Overachiever

I'm a MAJOR overachiever when it comes to road trips. It's not because it's in my nature to be an over achiever or becuase I really love entertaining kids, but because I can't stand to be trapped in small quarters with whiny children. I want to appease them before any amount of whining escapes their lips. Sure, it's rough on me to do so much, but not nearly as rough as the alternative.

So here is my compilation from my last few successful road trips. I do all my shopping at the dreaded Walmart... one stop shopping is a must when I'm carting three kids around.

• Tin foil was the hit of the trip. We made hats, ponytails, swords, hooks (as in Captain Hook), balls, face molds, etc.

• I gave each kid their own roll of Scotch tape...I always get mad when they unroll mine at home...but this was strictly their own. Parker used his to make spider webs since he is, of course, Spiderman.
  

• Don't discount toys you have at home...if they can entertain themselves with superhero action figures for an hour at home, they can in the car as well.
• Of course movies.
  
• Never underestimate the power of a McDonalds Happy Meal. Reid is the only one of my kids who can finish a whole meal. I hate to buy them...it's such a waste. Though they do love the chocolate milk option. I've found you can purchase just the toys for $1 and that is quite often cheaper than buying them each a meal...we split food...only as much as we'll eat...and they still come out with a toy. I always swore I wouldn't be the parent who made my kids share fries...I hated that as a kid and now I'm that parent. Can you believe McDonalds had Spiderman toys that week? How lucky were these superhero lovin' crazies?
  

• At the last minute, I threw brown paper bags in my activity bag. We made puppets and I taught the kids how to blow them up and pop them. Nothing extravagant, but it entertained for a good amount of time.

• I gave Gray a pen and let him color all over himself...I've done this with markers before, but we tend to lose half the caps and they all dry out.
  
• I never dress the crazies in good clothes on a road trip...we travel in jammies.
• Pipe cleaners

• Surprisingly, no one enjoyed silly putty.
• Spray cheese and crackers is both an activity and a snack.

• Dry cereal was the best snack I invested in. Cookie Crisp, in particular was fantastic. They could have a whole handful of mini-cookies.
• I always pack Ziploc bags...if a bag of treats rips open...I stick them in a bag. Or when I need to pass out snacks to kids that don't come in individual packets, I divi them out in baggies.
• I choose water bottles with the kind of lids that pull up and snap down to close...rather than screw on and off. Way less mess. I also brought a jug of Gatorade to refill in the water bottles once we drank them. Everyone seemed to prefer Gatorade to juice boxes or soda.
• Diapers are GREAT for cleaning up spills.
• I try to pack a little first aid. Bandaids and Neosporin and Tums and Tylenol (for both grown-ups and kids) and just a handful of things we use regularly. Inevitably, someone gets sick on every trip and stopping at a gas station for medicine is the most expensive way to buy it.
  
• Foam visors have been a hit on more than one road trip. They're less than a dollar and we have a plethora of foam stickers at home. We've done the same thing with masks. Anything to wear always goes over well with my crazies.
  

• Along the same lines...we've had tons of fun with silly teeth.

• Anything that sticks to the windows are fun...post-it notes, sticky hands (the toys, not actual sticky hands) suction cup balls.

• Speaking of sticky hands, Dum-Dums always quiet a crying kid. And then his own sticky hands afterward would entertain Gray for a while. After one blue sucker, I tried to pick out the clear colored ones for him.
  
• I never leave on a trip without construction paper and tape and scissors. Hats are great. Some have been elaborate, but mostly they're just a paper headband with something stapled on...like a shamrock or reindeer antlers or feathers...depending on the season.
• Notebooks, coloring books, a fresh pack of crayons...all good.
• We had fun with a road trip scavenger hunt...we had to find a cow, a green truck, a stop sign, someone on a cell phone, etc.
• Battery powered fans (with foam blades from Walmart) went over really well last year when we traveled in the heat of the summer. The air isn't as cool in the back seat, not to mention how sweaty the boys got when the car was off at the gas stations.

• I try to pick up a few packs of silly little toys. This time it was stretchy lizards. They all loved them...especially Grayden. I like the toys that come in packs...there's enough for everyone without having to buy three.

• Don't get it all out at once. I managed to save a few things until the last couple hours on the way home. That was a life saver.
  

I should write a book on this.