Road Tripping: One Mom & Two Kids

Outnumbered! Road-tripping it alone with the kids.

Road trips can be so fun! But prepping for my road trip this week was 10 percent fun and 90 percent stressful! After a long week of work, I had to get mentally ready for a 9.5-hour road trip with my two littles. I have done some longer road trips alone and some with my daughter. But throw in a 2-year-old firecracker and this momma was a nervous wreck.  

My husband is currently gearing up his unit for deployment. The kids have been missing him something terrible, so I decided to go spend some time with him before he leaves. I hope to give some advice on what worked, what didn’t work, and all the struggles in between.

The Prep Checklist

1. Clothing for one week. Two outfits a day for each child. One pair of sneakers and one pair of sandals.

2. Diapers and wipes

3. All over ointment

4. SNACKS! All the snacks!

5. Two water cups! One filled with ice one ready to go with ice and water. 

6. Check the car seats.

7. Check the tire pressure and oil level.

8. A bag of each child’s favorite toys.

9. Car activities such as coloring books, crayons, puzzles, play dough, etc.

10. Charge and pack Kindles for each child.

11. Download content on the Kindles for Wi-Fi free fun!

12. Portable potty

13. Kid and mommy masks

The Adventure Begins

I set my alarm to 4 am and planned on leaving around 430. I’m usually not a snooze button kind of gal but I hit that magic button and woke up twenty minutes later. Yup great start right? I had already dressed the kids the night before in comfy matching pajamas! This makes for a quick grab and go and helps keep the kids asleep during the transfer to the car. Normally I leave around 7 pm but since I was going alone, I didn’t quite feel comfortable doing that. I decided that if I got an early start, it would still give me 3-4 hours of zen mommy time! We embarked on our road-tripping journey bright and early! Mommy’s energy drinks, coffee, water, and snacks were ready to go! 

The sunrise came and went and the kids were still asleep! It wasn’t until 8:30 that they woke up. All were in good moods! What a blessing!

5 Hours Left!

Breakfast consisted of a banana, some pre-cut strawberries, grapes, and a zip lock bag of dry cereal. Soon after we made our first gas and potty stop! Now, I don’t know about you guys but I have serious anxiety of going into public places with both kids alone. With all of the craziness going on in the world, I never let the kids leave my side. With that being said I traveled with our training potty and some Publix plastic bags to line it with. I put it on top of a towel in the 3rd row and bam no rest stop bathrooms for these kiddos! (Thanks Cathie for this tip and trick.)

The journey continued. So far so good! We sang our favorite nursery rhymes and Disney songs. I also threw in some Kidz Bop for the 4-year-old preteen who is so over Baby Shark! (Send help)!

Before our road tripping started I had made destination goals of where I wanted to make it to. I know ridiculous since schedules are rarely kept with kids! BUT we did it! We made it to our lunch destination for a mommy bathroom break and some Chick Fil A! Yum!  I let the kids stretch and back on the road we went. 

Only 2 More Hours Left!

We were on the road for maybe an hour before my daughter needed to use the bathroom again. I pulled over at the next rest area (the ones with a bathroom and some vending machines, etc.) We used our potty trick again and let brother run in the grass while we waited. At this point, we still had a little over 2 hours left on our trip and were making great time! No meltdowns, no fighting, was I dreaming? 

Back on the road, we went into what looked like a hurricane. GREAT! I decided it was time to bust out the electronics. I honestly couldn’t believe we made it this far without them! 30 minutes into Frozen II and little man started his first screaming session. The mixture of some high pitched screaming, Frozen in the background, and a monsoon, made this momma want to cry. Sister came in to save the day! She reached for his paci and held his hand until he calmed down. One hour left! 

It continued to rain off and on until we arrived at our destination. I could not believe we had made it! Everything went surprisingly smooth. After arriving I still had a couple hours until Daddy was off of work, but what a relief it was to be in a house and not a moving vehicle!

It Can Be Done, Mommas!

I’m so glad I did not let my fear talk me out of this trip. With a little planning, some patience, a good playlist, and a whole lot of Jesus we made it!

We’re road-tripping it home in a few days. Feel free to drop some suggestions, comments, and prayers below to help me and other mommas in the future.

Things to Note

• From my anxiety about someone taking my kids to the whole pandemic thing (Oh yea that thing) I decided that minimal stops were a must

• Cruise control was my best friend

• The 4 hours of mommy time at the front end of the trip were crucial to success

• I bought two extra-large water bottles to use for refilling the kids’ cups.  

• Having the space for self-made bathroom and changing table were clutch

• Worship music and lots of prayers!