Road Trip Tips – Pack 1 Outfit Per Day for Each Family Member in Ziploc Bags
All packed up and ready to go!
We are all packed up and ready to go on our long 40 plus hour road trip! Thankfully, the kids travel so well. We have a blast on the road exploring various places.
This particular road trip included different stops each night for a week before we got to our final destination where we would stay several days before heading back home. As we were discussing how to pack for the trip my husband suggested packing our clothes in ziploc bags in one suitcase. In the suitcase we had a row of bags for the girls (both of their outfits still fit into one ziploc bag), one row for Jake, and one for me. On top of the rows we had a couple extra shirts and items for Jake and I in bags on top. There were also 2 bags with everyone’s swimming suits and 2 bags of pj’s.
When we stopped each night we would pull an outfit out of the suitcase for each person and put it into a backpack with all our toiletries. We had everything we needed in one backpack each night when we stopped whether we were staying at a house or hotel. We didn’t have to bring in any suitcase or make multiple trips because it all fit into one backpack. It was so simple, easy, and worked perfectly for our family! It made the overnight stays so much more efficient for our entire family.
Our suitcase completely packed with a weeks work of outfits for everyone in the family.
Packing this way took a little more work as we packed, but it worked so well it was totally worth it since we were at a different place every night the first week of our road trip. If we were just going to one place for the entire vacation it would still be easier to pack regularly, however, this will be our new way to pack when we are doing road trips with a number of stops. I found that if I packed the clothes and bags in the evening while we were watching TV it only took a little bit to get it done. We did pack a couple spares bags for each person (just in case or rain or something unpredictable). If you are looking for a simple and easy way to pack for a family on a road trip we highly recommend you pack one outfit per day for each family member in ziploc bags! While on vacation you will have more opportunities to relax and enjoy your vacation, take those pictures, and create special memories!
Heart Reflections: 30 Quick Tips on Being a Positive Parent
The other day I was filling out a card for a cousin who recently had a baby. As I was writing the card I had a whirlwind of thoughts, advice, and things I wanted to share with this couple who just recently began this wonderful parenting journey. This is part of what I shared with them which was also a great reminder to me and hopefully an encouragement to you if you’re a parent as well. I have edited it to remove their specific names on the card.
Congratulations! We are so happy for your sweet family! Welcome to the crazy and fun parenting party! Wishing all of you a lifetime packed full of laughter and wonderful memories. Praying that parenting will be a great adventure for you. We are thrilled for all of you and wish you the very best! Many Blessings!
Parenting Tips We Want to Share (I added a couple more to the list since writing the card):
- Laugh as often as possible (even at your own mistakes)
- Make a point to hug your child and tell her that you love her everyday
- Cherish the memories, they really do grow up way too fast
- Show grace and mercy often
- Never discipline when you’re angry
- Take lots of pictures, especially of your times together
- Seek God’s wisdom daily for your life, marriage, and parenting
- Be a positive and encouraging cheerleader for your kid
- Take time regularly to listen to your child
- Breathe deeply and count to 10 when your patience is being stretched thin
- You will feel more like a “SuperDad” and “SuperMom” after a full nights sleep
- Spend quality one-on-one time with your child
- Read to them, sing with them, and play with them
- Pray a lot – some days you’ll really need it
- Protect, guide, and nurture the best you can then trust that God will work in their hearts
- Words can be used to build up or tear down (make sure to chose them wisely)
- It’s the little things that make the biggest impact on our kids
- It doesn’t have to be flashy or expensive to be fun
- Be content with your life
- Give generously to others
- Find teachable moments each day (kids love learning new stuff)
- Speak kindly to and about others (little eyes are watching what you do and hearing what you say)
- Stand up for what’s right (even when it’s hard)
- Allow your kids to make some mistakes on their own so they can learn
- Get creative and have fun together – life’s too short to be boring
- Smile, slow down a little, and enjoy this wonderful part of your life
- Make the “normal” everyday events exciting
- Go on adventures
- Do family devotions and pray together
- Explore and try new activities together
There are so many areas of our lives that are stretched when we are parents. While being a parent is the most rewarding experience it is also one of the most challenging. It feels like I am constantly making mistakes or doing/saying something that’s not edifying or encouraging to my kids. Yes, they know very well how to “push my buttons,” but that doesn’t mean I have to over react either. Thankful for my kids and the many lessons they teach me about parenting.
Tips on Cleaning Sticky Coins
Cup of dirty coins
The last time I cleaned Jake’s car I found a handful of coins stuck in the bottom of one of the cup holders. It looked like some soda had spilled on them. They were all stuck together and I couldn’t even tell what some of them were because they had so much junk on them. I didn’t want to throw them away or put them in our coin jar since they were glued together and very sticky. I decided to try an experiment to see if I could clean them up a little bit. Guess what, the experiment worked! The coins came out looking like new! Since it worked so well I decided to share it with you in case you every find a handful of sticky coins you need to clean as well. 🙂
- Rinse the coins with warm water
- Pour white vinegar into container
- Add the dirty or sticky coins to the container
- Let the coins soak for 5 minutes
- Stir the coins to knock off any remaining junk
- Let sit for another 1 to 2 minutes
- Remove from container
- Rinse coins again with warm water
- Place coins on paper towel to air dry
This is what the liquid in the container looked like after all the coins have been cleaned. Look at all the pieces floating in the container (yuck), not to mentioned the white vinegar liquid is no longer clear after all the sticky stuff came off of the coins.
Now I can can identify the coins. So glad they look all shiny and new again.
Super Easy Way to Make Hard Boiled Eggs
I am all about finding ways to help make cooking even more efficient in our household. Our refrigerator typcially has a carton with hard boiled eggs in it for making a quick egg salad sandwich, to stick in a smoothie, make deviled eggs, salad topping, or many other uses we find for it. Several years ago my husband started putting the eggs in the steamer to hard boil them. I LOVED it! It is super easy and my eggs don’t crack (once or twice an egg has cracked if it already has a weak spot or was knocked when put into the steamer)!
Steamed Hard Boiled Eggs
- Eggs
- Steamer
- Water
Stick the eggs in the steamer (we usually do between 10 to 12 eggs depending on how many we have in the carton). Fill the water level up to high. Steam for 25 minutes. Once it is done steaming remove the lid and allow eggs to cool. You can run cold water over them if you need them to cool quicker. Use hard boiled eggs or place back in the carton to use for later.
If you come to our house and open up an egg carton you may encounter something like the picture above. I make sure to mark the eggs that have been hard boiled with an “X” so anyone that wants to grab an egg whether regular or hard boiled it is easy to decipher which ones are which. This especially comes in handy with kids who like to help in the kitchen! 🙂
Book: “The Multiples Manual” by Lynn Lorenz
A friend gave me this book “The Multiples Manual: Preparing and Caring for Twins and triplets” by Lynn Lorenz. I had the first edition of this book. It was one of the best books I had to read for Twins because it was easy to read, fun, and practical. It was neat getting some insights from from a Twin and a Mom of Triplets. If you are having twins or triplets…..as my friend once said to me “Welcome to the ‘multiples’ club!”
Book: “Made to Stick” by Dan Heath and Chip Heath
I read Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Dan Heath and Chip Heath a couple years ago. I enjoyed the illustrations as well as the information they shared. It is a great book and whether you are a student, business person or professional it gives a lot of good insights. Below are six quick points they made in the book:
- Simplicity
- Unexpectedness
- Concreteness
- Credibility
- Emotions
- Stories
A Wild Ride
We took several "taxi" rides during our vacation but the one from the airport to the port was the craziest! The neat part about some of the services at the airport is that their fees are regulated, however, that does not always mean it will be a smooth ride! Since we had a larger group we took two van taxi’s to the boat. Jake, Josh, Dad and I went in the first one and the remaining five took the second one. Our taxi was a dented mini van with smoke bellowing out the back. Unfortunately, there were no working seat belts in the van and at times we felt like we were in a roll cage at an amusement park as we whipped through the streets of downtown San Juan to avoid the traffic on the main highways. We were tracking our movements on google maps, which was pretty funny to watch as we took a zigzag path through the city before arriving at the port. Even though it was a rough ride we arrived at the port in record time. We saw all kinds of interesting sights as we zoomed through the town.
We arrived at the port more than fifteen minutes before the our the party. We were beginning to grow concerned about them since they only left moments behind us. It was only then that we realized that our group was the ones that had all the walkie talkies and cell phones that were still on. The rest of the group had already turned theirs off. Within a few more minutes and what seemed like many mini vans later everyone arrived safely at the port. We were able to check onto the Serenade of the Seas and start exploring!
A hint for those who have never traveled outside of the United States. Bring plenty of $1 dollar bills. You tip for almost everything you do. Even with a wild taxi ride you are expected to tip (some people would pay big bucks to go on a ride like that at an amusement park)! Tipping $1 to $4 each time adds up quickly when you are doing it every day and sometimes multiple times a day. Also, you have to pay for things you get for free in the US, for example, on a tour we stopped at a restaurant and in order to use their restroom you had to buy a drink (a can of Coke was $4.50), purchase a souvenir, or pay $1 per person.
A Vacation To Remember series is a reflection on our recent trip and ways we relaxed. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Go with a good attitude and looking for fun and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
