Road Trip Tip-Nested Bags

I love to take road trips. Long ones, short ones, with friends, with family, by myself...I just love it. In all my road-tripping experience I have learned a lot of what to do and what not to do, and I am continually perfecting tips and techniques to make a trip most enjoyable.

 It is a whole new world when you are taking a road trip with children, especially small children. You can become so loaded down with small bags full of small things. Bags and containers for your clothing, their clothing, your toiletries, their toiletries, needful baby supplies, snacks, toys, and just-in-case items like medicines or first aid supplies. Add that to a car that is already overstuffed with kids in their car seats with their blankets/pillows/lovies, parents with their supply of coffee and bubblegum (is that just me?), phone chargers, electronics, and possibly pets and their supplies....and you have a recipe for an uncomfortable, packed, disorganized car. Its no wonder that we are so ready for a trip to end, and why our children are often so whiny and difficult to deal with.

One of my favorite ways to control the "things" that are needed to take a car trip is the Nested Bag System. Basically, I take sturdy zip-top bags and label/categorize them, then put them all inside one larger container. In the case of my recent weekend trip to Florida, I used a plastic tote that I purchased at the Dollar Tree. I only needed four zip-top bags, as the trip was just a Friday through Sunday and I had no pets or husband to pack for. This technique can be reduced or expanded depending on your needs, and many of the categories will vary depending on the type and length of your trip. Here is what I did last weekend:

SNACKS
a gallon sized bag filled with:
raw almonds
Buddy Fruits fruit snacks
prepackaged Rice Krispies treats
"character" fruit snacks
pretzels
cheese and peanut butter crackers
a couple of Capri-Suns for the man-cub

KIDDOS:
a quart sized bag filled with:
kid's body wash/shampoo
man-cub's toothpaste & toothbrush
kid's hair supplies
extra bib & pacifiers
baby spoon

MAMA:
a quart sized bag filled with:
my makeup
a comb and bobby pins
travel sized personal care items
toothbrush

BOO-BOO BAG:
quart sized bag including:
a few band-aids
assorted pain relievers and cold medicines (adult and kid varieties)
diaper rash cream
nasal aspirator & saline solution
antibiotic ointment

I then "nest" these smaller, categorized bags into the larger tote:

As previously mentioned, this Nested Bag idea often needs to be expanded into a larger format or using different categories. Below I have listed some other possible combinations of bags and ideas for categorizing.

CAMPING IDEAS:
-Boo-Boo Bag with extra first aid
-Outdoors Bag (bug spray, sunblock)
-Bathroom Bag (toilet paper, baby wipes, hand sanitizer)

EXPANDED "BABY" IDEAS:
-Diaper Supplies Bag (diapers, wipes, cream, powder etc)
-Meal Time Bag (bottles, commercial jarred baby foods, spoons, bibs)
-Bath time Bag (baby wash, washcloths, lotion)
-Baby's Boo-Boo Bag (baby medicines, creams, orajel, nasal aspirator)
-The Backup Bag (essentially, a second version of everything in your diaper bag; paci, bib, burp cloth, etc)

EXPANDED SNACK IDEAS:
-Candy Bag
-Savory Snacks Bag
-packaged drinks (such as juice boxes, if you don't mind them being room temperature)
-Parent's Snacks
-Kid's Snacks
-Healthy Snacks
-Unhealthy Snacks (maybe make this a "treats" bag for rewards?)

SOME OTHER POSSIBLE CATEGORIES:
-Electronics
-Chargers, batteries
-Media (DVDs, Cd's, book or magazines)
-Toy Bag (divided by child's name or by type of toy)
-Games (playing cards, travel friendly games)
-Important Stuff (passports or other documentation)
-Reward Bag (with special toys or treats that your kids haven't seen before)
-Vending Bag: collect loose change from around the house in the days/weeks leading up to the trip to be used in the vending machines at rest stops.

What other nifty categories have you used or will use??

Ultra-Healthy Smoothies for Oblivious Kids aka "The Groovy Smoothie"

In case you are not on the preschool TV up-and-up, there is a little show on Nick Jr. called "The Fresh Beat Band." The peppy, colorfully dressed singing actors on the show enjoy grabbing a snack and some impromptu a Capella at a little joint called "The Groovy Smoothie." So that is what we started calling smoothies at our house, and at least twice a week the man cub and I enjoy a groovy smoothie packed with fruit and veggie and dairy nutrition. And he is oblivious to all of the above. All he knows is that they are yummy and the blender is noisy. And the man cub loves yummies and noise!

What follows is a loose recipe for a groovy smoothie a la MommyJustine. This can be tweaked and changed based on your taste and what you have in the fridge.

In your blender combine:

-approx 1/3 cup skim milk

-approx 1/4 cup yogurt (we use Greek)

-1/2 banana (overripe is awesome)

-whatever other fruit you have, up to 1 cup (smoothie pictured has orange slices and blackberries)

-1 handful baby spinach leaves (this makes it extra groovy and adds no weird flavor

-about 5 ice cubes

Blend, adding more ice or milk as needed to achieve desired consistency.

Now share with your child, who will be blissfully unaware that he/she is eating so many nutritious ingredients! Don't forget to get excited about making and drinking them, a little enthusiasm goes a long way in encouraging kiddos to try something new!


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And so, she blogs....

I don't exactly know what I intend to get from this, or give through this, or even exactly what I am doing. The truth is, I have just had the idea for a reality show about REAL housewives for years, ever since the first "Real Housewives of Orange County" episode aired. Being that I do not own a television network, nor do I have contacts that do, I shifted the idea to the idea for a blog. Which I have been thinking about for awhile now. Of course, I know nothing about blogging. And the blogs I myself frequent are so shiny and pretty and aesthetically pleasing. So when I went through the surprisingly simple process of creating a blog, imagine my surprise when the end result was not the shabby chic, colorful, eye-catching blog of my dreams. Alas, I will learn. And grow. And change. And maybe share a little something with someone about:

-My everyday happenings and the hilariousness of my real life
-Artsy craftiness
-Cooking deliciously for a family
-Budgeting and frugality
-Imperfect parenting of imperfect children
-and of course, my faith, the thread that carries through everything that I do.

The blog of my dreams has hundreds [thousands!] of followers, exudes witty catchphrases and inspires fantastic cooking, crafting and living......yeah, we'll see!