Going somewhere?

So my husband and I have been talking about taking the kids somewhere this up coming summer. As you all know we have 4 kids. Four kids in one car can be a major major headache if you are traveling a long distance.When we do go from state to state we have to find something for them all to do. Sometimes that can be hard if you do not want to make a million stops along the way.

We normally stop maybe once every two hours unless we need to change a diaper then we stop as soon as we can. But it seems like every time we stop one if not all of the kids want you to buy them something. For our kids most of the time they want us to buy them something sweet to eat or a meal from a fast food place. But I have some awesome ideas that should help your trip go a lot smoother. Weather you are just going to your ex's house to drop off your child or going on a family vacation.

 If you save the small zipper pouches from things you buy you can put your games together, snacks together and so on. You can even make yourself a small first aid kit for the car.

If you have a jar that is almost empty cut up some carrots or celery even apples and place them in the jar and now you have a snack on the road. Once it is empty you can toss it out.

When you are packing for traveling or even for just a weekend at grandma's house. Put your little one's outfits in a bag. Make sure it includes the outfit and accessories. It makes it easier for the child and easier for you to keep track of where things went.

If you have more than one child and you are like me and limit how many snacks they have during the day but your kids are old enough to handle their snacks on their own. Get a big baggy and write the child's or children's name on the bag. Each child gets only one bag. Put their snacks for the day in it and let them get a snack out of their bag whenever they want a snack however when the bag is empty it is just that. They do not get anymore snacks.

If you have a fisherman in the house (I have a hunter not a fisherman) you can use a CLEAN bait box and fill it with all kinds of goodies for the kids or even yourself. 

Now this is my favorite because this is what keeps my kids busy the whole trip. When the kids are not looking (most of the time you will have to do this the night before while they are asleep) Stuff a backpack one for each kid full of toys even their favorite toy. Place it in the car next to their seat that way when they get up set and asking how much longer over and over again they will have some fun toys to play with. I normally pack color books, color pencils, barbies, hot wheels, reading books and so on. It has saved me so much time and hassle with going back and forth between states. However when it comes to infants you will not be able to pack them a backpack with toys that they can get to themselves. You will want to get a few toys for the car like a mirror that hooks to the seat and so on but also make sure to bring a cuddle toy like the little animals in the baby section of your local wal-mart that are made for chewing. They work wonders. 

Never forget to get some kid friendly music like the wheels on the bus. I know it will drive you nuts but remember if you make a deal with them like if they are silent for 30 minutes they get 20 minutes of their music.