Prep Work

Spring break is around the corner, and while Bret will be wandering around Texas on business, the kids and I, with Grandma in tow, are heading on a week long trip.  It's nowhere special, but we'll be staying in a great place with a great pool and a variety of other things to do around town.  I am going to let you in on a secret: I can vacation more cheaply than anyone else I know.  That's right:  I will squeeze four vacations out of the same amount of money that people spend on one.  Other people have public speaking skills.  Some are crafty.  Some gals have beautifully decorated homes.  Me: I'm an expert at cheap vacations.  Someone has got to be good at it... and that someone... is me.

But, there's a lot of prep work that goes into a successful, low key, and cheap vacation.  The first step is making sure your condo has proper toy capabilities.  So, this morning, I packed up the kids' toy boxes.  They each get a shoe sized plastic tote, and all of their toys for the week must fit inside.  If you ever wanted to know what 6-year-old boys and almost 5-year-old girls are playing with, look no further:

Grant's box:
Legos
Hot Wheels
Various Super Hero/Ninja Turtle/Power Ranger action figures
Zibits
Bakugans
Several bouncy balls
Transformers
Hex bugs
Star War Pods
Beyblades
A weapon (every boy needs one [or 500])
A magnetic play scene (this one: knights and castles)
And subtraction book (okay, that one is me, but seriously, you should consider buying these great little books)

Grace's box:
pop beads
Magnetic princess dress up
Sewing laces
My Little Ponies
Aqua Doodle
Various ballerinas/fairy dolls
Small stuffed animal
Dress-up Cinderella doll
Legos
Addition book

There's lots more prep work to do (packing for four, including an infant), hunting down meds, toiletries  goggles, pool goodies, snacks and such... and prepping the car (complete with ipods, mobi gos, loads of books, books on cd, activity books and much, much more).

In the end, we'll make another memory, have another experience, and do it all without breaking the bank--which is the best kind of fun for this mommy!