*sponsored by Yoplait
Now that our heat wave seems to have backed off and returned to whatever ring of Hades it oozed from, it is time for me to pick myself up, brush myself off, and reintegrate my children back into society before they truly become hooligans. Of course, dragging two toddlers out into the world is never easy unless you have some sort of android, I mean perfect angel children who never raise an inconvenient fuss. To be clear, my kids are anything but angels. Or androids. Big personalities come with big opinions, and rather than listening to whiny bellyaching, I prefer to just prepare for a random apocalypse when embarking upon an out-of-the-house afternoon.
Yesterday, I had the itch to get out and have lunch with the kids over at Lake Calhoun. With the copious amounts of tears and tantrums we’ve had lately, (not mine I swear) I knew this plan was a risky endeavor.
Two absolute musts for true survival with toddlers in the urban setting are a well packed stroller and the ability to feed a horde of starving maniacs. Baby wearing doesn’t cut it for multiple kids, bags of groceries, packed lunches and several miles of gallivanting, so my double stroller gets accolades for keeping me sane and saving my back. After 3.5 years of near daily stroller errands and endless days of parks, pools, and well intentioned exercise, I have my stroller packing down.
How to prep your SUV sized double stroller for a day trip with two hellcats.
- Figure out a diapering system. Whether you go with cloth diapers, cloth wipes, and wet bags, or do all disposables, make sure to over-pack when it comes to diapers. Even if you are only bringing disposable diapers, I still recommend a zippered wet bag. You never know if you will be stuck carrying a smelly diaper for miles without a trash can in sight. Zip that stench away. Don’t lose out on making friends because you reek of poop. 😉
- While you’re at it, remember some extra pants for each kid. Blowouts in public suck. They suck even more when the clothes are wrecked. To get the poopy clothes home, see above about a wet bag.
- Keep a mental list of basic essentials and store them in a bag meant for your stroller. Our list includes: washcloths, a small towel, sunscreen, hand sanitizer for portapotties, toilet paper (!!!), water bottles, sippy cups, spoons, small trash bag, possible toys, CASH, and an assortment of napkins.
- Over-pack on food. Always over-pack on food. My toddlers are bottomless pits despite being petite. Whether you have perfectly arranged bento boxes or lots of packaged snacks, you want to bring along more than you think you could possibly need. I just try to keep it healthful and convenient. Sometimes when tantrums are occurring the desperation kicks in and I smooth it over in the easiest way: offering fruit, yogurt, or something crunchy. I usually do a mix of packing my own little containers of fruit, nuts, cheese, etc. and rounding it out with some prepackaged convenience items like yogurt cups, such as Yoplait Fruitfuls. This is also where the cash can come in handy for an emergency trip to a shop for snacks. I also tend to bring a soft cooler with a cold pack even if our lunches don’t need it. You never know when an impromptu errand might need it.
Our outing managed to be a semi success! The kids had a lunch of veggies, fruits, beans, and almonds at a table near The Tin Fish. And right as the sun was getting intense we ran out of chick peas. It was a near catastrophe for my three year old, but I managed to bribe him with the option to devour a fruit and yogurt cup.
Once lunch was finished, we headed off to a park closer to home and Lucky enjoyed some quiet play time while Wyn relaxed with a bottle. ( I still have not managed to ween her off those twice a day bottles!)
Alas, little sister was getting very tired and I needed to get moving before the crankies began.
Getting everyone motivated enough to cooperate for heading home is always a challenge. This is where the extra snacks and toys come in handy for bribery. Â One of our best snacks for defusing the toddler meltdown is yogurt. Since we try to avoid corn syrup and artificial ingredients we have been using Yoplait Original, but they just came out with Yoplait Fruitful, which have a third of a cup of real fruit in each serving. Also, since it has no artificial flavors or sweeteners, and is available at our local grocery shop, it is quickly becoming a favorite. Making a point of picking up a couple at our local Rainbow Foods has saved me multiple times.
A few tears were shed, but all in all, it was a successful day and I was an almost supermom for a whole four hours before everyone got cranky. Lucky even waited until we got home before engaging in an epic meltdown. Once everyone was down for a nap, it was time for a mom vacation: five minutes alone in the bathroom! To be honest, I did not really understand why people in town did up their yards to be their own park and play yard until my own kids became toddlers. Going out can be such a hassle that it makes sense to just recreate the playground at home. However, sometimes you really need to just get out, no matter how inconvenient.
 What are you tricks and secrets to coordinating a successful outing with very young children?
*This post is sponsored by Yoplait. However, our love and use of yogurt has been going strong for several years now. I am stoked they have a new one with all of five ingredients, all real.
Give Yoplait fruitful a try with a $.30 off coupon available to download at the product website. The coupon is located on the right-hand side of the page by clicking on “Enjoy with a Coupon”. (Void in LA, NV, NJ, ND and TN) Long love fruit!
 