wash. I didn’t notice any fraying of seems or pilling of the fabric, which is good.

The Go-Go Blanket retails for $24.95, which is a small price to pay for peace of mind. Learn more by liking Go-Go Blanket on Facebook and following Go-Go Blanket on Twitter.

Go-Go Blanket graciously provided a Go-Go Blanket for me for the Baby Shower Gift Guide and has offered to supply one Go-Go Blanket for giveaway (US & Canada) in the upcoming Baby Shower Bonanza Giveaway, so keep your eyes open for it!

Baby Shower Bonanza

Filed Under: Baby, Gift Ideas, Parenting, Travel Tagged With: blanket, carseat, giftideas, gogoblanket, Safety, stroller

Posts May Contain Compensated or Affiliate Links All Opinions are My Own

Hand Statue at Homitgot Park in Daegu South Korea

November 10, 2012 By Virginia 1 Comment

Hubs has to travel internationally for work at times. He sent me this picture of him with his team from work at the Hand Statue at Homitgot Park in Daegu, South Korea.

This is the only photo he has sent so far, but I think it’s a cool one! Hubs is in the red shirt with green jacket. It would have been funny if they had made it look like one of them was flicking one of the birds off of the fingertips, like they were flicking a boogie or something. I’ve a feeling these guys are a little more serious than that, though.

Filed Under: Photo, Travel Tagged With: hand statue, homitgot Park, korea, travel

Posts May Contain Compensated or Affiliate Links All Opinions are My Own

Grafton Rendezvous

October 21, 2012 By Virginia 1 Comment

I mentioned that we made an impromptu stop at a “Rendezvous by the River,” in Grafton, Illinois, this past weekend. We stopped because we could see teepee’s by the river, and wanted to know what was going on. Yah, we’re nosy, eh hem curious, like that. teepee by Mississippi

When we pulled up, I asked an older gentleman (who happened to be digging in the back of his truck) if he could tell us what was going on. He responded, “Yes, I can” and smiled. Insert awkward pause here, as I realize 1) my grammatical blunder, 2) that he is either an English teacher or loves to correct people, and 3) that I will have to correct myself in front of my children if I want any details. LOL.

I quickly recovered and rephrased my question correctly and he graciously obliged by explaining that the rendezvous is a gathering of people interested in reliving the history of the fur trade era. He further explained that different rendezvous vary in their degree of authenticity (i.e. not allowing things that wouldn’t have been present in that time period). The Grafton Rendezvous has a more relaxed dress code than some, and also allows for demonstrations and such.

Grafton Rendezvous

Mister and Sister thought the teepees were pretty cool, and were excited to take a peek inside.

teepee

We were actually given permission, by the owner, to enter this particular teepee but there was another little guy in there and his sibling was having a wee bit of trouble coaxing him out. I could see that scenario replayed with my own two, so we chose to pass on the invitation.

It was so fun watching my children observe a page from the history book. metal worker and bellows

They especially enjoyed the iron works display.

The Grafton Rendezvous is an annual event, and would make a great family tradition.

Filed Under: Family, Homeschool, Photo, Places to Go Tagged With: Family, History, photo, reenactment, rendezvous

Posts May Contain Compensated or Affiliate Links All Opinions are My Own

Top Ten | Vacation Bucket List

July 21, 2012 By Virginia 11 Comments

I have a general bucket list, as most people do, that lists things that I would like to do at some point in my life. Things like skydiving, snorkeling, and running a half marathon. I’d aim for a full marathon, but like to do things incrementally. First a 5K, then a half marathon, then a marathon.

With our recent family vacation, which I have to finish telling you about, I started thinking about my vacation bucket list. You know, all the places I want to GO and SEE. The trick to being able to visit them all will be planning affordable family vacations. My husband is a real budget guru, so I’ve no doubt that I will get to most, if not all, of them.

My vacation bucket list top ten are:

Fall Foliage Tour of the Northeast coast (think Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine)- I have heard that the colors are glorious, and I could think of no better way to tour the Northeast coast than visiting a bunch of B&B’s along the way.
London- I have always wanted to visit London Hospital. Strange, I know.
Mississippi Gulf Coast- I want to take the kids to the INFINITY Science Center at NASA Stennis Space Center. I think they (and I) would get a real kick out of it.
Yellowstone National Park- of course I want to see Old Faithful.
Las Vegas- but not for the reasons most people visit. I want to visit The Church at South Las Vegas. Of course, we’d do a helicopter tour of the Hoover Dam, as well.
Grand Canyon National Park- I want to visit both the North Rim and the South Rim.
Rocky Mountain National Park- I want to see the great Continental Divide.
Cruise- I don’t care where, just put me on the boat!
Santee, California- I want to take the kids to the Creation and Earth History Museum. Of course, we would visit the Santee Boulders and Santee Lakes while there.
Meramec Caverns in Stanton Missouri- because they’ve been in my backyard all of my life, and I have never been.

There are many more places on my bucket list. In all honesty, I don’t really care which ones we go to, as long as we can go as a family!

family vacation