Emergency Preparedness

Well, maybe not an emergency, per se, but still requiring a fair bit of preparation… we’re going to New York for Christmas! And the masses rejoiced.

And then the portion of the masses that measure above five feet tall realized that they had just agreed to a thirty hour drive. One way. And then those masses wept. An then, after the weeping, those masses got down to business.

Presenting our Thirty Hour NY Road Trip Battle Plan:

DVD player – Pretty much essential. Not sure how past generations survived without them.

Mile-marker Bags – Developed this idea on a shorter road trip and it went over big then (hoping it’s as effective this time around). Basically every three to four hours, each little gets their very own “surprise” bag containing a special activity/toy and treat. Helps mark the passage of time.

Lap Tables – Used {this tutorial} for the basic design. But, of course, I had to make some changes :) Instead of masonite, we purchased a big sheet of white board and then cut it down to size on our table saw. Pretty much awesome, since now the table top surface can be drawn on with dry erase markers. That is, if we were to let our kids have markers in the van. Which we won’t. But still, cool feature. I also edged the table tops with foam self-adhesive weather-stripping to limit crayons and toys from falling overboard. I didn’t have poster board, so I used some old denim instead. And finally, couldn’t find pellets/wait for them to ship, so just stuffed them with fiber fill. Not ideal, but got the job done.

Activity Folders – Did you know there are entire websites devoted to car trip ideas? Guess it shouldn’t really come as that big of a surprise. I’m just glad I didn’t have to reinvent the wheel. I just had to print out a ton to pages and sort them into color-coded folders (each kid’s folders match the color of their backpack, thus minimizing in-seat squabbling… fingers crossed)

Neck Pillows – In the hopes that a large portion of the trip will be spent napping (at least, by the littles). I can’t stand watching little heads jerk around on little necks during car naps. Hopefully, these will help with snooze-time whiplash. And they didn’t cost a thing since I used flannel, fleece, and fiber fill that I already had on hand. I used {this tutorial}, minus the animal head. Didn’t have time. Or any spare animal heads, for that matter.

Prayer – Never underestimate the power of moms praying for their kids. Add into that mix fathers, sisters, uncles, aunts, and cousins and I’m pretty sure we’ll make it to NY and back in one piece. Maybe even still sane too. But I wouldn’t want to ask for too much.