Waiting: Keep Kids Entertained!

How many times have you had to wait for something while your kids terrorise you?  This year has really tested my ability to entertain my kids while we have to wait.  We have had numerous doctor appointments that have required us to wait for over an hour.  Going out to diner can be a challenge if your kids are board!
Here are some of my secrets to keeping my kids amused.
A backpack with many zippers and pockets can be easily transported, and can keep many items organized.
What I put in the pack depends where we are going and what we are doing. 
You can pick and choose from my list of items. 

The items you do pick should be kept only for going out or waiting.  These should not be items that your kids see everyday.  The new item will keep them more entertained!  If they see it everyday, it won't amuse them.

Basics: Needed in every pack
Pens
Pencils (sharpened)
Crayons
Scissors
Carola Markers

The List:
Coloring Books
Workbooks (Age appropriate) 
Mazes (my favorite is Kumon Workbooks http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Kumon )
Design My Ride (basic car outlines, then the child designs what the car looks like- http://www.supercoloring.com/ Select the coloring page you want.  Then click the picture again, then select "No Ad Version."  It will open up another web page.  Click the "+" to enlarge, and "Print Preview" to make sure the page is fitting correctly.  Then you are set to print.
Cranium Silly Stories ( http://www.amazon.com/Cranium-Silly-Stories-Play-Again/dp/0316012068 )
Family Flip Quiz ( http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=family+flip+quiz )
Old Magazines (I have my kids search for photos-Things that start with an A: apple,B: ball, C: car.  Then I have them cut (bring scissors) and paste the photos on a sheet of card stock.)
Best Knock Knock Book Ever ( http://www.amazon.com/Best-Knock-Knock-Book-Charles-Keller/dp/0806965134/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1292006679&sr=1-5 )
How to Draw Books
Highlights High Five Magazine (best kids magazine!  It has stories and poems and stickers, lot's of fun!) http://www.highlightshighfive.com/ 
Highlights Hidden Pictures  http://www.highlights.com/
Brain Quest: Question flip book http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=brain+quest 
Favorite Toy, or Stuffed Animal!

Batteries Included
Nintendo Ds: With a variety of games.
CD Player with head phones: I use my old portable CD player and bring CD's.
Leapfrog Leapster: With games. (My Favorite for a nice dinner with family!  They ONLY get to play it when we go out to eat!  They are not allowed to play it any other time!!!)
ipod, or ipod Shuffle: I actually don't let my kids use mine, I don't want to have to worry about them loosing them or causing damage.  The CD player has been enough for my kids.
Phone Games: Pull up a game on your phone and show them how to do it.
Digital Camera:  Take photos of them and then show them.  Have them make funny or silly faces. They can use it too, but I have found this can get  a little annoying. 
Portable DVD Player: Perfect if your child has to try to be motionless.


Over the summer we had to have our little 5 year old sit in a completely dark room for 40 minutes.  I had find things to entertain him in the dark.  Here is what I came up with.
"What is it?" Put items in a bag that have a specific feel: Legos, paper clip, marshmallow, plastic fork, little toys, playdough.  Don't use anything that you will have to wash your hands, keep it clean.
"What does it smell like?"  Put items in plastic baggies that have a specific smell: Oranges, apples, lime, lemon, garlic, vanilla drops, honey, BBQ sauce, candy.
Tell a story:  Pick a topic, and each person tell a portion of the story. 

No Bag No Worries
I SPY:  Find an object in the room and use one description word, "I spy something red."
Name Game: 1. Write out one persons name, and use word to make a sentence of each letter. 2. Reverse the your names and see what it spells.  3. Try to see how many words you can make out of the letters from your name.
Alphabet Words:  Name a word that starts with each letter of the alphabet. 
Perfect Sequence: Have the child follow your moves in sequence, keep adding a move.  Example: Touch your nose, child touches their nose. Touch nose, elbow, then the child touches nose elbow.  Touch nose, elbow, clap. Child touches their nose, elbow and then claps. (additional moves: snap fingers twice, tap knees, wink, blow a kiss, ect.)
Concentration:  Pick a topic like animal.  Go around the group naming different types of animals. When an animal is repeated the games starts over.
Picture Words: Draw the word into a picture.  Example: Draw a bow, with the "W" drawn as a bow.
What's Red:  Make a list of everything that you can think of that is red.  Change the color and make a new game.
Say it again: Each person make up a simple sentence.  Have each player read their sentence aloud in the following ways: 1. As if they were out of breath.  2. Didn't understand.  3. It was really funny.  4. Frightened. 5. Sad. 
Telegram Fun: Create an abbreviated telegram by giving initial letters only.  Each person make what they think it says.  Example: CISITH: can make Cat Is Stuck In Tree. Help.

There are so many ways to entertain your children.  Changing up the activities every time really helps to make any event fun.

Traveling with little ones can be challenging too.  Especially when driving long distances or flying on a long flight.  Although movies are really great entertainers for kids, they will get restless if you pull them out in the first few hours.  If your flight is longer than 2 hours you will want to plan to have something else to entertain in the beginning of your flight.  The flight usually has a drink and food, and I make my kids wait at least until they are finished with their drinks and snack.  I try to start an activity first, like drawing, coloring or a maze.  Maybe another snack that I have brought with us.  Then the DVD.  The longer you can stretch the first few hours the happier you and your child will be.  When your child starts to get really restless that's when we pull out the video.  The last few hours of a flight are hard for anyone.  The video will let them and YOU relax for the final hours of the flight.

Have fun!

Deals...Deals...and MORE Deals!

There are so many sites that offer deals or coupons. You can buy a discount or coupon for pretty much anything!
They all offer great deals, with huge discounts.
Here are a few sites, just to name a few…

Media One Deals Utah
       Presented by local Utah news agencies. This is the of best!!!  Great local deals!
Citydeals
       This site offers many types of deals with different discounts.  They don't just offer one a day like the other sites.
Groupon
       Groupon is one of the best state to state sites.  I have had the best luck with them.  I bought a paragliding experience from them, and it was a great deal! Deals are located all over the United States.  If you travel, you can by deals where ever you go. I watched the California link, and bought surfing lessons for when we went to California!(we had to plan to use the coupon.)
Living Social
       This is a new site.  They don't have deals everyday. I have not bought from this site.
Deals That Matter
       This site offers deals mostly around South Jordan area.  Great deals.
Screamin Daily Deals
       Screamin Daily Deals isn't my favorite. Their customoer service is aweful!  If you sign someone up hoping you will get a referal, think again.  Unless the person buys with in 2 days of signing up, you will not get a fun $10 credit!
KSL Deals
       Local deals!  Really great site!  On this site we bought Olympic Park passes for 1/2 off.
http://www.utahsrealdeals.com/
      Channel 4 deals.  These are deals until they are gone, not just a daily thing.
My EZ Deal
       Coming soon.
How do you tell what coupons are right for you? Is it worth your time to buy it, or will it just a waste of money?
Every morning my email account is filled up with a bunch of coupon offers.  Which ones do I buy?

Here are a few questions you can ask before you click the "BUY" button.
Is the coupon in your area?
Or do you drive near that area regularly?
If the answer if "No" to both those questions, I would suggest you don't buy the coupon.
No matter what type of deal it is, if you are not driving near that location you are not going to use it. It is not worth buying it.
The only exception to that rule is if it is an internet coupon, or an activity that you or you family would love to do.
If it is a fun activity you want to do, here are some questions to ask.
When does the coupon expire?
Will you have the time or when will you do it. If yes, then make a plan, and write it on the calendar.
Another question is if you really like what you are buying? If you like yogurt, but only go once a month, then you might only want to buy one coupon for yogurt. Just because it is a deal doesn’t mean you have to buy a ton of them. I had a friend buy a laser hair removal coupon. Then when she went into the doctors her skin was too sensitive to do the laser. Now she is out the $120 for the coupon. Just be careful.

You can get some really great deals!  I love that I have been able to go and do so many fun and interesting things.  Hope these tips help you to decide which ones are best to get!

Stop the SWEAT!

In the 1980's there was a commercial that said "Never let ‘em see you sweat!" Remember that? I do, and I could never get my body to cooperate and stop sweating. Starting at my tween years, and continuing up to a few years ago I would lather myself up with that white stuff. I would buy anything that said something about “extra protection” cause I sure needed it! I did find that my body began to need more and more of it. Just a normal deodorant wouldn’t work for me, I had to have more. It got to the point that I had to get a prescription to help stop the sweating! My husband told me about the “Crystal” he used, and that it really worked great. I gave it a try, and it didn’t work at all for me, I was a sweaty mess!!! My body and sweating was getting worse and worse so I, in desperation, tried it again. I dedicated myself to using it for 6 months, and if it didn’t work then, I would stop. The first few months were really hard. I couldn’t stop my body from sweating, and I seemed to sweat more. Some of the days were so bad I had to take a shower twice just to control the sweat. Finally after about 3 months my body started to decrease. The waterfall that had seemed to run from my arm pits was finally getting under control! All those years of using antiperspirants had finally worked their way out of my body. By the time the 6 month mark hit, I was amazed at how much less I sweated. The best part about it was that I wasn’t worried about “hiding” my smell, or sweat anymore.

I still sweat, but not at all like I used to!

The Crystal has been such a huge positive change in my life.

Here are my tricks:

You HAVE to use it everyday. 

You have to wet the top to apply, use warm water not cold.

It can damage your marble countertops.  It dulls the top surface.  We haven't had a problem with cultured marble, or granite.

Don't tap it on your fauset, it is mineral based and will eventually cause hard water deposits on that area.

If you miss or forget to put it on you will KNOW it!

If you get stinky, you have to wash your armpits, not just re-apply.
The product works by stopping the bacteria growth.  If you start to smell, bacteria is already growing and they don't just die with a reapplicaion.

I have found I need to cover all the skin around my armpit, LET IT SIT for a moment. You don't have to let it completely dry, just soak in for a minute.

If you wipe it off by putting a shirt on, you will find it won’t work as well.

Don't drop it, it will break.  Then it can scratch and burn as you put it on. (no fun!)

I don't like the "Spray Crystal."  It's cold, and didn't seem to work as well.

Dedicate yourself to the product, don't jump between different things. 
If you give it a try just remember you have years of antiperspirants that will want to make you sweat, keep on trying!

(PS This also works on my boys smelly feet!!!  I use one for body and one for my boys feet. YAY!)

Hope it works for you!!!

Sharpie Baby!!!

The scenario: Your child has a fever. You grab the bottle of Ibuprofen and open it. Then you realize you don’t remember the dose, and you tip the bottle to check the dosage. The Ibuprofen spills onto the counter top and floor. You then check the bottle, looking closely at the small print for the dose. Find it, give it, and then clean up.

There is a better way!

Write with a sharpie pen your children’s name/s on the bottle. You can also just use the first initial of each child. Then put the exact dosage that the child should receive, and I always put how often you can give it also.
Example:

R= ½ t 6-8 hrs E= 1t
I also mark my children’s prescription bottles with their names and amounts.
This makes it so much easier to know the exact dose and be able to do it quickly.
Also I like to make sure the times that medication is given on our calendar. That way everyone is on the same time line, and there is less chance of a double dose.

Example:
E= Ace- 8:30 AM
E= Ibu- 11 AM
Use abbreviations for medications: Ace for Acetaminophen, Ibu for Ibuprofen, anti for antibiotic, A for antihistamine. Whatever you choose will be great! Just makes it easier to use abbreviations.
I used this system when our whole family got strep last year. It helped me to keep track of who needed what and when. We were able the finish the whole 10 days of treatment with out missing a dose! I also put helpful sticky notes on tables and mirrors so I knew when the next dose would be. 

I came up with this idea when my oldest had surgery as a baby. Not only did he need an antibiotic they also had him on two separate doses of pain killers. It was crazy trying to juggle the medications he had to take. Using this helped me keep track.

Hope you find it helpful!

Save Your Chicken!

I've killed many a chicken tender by cooking it too long.  Over cooked chicken isn't something I am proud of, but has happened often at our dinner table.   Making sure the chicken is fully cooked has been my goal, but the result has been chewy unpalatable chicken.  For my birthday my sister bought me a meat thermometer.  It has SAVED my chicken!  The thermometer is called “Thermoworks Super Fast Digital Thermometer.”  This thing is the BEST!  This thermometer takes the temperature ever 3 seconds, and show the reading immediately.   No more waiting for the metal core of the BIG BULKY meat thermometers to warm up.  This one is so quick!  You will be amazed, and your chicken will be tender and YUMMY!  Everyone will be asking for second helpings!

http://www.amazon.com/Thermapen-Instant-Read-Thermometer-RED/dp/B000RPR9LQ

Snowbird Tram Ride

It's that time again to take a trip up Little Cottonwood Canyon and ride the tram at Snowbird.  This weekend and next is customer appreciation days.  Bring a can for the Utah Food Bank or pay $2 and get a ride up the Snowbird tram!  You can ride the tram to the top between 11am-5pm.  This is something our family does every year, and we love it.
Bring your can of food to the tram ticket window and get your passes.  Some years it has been busy, and other times there is hardly anyone there.   You will want to bring jackets and warm clothing because it will be windy and very likly cold at the top.   The ride up is so fun for kids.  If your kids have a tendencly to get motion sick, you might want to stand by a window in the direction you will be traveling.  The tram lifts over the supporting poles and may make the kids a little motion sick.  The ride is a great way to see all the fall leaves, and get the chance to see the top of the canyon.  There honestly isn't much to see once you get up to the top it is pretty desolate and windy.   Once you get to the top you can walk to the base, or ride the tram back down.

Here is a link to the days of the customer appreciation:

http://www.snowbird.com/events/summer/customerappreciation.html

Stay Put Sheet Design!

Many mornings my kids beds look like they slept in a tornado.  The sheets are swirled around in a huge twist and completely untucked from the bottom of the bed.  The morning re-making of beds, by retucking and repositoning sheets has been frustrating.  Asking the kids to make their beds was pretty much impossible. They are still a little to young to understand how to tuck in the bottom of the top sheet. 

A few months ago I started thinking of how I could make it easy to keep my boys sheets tucked in.  Something that would work even with their all night pulling and tugging.  My first attempt was with store bought corner sheet elastic snaps.  They didn't work! Not even for one night, and were a pain to put back on when they came off.   Several evenings I worked on designs, ways to place elastic, extra fabric, or velcro to hold those sheets in place.   There were 5 attempts at making my kids sheets stay in place!  None worked until..... NOW!!!!!!

I figured it out with my "Stay Put Sheet Design!"   It is SO EASY, it is just sewing a small pocket in the bottom of the sheets!

A design that finally works!!!  Not only does it work, it is so super easy to make and so simple and easy to use!

Asking my kids to make their bed is now a dream!  The bottoms of my boys sheets stay tucked in, which makes it easy for them to make their own beds.

So here is the trick.

The idea is simple.   Without adding extra material, you are simply sewing a pocket at the bottom of the top sheet.  The pocket hooks over the bottom/foot end of the mattress.
To do this, place the top sheet on bed and set the upper edge of the sheet about 3 to 4  inches down from the top of the bed.  At the lenght you would put it if you were making the bed.

With the sheet sitting with the top exactly where you would want it,  go to the bottom of the mattress.  The top sheet will fall down the thickness of the mattress, this is the part you usually tuck under the foot end of the mattress.   Mark on the sheet where it hits 1/2 way down on the thickness of the mattress.   I like to use a safty pin, but you can use a marker or what ever you like.  This is the point you are going to fold over and start sewing from, and make a small pocket for your mattress to sit in.   The part you are marking is the bottom of the pocket. 

I  used a safty pin to mark the "fold over" point.  Whatever this distance is, make a mark on the other side of the foot side of the sheet.  The points you are marking are where you will fold over the material. You want them to be the exact same length at the foot of the sheet.  Fold over the sheet at the point marked.  Sew a straight stich from the mark point up to the top of the folder over point. Do this along the left and then on right side of the sheet, creating a pocket.

 I like to have the print inside the sheets when I make the beds, so I put my print on the outside as I am sewing.  After sewing, you turn the sheet back right side out.  As you make the bed, the sewing cannot be seen as it is hidden inside the sheet pocket. 

Here you can see the sheet is sewn together just on the edges.  For a twin sheet you will sew about 14 inches or so on each side.  After you have sewn both sides, turn it inside out.  You should have a nice little pocket on the foot end of your sheet.

Now that the sheet is sewn together on both sides making a pocket, you simply make the bed as usual.  The bottom of your sheet has a nice little pocket to snug around the bottom of the mattress.
With this design my kids sheets will not come untucked from the bottom!  It is easy to make and unmake the bed with out velcro, or extra fabric
YEA!
PS I HAVE NOT USED THIS DESIGN FOR ANY LARGER SIZE MATTRESS.  YOU WILL NEED ENOUGH FABRIC TO TUCK IT UNDER THE MATTRESS.
Hope you like it as much as I do!!!