Traveling with Kids....Prepare...Alot!

I am a lucky girl! I will be heading off to beautiful Italy at the end of the month with the family for a 3 week vacation. Just imagine the great food and sights, the culture, spending time with family! Sounds great right? Well, it is, but there is one stinky catch....preparing for the vacation.

Traveling is not as easy as it used to be when it was just my hubby and myself. Back before children, we would just toss some items in a bag and off we'd go. We did not spend a great deal of time planning out itineraries, worrying about entertainment on the plane or about food. We just went with the flow.

However, when you travel with 2 young children, you need to be armed with too many clothes, first aid kits, bug spray, videos and games, coloring books, reading books, toys, portable potty seats (that is a whole other story).   I am fortunate that my kids are great travelers, but an 8 hour flight is difficult on an adult let alone a young child.

I am one of those parents who brings way too many things with me, but my attitude is that I'd rather be over prepared than miss something crucial to our vacation survival. We went to Italy last summer and things went very smoothly. But our concern is that as the kids get older they are often harder to please. The airplane does not hold the same excitement that it has in the past. They get uncomfortable in those horrible seats, they can't stand the food that is served, and just the fact that for an 8 hour period they are restricted to sitting or the tiny closet they call 'lavatories' can become unbearable to the kids.

So in planning this trip we find ourselves traveling extra heavy this year. We determined that for our own sanity (and for other passengers) that we would carry 2 DVD players, a stack of movies of course, the kids both have Leapster Video games which are rather bulky. We have stocked up on 2 new coloring books and crayons for each child and one book each. We are also carrying some card games like Uno and Old Maid with us. I even found a small magnetic checkers set. Then there is the food that we will bring. At least 2 sandwiches each, a container of pasta, some cookies, crackers, apples, candy (for those moments you need them to behave) and drink boxes. Then we  have to bring the kids car seats with us! That is all the stuff we will carry just for the kids!

My carry on is the drug store. I will have my Sudafed, Otrivin, the ever important Gravol and Benadryl! Wipes for filthy hands, hand sanitizer, tissues, a book, a change of clothes for the kids, blow up travel pillows...the kitchen sink. My husband won't leave home without his laptop! And I could not go on vacation without my camera which is big and bulky too. So just imagine how burdened we will be, but I guess that in the end it will all be worth it!