Vacation DVDs

We are planning a big family vacation in June.  We will be vacationing with my sister, brother, cousin, and everyone's spouses and children.  Getting to our vacation hot spot will take two days of driving (and another two days on the return end).

Two days trapped riding in the car with three children ages 7, 5, and 3. 

I will bring lots of options for entertainment, including books for reading, activity and coloring books, games, activities, etc.  But let's not kid ourselves here:  there will be lots of entertainment in the form of watching DVDs.

Before I had kids, I had a long mental list of things I would never do as a parent.  That list included letting my kids watch movies in the car.  I thought it was ridiculous that kids needed to be entertained in the car. 

Then our life changed to include school.  Now we have to get to Nolan's school early each afternoon just to find a parking spot, and my kids have to sit in the car for 30-45 minutes.  When I realized that this daily wait required something more than coloring books, I changed my parenting boundaries to include DVDs in the car.

Now "Watching DVDs in the car" is on a new list:  Things I Swore I'd Never Do As A Parent But Ended Up Doing Anyway.  It sits right below "Letting the kids eat PopTarts for breakfast."

What was I saying?  Oh yes, DVDs for the drive to vacation. 

Our current DVD collection is pretty limited.  We have just a couple kids' movies and a few discs of children's shows.  Our favorites include Curious George and Peep.  If you're not familiar with the show Peep, I highly recommend it.  It used to air on TLC when Nolan was a baby.  I don't think it's currently on tv at all.  It cute and educational.

I thought it would be fun to get some new DVDs for our vacation drive.  I shopped carefully and found some fantastic options on Amazon.  I aimed for about $5 per DVD (some were more, some were less).  I had money set aside for this purchase, so I bought quite a few.

Here are all my selections, if you're interested:

I also bought a DVD book that can hold 32 discs ($10 at Kmart):

I spent a good chunk of the kids' naptime opening DVD packaging.  Boy, those things are a pain!  I put each disc into a slot in the DVD book.

Then I dug around in my craft/office supplies and found some labels (about the size of name tags).

I only needed one label for this project.  I cut the label into four strips, and I wrote numbers 1-32 on the strips.

Then I cut between the numbers so I had individual stickers with each number.  There are certainly prettier ways to do this, but I just wanted to use what I had on hand.  I was tempted to do something on my computer (tapping into my font addiction), but I chose the fast/easy route.

I applied one number sticker to each page of the disc book.

Even though I only had 22 discs, I went ahead and labeled all 32 pages in case we get more later.

This is not just some compulsive way for me to keep track of my DVDs.  I had a plan in mind to make this more fun for the kids on our way to/from vacation.

I got a piece of notebook paper and wrote the numbers 1-32.

Then I cut them into individual strips with one number each.

I left 23-32 intact since I don't need them at this time.

I folded the strips and put them in a plastic sandwich bag.  I included the extra numbers in case I need them later.

So, here's the plan.  When we are driving to our vacation spot and the kids are ready to watch something, I will let one child (they will take turns) pull a number out of the bag.  I will retrieve the corresponding DVD, and that's what they will watch.  I'm hoping this will cut down on arguments trying to get the kids to agree on what to watch.  I will explain to the kids that they may not like the current selection but may love the next.  Plus I'm hoping the element of mystery (they won't know what the DVDs are ahead of time) and just having something new to watch will be enough to keep them entertained.

I'll let you know how it goes!

Jessica

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Saturday night Jared and I stopped at a Redbox hoping to find a good movie to watch at home.  We were not disappointed!

We chose Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.

When I saw that Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock were both in this movie, I figured it had to be good.  Turns out that the little boy who plays the leading role is also a brilliant actor.

Here's a description from the movie's official website:

Adapted from the acclaimed bestseller by Jonathan Safran Foer, “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” is a story that unfolds from inside the young mind of Oskar Schell, an inventive eleven year-old New Yorker whose discovery of a key in his deceased father’s belongings sets him off on an urgent search across the city for the lock it will open. A year after his father died in the World Trade Center on what Oskar calls “The Worst Day,” he is determined to keep his vital connection to the man who playfully cajoled him into confronting his wildest fears. Now, as Oskar crosses the five New York boroughs in quest of the missing lock – encountering an eclectic assortment of people who are each survivors in their own way – he begins to uncover unseen links to the father he misses, to the mother who seems so far away from him and to the whole noisy, dangerous, discombobulating world around him.

Near the beginning of the movie, Oskar lists all the things that scare him.  As he was talking, I said to Jared, "I so get this kid."

It reminded me of the Scaredy Squirrel books.

My sister was the first person to buy my kids a Scaredy Squirrel book.  I didn't know if she was poking fun at me or if I just saw myself in this anxious squirrel.  Whatever the case, my kids enjoy the books.

Oskar, the quirky little boy in the movie, has many fears as well as interesting habits, like shaking a tambourine to calm himself.  He addressed a question in my mind when he was talking to a woman in the movie and saying a few things that weren't quite socially appropriate.  He said that he had once been tested for Asberger's.  He briefly explained the disorder and said, "The tests were inconclusive."

He is a unique kid with an incredible mind.  His amazing dad had nourished his son's mind and taught him how to be scientific and a little adventurous.  Oskar's expedition to find the lock for his dad's key was his culminating adventure to use all his dad had taught him while holding onto the last piece of his father.

This movie shows so many different sides of humanity.  It speaks to emotional connections that can be made between strangers.  It addresses what family really means, and it absolutely pulls at the heartstrings of parents.

I'm so thankful that we chose this movie, and I highly recommend it to anyone!

Jessica