Purim Decoder Game 2020!

Purim Decoder Game! Print out the game below, play it Purim day and tag us in a picture of you playing to be entered in a raffel for a $25 Amazon gift card! Drawing on March 11th 2020.

Road Trips Part 2- your go bag

The great thing about driving vs. flying is that you have a traveling “home base,” your car. It’s a great idea to keep a “go bag” in the back of the car with a few basic items that can be very useful during a trip. You never know when it will come in handy! To make things even easier for you, I have added links to some items on Amazon that you can order to stock your car. 

1) Bag: You will need a bag. Duh. Most of us have ALL the bags, but if you want to get a dedicated go bag, I recommend this one. It folds into nothing when you’re done with it but it’s really useful on the go.

2) Basic first-aid kit: We don’t think anything too crazy is going to happen, but JUST in case, it is good to have a basic first aid kit in the car. You can put one together on your own (and maybe I’ll write more about that in the future) or you can buy a premade one. This kit is basic, but you can get some really intense ones. It all depends on what you plan to do on your trip!

3) Case of water: Just get a case, put it in the trunk, and be done. You won’t need to stop and buy water all over, you always have it close by, and it’s much cheaper than getting it at rest stops. Save the cash for the good snacks! 

4)Reusable resealable plastic bags: You never know when you might need a little baggie. You might have some leftover chips, or pick up some rocks for your collection at home. Whatever it is, you’ll need to store it somewhere. I recommend the reusable bags, because they’re strong and can be used for anything and cleaned super easily in any sink.

5) Garbage bags: Listen, the car can get messy. All the fun snacks tend to leave a trail, and no one likes to sit in a pile of trash. At every pit stop, do a quick garbage collection. Get these smaller bags so you can collect everything and get rid of it before you take off again. It will feel good to get all that stuff out of the car, and you will be rejuvenated for the next leg of the trip!

6) Disinfecting wipes: The world is gross. There, I said it. There is just gross stuff all around. Sometimes during travel, whatever your mode of transportation, you start to feel grimy! You can reduce this by keeping a pack of disinfecting wipes handy for whatever may come your way. This also will help with spills or other mishaps that happen in the car.

7) Paper towels: Same rationale as the wipes. You just want to be able to deal with whatever comes your way. 

8) Chargers: Bring. Extra. Chargers. I cannot stress this enough! Bring the right chargers for the right devices and keep one or two extra in the go bag. I’m telling you, you will thank me later. 

9) Scissors: There is just stuff to open and often it’s hard to open! Save yourself the stress and just have scissors.

10) Tissues: I am the worst at having tissues in my car. My kids are always like “EVERYONE ELSE has tissues!!!” I’m not sure if that’s true, but I do understand the stress it causes when you really need one and can’t find any. Since my car has 1000 cup holders, we got these cup holder tissues. Now we can be like EVERYONE else!

I know most of this list is talking about ways to deal with some of the more unattractive aspects 

of a road trip. You might be thinking, “ummm ok so WHY am I doing this? Apparently the world is gross!” Road trips are only difficult if you’re not prepared, and find yourself using your shirt to clean a soda spill in the back seat. The things that could ruin a day won’t even be blips on the radar if you’re well prepared and have the right stuff sitting in the trunk. If you have everything you need, you can have so much fun adventuring on the road. What other items do you think are must-haves for a smooth ride?

Planning the perfect road trip - Part 1- Why Road Trips?

Sometimes we are so focused on BIG trips to faraway places that we forget there are some pretty amazing things right here in the USA. I’m not just talking about Lucy the Elephant in NJ, I mean some absolutely amazing places, attractions and incredible nature.  

The idea of a road trip might conjure up thoughts of hours upon hours sitting in a car, dirty rest stop bathrooms and fighting. Lots and lots of fighting. You may have some of that! But road trips are also an economical way to see amazing places and go on unforgettable trips. So let's bust up those old attitudes towards road trips and talk about ways to make them some of the most memorable trips of your life!

1. First and most important: time in the car can be some of the best time. It doesn’t have to be a nightmare. Get everyone in on the hunt for license plates from every state. Print up a sheet of street signs to look for, or different types of cars. Want to take it to the next level? Create a road trip scavenger hunt! You can create your own, or the team at PlanItForU can take care of it. Pack lots of snacks, and break out the movies if you need some time for everyone to zone out. And don’t worry about clean toilets! Believe it or not, there’s an app for that. Download Sit or Squat, an app from Charmin that rates nearby restrooms. 

1. What do you want to see? Notice how the first question is not “where do you want to go?” That’s because road trips are not always about the destination, they are about the journey. Do you want to check out national forests? You may want to see amazing historical sites, or maybe you need to find the best outlet malls the country has to offer. I once knew someone who wanted to go around the midwest visiting used book stores. If there is no particular place you HAVE to go, jump to the next step and then go back to a map to see what there is to do and see in your travel radius.

1. How many hours do you want to be in a car at a time? Some people are fine with long stretches to get from point a to point b. Others really need no more than 2-4 hours of driving a day. This will determine the structure of your days. 

1. Don’t overplan. Yes, you heard me right. Planning is literally what I do and I am telling you not to do it! Well, no, I’m not telling you to not plan AT ALL, but I am saying to give yourself space. I recommend that before you set off, arrange all of your overnight locations (some might be two nights depending on what interesting stuff is in the area) but make sure to set up refundable reservations so you can change your plans if the mood hits. You can’t control the weather, so it’s wise to scout both indoor and outdoor activities for any area you’ll visit. That way, you’ll never get rained out of your plans. Flexibility is key. Plan maybe ONE daily destination but leave time open to stop randomly along the way. See something that looks interesting along the way? Stop. See a sign for a cool roadside activity or attraction? Do it. 

A road trip might not be a week at a resort with drinks with tiny umbrellas (for those not new here, you know I have a thing with these drinks) but if you set up the structure of the trip and know your personal limitations going in, you can have a laid back journey in your own backyard. 

Next up: What to pack in your road trip Go Bag.

Finding the right trip for YOU

We all have grand ideas in our minds of what “vacation” should be. We think it should be memorable, we think it should be fun, we think it should be rejuvenating, and often we think it should look like everyone else's. What we really need to ask ourselves is, “what trip do *I* NEED right now?” 

Travel is dependent on your stage of life. It can be hard for us in general to sit back and realize that sometimes we are not at the stage in life that we need to be to do certain things. For example, if you want to go on a relaxing beach vacation, sit out and read all day and have little drinks with umbrellas in them but you have 4 kids under 4, that is just not your family vacation reality right now. You need to hear this. 

That.

Is. 

Ok. 

You will get to the drinks with little umbrellas stage of life, really. 

Think about what you really need when you’re planning a trip. Do you need to make sure everyone gets their nap? Do you need to make sure the older kids are occupied but also doing something the younger kids can participate in? Are you in need of time away from cell phone reception? Or maybe immersed in a different culture completely. You might think that you need to go on some fancy trip but maybe you just need to go somewhere that you can sit by a pool and take the kids out for pizza.

Here are a few things to take into account when planning a trip (these are also things I will ask you during your free 20 minute consultation)

1. Who is going and what are their needs and limitations? Before you even think about where you’re going, think about *who* is going. Are you taking a grandparent who has some mobility issues? Are you taking a toddler who likes to dash off all the time? Are you taking sullen teenagers who think you’re dreadfully uncool and would rather be with their friends? It’s so important to take the group into account before you even decide where to go.

2. What are our options? Now that you know who is going and what their limitations are, you’re ready to start coming up with locations. You now need to think, are we willing to fly? Do we want to drive? How far are we willing to go? 

3. Now we get into the meat of the conversation. What do you want to do? Do you want this trip to be packed solid, or are you in a sit-on-a-beach place right now? You might think you want to have a packed itinerary and go-go-go, but then realize that it might be time to have a sit-and-do-nothing vacation. Or you might think that with your crew an active vacation is out of the question, but you really want one. Together we get down to what you REALLY want and really NEED.

We are all bombarded on social media with everyone's highlight reel. Everyone else is on trips that seem like what you SHOULD do, but maybe they aren’t what you NEED. This is where things can go off the rails. Focus on what will be possible, and then on what will bring you and your family the most joy. The real purpose of a trip is to create memories, after all.

Tips for Extended Trips

This does not need to be what the end of your trip looks like!

I recently took an extended trip with my family. When I say family, I don’t mean like a couple of people whom I birthed. Well, I do mean them also. We have four kids between the ages of 5 months and 11 years. Seems like a great time to go away for 3.5 weeks, right?! My husband is a doctor, so it was an *extremely* rare opportunity to be able to stay away for a long time, and we took it! In addition to the people my husband and I created, we were with many, many beings who were created by his parents. His siblings. We were with his siblings. And at some points we were also with my siblings, but their creation stories are a little more complicated. Ok I digress… 

 We were in many different lodging situations with a varying number of people throughout the 3.5 weeks we were away, and we learned a lot about extended trips and trips with LOTS of people- 32 in one house for three days!

 Here are some tips that I picked up along the way that I want to hand over to you all. I’m saving you many weeks of aggravation; you are very welcome.

1) Pack light. But like really light. I mean it. I know you think you are going away for a long time, I know that going away with a baby is daunting and you are going to need to change their clothing 100 times a day. I know you think that your house is the ONLY place that has ever seen a washing machine. I know it ALL. But the reality is, when you’re gone for an extended trip you DO NOT want a lot of stuff. If you are going to multiple stops, you’re going to have to schlep it everywhere. If you are staying in one main place, you are going to have the WORST time repacking. Whatever you are taking with you on a trip- no matter how light you think it is- remove one thing. Be like Coco Chanel about packing. I am telling you this because I DID NOT do this. First of all, I packed like it was going to be winter. I went to New Mexico and California in JULY, with a suitcase of knits! To be fair, NorCal was FREEZING, but I left all the knits in LA for that leg of the trip… because I am a PROFESSIONAL planner, people. I am a professional at making the mistakes FOR YOU. Again, you are very welcome.

2) Use Packing Cubes. These are your friends. If you follow me on Instagram, you know my love for the packing cube. Packing cubes shine brightest on extended trips with lots of different stops. When you pack, you can organize the cubes like your drawers at home, and then everything is in its place and you can find it. If you have a “home base” and then take lots of mini trips (something we did) you just repack one cube for a few nights away, stick that cube in the drawer at the next location, and bam, you both packed and unpacked AT THE SAME TIME! MAGIC! You can really fit a lot in a packing cube, and you can organize them however it works for you.

3) Bring a laundry bag. Nothing is worse than dirty clothing in piles everywhere. Bring a long mesh bag that can store the goods until you find a laundry. If you CAN, do the laundry BEFORE you leave for home. Clean laundry is easier to pack and it is one less step in getting back to normal at home.

4) Have Structure. When you’re going away for a long time, you can get comfortable and then it can start to not feel like a trip anymore. Make sure to set goals and expectations for each leg of the trip. This does not mean you need to go go go go. Structure can be “We are swimming and eating and sleeping for the next two days.” But have some idea of what you want it to be, because otherwise you will get home and be like “well, what was that??”

5) Bring a folding bag for the trip home. Even if you pack SUPER light, you are going to get stuff while you are gone. It’s GOING TO HAPPEN. So rather than being faced with a major packing issue at the end of your trip (something I may or may not have had to deal with recently) bring an extra bag that you know is going to collect all the fun things you find along your journey.

 I hope this is helpful! This is all just the tip of the iceberg for long extended trips with many people. Logistics, interfamily relationships, expectations, you need to manage all of these things for a good trip. I am going to tackle these in future posts. Stay tuned! For now, you will notice on the side I added links  to some of the products that I have found make my life a lot easier when it comes to taking trips, both short and long. Let me know what you think of them!