Home for the Holidays? Really?

LOL! 2 hours? Seriously? I thought you were going to say like 1000 miles or 3000. =) I would do ANYTHING to have most of my family within two hours drive. =( I have lived in Germany and flown to Portland, Oregon for the holidays (once with a 3 and 1 year old traveling by myself, OY!). Chicago to Portland, SF to Portland, etc because we have lived all over (prior military). This Thanksgiving I was thrilled to have 7 out of 8 of our children here for the holidays (plus 3 others), 5 children live out of state. Believe me, when your parents pass away or your kids live 2000 miles away you will wonder why you thought 2 hours was that big a deal. THAT being said...
Make sure you are packed ahead of time, get the babies in bed at a decent hour (you too), try to get a room to stay in that will accomidate you and your children (even if you have to rent a hotel). Make sure you have toys for them to play with, things to eat and drink. Drive at night if you can, hopefully they will sleep in the car.
Try to remember two things; holidays only happen a few times a year and your children will only be babies so long. Let your elders bounce the babies on their knees (go take a nap while they do!) and take lots of pictures. In future years you won't remember the bother of traveling, what you will remember are the smiles, good food and the love of family.

My parents traditionally held the holidays. Now that dad is too old and mom is gone, it is up for grabs. Whoever asks everyone over to their house first is the ones who get to host it!

I suggest you tell everyone you are making a turkey, ask everyone to your house next year, and do it early, about a month in advance.

ps...we purchased a portable laptop TV from costco wich sits in between our two front seats and faces the kids. We got a splitter so we can have 3 headphones for them. It is a Godsend. No more fights, just peace and quiet, and daddy and I get to talk!

Our extended family is in England (his side) and Washington (mine) so we have a 10+ plane journey (not including the 1:45 mins to/from the airport on each end and jet lag), or a 12 hour car journey to visit family.
Two hours should be pretty straightforward at this age. Do you just drive in for the day, or do you spend the night? If just for the day, leave really early. Before the kids are usually up. Let them sleep while you get everything together and get the car warmed up, then transfer them sleeping from bed to car. I know they will wake, but cozy in their jammies into a warm car, they will just fall back to sleep again. By the time they wake, you are almost there. Then leave for home at bedtime, so they are likely to doze off in the car. If you spend the night, just do the morning thing each way.
Family is really important and your kids will benefit tremendously from having a good relationship with their extended family. Embrace it!

Dear R.,
Not to sound mean, but I would give anything for my family to only be two hours away.
That said, it it's too difficult for you to wrangle your kids and enjoy the trip, then just tell your family you can't go. They should be understanding given that you have a family member in the hospital etc, and they can't all make the trip either.
I don't know how big your family is, but think seriously about whether or not you want them all at your house instead. The cooking, the clean up, having room for everyone to sit. It could be a thousand times more stressful than the car ride, trust me.
If you just feel too stressed out and the only reason you go is to please everyone else, then say so.

They'll like it or they won't but I'm sure they wouldn't want you resenting being there. Just say you want to stay home for Christmas.

Best wishes.

Two hours is nothing. Yes, they should be able to handle a car ride that far. Be very grateful that your family lives that close.

Our family is in the LA area, a 6 hour ride when you add all the extra stops you have to make with kids (more if there is traffic). Our standard now is that we go for Thanksgiving, and stay home for Christmas. However we did this more because we wanted to be at our home for Christmas than because of the trip. So that is something else you may want to consider. As your children get older, where do you want to "be" for Christmas. The year our son was 3 and our daughter was 7 months we just told everyone that he was now old enough that we wanted Christmas to be in our home. My side of the family is small, just my parents, and they totally understood and now make the trip up to our house. My husband's family is much larger, and all in the LA area. So there was more whining and complaining from them. But we just said this is how it is going to be, so his mom now comes up here. She does make little comments about it, but I just ignore those. :o)

Wow, two whole hours?!?!
I'm sorry if I sound insensitive, but it's really not that long. I mean, do you seriously want all those relatives at YOUR house?
Be happy someone else is hosting, and if you are not close to your family, then don't go. Stay home & celebrate quietly :)
If you think traveling with toddlers is bad, just wait until they become teenagers. There's no sesame st. video to make THAT trip any easier (and I've been on more than one!)

we just got back from the 7 hour trip to the inlaws, so you will get no sympathy here. it is difficult for everyone, but i do have to say that hearing my son scream for his papa over and over as we pulled up after the gruelling drive was what it is about. if you are like me, you chose to live far away and it is truly so convenient for everyone if you travel. that being said, i limit my trips to one in each direction -- oregon and socal -- per year unless i am really inspired. other than that we invite them to visit us.

do what it takes to make it tolerable, but for 2 hours your kids should be able to deal. kids music, toys, singing all help. most important, pack the lullaby cd and plan around their nap as much as possible.

family is important. dont you want to teach your children so when they move away from you they will prioritize coming home to visit?

We travel every Christmas about 8 hours to Southern California, and while we are there must make the rounds of multiple houses to see different sides of the family. Nearly everyone is in So Cal, and they simply cannot all come to us. We have done this since before our kids were born, and now they are 6 and 8 years old. We used to go at Thanksgiving and again at Christmas, but lately we've cut back to just Christmas most years. They are so close together anyway.

From my perspective, 2 hours each way (and getting the chance to sleep in your own bed the same night) sounds fantastic! But I do understand that with very young kids, any length of driving can be difficult. I'd like to share with you what I've learned through the years...

At the beginning, especially when we had a baby and toddler, it was SO frustrating. Even though I liked being able to see the family, the whole ordeal of making the trip each year was really getting to me. I so wanted to give it up and just stay home and relax. But we kept going, because we knew it was the right thing to do to keep our kids familiar with their grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles.

Then I started to see, as the kids got a bit bigger (preschool age, about), that THEY were always looking forward to the trip. It was a big adventure for them and seeing the family was so special to them. I was still irked at having to make the trips, but it didn't bother the kids as much as it bothered me. It was still hard for them to be away from home and living out of suitcases for a week, but they were making memories, and it was a good thing. And slowly I came to relax about it, and just learned to deal with the uncomfortableness of travel with kids, for their sakes.

And then, Grandma (my mom) became very sick with cancer...and Grandpa (my father-in-law) passed away, and I realized how precious those memories of the time my kids spent with them were. And even though the trips are still stressful, in the long run, they've been worth it.

So with you being only 2 hours from family, you have a great opportunity to take turns gathering at different houses, and sometimes it could be your house--no driving and if you do potluck you won't have to do all the cooking either.

But even when you do drive, it will get easier as your kids get older. I've spent more than one of our trips, 8 hours, in a car, with crying babies who simply would not settle. It was enough to make me cry too. But now they are road trip pros, keeping themselves busy without complaint because they know that grandparents and cousins are waiting for them.

Dear R.,
Two hour drive, really? That's absolutely nothing. I did that for about two years every Friday while living in Switzerland and there the freeways have only two lanes and are very busy. I timed it that I would be driving when they were about to nap. My husband took the train and we all drove back at night on Sunday. I have done a trip across the continent and the Atlantic every year with both my kids starting when my son was one month old. I find the time spent with the relatives is worth it, but I would stay there longer or have them come for one of the two major Holidays.

OK, I have to agree, 2 hours is nothing. Get over it and go!

That said, you need to start trying to make it easier. Your energy is a big part fo feeding into the energy the kids have. How do you manage the car thing in general? Do you set expectations that children don't scream? Or in preperation for a long trip that you resent, is there extra tension around so the kids don't stay settled?

Here are some coping mechanisms for the trip itself.

If possible, get the energy out and get the kids to sleep. Try to plan to either take the kids to a park fist and tire them out or travel at nap time. Or even is there a special park you could stop at on your trip?

Play I spy with large objects that you can see form a distance and that your child will clue in on.

Find old forgotten car-apropriate toys from around the house and wrap them up for your child. Give them one every 1/2 hr or so. It takes that long to unwrap and play with each toy. I'm assuming family will have new toys for them, so I wouldn't bother with new ones. This one really works. We got across the country the country on this one. My VERY active 18 month old was stuck in a plane for 6 hours and behaved so well that the people behind us said "Wow, I didn't know there was a baby there!"

Finally, talk to your husband and see if you want to offer to host one year. Find out if his family would be open to that. Or maybe you could negotiate for Thanksgiving to be a friend holiday rather than family. We don't do holidays with our families due to real distance and time issues (My husband works EMS, is in college for his RN and uses his vacation time to accommodate that while our family is on the east coast, so we travel at other times to see family - it's less stressful for us)

Good Luck!

S.

I don't think they should all 'conform' to you, given how many they are and your grandfathers condition.Rather, I'd say your family simply doesn't partake in the festivities given the hardship for you. They'd understand given this temporary situation of the kids being so young. Maybe in the future as other events come up, maybe u all can meet half way, but for the most part I think you're kinda stuck being the one that just lives the furthest. You will be stuck doing the commuting or just doing your own thing.

Hi there,

I'm trying to get psyched up to fly 9 hours with our 2 year old to see my grouchy father-in-law for Christmas where we'll be staying in a hotel for the holiday... I could go on and on about how unpleasant it is for me, year after year. But it is my sweet husband's father who is all alone, so off we are going to go.

Happy holidays!

H.

Two hours? Count your blessings. That is only just over 1 kid movie in the car. I either have to drive to LA or Oregon or fly to Korea! Driving to LA near Thanksgiving takes forever! Also, when it is here, no one lifts a finger to help. I serve for the entire day. With no tips! LOL! Two hours. Seriously? You are so lucky! Get a DVD player in the car and relax. There are also portable ones for flights. They are awesome. By the way, my kids are 8 and 11 now and travel better than most adults. Kids get used to what you do, and your attitude says everything!
By the way, I have flown to Korea by myself with the girls and I am not Korean, but what I don't do for my husband. ARGH! :)

I would be so thankful for 2 hours...I am 5 hours away from my family. And I do the drive almost once a month with a 13 month old

I completly understand your frustration because I feel the same way at times. But the look on my 13 month olds face when she is around her family back home makes it SOO worth the drive. Even though I am frazzled for a min or two, I know I would regret missing out on the memories if I didnt go.

Illness can strike so fast so you really should try to make all the memories you can before its too late. As with me...it was a personal choice (in one way or another) to move away and therefor I should do the traveling...ALL the rest of the family is back home.

Good luck, remember that family is priceless.

HI R.,

I TOTALLY get you... Since we live the furthest away, we always were expected to travel for the holidays and to meet with my husband's family. (My family is out of state.) It's a total nightmare to travel to the bay area for holidays. Our trip typically took 3 to 4 hours there and back.The kids hate being strapped into their seats, you never know how long the trip is going to take because of traffic, naptime is a mess, diapers have to be changed on the road... I hated it.

We finally told everyone that we weren't traveling for a few years. I will catch flak from some readers who will say that family is so important that you should make the sacrifice anyway. We felt like our immediate family ( meaning ourselves and our two kids) had to come first for a little while. We tried either going on the "off" holiday, like the weekend before or after or having people come to us. This seemed to be not as big of an issue as I expected in some ways because we are the only ones with children on this side of the family. They may have been more understanding for that reason. Although it was also a case of bringing it into perspective in some ways too. My MIL didn't really see the big deal since they would travel for summer vacations from the Bay to Tahoe... but this was before the time of car seats, and nightmare traffic which makes a HUGE difference.

I can't help with the etiquette part of things... we tried to gently explain that it was too difficult for us to travel and offer some other options for getting together with everyone. Since his family is small, it worked out ok. And we only had to do it for a year or two before the kids were ok with the trip.

We did get a DVD player for the car last year and that has been a huge help. We don't watch a lot of TV so it's a big treat for the kids to be able to watch in the car on long trips and keeps them occupied for a little while.

Good luck. It's a drag to have to explain how hard it is from your place and not feel like people are judging you for it. At the end of the day, we felt like it just wasn't worth it to try to make everyone else happy and we put ourselves and the kids first.

Hang in there!!!

I spend more time in the car on holidays then enjoying them, if you put your foot down let me know how it goes, I would love to give up the driving!

Hi R.

I feel for you! BUT, how important is your family to you? I have 2 children. 12 and 10. One of our families live in Puerto Rico and the other in Tuscon. Needless to say we travel for Christmas every year, since before they were born. We alternate families. This means 13 hours in the car to Tucson or 13 hours flying to PR and changing planes in the process. My first born has done a LOT of reading in her time. The second one is dyslexic so that would just be torture for her. I hate to say it but for the car we bought a TV when they were younger. For the plane they got a DVD player 3 or 4 years ago. We play lots of games in the car. License plate one is fun. How many state plates can you find. You can bring a map with you or fill in it later with the states that you found. It is a great educational tool.
So in conclusion, you need to figure out what is more important. We would love to spend Christmas here but we are only 4 people out of a lot. If you have a small family you might be able to convince them to come to you.
I know you are probably rolling you eyes by now, but what can I say, your grandfather won't be around forever, you might want to spend a few more holidays with him.
Good luck and happy holidays.

Sorry, I'm going to have to join the "count your blessings" crowd. We fly from Oakland to Maine and THEN rent a car and drive 90 minutes to my parents. My mom won't fly (phobia), so we always make the trip, though it is not always on the holiday proper.

We've done it with both kids since they were born, and while considering it a pain to travel, I do want to see them and so do my kids.

But that's the kicker, isn't it? If you don't WANT to be there, then you may rethink it and make up your own holiday tradition.

Good luck,
L.

Whether you are asked to travel 2 hours or 3 days (our family is meeting in Texas for the holidays), you have to decide what is best for your immediate family. I have twin 3 1/2 year old daughters and every year my husbands family gets together at the Christmas. Last year it was Riverside, this year Texas. One of our girls is considered at-risk for severe respiratory illnesses and we decided not to travel. With H1N1 and other respiratory illnesses being so severe this year, we could not take the chance on exposing our children. However, we realize that our girls are not going to have the opportunity to spend time with cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents. Family is important to us but we cannot jeopardize the health of our girls. Bottom line, you have to decide what is best for your kids. The closet family for us is 8 hours away so we only see them 1 - 2 times a year. You are lucky to have family only 2 hours away, but you have to decide what it best for your family. Pick your battles and decide if the consequences are worth it.

I totally understand, my parents live in central WI and my other halfs live in the Bay too, we live at lake Tahoe and the "holiday season" is not fun. To say the least it is when we are busiest at the lake and a day off is out of the question. So what we do is when it is slow season (beginning of Dec) I travel to WI when there are less travel headaches and we celebrate a combo Xmas/ thanksgiving and who ever can be there is a blessing. For the Bay area issue it is tough as its only a three hour drive but with a 21/2 year old??? So we do the same with them try and set up a day or two in Dec and celebrate both. It is not the "day" that matters its just about getting together. My other halfs parents are quite old and its is almost like having three kids when we get together! We just tell them that this is how it is and "traveling" with children is a lot of work so doing it under less stressful situations (the holidays) will make it a better visit when we get together another time. They understand and are not thrilled but I gave up the guilt a long time ago, it does me no good. The spirit of the holiday can be felt any day of the year and w/o stress!

We do the every other family for Thanksgiving and we have been staying home for christmas my husbands family doesn't understand why well to bad! My mom and stepdad come over for about an hour on christmas day late morning. Stick your ground!!

I can't believe how rude some of the people responding are. Just because the posters family "only" lives 2 hours away doesn't mean it's not a hard and stressful trip for her. I cannot stand when a person talks about something that bothers them or is hard for them and other people feel the need to top it or make it about them.

I know how hard it is to travel with little ones in the car. If it's too much for you and you don't mind skipping the celebration just tell your family that you're sad you have to miss it but you need to wait until the kids are a little older to make the trip. Explain how hard it is for you to deal with the meltdowns. I'm sure they would understand. Good luck!

I think that you should just let everyone know that you are doing Christmas at your house this year and that it is very hard for you to travel with your children. Let them know that they are all more than welcome to come to your home if they would like. If they come they come, if they don't, they don't. I think that sometimes the older generation forgets what it is like having two small children.

I would rather travel to see your family on Thanksgiving than for Christmas. Packing gifts, etc is just too big of a headache. As soon as our son was born we announced to both sides of the family that we would be celebrating Christmas at our house and they were welcome to join us whenever they can. Most of the time we have a quiet Christmas with just the 3 of us. A few times, my husband's parents/ grandma have joined us. The one year that my parents came out from SD they came a week early and we all met at my brothers because they were baptising my niece.

I agree with other posters that two hours isn't all that bad, BUT, I never liked travelling away for the holidays when my kids were still in diapers... it is just so stressful to take them somewhere that isn't childproofed, or where it's hard to lay them down for a nap and such. The only thing that would convince me to do it was knowing how badly other family members wanted to see my kids, and how much I wanted to see them and theirs. It was rare tho that I travelled. So, we missed a few of the big holiday events in the early years but made up for them later when the kids were older. I never hosted them at our place either, I'm not into that part of the stress either.

Do what you are honestly comfortable with. If the repercussions of not showing will make you feel worse than the 4 hr round trip, then buck up and go.

Sorry, but I am going to agree with a lot of people here and say 2 hours isn't bad at all. We moved from Southern California to Las Vegas when my oldest was just 6 weeks old, (that's a five hour drive,) and one month later we were driving back for the Holidays. Another year and a 1/2 later I had 2 kids under the age of 2 and we still drove. My kids are now 9 and 7 and we live up in Northern California, (which is now an 8-9 hour drive to Southern California). Both my husbands parents and my mom live within 2 hours of each other and these are our daughters grandparents and we drive down there at least 2 - 3 times a year and my kids LOVE their family - it has been a tradition now. They get so excited! We stay with my in-laws for the week, drive down to my moms on Christmas eve, (another 2 hours from their house,) then back up to my in-laws Christmas Day only to drive down to my uncles (another 1 1/2 hours away) that Saturday. They are well behaved at other peoples house, because they have been doing it since they were babies.

You said it took you about an hour to relax, but the key is you still relaxed, lol. I remember many a year being on constant watch with the girls and not being able to relax. If my husband had his way we would just stay home and he would have football on all day, sleeping in his chair. I am always telling him it is not about him, it's not about me, (I'd rather be on a beach in Hawaii), it is about them. Our job as parents is to build a great foundation for them and put our kids first.

Now, that's not to say going may be the best thing for you. Maybe you see your family all of the time and you agree to do Thanksgiving or Christmas but not both. Or plan a Christmas get-together the first Saturday before or after Christmas, (That is what we do with my Aunt and Uncle on Cousins). Maybe going there they see the family fights and it is not a good place for your children to be. If it just a little stressful, but other than that fun, GO! Your kids will be all gown up soon and these days will fly by.

Good Luck!!! :0)

I have put my foot down this year and my husband somewhat agrees. We have a 3-1/2 year old son and 2 year old. If family/friends/whomever want to see our children on a holiday, they are more than welcome to come to our home! Period! I am not bundling my kids up and driving wherever to please anyone!! That's it!
The only trip I can't get past is going to North Lake Tahoe with my husbands family as they have rented the same estate every December for 19 years in a row. It is a large family tradition and that is the only reason I go. It's alot of work and stress as the house is not child-friendly, sits right on the lake, etc, etc. And, there are ALOT of people and kids. I need a drink just thinking about it!!!
So.....stay home and let your family enjoy your own tradition.
Happy Holidays!

Wow. A lot of reaction to your post.
1. Lincoln traffic alone is a stressor (hopefully the new freeway will ease that)
2. As someone who lived in LA and has traveled just about everywhere in CA and many other states and countries, I can attest to the drag of a drive the commute to the Bay Area, which is living gridlock. I know because my husband does it and when we go down, I cringe with guilt that we moved away. He never complains.
3. We are the ones who commute in for holidays because it is harder on older people (sentiment and physical issues) and there is a Bay and SF centric mindset. I get it.
4. We have gone with love and get a hotel (costly) as really there is no extra room at the inn and I need my space and that is an additional expense but we make that a trip and head over to Kid's museums, ferry rides, etc....have video in car and the kids love it! It builds their travel skills. They earn their spending money and help set agenda and have to stay on task to assure we do the special things.
5. I offered to host this year after our grandmother died a year ago and after doing the driving for years after we chose to relocate near my mom and they all came to Roseville for Thanksgiving. They experienced the traffic and truly have an understanding when we cannot make something.
6. I too, wish we were closer to Upstae NY because it is near impossible to get to my husband's family so I understand those who reacted to your post..although your situation is still real.
7. I encourage you to forge those bonds for the children..to pray on it and ask for Grace when you have to prepare, pack up, plan and plow through the crowds.
8. I encourage you to ask for peace around your family.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

What is it about the holidays that just brings out the family issues? LOL.

OK seriously. I don't think two hours is too much, but I am with you it can be challenging - we drive an hour and a half on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day most years. And yes, I've been in your shoes with two young kids having to be up by 8am to open Santa gifts and our gifts, out the door by 9:30am to be at mom's house for brunch by 11am before the extended family comes at 2:30pm. Makes for cranky children at times - you never know what you are going to get in that car ride. So after one particular frazzled year, I started asking for a few things to make it easier on my family, while still compromising and doing the driving.

When my kids were that age, I always showed up on Christmas morning in my sweats and I had a few pre-requisites - #1: Some type food was ready when we got there because the kids would be hungry (11am is snack time!). #2: After brunch, gift time for the kids - having to wait for extended family was torture for them - so they opened gifts twice, so what? #3: When gifts were over I basically handed the kids off to my mom and decompressed while I got ready for the extended family. My mom always made sure she was ready so that she could help with the kids. Then the kids napped. If extended family arrive while they were asleep, oh well. The kids would get up eventually. I don't know if those types of things would work for you, but it helped me. Maybe you can show up early so you've got some downtime before the larger group shows up. In my case my parents don't live close so having the kids and taking care of them for one or two little hours was a treat for them.

I also had to put my foot down about Christmas Eve. My in laws used to live close and then moved a hour and a half away and still wanted to have Christmas Eve dinner at 6:30pm followed by gifts, dessert, etc. After one year of doing that and having miserable kids who barely got to leave cookies for Santa (I was miserable because kids slept on the way back, didn't fall asleep quick at home at and guess who was up waiting for them to fall asleep? ME!! Then to get up and do what I described above - crazy!). I said, look, I can do the driving, but I can't do the time. I have the little kids and it's about their schedules now. We need to leave by 7pm. Now we all get there around 3, gifts are over by 5pm, dinner at 5:30, dessert and out by 7pm. Kids in bed by 9pm. It's gonna be that way for awhile - my brother-in-law has a 3 and 4 year old.

However, what I have found out in past few years is this: It's actually easier to suck it up when they are younger and don't really know too much of what's going on and it's about presents for them, being spoiled by family, etc. When they get older, they just want to stay home and play with their new DS or Wii, ride their new bike and call their friends, etc. By that time, it's likely that your older family members will not be able to host and the others may be in a position to come to you so you can host instead. In my case I hope that by the time my brother wants to play host in SoCal, my kids will be old enough to travel and be enticed by the prospect of Disneyland and a trip to SoCal.

Another idea - tell everyone this year that you plan to host next year and start figuring out now how to get everyone to where you are. I did that when I found out I was pregnant with my son. I said, this is my first Christmas in this new house and I'll be pregnant, but not too pregnant. I would like to host this year before I have two small children. Everyone showed.

Best of luck to you. With family it's never easy is it?

I would be so happy if my family were only 2 hours away. I would probably visit once a month. My family lives 6 hours away and I still go there for the holidays. They come for Thanksgiving and I go for Christmas. That said I only have one very easy to travel with child.

Just my perspective.

I so know what you are feeling, and I don't even have to drive a long way. But I have to spend the day going to both parents house's because they all live so close and won't take turns! They both feel that since we live so close there isn't any reason we can't take time to see them both. It's very frustrating! The other day I was hinting that when I had a house big enough to host that I would most likely be having the holidays at my house. My father in law's response was "well, when we were young we didn't make the parents come to us, we came to them". I think you live far enough away to say that you want to take turns having it at your house, provided that you have the space. My dad won't come to my house for the holidays because I don't have a big enough house to host everyone. If they don't come, then you have the holiday with just you and your hubby and kids. But I see no reason why you can't trade off every other year at least.

We just got back from Thanksgiving in your area with my parents. We visit my mom (2 hours away) for Thanksgiving and spend Xmas at our house. However, we do make a trip up there around Xmas to exchange gifts. In our case my parents can't visit us because my dad is disabled. I consider 2 hours close so I can't really not visit them. I've been commuting for the holidays since I left home so I guess I'm used to it. But I am happy to stay home for Xmas.

Hi R.,

I just got back from our trip to Laguna Beach this Saturday (7 hr trip). I was dreading it! I have a 6 year old step Son and a 4 month old Son. My Son doesn't latch on so I have to also pump every 3-4 hours.. I thought it was going to be the worse ever!! It wasn't. We planned and it turned out great!

First off- we packed a week ahead of time. Car was packed, snacks/drinks were in the cooler, and portable DVD player was charged!

We bathed the kids the night before and put then in warm sweat outfits. When my baby Son woke up at his 4 am feeding my husband jumped up- started the coffee pot! I pumped. We did last minute packing of the car. Warmed up the car and lastly carried both boys to the car (both had warm blankets) and we were off!! We got on the road at 5 AM Thanksgiving day! Both boys slept the majority of the morning until about 830-9. We were well into our drive 4 hours down 3 to go! We stopped at a Pilot Truck stop, I pumped in the shower stall, my husband got both boys out for a walk. He stretched our baby and bought our 6 year old breakfast! The baby wasn't ready to eat yet! We all got back into the car. My 6 year old knows how to feed the baby in the back seat when he cries and give him his pacifier. He also knows how to turn on his DVD player. I bought him 2 new DVD's so he was excited to watch them! ($5 DVD's at Target are great!) We drove another 2 hours and the baby slept. We stopped for a snack again and to stretch.. My 6 year old and I played games (Who can find a boat, a green car, the letter A and so on.. we played for nickels.. he loves it!) The baby got fussy so we stopped.. he needed to get out of the car seat so we stretched him again.. My 6 year old talked to the baby and let him see his DVD player they were so good I couldn't believe it! I know you have a younger 2 year old so that may be different! We arrived in the OC at about Noon just in time for lunch and another pump! it worked out great. We napped before dinner and showered and changed.. So it is possible- just need to plan.

Family is so important and the memories you will make with your kids & family is well worth waking up early!

Good luck :)