- Don’t order two kids’ meals if your kids tend to be remotely picky and eat nothing but chicken tenders, nuggets, fingers ... whatever variety of processed chicken on the kid menu they gravitate towards. Order one kids meal and have the server bring two plates and bring the sippy cup kiddos their own beverage. Do you really want to buy a three-dollar cup of cranberry juice for your two-year-old?
- Don’t count on your kids going to bed on time or napping. And don’t be surprised if they sneak down into your bed at four a.m. for a snuggle.
- Don’t count on your kids getting along all the time. A precious pink rubber frog will be lost at a restaurant, only to be found and then crippled the next day when baby sister rips one of its legs off. Big sister will cry hysterically and a lesson will be learned about being responsible for one’s treasures. Or something like that. That is my PC version. There was more screaming, by the adults, in the real life scenario.
- Don’t forget to have someone take your family photo. You’ll appreciate this years later when you can actually prove that you were on all these family trips.
- Don’t forget to pack baby powder. It removes sand! It helps chafing and prickly heat! Why things like this are exciting, I don’t know!
- Don’t discount the back of your minivan or, in our case, SUV as a handy alternative to those nasty public restroom diaper stations. Somewhere in southern Alabama I plopped Miss A on some beach towels on top of our luggage and changed her wet diaper when we stopped to fill up on gas.
- Don’t be afraid to try out that roadside biker-esque open-air restaurant. You may be pleasantly surprised to find they have excellent casual beach food and a kid friendly atmosphere, with a corner featuring a big basket of books and coloring books and crayons. Of course the cinder block unisex bathroom was not Ritz quality, but it was clean. Jail cell ambience, but a sparkling clean potty is A-OK in my book.
