Tuesday Talk!

Hi friends!!! Happy Tuesday!!

Did you have a good Monday? 

I sure hope so :)

And if you need a re-start- it's only Tuesday!! The week is still FRESH :)

Okay- so this might be a super boring topic to chat about- but I have to think I am not the only person out there that is always trying to streamline ALL.THE.THINGS. my family needs and make things more efficient!

So- with all of my kiddos potty trained now and my "baby" being 3 1/2 years old...I don't carry around the massive diaper bag I used to when they were all much younger.

Like seriously- this TOTALLY describes me when I had 5 kids 7 years and younger!!

HA!

Now...I basically carry around my wristlet and make sure I just have my credit card and phone when we go anywhere!

I did have a little bit of a wake up call this past summer though and realized I needed to be a bit more prepared than my wristlet and a pack of baby wipes :)

We were taking a day trip to the beach and you can bet I had ALL the snacks and drinks- but I did NOT have any kind of medications like allergy medicine or tylenol for the kids or Aaron and me. 

Right as we were arriving to the ferry boat that was taking us to the beach for the day, Charlotte started not feeling well at ALL. Poor thing. I was scrambling, looking through my van and found a measly pack of expired aspirin. Thankfully my friend, who was going to the beach with us had some children's ibuprofen and totally SAVED the day.

After that little experience, I decided I needed to get my act together and make sure we were ready to go when we traveled...whether it was a day trip or a longer vacation!

So- I got a plastic bin at Walmart and filled it with everything we might need in an acute situation where someone wasn't feeling good!

To make my life super easy- I used the Walmart grocery pickup app and didn't even have to go in the store to get all the things I needed!

You can see all the things I put in our portable "medicine cabinet"- to name a few: ibuprofen, tylenol, juinor ibuprofen for my older kiddos, Benadry and inside the little blue and green pack is antibacterial ointment, ace bandage, medical tape and gauze squares (my husband is a foot and ankle surgeon- so we only have some of this stuff because I might have made him bring home some supplies ;)

And here it is- all packed up in one storage bin with a secure top on it!

I obviously don't have EVERYTHING we might need- but I think I covered most of our bases. I wanted it all to be kept in a fairly small bin so it wasn't cumbersome to pack.

I keep this bin in our bathroom closet and whenever we go on a day trip- I just put it in the back of the car! And it's so handy when we go on longer trips- because instead of going through our medicine cabinet and pulling all the different things we might need- I just grab our bin and put it in one of our suitcases!

It's definitely been handy to have and I feel much better about being prepared for an emergency- especially since we are going on more and more fun adventures with the kids since they are getting older!

Now for just regular driving around town- I also have gotten myself organized and have an "emergency" bag packed in the back of my van.

I keep an extra pair of shoes for Marshall in there (sometimes he just doesn't put shoes on and I don't notice! HA!), change of clothes for the boys, extra pair of underwear and leggings for the girls, a towel, baby wipes, bottled water and a couple changing pad liners (they are waterproof on one side and terry cloth on the other). I can't tell you how many times we have needed to grab something out of the emergency bag and I am always SO thankful I have a stash of stuff!! 

And finally- SNACKS. I am pretty adamant that my kids are never THAT hungry that they can't wait until we get back home to eat something- but sometimes everyone is losing their minds and if I offer a graham cracker to everyone- it helps matters just a bit. 

So you will always find a box of graham crackers next to a pack of baby wipes in front of the console in my van :)

And that's how I am currently rolling with my crew!

We are ON THE GO a lot and just taking a little time to be organized and prepared definitely helps me A LOT.

I'd love to know how you keep your crew prepared! Do you carry a huge bag? Are you still in a season of needing to have a stocked diaper bag? 

I recently purchased a sporty, cute backpack to have in my car as my purse, if I need something with more space than my wristlet and I have to say it is HANDY. Marshall is a WILD man in stores and it is much easier to throw on my backpack than it is to carry my big purse around!

Hope you have the BEST day!!