Back to School

I can’t believe that school starts in less than two weeks!

We’ve had the best summer that I can remember, but having said that, it’s time to leave this party on a good note.

I am gearing up to start this year off strong.

And by gearing up, I mean waking up in a Code Red Anxiety Attack.

Will Thomas refuse to eat lunch on grounds that he had it yesterday and now hates it?

Will Marie be able to fall asleep before 9:30pm to ensure that she doesn’t meltdown in the morning due to exhaustion?

Will the afterschool grind actually break me this year?

I don’t have those answers yet (although I am sure at some point the answer will be a resounding “yes” to the afterschool grind breaking me).

What I can do is find peace in preparing the best way I know how.

Like last year’s post, I’ll be stocking up on some of my favorites and reinstituting our routines.

I also talked about it on a Live in the D segment, too. 

The time the kids helped me out on Live in the D on the Back to School Segment

I will also be sure to stock up on a nice bottle of champagne because I think that I am close enough to the finish line to toast to the end of summer/beginning of the 2015-2016 school year.

Cheers!  We are almost there!

What Do You Think Thursdays with Skinny Scoop: Taking It To Go

** Thanks again to everyone who voted for me inSkinny Scoop’s Top 25 Top Mom Bloggers of 2012. I came in at number 4!  Iappreciate all of your support! **

 Our departure for our Family Road Trip is approaching fast!  And in case you’re wondering, that exclamation point is a mixture of equal parts of fear and excitement.  I find solace in my preparation.

A list of fun things for The Babes to do in New York City: check!

Researched great tips for travelling with little ones: check!

Now it’s down to the packing.  Even though I’m sure anyone of you would be more than happy to come over and help me pack our suitcases, I just don’t think that’s feasible. 

But what you can do is give me great suggestions for healthy road trip food.  My plan is to pack our new gigantic cooler full of yummy, exciting, and healthy food.  Besides the obvious of just wanting to be healthy, there are a couple of other reasons we aren’t going to be stuffing our faces with M & M’s and Doritos:

I don’t want Thomas’s sugar addiction to flare up in a confined area only to turn him loose in our family’s house that has been so generous to open up to us to stay with them.  I don’t want to feel that awkward feeling of wearing out our welcome within the first hour of arriving.

I hate getting fit before a vacation only to feel like a beached whale upon arrival.  I usually reserve that feeling for *after* vacation.

I need ideas that are FUN and *SPARKLY*!  (And neat.  I get a little twitchy when I think about a car covered in graham cracker crumbs). Let’s be honest, this journey will take approximately two days of driving for 6-7 hours at a time.  I want them to be happy little people in hopes of a peaceful Family Road Trip.

Here’s what is on my list already.  I could really use some suggestions! 

View this list »

Healthy Kid-Friendly Road Trip Food