Sunday, March 30, 2008

Boys day out...and anyone have a good bag?

It is a quiet sunday morning. I am alone in my house. WOW. Ethan is meeting his dad about 45 min away and taking Ryan to his first car show. In theory that is a good idea because Ryan loves cars. But as with any theories, there could be some problems.

1. Ethan will not carry any type of bag. So, if Ryan needs a diaper change they will have to go back to the car. I do not know the parking situation at this place, I just know the event is HUGE. I convinced him to stick a granola bar in his pocket, and most likely he will carry a bottle of water but thats it. There will be no hand sanitizer (OMG). Any extra outfits will also be in the car. It was funny to see Ethan take an extra shirt for himself. He said when he spends the day with Ryan he always has food on his shirt, LOL. For what its worth, they left around 8:00 and will have to leave the car show between 12-1 so Ryan can nap on the way home. It is not a whole day, but I will give him props for making the effort. My dad goes to this show every year and told me its really crowded so Ethan is gonna have his hands full since Ryan will not go in a stroller. Not that Ethan would push it anyway.

2. Did i mention no hand sanitizer? That grosses me out.

Ok, so maybe those are the main issues. On to the bag issue. We went to the zoo last week and are members. Ryan and I will go a few times this summer, and do other day outings. I realized I need a good bag to carry around for those particular occasions. Something that will hold a few snacks, water, disposable changing pad, diaper, wipes, camera, hand sanitizer, etc. But it cannot be too big. When we went to the zoo I used a small backpack purse. Good thing I didn't bring my wallet because it wouldn't have fit. Everything was crammed in and I hated that I had to take everything out to get something. A regular backpack would be too big. I was thinking more of small messanger bag because I hate having to take the backpack off to get stuff. Am i lazy?

This is a time where I miss the stroller. It was good for holding things. I love my diaper bag but it seems like right around the time we quit using the stroller it got left in the car. I used to carry it with me everywhere, and just put my wallet inside. The funny thing was I hardly ever used anything in it, other than the bottles. I would put it in the grocery cart for a 30 min trip. I would put it in the basket in the stroller to walk around the mall, but other than a diaper change or bottle it just sat there. And it is too huge (though awesomely cute) to carry around. You should kind of be jealous because I didn't need the bag. Never had any big accidents where I needed to do an outfit change. I know...super lucky. Sometimes I would even forget to change the size of my emergency outfit in the bag so its good I didn't need it or my 9m old would be wearing a 0-3m outfit. Now ofcourse that he is older he seems to spill a lot of drinks on himself, or go down a slide that is wet and then freak out. As a matter of fact yesterday we had to do a pants change at the park, but that is easy when you are parked close by.

So, if you've seen a cute messanger bag that would be good for my day trips let me know. My old stand by bag will live in the car with the major things like clothes, first aid kit, etc.

Oh, and just to show how Ryan has grown. We put the carseat in Ethan's truck. He has the kind with small seats in the back, and the door swings out, but its not a full door. Club cab or something like that. We used to push the passanger seat up and there was no problem. Today we had the seat pushed up as far as it would go, and even tilted the seat forward, and Ryan's feet still were resting on it. He is getting so big so fast. So, you are asking why Ethan didn't take my car where Ryan comfortably fits. Because his truck is a stick...i don't do that.

6 comments:

Our Family of Four said...

Target had some really cute, large, handbags the other day. I LOVE my backpack. Don't know if you can find the same set-up in another bag but my backpack is/was the medela breastpump bag so it has 2 sections. The bottom used to hold the actual pump and is big enough for a change of clothes and some wipes, also my wallet. The top is big enough for 2 sippy cups and lunch for the 3 of us. Also has a small side zipper pocket great for cell phone and keys. I heart my bag so much I cannot imagine what I would have done without it! Guess I'm not much help. Ask Liz, she has all the cool gear!

Brandi said...

Hmm...my medela is the regular bag and not the backpack. darn.

Liz said...

Aw, thanks!

Brandi - I used a LeSportSac messenger-style bag for that transition phase. It's not too big and it has an outside zip pocket for your stuff, it's big enough for a small wallet, keys and cell which leaves the inside with plenty of room for an outfit, a sippy and some hand sanitizer!!!

Right now, I have an awesome messenger-style bag, but (beacuse I am so cool) Ghia brought it back from SPAIN, and well...I just don't know that you could find it here.

So, anyway. That's my advice. They're cute, washable, and last forever. You can get them wherever, but I'd suggest Nordstrom Rack or Bluefly to get the best price. =)

Hooray for Ethan today! I just now realized that Paul has NEVER EVER had Carly out and away from the general vicinity of the house for more than about half an hour! Wow!

McCoyFamily said...

Kudos to Ethan the farthest and longest Pat ever had Patrick was a walk to the park and you remember how close that was to our house...
Hope you find a Fab Bag I agree with Chell try Target they have cute purses that don't break the bank...

Judy said...

I've always used Vera Bradley bags-since high school actually. They are becoming really popular now, which is really funny to me. Anyway-I rotate through about 4 of them. I just bought a few more on EBAY. I have the small backpack (PERFECT for what you are talking about), and the large (which is great for the plane), as well as the bucket, and about 10 more. My advice if you don't do the messenger (I personally don't like them "on me" like that-I know, I'm a freak)...is to get something with 2 straps.

Good luck!

Liz said...

UYB, Brandi!