Road Trip Success with 3 Kids

We are off to Arizona for a long weekend to visit friends and meet up with some family that's escaping the cold of March in Chicago. I consider myself almost a pro when it comes to traveling with small children in the car due to the fact we have a trailer and have been road tripping with that since I was 8 months pregnant with my first little princess, I prefer flying and a nice hotel but my husband LOVES the trailer and so do my kids, annnnnnnnddddd I guess it has grown on me. Here I am getting off topic.

Keys to keeping the kids happy in the car.....

*Make their area comfy for them. I ensure that there are blankets and pillows to cuddle with when they get sleepy

*DVD's, Ipad, your choice of electronic device. We have family iPads and the time that is allowed playing on them is limited at home however in the car is a bit of a different story. I don't start out the ride with here's your iPad, however, it is there within my reach for the meltdown time that is bound to happen. I have a Chevy Suburban, that I LOVE and it has built in DVD players which is a huge lifesaver for any trip longer than a hour.

*New toys. The Target dollar section is your friend right before trips. I just grabbed some travel felt boards and some reusable Doc McStuffins stickers. The crayola mess free color wonder markers and books are wonderful too.

*Snacks and Drinks. We always have a small cooler with juice, water, coke(for mommy) and sliced apples, string cheese, uncrustables, etc. I also make a toddler/preschool friendly snack mix, chips, goldfish and so on. Pick your poison and make sure you pack extras cause if your kids are anything like mine they all of a sudden get "so starving" in the car.

*Try to leave at a time that works for your family. When we road trip we usually try to wake up eat breakfast and take our time getting ready to leave around 10am (after traffic, husband hates it) and then the kids are guaranteed to take nap about 1-2 hours into our drive.

*Plan to stop. Before kids my husband had the eye on the prize and it was hard to even convince home to stop so I could go potty but now he knows with 3 kids it just happens, someones gotta go potty or we need to change a diaper or something spilled.

My best advice to you is just to go with the flow. If your over prepared then it will hopefully be a piece of cake and you will have conquered the open road with the family. Other times the kids will cry and need a million things and ask a million and 1 times "are we there yet"

Recipe for the Best Salad Dressing EVER....

I have gotten on this kick to eat healthier, loose try to loose weight and workout. We all have those days or times when your getting dressed and nothing feels good, YEP, I have been having that kinda month, so Im finally gonna do something about it. And lets be real my youngest is 21 months, I can't blame it on baby weight for that much longer....

Back to my salad dressing these are very loose measurements and its really to taste.

1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
a pinch crushed garlic
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt

Whisk or shake together to combine and enjoy. Serve over a salad, use as a marinade, pour over grilled veggies. Endless possibilities.


I have tried making this dressing ahead of time however its best enjoyed fresh

Disneyland Alone with the Kids 4 Tips

My husband was out of town for a few days and it was a beautiful day so I in a moment of craziness I decided to take our 3 kiddos to Disneyland by myself for a few hours.... YES I know....

It really wasn't that bad though, don't get me wrong I had a few times I almost lost my S**T but then I looked around and saw other moms feeling the same way and a look of "I know and I get it" gave me the strength to go on.

I did however set myself up for success like this......

SNACKS and lots of them. I don't know what it is, I make a meal at home and my 3 angels barely touch it but the moment we get into the car they are asking for a snack ( is it bad my 21 month old learned snack and chipy at about 13 months?) I always have snacks in my bag however when we are off to Disneyland I triple the amount and still run out.

Individual water bottles, I like Thermos Funtainer it keeps the drinks cold and doesn't leak. Each kid has their own water ( I learned that lesson the hard way) and gladly drinks it quickly while we are at the parks. A nice money saving trick is all the restaurants and drinking fountains in Disneyland has filtered water and you can ask for cups of ice water at any of the restaurants and they will gladly off as many as you like.  I am very picky about how my water tastes and I like Disneyland water.

Their lovie or paci. Its outside and kids crash hard after running around.

Try not to cram a lot in. It was my 5, 2 and 1 year old and me. We went on 1 ride, ate lunch, looked for a new pin forever for daughter and I let the kids run around a little bit.

Once we finally got home I was exhausted but feeling like I conquered the world and next time we will be sure to take Daddy along.

Disney World Memory Maker.... So Worth It!

As I mentioned we took our first vacation as a family of 5 to one of my favorite places, Disney World, the beginning of December. I spent endless hours planning the whole trip, hotel, tickets, dining, fast passes, etc. One thing I just was not sold on right away was the Memory Maker and boy was I wrong....

The memory maker is $149.00 if you pre purchase it and $169.00 if you decide to buy it once your already there enjoying your vacation. After a few calls to the Disney Vacation line and getting some amazing advice from cast members I bought the Memory Maker and was excited to get pictures of my kids.

And pictures I got, about 300 from 10 days at the parks and hotel. And I actually have pictures with my husband and I in them. OMG all 5 of us in a family picture and my 3 kids were all looking since if was someone different then mommy telling them to smile.

My tips....

* Get the Memory Maker before you go to save the $20.00

* Try to bring your laptop and download the pictures every few nights to save time when you get home and want to use the pictures

* Download the Disney World app and you can view your pictures usually within minutes

* Ask the photo pass cast members for Magic Shots, my daughter LOVED these and they are so cute.

* Mom is finally in photos

* There is a location at Disney Springs that will take family pictures and add awesome backdrops and its all included!

I hope this info helped and feel free to message me and ask any questions that you may have!!


All options are my own and I was not paid for any of this trip. 

Ok.......

Wishuponamommy has a new look and lots of new info coming. We have our Disney World trip, flying with kids and I am on a new mission of being a super busy mommy while loosing weight and trying to find time to workout, YES my yoga pants will see what they really are meant for.

Oh and my hubby surprised me with a silhouette machine for Valentines Day so figuring out how to use it and also get some projects going should be interesting. I promise to post my failures as well as my amazing projects (fingers crossed)

So it looks like Disney World has made a major change to to refillable mugs.....

Let me start over, at the Disney World Resorts there is this cool program where you pay a flat fee for your stay and you get a refillable mug that you can fill with Coke products, coffee and tea at your resort. These don't work at the parks however, you can resort hop and refill at any resort during your stay. There is a cute Disney design and different mug tops so everyone can get their favorite color. It also makes a great souvenir to bring home.

I personally am happy about the change because wait for it...... The mugs will fit in stroller cup holders!!!!! Woo Hoo!!! That makes this mommy's life a lot easier while walking around the resort.

What are your thoughts???

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh......

I can't even begin to tell you all how excited we are. I just got off the phone from booking our vacation to Walt Disney World!!!!!!

So a bit of background first, when I was little we took trips to Disney World all the time. Then when the hubby and I were dating we took our first "big" trip to Disney World together. I talked him into it cause I was a cast member at the time and we got huge discounts on the hotel and I was able to sign us in. His argument was I grew up by Disneyland why do I want to fly to Florida to go there? Well once there his tune changed greatly and we had a fantastic time.

This however, is our first family vacation there with our 3 littles. I am beyond over the moon excited and have been doing research and booking reservations and figuring out the magic bands. Are you all ready to get planning with me???




Helping mommy plan our vacation for great info for preschoolers and toddlers visit www.disneyworld.com/littleones there is a wealth of info on special places in the parks for them.