Have baby...will travel - Daytona Prep

We are getting ready to embark on our first road trip this weekend, leaving Friday morning for Daytona, Florida to watch my dad drive in the Rolex 24 hour race. He will be driving a Ford Mustang (not exactly the kind that you or I could get into on the street though) for my brother's race team (Rick Ware Racing). It's a big deal all around; we'll have 5 drivers including the 2011 Nationwide Rookie of the Year Timmy Hill. On my end, it will be my second traveling adventure with Abby, this time by car and not plane.
We will begin our journey around 9am Friday morning so that we can be in Florida in time for dinner. Kyle and I will take Ms. Abby (and all of her "things") with our fabulous nanny in one car, and the "uncles" (aka godfathers) Anthony and Clay will follow with Clay's girlfriend Faith behind. Yes, I did say the "n-word" Nanny....
We hired my saving grace in the middle of December, a little earlier than expected, and despite whatever ideas you may have in your head, or stigma that comes with a nanny, our family could not be happier. In our area daycare does not offer any part-time options until the kids are over one year, and I am planning on working from home one day per week going forward. So, I would have to pay for full-time whether we used it or not, and full-time doesn't come cheap. We're near RTP...aka...pharmaceuticals, NC based BIG companies, and high-income people....so....daycare = $$$$$ and still a 4:1 ratio for infants. Plus, it's cold and flu season, and our pediatrician pointed out that if we had her at this age in daycare, she'd probably end up sick pretty frequently so I wouldn't be able to send her and would either have to stay home with her, or quickly find someone to babysit. UGH!
I went to http://www.care.com/ (BIG RECOMMENDATION COMING FROM THIS MOM!) and found the perfect match. It's kind of like a dating site for moms and nannys, or babysitters, or pet-sitters, or elder care (yes, they have it ALL). We found Courtney and since then she has allowed me to get rid of the cleaning people, have a ridiculously flexible schedule, and provides us with 1:1 attention for Abby while there is SO much development going on. Courtney is my perpetual Chic Moment for a mom....
Anyway, since a race track isn't the perfect place for a 4 month old to be for long periods of time, Abby will get to hang out with Courtney on the beach, in the hotel, and wherever else they venture off to.
This adventure will also be our dry run for what will likely become our next vehicle:

Meet the Tahoe (or Yukon)...even though we'll likely need to get ourselves into the XL version, I'm excited to see how our family fits into this car, and how it does on a long drive. With Abby and our 3 dogs, plus any kind of luggage....there really isn't another option short of an 18 wheeler (slight exaggeration, but you get the picture). Kyle's lease is up soon, so we might be playing a bit of shuffle with our cars and getting me into this sooner rather than later. I'm SLIGHTLY RIDICULOUSLY excited, and maybe it makes me feel better about how we'd flee if a natural disaster hit...
So from the nanny (although sometimes I feel like I'm paying for a new friend) to the new potential car, today is full of Chic Mommy Moments....

Until next time...

Dabble

Can a disaster be Chic?

So I have had WAY too many dreams recently about natural disasters and it made me look into emergency kits a little more seriously; at least that way I could be a little more at ease. Ever since I had Abby I have the dramatically increased level of protectiveness that seems to be inherent with parents. When we used to have a tornado warning or hurricane watch I would think about how I would get myself out and be able to bring the animals with us. They're easy compared to leaving with a child (food water and you're good). I've realized that I don't care if I have clean clothing, anything that would be considered nutritious, enough blankets, or even my toothbrush as long as we have everything Abby might need.
So I went to google and found some fun ideas to make the idea of an emergency kit a little less terrifying and a little more fun:

OK, so this is for a wedding day, but everyone assumes that a wedding day should be chic. Why can't evacuation be chic? You're probably wondering why in the world anyone should care about being chic when they're trying to escape a disaster, and might even think that I'm being too "impractical" or "superficial"...let me ask you this....when you're in a tight situation, stressed, or in face of peril...would you appreciate something trivial to make you feel a little better about yourself or the situation? So it may be a candle, or pillow mist, or a nice suitcase for you to have a little something just for you to calm the fear of everything you could have lost.
Of course the essentials...literal essentials, not the candles and pillow mist....are important too, so here are some of those:

If you have pets, check these out. First Aid kits geared for your animals. Make sure to at least remember to bring extra clean drinking water for them. Dogs can get enough nutrients by eating things you bring for yourself if you are out of food for them, or don't have enough of theirs to bring in a tight situation, but water is essential. Cats are a bit harder, but canned food lasts for a LONG time, and we all know they'll eat tuna (if you force them!) :)

 For all of my mommy friends out there, I thought this was fabulous! A trendy silver carrying case, and 17 supermom essentials! Contains:
lip balm, breath freshener, dental floss, emery board, clear elastics, earring backs, mending kit, stain remover, deodorant towelette, pain reliever, caffeine gum, facial tissues, adhesive bandages, hand sanitizing towelettes, thermometer, mini crayon set, mini playing cards

EARRING BACKS!!! That's fabulous! Already Abby at 4 months old is into grabbing any of my jewelry and if I lost and earring from some of my pairs I would be devastated! 


So that's all for now....Crisis averted and in a Chic manner!


Until Next Time....

Dabble