Unforgettable Childhood

My girls love to make Friendship Bracelets. I have tried to show them how we used to make them when I was a kid. All we used was embroidery floss and a safety pin. All of the knots were a little too hard for them and confusing so their eyes lit up when I opened this package from Growing Tree Toys for the Friends 4 Ever Bracelet Kit.

This is definitely a kit for 8 years and up. Our seven year old did make a bracelet, but hers did not turn out exactly like the picture. I am always looking for great crafts and educational toys for my girls.

The kit comes with 22 colors of floss, beads and a beading needle. We have only tried three patterns so far and once you start getting the pattern going, it is easy to build the bracelet.

Here is the description of the kit from Growing Tree Toys:
The Friends 4 Ever Bracelet Kit from Alex Toys allows kids to show the world that they are so important to each other that they share and wear their imaginative bracelet masterpieces everywhere they go! A super-stocked craft kit for best friends, the Friends 4 Ever Bracelet Kit includes 4 color-coded foam looms, which allow kids to make 2 distinct bracelet styles in 8 funky patterns; 22 colors of floss; funky beads for adding special accents; and a beading needle, making it easy for kids to create unique friendship bracelets in no time. Plus, this fabulous Friends 4 Ever Bracelet Kit is the friendship kit that features a convenient, take-me-anywhere storage suitcase with handle for on-the-go fun that friends will love. The newest and trendiest way to make bracelets, the Friends 4 Ever Bracelet Kit from Alex Toys is the ultimate jewelry kit for kids that have already decided that they are “BFF’s!” Instructions included.

If you are looking for a great birthday present for a girl or some rainy day fun, this is a great product. It will take some direction from an adult to help them get started, but the bracelets the girls made turned out really cute and way cooler than the ones I made as a kid.

There are many other great toys from Alex Toys at Growing Tree Toys. Check them out today!

Summer officially began for our household on May 21st when we left for vacation, but tomorrow we are back to reality and our summer vacation at home begins.

The summer will be filled with crafting, gardening, exploring and camping. We have a lot of fun plans to discover new things and revisit places we love.

Beginning June 3rd we will spend the summer at Unforgettable Childhood sharing great ways for your family to celebrate summer together. Join the fun!

I invited my friend Chele from The Bona Fide to guest post today. She lives in a beautiful place in North Carolina that I would love to visit someday. I asked her to share a travel article from her area. Make sure you stop by her blog and say hello!

First I want to say with 4 children ages 4, 7, 12 and 14, it is very hard to have the patience to go places like this with them. My fear of things going wrong when we visit places like this usually keeps us from not trying it. We don’t do it often enough. However it is so costly for a family of six to do things like this but this past trip was a huge success and we will be making more time to do these kinds of things with our children!

We live on the coast of Southeastern North Carolina. There are many things to do around here. However we did take a 2 hour and 15 minute trip with some folks from church to New Bern, North Carolina. We went to see the historical place called   Tryon Palace. In colonial times it was the capital of North Carolina for awhile. I’m not going to go into all of the history here but it was a beautiful town with lots of history!

On the ride up our 4 year old did take a nap which I think really helped us!! He was shockingly good all day long!

We took a look through the Palace itself… that actually took all morning. All 4 of my children were into it! All of the cool things they had back then! It sure was a history lesson for all of us! We were able to walk through the original horse stables and we got to see the separate kitchen building and how they made wool spools! It was pretty neat! My seven year old daughter said this was her favorite place because it made her feel like a princess! Ha-Ha!

Next, we went to the park by the water to eat our picnic. We brought sandwiches, chips, drinks and some cookies. They enjoyed that because this weekend actually was during a car show! So we watched the cool cars as we ate!

At this time, we saw this poor blue jay. It must have fallen from the tree it wasn’t even able to fly yet. My hubby put it in a safe place because pigeons were trying to peck at the poor thing. This was my 4 year old son’s highlight of the day. He is still talking about it days later and asking us if we think he is okay!

We went back to the palace area and went to a 30 minute show about John Lawson and his trunk of dead animal skins. I can’t say that was my highlight but my kids enjoyed being able to see a fox, skunk and so on up close!

Next, we went to the Hay house. This was the coolest thing! They were dressed in period clothes, the house was the original house from the 1800’s and we all sat in their living room just as we would today and chatted. The wife and daughter of this Hay house actually talked the way they talked back then! For example, my 4 year old son said to the lady of the house “I like dinosaurs!” And she looked at me and back at him and asked “dinosaurs?” Ha-ha! They even showed some kids games from back then and shared with my children how they were played! Everyone had a blast here!

We did much more but I could write a series. If you live in this area or ever visit, be sure to check out the Tryon Palace. Our whole family enjoyed this day trip together. We need to do things like this more often! We all should be doing this with our children, not only is it bonding time but it also is education for our children! They won’t ever forget this trip they took with their parents!

I am so excited to share this post with you today. Tracie from tsj Photography is one of my favorite bloggers. She is a seasoned traveler with kids and she is an amazing photographer. In fact, I would love to plan a big road trip with my family of five to Wisconsin just to have her take our pictures.

She is an amazing writer, too. After you check out some of her very useful travel tips and pictures, head over to her blog. She is also a mother of daughters. (She out does me with 4)

Stop by and say hello to Tracie, you will be so glad that you did.

I’m currently traveling with 3 of my 4 girls and thought it’d be the perfect time to write this guest post for Amy.

We’re in Chicago for the weekend, just an hour train ride from our home … so not a major trip, but if it involves children, packing and oodles of patience … pretty sure it means traveling with children.

I know some couples aren’t too hip on the idea of traveling with their children.  Or at the very least, think they should wait until the children are older before they begin traveling with them.

But we are definitely not one of those couples.  I think I’d be lost without our family travels and adventures!

Each of my girls have had passports from the time they were infants and the earliest flight I remember one of them taking was Wynter’s at 11 days old.

Traveling instills so many great qualities in children.  I think they learn adaptability, definitely learn other cultures, tolerance and even independence.

Because of our blended family and different opportunities that have come her way … Taylor, who’s 15, started traveling alone since she was 11.  She’s been on numerous flights herself and is no longer considered an unaccompanied minor, so no one on the airline helps her get to her gate or connections.  Not to say she doesn’t call or text me every time she lands to ask me where she should go next … yeah, cuz I’m telepathic like that!

In fact, she’s currently visiting friends in the Bahamas and the reason she’s not with us this weekend.

But I think because we’ve been traveling her whole life, she’s confident enough to make her way through an airport, plane, etc.

Anyway.  As I mentioned, we’ve been traveling with the girls since they were born and I thought I’d share a few trips we’ve taken and the age of the youngest at the time:

3 month old – Galapagos Islands
16 month old – outer region of Australia
3 month old – Spain, Venice & Denmark
4 month old – the Canary Islands
just to mention a few …

Alright … all that aside … I suppose I should get to the reason Amy invited me here!

I’d like to share a little bit of our traveling-with-kids secrets …

First, and most important: don’t make it a marathon.  I mean, I know traveling can cost a small fortune … but is it really worth it if everyone is miserable?

Here’s what I mean {and I’m not judging, if it works for you fine … but I’ve seen plenty of experiences where it clearly isn’t working, so I’m merely suggesting and alternative thought} … and not to suggest our kids don’t get cranky and irritable … oh my word, they sure can … but here’s what we do to keep it to a minimum.

Okay, like I said, don’t make it a marathon.  Figure out what your most important points of interest are, and make sure you keep those your priorities.  You really don’t have to see every single point of interest do you?  Depending on the ages of your children, they aren’t going to care … or remember.  And hey, even miss teenager was happy when we got back to the hotel at the end of the day!

I’d much prefer the kids remember a few points of interest and what a great time we had … then trudging them through the full city and arguing and being cranky.

I also think keeping time at restaurants to a minimum is key.  Bring along some cereal or breakfast bars so you’re not doing 3 meals a day in restaurants.  If your kids are anything like ours … that sort of puts them over the edge.

So what does our schedule typically look like?  We get up on our own schedules {which is relatively early, if you’re not a teenager that is} and head out around 9:00 in the morning. We spend a couple of hours sight-seeing, then have an early lunch.  We try to eat early to avoid crowds.

After lunch, we’ll spend another hour or so touring, then head back to the hotel for a couple of hours to relax or unwind.  If the hotel has a pool, we’ll go swimming … otherwise, we let the girls watch a movie, read or play games.

Again, to avoid crowds and waiting, we’ll usually head to an early dinner … depending on where we are, we might see another sight … and then head back to the hotel to get everyone rested for the next day.

I know I can be a major taskmaster … but even on vacation, I try not to stray from bedtime or our routines.  I think being lenient on bedtimes can set you up for failure … again, who wants unrested, cranky kids on vacation?

One last travel tip: I gotta tell you … we’ve got an iPod touch for each of the girls … they’re only used for travel, but they’ve saved us more times that I can count!  I realize it’s an investment, but it’s definitely paid off for us!  You can also bring a portable DVD player and I recommend a double headphone jack, so 2 kids can watch one show.

Amy, thank you for inviting me here today!  I’m hopeful my perspective was helpful as well as encouraging.

So it is the last week of school for my girls. We are headed out of town on vacation Thursday evening. Everyone has appointments for haircuts. My oldest daughter has basketball camp after school and a piano recital on Wednesday.

And I decided that this would be a great week to host my Mommy and Me tea with Gigi.

Doesn’t this look like loads of fun. Today we are busy baking and planning and decorating for a morning of make believe.

My living room is filled with suitcases. . .

But I am enjoying the chaos. We are making memories in the midst of it all. No matter what we try to do to keep our excitement at bay, our thoughts keep drifting to this.

I know that some call me crazy, but I think it is all part of being a mom. It may be a crazy week but we are making memories that we will never forget.

Sorry I haven’t posted much lately, but I am busy making a drawbridge for our make believe castle.

The girls are busy wrapping up another school year with field trips, school programs and cleaning out their desks. I am busy trying to pack for our vacation.

I made a Travel Packing List that each of the girls could use to help me with the packing process. I am so glad that we have a washer and dryer in our condo so that we can wash some clothes and not pack for all 12 days we will be gone.

I am following some tips from April Welch from Simply Organized Online to make our trip easier. Here are some of her tips for making a car trip more enjoyable. (We drive 7 hours before we fly)

• Present new toys or ideas (surprise themw/your thoughtfulness)
• Have them pack their “travel bag”
• Use craft organizers to bring along their Legos or Polly Pockets
• Pack the cooler w/healthy choices that won’t raise their sugar level
• Schedule for potty breaks
• Try to set up their own space
• Be realistic of their needs
• Have Fun!!!!!

In the tips above April talks about having each child pack a “travel bag” for the road trip. Here are some of her suggestions for this bag:

• a snack
• something to drink
• a book to read
• a book light
• playing cards or traveling game
• CD player/iPod
• a ‘new item’

I am actually packing their carry-on bags for the flight. The last time we flew with the girls I didn’t let them see their goodies in their carry-on bags until we got to the airport. I will write a post next week all about what I pack to keep them busy.

Do you let your kids pack their own bags when you go on vacation? How do you survive your traveling with your kids?

I am so excited about my guest today at Unforgettable Childhood. Megan Dahle is the creator of 1st Person History. She is also from my hometown. She is sharing her recent experiences in Orlando. She has some great tips for surviving the parks with kids.

My kids are traveling rock stars. I’ll take them anywhere. Even my brother-in-law had to admit that he was not looking forward to traveling with 9- and 5-year-old little girls, but was very pleasantly surprised by their attitudes and easy-going style of the entire week-long trip to Disney World.

We spent Easter at Disney World with 9 members of my family this year. Apparently, this is the worst time of year to go because of the lines, but the attitudes of everyone traveling with us and careful preparation before hand made it a great vacation.

I give all credit for this fabulous trip to my daughters. Their attitudes were above and beyond magical. Although we did have to overcome the initial disappointment of our 5-year-old, who was expecting the airplane to land in Magic Kingdom, everything else went off without a hitch.

The attitudes of your children can make or break an entire trip. All too often we would pass families in the parks where the children where breaking down and the parents scowled and scolded. No one was having fun. How miserable.

So here are a few tips on helping your kids have a whining-and-tantrum-free trip.

Make sure your kids know what to expect. We told the girls about the long lines before we ever got on the plane. We made them personally responsible for their own entertainment while standing in line. While we never waited more than 30 minutes in any line (Thank heaven for touringplans.com), 30 minutes is a lifetime for a 5 year-old. 

Our tools were miniature messenger bags that each child was responsible for. If my 5-year-old can lug a bag around the parks for 7 days, so can yours (she’s very small for her age). She was proud of it. It was hers, and she felt very grown-up having her own bag. Inside that bag were a Nintendo DS, gum, GORP, and a camera. She could snack whenever she wanted, take pictures whenever inspiration struck, and break out the DS when she got antsy in long lines. There was no reason to whine for anything because she had all the tools she needed.

Stop the whining long before it starts. Our girls know it’s pointless to whine. This isn’t a philosophy that we adopted once we got to the gates of Disney World. This has been practiced over and over long before the idea of going to Disney World even entered our minds. (“I’m sorry, darling. I can’t understand a word you say when you whine. When you’re ready to talk in a normal voice, I’ll be here to listen.”) So why bother?

Kids reflect their parents’ attitudes. I love Disney World. I can’t help it. They can do no wrong in my eyes. (I think I was more excited for this trip than they were.) My girls could sense that. 

How you approach the day sets the stage. Sure, you may be up at the crack of dawn to get to the parks when they open, but plastering on a smile and concentrating on the anticipation of the fun to come is contagious. If you’re not feelin’ it, fake it.

Take breaks. No matter how great your kids are, once they tire out, moods sour quickly. Same goes for adults. And a cranky adult makes for cranky kids.

We went back to our house (we rented a 5 bedroom house for a dirt-cheap price – vrbo.com) every day around lunch time. This is when the crowds in the parks were at their worst. 

Once we got home the kids got to swim in the pool for an hour or so to thoroughly wear themselves out while lunch (or sometimes an early super) was getting prepared. Then a half hour in bed was mandatory. If you didn’t sleep, that’s okay. But these generally grew into 2 hour naps for everyone, including the adults.

We’d go back to the parks that evening, around 5-7 and be refreshed to stay up as long as we wanted and take advantage of the shorter evening lines.

Mix in some magic. Disney offers many different Character Breakfasts throughout their parks. We went to the Akershus Princess Breakfast and I made sure to get reservations for a time before the park opened. We got in the gates almost two hours before the park opened. It was a whole different world.

Disney really does the character meals up right. Cast Members were blowing bubbles for the kids to pop outside the restaurant while we waited for our table. We got to meet 5 (Five!!) princesses (Belle, Ariel, Aurora, Cinderella, and Snow White). That also meant we never had to stand in line to meet them in the parks.

The best part was the anticipation. Even the adults got excited when they see characters coming. It’s hard to be grumpy when Cinderella is making her way to your table.

Relax. It’s a vacation. Sure it took the car rental guy an hour to find your reservation, and maybe check-in didn’t go too smoothly, but shake it off! Breathe and remember you’re on vacation. If you’re relaxed, your kids will be relaxed. Don’t dwell on what went wrong. Just concentrate on the fun to come.

If you find your heart rate rising and your face getting hot, take a step back (and perhaps a nap is in order). Things are not going to go perfectly as planned. It’s no big deal. A stress-free parent makes for stress-free kids.

Maybe I lucked out with great kids, but their approach to travel makes me look forward to our next family vacation. Attitude is everything! I hope some of these tips struck a cord and will help make your next vacation a joy.

Make sure you check out 1st Person History. It is an amazing tool to help you capture your family heritage. Megan can also be found on twitter @mtjono.