If you have ever had to bring your children with you through a busy airport such as Miami International Airport or London Heathrow you know how hectic and hair-raising it can be.  Multiply that be 100 and you know the feeling of taking your children through some of the third-world airports missionary families encounter on a regular basis.

Now imagine being in line for the security checkpoint with all your kids, your carry-on items and travel gear.   You definitely want to keep your children close, but sometimes when you use a traditional child leash or harness your child will realize they are being tied up or involuntarily restricted.  Does it help to have them sit down in the middle of the causeway and start bawling their eyes out since this restriction makes them feel like they are being punished when they haven’t done anything wrong?

Keeping children close with Gripsterz child harness alternative during international travel

Gripsterz Stay Along, which is comprised of a walking rope and voluntary character handle, helps alleviate that stress.  Children hold on to the handle because they like the monkey character, and they do not get upset since they are not being involuntarily restricted.

Gripsterz also gives children a feeling of security and ‘connectedness’.   They don’t have to cling to Mom’s leg because they are in a strange new environment.  Decreasing stress and anxiety for kids helps decrease stress for parents.

While there is no silver bullet for all people in all situations, we have used Gripsterz as an alternative to a child leash extensively during international travel and have found it works wonderfully for our family.

When the weather is cold or wet or both, there are still plenty of fun things to do with children.  Here’s a list of some of our favorites.

1) Family reading:  we love to read.  Frog and Toad books are perennial favorites of the children (and myself).  We read these to each other a lot.  When two little ones get into a fight, I put them on the couch next to each other and have them read Frog and Toad to each other.  You can also do quiet family reading time, Bible reading, or “Daddy reading”–I like to read a chapter of the Hobbit or Lord of the Rings, time permitting, each day.  J.R.R. Tolkien has such an incredible writing style, the tales are entertaining and adventurous, and he paints a setting like none other I have known.

2) Board games.  I have always loved board games, and I think the children take after me in this respect.  Board games are perfect training tools for how to deal with winning and losing in life, as well as being good sports, and learning to take calculated risks and not be afraid.  Whether you win or lose in board games a few things always hold when you are through:  1) you are still alive, 2) Mom and Dad still love you, 3) God still loves you.   Never forget that.

3)  Baking and making.  Whether it is simple dinner rolls, pancakes, or desserts, it is always fun to do some baking on a rainy day.

4) Clean up.  House chores can be fun with the right attitude, especially if everyone chips in and helps out.  Many hands make light work.  We like to put on some groovy tunes to keep the mood and motion peppy.

5) Help Mom with laundry.  Folding is a good thing for children (and Dads) to learn.  Doing it together makes it fun.

6) Story telling.  Children have the best imaginations and come up with the funniest things.  With all the reading we do, they also learn to create settings and give characters “voice”.

7) Making juice drinks or smoothies.  Frozen berries with yogurt become an easy treat and are fun to make on a rainy day.  If it is cold, warm it up and make hot cocoa or spiced cider instead!

8) Spa treatment for Mom.  This is one of the favorite things the little ones love to do!  A towel on the couch a few helpful children and a little lotion and Mommy gets one great foot and leg rub!  Throw in a hairbrush and an aspiring salon artist and Mommy gets a scalp massage and new hairdo at the same time!

9) If all else fails, wrestling always works.  Note:  for aging Dads and adolescent/preteen children–approach this with caution!  Once the youngsters reach 2/3 of your body weight it might be time to throw in the towel!  But while they are still small I like to cover the room with pillows, get on my knees, and play “Daddy takes on all comers”.  The couches are ‘safe zones’ for the kiddies, they can’t wrestle each other, and Daddy can call a time out when needed.

Here is a snapshot of the rankings this morning (Feb 2, 2013):

Everyday Elegance Chair Covers top Amazon 2-2-13

Congratulations to Robyn and the team at ViveVita!

Some ideas for activities for children if you have a brief warm spell include:

1) Going for walks!  This is my favorite.  Our street is a mile long and we have a great sidewalk to keep it safe.  The walk is pleasant and trees over-arch the street from both sides making nice shade, even for the hot sunny days.  The tree canopy is high enough to allow breezes so it always feels just about perfect.

2) Grilling dinner.  We give the children (or teams of two or three) each a different focus.  The oldest is now 13, so grilling is on the menu for any teenager!  This is a pastime I love to share.

3) Washing the cars.  Our conversion van is nearly 9′ high, so it does not fit in most automated car washes.  But it is great fun for the kids and helps us all learn responsibility and how to take care of things God has given us.

4) Pets.  For us pets now means chickens.  We are learning all about egg-layers and how to feed and care for them.  Warm weather is a great time to do this.

Muddy girl with bike

5) Gardening.  Even in the ‘winter’ (it does not typically get down to freezing much here in Charlotte so things stay pretty green) we can do some weeding and prepping for spring as well as picking up sticks off the lawn.

Girl in Garden with Banana Tree

6) Sports.  Although I currently have a broken toe and am sidelined until it heals, we normally like to kick around a soccer ball or ride bikes.

7) Fire pit.  If it is dry enough and we can get chores done early enough and plan ahead, it is always fun to roast some marshmallows over the fire pit.

Girl with multiple hula hoops

Girl with many hulahoops

8)  Go to the park.  Frisbee, hoola-hoops, festivals, carnivals, outdoor concerts or just plain playing in the sand.

9)  Just plain old hanging around and chillin’.  Nothing is better than crashing out after a hard day at play!

Little boy crashed out sleeping

Here are some tips on getting organized and keeping stuff from taking over the house:

1) Ikea lockers:  we bought a dual-locker/drawer combination a couple years ago at Ikea or Pottery Barn Outlet or somewhere like that.  It is about 6′ tall, has two head-height shelves, under which are quad-hanging hooks on each side and a ‘locker space’.  Then under that the locker comes out about 10 or 12″ into a perfect-height seating area for children, and a foot-locker drawer beneath.  In the warm weather we keep soccer and swimming gear in here, and in the winter we keep boots, mittens, scarves and other various implements of destruction.

2) Stack-able plastic drawer-bins:  Robyn has used these for years for the smaller children’s mini-dressers in the laundry room, rather than truck laundry up and down the stairs (since the little guys get dressed in the laundry next to the kitchen anyway).  She found a pair of three-drawer sets that fit perfectly into the locker-space of the above Ikea lockers to help further organize gear.    We also use a larger and deeper one in a nearby closet to keep shoes (mostly) out of sight when not in use.

Shoe Closet Storage bins

Behind door pocket array

3) Behind-the door pocket hanger:  Robyn found a great way to keep ‘formal dress’ such as belts, church shoes, etc. organized and easy to find during the Sunday-morning scramble.  This array of pockets hangs on the back of the door to the laundry room and is an invaluable asset for getting ready and finding things easily.  She also has one hanging in the laundry area for easy access and storage for socks and tights for little ones, as well as those poor unpaired socks the laundry monster tends to create.

4) Hanging hooks and ‘storage steps’ in the garage:  since a lot of our entry and egress from the house is through the garage, we put rows of hangers along the stairway.  But as our family grows, we have been outgrowing our hanger space, and it wraps around the wall into the front of the car bay.  Since this is also a place where random stuff tends to get piled, and then the little guys can’t reach their coats, I took some pressure treated wood left over from another project and built an elongated three-step ‘storage-bench’.  This serves a few purposes:

• the steps are hinged so sports equipment can be easily stored and accessed in the space under the steps during off-season;
• mudboots are stored on top of the steps to keep the mess outside of the house;
• the children can still climb the steps (when they are not a complete mess) to reach the jackets on hangers above.

Flip-top Garage Storage Steps

Many thanks to Robyn for the brains and inspiration to help us get dressed and get to places.  If it were solely up to me, I am afraid we’d never get out of jammies.

At this point we are not certain if she is the only local business owner being featured, and if all or a portion of her interview will be published.  I personally think her responses were very insightful, and I hope they publish the whole account.

Her interview was published on Wednesday, January 23, 2013.

Robyn Pellei

Robyn and children in the ViveVita office

If the spirit of ‘redo’ has hit and you would like to see a change in your dining room or kitchen, Everyday Elegance chair covers can help.

Everyday Elegance Dining Chair Covers – Time for Change

You can easily change the look of your kitchen or cover the stained chairs you have – giving them a nice, clean new look.

Everyday Elegance Chair Covers – Cover old dining chairs

Everyday Elegance Chair Covers: Before-After

It’s that simple – imagine what your kitchen or dining area would look like if your chairs were covered in a different color. How fun is that?

You can change your look for the holidays or parties or everyday – all the while protecting your chairs at the same time.
Everyday Elegance Chair Covers – elegant enough to create a whole new look, savvy enough to protect the look.
Definitely worth the investment.
Go ahead, go for the change! Your kitchen or dining room will thank you!

1.) Keep your computer keyboard and mouse, and your telephone clean with a sanitizing wipe.  If more than one person uses your computer or telephone this presents a high risk for picking up germs.  Also use sanitizing wipes to clean your doorknob, the arms of your chair, and anywhere else where other people might regularly place their hands and transfer germs.

2.) Clearly label your drinking cups and utensils.  Write your name on Styrofoam coffee cups.  Try using Bandette cup labels as a transferable means to label your cups and drinking bottles.

Bandette Zoo Animal Cup and Bottle Labels

3.) At home, label your toothbrush and those of your children.  It is hard enough to keep track of your own toothbrush, not to mention those of your children.  Toothband toothbrush labels helps keep them sorted out, even when you change to a new toothbrush.

Label Itz ToothBand Toothbrush Labels

The primary things that sick kids need are fluids and rest.  When kids are really sick, the rest comes easy and it is hard to push fluids.  When kids are a little sick, the fluids are somewhat easier and the rest is hard to push.

Here are nine great tips to make taking care of sick little ones easier and more enjoyable for everyone involved.

1. Make a portable SICK BED that is close to Mommy or any caretaker – kitchen floor, laundry room, or wherever Mommy is for that time.  A sick bed is easily made with blankets and pillows.  Keeping them close makes them less likely to get up and come looking for you!

Portable Sick Bed for child

2. Put together a SICK BASKET of your little one’s favorite things – books, toys, blankets, etc.

Sick Basket for child

3. Have a TASTE TESTING!  Offer lots of different fluids for taste testing.  Give small amounts frequently to encourage fluids.  This can also help with getting your child to take medicine, add the medicine as one of the flavors to test.

Taste Test – Encourage fluids for sick children

4. Offer FUN WAYS TO DRINK.  Kids love fun and different stuff.  Offer their drink in different types of cups or containers – small to large.  Use straws, bottles, or even medicine dispensers.  Popsicles are always a fun way to push fluids.

Fun ways to drink – encourage fluids for sick children

5. Put a small PLUSH TOY (especially the beany type) in the FREEZER and use it for a fever reducer.  You can wet the toy with cold water if it doesn’t hold the cold from the freezer very well (they do dry!).  Put several in the freezer and let your child choose which one gets to ‘take care’ of him/her next.

Cold stuffed animal for fever reduction

6. For tummy aches: use a TUMMY WARMER.  Make a rice sock or get a reheatable plush animal for those tummy aches that you just can’t seem to do anything for.  It’s amazing how a little moist heat can help a tummy feel better.

Tummy Warmer for kids tummy aches

WarmBuddy for tummy aches

7. Get help!  Ask a sibling to be a NURSE and help take care of their sick brother or sister.  They may have lots of good ideas for entertaining or offering comfort.

Siblings help take care of sick little ones

8. Keep a BUCKET near by!  You might need it quickly for throwing up or a handy trash can for tissues and such.

Bucket for sick children

9. Set up a BEDSIDE TABLE and SICK ZONE.  Keep everything you and your sick child could need near by.  Make it special for your little one.

Bedside table for sick child

Bonus!  Go ahead and cuddle and hold them as much as you can, those opportunities don’t last forever!

But I never have been good at folding.  Towels, OK, but mildly challenged by various shapes and sizes of shirts, trousers, jumpsuits, dresses, tights and the like.  And forget about fitted sheets.

Anyway I was reflecting a bit while folding this past week and here is something I discovered:

The children usually are in such rapid and random “Brownian” motion, they never hold still long enough for me to appreciate how small and perfect they really are at this very moment.  But the laundry holds pretty still when you are folding it (if not, I can usually wrestle it down into submission pretty well), and that is the time I get to realize that they are still so small and beautiful and absolutely perfect, with a perfectly balanced Swiss-timepiece of a heart in each little chest, and moods and emotions and feelings and all those great things that make us human.

I often pray that I learn to appreciate the here and now, since I am sinfully a “destination” person rather than a “journey” person. This was a little answer to my prayer with just a brief glimpse of enjoying the ride, even while doing a chore I normally find very challenging.

Thank you, God, for giving me a snapshot of stillness to appreciate the children as they are right now.  Thank you, Robyn, for giving me the opportunity to discover this blessing.