Spinal Dalmatians, Eliminations, and The Merry Go Round of Life...June 2011 New 2/19

[kittylady1972]

I'm here and can't wait to read more...and maybe you will encourage me to update mine. I'm really lagging behind....

 

[Sooze]

Too funny!!! What instrument? Or we're you voice?

I play flute and piano, but got my minor with voice. My students hear me sing A LOT!

 

[heaven2dc]

Oh no!! I hope your van didn't have mechanical problems (we travelled from Oregon to FL back in 1994 and we had gotten almost to the California border when our van started overheating and causing problems which continued every 350 miles or so until we reached FL where it wouldn't go no more.) I hope you had better luck and no major problems - can't wait for next installment

 

[teachermommy78]

I'm here and can't wait to read more...and maybe you will encourage me to update mine. I'm really lagging behind....

Welcome!!! I saw that you made an update!

Oh no!! I hope your van didn't have mechanical problems (we travelled from Oregon to FL back in 1994 and we had gotten almost to the California border when our van started overheating and causing problems which continued every 350 miles or so until we reached FL where it wouldn't go no more.) I hope you had better luck and no major problems - can't wait for next installment

Welcome!!! Oregon to FL must have been REALLY long! How many hours is that? Car troubles on vacation are NOT good.

 

[teachermommy78]

We were making GREAT time so far! It wasn't long until we were seeing this!

And the official time check:

The border for Indiana is really close, as you can see!

It was at this point that the first state line gifts were given out! I got this idea from The Dis, of course. I'm sorry, but I can't remember who this brilliant idea came from, but it was indeed PHENOMENAL! We had two things going for us heading to WDW. The excitement over the state lines (due to the gifts) AND gas station coupons! I did the basic "stop light behavior system." Verbal warning, then you move from green to yellow (if undesired behavior continues), and finally to red. If the behavior improves, you have the ability to move back to yellow and green. Whoever is on GREEN when we get to the next gas station can purchase something for $2 or less. We also had healthy snacks in the car. This worked WONDERS. We never got past yellow for any of the kids, and I believe Sophie stayed on green the entire time.

For state line gifts, I packed a small cellophane pirate themed gift bag for each child to be given as we cross over the state line. There were usually 2-3 gifts in each. I think I got a picture of each one, so you'll be able to see what we went with.

WELCOME TO INDIANA!!!
Sophie got her highly desired "Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do it Yourself Book," and a pink pirate key chain

Ethan got a Dr. Doofenshmirtz talking doll, Lego Star Wars Sticker Book, and a black pirate key chain

Finn was already asleep.

Our family ADORES wind farms and wind turbines. We are entirely over-fascinated by them, so I had to catch a picture.

About 2 hours later, Finn woke up. He was feeling refreshed and happy. Sophie was THRILLED because he hadn't got his state line gift yet! She was more excited than he was to open it!!! Finn got a Perry the Platypus talking doll, an I Spy book, and a clear pirate key chain.

For the state line gifts, I ordered books all year from scholastic book clubs, took advantage of disney store clearances, and hit the dollar store!

Up Next...Dinner at one of my FAVORITE places!!!

 

[anjalee6]

I still love your state line idea, borrowed or not. As a teacher, I "borrow" quite a few ideas from others, but I am always happy to have others borrow back. I didn't get a chance to do bags this year. I thought with the kids sleeping on the way there all night, it wasn't necessary, but we could have used a little excitement on the way home. It was a long day driving back. Can't wait to hear about your meal!

 

[Sooze]

Love the state line gifts! The kids look so happy!! "My" best ideas always come from the DIS!! I'm assuming you guys live in a suburb of Chicago. I was born in Hinsdale, lived in Woodridge, then my parents moved to Elgin when I was in college. Are you close to any of those?

Thanks for the update!

 

[teachermommy78]

I still love your state line idea, borrowed or not. As a teacher, I "borrow" quite a few ideas from others, but I am always happy to have others borrow back. I didn't get a chance to do bags this year. I thought with the kids sleeping on the way there all night, it wasn't necessary, but we could have used a little excitement on the way home. It was a long day driving back. Can't wait to hear about your meal!

I think we will do the gifts on the way home too. Next time I might not do so many books. That sounds horrible! Or maybe on the way home I will have a couple of higher price items ( DS games, etc) that will entertain. We did not hook up the DVD player on this trip, but we have two itouches and an iPod wih video. Oddly, the kids didn't really go for them. The DVD player is so annoying to hook up, though.

Love the state line gifts! The kids look so happy!! "My" best ideas always come from the DIS!! I'm assuming you guys live in a suburb of Chicago. I was born in Hinsdale, lived in Woodridge, then my parents moved to Elgin when I was in college. Are you close to any of those?

Thanks for the update!

We are in Chicago. Northwest side. We aren't really close to any of those areas, but are familiar with them! Are your parents still in Elgin?

 

[teachermommy78]

I just noticed that Ethan was sleeping during Sophie's state line gift! I wonder if I gave Ethan and Finn their gifts together. Funny how fast the brain forgets those details!!!

 

[lbuzz52]

Yeah for great car behavior! I love the gas station stoplight rule and the state line gifts! Hope the van didn't cause too much trouble!

 

[blessedmom4]

What great ideas for getting them to behave! We have missed out on the behavior issues in the car, I think because mine are 4 years apart..the big ones have always been able to entertain the little ones...but the traffic light idea is PRICELESS! I also love how you decided when to pass out the gifts. I have done this myself, though just as rewards/treats...never thought to time it to the State Line though, very creative!

 

[heaven2dc]

Welcome!!! Oregon to FL must have been REALLY long! How many hours is that? Car troubles on vacation are NOT good.

It was a long journey - especially in late July with no air conditioning! It should have taken 5 days which we planned out for but it ended up taking almost 10. It was amazing that when we would be stranded on the side of the road and esp in the mountain passes, not one State police car stopped to help but numerous truckers were very helpful. (Sad note that maybe I shouldn't mention but after we arrived in FL, we stayed put at the first hotel we stopped at in Kississimme and never went to WDW, we decided to essentially stay there living in the hotel room while looking for houses and enrolled the kids in school. My hubby had heart problems prior to this trip & had a massive heart attack and died in the hotel room on December 18th. He had SO wanted to take our kids to WDW and never got to enjoy that experience with them.) So long story short - enjoy each moment with your family and your family vacations!!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Joining in!

Great idea about the state line gifts and the stop light behaviour idea was excellent as well.

If you like wind turbines you would love it here in my town, we have tons of them!

 

[teachermommy78]

What great ideas for getting them to behave! We have missed out on the behavior issues in the car, I think because mine are 4 years apart..the big ones have always been able to entertain the little ones...but the traffic light idea is PRICELESS! I also love how you decided when to pass out the gifts. I have done this myself, though just as rewards/treats...never thought to time it to the State Line though, very creative!

The "Are we almost theres?" have been driving me NUTS lately. Even on short drives. I mostly started the stop light system due to that. It worked like a charm!

It was a long journey - especially in late July with no air conditioning! It should have taken 5 days which we planned out for but it ended up taking almost 10. It was amazing that when we would be stranded on the side of the road and esp in the mountain passes, not one State police car stopped to help but numerous truckers were very helpful. (Sad note that maybe I shouldn't mention but after we arrived in FL, we stayed put at the first hotel we stopped at in Kississimme and never went to WDW, we decided to essentially stay there living in the hotel room while looking for houses and enrolled the kids in school. My hubby had heart problems prior to this trip & had a massive heart attack and died in the hotel room on December 18th. He had SO wanted to take our kids to WDW and never got to enjoy that experience with them.) So long story short - enjoy each moment with your family and your family vacations!!

Good lesson to remember. And I'm so sad for your traumatic loss.

Joining in!

Great idea about the state line gifts and the stop light behaviour idea was excellent as well.

If you like wind turbines you would love it here in my town, we have tons of them!

Welcome! Glad to have you along! I think Ellen's Energy Adventure (or whatever it is called) had a spot with some wind turbines. Ethan leaned over to Scott's 40 year old cousin and whispered, "that's a WIND TURBINE." The cousin was rightfully impressed! He said he just didn't expect a 5 year old to know that (well, a 5 year old from Chicago, at least!!!)

 

[ZFamily5]

Welcome! Glad to have you along! I think Ellen's Energy Adventure (or whatever it is called) had a spot with some wind turbines. Ethan leaned over to Scott's 40 year old cousin and whispered, "that's a WIND TURBINE." The cousin was rightfully impressed! He said he just didn't expect a 5 year old to know that (well, a 5 year old from Chicago, at least!!!)

We Chicago-ans know a lot of stuff people don't think we'd know! My language arts teacher (from the south) was surprised to know that our whole class knew what a corn husk was!

 

[teachermommy78]

Where we left off, we were headed for the first meal of our trip...

Some background. Growing up doing road trips, we ALWAYS stopped at truck stops and family restaurants. I have many, many fond memories of just taking a breather and eating as a family. Well, Scott's family did fast food. When we started dating (15 years ago TODAY was our first date!!! It was to a Cubs game!) it was so weird to stop for fast food! Well, I've gotten used to it due to budget constraints. So when Scott told me that Tuesdays were kids eat free night at Chili's, I knew we could splurge! I love Chili's. I usually would go for the chicken crispers with ranch dressing. Until I started weight watchers. Now that I know how awful they are, I can't do it. Even when I'm not counting points. Scott got them though, and I knew a taste would be just fine so I planned on that.

Scott had JUST shaved his head. I'm not used to it being so close cut! His hair grows insanely fast, so it looked normal a couple days later.

I had the quesadillas. They were OK. I wasn't disappointed, so that's good.

When we left, we noticed that the waitress had written "God Bless You" on the check. We found that very nice. And VERY out of the ordinary for us. Chicagoans aren't rude, but heading south is just a nice, fresh breath of air.

Soon we were in Kentucky!

And it was

And all three kids were sleeping, so no state line gifts right now!!!

At this point I searched for hotels on my ipad. I clicked "nearby hotels" and found a great deal. Called up and reserved a room on our credit card. The lady informed me that it was past cancellation time and we'd be fined if we cancelled. I assured her we were going to stay with them that night. I hung up and that's when Scott realized the blue dot on the map wasn't moving as quickly along the route as he thought it would. We also found out that "nearby hotel" wasn't so nearby...

 

[HeidiLowe]

Hi Stacey! It's me, HEIDI!! I'm addicted to your TR! MORE MORE MORE!!

 

[teachermommy78]

Hi Stacey! It's me, HEIDI!! I'm addicted to your TR! MORE MORE MORE!!

I never would have guessed it was you from your screen name!!! and WELCOME!!!!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Uh oh, this doesn't sound promising!

 

[Altoqueenkelly]

Just wandered over!! Cant wait to hear more about the trip!!