Review: Artful Designs

A couple months ago, my son and I went to Artful Designs (you know, one of those places where you can paint pottery). Well, after we got there, my son decided that he didn't really want to paint anything so I ended up painting most of it myself. However, I did see a lot of kids there having a great time (as long as your kid likes art and painting). The prices are about on par with every other pottery painting place I've seen. However, that being said, it is a little expensive compared to other things you can do with your kids in Bloomington-Normal.

We made two items. One was a bowl and one was a platter. I think they turned out great. Take a look:

I believe my total was around $50-$60 after the sitting fee and cost of both items. After painting your items, you sign the bottom and leave them with the people at the front. Pay for your items and then collect them in about a week after they have been glazed and fired.
They had a great selection of items to paint and they're always adding seasonal items to change things up. Everyone that worked there was very nice and willing to help. They also offer classes for adults to paint something specific (check out their Facebook page) and they also offer classes for kids where parents can leave their kids for a couple hours to paint, watch a movie, and eat some pizza. The kids classes are aimed towards kids 6-12 and cost around $30/child plus tax.

If you go, I hope you have as much fun as we did!

What to Wear to Animal Kingdom

Recently, I have been researching everything to do with Walt Disney World in Orlando for our trip at the end of the year. Recently, I came across some items that I thought would be great to buy for the upcoming trip. I have been putting a lot of thought into what I want to wear (as a lot of women do) and I've decided that I don't want to be as blatantly obvious about my Disney-themed clothing as I was when we went on our Disney cruise. I want it to be a little more subtle.

Here's what I have come up with for the day we will be visiting Animal Kingdom.
I want to wear neutrals. Olive Green, Khaki/Tan, and Brown all seem like good options for clothing. I'll buy new clothes or look at my wardrobe a little closer to our departure date (because I'm trying to get in a little better shape and I don't know what size I'll be by then). Here is some inspiration that I've found online, though.

Now, to the part that I really want to tell you about! I have been looking at accessories that I think will be amazing and I've found 3 that I want to buy!

Ivory Ella has these beautiful elephant necklaces that would be perfect! Plus, a portion of each sale goes directly to savetheelephants.org! Cost: $28.99

Tom's sells these cute jaguar shoes in their Big Cats Collection that is in support of National Geographic's critical nonprofit work! Cost: $59

Savannah Co has these cute bracelets in lions, monkeys, elephants, etc. They donate 10% of profits to lion conservation. Cost: Reg $20, but currently on sale for $14.99

Do you notice a theme with any of the items I'm looking at buying? Of course! They all donate to animals! So why not do some good when shopping for your Animal Kingdom accessories?

Travel Gifts

I've posted a couple travel posts about roadtrips and flying in a plane and one of my favorite things to do is to pack some travel gifts. I don't just pack them for my son. I also pack them for my husband sometimes. I'm definitely going to repeat some of the ideas I've shared in previous posts so this is going to be a large list of all my ideas in one place.

For those that don't know, travel gifts are a way to make traveling just a little more fun (especially for kids). I know some people will just go out and buy a bunch of new things to pack in their carry-ons and call it a day. Well, I think it's just a little more fun to open them as presents to add a bit more whimsy to the trip.

For Adults:
1. Sudoku book (or crossword) – or any kind of puzzle book that you're into
2. Fancy Pencils – to go along with those awesome puzzle books

3. Magazine – We don't have a subscription to any magazines for my husband so he loves it when I go to the store and buy him a Wired magazine for the trip.
4. Gum – This is especially useful if you're riding in a plane and need some to pop your ears.
5. Sunglasses – (this is on the kids list, too) These are useful if you're traveling someplace sunny or if you're going to be in the car for a long time.
6. Fun Snacks – I usually buy my husband some snacks that he doesn't get on a regular basis like beef jerky or my homemade seasoned crackers.
7. Travel Pillow or Travel Blanket– If you don't already have one, sometimes it can be great to have something to relax with.

8. Book – I know a lot of people like to have a new book to read while they travel.
9. Power Bank – While on your travels, sometimes you can't find an outlet when you need one so this will let you charge your phone on the go!

10. Book Light – So that you can see your puzzle book, magazine, or book on the road when it's dark or in your hotel room while your traveling companions are sleeping.

For Kids:
1. PlayPack – they come in all sorts of characters from Mickey to Blaze to Princesses to Frozen

2. Small Lego Sets – they make these in every interest known to man! (well, not quite, but it seems like it) Plus, if you have a travel Lego lap tray like we do, these aren't even messy.
3. Coloring Books – they make these in full size and mini sized (perfect for when space is tight).
4. Candy – Clearly, we don't want our kids to be on a sugar-high while stuck in the car, but a fun candy necklace is entertaining and delicious!

5. Pen and Journal – Even for my little 5yo son, he absolutely loved the 6-in-one pen I bought him with the different colored ink and a sketch journal to draw in. Add some stickers and you've just provided hours of fun.
6. Sunglasses – This is an especially great gift if you're traveling somewhere sunny or traveling in the car.
7. Pez Dispensers – You could include this with candy. But my son especially loves all the characters you can find!
8. Books – I usually keep a small supply of new books that my son has never seen in the closet. I buy them from Scholastic during the school year and keep them for gifts. Now that my son is starting to read, these are especially great!
9. Movie – This doesn't have to be expensive! Haven't you seen the $3-$5 movie bins at Wal-Mart? Or how about all those cheap movies you can buy on Black Friday.
10. Create-A-Scene Magnetic Playset – Search it on Amazon. They have so many different ones! I found a Star Wars one for my son last year. He also has a farm one and I know they have a ton more!

11. Small toys – So, sometimes, I save up McDonald's Happy Meal toys to use as travel gifts or stocking stuffers. I take them out before giving the Happy Meal to my son so often that he doesn't even think it's strange or unfair anymore.
12. I-Spy Books – I put this in a separate category from regular books because they hold an entirely different level of entertainment. These books come in all types of characters and themes. Plus, they come for all different age levels. And to top it all off, they come in different sizes (I love the small ones for traveling).

13. Travel Pillow or Travel Blanket – They make these for kids, too! And I know at least my son loves to be comfy when we're on the road or in a plane.

14. Fun Waterbottle – You can buy a bottle with just about anything on it so I like to theme ours around our destination!

15. Collapsible Beach Pail – Seriously! This is only helpful if you're going to a beach. But come on! I don't know how many times we've gone to a store and bought some cheap beach toys after we got to our destination just to leave them at the hotel or throw them away so that we wouldn't have to put them in our luggage. This eliminates all of that!

I hope that some of these ideas are useful to you! And have fun on your trip!

Review: Batter Pen

I have seen these products around in stores and on TV and I really wanted to try it, but I wasn't sure that I wanted to spend $10-$20 on something that I might not use very often. Well, I went to this Christmas Buying Warehouse event before Christmas and saw one of these things there! It was only $1.50. How do I pass it up, right? So I bought it. And then I used it a couple weeks later to make some awesome pancakes. And you guys! I'm serious! It was so cool! I mean, you can make any shape that you want from the simple (snowman) to the difficult (holly). It was so easy. If you can make simple shapes, you can use this pen! I recommend it. My son especially enjoyed when I was able to make a pancake that read his name. Buy one!

Roadtrip Tips

Recently, my family (husband, myself, and 5-year-old son) went on a 13-hour roadtrip to Washington, D.C. From Illinois. Then, we came back after 3 days there. That may sound a little crazy to some people. It sounds crazy to me! However, it was for a good cause. My husband's cousin was getting married and we wanted to be there so we did the best we could and made it there and back in one piece.

I did my research ahead of time and planned the best I could. Roadtrips are hard. Especially with a little one. They're just so unpredictable. Are they going to sleep? Are they going to throw fits because they're so tired? Are they going to entertain themselves? Are they going to need you to entertain them? You never really know until you're on the road.

Let's start out with the packing of the car. I think the best piece of advice I can give you is to have everything you might need within reach. I even bought a 3 drawer organizer to help us with this. I kept snacks, travel gifts (more on that later), and things to entertain the adults in this. It was a great thing to have handy. My husband and I (whoever wasn't driving) sat in the back with our son so we kept the drawers in the passenger seat, facing the driver so that the driver or the person sitting in back could reach them.

The thing I find to be most helpful with my 5yo son is to bring travel gifts. I buy little toys and things that will entertain my son on our trip and then wrap them like presents (usually in tissue paper rather than wrapping paper to make it easier to open) and then number them. I let my son open them about 1 every 2 hours. Sometimes more often depending on how many gifts I end up buying.
Some ideas for travel gifts:
1. Playpack – there are so many different ones to choose from! They have everything from Star Wars to Hello Kitty to Minions to Inside Out.
2. Small Lego sets – we have one of those awesome travel trays so the Legos stay in one place, but if you don't have one of these awesome trays, bring along something else, like a cookie sheet to keep all the Legos in one place.
3. Coloring Books – I particularly like the Color Wonder books. That way, there is a guarantee of no mess (how often can you say that?).
4. Candy – Clearly, we don't want our kids to be on a sugar-high while stuck in the car, but a fun candy necklace is entertaining and delicious!
5. Pen and Journal – Even for my little 5yo son, he absolutely loved the 6-in-one pen I bought him with the different colored ink and a sketch journal to draw in. Add some stickers and you've just provided hours of fun.

Take breaks as often as you need them. I know there are some people out there that say to take a break every couple of hours. But I'm here to tell you that as long as you have gas in your tank and a sleeping child in the backseat, DO NOT STOP unless you have to. The ride will go so much smoother if you don't have a whiny child. We left at 5am and my son doesn't usually take naps, but sometimes, traveling just makes everyone tired!

Play games. You can play the license plate game or travel versions of regular games (battleship) or paper games (tic-tac-toe or hangman). There are so many options out there!

These are just a few tips to help you on your roadtrip. I hope they help you on your next adventure.