Let the Good Times Roll - Road Trips with Toddlers

We woke up early, packed the car, loaded the kids, and prepared to embark on our journey. I have been to dangerous, war torn countries, flown countless hours across open ocean, and sat in a dirty airport for hours as an assassination attempt was made just outside the walls. But I don't know if I had ever been as nervous as I was as when my Mother and I decided to take my two sons on a sixteen hour car ride to the pan-handle of Florida. As the doors closed I knew our fate was sealed. There would be no turning back, once we left that was it. If they decided to flip out it would surely be a 16 hour drive into the mouth of hell itself. Once we were further South than the oldest had been before he started to ask every 5 minutes "Is this Florida."...We were in Maryland. I looked at my mother and calmly proclaimed "We're screwed!" But it wasn't that bad, seriously! I brought the DVD player and plenty of movies but they were so engaged in the other things I got I think they watched one movie in 16 hours of driving. How did I do it? How did I journey into Mordor with two tiny hobbits and emerge victorious?? I will tell you!

You may know by now I am adamantly opposed to winging anything. You have to have a plan! And my plan was almost full proof it was a multi-faceted distraction technique that kept us all sane for the long haul. 

First here are my must haves for any car ride longer than a couple hours. 

• Dollar Store Cookie Sheet - Do not leave home without this!! It is a magnet board, it is a food tray, it keeps crayons from rolling away. I even used permanent marker to draw train tracks on ours to they had a little track for their cars and trains. Seriously you'll wonder why you never used one before. 
• Melissa and Doug Reusable Sticker Pads - I mean seriously genius! These keep the boys busy for hours and at $5 for infinite possibilities it is totally worth the buy. I took the reusable stickers and put them in a ziploc bag taped to the back of each scene sheet. This kept them from getting dirty and not sticking, as well as, kept them from getting lost in the seats or on the floor. 
• Audio Books - Go to your local library and get a few of these for free. Since we have two boys I always check out a second copy of the book so they can both flip through and look at the pictures and words as we go.  
• Healthy Snacks - Let me stress the healthy part of this. The last place you want your kids to have a sugar high is locked in and strapped down for multiple hours. Why would you do that to yourself?? My favorites are Happy Family Brands Organic Baby Food Pouches  and homemade trail mix. 

Next make a schedule. I know that may sound weird for just sitting in the car, but if you plan out your activities and games being sure to spread them out it will keep them from being going through everything in the first few hours and then being miserable for the last 10! I printed "train tickets" for them and every hour of the trip I would ask for their tickets and punch a hole. They looked forward to me bellowing every hour in my best old timey voice. "Tickets, tickets please. Next stop Cucamonga!" Then I had a brown paper bag scheduled for every 2 hours of the trip. The bags were filled with dollar store finds. Magnets for their cookie sheets, silly putty, sunglasses, a new hot wheels car, and snacks to name a few. When you stop for the bathroom really encourage them to move. Have everyone do jumping jacks or roll down a hill, something to exert some energy. I brought a book with me with fun facts about the states, when we'd enter a new state I would read about it. I showed them a picture of the state flag and you would have to shout out each time you spotted it! 

I could go on for hours, but I think you get the idea! So don't be afraid, take the trip, enjoy the journey! Godspeed friends! 

The boys with their tickets!