This past weekend we were all slated to head out of town for my nephew’s first birthday party. Just a quick trip, one day one night and it’s only about 3.5 hours away. It’s wild how no matter if you’re going away for one night or 10 with kids you have to bring the same amount of stuff. Pack and play, all the nighttime stuff, just packed full no matter what.
Travel Lists…
One thing that really helps my wife and I ensure we have everything is starting a physical (as in on a piece of paper) the day before. We use it to jot down anything that we might forget or definitely need to remember. Sometimes that means “Food from the fridge” or “The kids XYZ toy from the garage”. The rules are, nothing is marked off the list until it’s actually in the vehicle. Not sitting next to it, not by the other stuff…IN the car. Then we review the whole list to make sure it’s checked off and confer with each other to double check any questionable things.
Follow that with a quick walk through the house, we do this when the kids are loaded, car is running. Just about to pull out of the driveway. Open the fridges/pantry and give it a quick browse, same on the closets. This helps with normal stuff too like making sure the lights are off and doors locked. I’m telling you, it’ll save so much stress.
Buy a bounce house…
My kids and wife ended up coming down with something Friday night, but my brother was counting on the bounce house that I was bringing for the party. Side note, buying a bounce house outright when there’s a gaggle of kids at all the family functions is a lifesaver. It’s earned every dollar we spent on it…which wasn’t even alot. We even use this at home random days when we don’t have much going on. You can check them out here: https://amzn.to/3VJ1IbE
I drove up by myself for the party, and since I was by myself stopped by an old friend’s house and came back later that night.
Sunday was mostly relaxing, weather was gorgeous so we spent most of the day outside. I got a little more cutting done in my woodline with the Tietoc saw and we got ready for this week with laundry and chores.
Chuck Roast and Rice – Easy Dinner
Foodwise, Sunday night was the star of the show. Since the original plan was to be coming back from out of town, I wanted something with essentially no preptime and that would cook without much, if any, attention. Pressure cooker and Rice cooker for the win.
Check out this instant-pot shredded chuck roast recipe here, served alongside rice from the rice cooker and some sweet taters simply roasted in the oven.
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