While I was busy boxing things up and moving, my sister was busy having a baby. I got to meet him over the weekend and one of the first things I said when I got back home was, “I need to make some things for him!”
This is just a quick post about the first of several fun little onesies I’m embellishing for my new nephew, because guess what? Even though we’re not even unpacked and barely settled, there’s something speggtacular going down at the new Mall residence. You may cry fowl, but the boys are eggstatic and I barely have time to peck this out before going back to work.
I found the idea for a button caterpillar on Pinterest, of course, but because he’s a manly little boy I elected not to use rainbow-colored buttons. Instead, I took my color scheme loosely from The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and I love how it turned out.
If I were doing this again, I would mark where I wanted my buttons to go, because eyeballing it made them migrate upwards a bit from where I originally intended to place them. It was a very quick little project, though! Be aware that buttons are NOT comfortable for babies old enough that they spend a lot of time on their stomachs, and not safe for babies who determinedly pull things off of their clothes and try to eat them. (So what I’m saying is, it’s perfect for newborns and toddlers, and not much in between.)
I hope you like it, and who knows – maybe I can scratch up enough time to do another one today!
Whew! I am happy to announce that we are safely ensconced in our new house with the internet connected and our grueling trip just a swiftly fading memory. Before it quite goes, though, I want to evaluate how the preparations worked out. What worked and what didn’t?
What Worked:
Snack boxes for the kids. These were just tackle boxes with a lot of different little snacky things put into the compartments. They went over very well.
(How do you like that picture? It was taken on my new screened-in porch! So looong, Cave of Darkness!!!)
Personal DVD players. This one was kind of expensive but I’m not sure how we would have gotten through without them.
Baskets: I took round laundry baskets and loaded them with books, toys, and snacks for the kids. There was one next to the kid in the backseat, one next to the kid in the truck, and one next to me.
Magnetic Chalkboards: big win! We got some magnetic character sets at Walmart (I think) in the party section which got a lot of play, and the chalk on chalkboards was a novelty. Recommended, but there are a couple of scratches in the paint now… I wonder if there’s some way to prepare the surface better? Hmm.
Coloring books, crayons and stickers. A proven winner. I bought the bigger kids a new one for each day of the trip. (Dollar store coloring books, baby!)
Walkie talkies – Greg and I got a set of walkie talkies to communicate between vehicles, which I highly recommend if you’re going to be driving cross country behind your spouse driving a gigantic moving truck. It’s great for things like “I missed the turnoff,” or “there’s a small car in your blind spot,” or “Charlie has to use the bathroom NOW.”
Mystery toys! I bought several packs of toys from the Dollar Tree and wrapped them individually in construction paper. I tucked one or two in the boys’ daily bags, but one of the places it helped most was with the two-year-olds. When they were crying and frustrated and wanted OUT, I handed them a wrapped little present and they instantly quieted down. I actually packed these for the older boys, but they worked so well with the twins that they got a good half of them. I would DEFINITELY do these again, this time with toys picked out for them!
Reserve toys. I packed reserve bags for each boy for each day so that they had SOMETHING new and exciting every day. That’s where these came in:
Party favors.
I shopped for tubes of small plastic animals, packs of party favors, and toys we unearthed in our packing that hadn’t been seen for a while. It didn’t matter what it was; as long as it was new and novel the kids were happy for a little while longer.
What Didn’t Work:
Snack boxes for the drivers. Not even a little bit. It’s really hard to open those while you’re driving.
Expecting the kid in the back to help out with the twins in the middle. For one thing, have you ever tried having a conversation with someone in the very back seat when you’re driving a minivan? How about when that person is a small child absorbed by the movie he’s watching? I was hoarse by the end of the first day. On the second day of driving I had the snacks and toys for the twins up in my basket instead, because it was easier for me to swerve a bit handing things back than to try and get the attention of the child in the back and communicate what I wanted them to hand up. This probably would have worked better if the kids were older, but for my kids (5 and 7) it definitely did NOT.
Paint with Water: scrapped before we left the driveway. Paint with water? In a moving vehicle?! On a schedule??? What was I thinking?!
Lacing Shapes: the twins needed help with this and the older kids had other things to do. Not a big winner.
Pom-Pom Poke. Not so great without an adult to help open and close the container.
What Could Have Worked:
Carseat trays for the twins. I bought these trays with the idea that it would allow them to color, drive toy cars, have snacks, etc. They insisted on having them off before we even gassed up for the morning of the first day of driving. I still think these could have worked if we had practiced with them first and showed them all the cool things they could do with them. I’m going to try them again as we’re driving back and forth to my family’s house, which is a 3-hour drive each way.
No-Sew Quiet Books. Someone packed the glue sticks for my hot glue gun before I finished them. I still want to finish them up for church and shorter trips.
Sticker scenes. They didn’t get packed with the kids’ trip stuff. Whoops.
A lot of these toys and games (even some of the ones that didn’t perform well in the car) have been useful entertaining the kids while we unpacked. I’m going to pack some more as quiet bags for church and trips.
Anyway, we’re here! It’s not normal around here yet by any means… but we’re here!
Making them is simple. Just cut out a shape, draw on a few details, and punch out some holes. Foam sheets are more fragile than cardboard, so I opted to make fewer holes farther from the edge than you might see in professional cards. If you’re not feeling artistically inclined, just try making some geometric shapes. If you need them to be sturdier for younger children (the shapes above are for Max, Mr. Ocean Obsessed) you might try gluing two or three layers together – at 32 little sheets for $1 that’s not cost prohibitive.
This is just a fast, fun, cheap little craft – I should mention, that with 6 shoelaces and 32 sheets for $2, I had enough material to make lacing shapes for everyone – that’s fun to play with, too.
