Seriously, How Much Stuff Do 2 Little People Need?

And by “little people”, I mean the two toddlers that rule my house with their little iron fists.

While we ultimately decided to avoid Disney on Easter weekend, we determined that this weekend would be infinitely better, so tomorrow we head out on our magical adventure (And no, I don’t want to hear anything about how it is still spring break for some people or how crowded it’s going to be.  It will be empty as far as I’m concerned.  The end.).  Unfortunately, this means that I have spent all night packing.  Why is it that even when I try to pack light, we still need an extra vehicle trailing us with all of our luggage?  Okay, maybe I’ve never actually done that, but I feel pretty confident that we could fill another whole sedan with “absolutely necessary items” and still manage to forget something.

Erajh and I differ so much when it comes to packing.  I’m a planner.  I make sure to do a load of laundry with all the clothes we’ll need, pack for every conceivable situation we could ever possibly encounter, and want to make sure the girls have all the comforts of home.  Erajh announces that he’s packed after throwing two outfits in a bag, only to explain that he will do the rest “later”, which normally means an hour before we leave.  When I ask if he plans to help pack the girls he says, “of course” and throws another 2 outfits in the bag in a non-discriminating manner.  These outfits are often a size too small and for the wrong season, but will be just fine if you question him about it.  “But what are they going to sleep in?”, I ask.  In response, two pajamas are thrown in the bag on top of the two outfits.  They no doubt don’t match and are probably different sizes, but whatever.  “But what if it gets cool at night?”, “But what if Greenleigh decides she won’t wear pants that day and will only wear a skirt (don’t worry we always make sure she wears some kind of bottoms)?”, “But what if we want to take the kids swimming?”, “But what if…?”, I say, imploring him to reconsider his packing strategy.  Getting tired of the “what ifs” I decide to do it myself, and he’s happy to hand off the honor of packing the girls.

Their outfits, shoes, and toiletry items quickly fill the bag, but I’m not even close to done.  Then come Hazeline’s diapers, bottles, sippy cups, and wipes, which pretty much fill the bag.  But wait!  I forgot the nebulizer…because someone will manage to get sick in the 48 hours that we are there.  I can’t have that happen – that wouldn’t be magical at all.   Suddenly a bag that was intended for all of us, is filled with the girls stuff to the point where I need to lay on top of the bag to close it.

Then we have to pack snacks.  Other than one crazy trip to New Orleans during Mardi Gras when I was in college, I’m pretty sure that I never checked into a hotel with a cooler and several grocery bags prior to having kids, but now it’s a regular occurrence.  It drives Erajh nuts.  I don’t blame him, but I’m not going to have a hungry toddler on my hands, so the grocery bags go.  And whatever else doesn’t fit in the suitcase goes in a grocery bag as well.  The cooler is required for Hazeline’s Lactaid (since it will be hard to find on Disney property) and our milk, since we are going to try to eat breakfast in the room to save time.  Which brings me to another point – Why does it take 2 hours to get ready and out the door of our hotel room when we’re at Disney?  Oh well, a post for another time…

Then there are those “frequently forgotten items” that I’ve learned the hard way never to forget again, like Greenleigh’s white blankey, an absolutely necessary item to get her to bed.  ‘Cause if she’s not sleeping, neither are we.  And I’ve promised Greenleigh that she can wear her Sleeping Beauty princess dress at Mickey’s house…I better not forget that (more on the princess dress tomorrow).  Oh!  And I almost forgot the DVD player!  How would we make the trip up there?  I’m pretty sure we wouldn’t survive the 3 hours.

And naturally, once I pack all their things I have absolutely no energy to pack my own so I throw a few things into a bag that I think might match.  Then I get to Disney to find that I’ve only packed white shirts and a black bra and have to purchase navy and black “I Love Mickey Mouse” t-shirts to get through the weekend, because try finding some place on property that sells bras.  T-shirts are much easier to find.  Trust me, because this has actually happened.

Let the magic begin.