This isn’t titled backpacks and fruit snacks because I liked the way it sounded. This is how I live my life. Whether I am off to coach, going to the park, traveling for work, or heading to a soccer game you will always see me with a backpack and guarantee it has fruit snacks a plenty. Just to be honest, the fruit snacks are not just for kids. Sometimes mom and dad need a quick fix as well! Apparently I have unknowingly passed down this infatuation to my four year old. We recently were packing up for a weekend and he came out of his bedroom with 3 full backpacks. Only his were full of monster trucks and stuffed animals.
Never leave home without one:
Plane Rides
On plane rides each boy has his own backpack which contains an ipad or leap pad, a couple activity books, an extra outfit, headphones, sweatshirt (it can get cold on those planes), and of course fruit snacks! The fruit snacks serve multiple purposes. Kids complain they want candy, here have some fruit snacks. They are hungry, here have some fruit snacks. The pressure is bothering their ears, here have some fruit snacks. They are bored, here have some fruit snacks. Fruit snacks are magical.
The most essential item in my backpack is always the baby wipes. Even though the boys are out of diapers, I have found baby wipes have unlimited uses. Therefore I carry them on me whenever possible. I always grab a bottle of water at the gift shop before we board the plane because it never fails that one of the boys is dying of dehydration within minutes of boarding. The thought of letting them get anything from the beverage cart to spill all over is just not happening. Then I am the gatekeeper for the crayons and pencils because otherwise they drop them all over as a fight ensues. Also, apparently they can become weapons. I ration them out as I see fit. Sometimes I might bring a small surprise for them in the rare case a reward might be in order. Don’t forget that a backpack doubles as a pool/beach bag once you get to your destination!
Hotel/Resorts
Not too many tricks here. I would suggest trying to stick with the same chain when possible to earn points. As a reward member, even if you don’t have enough for free nights, they will often take note. For example, when I check into certain chains they will give us a free upgrade if open rooms are available or offer the kids a bottle of water or snack. Those little gestures go a long way.
As a rewards member, I do pay attention to emails from certain chains as they will sometimes send out last minute deals. Also, I travel often for work so those points add up and can be used to go toward some of those weekend getaways.
Also, I suggest opening a credit card for your preferred hotel chain. You get free stays and extra points for using these credit cards as well as other benefits. They rack up quicker than you would think and are well worth it in my opinion!
Here is one of our favorites.
Air Travel
As I mentioned, I do travel for work and usually on the same airline so those miles added up quickly and helped out a lot. After realizing this, my husband pulled a fast one on me. We were on a flight where the attendants start trying to hawk their credit card deal offer and as they come down the aisle I quickly avoided eye contact. Then all of a sudden my husband’s hand goes up. I sunk down in my seat completely mortified. This must be some kind of mistake, surely he is not falling for this scam. Then I see out of the corner of my eye he not only gets 1 application but 2!
It turns out the airline credit card was a great idea. We each opened an account and we each received 50,000 miles. We ended up having to pay the one-time annual fee and then we closed the accounts. It actually ended up being a great deal and was enough miles for us to fly to the Bahamas.
Another good option are the discount airlines. We try to drive whenever possible. If the destination is under 10 hours, we will try to save the money and take a road trip. However, now you can find some flights as low as $39 on airlines such as Frontier and Allegiant. I have flown on both and it is worth looking into for families.
However, discount airlines sometimes have other fees and drawbacks that you should take into consideration:
- Days and times are often limited
- Often extra cost to choose seats
- Extra cost for carry-on
- Extra cost for checked bags
- Sometimes extra charge for onboard beverages
- Smaller seats and leg room
The best part about Allegiant was that the airport was the size of a large garage and the security line was non-existant. We probably could have arrived 30 minutes before boarding time and been just fine. My son was ecstatic we got to walk out on the runway to board onto the place. He just thought that was pretty cool. It worked out well for us and all the employees were very friendly and helpful. I would fly them again.
I will point out that I have never saved any money by waiting to purchase airline tickets. If anything those seem to go up in price.
Strollers
The dreaded strollers! We usually have opted to take umbrella strollers due to the ease of being able to easily fold them up. Plus you can move quickly through crowds in them. Whereas, if you decide to rent one of those big double strollers at Disney not so easy to maneuver. But to each their own with strollers. I know this can be a heated debate. We attempted to go stroller free for the first time on our trip to Universal at it was rough. I am sure everyone in the park heard me screaming ‘Suck it up Buttercup’ on more than one occassion. We are currently trying to get my youngest help with his stroller addiction.
TripAdvisor
I am obsessed with TripAdvisor. I spend way too much time studying every destination in great lengths on this site. Everyone has different likes and dislikes so I try to take the average scores on the opinions but what I really focus on are the photos. People could give a hotel great reviews but if the photos show it has ruffles on the bedspreads and lace curtains, I most likely am going to give it a hard pass. I sit there with a magnifying glass to the thousands of pictures asking my husband if a picture might look like the caulk in a bathroom picture has mold. I am that kind of crazy!
Mementos
I realize I am probably losing you at this point so I will wrap it up. I just wanted to add that we pick-up a Christmas ornament from the places we visit. Then each year as we decorate our hodge podge of a tree it is fun to reminisce about the adventures we have had in the past. It goes something like ‘Oh here is the place where Bear puked licorice everywhere’ and ‘Here was where Bear cried the whole way there for 4 hours straight’. Good mems!