Travelin' Tot Giveaway Part One!

As you know, after Mighty Girl Art, we packed up and headed to the Mid West for a wedding. It was a 1000+ mile car ride and I thought I would share some swell things that we found to entertain our very active 4 yr old boy and keep him comfy during the trip.

We went to Michaels to restock his pencil case with a fresh set of crayons and washable markers for the ride. We got him a new sketchbook and a nifty lap tray for snacking, drawing and playing.

I bought a set of Gladware minis to use as snack packs for the road rather than storing large amounts of food in the cabin of our very small car.

In the packs were:

• Trader Joe's Baked Cheese Chrunchies
• Organic Mini Peanut Butter Sandwich Cracker
• Organic Ducky Crackers
• Annie's Bunny Graham Friends
• A combo of Trader Joe's freeze dried blueberries and bananas
• Homemade trail mix of cashews, cranberries, and unsweetened carob chips

I packed our snacks and drinks in a small picnic basket behind the driver's seat. And put the larger boxes/bags for refilling in the trunk of the car.

I tossed a Peeper Puppet in my bag for an extra dose of cuteness and because we LOVE puppets! If you haven't seen the peeper in action, take a moment to do so now and you'll see why all the kidlets in my family are getting one for Xmas this year. Peepers are the brilliant creation of the award winning puppeteer, Hobey Ford. They're only 1.75 when you buy 17 or more so grab a bunch as party favors, stocking stuffers or to bring a bit of joy to all the wees in your life. They make a handy tool for pediatricians, dentists and photographers. You'll have a chance to win one of these wonderful toys at the end of this post.



I stocked Satchel's toy/book caddy with a few favorite books which include, this awesome Taro Gomi coloring book, and this Charlie and Lola book which is darling. I packed some vintage audio recordings of Mr. Toad, Peter Pan, House on Pooh Corner, as well as some Arnold Lobel audio books .

The Indigo Dreams cd by Lori Lite was perfect to listen to during the time he would normally have "the nap that dares not speak it's name". The cd is very soothing and is designed to promote relaxation.

As a boredom buster, I made a I Spy / treasure bottle filled with colored rice, found objects, plastic ants, a miniature clothes pin, a penny, a dinosaur, and a handful of colorful plastic charm beads from Michaels that included animals and all sorts of funky shapes. ( I colored the rice with food coloring) And for when all else failed, I packed the portable dvd player with some Charlie & Lola vids that I borrowed from the library as well as an early reader learning video.


Of course, I brought his soccer ball for some exercise during rest stops. And I packed this little travel potty for him in case of emergencies.

One of our traditions for long trips is to wrap little surpise gifts to be given along the way. We specifically look for gifts that can be played with in the car or at restaurants. This year, we chose:

The Zoom to the Moon playset by Imagiplay. It was an HUGE hit! The little fabric rocket zips up to become a carrying bag for little wooden astronauts and alien creatures. It's extremely well made, and truly adorable. It fosters imaginative play and it is portable so it's perfect for trips, restaurants and rainy day play. In Satchel's words, "It's slick town, Barnaby!"

You'll have a chance to win one of these at the end of this post!


The Scratch Magic Pad for creative play. There's no mess (for those who worry about such things)...kidlets just use the wood stick to scratch rainbow colored illustrations into the pad...again, another good choice for the road and restaurant distraction.

The Pop Zolo by curious toys - a funky little creative building toy that comes in it's own carrying case. They are like pop beads that stay together until taken apart. One of the beads is actually a little hook for clipping the creation to a belt loop or back pack. Portable and imaginative!

In less than two weeks we'll be leaving for our beach adventure and I can't wait to tell you all about the little goodies I have in store for that trip. Science experiments, beachy crafts, and wonderful tools for observing nature with kids. There will even be an amazing giveaway, so stay tuned...

And now what you've been waiting for - the generous folks at Imagiplay are allowing me to give away the awesome Zoom to the Moon Playset seen above!!! Or you can zoom over to their web store because...Imagiplay is offering a 20% discount to Mother Rising readers. Simply use the following coupon code - integrity09. The coupon code is valid for 30 days.

AND speaking of generous, the awesome peeps at Peeper Puppets are allowing me to give away one of their super cool peeper puppets. Simply leave a comment on this post by midnight on Sunday 8/23 and please specify which cool toy you are swooning for. The winner will be picked by random generator and announced on Monday 8/24. The first prize winner will get the Zoom to the Moon Playset. The second prize winner will get the Peeper Puppet. Good Luck.

* post script: we have some winners!