Organized Road Trippin'

Our family and friends-who-are-like-family live about 3-4 hours away. So we've been road trippin' with our kids for visits since they were just babies. We haven't gone on as many trips this year since Channing has started kindergarten...because let's be honest...kindergarten is tiring for us mamas too. 

So as I sat in the car on the way to Austin this weekend I thought about all the ways that we've learned to make road trippin' with the little ones simpler. 

1. Snacks are your friend. 

You can never have too many snacks. So I usually pack a bunch. And if we don't eat them on the road then I know we'll eat them eventually...once we return home. 

2. Portable DVD players are also your friend. 

I try to wait at least an hour or so into the trip before turning on a movie. I think it's good for the kiddos to be able to ride in a car for a little while without having to be entertained by technology. But there have been times when we've had movies on the whole drive (like when we've just backed out of the driveway and they're already giving me a headache)...just keeping it real. ;)

3. Allowing your children to be in charge of their own beverage consumption is not your friend. I would advice against this. ;)

4. Drive-thrus are your friend. 

We try to avoid this if possible (see tip #1), but there are times when we need to grab a meal on the go while road trippin'. This weekend we made so many pitstops (I forgot to heed my own advice from tip #3) that we had to grab lunch on the go. I really wanted to just keep road trippin' since we were finally on a roll. So I forced everyone to eat in the car. Yes, I know this is not recommended for little ones because of the possible choking. But it is recommended for mamas to keep our sanity. So sanity won out this time. 

Our go-to drive-thru is Chick Fil A. It's a winner with everyone 100% of the time. So I kindly asked the sweet drive-thru gal if I could have 2 extra cardboard french fry holders. And voila. Lunch is served for the littles in the backseat.

I'm not trying to toot my own horn, but I kinda thought this was awesome and wondered why I hadn't thought of this simple idea before?!? ;)

AHHH....road trippin'. I mostly love it. Except when we've made too many side stops on the way home (like Bucees, the Czech Stop, and frolicking/picture taking in the bluebonnets) and there's no energy left to go to the grocery store for our weekly menu. Sigh. 

Yep, pizza and early bedtimes for everyone. The grocery store will still be there tomorrow. ;)