Last Minute Summer Travels

Trying to get in one last trip before schools starts?  I know we've been juggling life & travels for a while now.  It feels like we've lived out of the car and out of suitcases for most of the summer...and most of the summers and holidays before this one too.  Most of the time, I'm driving 7-9 hours in a car by myself, with two screaming kids.  I've found a few ways to keep the peace and thought I'd share a few tips.  I hope it makes your last "farewell to summer" trip go smoothly as well!

Tip 1:  Plan ahead to avoid down time. 

Books are a good place to start.  Here's a few of my favorites with photos from Amazon.com.

Available at your local library, bookstore, or to find this on Amazon, click HERE.

Great for the under 12 crowd, available on Amazon HERE

These "Fun For The Family" Guides are essential for day-trippers.  Just do an Amazon search using the words, followed by your state or location you want to go to.  **My personal favorite!!

Know where you're going, if there are cool stops along the way, and what to do once you're there.  Nothing kills a trip like "down time" for my family.  "Down time" means the parents are brain dead for on-the-spot ideas which leads the kids to whining, grumbling, claims of boredom, all followed by arguing and fighting over where to go next. Down time must be prevented at all costs.

Tip 2: Pack It Yo'Self, Kid!

Your kids need their own suitcase, backpack, travel doc kit, sleeping bag, pillow and blanket.

Photos from Kidstravelzone.com

One year for Christmas, my kids each got their own suitcase, backpack, and lunch kit.  They're all matchy matchy and personalized, and my son has used his for 4 years now.  That's $$ well spent, if you ask me. The backpack & lunch kit have been used for school, but also double as "doc kits" for toiletries and medicines when we travel.  The kids are responsible for packing each of their own.  The backpacks are for toys only.  Only what fits and zips nicely inside, are allowed.  A blanket, stuffed toy, and lovey are usually tucked inside pillowcases.  Two lovies only!  Max!  It's a rule, otherwise my kids would pack 50 stuffed animals for trips.

For the suitcase, 4-5 outfits max and only 2-3 pair of pjs!  Even though we usually travel for a minimum of 7 days at time, and yes, I know kids go through 3 outfits a day....4-5, max!  Really, where do you ever travel that you can't find access to a laundromat!?  For the boys, tees & shorts.  Sundresses for the girls, less to pack.  Pack a pair of crocs for each.  They go with everything and can get wet and be washed off.  What else could you need!?

My favorite luggage for kids sites to go to are:

www.kidstravelzone.com
www.potterbarnkids.com
www.landsendkids.com

Tip 3: U Pick, I Pick - What to Put in the Backpacks

I always pick edu-ma-cation-al items, like the great products below.  I also throw in a few dry erase boards, markers, crayons, and movies to save my sanity.  The kids throw in ipods, dsi's and leapsters.  Hey, I try.  Besides, I don't mind the electronics and I've learned that instead of making them use their headphones....it's better that I swipe their headphones and blare my own ipod into my ears as loud as safely possible.  That way, 4-5 hours into the trip, I can tune out the sibling arguing going on in the back seat.  If I can't hear it, it can't drive me crazy.  It's my "tired of nagging at them" and "it's best to let kids work these things out themselves" parenting technique.  Don't judge. 

VIA

VIA

Happy travels!

The Gift of A Child

Just when I think I'm over the hump and feeling better, excited even, about this upcoming school year, I see this...

Dear God, I thank You for the gift of this child to raise, this life to share, this mind to help mold, this body to nurture, and this spirit to enrich. Let me never betray this child's trust, dampen this child's hope, or discourage this child's dreams. Help me, dear God, to help this precious child become all you mean him to be. Let your grace and love fall on him like gentle breezes and give him inner strength and peace and patience for the journey ahead.
Amen.

This was handed out to parents last night at our back to school meeting. All faculty, staff and parents in attendance read this prayer together before meeting the teachers and visiting the classrooms. I barely made it through it without choking up. Thank goodness my 4 year was misbehaving just enough to keep me a little distracted.

For the second year, we have the honor and privilege of sending our children to a private Catholic school where the staff believes in not only nurturing the mind, but also the soul. I am not saying that we will always be able to do so, or that we necessarily think our children are getting a "better" education. I am not saying Catholic and/or private schools are the only schools that have teachers that wholeheartedly believe the soul is as important as the mind. We've also been a part of wonderful public schools and know better.

But, I am saying that there is something to be said about an entire community believing and stating in unison that their children are important, should feel hope more than discouragement, trust more than despair, and through grace and love should be allowed to flourish into exactly what they are meant to be.

True to my baptist roots, and again I say, AMEN!

Taking The Plunge

Sweet summertime - A time just to relax and hang out near the water. The kiddos had the chance to experience major milestones this year taking the plunge! My son ran and belly flopped off the end of a dock for the first time. My daughter is now very bravely jumping off of the diving board. I smile as I picture her doing so with her floaties and swim ring on, while demanding daddy be right there, ready to catch her. It's funny how we'll take chances in life, but only when we are pushed to do so, or when our safety net is in place. Lillie only jumped because daddy was there waiting with arms wide open. Luke only jumped because another little boy went first - and Luke couldn't just stand there and let this other kid out-maneuver him.

I hope I always vividly remember the day my mom, aunt & uncle, and I took the kids to the lake. Something felt right about their first trip being to same lake I grew up swimming in. We got there and the water was down. It was muddy, murky, and had creepy things growing in it. I knew there was no way my kids were going in! But, I was determined to not intervene and only observe. So, I sat back in the swing, tried to relax, and controlled my maternal impulse to grab them both so they wouldn't fall in and drown! I watched Luke as his eyes were glued to Gage (the little boy we were with). In that one morning, Luke had already seen Gage drive a "Gator" all over the farm. Luke has a "Gator" too - but here's the difference. Luke's is plastic and goes 10mph downhill. Gage was driving the real deal - really fast - the kind of fast that makes you want to hold on to the 'oh crap' bars! He took us for a ride all over the pastures. We all thanked God when it was over. Luke didn't say anything, but I instinctively knew what was going through his mind. He had just been trumped!

After the "Gator" ride, we get into our cars to go to the lakehouse. Luke and Lillie were safely strapped into 5-point harness systems while Gage danced and wiggled in the front seat. We get there, and Luke has to watch as Gage independentaly cranks and takes off through the water on the jet ski. Gage, looking more 18 than 8, backs the machinery back into the dock, hops off, and jumps right into the water. Luke was still on the sidelines - clinging to the old, itchy, bug-infested lifejacket. He walks around the dock to get a better view of Gage, only to get a nail-sized splinter from the rickety old dock. Poor little guy hardly flinches as Uncle Mendel digs it out with some old farm tool he found in his truck. Granny and Aunt Linda are commenting on his bravery and asking him if he's ok when he replies, "No! It hurts like -pause-" and I knew he would have said H-E-double hockey sticks if he thought he could have gotten away with it. To take his mind off of the pain, (although worried he would get staph infection through the open wound if he went in), I asked,"Hey Luke, you goin' in or what?" Uh-oh, he had been provoked. He gave us this look...he was agonizing over it! You could tell he really did not want to go into that nasty water. But, the dock was no fun...and how dare this other little boy be so brave and make him look bad! Slowly, he took a few steps back...hesitated a little...then took off running... and in he went! As soon as he hit the water, we just gasped and waited for the reaction. He quickly popped out of the water, realizing how cold and slimy it was! The brisk doggy paddle said it all. He was stunned and spastically headed for the ladder. Then, a grin curled from the corners of his mouth. He was swimming in that gross lake, and it was actually kind of fun! For hours that afternoon, he climbed onto the dock just to jump right back in again. By the time we left he was spinning 180's and cutting front flips (atta' boy, Luke)! Lillie, naturally being my more reserved child, stayed in the swing. She would only get in when Uncle Mendel would hold her on the float (smart girl).

I couldn't help but watch that day and remember what it felt like to grow up with the chance to run like the wind, jump off into the unknown, and swim way out in the middle of the lake at midnight if I felt like it. We don't have nearly as many exhilirating moments as adults. We don't take very many chances. Luke told his dad two days ago in the grocery store, "Dad, you never take risks." I paused waiting for the gasket to blow. Instead, I fell in love with Mike all over again when he calmly replied, "Buddy, one day over a beer, I'll tell you all about a risk I took once." That's exactly what Mike and I are doing this summer! We've jumped off into the unknown. We've left behind a good job, friends, a community and school that we liked, packed up the home and belongings we enjoyed...and we have completely jumped off into the deep-end! To be honest, we're still in that "stunned" phase. The water's a little colder than we expected and we are not sure what lurks beneath the surface. But we are starting to swim instead of doggy paddle, and I know in my heart we'll soon be floating on our backs, smiling up at the sky again. I think 10 years from now, we'll look back on this summer and think, "My God, how did we do that!?" It gives my heart a warm and fuzzy feeling to think that our kids will just look back on this summer and think, "Hey, remember that year we went to the lake?"