Budget Friendly Travel Essentials For A Toddler

Traveling with toddler? Hold on...it may be a bumpy ride, but these tips will surely help!


We have had two long trips the past five months. One to Jamaica (long flight, long shuttle) and one to Tennessee and North Carolina (extremely long car rides). Both trips were AMAZING and I thank it to being prepped and able to entertain and feed our raging toddler. I was so excited (and a little nervous) to go on these HUGE family adventures because the only real travel we had done before was when she younger and a 2 hour flight where we were staying with family who has a similar aged child, so all the toys, diapers, snacks, accessories they had readily available to us #lovepeoplewithbabies. But these trips, we had to think of EVERYTHING! How do we keep her happy, us sane, and the people around us happy??!!

After lots of blog reading I was ready to tackle these packing excursions. So here it is, the best budget friendly way to prepare for long travel with a toddler, but mainly it boils down to having lots of toys, lots of food, and LOTS of patience.

Tip 1: Go to a Dollar Store, thrift store, or discount market and get a bunch of small, new toys that your kid has never seen before. You can also create some fabulous DIY toys that will keep them just as entertained.

• Here are some great examples of what I purchased at the Dollar Store:
  • Stickers (lots of them!) for the plane I also found gel stickers that could go on the window and tray table, which were so cool!! If your Dollar Store doesn't have them, try these.
  • Crayons and coloring books
  • Little animal figurines
  • Matchbox cars
  • Play-Doh (not really car friendly, but this was great on plane tray table and at restaurants)
  • Slinky
  • Bouncy ball
  • Large lizard and mini pony that my daughter thought was amazing
• I also found a couple of  interactive booksat HomeGoods that were lifesavers and showed her noises for transportation, so helped her understand.
• Some DIY toys and engaging ideas that our little girl LOVES:
  • String and cheerios
  • Ice in a cup, totally free and weird, but this is the best (straw+cup+ice=toddler fascinated)
  • Take a old plastic container and make holes to be able to poke pipecleaners or pom-poms through
  • Peek-a-boo or iSpy with family or travel mates
  • Learn your nursery rhymes! Willie and I were a musicial choir on our car trips. Those songs are hidden in your memory somewhere...go ahead and tap into that brain!

Tip 2: My diaper bag included: diapers, wipes, gallon sized Ziplocs (for toys or if a clothing accident occured), band aids, change of clothes, snacks and plastic straws (more detail below), hand wipes/spray, toy/area wipes, waterproof bib, sunscreen, and snacks (more below).

Tip 3: Pack sippy cups and plastic straws. I carry plastic straws everywhere since I know she can have a drink anywhere I go without the hassle of cleaning/finding my sippy cup.

Tip 4: Pack lots of different kinds of snacks (familiar and new) in small zipper bags or containers. This saves you so much since you don't have to pay the upcharge within the airport or even at the hotels.

• A nifty trick for plane entertainment, grab a daily pill boxfrom the Dollar Store and hide snacks inside. You can also do this trick with plastic Easter eggs.
• For the car ride since we had more baggage ability, I bought lots of treats that she normally doesn't get from the Dollar Store as a disraction and reward for good behavior. This bag of goodies on the long car ride was essential. What the magic of a Cheetos and M&Ms will do :)

• For these longer trips I also brought a few easy meals in case of emergency.
  • Hartley loves granola bars and applesauce, have some in your diaper bag but also bring a box in your check-in for easy on-the-go meals.
  • These Annie'stravel pastas are wonderful to have for emergency meals. I put a few of these in our check-in bag to have at the hotel.

Tip 5: Make a plan with your partner and family (if traveling together) about the expectations for the flight and daily activities so everyone can enjoy the flight and vacation.

Tip 6: Take care of yourself or everyone will be miserable. If you are hungry, thirsty, or unhappy, everything your child does will be that much more annoying. I always pack snacks for us too. If your husband is anything like mine, they get HANGRY real fast and there is noooo turning back until they are satisfied. When I used to travel internationally for work with long flight times, my favorite essentials were protein bars, PB&J sandwiches, raw nuts, dried fruit, and a fresh banana or apple. I also always have an empty water bottle to fill once I pass security so I don’t have to pay the enormous upcharge for a water bottle at the airport stores.

Tip 7: If your child is soothed by a pacifier, make sure you have it. Hartley would be devastated if her “B” didn’t make the flight. We would be those parents running through the airport to find one or borrow one I’m sure. For the chance of further discomfort from a cold or earache, always pack a children’s pain/fever reducer.

Tip 8: Bring a baby carrier, wrap, or backpack. We brought our Ergobaby and a stroller for the trip. Hartley prefers the stroller, so that’s what we used most of the time and through the airport (along with chasing her around to get some energy out).

Tip 9: For the Jamaica flight, we checked our carseat at the boarding door, but if your child is small enough just make sure your car seat is flight compliant. Checking a carseat is free on almost all airlines, so it really is just more of a necessary hassle than anything.

Tip 10: Bring the iPad if your other distractions aren’t working. Hartley rarely watches TV but she is fascinated with "Elmo" aka the iPad and will watch him for hours.

Tip 11: For our Jamaica destination we packed some tropical essentials:

• Bathing suits (a lot we've found at the thrift store for CHEAP)
• Swim Shirt (these are bountiful at the thrift store)
• Sun Hats and/or waterproof hat (again these are bountiful at the thrift store)
• Puddle Jumper(found this at the thrift store, but we also saw at Costco for $15)
• Sunscreen (Oxybenzone free) For Hartley we use The Honest Company Mineral Based Sunscreen and Arbonne’s sunscreen
• Bug spray

Tip 12: The Jamaica hotel had a crib setup and most have an option for play-n-pack, so just make sure you have that confirmed before arrival (some may have applicable fees for this, so if you can carry a travel bed, that may be a good option). I also packed some crib stuffed animals, a nightlight, and her sleep sheep just to make sure she was comfortable. Anything you can bring to make sure they sleep on vacation is great!

Tip 13: We did not bring a travel highchair. She does not care for the small fabric seats and just ate her meals on our laps or next to the pool in a lounge chair (yes…already a diva). But if you are going a lot of places that wouldn’t have a chair option or you prefer sitting them in something, go ahead and pack it.

Tip 14: Find a way to exercise. When flying get to the airport a little early and find a non-crowded area to let your little one run and view the planes. Once safe in the air, you can also use the aisles to your advantage. As long as this isn't a red eye flight and everyone is trying to sleep, everyone will get a smile out of your curious baby. For the car rides, take breaks. Stop and use the restroom, scenic spots, coffee, etc. These little stops can help extend their patience and also get a little energy out.

Tip 15: Smile, laugh and enjoy your vacation!!!


Do you have any great tips to share?

DIY Bubble Inspired Birthday Cake

Creating a special 2^nd birthday cake for my precious daughter was so much fun and she absolutely loved it! I knew we weren’t having a party since we are still getting things at the new house settled and everyone is just always so busy end of August it’s hard to plan something. So just super low key this year with just the grandparents and a photo shoot, which upon the dismay of my husband, I am trying to make family photos an annual occurrence. Her birthday is the perfect millstone for those photos right now and I cannot wait to share some that my wonderful Kimberly took!

So what do you make for a bubble obsessed toddler? How about a fun bubble inspired cake!?!


The DIY glam bubble candleand cake topper were so perfect on top of the naked funfetti cake I made. Here is how I did it…

The cake was super simple. I used two boxes of the funfetti cake mixand made three batches using a 9"round cake pan. Once they cooled I followed inside the outer circle outline to get rid of the brown edges to expose the colorful inside. Then I started stacking the cakes filling each layer with a tremendous amount of rainbow chip frosting(I LOVE icing, so it was more for me than anything cake decorating wise...you will need about 3 tubs of icing if you put around the same amount as I did). I used a butter knife on the top icing layer to make swirls and finished the corners and edges with multi-colored confetti sprinkles.

For the glam bubble inspired candle I took a cheap dollar store candleand just hot glued the beads of choice onto the candle layering and alternating the colors and sizes of the beads. At first I freaked out, because duhh…wax melts, but be patient! Once you get a few on, it will start building upon one another and start coming together. I was able to do the beginning layer by just putting hot glueenough for about 5-6 beads directly on the candle and then just sprinkled them on randomly. Once you do the first layer you can start building upon with more precision one at a time either pinching with your fingers (be careful, I took some stings from the glue) or buy $1 store tweezers and use those for the precision areas.

For the cake topper I actually found small water balloonswere the perfect size and extremely reasonable than paying for mini or regular balloons. I got a bag of 50 balloons 25% off $1.25 so it was practically a steal!  I chose to use the neon pinks colored ones and just blew all of them up (well not me, Willie blew them up for me) in random sizes and picked the best ones I liked to apply the stickers to. I used aqua glitter letter stickersfrom Michaels and put one word on each balloon to have the full quote of “never get TWO old for bubbles” across the cake. Once you put the balloons on the wire, you can always make adjustments to the word orientation if some balloon won't go in the direction you want them to. Once all the words were on the balloons, we pierced the balloon ends carefully with a brass wireto attach each balloon in the order we wanted. I did a blank balloon on each side of the quote just as a little filler. Then just attach the wire to some long bamboo skewersor straws, place in your cake, and viola the most fun cake topper EVER!

Hartley absolutely loved her cake and for the following days went around the house yelling "cake, cake, cake, eat, cake"!! I cannot believe I have a 2-year-old daughter. Time is going way too fast and I'm trying to not miss a second. The pressure of being a working mom has gotten to me recently, but all you can do is try you best and embrace every moment you can spend with your children. I cannot wait to see what the next year brings us. I hear the 2s are the worst, but fun days like this and creating something magical for her is totally worth all the tantums I am about to endure. Wish me luck!

Cake photos: Kimberly Lyddane Photography

Baby Shower Cake - DIY Style

Last Saturday I had the pleasure of attending a dear friends baby shower. She is Kimberly's twin sister and although they do not look alike, they are both super fabulous in their own unique ways and hold a very special place in my heart. Brittney is having a girl...whohooo...I am overjoyed that I have a friend having a girl close to Hartley's age. Play dates, make-up, dresses, dolls, bows and sparkles...here we come!

This cake was really a team effort. Kimberly tackled the DIY tutu cake stand, while I made the cake, cake topper, and assembled it for the shower. I'm no cake maker, but sometimes it's fun to tackle something new and work off of a Pinterest inspiration :)

You know when you have a bestie when she takes step-by-step pictures for you to capture how to make something PERFECT…thanks Kimberly!!

How she made this adorable DIY tutu cake stand. She cut a rubber placemat the diameter of the cake stand she had. Then she wrapped a piece of yarn around the edge and attaching it about every 1" with a drop of hot glue. With two colors of glittered tulle, she started making loops to adhere the tulle to the piece of yawn (perfect simple no sew solution). She kept alternating the pink and lavender tulle until she made it all around the stand.

I baked the cake the night before. I choose a delicious French Vanilla flavor. Saturday morning all I did was cut the two 9" round cakes I made in half each so my bottom layer had 4 cake layers and in between layers I put vanilla icing and a blackberry preserve. I placed 4 cake sticks in the middle of my bottom layer to serve as a support system for the top layer. I did a crumb coating of icing, which actually served as my final "rustic" look for icing as I was following a version I saw on Pinterest that I LOVED.

After the bottom layer was assembled on the stand I cut my two 6" round cakes I made in half each so my top layer had 4 cake layers and in between layers I put vanilla icing and a blackberry preserve. Once the top layer was assembled separately, I used a large spatula to carefully place the top layer on the bottom layer. I placed three large kabob sticks from the top to the bottom in a triangle pattern through all the layers to give it a little bit more stability since I did have to transport it. Then, just ice top layer like bottom.

The topper I created by using:

1. hard stock paper - pink 
2. burlap twine
3. hot glue
4. scissors
5. gold letter stickers
6. straws/kabob sticks

• Cut the paper in about 2" long rectangle and then make the V by cutting into the middle from both sides, bend the paper in half so it is like a small tent
• Place the letter stickers on the paper
• Once the letters are all made, take your twine (or ribbon) and put the inside crease of you tent over the twine and secure the two side together over the twine with hot glue
• Once all letters are attached to the twine, you are ready to attach to the straw/sticks by simply wrapping and knotting the twine

Finish the cake off with some beautiful fresh flowers. The tulips and baby's breath were perfect for this lavender spring themed shower.

I was so proud to show this off at the shower and all the details Kimberly and her mother put together were absolutely amazing. Kaelyn has a wonderful family that is very excited to meet her!

Best Cake EVER

This will always be my favorite cake. It represents a huge milestone in our lives. Our daughter is one. We made it, she made, we loved every minute of it. I absolutely cannot believe a year has passed.

I wanted something special and beautiful for her first birthday and cake smashing photo session without spending a fortune, so I knew I was going to have make my own. For being my first cake decorating experience (no I do not count throwing sprinkles on top as decorating), I think it turned out great and this style is very forgiving. Any beginner can do this :)

Of course I also had to show off another GREAT find from the thrift store. This gorgeous cake stand was only $9. This stand is super similar if you can't find a used one. Wasn't it perfect?!!?

Everyone was amazed by the cake and even more amazed that I made it. Look out for step by step instructions to make an ombre rosette cake of your own!

Special thanks to my bestie for some great photos! Thanks Kimberly!

Biggest Bang for Children Consignment

Consignment shops or consignment sales sell secondhand goods for owners, with some sort of fee kickback for the sell. Most consigned goods are normally priced a little higher than thrift stores but most always lower than the original purchase price. Both sellers and buyers can win through consignment markets. As a seller you can get rid of closet clutter for a reasonable profit and as a buyer you are getting quality clothes for a discounted price. A lot of consignment stores do specialize in name brand or luxury  clothing, jewelry and accessories, making it more appealing for both the seller and buyer. The seller doesn’t have to give away a high end item and for someone who cannot afford a luxury item new, buying consignment puts an item in an a realistic price range.

My recent experience with consignment was not in a store but through a community sale benefitting a non-profit called The Eastern Prince William Mothers of Multiples Club. The Club is organized to be of aid to mothers of multiples with networking and support, and also fund towards education, research and charitable purposes. The prices were comparable to local thrift stores and I felt good actually seeing the women who were selling their items and knowing that it was helping local mothers.

This was also possibly the MOST organized I’ve ever seen a secondhand sale. Everything was categorized, fully labeled, in bags, prices, etc. It was amazing! And I lucked out because it was a rainy morning, that the sell was not that busy yet and I didn’t feel like I had to fight for things. I had the girl 18-24 month aisle all to myself and took my time picking what I wanted out. Of course with full arms in about 20 minutes, I had to still reexamine my picks with Willie at the checkout, but we still walked out with a huge bag full of clothes for $50!! 18 items for $50 to be exact which averages out to about $2.70 per item (1 jacket, 3 sweaters, 4 onesies, 3 pants, 2 skirt/dress, 3 pajamas, 1 pair of shoes, and one fitted crib sheet).

How to get your biggest bang for your buck?

1. Look for jackets. The pink medium weight Oshkosh jacket was a great find at $8.
2. Look for items still with tags or in original packaging (like the fitted crib sheet I found) = AMAZING 
3. Look for full outfits. I got 5 full outfits for around $30!
4. Pajamas. We love these easy zip up PJs and for $2-3/each, they were a deal from buying brand new at about $10 each. Buying secondhand  saved us over $21 for 3 pairs.

5. Look for shoes. These adorable (brand new condition) Carter's white toddler shoes were $4, which are normally $15 (70% savings!)

Some things to look out for:

• Stains...yuck.
• Socks are extremely hard to find in good condition. The bottoms just gross me out entirely.
• Rips, tears, pulled fabric, missing buttons, and any imperfection that would make you unhappy with your purchase.

Support the recycling of clothes! Your baby grows way too fast to splurge on new and it’s a great way to be GREEN!

Baby beach trip under $30

We are so excited to be heading to the Outer Banks for the Fourth of July. This trip has meant so much to us over the years that it is fitting that this will be our baby girl’s first trip to the beach. So this is a BIG DEAL. We are a little nervous of all the things to pack, how to keep her cool, safe, fed and most of all entertained for the long days we like to have at the beach.

This weekend we were on a mission to take care of the entertainment concern of the trip. Well…mission accomplished. We were able to beach prep for under $30 at our local thrift store. You can spend $30 on two toys alone at the conventional markets, so we were ecstatic with our finds. This way if they are lost or ruined at the beach, we don’t have to worry about money wasted. I’m telling future parents now…this is one area you can save HUGE! Just clean the toys off really well with children safe wipes or soap and you have a practically new toy for your child. We also got a bath tub to make her a safe sand/water play zone and an extra protective swim i play t-shirt (normally $15 alone) all included in our $30 budget. Can’t wait!!

Our little girl's nursery

Today I am 37 weeks pregnant. Ahh!! Time has absolutely flown by!!! What an amazing journey it has been. I feel truly blessed to have had such an amazing pregnancy that has allowed me to enjoy every moment and kick along the way. I am definitely going to miss her in my tummy but excited for our little bundle of joy to arrive.

After our two amazing baby showers hosted and attended by  our incredible friends and family…We are finally complete with the nursery and just waiting on the little girl to make her debut. Thank you everyone again for the outpour of support and gifts. Willie and I are so grateful to have you in our lives.

Here is the story behind my family inspired nursery:

We saved a TON on furniture!!

·        Our first item was my crib…YES my crib. My remarkable mother of course was wishful thinking when she saved my crib, highchair and all my favorite children’s books. Thanks mom!

·        Then we inherited the beautiful shabby chic kids furniture set given to us from Willie’s family after his grandmothers passing. She was an amazing lady and we are so lucky to have these beautiful furniture pieces in our baby’s room that she can enjoy for many years. The dresser will serve as the changing table and I found a perfect customized cover on Etsy that has our last name initial on it (since we still haven’t decided on a baby name…YES I know I’m running out of time, but it’s hard decision!).

·        Our only purchase was the glider and of course, I found a bargain…Buy Buy Baby had a glider and ottoman floor model set that was originally $800. We got it for $340 with the floor model discount and additional 20% coupon! Go me! The beautiful pink Afghan blanket was knitted by Willie's Aunt. So sweet!

 Décor:

·        First there was the debate on paint…From the previous owner it was a dull sage green that I just found down right boring…Willie on the other hand was determined that it was staying. Well after 2 months of debating…I finally got my way and it is now a rich pinkish grey and I couldn’t be happier. Thanks mom for the full day of painting help J It definitely gave the room a facelift and created the perfect backdrop for all the decorations to come!

·        The beautiful gold mirror and shelf is from Willie’s grandmother. I topped it off with a photo frame I made that had our ultrasound photos in it for my first mother’s day J

·        The amazing pallet artwork was created by Willie’s cousin’s wife. It was the PERFECT accent above the crib and it was so sweet of her to put the time and effort to making us a one of a kind piece of art.

·        My best friend Kellie made the adorable headband/bow holder that will definitely get tons of use with our little diva!! What a great idea! I think she has more clothes and accessories then me already HAHA!

·        The little dream catcher hanging from the ceiling fan was a find from our recent California trip where we attended a reggae festival (which was amazing!). Willie has a great deal of Cherokee in him, so I thought it was very fitting J

·        The hutch holds must of the memories, with my childhood books, book ends made by my grandfather and other knickknacks from grandparents. Then atop are my favorite wooden animals. I still remember these being lined up against the window overlooking the gorgeous pool in my grandparents’ home. For our little one these are extremely special as they would have been hand carved by her great-great grandfather and painted by her great grandmother. “Herman” was my pet box turtle growing up so my grandmother thought the wooden turtle should have a name J

The finishing touch will be photos above the changing table. My great friend Heather, who is a professional photographer, gave us the gift of newborn photos for our shower. I’m saving this spot to display these amazing and super thoughtful photos she is taking VERY soon!!

Hope the nursery has inspired you to always keep family items or anything that might mean something special to you one day (even if you house is packed to the max like ours HAHA). I’m all about sentimental items because they really do make your house a home and unique from anyone else!

Silly cats!! What I'm I going to do with her!