Travelling with Kids Everyday Tips: Your Trunk

Just last week when the holidays were over and school was back in session, I left my house at 6:30 a.m. as normal and arrived to my daughter's daycare at 7:00 a.m. When I went to get her out of the car, I noticed that she had no shoes or socks on. She's 14 months and this is what she likes to do now: take off her shoes and socks every time we're in the car! So I went on a manhunt to get her shoes and socks on before I was late to work. I found both pairs of socks but couldn't find one of her red shoes. Ah! I was definitely going to be late.

I looked in the passenger side, in the back seats, on the floor, under the seats, just about everywhere. No shoe to be found! So my daughter spent her day in socks! Sad but true. I left during my lunch break to Macys to see if I could get her a pair of shoes so she could at least join the rest of her class in the playground. But the shoes were pretty expensive. Knowing that she had so many pairs of shoes at home, I just couldn't justify spending $40+ on another pair.

So she spent the day in her socks!

When I got home, sitting on the bench outside my door was the other red shoe, glistening under the sun, staring at me. One of the neighbors probably found it on the driveway or, even worse, on the street! They were kind enough to realize it belonged to my daughter and left it for me outside my house. To this day I haven't solved the mystery of the Cinderella shoe story.

When had my daughter taken off her shoe? When I carried her from the door to the car? When I was buckling her in her car seat and she threw it out the door or window? Don't know. These 14 month olds are quite unpredictable some times.

Lesson learned: When travelling with kids, always think of the unthinkable and plan ahead. Your trunk is like your locker and it'll be your lifesaver when you need to be rescued.

I now have a separate diaper bag that contains an extra change of clothing, diapers, socks, shoes, wipes, pacifier, sippy cup, pajamas, and some nonperishable snacks. These are some of my favorite snacks to have around:


The funniest part of this story is that at the daycare, she had an extra pair of shoes in her cubby! Mommy had planned for this moment of shoe crisis back in September, only to forget it was there when I needed it! Ah! But now I know I am always prepared just in case.