Does it slow down?

The days just rush past me, and I see the kids get bigger and more independent and more talkative!

Today we did a few household chores, then Ryan and I tried to carry the desk for the kid's computer in. Holy moly, it was so heavy I couldn't really even lift it! Now I carry a lot around here, couches, cabinets, cast iron sinks, but man, this thing was impossible. We got it to the foyer, and Ry went out for a hand truck while the kids and I drove to the farm. We were productive there, got our three half gallon bottles of creamline and a half gallon of chocolate milk. We also purchased some butter to try out and four (yes Emily, FOUR) bags of peanut brittle, so I am sure to have some when Emily comes home. I haven't even thought about dinner, but I have some ground beef and may throw a meatloaf together for supper.

I am very overwhelmed. I have to undecorate the house, do loads of clothes and pack for our trip. I am hoping by tomorrow to have all Christmas stuff stashed away, then this weekend I will do laundry and organize the house. By next Thursday (when Ryan is home) I will pack clothes, get the food I am bringing together so that Friday night he and I can pack the car. We will leave around 6 am on Saturday and since it worked well last time, I will pack the kids lunchboxes with their food. I figure they will eat dry cereal, fruit and milk for breakfast (Horizon makes great organic milk boxes for the girls, Gray gets rice milk boxes). Snacks will include granola bars, pretzels, muffins, etc. We will stop to eat lunch somewhere, probably in SC, and then for dinner we will have sandwiches in the car. I am hoping to get to the hotel, get settled and have the kids off to bed by 10 pm. I am bringing almost all of our food with us, so they can wake up and eat breakfast and there is no late night store runs for me!

The plan is to bring:
2 dozen eggs
2 boxes of cereal
ketchup
2 bags of mini bagels
butter
cream cheese
Peanut Butter
a gallon of milk
a quart of rice milk
24 bottles of water
jam
2 loaves of bread
3 boxes of pasta
3 jars of sauce
2 lbs ground beef
2 lbs chicken breast2
2 bags of ravioli
1 lb American cheese
the frozen pulled pork
frozen hamburgers
3 rice mixes
homemade macaroni and cheese

That should feed us almost every meal, every day. We plan to eat one meal out per day as an average, and I will try to make it a lunch meal, as my kids are not big dinner eaters and dinner is way more expensive for a family of five!

It may seem crazy to bring so much with us, but I have done it the other way and shopped when we got there, and it was crazy to spend so much on so few groceries! I will pack a lot of the food in the cooler, the rest will be in sacks in the back. I plan to pack three outfits per person, three sets of pajamas, and the clothes we wear on the ride (along with socks and undies of course!) I will do laundry Tuesday night, so we can pack light and still have enough clothes. I figure, given the weather, 2 pair of pants per kid, one pair of shorts, 2 long sleeve shirts, 1 short sleeved, 1 hoodie, and sneakers. We should fit in two large suitcases, which is good since I want to cram the double jogger in too if possible!