Comments (1)

By Mom Unplugged, June 30, 2008 6:23 am

Last night I turned on my computer to write our Unplugged Project post and there was nothing. No blog. No admin panel. Only blinding whiteness.

Tech support was stumped but working on it, so I left the problem in their far more capable hands and went to bed. This morning all was magically returned to normal! I don’t think they really know why.

So this is a long way of saying that my post will be up shortly (as long as my blog doesn’t disappear into the ether again).

Comments (2)

By Mom Unplugged, June 28, 2008 7:42 pm

If you do, then read this NPR Story Corps story from 94 year-old Betty Jenkins, or better yet, click “listen now” on the story page to hear it in her own words:

A Bra’s Tale: Detour on a Daughter’s Trip Abroad (3 min 18 sec)

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Comments (9)

By Mom Unplugged, June 24, 2008 11:22 pm

Now is the time of year when most families embark on an overly-ambitious trip or two. Our main goal as traveling parents is to preserve our sanity and that of our fellow captive travelers by avoiding at all costs the inevitable “are we there yets,” whining, squabbling, seat kicking…well, you get the idea.

Of course you could plug the kids into a DVD player or video game. Personally I believe that when traveling: if it works, then go for it! Forget your principles and opt for The Easy Way Out (Dramamine anyone? Just kidding!).

If you are of a more solid constitution however, and wish to travel in an unplugged (and unmedicated) fashion - or if the battery runs out, what should you do?

Well as the proud Mama of two great unplugged travelers and one terrible one, I wrote this post (Traveling Unplugged) last summer after surviving a four hour plane trip.

I am not trying to “cheat” by republishing a portion of it, but just like in my kids’ rooms, stuff gets buried in the blog after a while, you know what I mean? Hopefully it might give you some good ideas:

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Originally written June 18th, 2007:

“My two oldest are now 5 and 6. They each pull their own little rolling suitcase packed with their activities, as well as a favorite stuffed animal or two. Note: I supervise the packing of the suitcase, or better yet, pack it for them when they are not there. This avoids us finding a suitcase full of rocks, scraps of paper, bits of string, and other “toys” that simply could not be left behind. I always try to include a few new “surprises.”

Here are some ideas that have worked for us:

Books:

An obvious choice. Try to pack lightweight, paperback books.

Crafts:

- A French knitter (easy for ages 5-6+ to do on their own - makes yarn “snakes” that can be coiled and sewn into various projects)

- Modeling clay (I squish one stick into a plastic Easter Egg which makes a great travel container)

- Wikki Stix (strings coated with wax, like candle wicks, can be bent into many different shapes)

Art Toys:

- Travel-sized erasable drawing board (Magna Doodle for example)

- Pocket Etch-A-Sketch

- Don’t forget the plain old pad of paper and crayons.

Travel Games:

- Are We There Yet

- Haba Story Telling Tin (children make up stories based on the picture cards they choose-very creative!)

- Also look for travel-sized editions of other favorite board games, there are many out there, you just have to search for them. Beware of games with too many small pieces to lose if you have young (or unreliable) children.

Magnetic Playsets:

- Melissa & Doug Magnetic Farm Hide & Seek

- Smethport Magnetic Playboards (some examples are below, but search for “Smethport” at Amazon toys to see all the possibilities).

Toys:

Choose toys that are small, light, and don’t have a lot of pieces to get lost.

- Lacing block

- Zip-lock bag full of hot wheels cars

- Peace Ring

- Piece of string or yarn (for Cat’s Cradle)

Creative Coloring Books:

I like to find coloring books that are not your typical stay within the lines type of activity.

- The Anti-Coloring Book series is wonderful with suggestions for all kinds of imaginative possibilities.

- The Taro Gomi books are also very original but have a lot of pages so may be too big to pack easily.

- Here are also a few other suggestions for coloring books featuring abstract patterns that can be colored in many, many different ways.

Wipe Clean Board Books:

Tip: Stash away an airline cocktail napkin or two for wiping these off.

Find-It Books:

- Our favorite is the Look-Alikes series of books by Joan Steiner. These feature amazing, realistic photos in which the objects are almost always something else (sidewalks made of crackers or wheels made of buttons, etc.). Kids (and grown-ups too) enjoy looking through these books over and over as there is always something new to notice. It is also a fun activity to say to kids “I see a penny” and have them find it. You will tire of that game before they do! Of course there are also the well-known Where’s Waldo and I Spy books, but here are also some additional ones we like that are not so common:

Scholarly Pursuits:

Not fun for all kids, but my oldest loves this stuff!

- Workbooks

- Flash cards

- Brain Quest

Learn Some Games Yourself!:

If you are really desperate, buy a book such as Car Games: 100 Games to Avoid “Are We There Yet?”. This book offers suggestions for over 100 fun games to play in the car, airplane, or even while camping or waiting in line for example (not all games rely on spotting license plates or signs). A fun book. Parents could learn a few of these games in order to provide timely distractions at critical moments!

As for traveling by air with 18 month-olds: my best piece of advice is grit your teeth and remember that you will never see any of those people again!”

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Plus here are a few additional ideas from the comments to this post:

• a zip pencil case filled with canning ring lids for little ones, a disposable camera for use during the flight, a preflight gift of colored pencils and a little travel diary in a zippered pouch (from Wishy the Writer)
• a small wrapped present to be given hourly and a small snack surprise on the off half hour (Andamom)
• A bag of magnet shapes from the dollar store and a metal tin lid as a magnet board (“girlcarew”-sorry I can’t find your link!)
• A new toy for a new trip - pick one that is easy to transport but whose discovery will occupy for a while (Whymommy)

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BONUS!!: an extra special Pilot Trick (since I am a pilot) -

When you have a screechy kind of child that you must take on a commercial airplane full of other people, sit as close to the engine as possible since that is the noisiest part of the plane. Screechy child=bad, lots of ambient noise to help drown it out=good.

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What works for you? Good luck and happy travels!

Comments (15)

By Mom Unplugged, June 21, 2008 10:17 am

This is a comment I received this morning from “Greg Fillibuster” on my perfectly innocuous (or so I thought) Opt Out of Your Phone Books post:

“Everyone needs to get their facts straight.
NOT ONE TREE IS CUT DOWN TO PRINT PHONE BOOKS.
Ever heard of lumber? Do trees grow in 2 x 4′s?
what happens to the rest of the tree once you have taken out the 2 X 4′s?
Paper Pulp. If not paper, this would go to the landfill.
Once a directory is used it can be recycled. Firms making insulation cannot get enough recycled phone books.
Insulation cuts down on energy used for heat.
What about the 87% of households that used a phone book last year. You Green nuts need to get your facts correct.”

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Dear Mr. Fillibuster,

Before leaving a comment, especially an unpleasant reactionary one, please read the post.

1) First, THE SERVICE is for those who do not want 50 lbs of paper dumped on their doorstep several times a year.

• I am not saying that phonebooks are bad and that no one needs them, I am simply saying that I should not have to be forced to waste my gas and my time to drive my 50 lbs of paper to the recycling bin so that it can be nicely recycled into insulation. Why not give those people the paper in the first place without wasting everyone’s time and gas getting giving it to me when I don’t want it.
• This service allows people who don’t use phone books to have the choice to opt out. Those who do use them can still get their phone books. Obviously many people still use phone books. Not everyone has internet access. That is fine. I just don’t want one more than every two years or so, but that is my choice and I am pleased to finally have that choice
• By the way, the service doesn’t guarantee non-delivery of phone books. It simply forwards requests to the phone company and it is up to them to act upon that request.

2) RECYCLING: Yes, phonebooks can be recycled but I would wager that the majority of people don’t waste their time and gas to drive them to the recycling bin. Do you?

• (A random sample on the YellowPagesGoesGreen site showed that fewer than 10% of people recycle their phone books - no wonder the insulation companies are desperate!)

3) FACTS: As for my environmental “facts,” I did list the source of those facts (I did not see the source of your “facts”). If you believe them to be incorrect, then please take the issue up with YellowPagesGoGreen, not with me. By the way, I thought that paper pulp came from paper which came from trees. And lumber, isn’t that wood that came from trees too? Silly me!

4) “GREEN NUTS”: As for your reference to “green nuts,” I am not quite sure what you mean. Pistachios perhaps? Last I checked, I was not a pistachio, nor am I the color green. Silly me again!

5) A bit of advice: Anger and name calling really detract from your message. If you want people to give more serious consideration to what you have to say, I would advise you to tone down your delivery just a tad.

Finally, I do hope your day improves because you must be having a very bad one if you have nothing better to do than leave unpleasant comments on innocent people’s blogs on a Saturday morning.

Peace and love to you Mr. Fillibuster,

Signed,

Ms. Pistachio

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By the way, thanks to all the people out there who make blogging a pleasant experience. I blog to relax, not to have my blood pressure raised. Some people like controversy on their blogs and that is OK. That has never been me (I have only ever “ranted” once, OK - now maybe twice!). I am non-confrontational in life and on my blog. I just want to say what I have to say and if people like it, they can come back. If they don’t, they can go away.

And yes, I hit delete on that comment above so you will not find it at the phonebook post. And by the way, that is the only comment I have ever deleted because it angered me.

But my blog is not a democracy, nor is it a dumping ground for other people’s anger. It is mine. I control what is published on here. For those who have no kind words to say, then please go away. It sounds corny, but I want to spread good feelings, not bad.

99% of the comments I get are great, keep them coming! Thank you!

Comments (5)

By Mom Unplugged, June 20, 2008 9:51 am

You probably already knew that you could opt out of catalogs, but did you know that you can also opt out of receiving phone books?

Thanks so much to Hettie of Celtic Mommy for emailing me this link:

YellowPagesGoesGreen.org

I am an active CatalogChoice participant, but the phone book thing is going to be harder for me to adopt. I am old-fashioned I guess, and for some reason I like having my local phone numbers all there in a book in my desk drawer.

However I do live in a small area and my single phonebook (white and yellow pages combined) is only about an inch thick! If I was in New York City, or LA where my phone books weighed more than my oldest child, I would be ever so eager to rid myself of them forever!

But do we really need to have numerous phone books dumped at our door several times per year? I would prefer to call and ask for a book every year or two…or better yet, get used to finding my information paperlessly, online.

Of course phone books are a great source of advertising revenue for phone companies and other private companies that compile directories, so they won’t easily cease distribution. That is why if this cause is important to you, then help spread the word that such an option is available.

Here are some facts (according to YellowPagesGoesGreen):

To produce 500 million books:

• 19 million trees need to be harvested
• 1.6 billion pounds of paper are wasted
• 7.2 million barrels of oil are misspent in their processing (not including the wasted gas used for their delivery to your doorstep)
• 268,000 cubic yards of landfill are taken up
• 3.2 billion kilowatt hours of electricity are squandered

Be sure to check out the YellowPagesGoesGreen links page too.

I am off to sign up now to opt out of my little phone book and begin changing my habits to a paper-free phone life!