Be A Travel Warrior – Organize Your LIfe Series
How to be a traveling warrior, Momma style.
1. Be Prepared – When moms travel, especially with children, anything can happen. This includes chicken pox, first-boyfriend break-ups, the discovery of Fido’s lactose intolerance and the fall-out after you significant other eats the Mega-Burger challenge at the “World Famous” local bar and grill. Be-Prepared can mean many things, for example, have a mini-first aid kit, an idea of where the closest emergency clinic is located, a shoulder to lean on for teenager meltdowns, know a local grocery store for some canned pumpking for Fido, and some Pink Stuff and Tums for your mega- eater. Being prepared in short is being organized enough so that when something happens the dominos do not scatter and explode, they simply fall over until mommy can pick them up again.
2. Travel Light But With Care – Packing for one is a snap, with a small suitcase and basic toiletry needs. Packing for a crew of different sized folks can get real interesting really quick, especially if your budget does not allow everyone to check a suit case. ( Airlines charge for everything these days and love to make it almost impossible to bring your bags on board) The need varies for each trip so I cannot hand you the magic list for a family of four. But my best tip is make sure you bring two pairs of shoes for each child (wear one pack one)…. because mud happens and if there is a puddle available it will be jumped in and it will be fun for like two minutes, then they have to walk in wet shoes…. this causes blisters. ( Blisters can ruin all walking plans, so two pairs of shoes can literally save your Disney Dream Trip!)
3. Make a List, Check It Twice…. no wait… Check it Three Times… – A very detailed list of what you plan to do on any trip is very helpful for busy moms. This does not mean that every minute needs to be planned, but at the very least write down the three things in a day you want to see or accomplish for sight-seeing and adventure trips.
The Packing Lists – This will save you tons of time and headaches, keep a detailed packing checklist for each family member including a note about any special needs or food allergies, just in case.
4. Be Ahead – Don’t wait until the last-minute for renewing your driver’s license, passport, arranging rental cars and plane tickets. Not only does this make you crazy, frazzled cranky mommy it also ends up costing you lots of extra cash. We love our CASH and should not use it up unless it is absolutely needed! Hooray For Saving Cash by BEING AHEAD!
5. Be Magical– During travel with kids have a couple of small surprises and new books for the children to enjoy. Pack small games to spend quality time together on long plane trips, having your child stare at an Ipad screen for a four-hour flight is not cool! Playing games for fours hours or staring at a bright screen to read can make even the kindest and most quiet child cranky. Take this time to enjoy quality uninterrupted chat time with your family! It Is Magical!
Now Rock Stars! Go make the ultimate checklists for travel with your family and check the dates for renewal on all passports!
This is part of our Organize Your Life in 3o Days Challenge…. we can do this, one tiny project at a time.
