Wednesday, May 03, 2006

WORKS FOR ME WEDNESDAY!!!



I'm loving this "Works for me Wednesday", and I've picked up some amazing tips from all the ladies. Can't wait to read the new ones today. :)
For more WFMW participants, head on over to Shannon's Blog :)
So here is my tip for this week.

Usually during the summer we take trips from Idaho to Oklahoma to visit my mother in law. Now having two young kids, you know that it's going to be one heck of a ride LOL

Kids get bored easily and not even 4 hours into our 24 hour drive, they are already fighting, crying, wanting to get out of the car etc.

So, last time we went to Oklahoma I decided I had to come up with something to keep them busy. The first thing I did was obviously, use the toy boxes that we got for them.
Then I went online and printed out a map of the USA showing some of the major cities we would drive through. They each got one of these maps and a highlighter. I mapped out our route on each one and the kids were able to follow along on the trip and cross out every place we went through, it also gave them a sense of how far or how close we were.
Another good idea was to give them each one of those disposable cameras which they used to take photos of every spot we stopped at, along with little souvenirs they would pick up along the way.

When you get back home, you can just sit down and make a scrapbook of your summer trip. It's a nice keepsake to have!!!

One other tip is to try and travel as much as you can during the night, the kids are asleep for longer and don't get as bored, PLUS you can get a few more hours in the trip before having to stop.

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On to something else......this morning I got an email from my mother in law. She volunteers at this Pregnancy Resource Center and this is what she had to say:

It is a Christ-centered organization. I had to sign a statement of faith before they would welcome me aboard. All the women are good Christian women.
Our goal is to give God the glory as we help young women who find themselves in a
crisis. We prepare ourselves with prayer. We meet together before
our shift and pray for the young women who will be walking through the doors. We tell them up front that we are a Christian organization and are funded totally by donations of churches and individuals. We share God's love and encourage them to find their strength in God's love and compassion for them. We let them talk and share their fears or concerns.

We offer free pregnancy tests and one free ultrasound right there at the center. Everything is kept confidential. They can trust us. We also provide diapers, formula and baby clothes to meet the client's needs. All our services are 100% free.

We give special attention to teens. We have abstinence-until-marriage programs.
And we have excellent videos the girls can watch in a quiet private room that shares knowledge and education regarding choices they make today - that will effect them tomorrow.

I think it's just amazing and a great opportunity to share the Lord's love and work with others.
They are having a Walk for Life on Saturday the 13th of May, and that is their main fund raiser, so if you're anywhere near the Lawton, Oklahoma area, and would like to check it out, that would be wonderful.

The reason I'm posting about this is that they really appreciate prayers for the ministry and the work they are doing, so if you could just send out a prayer for them, I would be so grateful.

So last night I'm watching tv, and in between one of my shows I was AGAIN surfing the channels. I stopped at MTV's "My Super Sweet Sixteen" show and I am appalled.
Yes absolutely disgusted with what I was seeing. Now mind you, I'm not against spoiling your kids, Lord knows I've spoiled mine but to a certain extent. There's a point in time where you have to draw the line and encourage children to learn about money, allowances and working towards what you want. You start giving them everything and they just don't appreciate what they have and later grow to be stubborn, greedy and ungrateful adults.

That unfortunately is what I saw on the show. Ok so for those that don't know what it's about, it's pretty much rich families throwing "Sweet Sixteen" parties for their teens. That's all fine and dandy but when you see a 15 year old girl throw a tantrum because she wants a car NOW, and her dad had to work out the details so she could only get the car (
OF HER CHOICE) the following morning....that just makes me sick.

On a different note, I am so excited, I got my mail this morning and had a movie from Netflix waiting. I had forgotten about it, and when I opened it I jumped for joy......."
The Hiding Place", movie about Corrie Ten Boom's book. Guess what I'm watching tonight??? :)

Well I gotta get going, have to start cleaning my carpets, managed to get a carpet cleaner from the Self Help on base. Will let you all know how I liked the movie. Hope everyone has a great day, and again don't forget to head on over to Rocks in my Dryer for the list of Works for me Wednesday participants :)

18 comments:

Donnetta said...

FANTASTIC idea! It takes us a 32 hour drive to get to my parents. We have done the toy bag thing every time. And we rig up our lap top to play DVD's on. Next time... I'm also doing the map thing (what a GREAT way to learn geography!) AND the camera idea.

Does giving them the camera make them want to stop more often so they can take pics?? We'd never get there if it did!! :-)

Sandra said...

momrn2 - The camera idea doesn't make mine want to stop more, I specifically tell them that this is for whenever we stop for gas or to eat or rest or whatever. So they get excited just waiting for the next stop so they can get a pic taken. I also tell them to try and take only one at each place so they'll have enough. We do take a photo of the whole family before we leave, and then one when we get there. :)

faith - YAY!!! I'm so glad you have the toy box thing going, how is that working for you guys?

someone else said...

Oh, I love the camera thing!! I wish that had been around when my girls were little. Great idea!

T!ff@ny said...

Great idea! This is going to get added to my "travel tips" for kids section! Woohoo!

Check out my WFMW travel idea!

www.garrettscorner.blogspot.com

Courtney said...

Wish I had that idea over the weekend for our trip...lol! I totally agree with that show. Matt & I watched it the other night & a girl got 2 cars not one but 2 cars!!!! It's crazy!!!!

Holly said...

Great idea. We have a really long trip planned for this summer.. I really going to do this.

Anonymous said...

I completely agree at the Sweet Sixteen show. I have seen it and was so embarassed for those families. Completely wrong thing to be showing our teenage girls these days.

Sandra said...

So glad you all like the WFMW tip :) Hope it helps some of you with upcoming summer trips :)

As for the sweet sixteen show, I'm glad I'm not the only one disgusted with it, it's unbelievable that MTV would even spend money on such a pathetic excuse for entertainment. This is NOT what I want my daughter and son watching, lest they get any bright ideas. LOL

Colloquist said...

Oh LOVE the maps n highlighters in the car tip! Will definitely be using that one, thanks for sharing!

Carol said...

That's a great idea! Do show the scrapbook.

Where in OK is your MIL? Mine's in Ardmore. It's less than two hours from here, so we'll save the map and highlighters for the road trip to South Dakota...whenever that may be.

Michelle- This One's for the Girls said...

What great traveling ideas! We're leaving in a month of our family vacation--so I need to get some boxes, toys, maps and highlighters. :)

Sandra said...

rabbit - So glad you enjoyed the tip, it really was a life saver on our long trips across the country.

carol - Will have to show the scrapbook, just have to get it out of storage :) My MIL is in Lawton, Oklahoma, not sure how close to Ardmore it is.

michelle - I'm glad my ideas will help make your trip easier :) When you have little ones you always have to find things to amuse them LOL

Nettie said...

I remember doing the map thing as a kid. I'd forgotten about that! I think the disposable camera idea is fun, too. It'd be nice to see what was important about the trip in their eyes.

Overwhelmed! said...

I love your travel trip ideas! I'll have to try them when Snuggle Bug gets a little older.

Thanks for sharing. :)

Jessica said...

This sounds like a really good idea and a GREAT way to keep the kids busy!

Shannon said...

Sandra - I LOVE Lawton. I went to highschool there (my dad was Army). Did your hubby grow up there?

Kelly Curtis said...

All really excellent suggestions for traveling with kids. The beauty is that keeping the kids happy, keeps the parents sane;)

Kelly
My new address: 2passthetorch.com

Rae said...

Awesome ideas! I love these and am definitely keeping them in mind. Thanks for sharing! =)