DIY Circus / Carnival Themed Birthday Party!

My baby boy just turned one.  While I am still in denial that my baby is 1, I did somehow manage to throw him a party.  It's tough to figure out what a kid likes at this age, so you kindof have to wing it when coming up with a theme.  Toby loves balloons, like I'm sure most toddlers do, so I thought a circus / carnival theme would be a good theme to bring in lots of bright colors and balloons.  I always like to start with the invitation...

THE INVITATION

I decided to make Toby's invitation in the form of a circus poster, with him being the star "act."  I used a mix of hand drawing and Photoshop to create the final design, which included an illustration of Toby eating cake and the description, "Witness the amazing 1 year old Toby as he devours an entire birthday cake right before your very eyes!" 

I splurged and spent a few bucks to have these printed at Kinko's on the larger 11" x 17" paper, since my standard letter sized paper just didn't give that poster effect.

I didn't want to fold them, but wanted to treat it like a real poster, so I rolled them up.  I took some empty cardboard tubes, left over from Christmas wrapping paper, and cut them into the right length to hold each poster.  Then I just slid the poster inside and folded the edges in to close off the tubes.

I made a little banner that read, "the Circus is coming to town," printed it on sticky paper, and stuck those around the tube to dress it up a bit.

THE DECORATIONS

I hung the usual crepe paper and some balloons, and cut out the letters to spell Toby's name using some construction paper.  You'd be surprised how many decorations you can make with a little construction paper!  I also hung several extra invitation posters around the house.

Then I remembered that I recently started carrying balloons and balloon pumps for clowns and balloon twisters in my Paintertainment shop, so I bought some from myself.  I looked up some how-to videos on YouTube for making balloon animals, and there are a LOT of them.  It was just a few minutes before I had a dog, a cat, and a couple swans.  (I also had a pretty cool flower that popped!)  I thought these would make cute decorations too, so I hung a few with thread from the light in the kitchen.  Toby LOVED watching them spin around as they hung from the ceiling, and I figured I could give them to the kids as they leave the party.

THE ACTIVITIES

I didn't really do any "games" for Sammy's 1st birthday, because, well 1-year-olds are really too small to participate in games anyway.  But, since we had 6 cousins and 1 big brother at Toby's party, and most of them are old enough for games, I decided to do a pinata.

I made a circus tent pinata, which turned out cuter than I thought it would.  I actually did the paper mache part last summer, while I had all the supplies out doing Sammy's Thomas wagon for Halloween and his Thomas pinata. Multitasking at it's best!  I pulled it out closer to the party to paint it up and fill it with candy.  The flags are just construction paper glued to pieces of bamboo skewers, topped with a wood bead.  The balloons are construction paper with jewelry wire for strings, to make them "float."  I found some circus illustrations via Google Images that I glued around the edges, and a circus tent scene that I glued inside the tent "door" entrance.

The bottom has a trap door with one ribbon that opens it, along with many other ribbons that just come off when pulled.  Each kid gets to pull a ribbon until someone gets the one that dumps the candy!  Where to put the candy?  Why, in your goodie bags, of course...

THE GOODIE BAGS

I think moms have a love-hate relationship with the goodie bag.  Many times it is full of stuff that breaks or ends up in the trash once you get home.  When Sammy gets a goodie bag at a party, often times I'll stash away the little prizes and pull them out later as entertainment on a road trip, or while waiting at the doctor's office or a restaurant.

I tried to find a few little items to put in the bags, made my own labels with the kids' names on them, and then we used them mainly as a place for the kids' pinata winnings. Toby's party goodie bags included little stuffed elephants that I found in the dollar bins at Target, a couple suckers, and clown rubber balls & clown noses that I ordered online.

The clown noses actually ended up making for some pretty funny pictures of the kids!

THE MENU 
I had to do a chocolate tunnel of fudge cake because, well,
A) I love chocolate cake,
B) Toby is 1; he couldn't care less what type of cake I baked, and
C) I'm the one who went through the hours of labor on his birth day.  See reason A.

I decorated it with colorful sprinkles, some cute balloon candles, and a little circus train cake decoration that my mom used to use on our cakes when my siblings and I were little.

I have another bundt pan that makes 6 little cakes, so I filled one cavity to make a miniature version just for Toby to dig into!

Turns out the mini bundt shape was perfect for him to pick up and eat, much like a doughnut!

While surfing the web I came across this idea for making cupcakes that look like little popcorn cups. Sure, I have a cake already, but what the heck...why not add another form of cake.  Especially when it's a cupcake that looks like some other food.  You all know from this post, and this post, that I have a thing for cupcakes that look like other foods.

You'd think that red and white striped cupcake liners would be easy to find, but they are not.  Most recipes online want you to buy some fancy, expensive snack cups or use markers to color the paper.  I did not want to spend the money on cupcake liners, and could not picture lifting a cupcake to my nose only to smell Sharpie fumes.  So, I ultimately decided to just make my own popcorn box design on the computer that would wrap around the cupcakes.

Fortunately for you, you don't even have to make your own, because I am going to give you a copy of my little cupcake covers to download for FREE!  Just click the link to download the pdf, print it out, cut, and tape around your cupcakes.  If you have some scrapbooking scissors, try doing a decorative edge along the top like I did, for an added touch! Here's the one I used:

 

So, to make the popcorn cupcakes, here's what I did...

1) Bake some cupcakes.  I used a yellow cake mix.

2)  Tape the cupcake "popcorn tub" sleeves into circles, using a cupcake as a guide.  You want the circumference of the sleeve to basically match the circumference of the top of the cupcake liner.  Set these aside, so you don't get them full of frosting or food coloring while you decorate.

3) Frost the cupcakes.  I used cream cheese frosting.  Something white or off-white that blends with the color of the "popcorn" looks best.

4) Top the cupcake with mini marshmallows.

5) Cut each one of the marshmallows in an "X" shape.  This is the most time consuming step, but don't skip it!!  This is what makes them look so much like popcorn!  I used my Tiny Bites Food Shears and they worked great.  I found that after 1 cupcake, I'd usually get a little bit of sticky marshmallow on the blades, and then the marshmallows wanted to stick to the scissors and come off.  To remedy that, I rinsed off the tips of the scissors whenever something got on them.  I didn't totally dry them off...just shook off the excess water.  A little water left on the blades helped them to glide right through the marshmallows.

6) Apply the popcorn "butter."  The recipe suggests that aerosol spray food coloring, but I tried several  grocery stores with no luck.  In the end I decided to mix some yellow food coloring and water and spray it on with a clean spray bottle.  You could also try brushing it on with a basting brush, however, don't get them TOO wet or you'll dissolve the marshmallows.

7) Slip each cupcake into a popcorn tub sleeve, and you're done!

The rest of the menu really stressed me out this time for a little while as I just wasn't sure what to make.  The popcorn cupcakes were the starting point, and I thought, why not let the carnival theme flow through the whole menu?  So, in addition to these little popcorn cups, I served...

Mini & Regular Sized Corn Dogs...normally I wouldn't serve frozen junk food like this at a party, but hey, what's a carnival without corn dogs?  Plus, every kid loves corn dogs, and these are easy.  

To add something a little more adult to the mix but still within the corn dog realm, I found this corn dog casserole online and gave it a try. My husband thought it sounded gross, but everyone liked it in the end (or said they did) so I'm glad I tried it!  It's made with cut up hot dogs, cornbread mix, green onions, celery, sage, egg, milk, cheddar cheese and pepper. It's an easy thing to prep ahead of time and then assemble and stick in the oven a half hour before party time.

You can't have a circus without peanuts, so I made sure to put out a bowl of peanuts.  (with a warning, of course, to please not feed the elephants!)  

It looked pretty cute with a little sign and Toby's stuffed elephant nearby.  I was going to get those circus peanut candies, however, I couldn't find them at my grocery store and decided they aren't really all that good anyway.  At least these have some protein...

We also had a big, bear-shaped container of animal crackers out. Although, if you got those little individual boxes that look like little circus train cars, they'd look really cute on the table too!

Luckily we live less than 10 miles away from the Mall of America, and it's amusement park, Nickelodeon Universe.  So, we have access to carnival type food year-round.  I was able to make a trip out in below zero temperatures the night before the party to pick up a big bag of cotton candy for 3 bucks.  When I got home, I divided it up into little ziploc baggies and made tags to fold over and staple to the top.  They turned out really cute and looked pretty in a big, glass bowl!  If you can find your own cotton candy, you can download my labels here and make your own little servings!

While cleaning and packing stuff for our move next week, I came across an ice shaver that my mom had gotten from Pampered Chef years ago, and had passed down to me.  I don't think I've used it in at least 10 years but I thought it would be a great way to offer another carnival food item...Sno Kones!  A week before the party I started freezing ice "pucks" and stashing a supply in the freezer.  I printed a little sign to hang above the shaver, set a glass of straws and some cups nearby, and even found a recipe to make your own snow cone syrup.  I've also uploaded a page of my little food signs for you to use, if you like here!!

Oh yeah, and I threw in a veggie tray with dip, fruit, pasta salad and some chips too for people who wanted some "actual" food.  Gotta have a few veggies to counteract my guilt from serving an entire table of fat and sugar!  But hey, nobody goes to the carnival to eat vegetables anyway, right?!

All in all I think it was a fun time, and the birthday boy seemed to enjoy it all very much!  (except for the scary candy falling from the sky during the pinata!)

DIY Train Themed Birthday Party!

Our little train enthusiast just turned 3!  Here's what I did for his party, in case anyone else out there is looking for ideas for a train themed party....

 I always have a lot of fun doing the invitations.  For the train theme, I made a boarding pass.  I did a Google image search for some inspiration, looking at boarding passes and similar invitations.  I made a train pattern in the background to look like a watermark.  The top and bottom edges are cut using scrapbooking scissors with a postage stamp edge.  The bar code on the bottom actually does read what it says, "3rd birthday 12/2/610."  I got this by Googling "free upc code generator" and getting a site that generates a bar code for you!  Photos of Sammy in his Halloween costume came in handy for the imagery.  Then I used his birth date for the section, row and seat, the date and time for departure and boarding time, as well as our address for the "station."  I was able to print 3 of these per sheet of letter sized paper, two sided, at home, and they fit perfectly into a standard envelope!

If you've been following this blog over the summer, this may look familiar...

 Since the party was a train theme, I thought it was an appropriate time to unveil the train table!! (see how I made it, here)  I set it up in the basement, and we gated everything off to ensure that we wouldn't miss seeing his face when he found it, if he woke up before us.  But, that plan failed, as he climbed onto a chair and over the gate, then popped his little head into our room to tell me that he was playing with his new train table!  I guess when you're 3, you are officially old enough to outsmart Mommy and Daddy!

 The night before his birthday (which so happens to be Christmas), I realized I didn't really have decorations so I made this sign above with some scrap foam core and construction paper I had in my studio.  I wrote the letters and colored the stripes on the gate arm with a big, black marker, and the rest is colored paper.

I made a bunch of these little yellow construction paper signs to hang around the house as well! Super easy!

 The cake was really fun.  Well, actually, my first attempt was using a 3-D train shaped cake pan, however, the instructions were WAY off for baking time and the thing sunk in when cooled, as it was still filled with raw batter.  So, I scrapped that idea and started over with a simple 9" x 13" rectangular pan.  I had a couple cupcakes that I made from some of the extra batter from the first cake, and put them together to form the tunnel.  Sammy loves tunnels, and he got to eat that piece!

 I frosted the tunnel and track location with chocolate, and the rest of the frosting is cream cheese frosting that I dye'd with food coloring.  I put a lake in the corner with some blue sprinkles, then spread on the green grass.  The blue pieces that I used for the railroad ties are made of a candy I found at the party store...blue strips of sour candy (kinda like a cross between a sour patch kid and fruit roll-up).  I cut the strip down the middle and then cut those to make edible tracks.  The rails are applied over the top with some black cake decorating gel.  Then, I added some more sprinkles to the grass, and some flowers.  The flower pedals are red frosting and the centers are mini m&m's.  Then I made a little paper sign to stick in the back and added a few train cars and accessories from his set!

The cake went over well, being a second attempt!  As you can see, we got a little more mileage out of his Halloween costume, dressing him up as Sir Topham Hatt for his party!

I started collecting party favor bag items months ago.  The wood engines came from the dollar bin section at Target.  I ordered the train whistles and train shaped suckers online, and picked up some Thomas stickers at the party store.  I just used white lunch bags and printed out everyone's name against the invitation image background, using sticker-back paper, to stick to the bags.

 I did a face painting gig this month for a law firm's party, and the caterer's had little peanut butter and jelly sandwiches cut out using mitten shaped cookie cutters for the kids.  I thought that was a fun idea, so I made these little PB&J sandwiches with train cookie cutters!  I thought of the idea a little too late in the game to find a good sized cutter, so I got this little set of 3 at the mall.  It was hard to tell these were trains, but if I did it again I'd take the time to order a larger cutter online.

The rest of the menu included some home made pizza (on pre-made crust dough).  The little sandwiches worked great though to give the kids something to munch on until the pizzas came out of the oven!  We also had cut up grapes (to avoid choking), and other finger-food items like meats, crackers, banana chips, Craisins, juice boxes, etc...

 I decorated this set of food containers with some construction paper and put them in a row...voila..."snack train!" The "engine" is divided into two sections, one holding fruit snacks and the other, little boxes of raisins.  The center car has Cheese-it's, and the caboose is full of Craisins.  If you used regular raisins, it would totally look like a coal car!  ;-)

 The pinata I started back in the summer, when I already had all of the paper mache supplies and Thomas-blue paint out working on Sammy's Halloween costume.  So, when we got closer to the party, I just had to finish painting it, add the streamers (one lucky streamer opens the door when pulled), and glue a Thomas face on the front that I printed off of the computer.  The center is a mailing tube, so I could easily pop off the face and fill with candy! 

I did go to the party store and pick up some balloons and a banner to hang, but had lots of fun making things to go along with this theme!  Sammy had a blast so it was all worth the work!  Next up is Toby's 1st birthday, just a few weeks away.  His theme: Circus!  I'll be sure to post more photos then!

"Get Your Kids Outside!" Activity #3: Paint with Water!

When I was little my mom would give me and my siblings an ice cream bucket filled with water and a wide paint brush, and we would have a blast "painting" the garage door.  This works great on dark colored surfaces...even on the paved driveway.  Whatever you "paint" with the water looks darker, and over time the sun gradually dries it up, everything vanishes, and you have a clean canvas again.  Who knew a bucket of water could be so entertaining.  Thankfully, my mom did.

Sammy tried this out yesterday and had a blast painting the house.  Every day at the dinner table Daddy asks him what he did today, and the first thing he said was "paint the house!"

Since I've been posting other supporting links and articles in my previous "Get Your Kids Outside" activity posts, I thought this would be a good place to share this great article, which I found via a friend's link on Facebook: "Idle Parenting Means Happy Children." Basically it talks about just leaving your kids alone...giving them the space and freedom to play, develop their own sense of imagination and creativity, and a chance to learn their own lessons.

I really liked this paragraph: 
"The idle parent is a thrifty parent. We don't work too hard and therefore we can't expect to be rolling in cash. With thrift comes creativity. "Waste is unpoetic, thrift is creative," as GK Chesterton wrote. With no money, you start to discover your own inner resources. You make things and draw. Put a pile of A4 paper on the kitchen table, along with a stapler, scissors, crayons and glue, and you'll be amazed at what your children come up with. Forget digital gewgaws. Go analogue. It's more fun and a lot cheaper. Put a bird feeder outside the kitchen window. Fun does not need to be expensive." 

(Well, with the exception that we do still work hard, and my husband works very hard so that I am able to be home with my boys!)

I don't 100% agree with everything in the article...I found the most harsh lines were "… leave the children alone. Pitch them out into the streets or the playgrounds, and take no notice of them."  While I myself still prefer to be at least within view and/or earshot when Sammy is entertaining himself, I see the general point that we should give our kids a chance to learn things on their own, play in an "analog" manner, as long as they are in a safe place.  I absolutely love to watch Sammy play on his own and have been "teaching" him to do so since he was old enough to find toys entertaining.  (Unfortunately in this world of electronic gadgets and digital media, this has become something you have to consciously TEACH your kids...or in following with this article, allow them to learn on their own without constant interference.)  Most days he can completely entertain himself all day long if given the opportunity...although most of the time it just looks too fun and I have to join in.  I do think that if you go to the extreme in the article of shoving your kid off to play on their own and leaving to do your own thing every time, you are missing out on a lot of the enjoyment of watching your child learn and grow.  I prefer to watch from the sidelines when he doesn't know I'm looking!

I do agree though, that this ability to self-entertain can come in very handy on occasion as a work-at-home mom, when I have a last minute emergency client request to take care of.  I don't have to feel like I'm neglecting my child, because I can see and hear that he is safe, he is having a blast, and he knows exactly where to find me at any given time if he needs help re-building a Lego tower, needs an owie kissed, or has to go potty.

It's amazing to compare how he plays in the living room, same environment & same toys, with a tv on versus music.  Many days he never watches any TV, and when he does, I try to keep it to one or two half hour shows on DVR that stop when the show is over.  (It's way too easy to let live TV blend from one show into the next until the day is done!)  When the TV is on, he sits still and quiet.  When music is on, he gets completely into his play, building choo choo tracks, setting up tunnels, driving his little cars to Grandma's house, making up songs to sing, "reading" his books, doing puzzles, cooking little meals for the dogs and his stuffed animals, and performing to make his baby brother laugh. Don't get me wrong...I've had my fair share of instances where nothing but a re-run of Wonder Pets would do, and I know how hard it can be to turn off that TV when it's the only thing giving you a little peace and quiet during the day! 

While I do love many of the points made in this article, it is pretty extreme in one direction.  I of course would not condone staying in bed until noon because you are hung over by any means, and would never agree with neglecting or ignoring your kid. I think it's best to use common sense, and strike a balance between letting your kid entertain themselves sans-electronics, making sure they are safe AND still getting in there and actually playing with them yourself, too! Your kids are only this young for so long, so don't miss out on watching them learn through play or giving them memories of that one summer when Mommy threw herself down the slip-n-slide right along with them.  Those things stick in kids' heads, so put 'em there!  Now get outside and have some FUN! :-)

"Are We There Yet?" ID Mommy's Road Trip Tips for Toddlers

It's July, and for many families that means road trip season!  With my husband's family spread out across the country, we go on a lot of road trips and plane trips. Most recently we drove down to Iowa, where my husband grew up, so that little Toby could finally meet his great-grandparents. Babies are relatively easy on road trips, or at least mine have been. They pretty much just sleep, you don't have to worry about stopping at every single rest stop because they wear diapers, and if you're nursing, you don't even have to pack food for them.

This time around, however, we traveled with both a baby AND a potty training 2 and a half year old, which brought a few new challenges.  Here are a few of ID Mommy's tips to help keep everyone happy!

Set realistic expectations. (or better yet...none!)
"Mom! I have to go Potty!"  Our last road trip to Iowa was also our first with a potty training toddler.  We ended up arriving 5 minutes after I expected... 3 hours after my husband expected.  Let's just say that Mommy knows best what is a realistic time line for her kids, and for me, it included stopping at many-a-rest stop.  The less strict you are on the time you reach your destination, the more you will enjoy the journey and the less stress there will be for everyone.  There is no reason why the journey can't be [almost] as fun as the destination.  That's one of the perks of road trips; unlike air travel, if you get sick of sitting you can always stop and get out, and you don't have to worry about your mode of transportation leaving without you.

Pack Plenty of Entertainment.
"Mom! I'm Bored!" While it is extremely tempting these days to hand your kid a DVD player or iPhone loaded up with toddler games, try to throw in a few activities that won't keep them staring at a screen and missing out on the road trip experience.  Even on a trip through Iowa, there are actually things to see out the window...

It's a given that you should pack a couple favorite, familiar toys from home, but the only surefire way to keep kids entertained is to bring things they haven't played with in a while, or have never seen before.  This is why I always keep a stash of trip toys that only come out on such occasions.

When I was little, my dad would drive with his very tan left arm out the window, his hand hooked up over the roof: the prime position to grab the wrapped gifts left on the roof of the car by the "trip fairy."  The trip fairy can visit your vehicle too...as long as Mommy prepares by stocking up on little toys before the trip, and Daddy can discreetly discover it after it "lands" on the roof!  The trip fairy always had excellent timing, leaving us something new to play with when we started to get restless.  And there was no point in us begging Mom and Dad for another new toy, because it wasn't up to them...it was all up to the Trip Fairy's discretion!

When choosing toys for a road trip, you want to keep a few things in mind...is it going to take up a lot of space to carry around? Does it have small pieces that will get lost or require you to turn around and pick them up off the floor every 10 seconds, or worse yet, fit just right inside baby brother's nose? Will it cause damage to the car's upholstery?

"Mom! She's touching me!" Keeping little fingers busy with toys will help them from straying over to their sibling's side of the line.  A couple of my favorite travel art toys (and Sammy's too) are the travel AquaDoodle (writes with plain water on a special surface...see below), and Crayola's Color Wonders markers (that only write on special paper).  We also like the classic toys I used to draw with as a kid...travel etch-a-sketch , travel Magna Doodle, and Wooly Willy!

Other great toys for little hands are tangle toys, silly putty, and if your child is older, puzzles and games like simon, rubik's cube or twist.  Just do a search for travel games and you'll come up with all kinds of great ideas for all ages.  And don't forget to look into magnetic toys and colorforms...another way for kids to enjoy toys with small pieces without the worry of dropping all of the parts.  I also like those little water games that I remember playing at the dentist's office.  There's just something about the tactile experience you get from pushing that one button that you can't get from pushing the buttons on a Gameboy.

While we haven't tried one of these yet, they do make a variety of travel trays that sit your child's lap or attach to their car seat for a stable surface to play and eat on.

You don't have to spend the vacation fund on toys either, if you just keep an eye out throughout the year for deals.  I've gotten most if not all of my toys from garage sales, thrift stores, and kids' meal prizes.

"Mom, I'm hungry!" You already know this, but remember to pack snacks.  I find that using the snack trap results in less food for me to pick off of his butt when I lift him out of the car and less to vacuum up upon our return.

Little Toby loves his jingling, dangling bugs, and Mommy loves how easily entertained he is!



Not all car entertainment has to take up space in your bag.  Okay, so maybe you don't want to hear "99 bottles of beer on the wall" for the next fifty miles, but try singing some songs or playing road games.  (like seeing how long it takes to spot every letter in the alphabet on signs you pass, playing "I spy," etc)  Point out things of interest to your kids to encourage them to actually enjoy the scenery (for mine it would be tractors, trucks, buses, cows, airplanes, boats, and of course mud).  You can also take advantage of your captive audience by interjecting a little lesson in music appreciation with a fully loaded iPod, or play some other audio books or free podcasts.

And don't forget entertainment for yourself!  One of my favorite things about road trips is that with Daddy doing most or all of the driving, and both kids strapped down (and hopefully now entertained), I actually have a little "me" time.  It's a great chance for me to do a little crochet, catch up on magazines, take a nap, or catch up on emails (okay, and maybe Tetris) on my phone.

Pack Strategically.
"Mom! Where's my blankie?!" I like to pack bags according to situation.  I have a bag of things needed for a restroom stop (which for my potty training toddler includes his folding potty seat, a mini can of spray sanitizer, extra undies and shorts, and some wipes), a bag for in-car entertainment (toys and snacks), a bag for a picnic lunch stop, emergency diaper blow-out kit, etc. If you're the one in the passenger seat, you'll want to be the one to pack the car, to make sure you can reach the things you need on the road and know right where everything is.

Get out of the car.
"Mom!  He's is touching me!"  Kids get restless in the car.  Let's face it...so do adults.  So make sure to plan a couple stops.  No doubt your kids will end up dictating plenty of potty stops already, but instead of doing a drive-through lunch or snack in the car, try a picnic.  Whether you pack a picnic or stop at a drive-through on the way, eat your food at a park or rest stop picnic table if at all possible.  It'll give everyone a chance to stretch their legs and burn off some energy...maybe even enough to fall asleep for the next leg of the trip.  Check out Roadside America for a comprehensive list of offbeat tourist attractions, aka excuses to pull over in the middle of nowhere, ranging from wacky water towers to muffler men!

Be prepared.
"Mom, there's poopy on my hands!" Of course, you probably already know to have roadside emergency supplies for blown tires and various break-down situations.  Kids, however, bring with them their own unique emergencies.  It's important to plan for whatever you can imagine will come your way, but as a parent you know you're always being surprised with some new "adventure" you didn't expect.  It can be hard to balance the desire to pack light with the need to be prepared for whatever your kids, mother nature, or fate may throw your way.  In addition to a few first aid supplies, with a potty training toddler, our emergency supplies included a little folding travel potty seat and extra clothing.  Luckily we didn't need them this time, but knowing they were there helped relieve some of the stress.

Great iPhone Apps for Road Trips:
If you have an iPhone, there are a lot of great app's that can make your life easier out on the road...as long as you have service.  Service was really spotty for us out in the land of corn and cows, but I still managed to get a lot of useful info via my iPhone.  Here are a few to check out:

AAA Roadside Assistance and AAA Discounts - If you're a AAA member, these apps will help you call for assistance and also take advantage of discounts you are entitled to.

Repair Pal - If your car breaks down to the point it needs repairs, God forbid, this app will help you find the nearest mechanics and the best prices.

Sit or Squat - I've mentioned this one before...this app will help you find restrooms.  I found it did not show rest stops between Minneapolis and Iowa, but I did go in and add a couple myself.  You can thank me later.

Dog Parks - If you're traveling with a dog, this will let you know if there are any dog parks in your vicinity to let Fido run off some energy.

Play Finder - Se above, only substitute "dog" with "kids."  I've found this doesn't bring up every park, but it's meant to help you find the nearest playground.

The Weather Channel - Locates you on a map and then gives you live radar of the weather near you.  This was great on our last trip, as we traveled through some bad storms.

Traffic! - Picks up the traffic for your location, although I haven't tried it in the middle of nowhere.  Probably best when going through or around metropolitan areas.  Google's maps have this function too.

In the end, even though we spent 12-15 hours in the car for a 3-4 hour visit, it's always worth it to see the smiles the kids bring to their great grandparents' faces!

Here are a few more links you might enjoy...
Great list of road trip games
Family Fun's Car Trip Essentials checklist
Motion Sickness Tips
Lots of cool gear for road trips & plane trips
My experience on international Travel with a toddler
My experience on general air travel with a toddler