On The Road Again

CAR TRIPS with KIDS was the featured topic of one of my favorite e-newsletters from the Sesame Street Workshop. I used to LOVE road trips. Remember when you and your favorite road trip partner, jumped in the car with a back pack of clothes, some snacks and a map of some kind. Those were the days, when you could be spontaneous and decide in the morning that you wanted to be in Las Vegas that night to put a bet on your favorite basketball team. Boom, you were there in no time and your only worry was whether to stop at “In-and Out Burger” or to try one of those random diners, like the one with the giant dinosaur and thermometeroutside it. Who eats there anyway?

Now every road trip is a carefully orchestrated drama. Here is my checklist for any trip longer than 2 hours:
1. 2 kids and 1 husband. – (You ALWAYS need as much support as you can get. I've had to do it alone once - never again!)
2. Snacks, something not too sugary! Who needs 2 kids bouncing off the walls at 70 MPH
3. Drinks, ice chest maybe
4. Portable DVD player What did people do without these?
5. Movies for the DVD player – some for a 7yr old and some for a 4yr old and 1 compromise movie that they both like.
6. Toys – Pokemon cards, Barbie dolls and any absolutely necessary stuffed animals
7. Coloring books and crayons
8. Magnet paper dolls - These work for about 20 minutes, but hey take what you can.
9. Wipes/paper towel for accidents
10. Pillow, maybe blanket
11. Music – mine and for the kids. Hip hop to do in-car aerobics with and something mellow to help when they are coming down from the snack induced sugar rush.
12. Special surprises, in case someone melts down and needs something to look forward to. (Essential to any trip longer than 4 hours)
13. A battalion of car games that the WHOLE family can play while I try not to run anyone over. We like rhyming games and finding VW Bugs.
14. Candy - for when nothing else works!

David Levin at Sesame Street has some great ideas for ways to have a road trip that doesn’t involve blood shed. I’ve tried most and they work.

But I need more ideas as we are about to head out on a 6-hour trip to Los Angeles for a weekend, where everything is at least an hour away. We've not even talked about how to prepare to have grandpa in the car too!

HELP!!

This post can also be found at my personal blog http://www.starfishcircle.com/xiaolinmama/