After hearing this question asked multiple times on the same day, a day which was still over three weeks away from the oh-so-exciting train ride, I created the Train Chain.

You may remember the Train Chain from your childhood, although you would have most likely called it a Christmas Chain, or more generically, a Countdown Chain.  Basically, it’s a chain of construction paper links, one per day until the Big Event happens.

Because toddlers are not very abstract people, and concepts of time are very abstract, we’re using this method currently, to field questions like, “Pop Pop coming ‘morrow?”  “Gwandma coming today?”  and the ever popular, “We go on twain ‘morrow, Mommy?”

I’ve written all the important happenings on the appropriate links.  We tear off one every day.  Definitely works for us!

(And if you’re totally mathematically challenged as I am, instead of labeling the links by how many days are left, label them according to the day of the month that they are to be torn off.  I was terrified I’d miscount and accidentally tear off the Pop Pop chain a day early.  T’would have been devastating.  Simply devastating.)

(And then, also, labeling the links by the day they are to be torn off eliminates the accidental tearing off of two links in one day and the going of days without tearing off any link due to Mommy Brain.)

(But do make sure to keep an eye on little brothers while the chain is up.)

(Or this may happen)

(And no, he wasn’t in time-out. He pulled that chair over because he prefers comfortable mischief.)