How to Survive Carpool

Family

How to survive carpool (thanks, Munchkin!) www.pencilshavingsstudio.com

Ahhh carpool. With back to school that means it’s back to carpool twice a day for us over here. Hours of our day can be spent riding hither and yon to All The Things.

I’ve pretty much decided that a car with kids is not much more than a gypsy wagon. All we lack is a goat or a mule tied to a rope behind us. Diapers, wipes, half-emptied sippy cups, food of all kinds, an occasional Chihuahua, numerous lipsticks, Mcdonald’s toys, empty Chickfila bags, sports equipment, and half-drunk large iced tea cups all reside in the Volvo at any given moment. And maybe a random chair that I pick up off the side of the road or ferris wheels (haaa).

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Carpool is not generally my most favorite moment of the day, if I’m being honest; I have an ongoing text thread with my girlfriends on People Who Break All The Carpool Rules. But that being said, we’re in a different line this year and so far, so good.

Oddly enough, Archer has never been much of a happy camper in the car. Since he was a newborn it’s been nonstop screeching, sobbing, crying, wailing (is it because of the clutter?), gnashing of teeth, praying for redemption (me). It was like the second we got in line for carpool, he would lose his marbles and start sobbing. He did better once we found the magic lullaby CD, but our collective sanity began to be in question after listening it for the umpteenth time.  Over the summer on one of our many trips to the lake, I borrowed Simon’s car since it has built-in DVD players and surprise! It was the magic bullet that kept everyone (mostly) happy the whole way down.

Build a carpool survival kit - www.pencilshavingsstudio.com

Munchkin sent us a few travel essentials and I have to say, I’m pretty impressed. Since I got my new car last year, I’ve been on Anxiety Level 18 to keep that light-colored interior pristine.  We’ve been using the Seat Guardians under both of Archer’s carseats (in both my car and Simon’s) and it’s made a world of difference on the ick-level of the back seat, and it’s keeping my light-colored interior almost as good as new. We had a sippy cup explosion not long ago, and it kept it from seeping all the way into the depths of the upholstery.

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They also sent us the iHide car seat organizer that includes a tablet viewer and I’m impressed how much storage it has.  On Archer’s side, I’ve got a tablet with movies loaded for those meltdown moments, and it’s also a great way to keep a spare set of clothes, toys, diapers, and wipes. It’s basically a mobile diaper bag, which is brilliant. And it also zips up to hide the iPad so you’re not a target for thieves.

How to survive carpool (thanks, Munchkin!) www.pencilshavingsstudio.com

I like these photos of his favorite little things. It makes me smile – such a sweet season of life right now. Last week he got shots and he was clutching a lollipop and that blue dinosaur afterwards. So sweet. He’s also madly in love with that truck book too.

How to survive carpool (thanks, Munchkin!) www.pencilshavingsstudio.com

For Jude, this stage of life is all about sports, basketball cards, Nerf wars, and Dude Perfect on YouTube. His side of the car keeps a stash of flipflops and random paraphernalia as well as pens, homework supplies and probably a spare sock or two. It’s also a great place to toss everything you don’t want to organize just yet, and at least get it up off the floorboards.

SURVIVE CARPOOL WITH THESE MUST-HAVES

Build a carpool survival kit - www.pencilshavingsstudio.com

Got anything to add to the list? Happy campers in the car = happy mama.

Thanks so much to the friendly happy folks at Munchkin for sponsoring this post! Don’t forget to give them a follow at Instagram and snap up some goodies from their site.
with love,
Rachel

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