Traveling with Kids
Tips, Trips, and fun little clips exploring the world with kidsArchive for Day trips
Expert by no means
Sometimes we all experience a little bit of hubris and think that we have a routine down-packed. We feel good about ourselves and take for granted the system that allowed us to be so successful in the first place. The layman’s term for this behavior is: “slacking”. The reason why successful business people are successful is because they stick to a credible and working system, day in and day out.
My major system for calming my nerves and being organized when I travel with my little men is using my TDLs, my To-Do-Lists. They work each and every time and for the most part, the major items on them don’t change – pampers, wipes, extra change of clothes, snacks*, Nintendo DS, towel, washcloth, etc. etc. But for some reason, for a weekend trip we took earlier this month, I lost my mind for a second and actually thought I was an expert at packing the kids up and hitting the road. While my husband was getting his stuff together (which is his only responsibility), I was running around the house sans TDL, grabbing items that I thought were imprinted on the front of my eyelids because I had done it so many times in the recent month. Tsk tsk tsk, mommy. What was I thinking? Between my husband asking me questions, my text messages buzzing away, my oldest son racing his cars back and forth on my hard wood floors, and my one year old opening and shutting my kitchen cabinets, how could I expect myself to remember everything? Impossible. Why didn’t I make a quick list or grab an old one? Who knows? To my frustration and dismay, I forgot my washcloths, our pool towels, my cover-up, a pair of my son’s swim trunks, my infant’s swimmers, and a couple other smaller items. By the time I realized it, we were already at our destination, so there was no turning around to get anything. THAT’s why I write TDLs – because when I’m traveling, besides keeping myself organized and on track, I HATE FORGETTING STUFF! Hear me when I say, it is one of my biggest pet peeves. And rightfully so, because I refuse to purchase something that I already have at home (unless it is a dire need) and therefore, I make myself suffer and do without it.
It is my belief that no matter how many times you’ve packed up your children and hit the road, and no matter how many times you’ve written out a TDL and may think that you have it imprinted on your forehead - if you stray away from that proven system which you established that allowed you to not forget anything and get out of the house in a timely fashion without having to return, you are bound to forget something.
I challenge you to try it next time. Try to pack up for a trip, day or overnight, without your TDL (if you’ve normally used it in the past) and see if you don’t forget an item. Let me know how you do. I’m just curious. I know that I’ve learned my lesson. And though I am one of the ultimate multitaskers, probably an overtasker, I’m definitely not a memory bank. And I take pride in that fact. Hey, I’m a mom, not a computer! I’m all for my brain working smarter, not harder.
*Here is a list of some “mommy snacks” that I travel with: sugarless gum, protein or granola bars, almonds, raisins, almond butter, water, baby carrots, mini pickles, mini yogurt cups, rice cakes, grapes, sliced apple, and the occasional bag of chips.
Snacks that I pack for the children include: crackers, apple slices, fruit cups, chips, fruit chews, juice boxes, water, pretzel sticks, granola bars, and anything else I see in the house that I consider grab-and-go.
Day Trips
I don’t know about anyone else, but there’s a time for jumping in the deep end of the pool and a time for taking baby steps. In my quest to stay young-looking as long as possible, I try not to provoke the dormant gray hair follicles just waiting to pop up from an onslaught of stress. So when it comes to traveling with small children, I prefer to tip toe my way from the shallow end of the pool to the place where I can tread water and then break out into a full backstroke. Enjoyable stress-free travel with small children is all about the p’s: practice, planning, preparation, and patience.
Before I take my two young sons, 5 year old AC and 1 year old AJ on their first world tour, I will be mastering the day trip with them. I want my boys to get accustomed to being on the go. And I’d like to fine tune a rhythm for traveling with them. Day trips are quick and easy and serve as practice for the longer trips waiting in the wings. They require a certain level of planning all unto themselves. In essence they are easier to plan for than overnight trips but you still have to plan accordingly because you’re trying to pack as much fun as you can in a shorter time span.
One of the easiest ways to plan for a day trip is to jump on the computer and do all of the research several days before so that you can psyche yourself up for the adventure ahead. One of my favorite sites is tripadvisor.com because I am a slave to opinions and reviews. Shoot, most of my home shopping decisions are done by reviews from everyday folk and that’s exactly what you get on Trip Advisor. Some of the reviews are straight comedy but sometimes you get a perspective on a hotel or a restaurant or an attraction that you would have never expected. A couple of years ago, my husband and I decided to take an impromptu trip to Ft. Lauderdale with AC and I planned the whole trip based off of reviews from Trip Advisor. Since I was pregnant at the time, of course my main focus was the best places to eat in the Ft. Lauderdale area but my husband was shocked that our schedule was packed and that I had done so much planning in so little time. I find the site to be an invaluable gem for both day and overnight trips.
I’ve also found that preparing for my day trip with the kiddies goes so much smoother when I write down exactly what it is I need to do in order to get out the house and on the road as quickly as possible. My life as a mother is ruled by To Do Lists. When we’re going on a trip I write up at least 3 different lists: a general list, a what-to-pack list, and a food list. With everything on my mind, I’m bound to forget something. If I don’t write things down, forget about it, I either a.) Never make it out of the house on time or b.) End up either turning the car around our going back and forth from the car to the house at least five times because I forgot something. I make my To Do List either the night before or right after I’ve showered and gotten dressed for the day. I make the children’s breakfast quickly, treading that fine line between ensuring that they are full enough to make it a few hours before asking for a snack and being overly full such that we can’t make it out of the house due to bathroom visits. Once they’re fed breakfast, I start checking off my line items on the To Do List. It makes me feel accomplished when I do so. Here’s an example of one of my general day trip To Do Lists:
- Wash up and Get Dressed
- Make Breakfast
- Pack Snacks (don’t forget mommy’s too)
- Take GPS
- Pack extra change of clothes
Simple. Then, I make a list for the snacks that I plan to take so that I don’t forget to put something in the cooler for myself. We moms always forget about our needs but if we don’t take care of the ship’s captain, guess what? It’s bound to sink.
Last but not least, I down about three 12-ounce glasses of patience. Did I mention I have two young boys? Oh yeah, I said that already. Okay, so I drink one glass after I’ve finished my To Do List, take a couple of sips of my second glass in the car and then finish it off once we reach our location, and finally drink the third glass at the end of our day when everyone is tired and we’re heading back home. Those three glasses make the day more enjoyable for everyone involved and keeps me excited about continued travel with my kids.
