Going out with friends (and the kids)

Posted by: Hya Bibit-Capilos on: April 4, 2011

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I always look forward to having dinner with my high school friends.  It’s my once a month ritual when I get to be with friends who spend more time laughing than chatting.  And tonight was that time of the month.  At tonight’s dinner, like every other dinner that I had with them, I bring my entire family with me. Yes, you read it right, I bring Jelson, Stacey, and Essa with me.  Church, grocery shopping, business meetings, errands, pictorial, name it, I’m pretty sure we’ve done it.   Am I weird?  Maybe.

So, how do we equip ourselves with such a ginormous task of bringing the girls wherever we go?  Here are some of the things we do 😉

1.  Prep your kids where you will be going.  Inform them of the name/s of the place/s so that they don’t get surprised. This way you can tell them what to look forward to.

2. Follow your schedule.  If you have changes, make sure you tell them.  Saves a lot of  “Are we there yet?” or in Stacey’s case “Is this (insert name of place here)?

3.  Dress your kids comfortably.  If it’s a whole day event, don’t let them wear clothes that look cute but will suck the air out of them.  I make sure to bring slippers for my toddler and lots of extra shirts for them.

4.  Bring light/snack food and lots of water.  The last thing you need is cranky, hungry, dehydrated kids during long drives.  Shrieks will never be an alternative to good music.

5.  Bathroom break before leaving the house.  My goodness, I can’t begin to tell you about my diaper stories… maybe on another blog entry ;P

6. Naps before leaving is ideal.  If it can’t be helped, pray they sleep in the car.

7.  Keep them from being restless through books and toys.  When in a mall, make sure to stop by their “stores” too— Fully Booked, Powerbooks, National Bookstore, Toys R Us, Toy Kingdom, Toy Town, Hobbes and Landes.

8.  Fill up your “bacteria killing agents” container.  I.e. alcohol and baby wipes.  And do not forget insect repellant too for outdoors.

9.  Pack your trusty car seat and stroller with you.  Believe me, the stroller has saved our backs many times.

10. Do not forget to bring your cash, atm, check book, or credit/debit card.  How did you ever think you’ll survive the trip without expenses? 😛

Oh, and bring lots and lots of patience too!

These are just some tips.  I’m pretty sure other mommies/daddies have more to add to my list.  But so far this has been working for us fine, I hope it will help you too make your trip a little easier.

We may forget a lot of things… but at the end of the day, after a really tiring and exhausting trip, you look back at it as another bonding experience that gave you an opportunity to show your kids that you are a good parent who can handle anything 🙂

At Centris before going home

Enjoy your next trip!

Tags: tips, trips