On the road again…

Posted on by JC Rizk

Hard to believe, but we are approaching the end of our adventure here in Utah. I can tell you that it won our hearts over, but more on that in a later post. This post is much more functional, as we start to pack up our belongings. Having a two year-old and a nine month-old, preparing for 36 hour drive across the country, organization is crucial. Here I am going to share my packing plans, as well as items to keep two young babes entertained and comfortable for the long days ahead.

First and foremost, it is time to pack. Sometimes it is the bane of my existence, but I am in organization mode, so I started off collecting all the clothes that we will not wear on our way to the east coast. We are making a pit-stop in Florida to visit the abuelos, so I plan to pack one bag for the family for the 3 days of hotels and traveling, as well as a separate bag for Florida. Putting aside a handful of outfits for the remainder of our days here, I started packing the majority of our clothes.

Something I do at home, and really found beneficial when packing, is the KonMari method of folding clothes. I was able to fold and pack a gigantic pile of clothes into our suitcase, then at the end I included accessories that we will not need for this last week.

By the way, the pile of clothes on the bed actually doubled in size before I was able to start folding and packing clothes! Fortunately, we are driving and do not have to worry about luggage weight because this suitcase is heavy! There are three layers of folded clothes in the big section and little accessories, belts, and socks in the thin section. Today, I also packed our paper items {kids’ scrapbooks, art supplies, tax paperwork, etc.} and some of their toys into the big bin and into the grey toy bin pictured above. More toys can be fit into the grey bin, but that can wait until early next week.

Here are the other items groups of items to pack:

  • Electronics: husband’s work computer, PS4, our family computer, cables, FireStick, etc.
  • Food items: canned goods, spices, other pantry items {I resigned myself to not cooking for the next three days, other than what we have in the refrigerator already – yay!} Baby snacks are already in a reusable grocery bag, but this needs to go in the car with us!
  • Frozen/Refrigerated items {this will wait until Tuesday night after we fill our large cooler with ice}: mostly just venison and condiments this trip!
  • Ski gear: hubby and I hope to get one more ski day in on Tuesday before we leave — fingers crossed!
  • Cribs: we will disassemble the day before we leave; Bird gets to sleep in a bunk bed for a night and Lulu will sleep in our pack and play, since we need that for the hotels anyway.
  • Miscellaneous: books, the last bit of toys, dog food and water bowls, the last bit of clothes we are wearing for the next several days.

I already started to pack what I could of the above items. Now it is time to prepare the kids’ activities for the car.

Pictured here are some of the toddler’s favorites on the ride to Utah. My favorite activity book is the scratch and sketch ‘Furry Friends’, as Bird will sometimes chew on the writing implement you give her, especially if she is frustrated with still being in the car. Having her chew on a wood stylus is highly preferable to the magic ink pen in this case {it, thankfully, has not splintered or shown any signs of doing so, otherwise that would change things considerably}. We also always have a plethora of books on hand. I am hiding a few of Bird’s favorite books, so that they seem new again when we get in the car next week.

In addition to the above activities, our friends also gave Bird some shape and color flashcards, which she really enjoys — this will make the perfect quiet activity for the car. We made whole punches in the top corner of the card and connected it with a metal ring, creating a little booklet of sorts, which I think she will really like! Also, other friends gave her a mini etch-a-sketch, which she loves! This is also packed into her unicorn backpack for the ride. For our 9 month old, who is such a chill baby {thank you, universe!} I packed a musical toucan toy, some books {that are chew proof} and teething toys. Of course, add to all of this many, many snacks and we should be good!

Our travel days are going to be about 9-10 hour driving days {meaning that does not account for stops}, so we try to leave early, after breakfast for parents, kids, and dogs. We stop once midday, which is usually the longest so Bird can run around {she likes to help Papa walk the dogs}, and I can feed Lulu. Then we all have lunch together, Bird walks the dogs with Papa again, we change what diapers need to be changed, and get back in the car. Late afternoon, we make a quick pit-stop for diaper changes, dog walk, and Lulu’s bottle, then finish off the drive with dinner once we get to the hotel. It’s quite the experience, but we were very fortunate on the ride from Maryland to Utah; the kids were absolute champs and were pretty low maintenance! We are very, very grateful and keeping our fingers crossed that this Utah to Florida trip is no different.

Preparation mode continues on my end: any suggestions on activities for 2 year old and 9 month old children in the car? Any snack suggestions?

Also, would you consider or have you completed a long road trip with the family? Where did you go and how did it go? Look forward to hearing from you all!

Bibliophile Book Review: January and February

Posted on by JC Rizk

I love to read. My favorite sweatshirt says “Bibliophile” and that is, seriously, no joke. I am the type of reader who takes hours in the bookstore {well, I used to before babies} trying to find the perfect read. I am the type of reader who loves to smell the books — yes, I am that person and I do not apologize! I am the type of reader who loves becoming absorbed into a plot and finding books I connect with, whether I adore or dislike them.

I try to read often, although some days I only get a few minutes during the kids’ naptime and maybe at the end of the night. Sometimes I get stuck on a book, especially parenting ones, where I feel too exhausted from actually parenting to read about it more, but I am also the type of reader who has to finish a book once started. Every year I make a goal for the number of books I will read and this year my goal is 25 books. I am hoping that by writing book reviews, I will continue this self care plan of reading regularly! You can read my individual reviews of these books on my Goodreads — you can find the link to in the sidebar — but I wanted to give an overview of the six books I read so far this year.

In January and February, I read the following books:

  • Farm from Home by Amanda Brooks {4 stars}
  • Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman {4 stars{
  • The Wildling Sisters by Eve Chase {3 stars}
  • The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin {4 stars}
  • The Lying Game by Ruth Ware {3 stars}
  • The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan {4 stars}

Only one nonfiction this go-around, and I really loved it; Christmas gift {thank you, Mom!} and the perfect way to start the year. A life dream of mine is to pick up and move somewhere new, where life has a better work/life balance, and there is a new adventure. Since I am getting a taste of that with this trip to Utah, this book was very apropos! I also love the beautiful photography and the recipes included with the writing, so this book is one of my favorites so far this year!

The next three books on the list were all a bit on the darker side, but excellent stories about family, relationships, and all included some mystery, which usually keeps me heavily entertained. Excellent reads! I think my least favorite of the group is The Lying Game by Ruth Ware, only because I loved In a Dark, Dark Wood and this was not as compelling. That being said, it was still a great book and kept me intrigued throughout.

Last, and certainly not least, is The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan, which was my favorite of the six. The writing style was such an ease to read; I felt as though I was conversing with an old friend. Plus, the plot was idyllic! Overall, a terrific selection of books; I find that I give three stars to many book selections and in the past couple months, four different novels earned four stars. What an amazing start to this year’s reading goal! Keep tuned in for more reviews — I am hoping to do an overview of my books each month from here on out, so come back next month for more!

Want to know what is in the pipeline?

This month, I switched gears from fiction to a parenting book called The Whole-Brain Child by Daniel J. Siegel. I was struggling to stay connected with the book these past weeks, but I think that is due to toddler tantrums wearing me down. All the more reason to read the book, am I right? So far, I really appreciate the information and the science behind how children’s brains work, as it reminds me of the information I learned in college and beyond, as my background is in education, specifically elementary education and school counseling. I think I am finally ready to commit to reading this with my full attention. The other three books in this picture are books I borrowed from my bestie — thanks Chris! — and I look forward to hopping into these for a reprieve from more serious material once I am finished.

What are you reading lately? What are your favorite reads? All suggestions welcome!