I really like these tips for eating while traveling (instead of stopping for fast food, pack meals and stop at a park on the way) from Jill Cooper at Menus for Moms.  Especially keeping hotdogs hot in a thermos--I think we'll try this out on our next road trip this summer!  We could even do some of these things on those days when we have errands to run in town...

Breakfast

Muffins, banana or apple bread

• Don't forget the butter or cream cheese

Donuts, honey buns

• If you think it will be easier for you, buy them individually packaged. I'm not sure why, but kids seem to love individually packaged things and it makes everything more fun.

Bagels with cream cheese and jam

• Mix the jam and cream cheese together and place in a small container before you leave.

Individual boxes of cereal with milk

• When I was young I always thought that it was so neat to be able to cut the sides of the boxes open and use the cereal box for a bowl. My mom thought it was neat because she didn't have to bring extra bowls and could toss the boxes.

Hard boiled eggs

Little smoky sausages (the pre-cooked kind)

• These can be eaten out of the package, but if you like them hot, place them in a small thermos and pour very hot to boiling water over them. Put on the lid and by the time you are ready to eat them, the water will have heated them through.

Lunch and Dinner

Sandwiches

• Sandwiches are always great for a trip. Use hoagie buns instead of regular sandwich bread. It makes them a little more special and they don't crush as easily.
  
  
• Good old peanut butter is great for the kids. Pay just a few more pennies and get the peanut butter in the tube. No messy knives and it's smaller than a jar. If you have spare packets of jelly from eating out, use those or buy jelly in the tube, too..
  
  
• If you put lettuce or tomato on your sandwiches, bag them separately and put them on just before you are ready to eat.

Chicken or slices of ham

• Fried chicken is always a good picnic stand by. See later tips on keeping it cold.

• As with the little sausages, put the hot dogs in a thermos and cover with boiling water. They will be perfectly cooked when ready to eat. To me these are so much easier than sandwiches and everyone loves them.

Potato salad or pasta salad

• Keep them in a small cooler.

Chips, crackers and cheeses

• Buy chips in the cans. Slice or cut cheeses into cubes before you leave. Cheese sticks are perfect.

Baked beans

• Once again, they keep great in a thermos.

Fruits and veggies

• Apples, Oranges (already peeled) and firmer fruits..
  
  
• Clean and bag carrot sticks, celery, broccoli, cauliflower or other vegetables.

Cookies, brownies, quick breads and muffins

• These are the best desserts.

Drinks

• Of course pop works great, but I like to freeze bottles of lemonade. Lemonade seems more refreshing. You can also have juice or iced tea in bottles and coffee in a thermos for coffee drinkers. Be sure to freeze all your drinks to help keep your other foods cool in place of ice..
  
  
• Don't forget the water.

General Tips

• Kids usually whine and fuss for one of two reasons. They are hungry or tired. This is especially true on trips, so bring plenty of snacks and a pillow for everyone..
  
  
• If you have room, box each family member's meal in his own box like the box lunches they give out at activities. This is really handy if you have to eat while driving. When finished eating, each person can put his empty wrappers in his own box for easy clean up..
  
  
• Be sure to bring those extra ketchup, mustard, salt, and pepper packets you get from fast food. Don't forget the plastic knives, forks and spoons along with napkins and a paring knife. Make sure just about everything is disposable..
  
  
• If money is tight, you don't have to have elaborate meals. I still fondly remember the trips when we stopped and bought a bag of chips, a loaf of bread, a package of bologna and cheese. We washed it down with an icy cold Pepsi and nothing tasted better..
  
  
• If you can, buy the gadget that you plug into the lighter plug in your car to heat water. It works well for instant coffee, oatmeal and hot chocolate.

1.  At 16, I was fired from my first job at the mall because every key I made was returned.

2.  I can touch my nose with my tongue.

3.  When I was in elementary school, I occasionally walked to school with Selena via our mutual friend Lynn.  Selena walked to Lynn's house~across the street from me~then I would join them to walk to school.

4.  I was named after my Great-Aunt Katherine, including her two middle names.

5.  I love to read.

6.  The kitchen is the only clean room in our house right now.

7.  I have green eyes.

8.  I've never used my sewing machine and I've had it for over fifteen years.

9.  My dad and my husband are my heroes.

Sailor, my four-year old, has been attempting jokes:

Sailor:  Why couldn't the children go into the kitchen?

Me:  I don't know, why?

Sailor:  Because the floor was wet!!  (laughing wildly)

LOL

Then,

Sailor:  Why did the mom have to go into the basement?

Me: I don't know, why?

Sailor:  Because there was a storm!!  (more wild laughter)

I don't know how to explain to him that his jokes are too practical, LOL!  Oh, well, he'll figure it out!

We spent a few days visiting our families.  Since our family is growing, we've been staying at my parent's little beach house on the bayou when we visit.  It's nothing "fancy or flossy", LOL--it survived Hurricane Carla (1961).  There is one bedroom, a living area, kitchen and bath, a sunroom, and a nice deck.  The house does have a room with a half-bath on the ground level, but it's pretty much storage.

One evening, we had a mini-carnival and ate chilidogs, corndogs, cotton candy, and we made funnel cakes:

Can you see how small the stove is from the photo?  It's this cute little miniature, gas stove.  It's not old, but *vintage* LOL.  I was actually scared to death to fry anything on a gas stovetop, but my dh was there for support (okay--I made him flip the cakes!).    The next pic is part of the finished product (part, because we had already started eating it when I remembered to take a picture!).  We couldn't find a funnel, so we filled a ziploc bag with the batter, then snipped off a corner.

And we made Papa (my dad) play the clothespin-in-the-jar game before he left (he's such a good sport!):

You can see part of the living area in the above photo~it's got that *vintage* vibe about it, LOL.

BTW, I totally copied "carnival night" from someone's blog, but I can't remember who to give credit...if you read this, please let me know!

Yes?

I am signed up for the Homeschool Moms Secret Sister Session #2!

I decided to go ahead and transition into my red, white, and blue tablecloth for Flag day (next Thursday), and, probably for the rest of the summer, LOL.  Flags, patriotic colors, and shells~a nice, summery combination! 

Jerk Chicken Salad from the Pampered Chef, made by my local Pampered Chef!

It was so good--and she made a strawberry margarita dessert that I forgot to take a picture of...forgot, because I was too intent on eating! 

Lion, my two-year old, is in that stage where he strips down to his diaper as soon as we come home.  But then, he's simultaneously in that stage where he wants to try everything on--he brings me coats, boots, and costumes--he still needs help putting them on.  LOL

My fourth-grade teacher called me last night.  She calls me every once in a while~she e-mailed me a couple of months ago and I responded, but something's wrong with her e-mail account because she didn't receive it (and I sent another e-mail last night and received a failure notice).

She's one of those teachers...just a wonderful, wonderful woman.  She just might be the one who sparked whatever creative talent or ambition I have.  We did crafts in her room--serious crafts!  Macrame--I remember making a plant holder--I wouldn't be able to produce one now, LOL...  Once, we somehow made string out of crepe paper, then wound it around glass bottles--I'll bet that if I went to my parent's old house, that bottle would still be in their bathroom.  If I find it, I'll post a picture, LOL!  We made puppets...we did many things that I can't remember.

I wasn't a teacher's pet--quite far from it...I always talked too much and was often late to school (my IRL friends are SHOCKED at this statement!). 

After five years of teaching, I transferred to the elementary school that I grew up in.  My second- and fourth-grade teachers were still there!  I actually worked daily with my speech teacher (not debate, LOL).  It was something that I had never considered--that I would teach with my old teachers.  It was a gift to get to know them as an adult.

On Friday, we joined a pool for the summer and I think we'll be spending a lot of time there--we've gone every day.  The pool in our subdivision is an unused eyesore...I was really hoping that it was going to be cleaned up and opened for the summer, but it didn't happen. 

The O.H. pool has a fifteen minute safety break every hour.  Today we caught on that it's always at the beginning of the hour--this was our third day to get to the pool, get everyone's shoes off and hop in, only to hear a whistle blow for "SAFETY BREAK!!"

So, today I got a little annoyed.  I was in the kiddie pool with Lion and Pilot (2 and 8 mos.) when the whistle blew, and I waited for my dh to get to us to help take one of them.  As I was saying, "We need to find out if the safety breaks are at the same time every day, because this keeps happening to us", a frenetic lifeguard comes over to admonish me, saying, "Anyone under 18 cannot stay in the pool during a safety break!"  (I was still in the kiddie pool with my baby and my dh had taken Lion out of the pool).

I suddenly felt like I was a member of some despotic swimming pool.  I'm in the process of getting my babies out for the safety break and I need to be reprimanded?  I guess I should have taken a social cue from everyone else~they were out of the pool like it was a fire drill.  I don't know...maybe I'm too laid back about these sorts of things, you know, non-emergencies or safety breaks.  Maybe I don't respond like a dog to whistled commands.

I was a little steamed.  Yeah.  Later, there was a lot of roughhousing going on (my dh and I watched an adult woman tackle a kid to push him into the pool) and toys and balls were whizzing by our heads.  Never heard a whistle.  No, "Don't throw toys and balls towards the kiddie pool--there are babies in there!" or anything of the sort.