T-2weeks until we drive out. We went with a U-Pack We Haul type of company and scrounged boxes where we could. There are so many moves happening right now that the box and packing paper have turned into endangered resources and the competition is cut-throat! We have come to the point of stalking the moving trucks on post, offering to take boxes of packing paper off of the incoming hands as they get it unpacked! That has turned out to be the best plan, after getting hosed out of $60 for “great moving boxes” on Craigslist. Some people posted their boxes saying they were great for moving. DH brings home a bunch of junky salvaged gas station boxes. Yay. Go ahead and spend the money for the U-Haul packing stuff, because you can return what you do not use for a full refund and sell the “gently” used boxes on the other end.
My main focus for the trip (aside from not getting lost in Canada) has been how to entertain the toddler. I don’t want to keep her doped up on DVD the whole time. I hit a craigslist ad for a very large homeschooling family that were just picking up and leaving. Everythinghad to go so I got a load of nice educational playthings for a decent price. I’ve been stashing a bunch of her ignored toys away and picking up cheap “little happies” where I can. So far, this is what I’ve come up with:
- Snack and Play Travel Tray- http://www.familytravelgear.com/page/FTG/PROD/car-snack-play-travel-tray This nifty little soft tray has raised sides to keep toys and whatnots in front of the child. Now she can do her puzzles and color and I *hopefully* wont’ have to stay turned around to pick up the pieces! I found mine at a store on Ebay, but I don’t think I saved much once shipping was calculated. We just tested it today and so far I’m pleased!
- Stickers and appropriate things to put them on!
- Coloring books and the crayons that twist up. Mia is contact reactive to something in the paper covered crayons (I hear that there is often corn used in the paper), but these also have to work harder to melt all over the car.
- Color Magic markers and paper. If you haven’t seen Crayola’s Color Magic sets yet, whoa nelly! At first I thought, “How lazy. Just teach your child to be respectful of property and you won’t have multiple art incidents.” But, being a frequent flyer of waiting rooms and doctors offices, these have earned their places.
- Wallet with “credit cards”. This is a big hit. We save all of the fake cards that are sent with the applications. Very productive recycling! It has saved my tush in the pharmacy after an out of the ordinary Rx took almost an hour to fill. It’s a big clutch wallet with lots of zippers, snaps and pockets and slots. A few old receipts really make her day!
- Mr. Potato Head. What more do you need to know? They even have the “extension” kits at Walmart, so he has options.
- Magnadoodle! Mess free drawing an I found some magnet kits at Toys R Us. It is a fairy tale themed set with dresses and other things that you draw around, creating a scene.
- Puzzles. Lots of puzzles~
- Lacing cards from Eboo. Mia has the fairy set, but they have boy options as well. The yare big and colorful, great fine motor exercise.
- Lacing dress-up bear from Melissa&Doug. You lace the bears clothes onto her picture that is on the lid of the storage box. I think it might be too advanced for Mia without my help, maybe a good evening or hotel game.
- Memory game. I could easily turn around and help her play by flipping the tiles over.
- Books. No brainer.
- Beads to make a necklace or bracelet, also from M&D. That was the test toy today, and it’s on the cumbersome and messy side of the fence.
- My First Leap Pad. It has yet to get here, but we are borrowing several sets of books and cartridges. I don’t plan on this being used all day, but they are nice when Mommy needs a break!
- Flashcards. Mostly ABC’s and colors.
- Deck of cards. There is something enthralling about that mess.
- Music. We can give up about 45 minutes of rock or country for something that appeals to her
- Pipe cleaners. Endless fun. Try it in a restaurant!
- Figits block twister guy. No idea what he’s really called.
- The cheap as allgetout toy section of walmarthas some nice little happies. The “connect four” game is lots of fun since I don’t have to worry about her putting the chips in her mouth. I also bought the suction cup balls, and mini puzzle alphabet foams. A mini version of the abc floor crepe rubber mats.
- Slinky.
- Elmers Go Paint, same concept as Color Magic, but with “paint”
- Aquadoodle mini book/pen
- Ravensburger has lots of great mini matching puzzles. I found a set at our local Value Village that have babies/mommy matching of jungle animals. We also have a lttle zip purse of one piece farm puzzles.
- Madeline Press N Peel dress up doll/scene board. Another VV score. Like paper dolls, but with the vinyl pieces.
- Diego’s rescue animals pack. I think it was the only dora/diego thing NOT recalled for lead!
- Madeline Magnetic “paper dolls” with little scene board.
- Magic Cloth paper dolls
- Hand puppets (oh gosh those can keep her busy for hours!)
- Velcro mitt with ball catch game for rest stops
- Bubbles for either standstill traffic or rest stops
I’m still working on the system of dispersal. I’ve heard lots of great ideas, like wrapping everything up and doling out little “gifts” every so often. That won’t get us through 10 days, or we’d have to have a separate trailer just for the toys! I have one of those cardboard mini chests that we aren’t using. You know, the ones you get for “temporary” storage but end up using until they fall apart? This one is about 3.5″ high and is the perfect treasure chest. Some of the bigger items don’t fit, so I may just police the use of those from the back of the car. Here is the tentative plan: She will have everyday access to some toys like the Leap Pad, Magnadoodle and books with the occasional DVD. She will be allowed to open one “treasure” drawer per day and play with the contents. There are four drawers and we’ll likely go through each at least twice, so after day four I’ll switch and mix the contents again so it’s not the same stash the second time around. I’ll also keep a bag of wrapped toys and give her one or two to unwrap every day. We’ll be driving 6-8hrs/day for 8-10 days.
I had a few projects on my to-do list for the trip, the biggest being a new carseat cover for her Britax Marathon. I searched Ebay and couldn’t find any within our budget so I decided I’d make my own, darnit! Homemade custom covers are being sold on Ebay for nearly $90!! I just can’t justify it when I know how to sew! I draped an old sheet over the seat, pinned it, traced the seams and marked where the holes needed to go. Then I cut the odd looking shapes out of the sheet, smoothed edges and took the liberty of straightening any lines I thought looked wonky. I then laid them onto a big sheet of craft paper and traced the sheet pieces. I measured and marked holes and then added a seam allowance. I chose an outdoor strength fabric with a neat Scandinavian print for the outside, low-loft FUSIBLE batting for the inner (next time I’ll go with more loft, as this doesn’t offer a lot of cushion) and plain muslin for the backside. I made sure that my pattern pieces were labeled for dummies before cutting anything out. After cutting all layers out, I fused everything together and stay stitched each separate piece as close to the raw edge as possible to keep batting in place. Ironically, everything joined perfectly! I only had to add about 12 inches to the skirt part that goes around with the elastic to hold it in places but it was a quick fix. Maybe one day I’ll get a tutorial up! DISCLAIMER!!!!!—– This carseat cover is strictly for backup in the event that my toddler has an accident and will be used as an interim cover until the original can be washed. Carseat covers are made with flame retardant fabrics therefore we should ideally only use those manufactured by the appropriate company. There, don’t blame me if something happens.
Here she is! It’s a bit baggy but it will do between washings!
