I've been very, very, busy so that Charley will stay very, very busy, during our trip.
First we have a 4 hour flight (layover included) and then several days later,
we'll be trucking it 11 hours plus, back to Alabama.
Now, Charley is no stranger to road trips. In fact she's already traveled from here to California! Three solid days in the backseat of a car with two kids wasn't what I'd call fun, but we made it through without any damaged relationships or injuries.
During the trip, I learned a couple of things.
#1 Charley refuses to sleep while on the road. At all.
#2 She needs more than a few DVD's to keep her occupied.
So this trip, I wanted to give Charley little surprises along the way. She's been such a trooper through all of our adventures. She deserves some treats.
I have arranged to surprise her every hour of travel, with a little happiness.
Most everything I purchased was found either at Dollar Tree or the 97 cent bin at Wal-mart.
In fact, since Charley is with me practically 24/7, she came along while I picked the things out!
I made her close her eyes in the Dollar Tree. She hung on to my skirt and trailed behind me while I searched for little goodies that would keep her busy. It was the only way. In my defense, I only rammed her into a rack ONCE and it only hurt a little. Poor little obedient thing.
Next up, I included something I can totally get into myself!
ROAD TRIP BINGO!
I have to give every bit of the credit for these babies to Oopsey Daisy.
I printed them right off her site! For free!
I had them laminated at Office Max and the bingo stampers came from the Dollar Tree.
This next activity will keep her busy and fill her belly.
The idea came from Kara's Creative Place.
Kara created the M&M guessing game, and I switched up the wording a little to incorporate Skittles in another game, since that is Charley's favorite candy.
Kara's Creative Place helped me out again with this sticker/picture idea.
She'll use the stickers and crayons to create different scenes on paper.
Now this idea stemmed from this plastic ladybug.
At first I didn't know how I'd turn the bug into an actual activity, but it was only a dollar and really cute, so I bought it anyway. Later, I decided to create a blank book so that Charley could write a story inspired from the bug! I am looking forward to seeing what she comes up with.
I wrapped them all up separately and on the back of each package, I made a note
of what was inside, so that I could choose the right prize for the right time.
Then I decided Charley might get all sneaky and try to use her brain to sound the words out,
so I put a sticker over each note. I can still access it, and she knows she's not allowed to peek.
So, we've got about 4 hours of flight time and 11 hours of drive time ahead of us, and.....
22 packages.
I know. I'm crazy.
CRAZY fun!
And also a little mentally imbalanced too.
You're not crazy. You're smart as heck!
ReplyDeleteYour such a WONDERFUL mother hayley!! will you adopt me??Good Luck with Your move..love ya sweetie..Lisa Harden Earles
ReplyDeletei need something like this for myself on road trips! i'll be calling you when our next one comes up!
ReplyDeleteWow. You are amazing. Talk about prepared!! I am taking notes for our next road trip! Thanks so much for the link to Oopsey Daisy. Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteI was thinking the same thing as Anonymous. Will you adopt me? What great ideas you have my dear!!
ReplyDeleteOh thanks ya'll! And yes I'll adopt all of you who asked, except Mom. That might be confusing.
ReplyDeleteHayley, what great ideas! I'm gonna use some of them for when our 6 year old grandson visits us at our cottage next week. You are a wonderful and caring mom to Charley! She is so lucky to have you! Have a great trip now!
ReplyDeleteMother of the Year Award is once again yours! You are amazing!
ReplyDeletewow! great ideas!
ReplyDeleteYour not Crazy!! Your Brilliant !!!!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE this idea!!! You are an awesome mama!
ReplyDelete