Less is more

As parents, we tend to over do things. Birthday parties, toys, dressing them to the nines, extravagant vacations etc. After our short weekend trip to St. Louis, I found that less really is more. 

The car was stuffed. 2 huge suitcases. 2 big bags of food. The double stroller. The emergency medical box. A big bag of toys and books. The diaper bag. The traveling high chair. A cooler filled with food and drinks. Toys for the pool. The iPad. A Pack’n’Play. 

All of this for 36 hours in St. Louis. 

We took the 8-9 (should be about 6) hour trip down to St. Louis for our good friends birthday. The trip down was pretty good. We got stuck in some traffic but all in all, the kids did a great job. My husband and I have our routine down for driving…

• He drives first until he’s tired. But we can’t stop until both boys are awake and cranky (which means they are ready to eat or get out of the car for a bit). 
• I take the next leg of the trip while my husband takes a nap. Or tries to nap in between the boys crying and/or yelling. As long as he gets 20 minutes, he’s refueled. 
• For the next leg of the trip, I ask him if he wants to drive. Normally the answer is yes because by this point, he has no patience to deal with the crying and screaming. The passengers job is to keep the boys happy and occupied. If he tells me to drive, I always make sure to remind him he is in charge of the boys. He almost always changes his mind!

When we got to the hotel, we brought both boys upstairs to the room then my husband went back down to get our stuff out of the car. I didn’t realize how much stuff I packed until he brought it up. Did we need all of it?! Nope. Absolutely not. I never was a great “bring only what you need” packer. Now I have 2 boys to pack for too. It’s even worse now! 

I learned that you don’t need 10 toys for the baby. He will play with the same toy for hours. I also learned that you don’t need 10 outfits each for the boys. It’s only 2 days and they don’t care what you put on them (yet) so one outfit for each day and a back up in case of an accident is sufficient enough! The 15 books I brought, now those were a must. Big Bro went through all of them in the first hour. He loves books and they keep him busy for a short while. Jeans? Not needed when it’s 90°+. All of the snacks in the 2 bags and cooler? It’s a good thought but we all know that we like to buy snacks at every stop we make on a road trip. No? That’s just me? Ok. You’re all weird! We did eat some of the snacks I brought but a small bag would have been more reasonable. 

After we got all settled in our room and changed into our jammies, it was around midnight. I tried to get 2 queen beds so my husband could get some sleep in a bed of his own but all they had was a king. I love to snuggle with Big Bro but the only time he sleeps in bed with us is when he’s sick or when we are in a hotel. There is nothing better than your child laying next to you and asking you “Mama, I hode (hold) you?”  Of course I say yes and then he wraps his tiny little arm around my neck. Although my face is being pushed into the pillow and it’s hard to breath, I wouldn’t have it any other way! 

Saturday morning, we got up and had breakfast at the hotel then headed off to the St. Louis zoo. I do love the Milwaukee zoo but this zoo put ours to shame! It is absolutely beautiful. From the landscaping to the big, steel animal sculptures at the entrance, it is very well taken care of. It was about 10:00am and already 85° when we got to the zoo. I try to be a positive person but in my head I was already hearing the boys whining and crying while me and my husband are getting frustrated with each other as the sun gets hotter and hotter. To my surprise, the boys did fairly well. We were all hot, sticky and sweaty. My husband and I did disagree on which way to go when trying to find the exit (he was right). Big Bro did get cranky when I made him hold my hand. Little Bro did cry because he didn’t want to be in the car seat any more (I don’t blame him. It’s a black seat and he is a chunky guy so it couldn’t be too comfortable!). It could have been a lot worse! We didn’t get to see much because it was just too hot but we had a great time and seeing the smile on Big Bro’s face is always priceless! It was also nice to go to the zoo with my husband since we normally go in the middle of the day while he’s at work. He just loves these boys and I love seeing him make memories with them!  

   
After the zoo, we were off to our friends birthday party at her mom’s house. This was the main reason we made the trip. Her mom’s house is beautiful. It’s in a gated community and she has a backyard oasis with a gorgeous rock waterfall that leads into the pool. I did some coaxing (which didn’t work) then finally picked Big Bro up and took him in the pool. Once he was in there, he loved it!  

 Hanging out with Auntie Mel…  

This was Little Bro’s first time in the water and being that he’s the second child, I forgot to take a picture…

We swam, ate and visited the night away! Such a great day of adventures and friends! 

We left St. Louis around 11am and got back to our house around 7pm. We only had to stop twice on the drive home so that was nice!

So whether it’s one king bed compared to two queens or a short weekend trip with friends compared to a week long Disney vacation, I truly believe that less is more! All 4 of us had an amazing trip and the memories we brought home with us are something I will always cherish! I will leave you with a montage of us trying to get a (nice) family photo… 

 
Hope you are all enjoying your week!