busy bag

i found a really cool idea from an article in the cleveland family mag. on how to keep kids entertained when you're on the go. the article recommended a product called the "keep me busy bag," which is a bag full of items and learning activities young kids (recommended age is 16 mos. - 3 years) can do while away from home...whether it be out on errands, waiting for food at the restaurant, whatever. the trick is to keep this bag in the car so that it's always readily available when the kiddies need to kill time on the road. the cost for this product is $24.95, but i think you can make your own for less. all the items listed in the bag are things you can get yourself, and you can pretty much use any durable bag you have on hand. if you have kids with a large age difference (like our kids), i'm sure you can pack a different bag tailored for that child's age. heck, you could even pack a bag per kid. anyway, it's a pretty nifty idea. entertaining (and educational) activities for your children without using gameboys, portable dvd players, and the like.