Our Favorite Travel Toys

Hi there!  I have a few post ideas in the works after our last trip to the UAE and Germany, but haven’t had much quiet time to work on them… ahem laundry…

Anyway, you may be gearing up for some holiday travel, and packing to travel with kids can be daunting.  It’s enough to consider clothing – what will the weather be like?  How dirty will their clothes be?  Can we re-wear any pieces?  Who knows!!!  Anyway, toys are a whole other consideration, so maybe our list can help you keep the packing light, efficient, and functional 🙂

So, without further ado:

Continue reading “Our Favorite Travel Toys”

Does Your Children’s Museum Membership Include This?

 

I know I teased a little the other day on Instagram and made you wait… but now it’s here!  Enjoy!

C2 in the Light Lab – This is basically a giant Lite Brite!

Did you know that many museum memberships are part of an alliance that offer reciprocal admission to each others’ members?  I have literally been so excited about this find that it’s distracting me (not hard to distract me from laundry…dishes…more laundry…) and I just can’t wait to take advantage of this benefit.

Continue reading “Does Your Children’s Museum Membership Include This?”

Skiing with Tots

17 months old – first time on skis

Families that ski together stay together!  Does this sound familiar to you?  This is the motto in my husband’s family, where there is a 47 year tradition of skiing together every spring break.  Spouses are picked with a criteria for loving to ski; children are pretty much born with skis on their feet.  You get the idea.  Our oldest daughter logged 2 ski seasons before her 3rd birthday.  The first time she did some sliding, while holding onto my husband’s pole or skiing between his legs, was when she was 17 months old, but one purchase made the second trip (just shy of 2.5 years old) a game changer.   I thought I’d share tips (& our new gadget) from my experience:

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Water Baby – more important than you realized…

Oh my – we LOVE our swim class! I thought I’d share a bit about the benefits of early introduction to water along with a glimpse of how much fun we have!!!

 

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— Our little swimmer at 9 months old — Continue reading “Water Baby – more important than you realized…”

Travel with Toddler – plane

A lot has happened in the last few months for us in the travel world.  We’ve gone from infant seat to convertible car seat, taken our first international flight, and flown without Daddy.  Here are some tips I came up with after C and I traveled, just the two of us for the first time without Daddy, and the first turn since she could (gasp) WALK! Just when I thought we were getting the travel thing down, something major changes. Mobility changes EVERYTHING.

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— C and I with ALL of our gear.  It looks intimidating, but this is pretty good —

Here are my thoughts to share with you. Continue reading “Travel with Toddler – plane”

Machu Picchu Express – what I wish I’d known

Dates of travel: July 22-23, 2012

First of all, let me say it was worth it. My husband and I added Peru onto a trip to South America hoping to see Machu Picchu. I researched and planned our few days in Peru, although a few glitches in our plane schedule and the new way things are run for tourism to MP gave us quite the opportunity to decide whether we REALLY wanted to go or not.

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Roaring 20’s Theme Party

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Last weekend, Dave and I dressed in our 20s inspired clothes (/costumes) and headed to Dave’s work “speakeasy” party…

Putting together the outfits wasn’t difficult in theory – I knew what we needed to get, but finding it was a bit challenging! I perused vintage shops all week looking for clothing and accessories for both Dave and me.

For Dave, I found a hat at Target (of all places…after searching vintage stores for days!). He combed his hair with a side part, borrowed a gray vest from his brother, and paired it with a white collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up. I dropped the ball when I didn’t get him garters to hold his sleeves up. A pair of slim fitting black slacks and black dress shoes finished it off. Not too bad!

Finding a flapper dress was a bit more challenging. I searched through closets and attics and my parents and grandparents without luck…although I found some other fun treasures! Ultimately, I bought a black dress that was part top or short dress and part lingerie. My mother-in-law sewed some 4″ fringe around the bottom hem (purchased from JoAnn’s). My headband was made from a strap of 1-1.5″ slightly stretchy fabric sewed to fit my head – add a feather and old earring using hot glue and you have a 20s headband. Three strands of pearls with various lengths and diameters finished it off. Don’t forget to tie one in a knot! Shoes were harder to find, but a rounded toe with a high strap around the ankle would have been nice…

Props were also available at the party – hence the cigar and cigarette, along with boas, more headbands, pearls, and double mint gum 🙂

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