So here is the latest news. My best friend is getting remarried and I am so happy for her. There is one little hiccup in this whole happy ever after week that is now THIS WEEK! I can't believe it is here. I haven't seen her in two years and we live across the country from each other now. So there is the hiccup...travel. I have to travel with my three kids who are awesome in the car. But I am driving to Ohio for an overnight break with family, then the next day will be on to Iowa where we used to live for the wedding.
That my friend, is a lot of miles from my starting point in Southwestern Pennsylvania. I am mentally preparing for the onslaught of what we parents are used to:
Are we there yet?
I have to pee.
He's touching me.
She's touching my stuff.
When can we eat?
You get it. We've all heard this. I am preparing snacks and such that will not leave Dorito crumbles all over my car and kids. Something to fill them up and be healthy. Now I have seen tons of stuff on Pinterest for travelling with kids. Like this one from kitchenfunwithmy3sons.com
It has been my hope since trying to be the perfect mom to do this one. Which none of us are perfect, but I have moments when I try to do something awesome to amaze my kids. How cool would this be?
But here is the hard, cold reality of this trip coming up in just a few days as I type this: I don't have the time to get this done.
I am so excited my sister in law and my youngest nephew were here for a long weekend, so I want to be with them. This is my priority. I have to wash and pack everyone. Plus load some gifts I have been storing away like the little chipmunk who lives under my porch, hoarding things as I find them. You see, I will be busy. Can I take my own advice and carve out the time for a Dollar Tree trip to get something to put this in? I hope so.
I would like to think I would make the chain for each hour of the trip to hang on the back of the chair too for my little guy, I mean how neat is this for the little ones in the car to mark the passing of time? Although, my concern is, will I be asked a thousand times an hour if it is time to take one off? I am afraid it would be. Check out smallfriendly.com for more tips and tricks like the chain below.
Summer is upon us and road trips will abound so I am trying to find everything I can to make this pleasant for us all. I mean, we are NO stranger to road trips. I am from Texas and we are always making trips back there and have been for years. Each year, I try to up my parent game with new ways to keep everyone happy and content and save my sanity by not wrecking my healthy eating...which that alone is hard enough when stopping at travel stops and Combos are calling my name.
As the kids have grown it has gotten easier. There are tablets and such to keep them entertained. Books are always a staple as are coloring books. I did get some new travel activities for good prices at Five Below. I got my son a new Jurassic World activity book along with a new superhero one. Although with two teenagers in the mix now, that won't be an option. But hey, my little guy can still color!
I usually pack a backpack; you know there are tons of ways to re-purpose old school backpacks that are still usable. We have used them as church bags when the kids were smaller and they make great bags for road trips. They each already have their own bag. I fill it with snacks, juice pouches, water bottle, and whatever age appropriate thing they are into. When my son was small, it consisted of cars, Batman figurines, Iron Man and Spider Man. It also held the ever popular coloring book and crayons. Board books are usually small and I would stuff several in there for him.
As he is now, almost 7 (less than two weeks), it still will have basically the same components, but board books have been replaced by actual books which is awesome. He can practice his reading to me in the car and he stays on top of his reading over the summer months whenever we go somewhere over 30 minutes. If you haven't gotten a backpack in the car full of age appropriate books, I insist you do so immediate. It is a lifesaver. Seriously.
The backpacks are stored easily as well. I try not to bring too much (which never happens). This road trip will be no different as we are going to a wedding. We will be going out, seeing people we haven't seen in years, the shoes alone for summer outfits, forget about it. I am not even getting into jewelry and other accessories like eye wear. I mean seriously.
So with that being said, I hope this post has helped you plan your trip a little better, a little lighter and helps keep you sane during the wonderful summer months where travel is pretty much mandatory. I will let you know if my well laid plans for snacks and paper chain worked or if I even did them. Please pray I do. I am going to blast 80's on Eight til they beg for mercy. This is a "No Justin Beiber Zone". Stay smart moms! We are all in this together. We are road warriors and we shall survive!
No comments:
Post a Comment