Something Old and Something New

Holy Cow!  Life is just busy but summer is the busiest!  I am soooo behind on EVERYTHING!  Blogging included.  Let's just say it hasn't been high on the priority list.  We have been having too much fun spending time with family and playing lots!  I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep if I skipped doing my "Something Old" post that should have been done last week and my "Something New" for this week.  So here you go....

Something Old:

I thought that since it was still summer and maybe some have yet to go on a family vacation (like moi) I would throw out this OLD family favorite to make your travels a little more enjoyable and bearable. 

I grew up in a family of 5 kids.  I'm the oldest of the 5.  We are each only 1 year apart.  My mom had me at the age of 21 and was done having babies by 26.  She's amazing!  If that had happened to me.....well I don't even know.  (Obviously it didn't and I'm waaaay beyond the age of 26 and I'm like soooo over birthing kids!)  Imagine traveling in a station wagon or small mini van with 5 kids for a long period of time.  Not fun right?  So as kids my mom or my grandma would pack us little gift bags with surprises to open along the way.  As a kid I remember how exciting and fun it was and how funny it was when one of my brothers received a girl prize and how ticked they were. 

Last fall some friends of ours were moving across the country and traveling in a car with 4 little kids.  My hubs and I decided we would like to do something to help so we went to the Dollar Store and loaded up on prizes. 

We took them home, wrapped them up and threw them in a bag.  I labeled each prize as a girl or boy prize so they wouldn't have any of the drama that we did as kids.  And just to be mean we bought a harmonic that we knew would drive the parents bananas.  Maybe that defeated the entire purpose of our kindness right there. 

You could play games such as: I Spy, or the licence plate game where they have to find a license plate from every state.  They could color, or sing, or read.  In between each activity and every hour or so they could open a prize. 

Several years ago my entire family (parents, brothers, spouses and kids) went to the Oregon Coast for a vacation.  It is a 13 to 14 hour drive by the time you stop 500 times for potty breaks.  I actually did the travel prizes for my daughter who was 3 at the time and she looooved it!  It helped a TON!  Another fun idea if you're caravaning together is to bring hand held radios to communicate with each car.  The kids will think it is the coolest thing EVER!  And to be honest....it's fun for the adults too. 

So there you go!  Happy and Safe travels!

Something New:

So I was trying to think of what I have done that is new and I was struggling.  But then I remembered I read a really good book just this past week that was "new" to me.  It's called ROOM by Emma Donoghue. 

This book is told from the perspective of a 5 year old boy named Jack.  He has lived his entire life in an 11 X 11 foot room with his mother.  The only person he knows is his mother and a disturbing night time visitor he calls Old Nick.  His mother has been held captive in this particular room since the age of 19. 

The way the story is told from the perspective of a 5 year old was very clever and the games, activities, and ways that Jack's mother taught her son while imprisoned in that room were genius. I loved it!  And if you're worried that it may be too graphic don't.  This story is told through the innocent eyes of a child.  It truly was fascinating!  It's a must read!