I am, I am Super(wo)man, and I can do anything!
I drove 13 hours yesterday in the "Green Machine", from Baltimore to Atlanta with all three kiddos. We made 4 stops at Rest Areas, 3 roadside pullovers, 1 gas station refill, and one Burger King break. I had gotten minimal sleep the night before, since little L is having intense teething pain. But by the grace of God, I was alert the whole way and made it safely and without a headache. L cried and fussed a lot because of her teeth, and also since she is potty training, we had to stop frequently for her to "go" but my boys were perfectly patient. We passed the long hours listening to the Fellowship of the Rings (unabridged) on audio tape. We only got to chapter 11 or so (not quite halfway), but it helped entertain us all. We can listen to the rest on the trip home next week.
Here are some of my car trip strategies that helped make the trip go smoothly:
- An a.m. and p.m. snack/treat bag for each child.
- Stickers for L.
- $store activity books, and crayons or markers. The Strawberry Shortcake one for L was what occupied her most of the way (that and the stickers).
- A basket of board books and favorite toys on the seat next to L. The boys had backpacks they filled with favorite toys and activities.
- L's potty came too. It made for easy for her to make "roadside potty breaks".
- Audio book(s).
- Lunch packed and ready upon request.
- A map of the whole trip for the boys to keep track of our progress. (This helped me too.)
- Caffiene and sugar in large quantities for me (totally off SBD for my trip, but OH freaking Well.)
- Scooters for the boys to burn off steam at the rest areas.
- Prayer. Thanks Mom, Dad, Jules, and others (and of course I was praying my way down too.)
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