Traveling Companions: Crayons and Coloring Books, Never Leave Home Without 'Em

What have we been doing the past few weeks? Well, we weren't trying the newest extreme sport.We were rambling around on a multi-state trip (though traveling with anyone under 10 should count as some sort of extreme experience).

Last summer, a friend gave us a coloring book she'd picked up on seasonal clearance for less than a dollar.

It's since resided in my bag with some crayons (a party favor from our friends' second birthday party [mellow out grammar freaks, they're twins]). The smart hostess had picked up 24 count Crayola crayons at 19 cents each during Back-To-School sales and packaged them in drawstring bags. I still carry the crayons in the drawstring bag because it's easy to find in the dark abyss and it guards against crayon escape.

I love these items when traveling long distances or around town. It's easy toddler entertainment at restaurants and appointments. The scalability is hard to beat; you can entertain 1 to 24 kids.

We tend to use our crayons at restaurants now rather than the small packages or loaners. It made me crazy to use three new crayons for 30 minutes and then either leave them to be thrown out or lose them in my bag, car, or coat pocket.

Some Parent Hackers suggest plastic travel soap containers for crayon storage, but I didn't like the load rattling when I walked or shifted my bag. I may have bought the wrong kind of soap holder.

What kid entertainment do you keep in your bag of tricks?

Related:

• Pipe cleaners: Portable Fun for Kids
  

Meet My Friend (and Pardon My Bragging)

Last summer, I went to BlogHer in Chicago. A side effect of staying at the hostel (beyond saving a fortune) was the lucky coincidence of sharing a room with Jennette Fulda.

The humble Jennette would never be all Braggy McBraggerson about this, but she's one of the funniest and most inspiring people I've ever met. When we met in the registration line at the hostel, two random female adults in a sea of youth groups and boy scouts, I asked what she blogged about. When this lovely, fit woman answered "weight loss" I seriously wondered if she wasn't a bit obsessive. I would never have imagined that she had lost HALF HER BODY WEIGHT with a healthy diet, exercise, and online accountability.

It took a whole day to find that out. During that day, people swooned to be in her presence. It turned out my new friend was a celebrity blogger. Late on day two, after I'd been blathering on about a small print writing contract I'd been offered (unlike Jennette, I wear the clan McBraggerson plaid) Jennette made the smallest mention that she'd similarly been tapped by an editor to write a full-length memoir.

Her book, Half-Assed, is now available, and Jennette's great humor is now available to the general public in print as well her blog. She is the book's cover model (wearing her old fat pants).

Her book is getting great attention; You can see her discuss it on this Sunday's Today Show. Check your local listings for times.

Congratulations, Jennette! Jim and I are bloated like obese puffer fish with pride in your accomplishments as we know you're humbly downplaying all this (and we love you for it).

Set Something Special Out in Tomorrow's Mail: Help USPS Stamp Out Hunger

It's no secret that our nation's economic downturn has left food pantry shelves around the US mostly empty.

Tomorrow is a great opportunity to help out your local food banks, pantries, and shelters without leaving home. Saturday, May 10, postal carriers will be collecting non-perishable foods as well as mail on their normal routes.

Please consider sending out a special package for your neighbors in need.

Frozen Lemon Scraps Freshen Disposal Breath

When it comes to an in-sink garbage disposal, I have little tolerance for unpleasantness. There's something totally unpalatable about smelling damp variety goo when pouring a glass of milk or peeling an apple nearby.

We used to be big fans of Plink, but then we found an elegant solution that is cheap, easy, and reuses kitchen waste.

According to my dad, one of the reasons the disposal smells is because little bits of nastiness get left behind. Apparently, if you run ice through your disposal, it knocks loose all the bits of cruft lurking down there in the dark. Dad also attests to the miracle power of ice to sharpen blades. I don't know if it's true, but in 11 years of home ownership where I periodically feed the disposal ice, I've not had disposal problems.

To get the super-fresh smell of lemons, we grind up frozen chunks of juiced lemon rinds with the ice. It's a brilliantly clean scent. Whenever we juice a lemon (limes work too!), we cut up the juiced rind into chunks no bigger than an ice cube and throw them in a container in the freezer.

Whenever the disposal gets monster breath, we throw in a cup or two of ice and a few pieces of rind (usually 1/3 of a lemon or 1/2 a lime). Run the disposal until the ice is gone then let the cold water run another minute.