The Waiting Game!

This week one of my co-op classes is going to be playing pick-up sticks.  I didn't know that they were either extinct or an endangered species!  I have not been able to find a single set at any of the stores I frequent!

Do people no longer understand how VERY useful "purse-sized" games are when you travel with children?  Granted, my purse looks like carry-on luggage, but still...

My massive bag fetish started when DJ was a mere five weeks old.  I took him to the dr. to double check the infection in his blocked tear duct.  That was at 1 p.m.  At 11 p.m., we were finally admitted to the hospital through the emergency room.  I had left the house with 1 bottle for an infant that ate every 2 hours...if you do the math you'll realize we had an angry baby (he was on a specialty formula that the hospital didn't have).  In addition, I had been through the baby having a spinal tap and being papoose boarded while they cultured the infection in his tear duct (staph).

From then on, I never left the house without 24 hours worth of baby duds in the diaper bag.  When I got home, I reloaded the items that I used so that the bag was always ready to go.

With Cindy, I learned the value of duplicates of "essential items".  This occurred after a 2 year coughed in his hand and then picked up her pacifier to hand it to me!

As the kids grew up, we added books and games to entertain us while we waited.  I know some people have children who sit still.  I've heard about children like that, but I never had one.  So, I packed entertainment.  Remember that my children pre-date the Gameboy! 

I had my parents read some of the kids' favorite books onto a cassette (told you this was a long time ago!)  My mother had been an elementary school teacher and she'd talk about the pictures and tell the kids when to turn the page.  She'd even ask questions (what do you think is going to happen on the next page?)   We had an inexpensive cassette player and head phones, so the kids could sit and listen to the book.  Wikki-Stix were also good (wax covered strings).  And beeswax is great for older kids because it doesn't leave a mess.
For older kids, look at travel games or a deck of cards.  For little ones, old maid or memory can be great fun.  The only downside is that in drs. offices we usually attracted the sickest of the sick who wanted to play with us.  After all, their moms were reading magazines!

My favorite tricks for restaurants were sugar packet football (we STILL play that at restaurants) and a pad and crayons.  Pick up sticks would work too, although I wouldn't do that at "Chez Snob". I packed my own crackers, in case they didn't have the "right kind".  My parents were bothered by a child eating before their dinner arrived (even though the child's usual dinner hour was over 2 hours earlier).  Soo...I would feed my kids BEFORE we picked up the parents.  By the time dinner was served, they were hungry again!  I would also ask the server to bring the kids' dinners with the salads.

If you will be waiting with several kids in an outdoor environment (waiting for a field trip to start) you can get a 3 yard length of 1/4 inch elastic, tie the ends together and you have a Chinese jump rope.  Fits right in your pocket!  Another good game is Dots---where you make squares by connecting the dots.

These games are mostly a throwback to the pre-video game generation (of which I am a card-carrying member).  But because they have gone out of fashion, they are new and interesting to today's kids.  And don't ever underestimate the power of mom reading a good book to her kids!

Feeling blessed, how about you?