When DH’s employer presented his big award to him, they let me know so the kids and I could “surprise” him. We arranged to arrive during an employee meeting at 1:00 so we could sneak in. But as employee meeting typically do – they went over and by 2:00 they still hadn’t presented DH’s award.
Now, I don’t know about most kids, but keeping my kids quiet for over an hour in a little room with nothing in it but tables and chairs is next to impossible. Luckily, DD had earned some WikiStix through the summer reading program at the library. On a hunch, I threw them in my purse before we left for our trip (thinking that it would save us in a restaurant, if need be). The kids loved them – making shapes, letters, cars, dogs, rainbows, or just sticking them to the wall for fun.
I think I’ll be buying the mega-pack!
Later in the day, we went to dinner. DS has been having a really tough time sitting still at dinner and we typically don’t like taking him out because one of us will end up in the parking lot while the other eats. It’s really not much fun. But since we have no choice but to eat out while on vacation, I tried to make the best of it by bringing along some “paint with water” cards. They initially come with a spongy pen that you put water in, but the pen never really works well. So I improvised and used icecubes instead. The kids loved it! And we actually got to eat our dinner together. This is another item I will be taking along everywhere we go!
So, there you have it. Two simple toys bringing literally hours of peace to my life in one day.
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