Hey there and welcome! I’m glad you stopped by today! Are you heading out on the open road and taking your toddlers with you? Brave soul. Only kidding. Mostly.

Actually, traveling with kids is totally doable! The key is to be prepared!

Our summers are usually full of road trips. While it’s definitely easier to travel sans children, I wouldn’t want it any other way. It’s great family time. We have even been known to spend weeks on the road at a time.

Once such time when I had two little ones, we were getting ready to spend two weeks traveling. The longest we’d gone with kids. I was really nervous about keeping our rambunctious, energetic boys happy in the car for that long.

I spent A LOT of time getting together activities for them to do.  My husband said to me at one point, “I am only going to say this once.  I think you are waaaaay over-preparing as far as entertainment for the boys.”

I just kinda rolled my eyes because I knew that my wonderful husband would do what daddy-drivers do with fussy babies trapped in car seats.  He’d get frustrated, try to distract them only to be screamed at more loudly.  Then he’d get upset that they were yelling. He’d yell, trying to be heard over their racket, then he’d stuff earbuds in his ears and totally drown them out with an audio book or something.

And I’d be stuck with screaming banshees in the backseat.

I will admit that I was very over-prepared.  But most of our problem was location, location, location!  The bag was on the floor in between the boys.  In their car seats, neither kid could reach the bag on the floor and it was too far back for me to reach it.  So… on our next 2,000+ mile trip, we stuck the food box and activity bag closer to momma.  Lesson learned.

 

Ready for the best road trip ever?! Click next to find out what we think is a MUST-HAVE for rest stops! It keeps the kids close and out of all the “puddles”!

Directions:
– Cut the scrap fabric to fit around your zip top bags (approximately 6″x14″).  Be sure to allow for seam allowance and approximately 3/4″ of an inch to sew the baggies in place.  Just a basic rectangle.

– Cut the shorts/pants to the same size as the scrap fabric.  You can use another piece of scrap fabric instead of the shorts, but I liked the idea of having the pockets on the inside.

– Place the right sides of the fabrics together and straight-stitch three of the sides together.  Press the seams and flip the fabric right side out. (Sorry for the lack of photos… apparently I was in “project mode” and forgot to get pictures of this part).

– Cut a length of ribbon approximately 18-24″ and place it inside the open seam.  Fold the seam and straight stitch it shut, sealing the ribbon inside.  For a road trip bag that will stay together a little better, make two ties by cutting two lengths of ribbon and placing each approximately an inch and a half from the ends of the pouch.

 

–  Decide how many baggies you want to include in your road trip bag and count them out.  Lay them out with all the zippy sides together.  I ended up having to pin the bags to the pouch to keep them from sliding so badly while I stitched them to the road trip bag.  I used sandwich -sized bags.

– Fold the pouch over on the bags, closing them inside and sew a straight seam up the outside of the pouch.  It will make a little tab on the outside of the bag.

– Sew a long (I did about 6″) strip of Velcro on one side of the ribbon.  My ribbon was long enough that it wrapped back on  itself, even when the road trip bag is full, so both of my Velcro pieces are on the ribbon.  I would suggest filling your bag before you attach your other piece of Velcro so you know just how much space inside the pouch you’ll need.  This placement will make it easier to replace the Velcro/ribbon if the time ever comes.  I’ll just have to un-stitch a small portion of the side seam, replace and stitch it back up – rather than worrying about any picking of my actual fabric.

I would also suggest putting the “hook” side facing toward the road trip bag (but actually located on the ribbon) and the “loop” side facing out from the road trip bag.  This way, you won’t get scratched by any exposed Velcro, because it will be the softer loop side and not the scratchy hook side.

That’s it.  You’re finished!  Now just fill up those baggies and stash the good stuff away for when you need it.  It is such a convenience to have all those little “needs” all in one place, easy to get to and even easier to find.  And pick up is a cinch.

Need some ideas of what to fill those baggies with?  Here’s the goodies I stashed in mine:
– bandaids, first aid ointment and alcohol wipes
– toothpicks and flossers (stray popcorn kernels are one of my biggest pet peeves!)
– tylenol, ibuprofen, and excedrin – make sure you have dosing directions and amounts on all medications in case you need the information later.
– antacids
– chapstick, Tic Tacs, rubber band and a few bobby pins
– nail file, nail clippers, safety pins and safety scissors
– small box of matches and a butane lighter
– extra batteries for devices commonly used
– super glue
– small bottle of lotion, hand sanitizer, and anti-itch cream
– feminine hygiene needs
– Q-tips and a small pair of surgical scissors
– extra empty zip bags
– a cold compress and small fabric bandage (Ace bandage – I unrolled it and folded it so it would fit better)
– a small screwdriver and bit set
– an eyeglass repair kit
– pen, pencil and paper

Hopefully, you wouldn’t need to use all of these items on a single vacation, but it is extremely nice knowing: one, you have them if you need them.  Two, you know where they are.  Three, it’s compact enough to be packable, but not so small it gets lost.  If we got lost somewhere and needed to abandon our vehicle, this is one thing I would take with me and I wouldn’t even complain about having to carry it.

 

This post was written by Krista and originally appeared on While He Was Napping.

Have you checked out the previous {Kids on the Road} posts?  You can find info on Planning Your Trip, What to Pack, and How to Pack it in the previous posts.

Welcome to another installment of {Kids on the Road}.  Today is snack day.  One of the most important things for us to have in the car is food!  And not just junk food.  If you saw the What to Pack post, you know I mentioned our family’s “hanger” – hungry anger (not that thing people hang clothes on) – problems.  Junk food just gives everyone headaches and that brief sugar rush.  I’m not sure which is worse: my kids bouncing off the walls while strapped in their car seats or the sugar crash and whiny tantrums that follow.  So, we tend to steer clear of candy and the like, especially in the car.  So, here is what goes in our typical Food Box:

1.  Crackers.  Many, many kinds of crackers.  Peanut butter, cheese, goldfish, Triscuit, Wheat Thins, Club and Ritz are a few of our faves.   Bite-size pieces are the best, as it minimizes crumbs and mess, but they can be a little more spendy.  For some reason, it seems to be harder to get the same thing in your mouth multiple times, but a one-time straight shot is usually more successful.  Sometimes a little convenience is worth the money.

2.  Veggie Slices/Dices.  Carrots, fresh green beans, sliced bell peppers, broccoli pieces, cucumber sticks, grape/cherry tomatoes. avocado slices (stored in a small snapware container with a pickle fork), celery sicks with peanut butter and pickles are big hits at our house.  I would much rather my kids eat this stuff.  They are happier and fuller for longer.

Source

3.  Fruit slices.  Apples, grapes, bananas, peaches, mangoes, apricots, oranges, and just about any kind of berry make our family’s top faves list.  Firmer fruit, like apples and oranges, can be stored in zip top baggies.  I usually store our softer fruits in small snapware containers.  If you want to avoid the hassle of keeping track of your plastic storage, you can find cheap containers at the Dollar Tree.  If they come home, great.  If not, no big deal.  Or you find that empty, sealed, super moldy container that was lost on your trip… just pitch it.  No sweat.

Source

4.  Cheese slices and string cheese.  We LOVE cheese.  LOVE.  So, we will buy 2-3 bricks of different kinds of cheese and slice it up before our trip.  (Brie is my favorite!)  We can then snack on it with the crackers or alone.  Of course, my kids love string cheese and we usually take some of that too.  There are also individually wrapped cheese slices available for purchase in lots of stores.  Not the fake cheese, the real stuff.  That’s an option as well (and there’s less prep time involved).

Source

5.  Water.  We take a case a water on just about every trip we go on.  Warm water is better than thirsting to death… or that’s what I tell myself.  Ick.  It’s incredibly convenient to not have to remember to grab water every time we go and do something though… beach, park, swimming, or anywhere else.

Source via Amazon

6.  Beef  Jerky.  Both my kids and Mr Napping love beef jerky.  We ration it out a little at a time to the boys.  I will often take the jerky beforehand and cut it into small pieces that my boys can handle without it being a choking hazard.  Be sure to store it in an air-tight container.

7.  Dry Cereal.  My kids, specifically Monkey, will eat dry cereal all day.  In fact, that’s usually how he eats cereal, even at home.  We choose varieties low in sugar and somewhat healthy like Cheerios, Chex, Kix, Life, and Frosted Mini Wheats.  Occasionally, something like Fruit Loops or Corn Pops shows up in our box… but I have no idea how that happens.

Source

8.  Granola bars.  I like to have snacks that are a little more substantial when we are traveling and miss a meal or what something besides fast food.  Granola bars work well and my boys can feed themselves.  You can find low-calorie varieties if you prefer.

9.  Fruit Cups and Applesauce Cups/Pouches.  We love applesauce.  Monkey can eat a whole bottle by himself in less than a week.  Applesauce pouches are incredibly easy and convenient and even Gator can (sorta) feed himself.  He’s still mastering the whole “don’t squeeze it” concept, but he usually does pretty well.  My boys also love fruit cups, but this requires a little more help.  These are good for quick pit stops.

Source via Amazon

Target has a system where you can fill your own pouches.  I really like these; however, the whole system is kinda spendy.  Mr Napping rigged up a little contraption for us using one of the pouch lids and a pastry bag.  The pouches screw onto the pastry bag and make it easier to squeeze the pureed fruit and veggies into the pouch.

Source via Target.com

10.  Treats.  Sitting in the car, strapped in a car seat for hours on end is incredibly monotonous.  Offer a little reward or incentive for good behavior.  Some of our favorites include: Pringles, Cheetos, Pirate Booty, fruit snacks, fruit leather, and the occasional fun size candy bar.

I use a large-ish cardboard box (usually a diaper or wipe box, we tend to have those around pretty much all the time) to store everything in. It sits on the floor within reach, is easily contained and it’s easy to take inside when we stop.  Cold items are stored in a (or some) small, soft-sided coolers on top of the box.  This works for us… for now.  Someday the boys will be in charge of their own snacks; I can’t wait to stop being the food police on road trips.

This post was written by Krista and originally appeared on While He Was Napping.
Never miss a thing:

Join the newsletter for exclusive content and giveaways!  Next edition goes out Friday