5 Non-Tech Games For When You're Travelling Or Stuck In Traffic

I live in New Jersey where it can take five minutes to drive a mile or half an hour, depending on traffic.  Yes, the Garden State is congested, which makes it a challenge when you're driving little ones around.  They get impatient and start to...

• Whine
• Complain
• Fight
• All of the above

That makes any potential trip hell for me!  

  

So I found these 5 Non-Tech Games For When You're Traveling Or Stuck In Traffic:
 
 
1.  Where's The Alphabet – Use road signs, billboards, shop names — any reading material outside the window qualifies as long as it's spotted on your side of the car. If you're the front-seat passenger, focus on the right. Look for every letter of the alphabet, in alphabetical order, although the letter can be located anywhere in the word. For example, if there's a sign for a farm, there's your A. The exit for the Broad Street Bridge would cover B, Road Closed is C and so on. First one to the letter Z wins.


2.  Odd Or Even – Each rider guesses how many of the next 20 license plates will end with an even number. The closest guess wins.


3.  The Crazy License Plate Game – Take the license plate in front of you and make up crazy phrases to describe the driver. For example, FCB21M could translate into Five Cute Babies with 21 Moms.

  
4.  Count The Number Of Fools On Cellphones – Here's a diversion with a message. In my area, many people still, unfortunately, talk on cellphones while they're driving even though it's DANGEROUS and AGAINST THE LAW. The kids know this is wrong and we've talked about why it's so bad, but we can't do anything about it, so we've turned it into a challenge. We try to count how many stupid adults they see driving while talking on cellphones. Another benefit to this game is that it alerts me to which idiots probably do not have their minds on the road. Our highest count so far: 15 people in 30 minutes. Shame on those drivers!

5.  Count...Something - Count the number of...whatever. It can be anything: kids on bikes, telephone poles, headlights, train cars, blue pickup trucks, etc. All you have to do is shouting out the thing to keep track of the number. 

 

 

With my daughter having gymnastics practice four times a week and my son needing to get to baseball, friends' houses, etc., I'm ALWAYS on the road.  These games have been a God-send, even with a teen in the car.

 

Give them a try, then come back here and tell me:

 

 

Which worked for your kids?  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10 Signs That Spring IS Coming

I shoveled snow this morning...again...following another school Snow Day yesterday. New Jersey is a constant grey, my mood is a constantly sour, and when I asked a therapist friend how her patients who from suffer depression are doing, she said,

 “Nobody gets better in a Winter like this.” 

Still, with Daylight Savings Time robbing me of an hour of sleep (grrrrrr.....) I have to believe that Spring is just around the bend. And, after all, the “official” first day of Spring is coming on March 20^th. 

So here are 10 signs that the cold and snow will soon be a memory:

1. There are buds on the trees. Really. Look at the ends of branches and you'll see the teeniest little buds growing.
   
   
   
   
2. More birds are about. I haven't spotted the elusive Robin Red Breast yet, but based on the chattering my cat is doing in the window, there are a lot more of our feathered friends out there.
   
   
   
   
3. The numerous emails I'm getting reminding me to join the Town Pool.
   
   
    
   
4. The numerous reminders I'm getting to send the kids to Camp.
   
   
   
   
5. Days are getting longer so I'm looking at snow much longer. Grrrrr....
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
6. The emergence of jelly beans and other Easter goodies which must be hoarded the rest of the year.
   
   
   
   
7. Spring/Summer clothes in the stores. Okay, so they've been there since October, but now I'm actually thinking about wearing them.
   
   
   
   
8. People who only wear pants (as opposed to shorts) on the the coldest days of the year are back in shorts. They know something we don't know.
   
   
   
   
9. The sound of woodpeckers drumming. Woodpeckers drum in early spring as both a territorial announcement and as a part of spring courtship. You may hear them on chimney flues and drainpipes.
   
   
   
   
10. Winter drinks containing gingerbread and pumpkin are fading, to be replaced by ones containing coconut and pineapple. Yum!!!!

As I look over my stomach past the 10 pounds I've gained from stress and boredom eating this Winter, I can't wait until the trail at the local park has been plowed and I can again enjoy my walks around the lake. I'm ready to say “good-bye” to my comforting fireplace and put the heavy blankets away. I'm hopeful that the pollen won't be too bad this Spring so that my daughter and I won't suffer too much. And I'm looking forward to seeing the face of that first crocus pop up from the ground. You'll hear a “whoop” of joy from here, in the Garden State. 

For me, Spring can't come soon enough!