Moms Minivan Blog

Classic Bingo for Travel

2008-10-10T10:19:00.000-04:00

Product Recommendation from Road Trip Mom! -- Travel Bingo Shutter Card Game Set

This is not the old favorite "Auto Bingo", but it does have the nifty sliding windows that kids love. It's regular B-I-N-G-O, where the caller picks a random number from the bin and calls it out like "B-15"! Then everyone marks their cards. This one can be played over and over again since your numbers are marked by sliding the windows. A pluck of the finger marks your number!

I have found that kids will play this game much longer than the other auto bingo which is more like a scavenger hunt looking for items out side the car. Older kids especially appreciate this one. And if you offer up a prize for the winner (think lollipops, or Tootsie Rolls), you can guarantee to hold their interest for quite a while, though several games. Keep playing until everyone wins. Even the driver can "play" by having someone else in the car play the card for you!

This set has 6 cards in it, and is completely self contained. No loose pieces and no markers needed. Great for the car or a plane. A definite winner in my book. Get it here.

Elect MomsMinivan!

2008-10-03T11:04:00.003-04:00

There's an effort to elect an unknown random person as President... and it's someone we know! Watch this online video about the surprising new nominee.

Ha ha! I kill me!

Seriously, please post my website on your facebook page, myspace, and share with your friends. I need all the help I can get! Thanks readers!

Meanwhile, my favorite time of year is approaching. I really recommend these of mine if you're starting to look for free Halloween Costume Ideas or even Mardi Gras costumes.

Sale on Travel Gear for Kids!

2008-09-26T01:00:00.003-04:00

One of my favorite online stores is having a sale this weekend! Starting Friday, Sept 26th - 28th, customers can save 15% on every item in Family Travel Gear store.

Just use the coupon code: FallTravel08 at the checkout.

NC Senior Games

2008-09-21T12:55:00.000-04:00

We may have a road trip to Raleigh, NC in our future. It seems that my father is going to compete in the state finals for the North Carolina Senior Games! He's a tennis player, and he will compete in singles and double.

My dad has been a tennis player most of his life and still plays regularly. The kids are so excited to know that their grandpa is still swinging with the best of them. He's competing in the 70-74 age category. Go get 'em, Ace!

Talk Like a Pirate Day

2008-09-15T08:52:00.005-04:00

Shiver me timbers! September 19 is International "Talk Like a Pirate Day"! The creators of this wonderful day have their own website at TalkLikeAPirate.com. If you've been reading me blog over the last year, you already know that I highly recommend talking like pirates as a valid method for making a road trip much more enjoyable. You can do this any day of the year, not just this Friday. If you aren't familiar with these methods, then check out my pirate road trip article so you too can Make Like Roger and Have a Jolly Good Time in the Car. And fer even further inspiration, here's a video featuring the basics of the 5 A's of Pirate-speak. Now get going, ye scallywags!

DC License Plates - License Plate Game

2008-09-03T18:15:00.001-04:00

One of my readers sent me a message noting a US plate that is missing from my printable license plate game sheet. My dear reader noted that although Washington DC is not a state, that it should still be included in the list. I'm inclined to agree.

So, I have added "Washington DC" to the checklist of all the states for the license plate game! Now before I start getting bombarded by readers asking me to add Puerto Rico or the US Virgin Islands, etc. I have also added a check-box for "bonus points" for spotting a plate from a US territory or other country.

Now, Go! Play! Enjoy!

Fifteen Pounds of Coleslaw, Anyone?

2008-08-28T10:08:00.001-04:00

My daughter brought home a tiny cabbage seedling from school last year with three little leaves on it. I tend to have a bad effect on plants, especially ones in pots. And due to my natural black-thumb, I never expected it to live, which is why I allowed her to plant it in the front yard. Amazingly it lived and the rabbits didn't eat it. It grew to 15 pounds. At some point, I think we were supposed to enter it into some kind of 3rd grade contest, but it didn't start getting really large until just recently, and now summer has gone by and 4th grade has started. So we are eating it instead.

After doing some research, I found that these cabbages can get up to 40 pounds or more. Still, 15 pounds for a cabbage is pretty impressive by ordinary standards.

This giant vegetable reminded me of the titanic pumpkins that grow in Half Moon Bay, CA where they hold a pumpkin festival every year. Those are definitely something special and a really fun event for kids.

Meanwhile, as you contemplate all of these monster vegetables, we'll be busy eating an extraordinary amount of coleslaw. Cheers!

Back Seat Out-Takes

2008-08-18T22:45:00.007-04:00

Some people may have the impression that my road trips are always perfect.... that we go singing down the road in perfect harmony, never fighting, never getting bored, arriving on time and never getting lost. Sorry to burst your bubble, but I'm as normal as the rest of you.

Even my backseat looks like the floor of a teenager's bedroom at the end of a long trip. Here's a photo as proof.

I have also posted a few random crazy moments that occured in the back seat of our minivan this summer....

I overheard this conversation between my darling daughters (aka "DD"s) during a game of Battleship on the road:

DD1: Permission to speak freely, Captain?

DD2: Permission granted...

DD1: You are a dork! (laughter galore)

Overheard game of Mad Libs ...

body part: Uvula

place: Oscar's belly button! (Oscar is our dog)

noun: vomit

adjective: vomit-like

adverb: vomitly!

Vomitly? You gotta give 'em points for creativity anyway. Makes me wonder how they would do at Scrabble.

I don't sweat any of it though. Payback will come someday when they'll be driving, and I'll be in the backseat with THEIR kids, inspired to write all kinds of stories titled, "Traveling with Kids, or Why Grandma Drinks Wild Turkey".

Full circle.

TV Opp for August Vacationers

2008-08-14T11:37:00.004-04:00

Are you planning a road trip or vacation during the last week or two in August? A producer from Nickelodeon's Nick News contacted me because they are looking for families who would be willing to be filmed for a segment about kids taking family vacations going camping, visiting national parks, etc. Kids narrate the piece and would have to be between 11 and 15 years old.

Send me an email if you're interested and I'll forward it on.

On a personal note -- My kids started back to school yesterday, so our summer road trips are over for now! Bummer!

Car Sickness Blows!

2008-08-05T16:14:00.006-04:00

Allow me to introduce my champion of chunks -- my darling daughter#2 (aka Dd2). It's a little ironic that she is such a barf queen now, because as an infant, she was the LEAST vomituous (I just made up that word I think) of my three children when it came to baby barf and spit up. As she grew older she thoroughly surpassed her older siblings in the heave-ho department. Most of her barfage is due to the dreaded result of car sickness. Poor child... motion sickness bags are her mainstay.

She is our baroness of barf. The terror of the technicolor yawn. A wizard at whistling beef. A trendsetter at tossing cookies. The heralder of heaving. Sweetheart of the stomach tsunami. A goddess at shouting groceries. Yup, she's training to be a supermodel. ;-)

We have found many ways to deal with her up-chuck when it presents its self. We try to avoid it when possible using many of these useful tips and motion sickness remedies , but sometimes barf happens anyway. When it does, I am now armed with a new product called the YakPack, a vomit clean-up kit for travel.

The kit contains vomit-absorbent/odor neutralizer, a scoop and scraper for rapid pick up, antimicrobial hand wipes, heavy duty dry cloth and non-latex gloves for clean-up. It also has a plastic bag for removal and disposal, a clear zipper bag for convenient storage, and a barf bag and absorbent lap pad to protect surfaces (although it's probably too late to use these by the time you need the kit). The odor neutralizer smells really good, or at least it does now before the barf has been added.

Where has this been all my life? (all of her life, rather). It has everything needed to clean up when I'm on the road or in the air, and it fits easily into a carry-on bag or in my glove box. I'm so excited about it that I can hardly contain myself.

That's right folks, I can't wait for my kid to hurl in the car so I can try it. . . . . . Is that wrong?

Pipe Cleaner Creatures - Fun for the Road

2008-07-24T11:39:00.004-04:00

Get your kids wired on your next road trip! This activity that will keep them busy for hours.

All you need are some pipe cleaners, a nail clipper (for trimming the pipe cleaners to different lengths), and some creativity. A pencil or pen might also come in handy to create coiled sections by wrapping the pipe cleaners around it.

For more photos and ideas, check out the full article: Pipe Cleaner Crafts and Creatures

Rolling Reviews from the Backseat: Doodleballs

2008-07-20T14:48:00.001-04:00

By The Back Seat Reviewer -- Road Trip Mom's Daughter!

Step away from the Doodle Balls. You might get addicted. These tiny magnetic balls are a perfect way to keep any kid of any age busy on a long road trip. All you do is move the magnet above the Doodle Balls to drag them around and make a picture, number, or word. Doodle Balls are also a great deal for the money. They will last a long time and be loved by everyone!!!

The only thing I don’t love about Doodle Balls is that the magnet stick is very easily lost. You can use any magnet, but it is easiest with original magnet.

Any kid short, tall, big, or small would love Doodle Balls. I like them, and so does my 9-year-old sister. I’m sure you will too.

NOTE FROM ROAD TRIP MOM: This is a review by my road trip daughter! She is becoming a regular on my website with her product reviews and backseat opinions.

Where to Find Road Side Attractions

2008-07-14T15:00:00.004-04:00

My blogging pals are on Day-3 of their cross country road trip to the Blogher conference in San Francisco. They are heading across Nebraska today on their way to Denver, and it's a long dry stretch.I have been checking out roadside attractions for them to squeeze in between all their tv interviews.

Road Side America is a great web site resource to help you find something amusing along the road to make your trip more interesting. Just enter the state you'll be traveling through, and you'll get a map with all the local attractions marked on it. Yesterday I told them to watch for the giant smiley face water tower at exit 76 in Iowa. Today, the Nebraska map produced lots of options, and I managed to find an eccentric little place for them to have lunch - Ole's Steakhouse and Big Game Lounge. I am looking forward to a report. ... and a photo of my pals in front of a giant polar bear or elephant.

If you don't have internet access along your drive like they do (they are such techie goddesses), it's no problem because there is a wonderful book: New Roadside America: The Modern Traveler's Guide to the Wild and Wonderful World of America's Tourist.

I just got back from a 1200 mile road trip myself, but looking at all the fun stuff to do in other states makes me crave the road again. No worries though, I am heading out again shortly for another pirate adventure ... stay tuned...

UPDATE: They made it to the steakhouse and game lounge. Read all about it.

Road Trip Playlist

2008-07-11T11:03:00.006-04:00

Here are some suggestions for your road trip playlist! These are all "road trip" themed songs or have to do with cars or vacation. There are many suggested road trip playlists similiar to this all over the net. I made this list for my friends who are starting their Mom Road Trip to Blogher from DC to California tomorrow. Have a great trip!

California Here I Come – Pete King Chorale (OK, I know this one is cheesey, but you can't start a trip to California without it!)
Life is a Highway – Tom Cochrane & Red Rider
Peter Gunn Theme - Blues Brothers Sound Track
On The Road Again – Willie Nelson
Highway to Hell – AC/DC
Back on the Road Again – REO Speedwagon
Mustang Sally – Wilson Pickett
Born to Be Wild – Steppenwolf
Road Trippin’ – Red Hot Chili Peppers
I Would Walk 500 Miles – The Proclaimers
Slow Ride – Foghat
On The Road Again – Canned Heat
Summer of 69 – Bryan Adams
Ramblin’ Man – Allman Brothers
Truckin’ – The Grateful Dead
18 Wheels and a Dozen Roses – Kathy Mattea
Pink Cadillac – Bruce Springsteen
Slow Ride – Foghat
No Particular Place to Go – Chuck Berry
King of the Road – Roger Miller
I Can’t Drive 55 – Sammy Haggar
Running on Empty – Jackson Browne
Hit the Road Jack – Ray Charles
Drive My Car – The Beatles
Low Rider – War
East Bound and Down – The Road Hammers
Start Me Up – Rolling Stones
Mercedes Benz – Janis Joplin
Already Gone – The Eagles
Free Bird –Lynyrd Skynryd
Paradise by the Dashboard Light – Meatloaf
Me and Bobby McGee – Janis Joplin
Born to Run – Bruce Springsteen
Route 66 – Cheetah Girls or Route 66 – Rolling Stones
California Dreamin’ - The Mamas and the Papas
Take Me Home, Country Roads - John Denver
I’m Bad I’m Nationwide – ZZ Top/Dwight Yoakam
California Sun – The Ramones
Permanent Vacation – Aerosmith

Rolling Reviews - Autolite Triglo and Blink Trash Tossers

2008-07-09T08:00:00.000-04:00

Here are a couple of items I recommend that make my road trips safer and more comfortable...

Autolite Triglo - This would have been a great item to have with me on a recent road trip when I had a flat tire on the interstate in the dark. After that experience, I am making sure never to leave home without an emergency light such as this.
It serves two functions - to warn passing cars that I am pulled over, or to light up my work area to change a tire in the dark. It can't do both at the same time though, so you need to choose one or the other. It stands up on it's own and is very sturdy.

It's is not as big as warning triangles that truck drivers use for road side emergencies in their 18 wheelers, but since it's more of a compact item, it stores easily in the car at all times. I feel better having this with me, especially if I end up changing a tire alone in the dark again.

Blink Trash Tossers - This is from a line of products for moms like me who spend a huge amount of time in our vehicles, either on road trips or carpooling kids around town. There are 20 bags per pack - more than enough for several road trips. The bags can be filled up and "downloaded" when we stop to fill up, or hung on the back of the seat and used on the go.

With three kids, my child in the way-back row never had access to the trash bin before. Now he can have his own bag for the massive pile of gum wrappers that he seems to generate on long trips. These bags are also fantastic for stashing that dirty diaper that you have to carry around with you in the car until you can find a trashcan to unload it. Hmm... and I'm thinking that my perpetually car-sick child will probably get a few good uses out of these bags too.

There are a few more tips on this video Moms Get Road Ready that I found helpful. And of course, to really be road ready, make sure you hit my printable car games page for some activities for the road! Happy travels everyone.

Blogger Mom Road Trip!

2008-07-06T16:47:00.006-04:00

My blogging BFF's Devra and Aviva are taking it on the road! They are part of a cross-country Mom Road Trip for mom bloggers on their way to the BlogHer convention in San Fransciso this month! Five fabulous bloggers and several thousand miles to cover in a Chevy Tahoe Hybrid SUV with all the wireless internet and gadgets they can carry, starting July 12th.

Sounds like they'll have plenty to do to keep busy. Still, the Road Trip Mom part of me couldn't help but worry that they'll get bored eventually and start hitting each other in the back seat. I mean, seriously, road trip bingo games and Slug Bug can only amuse a blogger for so long.

So, being a concerned friend, and hoping I can be there in spirit if not in person, I sent them a copy of my personal favorite road trip amusement item: All-American Car-i-Oke.

This is way better than ordinary music. It's full participation music! It has a CD with the music, and all the lyrics in the spiral bound book. It also includes several smaller lyrics booklets - one for the back seat, the way-back seat, and another for anyone who doesn't like to share (I'm wondering which booklets Devra and Aviva are going to use!).

I bought a copy of this for my kids a few years ago. We never tire of it, and use it at least once every trip. We have the most fun with the backseat drumming, and the "make up your own Blues" song. In fact, it helped evolve a rule in our car -- No whining allowed unless you're singing the Blues!

At least two of the moms on this road trip are trained singers, so I predict good times as they hit the highway. Listen carefully if you're on the road this July -- you might just hear a group of moms roaring through the Rockies singing "Proud Mary" or "When the Saints Go Marching In" over the sound of fingers flying across their keyboards. Blogher here they come!

Update: Here are Sarah and Devra on the road playing their Carioke!

Crazy -- Are We There Yet?

2008-07-02T15:38:00.003-04:00

Recently I was trying to come up with a title for an article I was writing. The subject was one I frequently write about -- having fun while traveling with your kids. There are those people who cannot imagine "fun" being any part of traveling with children. I feel sorry for those poor souls. They don't know what they're missing. Laughter is honestly the best medicine, and most parents do expect a little reasonable chaos of some kind on these adventures. The key is to embrace it!

I bounced a few ideas off a friend, and we joked about possible titles that might catch the attention of someone who might be driving down the road to crazy. Here's a list of rejected titles:

Traveling With Children and Keeping Your Sanity
Dragging Children Through Airports and Across the Country
Family Road Trippin'
Traveling With Kids and Not Wanting to Kill Yourself
Hit the Road, Not Your Kids
Hitting the Road without Hitting Your Kids
Hitting the road, and not the bottle, .....with your family
Where are we going? Crazy, and your kids are driving.
Are We There Yet? That Depends, Are We Going Crazy?
Traveling With Children, or Why Grandma Drinks Wild Turkey
Tripping with your kids without heavy drugs
There's no crying on vacation!

In the end, an acceptable title was chosen for the piece instead. There are many moms though, my grandmother and my own mother included, who could still get some good mileage out of these rejections, at least as far as a good laugh can take them. Your mileage may vary.

Fun for the Road: Drink Cup Battleship!

2008-06-30T23:00:00.001-04:00

Here's a fast and quick easy car game for the road. It's drink cup battleship.

You can use the plastic drink lids from fast food meals for this game. Or if you're like me and you have a strict "only water in the car" rule, you can always finish your drinks in the restaurant and take only the cup lids into the car.

Your battle ship is the button you push down (ie..rootbeer, cola, diet, other). Each person takes turns guessing someone's "battleship". The last person with their "battleship" undiscovered wins. You can push the buttons back up and play again and again until you wear out your playing pieces. The game is fast and easy. Great for preschoolers and up.

This has been posted on the Big Kids Car Activities page and on it's own page for Drink Cup Battleship.

Rolling Reviews from the Backseat: Vanity PL8 Puzzles

2008-06-23T11:23:00.004-04:00

By The Back Seat Reviewer -- Road Trip Mom's Daughter!

We recently got a copy of Vanity Pl8 Puzzles. I think it is a fun and entertaining book -- on the road or off. The book is filled with over 170 vanity plate puzzles and fun facts about license plates and their history, appearances on famous people’s cars, and other odd things. It was moderately challenging and very interesting.

I had loads of fun figuring out what these license plates said. Some were harder than others, but luckily the answers are in the back.

The only problem is that some kids, like me, get carsick when they read in the car. If that is the case, you can always look for real vanity license plates and try to figure out if they have special meanings. I would definitely suggest this product as a time-passer in the car to any kid, or adult who likes solving fun puzzles.

NOTE FROM ROAD TRIP MOM: This is a review by my road trip daughter! She is hoping to be featured regularly on my website with her product reviews and backseat opinions. Please give her a warm welcome!

See me at PBS.org!

2008-06-12T21:09:00.005-04:00

PBS has always been special to me. I could not get enough of Sesame Street as a child. Grover always was and still is my favorite character of any PBS show. He was a world traveler with a can-do attitude and was never afraid to try something new, even if it didn't always work out the way he thought it would. I can see myself in him at every turn of my life. As a mom, I see the special place PBS has forged in my own children's hearts.

I am very excited to be a featured "expert" at the PBS Parents website for the next couple of weeks. I'm heading up the topic of ways to keep children happy and parents sane during the busy travel season. Please come over and join in the Q & A discussion!

update: links updated to reflect archived story

Diapers and Gas

2008-05-28T15:37:00.002-04:00

Diapers and gas! Just what every minivan-mom needs for the next fill up. Here are two sweepstakes I found that give you a chance to fill your tank and pad those bottoms.

Win Free Gas - Take a survey for a chance to win a gas card worth $1500.

Win Free Diapers for a Year - Connect with other moms at CafeMom. Join now and win a FREE* year of diapers! "For a limited of time only." (*offer good through June 15!)

Good luck. I definitely want to hear about it if any of my readers win the gas because I'll be calling you to carpool my kids around town for the rest of the summer. I'll let you enjoy diaper duty on your own.

Loser Friends

2008-05-23T20:59:00.006-04:00

My friends are losers. Yes, I am proud to admit that I am their friend. In fact, I wish I were a loser too. Actually, I may already be a loser -- and not in a good way -- just for helping them create the header image for their loser blog.

What am I talking about? .... My friends Devra and Sarah are on a mission to lose a few inches of their waistline by hiring a personal trainer together. These gals are funny enough on their own when reading along with their blogs. I'm sure their training sessions are going to be quite interesting to say the least. They'll probably burn half their total calories just from all the joking around. They will be literally laughing their asses off. Good for them. More power to them. Go Loser Moms!

Edited to add: I sent hate mail to my loser friends and it was posted. I guess I am a loser after all.

Stretch Your Road Dollar

2008-05-22T12:30:00.002-04:00

I've been groaning along with the rest of my readers over recent gas prices. But in a press release I received today, things got a little clearer. There is no need to let the pump prices become a fun-sucking black hole in your summer plans! Here is an excerpt:

Everyone seems to be complaining about the high cost of fuel causing them to cancel their summer vacation plans. Carol White, co-author of the book Living Your Road Trip Dream, says, “I don’t like the higher prices, but if you take a realistic look at it, it’s something that most of us can deal with.”

Did you cancel last year’s plans? According to AAA, gas prices have increased an average of $.56 a gallon since this time last year. Let’s go crazy and say it has been $.75 a gallon in your area. If your summer trip is 1000 miles long and your car gets an average of 23 MPG, your fuel will cost $32.60 more this year than last. One dinner at home instead of eating out before you go will save that much. Is $32 any reason to cancel your vacation?

Carol White is the co-author of the award-winning book, “Live Your Road Trip Dream” – the ultimate road trip planning guide for extended road trips.

Thanks for putting it into perspective. It may be a big increase in the price per gallon lately, but when you figure out how many gallons you are actually going to use, it's not that big an increase in your overall travel budget. Just cut back a little somewhere else to make the ends meet. If you need help doing that, then check out all the ways you can save money on the road in my article "Stretch Your Dollar on the Road."

Fun for the Road: Crazy Eights

2008-05-17T08:00:00.004-04:00

Playing cards is one of my kids' favorite things to do when we are on the road, or waiting at our airport gate for our flight to board. I've uploaded some printable instructions to MomsMinivan.com with the instructions for playing some fun easy card games when you are on the road or in airports.

So, if you've forgotten the details of how to play Old Maid or Crazy Eights, here's your chance to brush up. As a mom, the funnest part for me is watching one of my kids try to keep a "Poker face" when he/she has just drawn the Old Maid from someone's hand!

Weird Stuff is Fun

2008-05-06T15:22:00.006-04:00

I haven't lived in Kentucky very long, so when a copy of the latest in the series of "Weird" states books was offered to me, I was more than happy to accept. Weird Kentucky is a travel guide to "local legends and best kept secrets" by Jeffrey Scott Holland.

It's a beautiful hard bound book loaded with huge clear photos of all sorts of good weird stuff that we love. It's divided into topical sections rather than by city, so it is a bit different from most travel type books in that sense.

Naturally, being a Road Trip Mom, my favorite section was the road-side oddities. I have already had the pleasure of visiting one of them recently -- Dinosaur World, which was weirdly wonderful to say the least. (I'll have photos from our adventure there posted on my website soon). After reading this book, there is lots more that I am ready to go see for myself, and when the Bible putt-putt golf course opens for the summer here in my own town, I will be ready and waiting to putt through Noah's Ark and right into the New Testament. My only disappointment is that there are a few items described in the book that no longer exist (and so we can't go visit them), and not everything is open to the public either. But it's good to know that these oddities exist (or existed as the case may be).

My kids love this book too, and it will be going in the car with us on our next few trips through Kentucky until we are familiar with everything weird we can find in our newly adopted state. I definitely recommend Weird Kentucky, and would recommend the "weird" book for your own state. There may be strange and wonderful things awaiting you, but you don't even know it yet.