As most of you already know, I have two very little girls that are 16 months apart. I have a two year old, and an 11 month old. Recently, I went on a family vacation to the mountains in Virginia. Luckily, it was only 2 hours away but it was my first time traveling that distance with my two girls by myself. My husband and I did a trip back in May that was about 4 hours. That was different because we were both there, so I was able to sit in the back seat with the girls and help entertain or help them nap whenever they needed it. When I'm by myself, it's a completely different experience and in some parts of the trip, I had to get creative.
Going there. I think the most stressful part about going to our destination was figuring out how to pack everything up by myself. I'm talking pack and play, bed bumpers, packed bags, groceries, toys, diapers, baby gates, double stroller, etc. It was a lot of things for one adult and two very little children. I have a decent size car (Volkswagen Atlas) with the third row down, and it still felt like I didn't have enough room. But I made it work. I did a Walmart grocery order right before we left. The plan was to leave right after it was delivered. I had the cooler ready in the front of the trunk so as soon as the groceries came, I placed the cold groceries in the cooler and then had a laundry basket to place all the other groceries so that there aren't bags flying around. That thankfully worked out perfectly. I was worried the milk and other cold foods and drinks were gonna get too warm on the drive, but the cooler kept everything cold. If it were a longer trip, I probably would've waited to get the cold items until we arrived and if I had someone else with me. It did make things super convenient though. If you live near a Walmart and you have their Walmart+ Membership, you HAVE to try their grocery delivery. It is the best thing I've ever done and it is even better when the groceries for a trip is delivered to your door. I recommend investing in the service. We've been using it for over a year now. I only go in a grocery store when I absolutely have to and that is almost never.
Okay, so we are packed up. The girls are fed, their diapers are changed, we said our goodbyes to Daddy, my two year old has her tablet, my infant has her pacifier and toys, and we are on our way. I was so proud of this because we actually left an hour earlier than I had planned. So I thought we would make it to the Mountain House before dinner time. Yepp.... I was wrong. All I needed was gas, and we would be on our way. The gas station is 5 minutes down the road from my house. I didn't even make it to the gas station yet and I hear grunting in the back seat. The grunting noise both girls usually make when they start pooping. My infant was pooping. Not even 5 minutes in the trip and I already have to take my infant out of the carseat, and change her poop filled diaper. I mean, thank goodness she did it before the gas station because I was able to throw away the diaper in the outside trashcan. Great timing sweet girl, great timing. I change her, on the driver seat because there was nowhere else to change her... sigh. It worked out though. Changed her while the gas was pumping. So she has another clean diaper, my two year old is still doing okay (watching Cocomelon) and the gas tank is filled. We were back on the road.
During this trip, I stopped three times. Twice because the tablet stopped working and I kept hearing "Mommy, momma, momma, Mommy" until I stopped to fix it, or find a longer show we previously downloaded. Thank goodness I made sure to download movies from Netflix ahead of time, because that made sure something was on almost the whole trip. Cocomelon that we started with, was not long enough. So yes, make sure you download ANYTHING ahead of time if you allow your child to have a tablet in the car. It makes the world of a difference and my stops were quick.
The hardest part about the drive going to the Mountain was the rain. I don't know about you, but I always get so nervous driving in the rain on the highway. It is so scary. This was the kind of rain that while driving, I could not see a thing. I went about 40 MPH when the speed limit was 70. I was also driving on 81, and that is home of the Tractor Trailers. So heavy rain, surrounded by giant trucks, I can't see a thing, and very little children in the back, my anxiety was heightened. I just held on tight and kept it slow. Thankfully, my toddler was in a decent mood and my infant was asleep at this point and all I heard was the movie my toddler was watching and the music I played for my infant. The heavy rain lasted about 15 minutes. I put my hazard lights on, went very slow, didn't care if people passed me and after about 15 minutes, I was finally able to relax.
About 30 minutes left of the drive, my infant wakes up. We should've already arrived at the house at this point but after the 3 stops to help my toddler, and slowing down because of the rain, I was slightly behind schedule. My infant was not happy when she woke up. I knew it was probably because she was getting hungry. I was planning on stopping at a Chick-Fil-A after I got off 81. The girls really like their chicken nuggets. I get off 81, pull into Chick-Fil-A and of course there's a long line. I'm used to Chick-Fil-A at home that they have a system in place to make the drive-thru go by pretty quickly even when it's busy. This Chick-Fil-A was not like that. I was in line for over 20 minutes. The entire time, my infant is screaming. She finally settles down after we leave (I think the movement of the car settled her down), but it honestly felt like the longest 20 minutes of my life. We finally get to the house and our vacation began. It was nice being with family. Much needed to get away. The driving part, not so much. So of course I dreaded coming home.
I will admit, the drive home was not as bad. My parents helped me pack my car (thanks mom and dad), so that was one less thing I had to worry about for the trip back. Makes all the difference getting a little bit of help. The girls were so exhausted from the weekend that they slept almost the entire time going home. There was a moment, about 30 minutes, that there was complete silence in the car. No crying, no music, no sounds from the tablet... just silence. It was so nice. I rarely get that in the car these days. I knew it wasn't going to last long so I tried to appreciate it. Of course it all ended. There were 40 minutes left of the trip. I had to go to the bathroom (luckily just pee). It wasn't like I could hold it for 40 minutes and wait till I get home. No, it was an emergency pee. The girls were still asleep. So I had to figure out what to do. I get off a random exit that had a whole bunch of places to stop. I chose to pull into a McDonald's parking lot. I was not going to drag two little sleeping girls into a McDonalds just so I could use the restroom. I had to get creative. I had a Taco Bell cup from lunch I grabbed earlier when I first left. That was literally all I had, so I peed in that. It was not easy. But I made it work. I had some leftover napkins too. So yes, to top off this wonderful trip, I stopped in a McDonald's parking lot 40 minutes from home, to pee in a Taco Bell cup. Of course, the girls woke up when this was happening (my toddler started to cry...ugh). But hey, I made it work and I was back on the road. I'm curious if anyone else had to do something like this? I did find later that evening a really neat item on Amazon which is like a cup with a funnel to pee in, helps prevent mess. I may order it for my next trip, just in case. I swear, Amazon has everything.
It felt so good to be home, and I was completely exhausted. Gotta say though, for my first time going on a trip by myself with two little children, I'd call this one a Mom Win for me! Definitely one I won't ever forget. I feel like the next time I travel alone with the girls and they are hopefully much older, it should be easier. Should be.
Let me know your traveling experiences! I'd love to know all the good, bad and ugly!!
Thank you so much for reading!
Susana
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