This kids’ luggage is Cute As A Bug!

There is even more cute luggage at PolkaDottedLuggage.com

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The best souvenir we’ve ever had from any trip is a memory book filled with all the pictures from our trip.  You can make your own memory book, starring YOU!  It’s not expensive and it’s really easy.  Upload all your pics and order a hard-bound copy. then order extra copies for each of your children.

The best place I have found to do this is at Snapfish. They frequently have specials and will also do regular prints dirt cheap! We have found the quality to be excellent.

Here’s a book I made from our recent trip to Universal Studios Orlando. I got a copy for each of my children which I gave to them as a gifts at Christmas.

This is truly a souvenir that they will cherish the rest of their lives, that won’t get lost in a drawer somewhere, or tossed aside and forgotten.   As an added bonus, you get the the thrill of reliving those memories every time you look at it. Without a doubt — the best souvenir ever!

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Have you visited the Universal theme parks in Orlando recently?  Did you especially enjoy the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter?!

I’m working on an article to share tips from my readers for this magical place!  If you have traveled there recently and would like to share anything about your experience that made your trip more  fun or enjoyable,  please post your tips in the comments below, or contact me by email!

Laurel @ momsminivan.com

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Last winter I had the misfortune of suffering a blow out during a short 3-hour road trip to Nashville, TN.  I was driving along the Kentucky Bluegrass Parkway when it happened.

It was January.  It was cold. It was late. And it was dark.  …. VERY DARK.  So dark in fact, that I couldn’t see in order to remove my spare tire, or even where to put the tire iron to tighten the lug nuts. Cars and truck sped by me on the freeway as I struggled and tried to use the light from my cell phone screen just to see what I was doing!   “Never again,” I thought, “will I be caught without a working flashlight.”

Now I carry a wind-up crank flashlight that doesn’t require batteries and has an led bulb that doesn’t burn out.  As I struggled on that cold dark night to change my tire, I thanked my lucky stars that I at least knew how to do change it! I recommend that anyone who drives be familiar with your spare tire and how to use your car jack.  Read more…

Once again I have been invited back as a  “parent expert” at the PBS Parents website to answer questions and facilitate reader discussions! I’ll be taking questions for the next three weeks on their website.

We are discussing summer travel, ways to save money on the road with your kids , and creative ways to keep your family entertained in the car without emptying your wallet.  …Challenges worth facing!

Please click over and leave a comment on their site, or join in the Q & A discussion!

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More fun ideas for the road — check out this video of some travel games you can make with paper plates!  Make them in the car, or make them at home to bring on the road with you.

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Last summer I had the pleasure of appearing as a featured “expert” at the PBS Parents website to talk about keeping kids entertained on the road. This week I have been invited back!

We are discussing ways to save money when traveling with your kids on the road, and creative ways to keep the kids entertained in the car without emptying your wallet.

Please click over and join in the Q & A discussion!

update: link has been updated to reflect archived story

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Don’t let your tightened budget put a crimp in your fun. There are many ways to save money, even on a road trip to help cut the costs. I’ve put together an article with lots of useful ideas to get you started on the following topics:

• Plan Ahead for Meals and Snacks
• Plan Free Entertainment for the Kids for the Road
• Adopt Good Driving Habits that Save Gas
• Call Ahead for Overnights On The Road
• Plan Your Route
• Save Money At Your Home While You are Away

It can be found on my website at http://www.momsminivan.com/savemoney.html

Hit the road, have fun and be safe!

Here’s my dad in 1981 with “Meaty”, our aptly named pet turkey. Meaty was quite the barnyard showpiece. We’d raised him from a chick. And, well, kids do dumb things, and I was no exception. I teased him a lot when his voice began changing from a cheep to a gobble. I gobbled loudly at him constantly to make him gobbly-cheep back. It was hilarious at the time. As a result, he grew to dislike me intensely.

I have no idea what was going on inside his bird brain, but as a fully grown turkey, he would sneak up on me at every opportunity to attack. It was only me that he disliked. Everyone else could pet him on his bumpy red head and play with his weird warm waddle affectionately. Not me. He would pick me out of a crowd of people, flapping his wings like baseball bats against my thigh and driving his 2-inch talons into my calves. One day in my self defense, I waved a horse’s lead rope and halter in his direction to fend him off, and accidentally knocked him on the head with the metal buckle. He flopped to the ground completely unconscious. I thought I’d killed him.

I panicked and tried to think of what I would tell my mother about the beloved family pet. I stroked his knobby head and told him how sorry I was. I said a prayer to please undo this mistake. My prayer was answered. About 60 seconds later he opened his eyes and hopped up, seemingly good as new. What great relief. Meaty and I pretty much avoided each other after that, managing to co-exist somewhat peacefully in the barnyard. … until he met his untimely demise a couple of years later at the jaws of a hungry coyote.

It seems I am not the only one who has ever fought with a turkey. Recently, a friend sent me a hilarious turkey-wrestling video ad for a JennieO Oven Ready Turkey. I could totally relate. The moment the woman in the video sent her unruly turkey soaring out of her kitchen window and into the back of her husband’s head, I knew I needed one of these birds. Given my special affinity for turkey wrestling, I was hooked. So, this past Sunday night I cooked the “Oven Ready Boneless Turkey Breast” from their product line, or as my family called it, “turkey boob in a bag”.

I literally took it out of the freezer and put into my oven already in its cooking bag. No thawing, no seasoning, no preparing, nothing. I didn’t have to do a thing or even touch the raw turkey. It seemed too good to be true. I kept re-reading the instructions for the catch. I even started to dig around in the kitchen drawers looking for my meat thermometer, until I realized it already had one of those nifty pop up things. This was one of the easiest dinners I have ever made.

All three kids gave it a thumbs up, and ditto for the gravy that came with it. Delicious. And no one was hit in the head by a giant flopping bird. …Or stabbed in the leg by a spit-angry flapping one. If only I could have gotten along as well with ol’ Meaty.

I’ve been groaning along with the rest of my readers over recent gas prices. But in a press release I received today, things got a little clearer. There is no need to let the pump prices become a fun-sucking black hole in your summer plans! Here is an excerpt:

Everyone seems to be complaining about the high cost of fuel causing them to cancel their summer vacation plans. Carol White, co-author of the book Living Your Road Trip Dream, says, “I don’t like the higher prices, but if you take a realistic look at it, it’s something that most of us can deal with.”

Did you cancel last year’s plans? According to AAA, gas prices have increased an average of $.56 a gallon since this time last year. Let’s go crazy and say it has been $.75 a gallon in your area. If your summer trip is 1000 miles long and your car gets an average of 23 MPG, your fuel will cost $32.60 more this year than last. One dinner at home instead of eating out before you go will save that much. Is $32 any reason to cancel your vacation?

Carol White is the co-author of the award-winning book, “Live Your Road Trip Dream” – the ultimate road trip planning guide for extended road trips.

Thanks for putting it into perspective. It may be a big increase in the price per gallon lately, but when you figure out how many gallons you are actually going to use, it’s not that big an increase in your overall travel budget. Just cut back a little somewhere else to make the ends meet. If you need help doing that, then check out all the ways you can save money on the road in my article “Stretch Your Dollar on the Road.”

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