Vacations stress me out

I have been bugging the husband to take the kids and I to Sea World, and he finally did.

So I was stoked and planning meals, finding hotels and getting everything settled when he informs me that we would be leaving in 3 days time. OMG I panicked and had no idea how I was going to clean/pack/cook all in 3 days. I managed to get everything done and even had the stamina to snap a few pictures of our travel bentos.

I bet a few of you are thinking what could I possibly have to plan aside from getting our butts so Sea World, well.
Any time we travel I beg for a hotel that offers a hot breakfast as well have a kitchenette in the room. Why? Because the little extra money you spend on that room will save you from having to eat out every night. It is especially a lifesaver if you kids are not used to fast food. Trust me.

I packed our "on the road" food in our easy lunch boxes because I feel they travel the best, and there are 4 of them and 4 of us so it works.

Big A's lunch

A lunch for the teething baby

A ton of meat for the low carbing husband

We finally made it to the hotel and I refused to cook so I gave in to my wild side and we had some Asian take out. I got back to the hotel, hastily made Sea World bentos and passed out because I knew while the park would be fun for the kids, it would be stressful for me.

Little side note about the hotel, it was amazing! We had 2 actual bedrooms with adjoining baths, a full kitchen, dining room, and a decent living room. I love spreading out on a vacation, and hate being super quite after 7pm when the kids pass out.

Nice breakfast for the kids before the big day

Creepy hallway

I researched and called Sea World to find out their outside food and drink policy because I really didn't want to pay $7 for a hot dog for my kids. After being directed to a gillion people I still don't know what a "reasonable amount" of bottled water is, it's 102 in Texas I vote 10 bottles per person. They were a little more lenient with foods, just small snacks and no loaves of bread. I packed 2 lunches like this for Sea World and some snack bars to hold us over in lines and mad dashes to shows.

PB , cereal, pizza, and star grilled cheeses. 

All and all it was great trip, but I am not anxious to spend 10 hours anywhere out side with 2 toddlers ever again.

This was after 7 hours, I'm surprised no one is screaming

Guess where I want to go next.... in about 5 years

Plan ahead and save your sanity

I might not work, but I wear many hats in the T household.
- I am the chef
- The laundry mat
- The warden
- The nurse
- The calender
- The taxi
- The Drill Sergeant
- And many more that I can't think up cute names for

With all those hats, I (and my hair) get a little frazzled by about 4 o'clock. What comes after 4 o'clock? Dinner time. When the husband and I were both in the Army and kidless, we could buy as many groceries that we wanted and I could cook whatever I wanted for dinner or just order out. But now I have kids that for some reason expect me to cook for them, like 3 or more times a day! They are soo needy.

What's a girl with tons of hats and fabalous hair to do? Make schedules of course. I have one for my dinners, and one for the chores that I *should* be doing along with everyday picking up. I loath cleaning with every fiber of my being.

Let's talk menu planning. What works for me is I pick a meat and stick it with it every single week. You might think it's gets boring, but do you know how much you can do with chicken? We can go a good 2+ months without repeating a single chicken meal, unless it's a favourite. 

So why is planning like this worth it? Well, I sit down at the end of each month and plan the next months, an entire months worth of meals. And then on the 1st of that month I shop for all the meat and frozen/canned veggies/fruits and sides that I plan on using that month. And I am done! No guess work, no thinking required. I look at the calender, pick the matching recipe card and become a zombie in the kitchen. And I don't have to drag the kids to the store for weekly shopping trips, if we run out of milk or cheese I simply go by myself in the evening and pretend that I am having a vacation. 

Meal planning like that might cost more money up front, but think of what you will save when you are not buying all those extras on your weekly shopping trips. Tons. I think I shaved over $100 on my monthly grocery bill doing this. $100 people! That's like 5 pedicures. 

But, but, but. What are we supposed to do about lunches and snacks for the kids? Well, I bet you already have boxes of snacks in your pantry right now. So just stock up at the beginning of the month and that's all you get. It might take a while before you stop blowing through 50 cereal bars in a week, but you will get there. You can better monitor your kids' eating habits this way. 

Speaking of which, you know what  I do instead of buying a crap ton of prepackaged snacks? Well, I'm gonna tell you. I make a stupid amount of snacks and breakfast foods (usually on Sundays) and freeze them. That way when my kids are hungry, I can pop a homemade muffin/granola bar/waffle/etc in the microwave and BAM 30 second healthy snack. 

And now for my least favourite thing on the planet, chores. I hate hate hate cleaning, but I also hate having a single toy out of place in my house. It's a loose-loose situation. Grumble. 

Since I kept putting off laundry to the point where I had to wear the husband's unders (don't tell him!!) I decided that I need a set schedule to get all the crap done that comes with having a home and kids. 

You know what? It's doesn't seem do daunting as it did before. I know what days I have to do the kid's bathroom and I suck it up, promise myself a candybar as a reward and get to scrubbing the toilet of a potty training boy and I don't have to think about it for a whole week. Or I don't have to feel guilty about putting it off. 

These things might not work for you, but I encourage you to try and find a system that works for your lifestyle and see how much stress is lifted, you might not even know you were stressed in the first place! 

How I made the charts

I found some thin corkboards at a big box store and used some heavy scrapbook paper that I had laying around and after playing with the sizes of the paper I use one as a template and went cutting crazy. 

Write your menu/chores in with a marker and you are good to go.