Vacations with Toddlers Aren't Really Vacations...

-

Vacations with toddlers aren't really vacations.  


This will end up positive, I promise.  


But back to the start.  Preparing, packing, traveling and then living on vacation is no joke.  Challenging?  Yes.  Worth it....


 For the second year in a row, Jerry and I have traveled to Maine to spend time at his Pepere's lake house.  Along with us come many members of extended family.  The kitchen table is always full of cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents.  Every bed is full and so are the couches.  Shoes don't have a rightful home, but laughs, beer and memories certainly do.

So even though it takes nine plus hours in the car to get there, once you're there it's magic.  Limited internet, surplus of trees, off-road vehicles and lake walks.  Magic.

Even better?  Plenty of 20-somethings, grandparents and teens who don't see my children as much as I do.  To them, most things they do are cute.  To them, having the kids up late is fun.  To them, playing the same game 100 times isn't painful.  My kids felt like the center of twenty people's worlds, which is why they cried when we left.

So travel isn't easy, but family makes it all better.  I actually sat a bit on this vacation.  I even got some girl time.  Heck, if we had stayed for an extra day I may have even fit in a nap.  There's always next year.

Like I said last year,  everyone should go to Maine.  Don't waste time, start driving now (just break it down into two days).  In the car, pack all your things, but also grandparents, cousins and aunts and uncles.  Also, bring lots and lots of bug spray.

Summer is alive and well!

A couple things I did this time around that made everything a little better.  What do you do while driving with toddlers?

Toddler Travel Tips:

1.  Order Peapod before you leave and have it delivered the morning after you come back.  Score.
2. Go to the library and get a bunch of books (we got 12).  It's a bunch of moving and organizing, but it saved us a few times.
3.  When they say they have to "go" they really do.  Don't play.
4.  Pack healthy snacks on the road (they are constricted anyways so they won't have a choice).  It will make you feel better when you stop at McDonalds.
5.  Also though, bribery works so there is nothing wrong with having a few gummy bears for "tough moments."


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mom...The Potty Flipped Over

-
Image
Just when you think you've got it all together.... Your son comes to tell you that there is poop on the floor.  So even though he's been potty trained for a nearly a year and ASKS for privacy when he goes, there are still mishaps.  Like, well this: He was such an easy kid to potty train...a few skittles here, a few there and BAM, bye bye diapers.  Yet, he has his quirks.  For instance, I am not sure why his own private potty ended up getting flipped over, but I do know that he was in there building a fortress with toilet paper.  It's what he does - I don't know, I tend to think it's creative and not destructive. I think my mistake was loading up the shelf with fresh new rolls (I did that at 7am).  It was all just too exciting for him. And so even though this was the first day in history that both children slept until 8am allowing me to deep clean the bathroom (again at 7am) I was right back at it at 11am. Please remind me of this as I have a full-blow
Read more

Read Number 6.

-
Image
A few years ago I heard the phrase "self-care".  In fact, it was a doctor who looked me square in the face and asked me "what do you do for self-care?" I had (no joke) NEVER heard this phrase before.  NEVER.  It must have shown on my face, but she didn't even flinch and went on to ask what I did for myself.  Like without guilt to take care of myself.  I thought for a minute and listed off things like sleeping in once a week, morning showers, taking the long way home from work while listening to murder podcasts (the usual??) These apparently are not things that count as self-care.  (I mean I guess they are a little bit, but she wanted to examples of what I was doing to better my self-worth and happiness).  Even now that school started, I can't think of much -- actually,  sometimes I leave work early and eat my yogurt in my car and listen to my murder podcast for an extra 15 minutes. I find that recently there has even been a push for self-care in the
Read more

Guest Post - They Won't Get It, They'll Think I'm an Awful Mom

-
Image
Guest Post:  Alicia is a friend from high school who is a full-time working mom of one adorable boy, Cooper.  She's also building a make-up empire and blowing up Facebook with wildly entertaining videos and tutorials.  She makes everything look easy, which is why this blog is just that much more important.  Thanks for sharing Alicia. I was asked to write something MONTHS ago, and I promise, the commitment to put my thoughts on paper has never left my mind.  I’m embarrassed it took me this long.  But to be honest, I couldn’t get myself to write down my story, because if I did, it would somehow make my failures more real.  (Sure, I know we’re always the hardest on ourselves, and I know I’m not a failure, but the thoughts, “could I have done better…can I DO better?” constantly run through my mind.) Let me step back for a second.  It took my husband and I well over a year to get pregnant with Cooper.  Two heartbreaking miscarriages, low progesterone and a blood-clotting diso
Read more