Top 10 Summer Travel Tips

Summer offers so many opportunities to go out and enjoy the world! But traveling with the kiddos can be tricky and sometimes even downright impossible. Here are ten tips from Breezy Mama on how you can make your summer road trips as smooth sailing as possible. These were compiled from Colleen Lanin of TravelMamas.com:

TOP 10 TRAVEL TIPS FOR PARENTS

10. Print a packing list
I used to wrack my brain writing out every little thing I didn’t want to forget before each trip with the kids. It finally occurred to me to save the list and simply modify it for each trip. I have been perfecting that packing list ever since I became a mom five years ago.

9. Keep a separate stash of toys and books for travel.
Sure, a new diversion or two is always fun. But a hidden toy is a forgotten toy. Kids will be psyched to rediscover old favorites on the go, saving you money and effort.

8. Never, ever count on feeding your children food provided on an airplane.
A three-hour delay on the tarmac could easily thwart your plans. Instead, bring plenty of healthy snacks. A steady stream of sliced and dried fruits, whole grain crackers, and pretzels keep kids busy munching instead of fighting or whining. Throw in a few forbidden treats as a reward for good behavior too!

7. Be a hypochondriac.
I keep a zipper-lock bag of every sort of medicine and ointment our family just might need while away from home. This is especially handy when traveling to a foreign country or when embarking on a cruise, where getting familiar medications might be difficult. Even when traveling somewhere close-by where you could easily purchase some teething tablets or cough syrup, do you WANT to run out in the middle of the night in a strange town chasing down something you could have easily packed?

6. Hitting the road? Don’t forget the bucket!
You never know when car sickness will strike and if it does, you need to be prepared. Bring along a bucket (a sand pail will do) or snag an air sickness bag to stow in your car. I learned this one the hard way, people.

Read on about the top 5 tips on Breezy Mama here! Have a (hopefully) sunny adventure!

Image from babble.com.

V-Day with the Kiddos

Spend this day of hearts with the ones you love most (although sometimes they make it a bit challenging): your kids! Celebrate Valentine's Day by whipping up some sweet treats together!

In allrecipes.com there are loads of kid-friendly recipes that don't only look good, we bet they all taste real good too! We loved this one:

CHOCOLATE CHIP BANANA MUFFINS

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Ready in: 35 minutes
Servings: 16

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
2. In another bowl, combine the egg, oil, yogurt and vanilla. Stir into the dry ingredients just until moistened.
3. Fold in bananas and chocolate chips.
4. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 350 degrees F for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the muffins comes out clean.
5. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

Have a sweet day! :)

Image from allrecipes.com.

Kids in the Kitchen

Curiosity never fails to get the better of kids! They just HAVE to try doing everything. Don't let that wonderful energy go to waste. Ask them to help you out in the kitchen with super fun and super easy recipes.

One, it's a perfect opportunity for some mom-and-kids bonding time. Two, you can watch them like a hawk because they are working right there with you. Three, this can hopefully "train" them to think that helping out is actually fun and not a boring chore (1000 points for you!)

I found a site called MomsWhoThink where you can find a treasure trove of easy-to-do recipes. Check out the section for Kids Recipes and choose from a long list of awesome recipes that you and your kids can do!

These are just two of my favorites:

Volcanoes in the Microwave

Ingredients:
4 teaspoons peanut butter
4 large marshmallows
red sprinkles
whipped cream

Directions:
1. Cut a hole in the middle of each of the marshmallows. Fill each with 1 teaspoon of peanut butter. Pour sprinkles on top.
2. Place marshmallows on a microwave-safe plate and microwave for 50 seconds, watching the "volcanoes" erupt.
3. Put a circle of whipped cream on the outside of the plate. Serve.

Octopus Dogs

Ingredients:
6 hot dog buns
6 hot dogs
1 can chili

Directions:
1. About 1-inch from one end of a hot dog, start a slit that goes vertically to the other end.
2. Turn a quarter turn and make another slit. Keep making slits until you have eight "tentacles" for the hot dog.
3. Boil and the hot dog will look like an octopus. Serve with the head up and the tentacles spread out over an open hot dog bun that has chili on it.

Check out other fun recipes here!

Girls Just Want to Have Fun...

Ahh the week after Christmas... You are either too bloated with that Christmas dinner (or dinners, if you're very friendly!) to get out of bed, not-so-bloated and on your way to your post Christmas celebrations, thrilled with the gifts you received, disappointed with the gifts you received, glad it's over, sad it's over... Whatever mood you are in right now, I know that after all that hustle and bustle leading up to Christmas day, you deserve a little break!

As you contemplate the remaining days of this fabulous year, here's something fun you can do. I found a really cool site called girlsgogames.com that's chockfull of games that girls (or girls-at-heart!) would enjoy. You can choose from adventure games, makeover games, dress up games, puzzle games... All short, simple and sweet but a whole lot of fun!

My current favorite is called The Devilish Hairdresser, where you get to play a rather naughty hairstylist (oh come on, girly games don't always have to be so girly!) Just be careful that the Angelic Hairstylist doesn't catch you messing up any hairdos! Good for laughs!

Think you can make the cut? Click here!

Funny Kid Quotes

Kids say the silliest, funniest things, don’t they? I believe that one of the many perks of being a parent is the entertainment that kids provide when they innocently attempt to understand the world around them. Ever wondered how their little minds understand LOVE? Here are some quotes that cracked me up and made me go awww:


What is love?

"I think you're supposed to get shot with an arrow or something, but the rest of it isn't supposed to be so painful."

"Love is the most important thing in the world, but baseball is pretty good too."

"A man and a woman promise to go through sickness and illness and diseases together."

"I'm not rushing into being in love. I'm finding fourth grade hard enough."


About kissing

"When a person gets kissed for the first time, they fall down, and they don't get up for at least an hour."

"If it's your mother, you can kiss her anytime. But if it's a new person, you have to ask permission."


When they see lovers

"Romantic adults usually are all dressed up, so if they are just wearing jeans it might mean they used to go out or they just broke up."


How to make people fall in love with you

"Tell them that you own a whole bunch of candy stores."

"Yell out that you love them at the top of your lungs. And don't worry if their parents are right there."


The best age to get married

"Twenty three is the best age because you know the person forever by then."