Experiment Eight: A Less Stressful Way To Road Trip With Little Ones

Last summer we were faced with a big question: How the heck do we get from Wisconsin to Arizona with a 3 year old and two 2 year olds? My sister was getting married at a beautiful resort in Scottsdale, AZ in late June. We could fly or we could drive.

We had never flown with our girls before and the thought of checking carseats and the rest of our luggage was daunting. Driving would take longer, but we would already have our carseats in tow and space for the rest of our luggage. So decision made: We're Driving!

Oh Crap! Now with that decision made: How do we drive a mini van full of toddlers 26 hours (one way) without going crazy? Everyone we talked to had different responses....

• That sounds horrible!

• Do most of your driving through the night so the kids sleep.

• Just fly.

• Are you crazy?

I spent countless hours searching for answers on different blogs. I was looking for answers on how to keep our kids entertained in the car. Most answers I found included projects for me to set up ahead of time. While these ideas were super creative pinterest inspiring ideas, my only response was - HELL NO! I don't have the time or energy to do all this. And in the end I think the mini van is going to be covered in crayons, small magnetic/sticky pieces that ultimately don't end up sticking to the windows, and a scattering of other small toys they lose interest in after 5 minutes.

I talked to other people getting their personal stories of how they made road trips work - finding out their secrets to making it to their destinations. One mom told me that they would leave home in the evening and drive as late into the night as possible before crashing in a hotel. Objective - get as many miles in as possible when the kids are sleeping.

This sounded like a great idea. The winter before our road trip we ended up making a short notice road trip from Wisconsin to North Dakota for my grandpa's funeral. We decided that we would try this method of - drive as late into the night as you can! Our experience: DIDN'T WORK! Our kids fell asleep in the mini van - awesome! By the time we got to our hotel my husband and I were exhausted (about 11pm) and ready to crash. Only problem - our girls don't transfer from carseat to bed well. So they woke up and were wired until two in the morning. It was horrible. This method did not work for our family!

Now what?

We decided getting to our hotels at a reasonable hour to do our normal bedtime routine - bath, stories, prayer, bed would be best for us. With that game plan we would want to get to our nightly hotels between 7pm and 8pm. Decision made - check!

Next question to tackle: How do we keep the girls entertained in the car? We decided to go simple. We got the girls tablets from Barnes and Noble for their birthdays. They had time to master their tablets without our help before the road trip. Two weeks before we hit the road I took the tablets to the "Tablet Doctor" to get fixed before the road trip (aka: stored them in a cabinet). This made all their games and books on their tablets new and exciting again for the car. Other than that they had their blanket, a stuffed animal and a physical book. Done and done - check!

With those two questions answered, the next two questions on our list....

Meals and Naps?

We wanted to stick to a fairly tight budget and stick to things that were easy when it came to our meals. For breakfast, we decided to stay at hotels that offered a free continental breakfast. For lunch, we decided to have picnic lunches. We bought groceries for the car - bread and peanut butter, bananas and apples, gogurts and string cheese, fruit snacks and cheddar bunnies. We had bottles of water and were set. For dinner, we always planned on stopping at a restaurant - generally a panera bread or equivalent - easy, fast, healthier than fast food, and cheaper than a regular sit down restaurant. Done, done, and done - check!

Would the girls nap in the car? We hoped so, but with all that sitting would they ever get tired? Or would they get tired later, making our bedtime routine more difficult? Our hope was that they would crash after lunch (like a normal nap). We decided it would be a good idea to get some run around time outside the car at lunch time. We preplanned all our stops, using google maps to follow our route. For lunchtime we found a playground to stop at - have our picnic lunch in the shade and then let the girls play! It was great. Our girls loved having a playground to play at in every new state! Check!

Here's what our days looked like in general:

• In the car by 9am
• Drive approximately 2.5 hours 
• Potty break, Picnic at a playground, and Play (our stop was about 1.5 hours total)
• Drive approximately 3 hours
• Potty break, Early Dinner at a Panera Bread or Equivalent (our stop was about 1 hour total)
• Drive approximately 2.5 hours
• Hello Hotel (7:30pm)

Of course there were some days that were different. Sometimes their are no good stops after 2.5/3 hours and you need to drive a bit farther to get to a Panera. Sometimes our girls were finally asleep about 30 minutes before our planned dinner stop, so we kept driving and reevaluating at each exit if it was time to stop. Sometimes you really want to spend time at what would be a quick lunch destination so we preplanned to stop the day early and spend the night so we could have more time to explore. Sometimes we preplanned to stop our day early so we could have a relaxing dinner in the hotel with pizza and disney channel. Sometimes we would last minute change our route to sight see something cool. 

We preplanned as much as we could. We had a timeline with our planned stops for each day we were on the road. Google maps, trip advisor, and visiting city parks webpages (always good if you can get a picture of the playground) to make our stopping decisions. Before we hit the road we knew each day exactly what park we were going to visit, what restaurant we would eat dinner at, and what hotel we were staying at.

While our destination was our goal, we decided to make the most of our journey. We made our trip the whole package, loving every minute of our special time together - even though there were temper tantrums and sick kids part of the time.

Here is what our road trip looked like:

• Day One: 9am Leave Home, Lunch at a park in IA, Dinner in IA, Hotel in MO
• Day Two: 9am Leave Hotel, Lunch at a free zoo in Emporia KS, Dinner in KS, Hotel in Liberal KS
• Day Three: 9 am Leave Hotel, Drive through corner of OK, Lunch at a park in TX, Dinner & Hotel in Albuquerque NM
• Day Four: Off to the Albuquerque BioPark (awesome, awesome, awesome)!!!! 3pm Drive, Dinner in NM, Hotel in Heber AZ
• Day Five: 9am Leave Hotel, Picnic lunch at laundromat in Scottsdale AZ and to Resort
• Day Six and Day Seven at Resort
• Day Eight: 9am Leave Hotel, last minute detour through Sedona on our way to Flagstaff (coolest drive ever!!!), Lunch at park in AZ, Dinner and Hotel in Moab UT
• Day Nine: Visited Arches National Park (super cool) in Moab UT, Hotel in Moab UT again
• Day Ten: 9am Leave Hotel,  Lunch at park in CO, Dinner and Hotel in Denver
• Day Eleven: 9am Leave Hotel, Lunch at park in CO,  Dinner in IA, Hotel near Omaha IA
• Day Twelve: Off to the Omaha Zoo (It was so big and we were tired at this point in the trip - skip big/fun stops late on the way home), We were going to stay in Cedar Rapids that night, but the girls were all feeling sick and we all wanted our own beds so we drove late and got home around 11pm.

Awesome Tips For Easier Cheaper Road Tripping:

• HOTELS: Stay away from big cities - they are more expense. Its easier in and out and cheaper to stay in the suburbs.
• PARKS: If stopping at parks for little ones to play - stay away from big cities. They are so much more hectic to get to and park at. Stopping in small towns is faster and easier.
• SNACKS: No snacking in the car. Keeps the car clean and the kids eat well during the meals.
• STATES: We want to visit all 50 states with our girls. So we took one route on our way to Arizona and an different route on our way home to hit different states. If doing this, take the long way to your destination and the short way home when your are tired and looking forward to seeing your bed again!
• FUN STOPS: There are so many cool things to see when traveling, most of them are not toddler friendly. Stick to easy toddler friendly stops (parks and zoos). They will love it. And if they love it, you will enjoy it. Then take note of the things you thought were cool when researching your trip or while on the road for things to revisit some day.
• ICE CREAM: If the route you are taking one day is longer with no good stop 2.5 to 3 hours after lunch, stop for ice cream, and keep driving to get to your dinner destination. Ice cream always makes traveling more fun!
• DESTINATION: With road tripping in this style, make your destination a shorter stop (3 days max) This is mostly because your travel time is going to be limited. Depending on how far and how long you plan to be gone, you will spend a lot of time getting to your destination and back home.
• BUDGET: If traveling on a budget, road tripping is a great way to go. Driving is way cheaper than flying. Plan picnic lunches and inexpensive dinners. Stay at chain hotels (think Holiday Inn, Comfort Inn, Best Western) with continental breakfast. Plan for free or inexpensive activities: Playgrounds are free, Some small zoos are free, Albuquerque's Botanical Garden is free and awesome!
• CLOTHES AND SHOES: Pack lightly and only what you need to get through half the trip. My husband and I would re-wear our shorts, but have a clean t-shirt, and underwear for each day. Our girls had a clean summer dress for each day (luckily their clothes are tiny) and our 3 year old had lots of undies packed. We wore tennis shoes or sandals while we traveled. We re-wore the same pajamas each night. Half way through the trip we did laundry and were set to get home.
• POTTY ACCIDENTS: Pack beach towels to cover carseats incase of a potty accident. Then when you get to your hotel you can pull out the carseat, throw the cover in a washing machine at the hotel and be all set to hit the road in the morning. (side note: pick hotels with a washing machine and dryer onsite).
• ENTERTAINMENT IN THE CAR: If bringing tablets, still limit the time. When kids get bored they fall asleep, so if nap time is important, take a break from the tablet after lunch so they sleep and get a break from the screen time. We also just got some fun kids music for our next road trip that our girls are super excited for. So we are planning on having tablet time, music time, and quiet time (hopefully nap time). 
• TV IN THE HOTEL: We don't have cable at home so Disney is a big treat for the girls at the hotel. Another reason to cut the cable at home if you haven't already done so!
• RELAX: Don't try to fit too much into your trip. Do some fun things, but take your time so you come home rejuvenated instead of feeling like you need a vacation.

Experiment Seven: A Less Convenient Way To Clean Dishes

I'm not much of a cook. I really don't enjoy cooking. I am happy with my regular steel cut oats and frozen blueberries in the morning, a simple lunch, and a simple dinner. If a recipe has more than 4 steps I usually don't bother because it's just not worth it to me. The plus side to eating simple - you end up with a lot less dirty dishes!

Goodbye Dishwasher

This past January, my husband broke our dishwasher after trying to fix our dishwasher (haha).  I decided to hold an experiment: How long can we go without our dishwasher? I am happy to report that it has been about 4 months and I haven't missed the dishwasher. I am use to hand washing and don't ever think about the inconvenience of it.

Having simple meals and left overs keeps our dirty dishes to a minimum.

Another thing that helps is that we have simplified out dinnerware/glassware. We are a family of 5 with seven bowls, 10 plates, 4 little bowls (great for fruit, crackers, ice cream) 5 glass cups, and 6 coffee cups. This means we have to keep up with our dirty dishes throughout the day to eat our next meal. Sometimes we can get away with 2 meals in a row, but over all we have to stay caught up. The great thing about this is the dirty stack never gets too big. It's easy to stay caught up.

Experiment Six: Less Bedroom Space

I love small spaces. They seem cozy to me. In small spaces you have what you need (and what you love) and you really can't fit more. Seems perfect. Because the space seems complete, I'm not tempted to over decorate or add more furniture. The simplicity of small spaces speaks to me.

A Smaller Master Bedroom

My husband and I decided to start painting the wood trim in our master bedroom. To make things easy, we decided to move our bed and clothes to the spare bedroom while we spend the next few weeks painting.

Our master bedroom is about 168 square feet in size (12x14). There is a small walk-in closet and an attached small bathroom.

The spare bedroom is about 110 square feet in size (10x11). There is a small regular closet and that's it. Our clothes fit the closet space perfectly and our queen size bed fills the room. We have our night stand and my husband's guitar and some hooks over the door to hang clothes that we plan on wearing again. It's cozy and complete. It's simple and fits everything we need and love. 

This little experiment of moving our bedroom to a room with 58 less square feet is refreshing. We are continuing to find that we are comfortable with less space - this is great since we are hoping to move into a smaller home some day. A smaller home that is simple and beautiful, that has everything we need and love and not more. 

Experiment Five: Three Ways To Spend Less Money

My husband and I are very focused on spending our money with intention and saving our money with intention. This hasn't always been the case - I was more of a spender a year ago. Money that we would set aside for emergency savings would some how be spent, but a year ago we started focusing on spending less and saving more for the things we find more meaningful.

Here are a few ways we are focusing on SPENDING LESS

1. 52 Week Challenge: We opened a separate savings account in the Fall and started this challenge. Every paycheck, I move money into this account (2 weeks worth at a time). The first few weeks were easy so I cheated and deposited weeks 1-7 into the account to start. We are now on week 32. By the end of the 52 weeks we will have saved $1,378 dollars. 

2. 2015 Financial Goals: At the beginning of 2015, my husband and I agreed on 3 Financial Goals - Summer Road Trip, Twins Preschool, and getting our Emergency Savings up to $10,000. These goals were going to challenge us to be fairly strict about saving our money each month. We have already saved for our Road Trip, saved just over half of what we need for Preschool, and have maintained our current emergency savings so it will be easier to reach our goal once we've finished saving for Preschool.

3. Putting Aside the Pay Raise: This one is going to be new to us. Every April my husband gets some type of pay increase, and I am sure that every year we find a way to spend it without even thinking. But this year we have decided to be more intentional with this money. Instead of adding this money to our monthly budget, we are opening a separate savings account and saving it every month. This experiment in saving instead of spending will help us make additional principal payments on our mortgage - helping us get closer to being financially free! 

Experiment Four - One Less Dresser

I have always enjoyed being creative - coloring, drawing, painting. I have always been drawn to the arts and I see this same joy in my girls. One way I keep creativity at their fingertips is by keeping paper and crayons on our kitchen table. At some point every day I find my 3 girls at the table coloring to their hearts desire.

Four, Three, Two, One, None

Back in 2012 we had FOUR dressers in our home. Two in our bedroom, One in our oldest daughter's bedroom, and One in the twins' bedroom - pretty normal I would say. 

When the twins were born we wanted them in our bedroom for the first few months. Our PackNPlay wasn't big enough for 2 babies, so we decided to set up one of the cribs in our room along with our glider. There wasn't enough space for all this furniture, so we consolidated our clothes to one dresser (took the other dresser out) and we had enough space. Once the twins were old enough to sleep in their own room, we were so comfortable with one dresser that we never brought the second dresser back in our room. And we were down to THREE.

Right before the twins turned 2 years old, we decided to experiment with having all 3 girls share a room. I had recently read about a family whose 3 boys share a room and fell in love with their morning routine. You can find their story here. Our girls have been sharing one bedroom for a year now and I can't imagine it any other way. Our oldest wasn't fully using her dresser, so we were able to use half the drawers for the twins (and get rid of the twins' dresser). And we were down to TWO. 

About a month ago my husband and I decided to experiment with not using our dresser. We moved all our clothes to our closet. We weren't fully utilizing our closet so there was plenty of space. Over the past few months we went through our clothes and consolidated to the items we truly needed and loved. We haven't missed our dresser. And we were down to ONE.

Enjoying sitting at their play table!

My husband's wardrobe:

1 black suit

5 button-down dress shirts

2 pairs of khakis

1 pair of jeans

2 pairs of shorts

1 pair of workout pants

A few t-shirts

2 sweatshirts

and the other essentials

My wardrobe:

2 dresses

3 nice long sleeve tops

2 pairs of nice pants

1 pair of jeans

2 pairs of shorts

1 pair of workout pants

A few t-shirts

2 sweatshirts

and the other essentials

About a week after not using our dresser we decided to experiment with not using the girls' dresser. We moved all their clothes to their closet - fully utilizing their closet now. With the space we gained, we were able to move their play table and chairs to their room (which houses their lamp and music). We were also able to move the rocking chair from in front of their closet to the empty wall. The girls love having their music at their fingertips - much easier for dance parties. And I don't have to move the rocking chair every time I need to access their closet! And now we are down to NONE.

Experiment Three - Less TV

Our TV is almost always on. With difficult pregnancies and twins - being able to turn on PBS cartoons or a Disney movie was a life saver. My oldest daughter and I would spend our days on the couch watching TV while I was on bed rest. And while taking care of newborn twins, our beloved Disney movies kept our oldest daughter patient. 

Once the twins were old enough to have an opinion on what was on TV, things got challenging. Everyone wanted to watch something else. Sometimes I would have one movie on one TV, another movie on another TV, and PBS on another TV. Our family would be divided between three floors of our home, watching three different things. 

Finally, enough was enough. I didn't like that my three girls were spread all over our home. I wanted everyone to be together, enjoying time together instead of time apart. 

Winter 2014

At the beginning of 2014 we had three televisions in our home - one in our living room, one in our bedroom, and one in our lower level living room. Within a few months of entering 2014, we sold two of our TVs (they were also our largest TVs) and kept our smaller 32" with built in DVD player. We moved our one remaining TV from our bedroom to our living room and we haven't missed the other TVs one bit.

One thing that has helped this transition is a rule we have during Family Movie Nights: All three girls have to agree on the movie we watch. And now this rule always applies - When the TV is on, my girls have to agree on what they watch. It has also helped develop great negotiating skills! Whenever one of my girls wants to watch something, without hesitation or prompting she will go up to her sisters and ask if they both agree! 

Winter 2015

Now that my girls are a year older, my husband and I decided to try another experiment - Can we go without TV one day each week? We decided to make Sundays a NO TV DAY. After our first No TV Sunday, we realized how fantastic of a day we had - awesome quality family time. We played more with our kids, read more books together, and this Sunday my oldest and I made lunch together! The day seems slower and more peaceful. Our girls have not only accepted No TV Sundays, but are excited about it. This experiment was a total success and I am looking forward to more No TV Sundays! 

Experiment Two - One Less Car

My husband took our oldest daughter, 4 years old, to her first soccer practice this Fall. We thought she would love it, but she didn't. She was relieved when the six week session was over. Maybe she will try again another year and love it, or maybe I'm not destined to be a soccer mom. My girls love ballet - maybe I'll be a ballet mom! 

Summer of 2014

I have never been a car person. I just need a safe vehicle to get me from one place to another. My first car was my Nana's old Eagle with crank operated windows - until my parents deemed it unsafe. My next car was a used Ford Escape - until I deemed it unsafe for myself and my 6 month old baby. (When you end up stranded in a grocery store parking lot because your car won't start - it's unsafe) 

My next car was a Prius - and I was in love. My eco-friendly, gas-savings car was awesome! Then we found out I was pregnant with twins - how do you fit 3 car seats in a Prius? You don't. My husband had an old Nissan Altima that smelled like wet dog (It got flooded in college with record breaking rain fall) - that wasn't going to work. So I handed over my Prius to my husband and we got a Mini Van.

This past summer we decided to try another experiment - Could we live with one vehicle? Going from two cars down to one would allow us to pay off our car loan and save us money on car maintenance and car insurance! We decided to give it a try and experiment once again with living with less.

Since we couldn't fit our 3 car seats in the Prius, we parked it in the garage and I started driving my husband to work (luckily a 15 minute drive one way) on the days I needed the Mini Van. We made it work. We even put the Prius up for sale. We even got an offer, but in the end we weren't ready to part with our eco-friendly, gas-savings vehicle. Our oldest child was about to start Preschool in the Fall and we decided - maybe we want two vehicles a while longer. It was a great experiment. We found out that, if need be, we can live with one car. We also decided that we would rather have our Prius - so maybe once the kids are out of car seats we will experiment again and only drive our Prius! 

And maybe in the end I'll be an Eco-friendly, Gas-savings, Prius driving Ballet Mom!

Picture from when we posted the Prius for sale!