Roadtrip!!! (2 FREE Printables)

It's been a long time since I've roadtripped with JAM, and our recent trip to South Lake Tahoe was about 8 hours one-way. I don't know what's worse, a long plane ride or a long road trip. I've roadtripped before with JAM and 9 times out of 10 he fell asleep in the car for most of the ride. He'd wake up to eat or go to the bathroom and fall right back asleep. He's been on "quick" 4 hour road trips to L.A. and the longest one was our 33 hour drive when we packed up our SUV and moved to Vegas from Chicago. However, the last time we took a roadtrip was a year or two ago. Unlike other times where it was just JAM and I in the car, this time around I'll be traveling with my cousin, her son, and her boyfriend, which means I doubt JAM will be falling asleep since he'll probably want to play with his older cousin the whole time. I tried to think back on what I used to do for entertainment as a kid when my extended family used to roadtrip all over the U.S. since it was cheaper than flying with our group of 15-20 people. Now that I've gone through the paces, I can share what I learned on our last roadtrip.

JAM was exhausted once we arrived

First thing to get out the way, packing. I'll admit, I'm a pretty bad procrastinator. I say that I'll start packing little by little, but that usually ends up meaning I'm doing 6 loads of laundry up until I walk out the door and I'm packing along the way. Since it was a 5 day trip I knew that I could fit all of our clothes in one duffel bag. Plus I knew I didn't have to pack as much since the house had a washer and dryer (FYI since the altitude is higher in Tahoe, it take A LOT longer for things to dry in the dryer). Another plus side to having a duffel bag is it's able to be compacted a little in a trunk unlike a luggage since it has soft sides. We were traveling with 2 families in 1 SUV so cargo space was in high demand. I also always pack any liquids like shampoo in a separate plastic bag just in case it spills on the way. If you like lists like me, here's my TRAVELING LIST to download for FREE. You can adjust it to your liking. I had a lot on my list since I was the one hosting the reunion so I had to travel with a lot of extra things. Plus I knew the groceries would be more expensive in Tahoe so we tried to travel with as many goods as possible.

As far as my roadtrip portion of the list, here is what I learned: bringing a pillow was super helpful and comfy for everyone, all we ate were chips and other junk food (even though we had sandwiches), I packed Gatorade for drinks but limited their drink intake to prevent frequent potty breaks, simple "I Spy" roadtrip games are fun and easy especially when you're cramped in such a tight spot, and having a MP3 playlist that has a little something for everyone in the car is grand. Most of our trip to Tahoe consisted of open land and SUPER small towns with no cell reception, which also meant no radio signal either, so having an MP3 really helped out for those long stretches of driving. One fun type of "I Spy" game that we played can be printed here for FREE. Like I said, most of our road trip was in more rural areas so stuff on this checklist were a lot easier to find. JAM is 5 and his older cousin is 14 and they both had fun trying to find these things as we drove along.

On average, most cars usually need to stop every 4 hours to gas up so these stops would be a perfect time to let everyone stretch and go to the bathroom. I already packed food and drinks so anytime the kids asked to buy something at these stops I just reminded them that it was all in the car. Most of those gas stations along the way can get very pricey anyways, especially since they were in the middle of nowhere.

Our halfway mark to Tahoe: Tonopah, NV

I noticed that it's always more fun to road trip TO the destination than to RETURN home. The kids slept most of  the way to Tahoe. When they were awake they were either playing on JAM's Nintendo DS or watching a DVD or two on the portable DVD player we brought. On the way home it was the complete opposite. They were up for most of the trip, didn't feel like fiddling with technology, and they were anxious to get home. This is where the MP3 player kicked it. We picked fun songs that we could all jam too and I recorded videos on my digital camera while the kids made "music videos". Every time they asked if we were almost home we'd try to take their minds off of it with more music and air guitars.

All in all we had a successful road trip I think. I didn't need to pull out my travel-size first aid kit that I packed and it ended up being a memorable trip that JAM still hasn't stopped talking about. What tips do you have for road trips? If you want more roadtripping ideas you can always check out my Pinterest board. If roadtripping is not your style, check out my tips on flying with a little one! Safe travels!!

Flying With a Little One: Keeping Baby Calm

Now for the biggest panic attack of them all, being locked in a plane for X hours with limited space and 100+ people WITH YOUR CHILD. Once again, JUST BREATH! It's going to be ok and you're prepared for anything (if that's possible hehe). Like I said in my first post of this series I used to try to plan my flights accordingly so that the flights weren't so packed. If I could tell that the flight wasn't full, as crappy as it sounds, I used to put JAM by the window and I would sit in the aisle seat. This arrangement could go either way. They either couldn't resist his adorable face and wanted to sit in my row OR they're like no way am I sitting in the row with a baby. Can you guess which one I wanted? haha. If someone decided to sit next to me I'd usually sit in the middle seat to let JAM sit by the window. However, it always helped to have a row to myself mainly because of the room and I didn't have to worry about my kid bugging someone else within close proximity. Plus, it also helped to let him move around, change a diaper, or lay him down once he fell asleep.

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If you think I'm crazy because you just read that I changed a diaper in the seat you must have not traveled with a baby on an airplane. Let me give you 2 scenarios. #1: have you ever seen those airplane bathrooms?! Although there is a changing table in there, you'd have to be houdini to change ANYTHING in there. #2: once I boarded the plane on one of my trips when JAM was a baby still I realized that he had an explosion. If you don't know what I'm talking about yet, be grateful haha. Anyways, people were still boarding the plane so that was a no go on heading to the airplane bathroom. As I was apologizing a billion times to everyone around me for the nastinesss and smell, I changed my son right there on the seat. Going back to my reason for taking a first in the morning 6am flight, it's because usually the crowd is older (Most 15-21 year olds don't want to wake up that early for a flight). This meant that a majority of the people are veteran parents and the passengers were nothing but understanding to the situation. Most of them were even baby talking to JAM as they passed or patted me on the back saying "welcome to motherhood". I even had a lady who actually wanted to sit by me to help me out throughout the flight because she thought JAM was adorable and she was a preschool teacher so she wasn't bothered by the stench haha.

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Lesson learned, ALWAYS bring baggies, sanitizer, extra wipes, extra diapers, and TONS of extra clothes on your flight. Keyword: EXTRA! This is the most important concept for your flight. So many moms are worried about what toys and such to bring on the plane but forget about the ACTUAL essentials. Another tip is to have a bottle or pacifier or to breastfeed during takeoff and landing to avoid the uncomfortable feeling of ear popping. If you plan to breastfeed, bringing a boppy or sling along to make that process more comfortable. Phew! We're finally in the air. Now what? If you're one of the lucky ones, your child just fell asleep during takeoff and hopefully stays asleep the rest of the flight. If not, you're still in luck! I have a whole list of ideas and things for you to bring on the plane for your little one. The older JAM got the more creative I had to get with what I packed. Let you child be a part of the packing process. Once mine was old enough, I let him choose the backpack to carry the stuff in and let him choose a couple things to put in the bag.

When JAM was little I didn't have the iPad or portable DVD player to entertain him. I did have an iPod, which I downloaded a playlist just for him. If you don't own kid CDs visit your local library! They have endless CDs for your kids, especially music from their favorite TV shows. I also brought my laptop to watch movies and stuff, but I learned real quick that it was hard to juggle. I think my laptop came out probably once on a flight. He also likes to bring his Leapster Explorer and Nintendo DS on the flight now that he's older. If you do have that luxury to bring a gadget on the plane, there are awesome apps out there to keep your little one entertained. I personally don't own an iPad (yet), but mommy friends of mine have sworn by these apps for their kids. Check em out!

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Monkey Preschool Lunchbox ($0.99)

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Road Rally Appisode (FREE)

Nick Jr.’s A to Z with Moose and Zee ($1.99)

Elmo Loves ABCs Lite (FREE)

My First Words - Flashcards (FREE)

Disneyland Explorer (FREE)

ABC Alphabet Phonics (FREE)

Peekaboo Barn ($1.99 OR Lite version for FREE)

Little Speller – Three Letter Words Lite (FREE)

If you don't have a gadget to bring along or if you simply choose not to that's ok! There's tons of other options to entertain your little one. The number one thing to bring on a flight is snacks. Especially nowadays where you have to pay for every little snack on the plane. JAM's go-to snacks were the Gerber GRADUATES® Puffs. They were super easy to travel with, not messy at all, and he LOVED them. If you plan to pack their favorite toys, try to pack ones that have as minimal pieces as possible and the bigger the better. Having to find the littlest toy on a plane is no bueno. Bouncy balls, cars, or anything that can roll and fit under your seat can become a pain if it falls on the floor. A few more great ideas are bringing playing cards, books, stickers, pipe cleaners, and coloring books. My little sister and I always brought a deck of cards or playing card games like UNO on the flight. With a simple deck of cards the games are endless. If you decide to bring a coloring book I suggest you bring a placemat or rubber mat to place on the tray to avoid coloring on the tray table. I bought a rubber mat that was meant as a placemat for on the go eating. It's a personal preference if you want to bring crayons vs. markers vs. colored pencils. You know more than me if your child would draw on themselves instead of the coloring book or on the airplane walls. If you do decide to travel with a sippy cup, pacifier, toys, and/or snacks, I suggest that you attach them to a lanyard or clip-on leash to avoid picking it up off the floor constantly. I remember a flight where JAM would continuously throw his toy on the floor and cry for me to pick it up. That wasn't fun for me or my back.

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Well there you have it! I've given you a little insight on how to fly with a little one. Now spread your wings and fly! Whether you're flying alone or with a buddy, everything with be ok. You just have to take it step by step and go with the flow. Things always vary from flight to flight so you just have to breath and have the "it is what it is" mentality. No worries, as long as you're showing initiative, no one on the plane is as focused on you as much as you think. 9 times out of 10 someone will offer a lending hand whenever you come across a crisis, but you don't have to worry about that. You're prepared and it's going to be an awesome experience!

Flying With a Little One: Going Through Security

One of the biggest concerns, especially when flying with a baby, is what are you allowed to bring on the plane for the kiddos. You should also be aware of what to expect when going through security with your child. The more I traveled with JAM, the more I learned how to tweak what was important and what wasn't. I've been traveling on the plane with JAM since he was 4-5 months old and I'd travel by myself. Although I always had someone help check-in my baggage, no one was allowed through security check without a boarding pass, which meant I was gonna go through the security check solo withh JAM. First of all, check in as many items as possible!! With all these crazy baggage fees I know it can be hard, but it'll make your trip so much smoother if you do. I always checked-in JAM's carseat and gate checked his stroller. Gate checking means leaving the stroller at the gate right before you enter the plane so it'll be there right where you get off, and you won't have to carry the baby around the airport.

I remember my first trip with JAM. The  security check was HORRIBLE. I had him, my boarding passes, purse, baby bag, stroller, and laptop. Initially it didn't seem so bad since those were the bare necessities, especially since I had his stroller to carry everything for me. Then I had to go through security. I knew I had to put the usual bags through the x-ray machine, but I didn't take into consideration everything else. I had to take mine AND JAM's shoes off, my belt, fold up the stroller to put through the x-ray machine since it was capable of fitting, and take my laptop out the bag. It doesn't sound to bad, but remember, you have to do this in 3.5 seconds. This wasn't the hard part. The hard part was after you walk through security. Holding the baby in this narrow pathway, I had to unfold the stroller, put my shoes back on, and basically grab all the other crap and just throw it in the stroller to find a place on the side and put it all back where it belongs. As I'm putting JAM's shoes back on, putting my belt back on, and putting my laptop back in the bag, a TSA security requested to check his diaper bag. No problem. I was planning a trip from Chicago to Vegas and planned on staying there for a month with my dad so I packed all his baby food and stuff in the baby bag since I didn't want it all to make a mess in my luggage (we all know how they handle our checked in bags). They gave me a hard time because I had too much food in the bag. Apparently you're only allowed to fly with enough food that will last the baby for the flight and I had a month's worth of food and beverage for my 5 month old. Long story short, a female TSA made the exception since she was a mom too.

Happy baby since mommy got his
juice through security!

Phew! After many trials and errors, I now wear flip flops and stretch pants to the fly so no dealing with belts and it's easy to slide shoes back on. JAM only wears socks (until he started to walk). I bring enough food just for the flight and buy food when I arrive. You are allowed to bring water and breast milk as long as it's for the baby. They did make me dump out the juice when JAM started using sippy cups though. I think it depends on the airport and security guard because that only happened once. I just asked for apple juice or orange juice once I got on the plane and filled his sippy cup back up. I travel with my laptop once in awhile and still bring it as a carry on cuz I'm paranoid to put it in my check-in bag. I tried to go without a stroller and that was horrible. Never again. Carrying a baby, purse and baby bag all around the airport can become tiring, especially when your gate is on the other side of the airport. It would get worse once he started walking because he never wanted to be carried and always wanted to wander. A stroller solves all that madness so I just deal with putting it through security. There have been a couple times JAM was "randomly" security checked, which was odd, but know that you are to NEVER be separated from your child if that occurs. I got checked one time and it ended up being my underwire bra *shakes head*.

Well hopefully this prepares you for your flight so you don't have to go through a crisis like I had to experience. Just remember to breathe, and people are more understanding than you think. 9 times out of 10 TSA will help you gather your things if they see you're struggling with your baby. However, don't always count on someone's help. Just try to be as efficient as you can and don't leave anything behind! For more information check out TSA's website. Stay tuned to hear my tips on how to keep your child calm while in the air. Happy Travels!

He's sloooooowly breaking down....

Do you have any crazy or hectic stories about going through airport security?

Flying With A Little One: Best Time of Day to Fly

With many families on summer break, a popular question I keep hearing is "How do you fly with a little one?". Parents always wonder, What time a day is great to fly with a kid? What are you allowed to bring on the plane for the baby? What do you bring on the plane to keep your child calm? DEEP BREATHS! With all the traveling I've done with JAM, I feel like I've earned my wings and I'm here to help ease your anxiety.

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You know your child more than anyone. As far as what time of day to travel, that all depends on your little one (if your schedule allows you to make that type of accomodation). On departure flights, I always took the first flight out, which was usually 6am, since I knew JAM didn't like to wake up until 10am. Also because I was always excited to head to our destination so I wanted to get my day started bright and early. He'd be a little upset being moved around from his carseat to his stroller and through security but since he was so sleepy he'd always end up knocking out on the flight. On arrival flights I usually booked a red eye flight. Once I come back home from a vacation, all I want to do is go to sleep. All the excitement of traveling wears off and I don't want to deal with anything once I get home. Red eye flights are more chill at the airport and my little guy sleeps through the night. Whoever picks me up handles my bags and it's home sweet home for the both of us. I did notice that when JAM was a baby he would instantly knock out with no problem. Once he hit the toddler age, he was a little more active and wanted to wander and peek over the seats. That was when I started planning my flight times accordingly. If I arrived there early enough, I'd let him walk around the area to release any last minute energy stored away. I also preferred these flights because they usually weren't full flights so JAM and I would have a row to ourselves. Always expect the unexpected when it comes to flying with a child. That way you're prepared for anything and if all that stuff doesn't happened it'll be a plus for you! Regardless, keep an open mind, don't stress, and just go with the flow. Before you know it, you'll arrive at your destination feeling like a pro flying with kids.

Taking It Day By Day

My relationship with Mahal has been long distance from the get go. We're both originally from the Chicagoland area. Mahal grew up in Southside Chicago while I basically grew up in Darien, IL. Both of us have moved around town a lot growing up, so being on the go wasn't out of the ordinary for the both of us. A week after making our relationship official he was already off to Wisconsin to start his first construction job. However, we couldn't stay apart for long since he came back after a couple months and tried to find a job more local. A few more months went by and then I found out I was pregnant. Mahal went off to Temecula, CA to start another construction job so we could save up for the baby. It was a short-term job so he was back to Chicago before we knew it. He got another local job, but minimum wage just wasn't cutting it. Once JAM was born in August of 2006 we agreed that construction was best for our financial needs so off to Colorado we went!

Mahal went first to find a place for us to stay while I went to Vegas so my dad could spend some quality time with his new grandson. Once Mahal's job got started we stayed at a hotel (typical for construction workers) in Kimball, NE. It was fun living in a hotel for a little bit until the thought of having to cook somehow in this little hotel room and JAM's baby stuff started to take over our room. So, we found a cute one bedroom apartment in Pinebluff, WY. Mahal's job site was in the tri-state area of Wyoming, Colorado, and Nebraska so it wasn't uncommon for people to commute between the 3 states on a daily basis. Pinebluff, WY was definitely a big change from Chicago. The population was a little over 300 people, and everything was walking distance unless you wanted to go to common stores like Walmart, then you had to drive an hour to the closest major city of Cheyenne, WY. It was a nice change of pace I had to say. I walked with JAM to the library every day and stopped at the park whenever I wanted to. I could walk to do groceries or go to the post office. The bowling alley was a whole 6 lanes with amazing tasting food. Everybody knew everybody and people were so friendly. After Mahal's construction project was completed after 8 months, I was kind of sad to leave. I still think about Pinebluff from time to time and all the people I met there.

After Wyoming, we moved back to Chicago just in time to celebrate JAM's 1st birthday with our closest friends and family. Just as we were about to get comfy in Chicago, Mahal was off to Salina, KS for his next job. JAM and I took the  12 hour roadtrip to surprise Mahal from time to time so we wouldn't be apart for too long. With all this traveling and JAM just turning one, Mahal and I agreed that once JAM turned 5 and started Kindergarten, we would settle down somewhere so JAM wouldn't be hopping from school to school, and Mahal being away for 8 months at a time wasn't an option either. Until then, Mahal worked hard in Kansas while we stayed behind in Chicago to get help from my family with Jordan. The job ended in Kansas and Mahal was back in Chicago with us just in time for Jordan's 2nd birthday. Living in Chicago was getting kind of expensive, and things in general were just plateauing for us. We definitely needed a change, but didn't know what to do. The day before Jordan's 2nd bday party we did all this shopping to prepare for his party. We bought presents, decorations, outfits, EVERYTHING! We ran inside a nearby shopping center to grab something to eat, and we were in an out in about 5 minutes. When we got to our car we realized that someone broke into our car and stole everything we just bought! That was our breaking point.

So, we had Jordan's party as planned, sold our car for an SUV, and packed up everything we could fit in the SUV and headed for Las Vegas to move with my dad. Mahal picked up another construction job in Kentucky a little after moving to Vegas, but JAM quickly approached 5 years of age so Mahal found a job locally just like we agreed. Phew! Man that was a lot of places! We've been living in Las Vegas coming on 4 years this August! We've settled down in a cute 2 bedroom apartment, I'm about to apply for the nursing program this fall, and JAM's wrapping up his Kindergarten year this Thursday! Crazy how time flies. Now you know why I always say Chitown and All Around! All this craziness going on, all you can do is take it day by day. Whatever you're going through today, just know everything will always be ok. If you can get through today you can get through anything. Trust me, I'm living proof!