Fun on the Run – Keeping the Driver Sane With Top 7 Kid’s Games to Play While Traveling

Moms & Dads:  Don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of this post.  As a parent, what do you do to keep your kids boredom-free?

By Janis Brett-Elspas

MommyBlogExpert.blogspot.com

It’s every parent’s chagrin. You’re on a family trip with your child when you hear he/she say the B-word. Don’t worry, this is a G-rated family-friendly website. What I’m talking about is actually a two-word phrase that includes a certain word that starts with the letter ‘B.’  That kid’s refrain most of us moms and dads are all too familiar with known simply as “I’m bored."

Since my own four were in diapers at the same time we’ve done many U.S. car trip vacations ranging from just a few days up to five and a half weeks in length. I really couldn’t tell you, BTW, how many times my own darlings have said those dreaded words during all those trips because I lost count a long time ago. Come to think of it, you don’t even need to be going away or even to leave your house to hear I.B. from your kids, right?

So, like many other challenged parents, perhaps even like you, I was a member of that same club.  That is, until my youngsters (13 year-old triplets plus big brother, age 14) and I set off on a four-week road trip this summer which eventually totaled 6,000 miles of crisscrossing across America’s heartland.  Unlike those earlier travels of years past, though, this road trip was different. That’s because I am often asked to review products for kids, such as games and activities that enhance family togetherness and for this trip I came up with the idea of assembling a traveling toy box to keep my kids busy (read: not fighting with each other) during drive time.

In addition to being safe and lots of fun for the whole family, to qualify for this particular treasure chest of roadtrip fun each game or activity selected had to

• Be small enough to fit inside a single compact carry-on rolling suitcase that would serve as a mobile toy box which all four kids would share as we traveled
• Be age-appropriate for tweens and teens with appeal to both boys and girls to play solo, with each other or even with mom or dad
• Consist of only easy to transport parts and pieces that would neither mess up the car nor be so small or in large quantities that they would get lost without much effort
• Be something the kids could easily do in the car, outdoors and/or in the motel each evening 
• Not involve any kind of electronics 
• Be affordable, priced at $25 or less
• Games with multiple variations of ways to play not required, but a definite advantage

Each of the games we tested & reviewed for this blog fit all the above pre-requisites and in all cases, even more, including

Backseat Drawing from Out of the Box, Ages 12 to Adult, 4-8 players, $24.99

Think-ets Genius from Think-a-lot-Toys, Ages 8+, 1 or more players, $15.99

Flickin’ Chicken from Haywire Group, Ages 6+, 1 or more players, $20.99

Yahtzee Hands Down Card Game from Hasbro, Ages 8+, 2-6 players, $6.99

Sorry! Revenge Card Game from Hasbro, Ages 6+, 2-4 players, $6.99

1000 Mille Bornes Card Game from Hasbro, Ages 8+, 2, 3, 4 or 6 players, $6.99

Family Road Trip Box of Questions from The Box Girls, Ages 8+, 1 or more players, $19.95

Insider's Tip:  Be sure not to miss any of the individual in-depth game reviews on the above seven family entertainment products that will be running on this blog starting with Part 1 of the MommyBlogExpert's brand new best of series Cool Games for Tweens/Teens That Also Travel Well.

As it turned out all our picks ended up being great choices, providing valuable family together time as well as many, many hours of fun for us all. What’s more is that all these items brought a little more sanity to mom and dad while we were on the road.  Best of all, each of these games has continued to help keep our home B-word free ever since we got back from this trip.

Short trips and long ones: What do you do to keep your kids boredom-free? Please share all your own ideas for kid fun on the road by leaving a comment.

FTC Disclosure: MommyBlogExpert received the games mentioned for review but did not receive any payment or other compensation associated with this post. See complete FTC Disclosure information that appears at the bottom of MommyBlogExpert's main page and at the bottom of every individual post on this blog, including this one. 

FREE TICKETS for Female Bloggers to SheCon '11 in Ft. Lauderdale, FL

by Janis Brett Elspas
MommyBlogExpert.blogspot.com


For the past year, SheBlogs.org, founded by Julie Wohlberg, has been connecting an amazingly diverse group of thousands of female bloggers (both mommy bloggers and women without children who blog) with some the best-known and hidden gem brands in the country.

After a successful first year, last night Julie announced that they are taking their community out of the digital world and over to Ft. Lauderdale, FL for the first ever SheCon!

From May 20 - 22, 2011, SheCon '11 will be offering female bloggers and social media enthusiasts a lineup of educational presentations, networking opportunities, and expo hall mingling, along with local excursions and entertainment that will give our SheBloggers a taste of South Florida.

Because they know lady bloggers aren't coming to the conference on a corporate card, they're making the conference as affordable as possible.  For the first 250 bloggers to register they're offering a FREE SheCon '11 conference pass --  Get your ticket HERE RIGHT NOW before they are "sold out," I mean all given away!


Subscribe to MommyBlogExpert.blogspot.com NOW to be among the first to know when SheBlogs announces follow up details to this exciting and major women's blogging industry news.  To stay in the know via Twitter follow BOTH MommyBlogExpert and SheBlogsNetwork as well by clicking on these two links.

A Note for Marketers - SheBlogs and SheCon '11 know that budget cuts have been making you stretch your marketing dollars more than ever.  Therefore, there are offering a variety of sponsorship and exhibitor options that are competitively priced to offer you the most exposure for your social media dollars, whether you're a top brand or a start up looking to generate a buzz.  SheCon '11 Sponsor Info is now available online HERE or email shecon@sheblogs.org for details and the 411 on their Early Bird Discounts for Sponsors.  Your company will not want to miss out on any of the excitement leading up to the conference in May 2011 in Florida.

FTC Disclosure: MommyBlogExpert publishes the industry's most extensive FREE master list of links to 2010-2011 women's blogger events.  Also, MommyBlogExpert is on the SheBlogs Advisory Board.  She did not receive any compensation, either in the form of products, services, or cash payment related to this post. See complete FTC disclosure information at the bottom of this and every page on this blog.

SheCon - 1st FREE Conference for Women Bloggers - to be Hosted by SheBlogs in 2011

by Janis Brett Elspas

MommyBlogExpert.blogspot.com

Julie Wohlberg, founder of SheBlogs.org, announced tonight that the organization will be hosting the industry's first FREE conference for women bloggers next year.   

Known as SheCon, this conference for women -- including both mommy bloggers and women without kids who blog -- is slated for sometime in 2011.  SheBlogs, the event's organizer, just celebrated their first anniversary in August 2010 as an active and connected network of more than 3000 women in the blogging world.

Stay tuned here for more details on how to attend for FREE (as a blogger) or to participate as a company sponsor to help fund the big event.  SheCon 2011 dates, location, and more information should be available soon.

Subscribe to MommyBlogExpert.blogspot.com NOW to be among the first to know when SheBlogs announces follow up details to this exciting and major women's blogging industry news.  To stay in the know via Twitter follow BOTH MommyBlogExpert and SheBlogsNetwork as well by clicking on these two links.

In the meanwhile, don't miss MommyBlogExpert's unique service to the blogging community: the largest FREE master list of links directory to blogging events for women and moms, both for the remainder of 2010 as well as all the blogging conferences scheduled so far for 2011 by clicking the special MommyBlogExpert Mommy Bloggers & Brands section of this blog. 

As things start shaping up for SheCon leave a comment below this post to share what you think now that you know about this no-cost-for-bloggers conference for women.

FTC Disclosure: MommyBlogExpert publishes the industry's most extensive FREE master list of links to women's blogger events.  Also, MommyBlogExpert is on the SheBlogs Advisory Board.  She did not receive any compensation, either in the form of products, services, or cash payment related to this post. See complete FTC disclosure information at the bottom of this and every page on this blog.

The Girls From Ames - 40 Years of Friendship & Counting - BOOK REVIEW

The Perfect Title for Moms & High School or College Daughters to Read and Discuss

by Janis Brett Elspas

MommyBlogExpert.blogspot.com

Reviewer’s Note: For inspiration and for all photographs in this post (except for the book cover at left), I felt it was essential to visit Ames, Iowa myself -- where the story of The Girls From Ames began -- during our family road trip from California this summer.  

When it comes to having the opportunity to review books that are best sellers like The Girls from Ames - A Story of Women & a Forty-Year Friendship my curiosity was piqued from the project's start.  Not only was the aforementioned title named to People magazine's Top 10 Books of the Year, it also made the New York Times Bestseller List (the latter honor, for both the original hard cover first published in 2009 and for the updated paperback just released in Spring 2010),

Why, the question beckons, is a title about childhood girlfriends from Iowa -- still just as connected today even though they are now well into their mid-40s -- being so well-received? After all, those of us who are women ourselves, were once girls too and most of us also have maintained at least a few close ties with groups of friends from our own childhoods over the years as we've aged.   

So, what is it that makes this particular book such a stand-out?

After reading just the introduction and first few chapters it was easy to see why.   On the surface, The Girls from Ames possesses all the hallmarks of an intriguing novel.   For one, it has interesting, multi-dimensional characters – each of whom is both perfect and flawed – girls and women which appear real to us and which we can find ways to relate to.  Truly, the girls I'm talking about here: Karla, Kelly, Marilyn, Jane, Jenny, Karen, Cathy, Angela, Sally, Diana, and Sheila, are involved players in a fascinating story line. 
  

The book's plot ranges from triumphant to tragic, trivial to deeply meaningful, animated with all the peaks and valleys of youth, romance, high school, marriage, divorce, aging, life and death intertwined. And that's not even to mention all the times when the girls' friendships went through their own ups and downs. With all that drama and depth, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that this book is not a made-up tale.  It is non-fiction and that is precisely the reason it hits home for women like me.

In all fairness though, the outstanding quality of the manuscript cannot be wholly attributed to the book's engaging real life characters.   In reality, I think the teller of their story -- Jeffrey Zaslow who also co-authored the #1 best seller The Last Lecture --  is what really launches The Girls from Ames high into the literary stratosphere.  After all, without Zaslow's masterful use of words and his amazing abilities to research the complexities of past and present relationships in this book, on top of his humility and inquisitiveness as a man about the secrets and wonders of female friendships, I doubt that I or many other women, would feel the least bit interested to read a true story about a seemingly popular group of Baby Boomers and all the things they experienced together as youngsters and as adults, up to the present day.

Lastly, you may still be wondering, how did my visit to Ames, Iowa this summer influence this review?  Actually, I really didn't know what to expect before I arrived there.  All I knew was that I had to visit this place myself -- for some inexplicable reason -- before I could complete this book analysis.  Driving into town in late July, I discovered the Main Street of the Ames that closely resembled the one I had just finished reading about.  

The girls' former hometown has grown significantly.  In 1960, according to the U.S. Census, Ames was home to about 27,000 residents.  By 2008 the population had more than doubled to more than 56,000.  No longer a small town and more like a small city, it has understandably been touched somewhat by the modern advances seen elsewhere in the U.S.  Yet to the eyes of visitors to this community which was built around the Iowa State University and a patchwork quilt of corn fields, it appears to be far from succumbing to the urban ills that big city dwellers like me have to live with every day.  

As Main Street in downtown Ames came into view and then surrounded my kids and I, we immediately saw and felt the strength of the quintessential American small town.  Namely, a sense of community that even in this day and age seems ideal for fostering healthy and long-lasting relationships especially among friends not unlike those in The Girls From Ames.  

In all honesty, I guess I have to conclude that a yearning for nostalgia and my own small town roots played an equally active role in my analysis and appreciation of this book.

The Girls From Ames by Jeffrey Zaslow, $16, is published by Gotham Books, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA)

FTC Disclosure: MommyBlogExpert received a copy of The Girls From Ames for this book review but did not receive any payment or other compensation associated with this post.  In addition, for research purposes MommyBlogExpert traveled by car to Ames, Iowa at her own family's expense.  She further discloses that she grew up in a small town where everyone knew each other, but now lives in a major metropolitan area with her hubbie and kids.  See complete FTC Disclosure information that appears at the bottom of MommyBlogExpert's main page and at the bottom of every individual post on this blog, including this one.

Five Important Lessons Every Kid Should Learn

by Janis Brett Elspas

MommyBlogExpert.blogspot.com

Everyone has different ideas for what the most important lessons are in life for their kids, so here's my top five

• Don't wish for things, do something to make them happen
• Enjoy every moment of your childhood and don't be in such a rush to grow up
• Strive for originality not conformity in all you do
• Remember there are always going to be others who are less fortunate or more blessed than you are and be happy with whatever your lot in life is
• Do always try the best you can and remember that the only person you will ever truly be competing with is yourself!

Leave a comment and add your own ideas, we can all only grow when we share with each other.

FTC Disclosure: MommyBlogExpert wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMom and Nanny McPhee Returns blogging program, making me eligible to get a $50 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.  See complete FTC disclosure information at the bottom of this and every page on this blog.