Driving In Cars With Boys

When, exactly, does "E" mean empty? Not depleting, not running out, but empty, as in all gone, as in not a drop left? If you are a Seinfeld lover then you may remember the episode in which they dared ask this very question. I'm no Kramer and I've always been content with refueling several bars before the "E". The only things that ever stop me from premature fill ups are laziness, procrastination, cheapness, and a lack of gas stations for miles on end while taking a very long road trip with all four kids and no husband.

We were driving through Montana at this point (normally I drive through Oregon so I was a bit unfamiliar with the territory). I notice that the gas is less than half full so I think, "Better keep my eye out for a station." I see one about 10 minutes later but tell myself, "Oh, that is in a little po-dunk way side. They always charge too much. There should be another stop in the next 45 minutes or so and I have plenty of gas too see me that far." Well, don't count your gallons before they are burned. We drove on past that little po-dunk station and then didn't see another for longer than I care to remember. Our car has one of those little over head displays that show the direction you are traveling, the current miles per gallon, the average miles per gallon, and the estimated miles you have left from what ever is still in your tank. Well, the further we drove, and the longer we went without seeing a station in sight, I began to worry. I turned on that "miles left" display just before the gauge hit that big ol' "E". It said we had 27 miles left on our tank.

"Kids... Hey you guys?... HEY! Listen to mommy for just a minute. Ok guys, we are running really low on gas and we need to try and make it to a gas station. I need you all to be quiet while mommy worries. It would also really help if we all say a silent prayer to Heavenly Father to ask Him to help us get to a gas station and to be safe." Worry is a great thing for getting kids to be quiet.

We finally get to an off ramp that has the name of a town, or something, next to it. I could take it and hope that it leads into a town with a gas station, but I don't see any lights and I only have 17 miles left, according to the lit display. A sign says that there is another off ramp in 10 miles. 17 is just an estimate, it could be high or low. I feel strongly to just keep going and keep praying. Pablo is the family worrier and he is watching the mileage countdown and keeping me alerted, unnecessarily I might add.

"MOM, it says we only have 10 miles left."
"I know, Pablo, but the exit is only 4 miles away, I think we will make it."
"Now it's only 7. Everyone, look, it says only 7. Oh, oh, its only 6 now!"
"Look, look, you guys a gas station just up ahead. See the lights?"
"ONLY 5!"
"It's going to be ok, Pablo, we are exiting right now."
"ONLY 3! Now it's 2! Oh mom I'm so worried"
"Calm down, sweety, we are hear."

I kid you not, folks, we drove in and stopped at the pump with a readout of 1 mile left in our tank. It took over $55 to fill it back up. We were all happy, safe, and very grateful that we didn't get stranded on the side of the road. And now Pablo makes sure to point out every gas station we pass and if we are on the road for more than an hour he asks if we need to get more gas. And so , I will pay for my little mistake for the next several months, I'm sure.

Lesson: Overpriced po-dunk gas is better than nothing.

The Set Up

In just two days I will strap my four children into the back seats of my minivan. I will then sit in the drivers seat and buckle myself in. The car will start, we will slowly back out of the driveway, and then we will head towards Idaho and try to do it with as little stops as we possibly can. There will be no co-pilot, no stewardesses, just me and my four kids. How will I accomplish this without stopping every five minutes for potty breaks, food breaks, and pulling-over-to-yell at-everyone-breaks? Well, it is all in the set up.

Tripping with kids Tip #2: Setting up the one man show.

Flingable food. When driving long distances the kids are bound to want snacks to munch on to keep them happy. The problem is that I don't want to stop every time they get a craving but I also don't have a set of extra hands lying around to open fruit snack pouches or to evenly dole out the cookies. This is where I use my lovely Ziploc bags again. I preportion out all the snacks in baggies. Kids always eat more than one pouch of fruit snacks, so open all the fruit snacks and dump two pouches in every baggie. I fill baggies with equal amounts of cookies, carrots, grapes, pretzels, etc. I only put in enough for one serving because once I fling them a baggie it is theirs and the little kids sometimes dump out whatever they don't eat. I keep a box full of the flingable food bags, water bottles (one for everyone), two small baggies with some wet wipes in them for flingable cleanliness, and apples up between the two front seats. Now when I'm driving I don't even have to look back, I just pick up a baggie and toss it back. The older kids can help toss, or at least help retrieve the ones that almost made it.

Busy Bag. About a month before the big trip I start collecting things for the busy bag. I keep my eyes open for new books, colored pencils, notebooks, and little toys or travel puzzles at garage sales and thrift stores. I keep the items hidden until the trip because they work best if they are "new" to the kids. I put crayons and colored pencils either into Ziplocs or small pencil pouches to make it easier for the kids to keep them tidy. The other trick to this bag is when to use it. It is all about the timing. A good busy bag will really only keep their attention for 5 hours. If I give them the busy bag right away they will quickly use it up and I will be left with another 8 hours of whining. So, I take some of the busy bag items and keep them aside for the very last part of the trip (keep them newer longer), then I don't let my kids have the busy bag until after they have had a nap. Which moves me to tip #3

Time it just right. I like to leave 2 hours before our regular nap time. The kids can usually behave and be entertained with music, audio books, a few snacks, and singing for two hours. Then they hopefully fall asleep for two hours. Then when they wake up I let them go as long as they can on the audio books and snacks. When they start going crazy we stop at a McD's with a playland and let them eat and run around like crazy. Get gas, go potty, get on the road again. Now I have the busy bag up by my seat ready to toss back to the oldest child to distribute. It should last a good 3 hours with some good audio books playing at the same time. Hopefully they will drift off to asleep again at about this time (at least the really young ones should). Then when they start going crazy again I will pull out the last little busy bag. Then the last hour of the trip is spent pointing out how many more turns, land marks, or streets there are till we are there.

When and where to stop. Know the stops along the way so that you can plan potty breaks, gas fillups, McD stops, even where a good park is close to the freeway for a mid trip run around. Try to plan gas stops and potty breaks for the same stop. All kids go potty at every stop whether they think they need to or not. I think Chevrons usually have the cleanest bathrooms, and so do the McDonalds stops. Take advantage of those.

Emergency preparedness. Keep an old Tupperware bowl, or an empty cool whip tub, and an old towel wrapped in a plastic bag under a seat close to you. This will be a life saver if someone starts puking on your trip (cool whip tubs stack up pretty snug so you could bring one for every kid). Keep a florescent poster board and a big magic marker and some packing tape in the back of the car. This way if you have an emergency you can write exactly what kind of help you are in need of for other drivers to see. Keep extra water and food in the car. I always travel with a Costco size thing of granola bars and bottled water in the back of my van so we are never without food and drink. I also keep a big jug of water in the car for refilling bottles as we go. Keep a roll of toilet paper under a seat (you never know when someone is going to have to go out in the middle of nowhere).

What are your special road trip tricks?

There is a new answer over at Little Miss Knowitall.

Packing

Sorry I haven't been posting lately. I have be, oh, so busy getting ready for my big, annual, Idaho trip with the kids. It is quite a big deal in that I will be driving for 13 hours, with four kids, all by myself. I also have to pack up a family of 5 for 4 weeks including a camping trip. So, I'm sure you can imagine the cleaning, packing, organizing, and general craziness that is taking place in my life right now. Every time I tell someone about this trip they look at me like I am crazy (I don't deny that I am) and then ask me, "How on earth do you do it?" It all comes down to very detailed organization and my favorite quote for life: HOPE FOR THE BEST; PREPARE FOR THE WORST.

Tripping With Kids Tip #1

Pack by the bag. Of course you will have a bag for each kid with their clothes in it, but there is much more to kids than just clothes. I don't like rummaging through bags trying to find things that I know I've packed. So, I pack everything in it's own bag grouped according to use. Here is a small example.

Swimming bag:

sunscreen

swimsuits

swim shoes

towels

toys

plastic bags

quarters

Diapers and wipes

Church bag:

Sunday shoes (wrapped in a bag so they won't soil clothing)

Sunday clothes

underwear

stockings

socks

Hair things, brush

church bag (scriptures, paper pads, pens, church books, water bottle, bag of cereal, diaper, wipes)

Camping bag:

Warm PJs

old clothes

sunscreen

bug spray

Art kit

flashlights

hot dog sticks

Glow sticks

First Aid kit

diaper and wipes

Car Bag:

audio cassettes

books

Note books

colored pencils

pens and pencils

small toys (ones that I don't mind loosing)

Diapers and wipes

Map

Electric bag: Camera, video camera, extra tapes and cards, all power cords

Toilet bag: Don't forget feminine hygiene products even if you don't need them right now

Kid's toilet bag: Another bottle of sunscreen goes in here

And many other bags... Some of these bags will go in other bags. Many of the things in these bags will be in Ziploc bags (I LOVE LOVE LOVE Ziplocs). It is a long process getting it all packed this way, but it sure pays off when I need something in a hurry.

Come back tomorrow for Tip #2: Setting up the car for my one man show.

Hey Everybody, It's Family Night!

I can't remember who first sent this to me, but I LOVE it! Check it out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEFE3B0Rje0

The sad part is that my car looks worse than this. It is sad that I am willing to curl my legs underneath me, in my Sunday dress, rather than clean out the car so that I have room for my legs. So, I feel inspired to use this video as a valuable Family Home Evening lesson.

Opening Song: Quickly I'll Obey (CSB #197) or use this link and the computer plays the piano for you.
http://www.lds.org/churchmusic/detailmusicPlayer/index.html?searchlanguage=1&searchcollection=2&searchseqstart=197&searchsubseqstart=b&searchseqend=197&searchsubseqend=b

Scripture: Teach them to never be weary of good works (Alma 37:34)

Poem: "Thank You, Heavenly Father" by Mabel Jones Gabbott
Today the storm roars through the skies;
The young green trees bend to its will.
But I remember yesterday—
The skies were warm, the leaves were still.
One day I helped Dad clean the car
And thought we’d never get it done.
But now when I remember it,
It wasn’t hard—’twas more like fun.
The next time when the skies are dark
Or I have something hard to do,
I will remember storm clouds pass;
Each task once done gets easier too.
How glad I am for memory.
I thank Thee for this gift to me.

Jobs
Mom: Put away items that go back in house.
Dad: Vacuum
Cookie: Pick up garbage
Pablo: Wash surfaces
Monster Man: Stay out of Cookie's way and help mom
Sweet Terror: Be Godzilla, boss every one, torture Monster Man, and mess up all our hard work

Closing song: When We're Helping (CSB #198) or
http://www.lds.org/churchmusic/detailmusicPlayer/index.html?searchlanguage=1&searchcollection=2&searchseqstart=197&searchsubseqstart=b&searchseqend=197&searchsubseqend=b

Treat: Get in clean car and go out for ice cream. NO ICE CREAM ALLOWED IN CAR, AND YOU BETTER WASH YOUR HANDS BEFORE YOU TOUCH ANYTHING


****We are also going to set a goal for a new family habit: Never leave the car messy, take it all in with you. I'll let you know how the car looks next Monday ;)