This Path I'm On

Last week we took another road trip (I know - we're crazy!) back home to see my sister get married.  And it was one of those weeks.

No, not a bad week - a good week! One of those weeks when everything just goes right and your heart wants to burst with joy and life is all rainbows and butterflies and unicorns.

Seriously.

The kids did great in the car. (Only a couple of screamfests, and they were brief.)

Family, family, family.

We got to play, play, play in the country.

Little Girl got to ride a horse.

She got to be a flower girl.

Little Dude has been walking - and dancing - all over the place.

I took some gorgeous bridal pics of my gorgeous sister.

And it was a gorgeous wedding.

Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. That’s what life has been lately.

And now we’re back and approaching my favorite time of year.

So, sorry, but I just feel like gushing.

I haven’t been doing much writing, but I’ve been doing a lot of living, and also a lot of thinking about what the future holds...

I'm grateful and looking forward to it all.

Our Beach Vacation -and- Why The Photos Don't Tell The Whole Story

Ah, the beautiful, sunny beach.

 

Well, it was beautiful. But not sunny.

 

 

Happy children posed angelically as they enjoyed the surf and sand.

 

No, actually a worn out little girl played too hard

 

 

And a teething, cranky infant had moments of delight

Mixed with many more moments of displeasure

(Despite what the photos say).

 

But the camera rarely gets grabbed during the tough stuff.

 

 

Because life, in all of its glory and splendor and muck and mess, has these rare moments of awe and wonder that make us stop for a moment and breathe it all in.

 

 

 

We can't get caught up in the grime. After all, it rinses off.

 



 

And we make more time for monkeying around.

 



 

It's okay if the seas get a little rough. As long as we're together.

 



 

 The sun finally comes out, the days eventually brighten, and the big blue eyes light up again.

 

 

 Sometimes, though, I do wonder if, in order to tell the whole story, I need more photos like this one:

 

 

But I've always been partial to the idyllic.

 



 

Maybe it doesn't matter what we choose to capture because it's all part of the story. Besides, the good stuff is supposed to be hard. That's how we know it's worth it.



A Successful Road Trip {Yes, Even With Kids!}

We did it. A total of around 42 hours roundtrip after all was said and done, not including little trips while we were at our destinations.

That is a lot of time in the car.

That’s a lot of time for an adult, but for a six-month-old? That’s, like, ten percent of his life!

(Okay, it’s more like one percent or something, but that’s still a lot.)

Good news for all of you parents who will face travels like this at some point – it went quite well. It was not without its moments. Squawking, crankiness, exhaustion…but it truly is manageable. Here are my tips for survival:  

Be prepared, but keep it simple. Make lists to help you figure out what you’ll need, but consider space. You don’t want to feel claustrophobic, especially if you’re traveling in a little car.

Possible Scenario: You finish packing and think you’ve got your bases covered and luggage scaled down to a manageable amount. You mentally high five yourself. Then your husband informs you that he’s bringing his giant emergency survival backpack for show and tell. You’ll be glad you kept the travel items to a minimum.

Be flexible. Accept that stops will be more frequent and last longer. Before children my husband and I would make great time on road trips by keeping our stops short. But trust me, everyone will be much happier if they can spend some extra time out of the car – even a baby who’s not very mobile yet.

Possible Scenario: You’ve enjoyed scarfed down your Chick-Fil-A sandwich, let your oldest expend some energy in the play area, nursed the baby, and completed potty runs. Just as you get ready to leave, the oldest decides she needs to poop (and already has a little). You will be glad you are going with the flow and not on a strict time schedule.

Consider investing in an iPad or other fun-filled device. I’m all for encouraging your child to read and be creative and not relying on electronics for entertainment, but when you spend that much time with a mobility-limited child, you will be glad you weren’t too strictly opposed to technology. Plus it reduces the amount of entertainment you need to bring, which means less clutter in the car!

Possible Scenario: Your child actually enjoys the road trip with minimal complaints. Your only tradeoff is having the dialogue from Toy Story memorized after hearing it played from the backseat 18 times. At least it’s not Spongebob.

Trust yourself to know your child’s needs, and do what works for your family. Some parents swear by traveling overnight so their children will simply sleep. Others – like us – may have a baby who wants (and needs) his bed for nighttime sleep. Don’t make matters more stressful by following advice that goes against your instincts. (That applies to a lot of parenting issues, doesn’t it?)

Possible Scenario: You’re nearing the end of the first day of driving and things have gone better than expected. You think, “Hey, maybe we can make it a little further than we planned. It’s just one more hour to the next town.” Right on cue little bubs begins a full-on screamfest, and as you try everything imaginable to calm him – from rolling down windows to singing horribly off-key lullabies – you seek your inner ‘happy place’ and wonder if perhaps it actually would have been better to stop an hour earlier than planned.

Don’t let your guard down. Remember that your preparedness should not end once you reach your destination. Be ready for the unexpected, at all times.

Possible Scenario: Your two-year-old eats too much fruit one night and gets the travel trots the next day. At church. Before making it to the potty. You will be relieved that you remembered the extra clothes.

And finally, remember that your goal is to have fun! All of the packing, organizing, and facilitating can get a little stressful.  As you embark on the trip back home, you may find yourself asking, “Did I really have fun?”

Then you’ll get home and start browsing through your photos and realize that you did. You totally did.

Road Tripping With My Three Favorite Allies

In a few days we will be embarking on an 18-hour road trip with a six-month-old and a two-and-a-half-year-old.

<Insert chorus of sympathy here>

Honestly, I’m so stoked about finally getting out of here and going to visit family that I’m actually looking forward to it. No doubt there will be some hair-pulling moments, but at least we will be out of this house…out of this town…traveling toward our old home…toward everything and everyone we love and miss so much…

Yes, I’m ready. Bring it on.

But I definitely need to do everything I can to make this trip go as smoothly as possible. We’ve road tripped with a youngster a few times, so I know how important it is to be prepared for anything. Here are some things I’ve considered so far:

1)      Bring medication. No, not to knock the kids out (as tempting as that may be at times), but because you never know when illness might strike. Once, when Hannah was about a year old, she and I both came down with the flu just a couple of hours into a road trip. You haven’t lived until you’ve searched for an open urgent care in the middle of nowhere after surviving fevers and chills overnight in a hotel during a snowstorm.

2)      Hannah will be wearing a pull-up. She’s potty trained, but not while sleeping, and I’m not risking it. I don’t think I want to add “cleaning and sanitizing a car seat at a gas station in the middle of nowhere” to my “you haven’t lived until” list.

3)      We’re bringing the iPad, complete with newly installed kid movies. Hannah should be thoroughly entertained.

4)      I don’t know how Abram is going to be thoroughly entertained. In fact, I’m pretty sure he’s not. I know I will end up wedging myself in between two car seats in the back of our little Mazda and making silly faces at him while he squawks at me.

5)      I’m trying to decide if we should find a hotel before Abram’s 7 p.m. bedtime. He’s a very habitual little guy and gets pretty upset if his beauty rest doesn’t begin on time. I know it’s possible that he will simply sleep in the car, but it’s also quite possible that he will get cranky and overtired.

Is making good time worth the potential headaches? I’m thinking the answer is probably no, especially after we’ve all endured about twelve hours of road slavery.

6)      Keep snacks handy! And diapers. And wipes. And toys…oh dear, it’s getting crowded.

I think some wonderful family memories can be made on road trips, even when things go a little wrong, but it’s certainly nice to feel prepared! Do you have any tips on traveling with young children?