Roadtrip Ready: Car Activity Bag

Hello, "SUPERMOM" readers! My name is Amanda, and I blog at Serenity Now. Having just finished a long road trip, I feel prepared to show you guys our Car Activity Bag and a couple of other ideas to keep your car stocked with for those long hours of travel.

I actually keep this in the Swagger Wagon all the time. It's a Thirty One Bag with our last name stitched on one side...makes it easier to keep track of!

My girls each take ballet lessons once a week, so one sister is inevitably stuck waiting in the minivan with me while the other sister takes over the dance floor in the studio. Between dance lessons, waiting for kindergarten pick-up, and other occasional days we might have some time to kill, this bag gets a good work-out.  

What's inside?

-Coloring Books

-Crayons

-Books

-Electronic Learning Games

-"Dry Erase" Pads It sits right in between the rear seats, so it's accessible to all the kids:

These are awesome for around-town stops, but for genuine road trips, we add some extras to our car!

We stock a stretchy canvas bag with Barbies, books, and a travel case that holds some DVDs. We save our DVD player for any trips that last longer than an hour. That way, the movies are more of a treat; and there's no screaming when we drive 5 miles from our house to Target and they're not finished watching Barbie: A Fashion Fairy Tale.

While DVDs are great and guarantee you some quiet time, you certainly don't want to end the trip with a pair of glossy-eyed zombies in your backseat. I borrow books on tape from the library, and it "forces" them to sit and use their imaginations for awhile. Even my four year old will sit quietly, listening to the story and laughing at the silly parts. You'd be surprised at what they can comprehend!

Some of our favorites have been Beverly Cleary's Henry Huggins, the American Girl Felicity stories, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and Mr. Popper's Penguins. The classic books are great for teaching your kids about how people lived in a different time.

In our minivan, each child starts the trip with a snack container filled with goldfish, pretzels, or something along those lines. They have water bottles that we refill when we stop for lunch or gas. I also have a secret emergency cracker stash and a few lollipops for those times when you're stuck in traffic and the kids are screaming and you feel like you might lose it. (What? Is that just me?)

For mom?

I like to have a few magazines, a book, and my smart phone on hand in the front seat. I like to say that I use the navigation on the iPhone, but really I just like to look at Pinterest and/or listen to my playlist while T drives. I don't pack anything of interest for him, because his main concern is really how many hours it will take to get us there, and will we throw his time off with numerous bathroom stops?

If you're traveling with a dog, I recommend getting a doggie water bottle from a local petshop. I picked up this one from PetsMart years ago, and I love the compact size. I fill it with ice and water before we leave the house, and our Emma doesn't get thirsty at pit stops.

For younger kids, getting a small bucket or plastic bin with small, inexpensive toys and books that they've never seen before is usually enough to occupy them. And don't feel guilty for letting little guys watch some extra movies...sometimes that's the only way to keep them from screaming for hours on end (don't ask me how I know). 

So...that's the way this family does road trips. Our 13 hour drive down to Orlando went smoothly with some planning and preparation. I hope yours is just as smooth!

Please stop by and visit me at Serenity Now. I blog about home decor on a dime, crafts, recipes, and home life. I also host a Weekend Bloggy Reading link party that opens each Friday morning. It's a spot for bloggers to share their best post of the week. You can connect with me on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest...I would love to meet you!

Here's to a Happy Summer! Thanks for sharing your blog with me today, Kelli.

Roadtrip Ready: Make a Padded Camera Bag

I have wanted {and needed} a nice bag for my DSLR camera since the first day I bought it. I got the plain black camera bag at the store when I first bought my camera...and it worked fine when I only had one lens. But when you start adding lenses and accessories, those standard black bags just won't cut it. I have drooled over some fancy leather camera bags online, but I just can't make myself spend $100 or more on a bag {and yes most of my purses cost less than $30 and are from Target or Kohl's}. So a few weeks ago when I saw this AMAZING tutorial from Make it and Love it I knew that instead of continuing to drool over camera bags, that I would just make my own.

I started out with a bag from Target that cost $15. The thing that I liked about this bag is that it has the longer strap, so you can wear it across you chest...that way you can do a million other things and not worry about dropping your camera bag. And even though I love the leather bags that I've seen online, this fabric one was way cheaper and I can just toss it in the wash if it gets dirty!

I {kinda/sort of/halfway} followed the tutorial from Make it and Love it and created this cute little padded insert that slips right into my bag. All you need it a little bit of foam and some pretty fabric. I'll  let you click over to the tutorial for the details because although my bag is functional for me, I didn't include a lot of the extra things {like Velcro to hold the divider in place} that the original tutorial did.

After I made the padded insert, I just slipped it down into my bag and added in my camera. Now my camera has a pretty and safe place to stay while we are roadtripping across the West this summer:)

How do you keep your camera safe when you are on the road?

Roadtrip Ready: Elastic Bookmarks

Hi Friends...I'm (the other) Kelli and I am honored to be over at THE Kelli's spot today.

I blog over at Outside My Kitchen Window where I randomly talk about my life...my walk with Christ, my hubby and two kids, crafting, and my attempt at organizing my life :)

Today I'm sharing something neat that I discovered a few years ago...simple elastic bookmarks.

On road trips I read a lot in the car and so does my oldest child.  Since we have enough stuff to keep track of on a road trip it is nice to have something that we don't have to worry about losing.  These bookmarks stay in place all of the time...so Jamison and I don't have to worry about losing our place in our book if we happen to fall asleep while reading.  This also eliminates having to search the already-crowded car for a bookmark.

Here's what you'll need:

Charms, rings & elastic string.  All of these things you can find in either Michaels or Hobby Lobby in the jewelry making section.  I found all of this at Hobby Lobby (one of my favorite places).

There are usually a wide variety of charms to choose from...I'm using this one for Jamison's teacher.  The one I made for Jamison has a cupcake charm :)

Here's another charm and that thought was really cute.

Once you have all of your materials you will measure your string...you need 15 inches.

Depending on which charm you have will depend on whether or not you will need the ring.  This apple charm already has an extra ring so you can just slide the string directly through the ring of the charm.

This charm has a smaller ring and does not have an extra ring so you will need to take one of your rings and attach it to the charm...like you would attach a key ring.

Now you are able to string your charm.

See...

*Please excuse the blurry picture*  You will make a knot to secure the charm.

Then make a knot at the top.

Finished product!

You will then simply loop the bookmark around the book to hold your spot.  You can leave the bookmark in the book while you're reading too because it doesn't get in the way.  This way you never have to take it out of the book...you just move it to the next place that you stop.

See...doesn't fall out!

So there you have it...a simple bookmark...leaving you with one less thing to worry about and allowing for more joy on the road.

Thanks for having me Kelli :)