Traveling Circus

So we've survived 1 week of our 3 week home renovation. Although we can sleep at home, the house is off limits from 7:30 every morning until 5 pm every night. In order to survive this "adventure", the children & I have had to adapt to the lifestyle of gypsies, hopping in the car each morning and going from place to place in search of food, entertainment and restroom facilities.

Should you ever find yourself temporarily living out of your car w/your two small children, here's a few tips I'd like to share:

1. Take a look at your vehicle. See your orderly glovebox? Your nice, clean floors? Your spacious trunk? Yeah, all that's going to have to go. Your car is now your closet, your kitchen and your storage facility and will look and smell as such.

2. In addition to the changing look and smell, that "no food in the car" rule will certainly have to end. Cheerios are easy to shake off your floormats, as are dried fruits and crackers. Cinnamon toast crunch, it turns out, is not.

3. Planning bathroom breaks is key to your survival. Make every effort to plan your playdates and activities around your potty schedule. If you must make an emergency stop, Target has nice facilities. Just remember you cannot bring a cart with you once you've put merchandise in it, so be sure to make that your first stop when you enter the store. Avoid any establishments that require you to ask for a key and/or make a purchase in order to use their bathrooms - you don't have time for that when you're dealing w/a leaky diaper.

4. Be sure to bring extra clothes. Whether the cause is sticky cinnamon toast crunch or a poorly thought out potty plan, eventually someone is going to need replacement pants. If you fail to pack "just in case" clothes and one or both of your children have to ride around w/just a diaper or missing a shirt, it will severely limit the type of activities you can attend. Even McDonald's has a No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service policy for goodness sakes!

5. Great news - if you forget to pack clothes, Target currently has toddler pants on sale for just $7.00 in a wide array of colors!

6. It is imperative that you bring any toy, blanket, book and sleepytime cd your child has ever listened to b/c that 1 yellow airplane, the one your kid hasn't asked for in 9 months, that's the 1 thing he absolutely must have in order to nap at Grammy's house.

7. When all else fails and you feel like you can't survive another second, just close your eyes and whisper "Hardwood floors, Hardwood floors.".