Let’s be honest for a second. In most cases, moms have to
pack not only for themselves but also for all of their kiddos. I remember gearing up for a trip with Aaron
and being so excited that I had already planned out my outfits and knew exactly
what I needed to pack. Then I remembered… I still had to pack for my three kids
who’d be staying at their grandparents’ house during my trip. Womp womp.
As I prepare for an upcoming trip, I have made lots of
mental notes as well as physical notes and lists in order to best prepare
myself for the trip. I’m also trying out
a few new things that will hopefully make the trip a little smoother. We’ll be driving for a long length of time,
then spending a few days away before journeying back home. With two out of
three kiddos having medical issues, that adds in another element to
packing. Then having one non-potty
trained kid also adds another loop to prepare for.
For the first time, I’m trying out some packing cubes. I’ve read so much about these from other
bloggers and I wasn’t really sure they made the cut for what was “mandatory” in
packing. And maybe they aren’t really
mandatory, but I do feel like they will aid in packing organization which is
sometimes worth its weight in gold. I’m
a planner and I like to know EXACTLY where my things are so that I can take
mental inventory and know where something is.
When things are out of place, my mind feels unsettled until I find that
item. This sounds OCD and maybe you
assume I live in a spotless house, but I don’t.
I have three kids, remember? :)
I looked up the various versions of packing cubes and
settled on my go-to: the cheaper option that gives me the most bags. In this certain set, I got four packing cubes
plus a small drawstring bag that could be for shoes or some dirty clothes. It’s not that big, so it really probably
won’t be for many dirty clothes, but maybe it’ll help me keep track of my
kiddos’ dirty socks or something. I
usually prefer to pack spare shoes in gallon zip lock bags, so I don’t think
I’ll be using the small fabric bag for shoes—I’m not even sure my shoes would
actually fit in the bag. However,
overall this set was a great value because other sets (which cost as much as
$10 to $20 more) only included three packing cubes. Four is really ideal for me because it allows
me to use one for my clothes, and one for the clothes of each of my kids. The bags are all different sizes, which at
this moment in my life, is convenient because my kids and myself are all
different sizes. The cube I’ll be using
for Avery is quite small which is okay for now since her clothes are all very
small. I might have to make some
adjustments (or buy more sets) as my kids grow, but I’m excited to use these
for this timeframe we’re in where the cubes seem to match our sizes.
My ultimate goal is to be able to get these cubes into one
duffel bag since I’m a little short on suitcase space during the trip. Whether I’m able to fit all four into one
duffel bag or if I have to split them into two bags, it will still be so nice
to have one bag designated for each of us and to know right away whose clothes
pile is whose.
I have made a written list of how many shirts and pants,
etc. to pack for each of us to last us a couple days at which point we can do
laundry and wear the same clothes for the second half of the trip. I can’t actually pack for my kids until later
because none of my kids have very many pairs of pants so right now they’re
wearing their pants this week as we go about our daily routines, then I’ll wash
and dry everything the night before we leave, after I’ve laid out their clothes
for that next day.
A few trips ago, I discovered that it was helpful to group
certain types of medicines together in gallon bags. It was easier to bring whatever bag I needed
on any specific trip, but I also choose to keep all of my children-medicine
separated in these gallon bags in my medicine closet for easy inventory and
easy grabbing when needed at home. So
far, I have three bags specific to medicines.
One bag is for cough medicines. Michael uses a diabetic version of cough
syrup (without extra sugar), we have our standard Mucinex liquid, I have a
Zarbee’s honey version which seems to help Noah, and I just bought a new type
of cough suppressant called Mucinex Easy Melts and it’s like a Pixi-stick of
medicine. These have actually worked
wonders on Noah over the last couple of days.
In another bag, I have allergy medications. We have liquid Benadryl, liquid Zyrtec (Noah
takes this almost daily), we have Benadryl chewable tablets for Michael since
those don’t spike his blood sugar as much as the liquid does.
In the third bag, I have the common collection of pain
medications. We have liquid Tylenol, liquid Motrin, Motrin tablets (for the
boys), ear pain drops, and a thermometer. I also include some oral syringes and
liquid medicine dosage cups.
I took inventory of all these medications this week and
replaced any expired versions (which is when I found the cough Pixi-stick
things, and I bought a cheap thermometer to take if I didn’t want to take our
forehead scanner thermometer.
I do have a fourth bag which is kind of what started me on
this mindset of packing things in gallon bags.
This original bag is my diabetes and allergy medical supply bag. I have Noah’s epi-pen and possibly a
spare. I have a few different insulin
pump site changes for Michael and a spare continuous glucose monitor
sensor. Along with these things I have
alcohol wipes, adhesive wipes, adhesive patches, insulin syringes, pen needle
caps, AAA batteries, etc. On the day we
leave, I’ll pack a spare insulin vial and a certain type of insulin pen just in
case his insulin pump fails. These
things will be in a cooler.
As we travel, all of the medical supplies will be kept with
me. I do not store them in a cartop
carrier or in a suitcase buried underneath clothes. They take up a separate tote bag that I keep
within easy site and easy reach as I travel.
Being prepared with these medical supplies has really helped alleviate
some stress on us as we travel. We can
begin to treat nearly any medical problem that comes along as long as we have
these bags with us.
On a separate note, I am always looking for ways to make the
trips more enjoyable (or at least more bearable) for my kids. This can be as simple as packing some
low-mess snacks for car rides and letting them each bring their favorite
blanket and pillow from their bed.
Cozying up with a blanket that smells familiar and that they associate
with comfort really can do wonders for them.
I’ve also started having them pack their own toys (I’ll still pack for
Avery). This puts some responsibility on
them. They each have a drawstring bag
that I plan to have them use for their toys to take. I do bring along some portable DVD players
and headphones, and I pick out a wide variety of movies to bring. I stack the movies in a small cardboard
box—usually the box from Aaron’s coffee shipments is a perfect size to line up
several DVD cases. I choose movies
(seasonal and non), and a few DVD series (PAW Patrol, Super Mario Brothers,
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse), and a few of my favorites just in case I get a chance
to watch a movie after we arrive to our destination.
This time around, I made it a point to order a few new toys
and non-electronic entertainment for the ride.
I ordered a Captain Underpants version of a Find-It game. Find-It games are so neat. They’re a big plastic transparent cylinder
full of beads and then lots of hidden items.
You can twirl the cylinder back and forth to find the items. I randomly bought a generic version of one of
these Find-It games at a consignment sale, and when I saw this Captain
Underpants themed version, I knew Michael would love it. I have not told him that I bought this, so
I’m hoping it’s a good surprise. Both
boys like playing with the Melissa and Doug reusable sticker pads. They’re huge sticker sets with cling-stickers
and different scenes (like transportation and habitats) that kids can create
scenery over and over. I bought a set of
these for a road trip a few years ago, and they still use them now. So I stocked up a couple new sets (a town set
which includes a school and a firehouse which Noah will flip over!) and a
Make-a-Face, Make-a-Sweet, and Make-a-Meal sets. I’m hoping these provide some hours of
entertainment along our way.
I’ve also been very cautious with how much I’ve looked at my
HGTV magazines and I plan to bring these with me to read once we arrive. I also hope to get to the library to check
out a couple books before I go.
I hope this has been helpful and maybe has given you a few
new ideas on how to pack for a trip! If
you’ve got any packing tips or tricks for organization or for keeping kiddos
entertained for long stretches, I’d love to hear them!
Until Next Time,
Love, Reba
