Traveling with Children
Traveling with Children | Tips For Traveling Long Distances
If you are not prepared…. a road trip or long flight with children can be a veritable nightmare.
Don’t believe me? Read my story about our worst road trip…ever!
(Keep scrolling to read)
In the VIDEO (above) I share all of my travel tips and tricks for long trips with your kiddos.
Test Run
If you are thinking about a LONG trip, but haven’t tried it yet,
I would recommend a shorter ‘test run.’
You can never predict what will go wrong.
And things WILL go wrong.
Also, you should make sure you have every possible TOOL to help you!!
I mean, every…single…one.
And for 12+ hour trips, you will use ALL of them.
Shop Travel Picks
Here is a link to one of my favorite suitcases (prime eligible).
And, I LOVE these “Mackenzie” backpacks from Pottery Barn Kids!!
[show_shopthepost_widget id=”2379047″]
Worst Road Trip…Ever!
The picture above is beautiful right? I posted this on Instagram.
And, like so many images on social media….it almost never represent reality.
Let’s use this Colorado trip as an example.
I am so glad we are here, make no mistake, I love it!
But, the journey to get here is another story.
Day One:
It started with Gage’s school calling. He barfed in the hallway on the way to see the nurse.
Not ideal, but listen we’ve dealt with these stomach bugs a bunch of times before.
They are intense for 24 hours, and then you are better!
Well, we decided to pile everyone into the truck…despite this setback.
Besides we are splitting up the trip, so it’s only about 7 hours each day.
Poor Gage. He went through innumerable barf bags on the road.
His sister also seemed to catch the bug, but she had a slightly different manifestation of the virus.
She was excreting smells that surely no 3-year old has ever accomplished before.
These “Bitty Bombs” happened about once every 20 minutes.
When it was time to stop for gas and a bathroom break, we decided on a town in New Mexico.
The first stop had porta potties, so we piled back into the truck.
At the second gas station, the restrooms were out of order.
The 3rd gas station/McDonald’s combo, the bathrooms were closed for maintenance.
At the 4th stop… we finally found bathrooms! Multiple stalls even!
Well, what transpired in that bathroom is so disgusting…
Even my sister said she never encountered anything that gross in 20+ years of nursing.
A woman rushed in to the stall next to us (the kids and I were in a big stall together.)
I thought I saw poop on the floor, but dismissed it … thinking it couldn’t possibly be poop.
When the noises started, I realized something was not right, and began rushing the kids out of bathroom.
We were quickly exiting restroom, and nearly stepped in a pile of poop.
A PILE!
My husband was standing there and said, “What the hell?”
I gave him a look of panic, and said we need to go!
I’m not sure how a woman who was wearing pants could leave a poop trail,
But she did and now these images are indelibly etched into my brain.
I call it PTSD, Post Traumatic Sh*t Disorder.
When we reached the hotel in Roswell, New Mexico, it was apparent that even though we cleverly packed our overnight bag…
We were going to have to unpack the entire truck or risk robbery.
But, first we had to sneak in our 12-week old puppy, Traveler.
(Hotel does not allow pets.)
Traveler apparently didn’t understand discretion …and pooped in the lobby.
The kids were whining, and tired in the room while my husband and I feverishly unloaded.
When you unpack in this harried manner inevitably everything is impossible to find…
And you find yourself shouting, “Where the hell are the wipes? The wipes!” And then collapsing into your hands in tears.
Of course there was more vomiting…but alas we were all ready for bed.
Day Two:
At 5am the next morning, Elizabeth woke me up because she was scared.
No matter how much I plead with her to “… Please let mommy sleep.” She doesn’t seem to get it.
Why can’t you rationalize with a 3-year old??!!
Oh, right… cause they’re 3.
We arrived in Colorado after our 2nd full day of travel …
And… I felt a renewed sense of excitement! Yay! We did it!
But, our unit wasn’t ready.
It was still being cleaned. Seriously? Whaaatt?
I’m suddenly feeling like I might have a nervous breakdown.
I decided to diffuse the situation and get the kids out of the car to at least show them snow.
“Isn’t is beautiful?
Snow, guys!”
It doesn’t snow in south Texas.
As if on cue, Elizabeth… threw up in the snow.
Then of course Traveler tried to eat it.
Did I mention, my mom is in the hospital?
She’s okay. Thank God.
And my sweet sister is with her (the nurse) …so I know she is in the best hands.
Day Three:
I thought with another day passing, the bugs would be gone …and we could start fresh!
Well, Elizabeth started crying at 5am again, but not because she was scared… It was because she pooped her pants.
Diarrhea got ALL over her body, the sheets, the mattress, the pillows, her blanket, etc.
I spent the morning cleaning poop, and helping Gage while he threw up the water he drank.
Chris took Gage to urgent care, and they confirmed its a bad bug…and said he should turn a corner soon.
My mom is doing well and is scheduled to get out of the hospital Wednesday.
Elizabeth’s gas has waned …and she even ate breakfast!
Even though it may seem like someone’s life is picture perfect via social media…
Rest assured, it’s not.
Life is messy, complicated and hard. And some days are just plain sh*tty.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
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