If your family is far-flung (as ours is), the upcoming holiday season means at least one trip away from home with your kiddo(s) in tow. But are you ready? Do you know how to pack like a pro? If you’ve never done an extended trip by car or plane with your offspring, the thought of […]
Packing Hacks for Families: 5 Family Travel Pro Packing Tips Read More »
Now that we’re moving past the worst of the pandemic, are you ready to hit the road again with your kiddos? Or perhaps even take to the skies with them? Or maybe you’re just getting out and about in taxis more. Whichever of these scenarios fits best, having the best travel carseat will make your
Best Travel Carseat Ever (Hint: it’s not a carseat!) Read More »
Have you ever had a carsick kid? If you haven’t been down that road yet, count yourself as one of the lucky ones. But don’t expect your luck will hold forever. All it takes is one episode to scare any car-owning parent out of their complacence. Trust me. Alas, we’ve been down this road enough
Your Carsick Kid Plan-Ahead Survival Guide Read More »
Who dreads returning home when vacation ends? It’s not just that you’re no longer away from all the stresses and cares of daily life. Readjusting to daily life can be a major challenge – especially if you’re a mama. We’ve just returned from the first of several family trips this summer, and I’m already struggling
When Vacation Ends: Tips for Readjustment Read More »
Need an easy make-ahead kid-friendly meal/snack for your next family road trip? Or an easy weekend-prep option for school lunches? Either way, these crescent roll recipes have you covered. The girls had a blast making these recently at our church cooking club. And with a week-plus of crazy schedules and travel ahead of us, making
Sweet and Savory Crescent Roll Recipes Read More »
It’s now August. Back-to-school is coming. When you think about the rest of summer, are you a glass-half-full type, or a glass-half-empty? Rest of Summer: The Glass-Half-Empty Version A few weeks ago I was all “Oh, summer has flown by, it’s almost over,” when a blogger-friend in the U.K., Victoria at Lylia Rose, left a
Max Out The Rest Of Summer: Ten Ideas For Your Bucket List Read More »
I have to admit, I was pretty proud when I dropped Kimmie off at her first sleep-away camp adventure yesterday. She’s there for all of two nights, and her luggage reflected this fact. Thanks to the family camping splurges we invested in last summer, she was one of the best-outfitted kids there. And also one
My Top 10 Family Camping Splurges, Part 2 Read More »
As longtime readers know, I’m not a fan of having stuff one doesn’t need. But if you camp often enough, these family camping splurges are worth considering. And many of them have uses beyond family camping trips. I added these things to our family camping checklist after three back-to-back camping trips last summer. While we
Family Camping Splurges: My Top Ten Picks, Part 1 Read More »
Do you have responsible kids on the road? Maybe you’re thinking, Hah, I can’t even get my kids to be responsible for their own stuff at home, let alone when we’re traveling. (I hear ya; it’s an ongoing struggle.) But take heart. Being away from home is a great time to mold responsible kids. You’re
Responsible Kids On the Road: My Top Tips for Travel Read More »
Do you need a few good holiday hacks? I know I do. Barely a week in, my December is already bursting at the seams. My to-do lists keep getting longer, and some things (like this post) never get done until weeks later than I’d planned. What’s on your plate this month? Too many kids’ concerts,
Holiday Hacks: Ten Tips to Make Your Life Easier This December Read More »
This weekend marks our first family camping trip. My husband and I used to camp (or at least hike) every summer, back in our pre-parenthood existence. The further away from home our car-camping and occasional backpacking trips took us, the better. We’ve been kept awake all night by the foghorns near the Bay of Fundy
Prepping for our First Family Camping Trip Read More »
My house is a mess of unpacking, my writing is behind schedule – can you guess that my family and I have just spent the past few weeks on various road trips? For many families, summer means travel. But the reality is that in two-parent households, parents can’t always coordinate limited vacation time with other
Sanity-Saving Hacks for Roadtripping Solo With Small Children Read More »
Are you sick of listening to your kids belt out the theme song from Frozen yet? Do you wish that the singing purple dinosaur had never been invented? Do you prefer some good music for a long car ride over hearing your kids’ dueling electronic toys in the backseat? Do you have a long car
Tunes for Traveling With Kids: Our Top 15 Road Trip Soundtracks Read More »
If you’re spending part of the holiday season in transit, and your entourage will include at least one child who’s not yet fully toilet-trained, you have a lot of potential messes ahead of you, at a time when it’s least convenient. Whether you use disposable diapers, cloth, or something in between, this post is for
Next Time You Travel, Try Diaper Covers Read More »
In an earlier post, I offered four tips on how to pack for traveling with kids, so you can learn from my mistakes and avoid some of the trial-and-error I’ve gone through in trying to streamline family travel. This post will focus on some of the hacks on what to pack that I’ve figured out
What To Pack When Traveling With Kids: My Five Must-Haves For A Better Trip Read More »
This post is NOT for those of you who are the first to jump on every new technological bandwagon. But if you’re more likely to be the last one on your block to get an account on the latest new social media platform, or buy the most cutting-edge tablet, or adopt the twenty-first-century version of
Why All Parents Need a Smartphone Read More »
Next weekend we’re off to visit my in-laws. But instead of over the river and through the woods, our 21st-century car trip to Grandma and Grandpa’s house involves nearly 300 miles in my beloved Subaru Outback. At least most of it is on interstate highways, but you can do the math: We’re talking at least
Taking a Car Trip With Your Kids: Basic Tips To Help You Plan Smart Read More »
to lChances are, if you’ve got a toilet training toddler or preschooler, you’ve found yourself far away from a potty seat or child-sized toilet at least once on this adventure. (Unless you never set foot outside of the house, of course.) My husband devised a simple but elegant solution to this dilemma when Kimmie was
The Mommy Potty (and Other Secrets to Toilet Training On the Go) Read More »
