Well today there are no pretty recipes or craft projects as we get ready for a roadtrip. An almost 10 hour roadtrip. But it’s for a family wedding so totally worth it. I don’t think I could do this trip if it was for anything else. But there is a nice side trip planned to Bendigo for the Bendigo Woollen Mills. I mean I’m a loyal customer so it would be wrong not to drop in and shop say hi. Don’t be too jealous. I’ll bring back photos for all of you who haven’t witnessed the joy that is the back room.
And so you all know who has to pack and get ready don’t you? This morning I made a mad dash to the shops for DVD players for the car, snacks, diet coke, pants for Finn to wear for the wedding as he’s growing, headbands for the girls because I can’t find the new ones I bought a few months ago for the wedding (another reason why I need a big declutter) and then the girls decided that they needed sparkly handbags for the wedding too and then Tillie decided she needed to have the hugest tantrum in the magazine aisle that lasted the whole way around the shops until I gave in. I just couldn’t deal with it today.
And in between all of the packing, washing, drying and last minute jobs I’m doing I hope to bake a few things to take down with us for snacks and mealtime. I just can’t do McDonalds or roadside diners more than once on a roadtrip.
On facebook I got some great roadtrip tips and would love to know your top tip! We are staying in a townhouse in town (conveniently just a short walk from my favourite bakery – ever) and I loved the idea of taking a frozen lasagne away with us so that when we get in at night we just pop it in the oven and dinner is done. Why didn’t I think of that! Great idea.
Let me know yours. I need it. I’m a little stressed today. I decided to share recent pics of Elodie as they are much sweeter than pictures of packing for 4 children, a messy house and a frazzled mummy.
I pack a special back pack for each kid (or a library bag or swimming bag can work too).
It has colouring books, normal books, magnet play things, you know those tiny tribe ones in the tin) a pack of decent crayons/textas. You can also got those things now where you have a picture and you have to stick the colours on to make a princess all colourful.
I add in little things like polly pocket or little pet shops toys (often they havent played with them for awhile).
I also download a few new songs and things on our iphones/ipads but they dont come out until a few hours into the journey, you have to save them up for crazy time.
Sticker books and stencil books are also good. Two year olds are hardest, they cant really do much, a magna doodle board can help.
And now your car is so full you can hardly fit in!
Goodluck.
remember
This too, shall pass!
Son takes his young children on long trips and drives through the night or leaves early morning. Hopefully the children sleep a fair bit of the way.
When we flew to Hawaii last year (for a family wedding) and because we hadn’t paid for in-flight catering on the way over I packed little dinner packs for everyone that included zucchini slice, cheese sticks etc. I suppose it was a bit like doing a school lunch for everyone and we could serve it and eat it on-the-go. And because I’d made the effort to make it look like an aeroplane meal they actually ate it!!
Good luck with the trip – talking books have started to become popular with our kids in the car, especially the Roald Dahl ones(my two are the same age as Keira and the twins). Although annoying for me they also love to play games that the whole family join in on and even though my 2.5 yr son doesn’t understand eye-spy he loves to play the game (he always eye-spy’s a dog even if there isn’t one anywhere around)!
We always travel with pencils, colouring books and sticker books. Other friends swear by plasticine to keep the kids amused. Mini-magnadoodles are great and my daughter has taken some great in-car photos with her FP camera!!
Hope it goes well – look forward to seeing some pics.
My parents used to get up and leave around 4am so we’d sleep a lot of the trip. My brother and I both had issues with travel sickness so no reading, colouring, travel board games etc. We lived off our walkmans when we were old enough.
The games we used to play were ‘counting cars’ where we’d pick a colour and count the cars we saw. My brother always won because he’d pick white and I’d always want a ‘pretty’ colour; and ‘what do we look for’ which is sort of a reverse I Spy. My dad knew the road so well that he could tell has particular landmarks that we’d have to look out for.
I don’t think any of that can beat the modern day car DVDs though.
Oh, and recently I was travelling with my mum and my niece. At our lunch stop my 9yo niece got to have a run around a playground and I think that really made the afternoon journey much better.
I have an idea: DON’T read my blog post today.
Good luck x
(experiences of travelling with 4 kids under 8) I do the same kind of thing – make a casserole and just take the rice to cook. I also pack sticker books, puzzle books etc. I do a lot of travelling home to my parents and there is a town about half way that we have to get to , having been “good”, before the DVD player goes on. i always take our own breakfast stuff with us so that we’ve got that all ready to go as the kids usually get up at 5.30am at a new place and there is nowhere to get breakfast stuff. I have also been known to take a potty, plus plastic bags to line it, for unexpected toilet stops!! (yes, yuck but that can be motherhood for you, right?!)
If we ever had to take the kids on a long drive I would leave around their sleep time. So do the driving at night if possible? Or get up super early in the morning meaning that we would get there ASAP.
I would pack the usual, colouring in, books, a fave toy of their choice and a ZILLION snacks. But there’s only so much you can prepare. The rest comes down to hoping you get them on a lazy day where they’re happy to watch the world go by out the window.
Good luck!
I have only ever done a road trip from Darwin to Perth with 4 year old twins so have only had 1/2 the amount of kids to worry about but I still have some tips for you.
Maybe even the library would have something suitable.
A visit to the ABC shop for some story type cds or nursery rhymes to play after lunch. I found my kids would fall asleep to it for a few hours
We took stable tables, you know whith the beanies under so the kids could place there colouring in books on and they came in handy for other things too. I made up little game boards with things on there i knew they would see along the way, like cars, trucks, sheep etc. So they could play “car bingo” and call out when they’d seen all the things. A good way to keep them intrested in whats happening outside the car.
A bag each with there own personal everything is a great idea and you can never have enough bum wipes or spare plastic bags either.
Taking your own food is also a great idea and packing like you would for school then they can help them selves.
Have a safe journey and enjoy the wedding and seeing family. xox
Pack the ABC Road Trip CD. And stop at The Old Hume Cafe at Gunning on your return journey for their sensational store baked slices and coffees and chai lattes … and while there, come into the Old Court House (if it is a Saturday or Sunday) and check out Creative Gunning!! We are not far off the Hume Highway and well worth the effort! And enjoy your weekend!
Oh good luck Corrie, you’re a trooper taking on such a long road trip. Elodie is beautiful, such adorable pics :o)
It isn’t REALLY a side trip.. It is called breaking up a long trip, when you have little ones in the car.. Gosh, it is only the right thing to do!! What a good mommy you are
I can’t wait to see the pictures!
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Good luck, Corrie. We recently did a 12+ hour road trip from Melbourne to NSW Central Coast (and back!) with twins (almost 3) and a baby (4 months old at the time). Here are my tips http://sevendoggydog.blogspot.com/2011/06/unsolicited-advice.html. You’ll be fine (even if it feels extremely not-fine some of the way, you’ll get there eventually and it will be great)
Of course you have to call in to BWM. I have heard they won’t let you take photos, but stories will do.
No tips – travelling with my lot was a very long time ago and they did heaps. They are still big travellers now all over the world. Started them young
Top travel tips: leave early in the morning. Earlier the better as despite leaving the dark your little ones will probably resettle in the car and it’s amazing the difference if you can get a couple of hours in before “breakfast time”. Audio books are great and a good non-DVD/screen time option. We also started playing fun games. My 5yo favourite is spot the car. Each person gets assigned a colour and when they see a car that colour they have to say “red one” or “blue one” – trust me an hour can easily be knocked off a trip playing this super simple game! Good luck and safe travels.
Ah, just read this, so pleased you liked the frozen lasagne hint!