Tawanna, Author at Mom's Guide To Travel

Apr 08 2011

Traveling without kids: The check-in

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, as much as I love traveling with my kids and hubby, I love traveling without them. My pre-trip preparation is cut down by 75%, I only have to worry about entertaining myself, feeding myself, I can sleep in as late as I want, I’m not obligated to anyone else’s time schedule and I can be alone with my thoughts for a certain period of time. Traveling with kids is great but traveling without them is awesome too!

Every year my husband and I take separate (but equal) trips with friends – guy’s getaway, girl’s getaway, mommy getaway, daddy getaway…whatever you want to call it. Fact is, we get away. We recharge our batteries and it’s good. Everyone should have that opportunity. When the boys get older, we’ll allow them to do the same. I’m a strong believer in folks having their piece of solitude to maintain their sanity and better appreciate those they see on a daily basis. So, that’s what we do.

The problem is that sometimes when I go away and get a mental break, I temporarily forget that I have responsibilities back home. What does that mean? Well…sometimes, I forget to call and certainly don’t do it on a daily basis. Yes, I’m shaking my head at me too. I have a bad case of one-track mind when I’m on personal vacay. After that initial call to say I’ve arrived and ask how everyone is doing, I zone out on mommy responsibilities. It usually takes me two and a half to three days to remember again, “oh, I should check up on everyone.” And I’m usually reminded by it when I see girlfriends call in to check on their household (although I’ve seen women do it entirely too much to be considered being on a getaway). Those initial couple of days, I don’t let their checking-in guilt me to do my own checking in – not at all. My general philosophy is: I’m away, there’s nothing I can do about it anyway or if it’s an emergency, my husband will contact me.

When my husband goes away, I’m usually the one calling him a day and a half later to remind him, “Hey, we’re here. Don’t you want to know how we’re doing?” But that’s just me being a hater, jealous of the fact that he’s away at the moment and I’m not because when my turn comes, I do the same thing. Lots of men don’t call to check-in and though they may get a little attitude from their spouse, it’s probably more acceptable than when a mom does it. Why that is, I have no clue. But don’t let me get started on equal rights here.

Barring that everyone is healthy and the home front is quiet, how often do you check-in when you travel without your kids?

Apr 03 2011

Day before Family travel – healthy meals

The day before a family trip tends to be the most hectic in the trip planning phase. Last minute bag checks, reservation verifications, cleaning and organizing the house are a few of the many action items that tend to be on our To Do List. Sometimes what happens in the midst of all the commotion, is that we lose our healthy eating habits and reach for something fast, which has the tendency to also be unhealthy. And if we’re feeling particularly anxious (or lazy), we may even opt to grab take-out (though you definitely can make healthy choices with take-out, why not save those extra funds for your trip?). However, we don’t have to make poor choices when rushing about the day before we hit the road.

To recap, here are some meal options to consider:

1. Breakfast for Dinner

2. Sandwiches with fruit and salad

3. Grilled Chicken/Cold Cuts on Salad

4. Turkey cutlets (sauteed) with side of string beans and/or fried potatoes

5. Baked/Grilled Fish with salad

6. Spaghetti and turkey meat sauce with a side of spinach

All of these meals take less than 30 minutes to cook. Using frozen vegetables instead of fresh vegetables can help cut down on preparation time as you’d cook them straight from the bag. Use paper plates, cups, and utensils so that you have minimal items to clean up. Your goal is to get out of the kitchen as quickly as possible and get to focusing 100% on your trip.

What do you do for dinner the night before a family trip?

Apr 01 2011

Review and Giveaway – Get Ready to Fly set for kids

Flying with young kids is stressful for both parents and children alike. We (thoughtful) parents are always looking for ways to keep them comfortable, entertained, happy, and relatively “quiet” during flights and transition processes. Passengers flying without kids appreciate us for our efforts but then again, it’s really not about what they think, now is it? But I digress. In the vain of finding ways to keep the young kids at ease, entertained, and comfortable, I am always on the look out for products that will help me do just that. The “Get Ready to Fly” set from the Let’s Go Chipper series aids in doing just that.

The plush yellow backpack set serves a number of purposes: storage, pillow, and activity. I like the fact that it’s lightweight and soft and didn’t feel like a nuisance to my 3 year old, whose back I strapped it to in order to test it out. Initially he tried to take it off but after I reattached it, he forgot about it and ran around the house for several minutes un-phased by it. The set was definitely too small for my 7 year old but I wanted to try it out on him anyway. As the company states in their product description, “the Get Ready to Fly activity set is the perfect gift to help excite and ready a child zero to six for the trip.” However, as stated in their website store, I think 4 years old is the max.

The backpack is bright yellow, so, if you happen to have a runner, you’ll be able to spot your mini Kid Flash before he or she gets too far. Be mindful that the backpack isn’t something that would suffice on its own as your child’s travel bag as it has just the one open pocket on top appropriate for a book, a couple of cars, or a stuffed animal.

The accompanying “Get Ready to Fly” activity book is nicely illustrated and also easy enough for a 6 year old+ to read to a younger sibling. The book explains the airport and flying process and features the one thing that I’m always preaching about: the packing checklist! Hallelujah! That, I really really liked. It also has coloring in the back, accompanied by a box of crayons, to also help keep the little one busy. Overall: Thumbs up!

One lucky reader will win a “Get Ready to Fly Set” of their own. The giveaway begins April 4, 2011 and ends April 7, 2011 11:59pm EST. To enter, LIKE Let’s Go Chipper on Facebook and comment here that you did so. Your comment counts as an entry. Also, LIKE Mom’s Guide to Travel on Facebook and that will also count as an entry. Don’t fret current followers. If you already follow MGTT or Let’s Go Chipper, all you have to do is comment below and your comment will count as a double entry as a reward for your ongoing patronage. 🙂 See, we strive to keep both kids AND parents happy.

Disclaimer: I received the Get Ready to Fly set from Let’s Go Chipper in order to conduct this review, however, there was no monetary compensation involved.

Mar 25 2011

5 Minutes for Mom Interviews Mom’s Guide to Travel

I recently had the pleasure of being interviewed by 5 Minutes for Mom to learn more about the inspiration, motivation and vision of Mom’s Guide to Travel. I don’t always get to talk about it on the site because it feels a little gratuitous at times but I invite you to check out the interview here:

Would love to hear what you think.

Mar 23 2011

Educating the Traveling Kid – Ruckus Educational Apps & Giveaway

Last week I reviewed and gave away two educational apps from Ruckus Media Group, John Henry and The Velveteen Rabbit to one lucky reader. This week I will be reviewing and giving away three new children’s apps to one lucky reader, The Three Little Pigs, Pecos Bill, and Johnny Appleseed. Read along to find out how you can win.

First in my review, The Three Little Pigs, a story time classic, was surprisingly enjoyable. Adapted by Tom Roberts, Holly Hunter’s narration took me by complete surprise. If you’ve heard that story once, you’ve heard it a million times but you haven’t heard it told like this before. The narration and illustration (by David Jorgensen) were pleasantly humorous and Holly Hunter does all four of the distinct voices in the story – the three pigs and the wolf. The wolf’s accent mimics thugs from the streets of Little Italy while the third pig sounds like she’s from Long Island – renditions I would’ve never thought of. My favorite line from the third little pig in response to the wolf’s cleverness: “Out of bed, already fed, and all set for my nap.” Ha! The video option of the app is about 15 minutes long, and like the other Rabbit Ears apps from Ruckus, it has triple usability: watching the video, reading the book, and read/record. I own another Three Little Pigs app on my iPad which my 3 year old adores and which I’d say is more appropriate for him with its bright colors and touch points. Whereas that app bores my 7 year old, the Ruckus version had him (and me) in stitches.

The second app that I reviewed was Pecos Bill, narrated by Robin Williams. As soon as I saw who was telling the story, I started chuckling. However, my 7 year old’s laughter and enjoyment of the video version of the app was priceless. The video was a little over 30 minutes and full of colorful illustrations and even more colorful narration. Williams’ gift for imitation serves this story well and I can’t think of a better choice as its narrator. Pecos Bill’s journey from an abandoned infant in the frontier to a commanding wild horse-riding crazy cowboy will have kids young and old glued to their screens grinning from ear to ear. When I asked my son what he liked most about the story, he replied, “it’s colorful and loud and silly.” My sentiments exactly.

Last in my review is the story of Johnny Appleseed. Compared to Pecos Bill, this was a much more mellow story – music, narration, illustration and all. Told by Garrison Keillor, this true story has a wonderful message about goodwill, selflessness, and performing kind acts for others with no expectation for reciprocation. Because of the pace and tone of Johnny Appleseed, it would be my choice for a bedtime story. Out of all the apps I’ve reviewed so far, this would be one where I would explore the other user features. My son’s commentary: “It was good. I like it.”

Here’s how you can win these three apps. One lucky winner will be chosen at random to win all three apps in this giveaway. Contest runs from 3/23/2011 – 3/29/2011, 12:00am EST. Here’s all you have to do:

Check out my interview of Rick Richter on the Examiner.com. You can read the article here.
Either comment there or on the blog something interesting you learned and that will count as your entry.
If you comment in both places, that will count as 2 entries.

Disclosure: I did not receive financial compensation for this review. Ruckus Media Group provided me with the apps to review.

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