Fun on the Fly

"Are we there yet?" The phrase makes my mommy heart cringe. Since a great deal of my time is spent driving around under the influence of children, it's a wonder I can even operate a vehicle.

After years of fielding this dreaded question, I've taught my children the answer. My daughter Grace can parrot me perfectly when one of her friends asks our ETA. "Has the car stopped and are the doors open?" — dramatic pause — "Well, when that happens, you'll know we're there." For a 6-year-old, she has a keen ear for sarcasm.

And as we moms know, the waiting rarely ends at your destination. Arrival heralds even more waiting — waiting for a table, waiting for the food, waiting for the check, waiting in line at the grocery store/post office/drugstore/doctor's office/dog groomer/baggage claim etc. And unfortunately, sarcasm only goes so far when children grow impatient.

We were at an airport baggage claim last year when, in their efforts to entertain themselves, Grace got pinched by the conveyor belt and Luke tried to chew gum he found under a bench — and I realized I needed a better way to occupy my children.

When we finally got home, I devised my "doodle bag" of time-passing activities. I stock a plastic bag with items that are inexpensive and so common that their loss triggers only mild disappointment. We only use it when we are out and about so it maintains an elusive quality that keeps things interesting and special. Our doodle bag includes pipe cleaners, dried pasta, twist ties, Cheerios and our favorite — Wikki Stix, wax-coated pieces of yarn that are bendable, twistable and stickable.

We use the pipe cleaners for everything from making figures and tic-tac-toe boards to stacking and counting Cheerios abacus-style. With our bag of goodies we can form letters, robots, jewelry, and play "guess what this is?" games. We've learned to braid, make knots, and even practiced tying our shoes and making cursive letters.

And though it doesn't guarantee that time will fly, we definitely manage to have more fun on the fly.