do you know what French Dora is??
NOT Dora, at least according to my 2-year-old.
do you know what French Shoppers Drug Mart is?
Pharma-Prix. (we got a good kick out of this one….)
do you know what French for FREEZING is???
Every time we set out on a family road trip, we forget how un-fun they are. We forget that our kids don’t sleep in the car. We forget that i get carsick unless i’m driving. We forget that the kids will not a agree on a single movie to watch. we forget that isabella throws her sippy cup 350 times, as a game. we forget that Emily’s hollow stomach begs to be fed for x straight hours.
we forget, and that’s why we still continue to do it.
and every time, we say that surely the next time will be better. and surely, it isn’t.
we think that if we leave at night and drive through, the kids will sleep.
we think that if we drive in the morning they will be happy and awake and not tired.
we are always wrong.
How do you you all do it? Do you simply have really well behaved kids? or do you have special tricks? any tips for next time (since you know that while i’m thinking sensibly now, something else will come up and one of these here road trips will be in our future. GREAT)? Is there an optimal time to start out? do you stop for meals? do you stop for a short time or a long time? do you sleep over somewhere to break up the trip? do you drug your kids or give them gravol or anything?
ps. i have a very special news bulletin. my laptop breathed its final breath in Montreal and was given a lovely little burial by hotel room garbage can. poor thing. i’ll miss her.
Road trips are just freaking horrible. We don’t go further than an hour and a half away from home because any further than that and it’s like having surgery while wide awake.
My guys are actually pretty good on road trips. We usually buy a new CD of kid music and pack them each a special bag of books, little crafts and toys. I have lots of drinks and snacks on hand and we stop every 2 hours or so. The younger two have no problem sleeping in the car, and the oldest can entertain herself endlessly.
Steph…it’s from Gap Kids.
(i actually tried one on in a bigger size…they had other colors too…and i loved it…but emily was a little bit too embarrassed, i think! hahahah)
Forget the road trip advice- the more pressing question is whether Emily’s winter jacket comes in adult size?! So cute
I think they call it “roadtrip amnesia”?? Sorry about Laptop! 🙁
We often travel to Montreal..at least 4 times a year…we drive 2 hours, sleep in a hotel in Kingston and continue the next morining for Montreal another 2 hours or so…That’s all the kids can handle…
Bearing in mind that we have one, not three…
We schedule departures to match with nap time (immediately after lunch). This gets us anywhere from 1-2 hours (depending on luck) of serene, quiet, toddler. We then make liberal use of the in-van VCR, and rest stations (with their kiddie crack, aka timbits).
My trick? My child is a perfect angel, so road trips are a breeze.
I’m kidding.
I did one – on a train to Montreal and then a rental car to Vermont.
One way was fine – he loved the train, made a friend and they watched movies. And then slept in the car.
The way back I wanted to shoot myself. The portable DVD player didn’t help. Toys didn’t help.
And, I’ve tried the gravol trick with no luck. We’re going to Florida in July. I’m just going to invest in ear plugs. (for me)
ha ha .. sad to say, no .. I don’t have any tricks. Worst road trip? When my son was 2 1/2 and we drove to NYC (from Montreal) and just as we stopped at the border and the border lady say “Passports ple….” he promptly barfed all over himself, and the kids on either side of him. That was nice. I’ve never been swifted thru the border so fast .. she threw our passports back at us and said go go .. it was NOT funny at the time, but we laugh about it today…