How Many Bottles of Vodka Does it Take to Pack the Car?

I have to think about packing again. We are heading off to our annual College Reunion/Poconos/total chaos/I wish we saw each other more--weekend in Masthope, PA.

 I have to pack for the Ladies.

 I have to pack for me.

 I have to pack the car.

  The problem I always seem to face is that we just have too much stuff. We also     have a large supply of "stuff we might need" but we may not.

 Case in point. We have a station wagon. It has a roomy trunk. In it I need to pack a pack & play for the Little Lady. This is a necessity. I do not want her in bed with me. We also need to pack a stroller. This too is a necessity. But then the question arises, do I pack the double stroller, which has a ton of man power, is great for walks (especially up those hills), and can accommodate both my lovely Ladies or do I pack the single stroller for the Little Lady, because the Lady is almost 3 and can walk and my husband is probably just going to drive up to the pool anyway in the car? Decisions. Decisions.

I have to pack a bag for the Ladies. I could pack one bag for each of them, The Lady in her "Lady"  personalized  bag and the Little Lady in her "Little Lady" personalized bag. But since the Lady only wears dresses, and only three specific dresses, I will probably just pack them both in one big bag. But .. . the Lady is well on her way to being potty-trained, we may need to bring her bag stuffed to the top with all of her undies, since she likes to have just the right amount of Princess/Dora/Tinkerbell undies on hand.

I have to pack the potty.

Then I need to pack all the linens/pillows/food/cookies/George fruit snacks/Caffeine-free Pepsi (for the hubby)/Box-O-Joe (filled with caffeine, for me)/booze and what amounts to like a thousand blankets and stuffed animals associated with both the Ladies (but mostly the Lady herself) and some toys to keep my kids and the additional 18.5 children who will be joining us, entertained.

Maybe I should get a mini-van, just for our stuff. Or maybe I should bring two bottles of Vodka with me instead of one.

I want to be organized. I want to be packed up on Wednesday night. I want to come home from work on Thursday, serve my family a simple, healthy and delicious meal, throw one little bag filled with the aforementioned bedtime blankets, my phone and our toothbrushes into the car. Plug in the DVD player, listen to Wow Wow Wubbzy for the 800th time and be one our way.

I am somehow uncertain this will be the outcome I am looking for. I am 100% sure that Wubbzy will be playing in the DVD player, but to be ready to go, without 15 extra trips from the house to the car, my husband giving me his not-so-subtle look of  "Hurry up Honey, I am ready to explode here, even though you did all of the packing, organizing, cooking and cleaning it takes to get out of the house, and I just packed a bag for myself and put the Ladies in the car, so I can't understand why you aren't quite ready to go, when I am so CLEARLY ready to leave," might not be so obtainable.

I have a list. I am good at making lists. I like crossing things off lists, but I am not sure everything on my list will actually fit in the car. I have to remind myself we will be gone for 3 nights. I do not need to bring 15 changes of clothes, since I am sure I will end up wearing two beach dresses, a sweatshirt and a college t-shirt from 1997 for most of the time I am there. The Lady we know, will be wearing three dresses and her bathing suits, and not for nothing, most of the time my kids are hanging out in nothing but a diaper or undies, so maybe I should just pack one outfit for each of them and call it a day. Besides, they have washer and dryers there.

That is it. I am scaling back. I will bring one bag for the Ladies and me. I will bring the umbrella stroller, I will pack only what we need and not what we "might need." I will be prepared, but not overly prepared. I will bring one bottle of Vodka. I will simplify my life and this trip, so that when we actually get there, I can hold more than a three second conversation with my adult friends. I will focus more on the people I am with than the crap in my car.

I will. . .  I will.. .

I will probably post a photo of what the back of the trunk looks like as we drive out on Thursday night, with entirely too much stuff jammed into the car, a look of annoyance on our faces, perhaps me sipping through a straw the dregs of lemon mash at the bottom of my Vodka soda, listening to the mind-searingly catchy Wubb-Girlz singing "Sing a song, sing, sing, sing along, sing, sing. . . " as we drive out onto the highway into the fading sun, on our way, finally on our way.

(Side note: if you get a chance check out the Wikipedia page about Wubb Idol--have you ever seen this many W's and Z's in your life? Also, I found a blog dedicated to Wow Wow Wubbzy songs--shoot me now.)