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in Blog on March 9, 2022 by Joanna Martin

How Prep & Packing Can Help You Survive Road Trips With Littles

There is nothing quite like the bond of travel. Experiencing a new place, adventuring together, trying new activities and foods. Road tripping can be just as magical and wonderful as you might imagine when daydreaming of hitting the road as a family. But as with everything involving littles, travel can also be really exhausting. Long days, hours spent in the car, small shared spaces, and my personal “favorite”: forgetting to pack something completely necessary. Each time I hit the road with my little family I realize even more how prepping and packing makes each trip even smoother.

We have family in two states and from the dawn of our marriage we have made the eight-hour trek to visit for holidays, weddings, and graduations multiple times a year. When these trips were just two grown adults, the ride was at times boring and tedious but also involved listening to podcasts, adult music, uninterrupted conversations and sometimes silence. Then, almost eight years ago, we added our first little travel buddy to our road trip mix and she truly changed the game. Two years later we added her sister and then not long after their brother. Now we conquer our eight-hour road trip regularly with three kids. While it seems as though our adventures are getting more pleasant with each passing year, we have done these trips through phases from nursing newborns, to potty training toddlers, to squabbling preschoolers, and those years were not for the faint of heart.

I would love to share some of my personal, hard-earned wisdom with you if you too are looking towards road-tripping with your little family anytime soon!

Packing List

First and foremost I must sing the praises of a packing list. For the first few years we road-tripped with babies and toddlers I would not use a packing list. I would haphazardly pack suitcases – guessing amounts of clothes and essentials. As we continued to add members to our family I found it necessary to jot notes down about who needed what and in what quantities or else we would have ended up packing our entire house! A packing list saves time, space, and energy both in preparation and in coming back home. When you are tired and packing late at night before a trip a packing list will save your brain precious energy. I always print two copies of our packing list. One for the packing and prep before a trip and one to cross check for reference when coming home. 

Here is the template I have created for our family packing list that you can use for your family travel needs!

Blank-Family-Packing-List-Sheet1Download

Car Entertainment 

Whether your trip is an hour or twelve hours, if you are traveling with small humans, you will need some sort of entertainment on deck for those moments where looking out the window or watching movies just doesn’t cut it anymore. Road trips are the perfect excuse to peruse the Target dollar aisle and stock up on those magnetic play scenes, Color Wonder coloring pads, or even blank journals and a fresh pack of crayons. I also love these clipboards from Target. They can hold a small pad of paper, crayons, pencils, etc. Typically when prepping for a trip I plan for a Target run 1-2 days prior to leaving to grab some new and novel car entertainment.

We have a DVD player in our van and use it on long road trips for 1-2 movies. I have rented DVDs from our local library or asked in my local Buy Nothing group to freshen up our travel viewing repertoire. Another genius idea when it comes to car entertainment is one that I stole from my friend Elizabeth who has instituted the use of the food basket. Whenever passing back meals or snacks on the road Elizabeth uses a short, shallow basket (like these from Target) to contain foods and drinks and make transporting travel sustenance to your fellow tiny passengers easier. 

Expectations

Preparing and communicating expectations with your adult partner is key when road tripping as a family. Who will be the lead driver? Who will manage entertainment and snack requests from kids? When will be stop for bathroom breaks? I think having low expectations road trips is key, especially when traveling with newborns, infants, and potty-training toddlers. For so many years our typical eight-hour trek to see family was stretched to 10+ hours with a nursing baby in tow. You may also have to change some of the ways you typically parent at home when you are in a car all day with kids strapped into car seats. Above all else, know that the car portion of travel WILL end. The light may be far but it is still at the end of the tunnel and eventually you will be at your destination.

Road-trip-check-list-1Download

Re-Entry

I think quite possibly one of the most important pieces of traveling as a family is pre-planning for a re-entry day when returning home. I know it may seem backwards to plan for the end of the trip before it has even happened but that re-entry and re-adjustment day, blocking out time to actually unpack and re-adjust will make a world of difference for both you AND your kids. 

In sum: You can do this! Traveling as a family is a very full endeavor. There are lots of needs, things to be packed, and unexpected moments. But even with all of the hard that has come from our family road trips (the unexpected blow outs, pulling onto the ride of the road to nurse, pumping at a gas station, etc) every trip was absolutely worth it. Looking back at pictures I don’t see the stressful drives and tired faces, I see the smiles of two parents trying their hardest to make lasting forever memories for their growing family. Those smiles will always be worth it all.

Related

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: travel

About Joanna Martin

Joanna is a lifelong Dallas resident with a bearded husband, two spirited sisters, one sweet boy and a very needy dog inhabiting the walls of her home. She graduated from The University of Texas at Dallas with degrees in Child Learning and Development and Psychology before becoming a public school teacher. She is now a stay-at-home mom who dabbles in too many hobbies and activities to count, making life very full and very beautiful.

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Find the episode wherever you get your podcasts, or click this image at the link in our bio!

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Find the episode wherever you get your podcasts, or click this image at the link in our bio!

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Shoutout to our NEW sponsors:
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Would love to hear what you're celebrating about your older kids! Everything from learning a new skill to blossoming independence - leave us a comment! 

PS - Listen to the episode in your favorite podcast app, or by clicking this image at the link in our bio!

#parenting #parentingbigkids #parentingteens #parentingtweens #bigkidmilestone #teenagers #tweens #momoftweens #momofteens #momofteenagers
Turns out, when your last baby approaches double-d Turns out, when your last baby approaches double-digits, you find yourself staring a different milestone right in the (puffy) face:

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...what it means to be “ready for kindergarten” 
...visiting a school for a tour or open house 
...learning to read 
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...making school decisions for a special needs student 
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Here’s your January reminder to save shoeboxes f Here’s your January reminder to save shoeboxes for February and March classroom projects! Valentine boxes and leprechaun traps are around the corner, and shoe boxes are so much harder to come by these days. Consider this a friendly head’s up from a mom who’s been there.

Want more help and tips, plus reassurance that you’re doing a great job? (You are.) Search for The Mom Hour in your favorite podcast app and hit subscribe!

#kindergarten #firstgrade #valentinebox #leprechauntrap #shoeboxcraft #roomparent #roommom #classroomvalentines #parenting #momlife #parentingtip #tipsformoms
Looking to implement daily "quiet time" for presch Looking to implement daily "quiet time" for preschoolers? Even for kids who want to GO GO GO all day long, having a built-in pause in the day can help develop independent play skills, encourage rest, and - of course - give caregivers a chance to reset as well.

Since this week's podcast episode is all about kids and alone time, we thought we'd revisit this resource on the blog by Sandy Hsu:

👉 How To Encourage Independence In Preschoolers With A “Quiet Time” Routine. 👈 

Sandy (@hopefulsmiles) give tips for implementing a successful quiet time routine AND rounds up products and activities that help make independent play more likely - even in young preschoolers. Check it out by clicking this image at the link in our bio!

#quiettime #parentingtoddlers #parentingpreschoolers #momoflittles #stayathomemom #stayathomeparent #activitiesforpreschoolers #activitiesfortoddlers #threeyearolds #fouryearolds #fiveyearolds #momlife #sahm #sahmlife
New episode! Does solitude come naturally to your New episode!

Does solitude come naturally to your kids, or are moments of solo play far and few between? Meagan and Sarah read some research recently that challenged us to think about the importance of alone time, and whether our kids get enough. In this episode, we dive into our own childhood memories, how our children embrace (or run from) solitude, and how challenging it is to find that just-right balance. Join us! 

Find the episode wherever you get your podcasts, or click this image at the link in our bio!

#themomhour #motherhood #mompodcast #podcastsformoms #parenting #parentingpodcast #podcastlove #trypod #podcastersofinstagram #shepodcasts
New episode! With all the day-to-day planning requ New episode! With all the day-to-day planning required to run a household, it's easy to put longterm planning on the back burner. Today Meagan and Sarah share lessons we've learned (or are still learning) that help us look ahead at a whole year, quarter, or month at a time. From knowing ourselves and our seasonal rhythms to figuring out where they keep next year's school calendar, we've picked up a few things over the years, and we're ready to dive in for 2023. Join us! 

Find the episode wherever you get your podcasts, or click this image at the link in our bio!

#themomhour #motherhood #mompodcast #podcastsformoms #parenting #parentingpodcast #podcastlove #trypod #podcastersofinstagram #shepodcasts
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Shoutout to our NEW sponsors:
🍳 @caraway_home (10% off gorgeous, non-toxic cookware!)
💪 @futurefitapp (risk-free trial of 1-on-1 personal training!)
🔪 @prepdish (2 weeks free of healthy, prep-ahead meal plans!)
🎨 @minted (design marketplace with art, bags, gifts & more!)
📚 @chatbooks (deals on the easiest photo books ever!)
😍 @fabletics (2 stylish workout bottoms for $24!)

And welcome back . . . 
⭐️ @stitchfix ($20 off your 1st purchase!)
⭐️ @theessentialcalendar (10% off full-season calendars!)
⭐️ @hiyahealth (50% off 1st order!)
⭐️ @kiwico_inc (50% off your 1st mo!)
⭐️ @athleticgreens (1yr of Vit.D + 5 travel packs!)
⭐️ @vionicshoes (free shipping on cute, comfy shoes!)
Braces on, braces off. First phones, driver's ed, Braces on, braces off. First phones, driver's ed, high school registration. As we discussed in this week's episode, we still get all the feels when older kids meet cultural or developmental milestones - even if they cringe when we celebrate and share.

Would love to hear what you're celebrating about your older kids! Everything from learning a new skill to blossoming independence - leave us a comment! 

PS - Listen to the episode in your favorite podcast app, or by clicking this image at the link in our bio!

#parenting #parentingbigkids #parentingteens #parentingtweens #bigkidmilestone #teenagers #tweens #momoftweens #momofteens #momofteenagers
Turns out, when your last baby approaches double-d Turns out, when your last baby approaches double-digits, you find yourself staring a different milestone right in the (puffy) face:

It's been a decade since I was pregnant for the last time. 

This photo was taken the morning of my scheduled c-section, just a few hours before we'd meet our third and last babe. It's hard to remember, but I'm SURE I was ready to be done. Constant braxton-hicks, heartburn I hadn't experienced with the other two, food aversions that lasted the whole 39w5d, and physical exhaustion trying to keep up with a 2- and 4-year old: all part of an otherwise uncomplicated pregnancy, but still nobody's idea of easy.

I don't miss it - being pregnant. Grateful to have had the experience, absolutely. But I've never really pined for another go-around, at least not seriously. Still, a whole decade removed feels as significant a milestone to me as does the notion that that double-dimpled babe will blow out ten candles this weekend.

Time, like, whoa. 

-Sarah
If you're looking at school options for Fall 2023, If you're looking at school options for Fall 2023, you might be feeling overwhelmed by school tours, open houses, registration deadlines, or the all-too-common "red shirting question". That's why today we're revisiting an enormously detailed resource on our site: 

➡️ What Teachers & Educators Wish Parents Knew About Making School Decisions ⬅️

This piece is a collaboration between four educators on our team whose careers span preschool through middle school. They weigh in what what they wish parents knew about things like...

...choosing “the right school” 
...what it means to be “ready for kindergarten” 
...visiting a school for a tour or open house 
...learning to read 
...kids and friendships; playground politics
...making school decisions for a special needs student 
...becoming part of a classroom or school community 
 
Click this image at the link in our bio to get the guide. Bookmark it, send it to your co-parent or mom friends, and use it as a starting place as you wade through this tricky time of year! 

@lisaapayne4 @ashleydawn519 @thepaperdart @cafedumartin
C-e-l-e-b-r-a-t-e good times, come on! Today’s e C-e-l-e-b-r-a-t-e good times, come on! Today’s episode is number 400! We can’t think of a better way to celebrate hitting a big podcast milestone than talking about how we honor birthdays and milestone celebrations in our families – especially as kids get older. Join Meagan and Sarah as we offer insight into making birthdays special for big kids, tweens and teens; how kids getting older hits us differently as moms, too; and how honoring big kid milestones gets tricker, but still gives us all the feels. 

Find the episode wherever you get your podcasts, or click this image at the link in our bio!

#themomhour #motherhood #mompodcast #podcastsformoms #parenting #parentingpodcast #podcastlove #trypod #podcastersofinstagram #shepodcasts
Y'all's reaction to our entire catalog now being a Y'all's reaction to our entire catalog now being available has been so fun! Listeners have told us that they're now able to re-listen to old favorites, or - amazing for us - share them directly with friends.

(If you missed it, previously, podcast apps showed only our most recent 300 episodes – less than half our catalog. The rest were only available on our website.)

Just for fun, we rounded up a few more of our team's favorite episodes from the early days of the podcast. Here are five MORE oldies that have stood the test of time, and that make for great entry-points to our early catalog.

You can listen from our website by clicking this image at the link in our bio – but EVEN BETTER, you can find the episodes in your favorite podcast app - just search by episode title, or keep on scrolling until you find them!

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