Babysitter in a Box - In Flight

On Sunday we'll be making the voyage to Chicago Ohare Airport (via JetBlue, yay!). Been thinking about travel by air in general, and talking with lots of friends who are traveling with tots in toe this week as well. Here's a little roundup to help with the in-flight entertainment department, and aid in keeping our sanity at 30,000 ft.

1. Pop Up Airplane Bingo $7.99

Keep the kids busy searching their board for a "flight attendant" or a "pair of headphones".

2. CARES 5-Point Harness Belt

Mom's swear by this -aside from the safety-  for keeping toddlers calm and collected in their seats.

3. Crayon Rocks $6.95

Break out a rainbow of fun with these rockin' crayons, and a simple stack of coloring/activity books.

4. Djeco Origami Set $15.95

Keep any chatterbox (i.e girl) quiet and entertained with this set of beautiful foldable paper and stickers.

5. Smith's Rosebud Salve $6.00

My favorite staple! Keeps lips lucious, doubles as a moisturizer, and triples as a diaper balm!

6. Wikki Stix $3.25

Part modeling clay + part pipe cleaner = heaps of clean-up-free fun!

7. Mary's Gone Crackers Sticks & Twigs (you can get single bags @ Whole Foods)

Airplane pretzel healthy alternative!

8. Baekgaard's Luggage Tags (& Passport Cover) $36.00

The plane ride was long enough - find your bags in a snap!

9. Nordstrom's Cashmere Pashmina $38.90 (!!)

Blanket, scarf, sweater... airplane neccessity!!!

Happy travels, Mommies! Enjoy the Holidays!

Puzzles of PB&J

Lunch time goes totally rad! Match & Munch set $16.95

"Babysitter in a Box" Rainy Day...

After 7 days and nights of rain (how did Noah do it??), and lots of desperate attempts at last minute entertainment and activities with Freida and her cousins -thought I'd share some input for my image of the perfect rainy day....

1. 600 Black Spots by, David A. Carter $21.99

Carter has done it again! The kids (and you!) will spend countless hours of fun searching for the abstract graphically hidden black spots throughout the most clever colorful pop-up-book out there!

2. Gaiam YogaKids DVD $11.98

When a rainy day inhibits energy-releasing outdoor activities, break out the YogaKids with yoga expert Marsha Wenig for some brain/body stimulation that is surprisingly super fun! Creatively adapted basic yoga poses, set to playful original sing-along songs, that your child will love to master.

3. Peekaboo Barn $1.99

The single most important iPhone app out there - when it comes to entertaining the kids, that is. Adorable illustrations set to music and charming animal peekaboo action that will delight your toddler long enough for you to deal with his elders...

4. MoMA Kids Sky Umbrella $16.00

Delightful design meets kid-friendly function. From dancing in the rain, to running to the car - this kid-safe umbrella will keep 'em dry to the sky.

5. Color Me Mine

Excellent out of the house rainy-day destination! Choose from the heaping selection of ceramics, and morph the little tyke into a little Picasso!

6. "I'm not a paper cup"  $15.85

Perfect for keeping the java-juice flowing and moms caffeine level soaring : )

7. Matchstick Garden packets $3.00

Fabulous to have up your sleeve for a rainy day! Easiest planting activity ever!

8. Clementine Art Natural Modeling Clay $8.99

Break out the strawberry, lemon, and lime scented, natural, dye-free, no crumble, modeling clay!

9. Eames House of Cards $31.50

This 1952 Eames classic will keep the older kids exploring their inner architect, busily and happily building whatever comes to mind.

Play with your food!

I am a plastic food antagonist. I admit it. It's just one of those things that irk me endlessly. The little velcro circles constantly falling off the "just like home" fruit and veggie sets, the amount of ruckus they produce when being chucked across the room or spilled out of their bins, the BPA and other chemicals found lurking in their DNA... it's just not my thing! I know the better stuff (wood, cotton, wool etc.) is quite a bit more of a burn in the pocket, and while I do feel it's worth it, I'm looking into a couple of DIY food options. Thinking about learning to use a sewing machine (for a number of reasons), I have some great homemade play food ideas using felt. But, until then, I thought I'd share one of my (and Freida's) favorite play food sets. Picked up some of these at a cute little childrens toy boutique while visiting my family in Chicago. Freida was only a few months old and I got them as rattles. She loved them then, and she loves playing with them as food and feeding them to her dolls (and uglydolls) now. I'm sure they advise you to spot clean them, but I can tell you that her watermelon (it was her summer lovey - went with her everywhere!) has gone through quite a few regular laundry loads (dryer included) and has come out perfectly clean and snug. And that's all aside from them being ridiculously adorable! Knit Play Food by, Yellow Label Kids.

Rainy Day, Paper Play

Tweeted about this yesterday, but knowing not everyone is part of the bird world, I figure I'd share it here as well. Great for a rainy day at home with the kids, all you need is a printer, paper, glue stick, ruler, scissors - and you've got yourself a totally lovable boredom-buster. Wise Guys, from Mibo