My must haves for road trippin!

If you have been following along you know we just took a 9 hour drive to Florida to visit my sister. I was so worried that my normally happy car rider would be restless and I would be trapped in the car with an unhappy monster. I put a lot of thought in to scenarios and tried to plan for them as best I could.

So if you are planning a long road trip in the future and need some helpful tips for travel....take a peek!
Keep in mind these are all recommendations for items you may need while travelling to your destination.

1.) DVD player - Highly recommended for children 1 and older on longer trips. Suggestion, bring more than one of your child's fav DVD!!!! I am ready to knock Muno's block off, and will poke my eyes out if I have to see Elijah Woods dancey dance one more time!!!!!
TIP- Don't want to spend the $ for a portable player? Do you have a laptop? If my frugal mommies answered yes, buy one of these converters(about $25) and use your laptop in the car as a portable DVD player instead!

              


2.)New toys- I bought a few little things and had them in a special bag waiting for the perfect whine fest opportunity. Worked every time!!! I had a bounce and giggle cow, light up egg wand, a new pirate rubber duck(she is obsessed with ducks) and bubbles.

3.) Blanket- super soft cozy one to cuddle..in the car and at your destination.(see next picture)

4.) A favorite toy or two- We brought her pal Violet, because she likes to play with her everyday and it provided that familiar feeling in new places. We also packed a book for her to chew/read.
TIP- I recommend the indestructible's I bought at target. Baby can chomp, crinkle, and try to rip but to no avail..those books are awesome- even more so bc they are non toxic and washable!!





5.) Snacks- Variety is key! We had organic gummy fruit snacks, dried fruit, gold fish, granola, some teddy grahams, and lunch/dinner item's depending on planned travel times.




6.) Small Cooler- I packed a thermos of her juice, 2 sippies of milk, and a bottle of water to mix with her juice.(I had 2 soda cans for me in there too). This conveniently compact cooler was perfect!





7.) Diaper disposal bags  When I had to change her in the car the disposal bags came in handy- and doubled as trash bags for left over lunch crumbs and wrappers.



8.) Changing pad/receiving blanket- You never know when or where you will end up changing a diaper. I saw some horrific things in those public restrooms. Don't risk getting stuck in a dirty bathroom fresh out of changing table covers!




9.) Pacifier clip- If your kiddo uses one of course..I forgot mine and I can't tell you how many times I had to  reach break my back/arm/neck trying to find it- learn from my mistake!


10.) Umbrella stroller with optional canopy- Let's face it you are going to need the space for all the over packing you did. Annnd you never know when you want to make a pit stop. Came in handy for us!
Tip- they don't cost much to begin with so spend the extra $10 and get one with a canopy. I can attatch or detattch it so easily depending on the weather.

Please excuse the fact that my daughter picked out Yoda of all the stuffed animals in the bin!

Beach or bust

Yesterday we took a gorgeous drive to St. George Island. A super cute place with a sweet lighthouse and bikes to rent and ride around the island, and little ice cream shops near by..not your standard hotel strung beach line. Who can come to Florida and not enjoy the beach, right? So thats what we did... Emer loved the water, even though it was a bit chilly she wanted to be in the waves. She wasn't totally sold on the sand though...I had to create towel "bridges" for her to cross from the sections between the 3 of us...otherwise she would have stayed in the same spot all day. We sat in the sand where the waves broke so she could feel the water slowly surround her..but she was over that pretty quick and kept walking further out...I had no choice but to take her in..she screamed and giggled the whole time. I am sooo glad she loves the water as much as I do, that totally makes me a happy mommy. We spent pretty much the whole day out there- which side note, totally put the sunscreen we bought to the test...and it worked perfectly. I applied more every hour, and of course after each swim session..she had a UVA/UVB hat...two suits one with a rash guard and one speedo type bottom with UVA/UVB protection, and of course we had an umbrella. She sat in the sun a little bit too...and is perfect today(I, however, should have borrowed some). Any day spent at the beach is my favorite, so today was pretty perfect.

Mini Vacay

So we spent a week in Charlotte. It was really nice since our hotel was in the snobby Ballentyne area. We ate wonderfully prepared meals every night, took Emerson swimming for the first time, shopped, and relaxed in the hotel during the day's. It was great to get out of our usual routine...and even better to not have to make our bed, do dishes, vacuum you know all the normal daily chores a mom has to do to keep her house from looking like one featured on hoarders. We stayed right on the golf course where Tiger Woods was playing. It was so pretty, if we planned on staying in NC then we would probably move to that area, for my family's sake Florida is on our mind. We have a 4 year plan to pay our house off and get moved!
But back to this last week's event's, Emerson loved the water..She splashed and giggled...the water was a bit chilly so there was a time or two everytime a new part of her body got wet her eyes got really big and her arms sprung out from her sides...So for that reason we didn't stay in long, once she got used to the water she didn't seem to mind though.
Last Sunday I threw a baby shower for my friend Stacy who is having a girl she is naming Macy. It was awesome to see her since she lives in TN now and I was so glad she came back for a shower. My friend Kelly found out she was having a girl on monday. 2010 is definitely the year of the girl. EVERY new/pregnant mom I know has/is having a girl! It's the best. Every mom should experience having a little lady. It's the best!
Well you know I can't leave you without pictures from this week.