brain & phto dump

Home from vacation.

We had a wonderful visit with family and friends. 2 weeks worth of talking, laughing, and avoiding our actual lives.

After 2 long days on the road, we arrived home. And reality hit like a slap in the face.

Someone has to unpack the car?

And pack up the Christmas decorations?

Who is going to go buy milk? Bread? Everything...

Laundry, laundry and more laundry... ( I swear I did it all before we left!)

Back to the grind. Over vacation, I dreamt and thought about what I want my 2014 to look like. Organized. Planned. Prepared. Practically perfect in every way. Only it is now the 5th and I have yet to execute...anything.

I will. Tomorrow the kids go back to school. Tomorrow Ben goes back to work. Tomorrow I will have 3 blissful hours to myself.

"Tomorrow, I love yah! Tomorrow, you're only a day away!"

As for today, it is about church, laundry (seriously?!) and getting ready for tomorrow.

Life as the CEO of Turner Inc. It is not for the faint of heart!

Car Crazy (pt 3)

Soooo....we have covered entertainment and food while traveling. How about keeping healthy and clean while we are on the road?

I have 2 kids who get car sick. Really car sick. The other two kids, who don't get car sick (Mason is always in the front row) don't think it is fair that they "always" have to sit in the very back. It finally came down to this...

"Would you rather drive in a car that smells like throw up OR sit in the back?" They voted to remain in the back.

Healthy:
** Part of keeping the kids from not getting sick, starts with the food that they eat. You can check out my post here to give you some ideas!

** Did you know that Dramamine is a Moms best friend? I make my kids take it. I *believe* that Dramamine has now come out with a kids version but am not 100% on that. There are generic brands also that can help you keep your costs down. I have tried things like allergy meds and they just don't work the same. Trust me.

** In the pockets of the seats I keep a container (an empty cleaning wipes container, repurposed) and it holds plastic bags. This way, we have an option if we can't pull over. Then it can just be tied up and thrown away.

**Here are a few more items I always bring with me...
*saltine crackers
*gatorade
* paper towels/ disinfectant wipes
*towel
*dramamine
*wet wipes (even for my big kids!)
*kids tylenol
* tylenol for Mom & Dad:)
*hand sanitizer
*tissues
*chapstick
* sun screen
*first aid kit

Keeping clean! I always think we won't use them...and then we need them. Some of these items are double dippers because they help with both keeping clean and staying healthy!

** toddler wipes (because they are flushable)
** baby wipes (hands and bums)
** toilet paper. A couple of rolls. Some rest areas are...a little shady. It is nice to know that you are covered!
**extra outfit for everyone---> even older kids need extra clothes! What if they spill a water bottle? Throw up? "Accidents" aren't the only way to get wet!
** I cover my seats with towels before laying car seats down. That way it stays somewhat clean in case of spills.
** garbage bags! I hook bags to the back of all the seats so that the kids can throw things away
**Every time we stop, we do a trash round up. Get everything out of the car that doesn't need to be there!

We all know that "things happen" but if we bring the very basics, you should do well!

Any other ideas on keeping kids clean and healthy while traveling?

Car Crazy (pt 2)

Yesterday I shared a few tips on entertaining kids while being stuck in a car.

For part 2 of this series, I want to discuss, one of my favorite subjects...food!

I swear whether you are driving for 5 miles or 500 miles, someone is bound to get hungry.

Our family *tries* to get on the road first thing in the morning. That way my kids can eat some breakfast, then get in the car and put a few miles behind us before they need to eat again.

However, that doesn't always work. The last time I went to AZ, we couldn't leave until lunch time. I took my kids to McD's, which they ate in the car. Then they snacked until we arrived in AZ, and then had Wendys. Worse decision ever as I had throw up all over my car. Too much greasy food is not a good thing!

So, what is a Mom to do? Well...this obviously depends on how long you are traveling, where and how you are traveling, etc.  But we are just going to pretend that everyone is traveling by car (:

Eating out:

**I get a lot of fast food coupons in the mail & through mailers. Take those with you. Some are for local areas but not all. Bring them with you to help you save a bit while on the road.


** Many fast food places have options that are not as greasy as say a bacon cheeseburger& fries. Look for options like sandwiches, chicken nuggets, wraps etc.

**If you choose to feed your children in your car, you might want to avoid: french fries (greasy and messy if spilled), orange juice( the acid can be hard on traveling tummies), milk (it smells really bad when it comes back up, ugh).

Bring your own:

**Obviously you can save time and money by bringing your own food. So while maybe not a great price for every day, things like Uncrustables/Lunchables can provide a good non greasy option and can be cheaper than taking everyone out to eat.

**For couponers, we have a lot of snack foods in our stockpiles. Grab some crackers, fruit snacks, fruit cups, squeezable apple sauces, waters, juice boxes etc. You will cut down your travel costs by a lot!

**Let your children pack their food. Give each a gallon sized ziplock bag, and let them fill it. Then they can use the bag for garbage.

Both options:
**plan to bring the "sides" and then you can stop for the main dish. Look through your cupboards, pantry stockpile etc.

**Depending on how long you are traveling, it can be worth it to stop into a grocery store for fruit trays, lunchables or deli sandwiches.

**Bring your own drinks. Waters, juice boxes, crystal light packets...

On the way home, when you don't have access to your own pantry, the grocery store can be your bff. Buying things you know you have at home is still better than repeatedly going out to eat!

Hold kids interest by letting them pick a snack (s) to take with them. Or try something new!

Anyone have any other suggestions for food? What do you do on the road to feed your kids (and yourself) and save money?

Car Crazy (pt.1)

Does sitting in a car for 6ish hours sound like fun to you? How about 12ish for the whole round trip?

No? Well, me either. But until our family is able to teleport ourselves wherever we want to go, driving it is.

My other "baby"

Because of our family size, traveling by car is the cheapest option for us. Even considering those crazy California gas prices!

In a week from Wednesday, our family is headed to Arizona to spend Thanksgiving with family and friends. I am so looking forward to spending  time with my family.

This year is our first time traveling with a potty trained 3 year old. Of course it is nice to not have to change diapers anymore, the bladder of a 3 year old is roughly the size of a pea. That means a lot of extra stops on the way.

Every trip is different but I have learned a lot in all of our travels. So I thought I would share some of the things I have learned.

Traveling covers a lot of areas, and so I am going to break this up into subjects (4 pt series)

**Entertainment:

With kids ranging from 13 --->3 we have a wide array of interests.

 *My 4 older kids all put their DS's/ipods on the chargers the day before we leave. Then they go into a ziplock bag with a charger and 2 games that they pick out. The end. No more than 2 or we spend half our time searching for lost games. Seriously, could DS games be any smaller?!

*We bought a power cord that can be plugged into the usb port in our car. We let the children take turns as needed.

* My youngest, basically gets the dvd player to himself, since the olders are busy with their games. However, I do try to pick movies that they ALL like, at least every once in a while.

* Every few hours, I make my kids take a break from their games. It isn't good for them to stare at those tiny screens for a long time...not to mention getting car sick and using up the battery.

* I have a really hard time reading in the car and not getting sick.  Some of my kids are ok with it and others aren't. So books are nice to have but some other ideas are:

** Etch a sketch , Magna Doodles, white boards w/ markers & erasers
** classic car games like: I Spy, License plate game, 20 questions etc

* While I only have Netflix online ( I don't get actual discs anymore) if you do, bring one of your Netflix movies with you for something new. Or...
**borrow from the library,
** borrow from a friend (maybe a swap!)
**stop at a thrift store and see what they have
** Both Target & Wal Mart have inexpensive movie sections ($5 & $7)
**Blockbuster often has dvds that are on sale for really cheap

*Gamestop has inexpensive games without cases. Or trade with friends.

New things can hold a childs attention for long periods of time. However, budgets don't always allow us to do it. Those darn budgets, I tell yah! So borrow from a friend, buy from a thrift store, take a trip to the library...

How do you keep your kids entertained in the car? Any good tricks up your sleeves?

(Look out for Car Crazy pt. 2 tomorrow when I talk about---FOOD!)

traveling

"There are only two types of travel: first class and with kids."

I don't remember where I first read that quote but it still makes me laugh...and cringe. Because we all know it is true!

I am no stranger traveling with children. I have been from CA to VA, VA to OR, OR back to VA, VA to WA, WA to AZ, AZ to CA, CA to GUAM, GUAM to  OR...I could go on and on but I will spare you! Suffice it to say,  military families do a lot of traveling.

Our kids range in ages and personalities. Some get car sick, some don't. Some have teeny tiny bladders and some seem to be able to hold it forever.

We have under packed and over packed. Forgotten very important things, and remembered everything.

I have learned a lot every single time. So by the time my kids are teenagers, I should have this down. Right?!

The only way I can remember everything is to write it ALL DOWN. Even those things that you feel are no brainers. Go through every single day, and what you could possibly need for that day.



Here are a few things that I always make sure I have with me:

total score!! These are so insanely expensive! Worth it but expensive.

*dramamine
* plastic bags for throw up (I use the diaper sacks that come in a little roll)
*baby wipes, toddler wipes (flushable)
*an extra roll of tp (some rest areas are scary, others are 5 star, you just never know!)
*more diapers than I could possibly need
*extra clothes for all children in an easy to locate bag
*tylenol (children & adult) kleenex,
* paper towels
*towels ( I usually try to bring 2. They are good to have for cleaning up, getting caught in the rain...)
*first aid kit (with extra bandaids)
*medicines &vitamins
* I pack all of my items in zip top bags. Everything. Clothes, socks, toiletries etc. It saves space, prevents spills, and keeps like items with like items. The bags come in handy later as we get ready to go also!

* laundry soap and dryer sheets (this is where all of those free samples come in handy)

Being prepared doesn't necessarily equal a smoothe trip, but it will be smoothER. We made it through a 16 hour drive and are still alive to tell the story!

What do you think, what makes your life easier while traveling? If you are like me, and you like to have a checklist, here are 2 sites that I found with printable lists.

Flylady has a travel control journal that is a free printable and you can find it here.
http://www.flylady.net/

You can also go to We Just Got Back for kid oriented printable checklists...those can be found here

You did WHAT?

(Ivan meeting Grandma after a long day of traveling!)

When people heard that I was flying from Guam to Washington, the first words out of people's mouths were, " are you insane?!". But I knew that although it would be hard, I could get through it. I have had trips where I was over prepared, and trips that I was under prepared...a trip through the O'Hare airport with a child who had a poopy diaper and I had no extra's comes to mind. Bless the nice lady in the bathroom who gave me one of her child's!

Anyway, this was my list for Mason (who is not yet 1):
lots of diapers
wipes
baby food/utensils/bottles
diaper rash cream
bibs (throw away kind)
diaper sacks
3 extra outfits (he ended up getting changed in every airport we were in)
burp cloths
blanket
toys
tylenol

My other kids had backpacks full of:
favorite snacks
gum
coloring books and new crayons/markers
empty notebook
stickers
magazines
etch a sketch
magna doodle
travel pillow
a chapter book
DS/games
sippy cup (for my 5 year old who has a tendancy to spill!)

I also brought something that saved me...a surge protector! At every airport I was able to charge up all of the video games and my lap top.

The kids did an amazing job on the plane. I am glad I don't have to do it again though!