Long (Healthy) Days Out With the Kids

Today was a typical Sunday for me and my crew (that would be me, the hubby, baby Mia and Daniel). It's somewhat of a process...
A production, actually.

I make everyone breakfast, we all get dressed, and rush out the door to attend church.

Sounds easy, right?

Wrong. Not easy.

You see, church is in New York City, which - on a good day - can take anywhere between 40-60 minutes to get to, then you mustn't forget to tack on another 10 minutes to look for parking. It is a looong day, to say the least.

Most of my Jersey friends think we are crazy commuting into the city on Sundays with a one year old and a five year old. Not to mention, the ridiculously expensive tolls and gas, traffic, and pain-in-the-booty-lack-thereof-parking.

But, we do it for so many reasons. We love our church. We love our family. Our church is family. You feel right at home as you walk in and are greeted with smiles, hugs, and kisses. And yes, sometimes I barely hear the preaching while I'm busy being a mom, but I still feel a sense of peace knowing we are in God's temple.

The commute has now become a part of our family tradition. And although we don't make it in every Sunday, when we do, I become very obsessive about packing the kid's a cooler. I can not go to church without it, and I've made this a part of our new tradition for the benefit of their health.

In our little green cooler, I typically pack drinks, snacks, and lunch.

Here is what we packed today:

1. Raw milk for Mia's bottle
2. Fruitables juice boxes in Tropical Orange
3. Diced up apples (Don't forget to squeeze a 1/2 lemon over top, so that they don't turn brown.)
4. Pasta made with home-made sauce of pureed squash, butter, and milk. You can find the recipe, in my recipes section. (To keep food warm, I always use a Foogo thermos, which you can find almost anywhere. We purchased ours from diapers.com.
5. Wheat crackers

So although our little tradition is a production, I feel good knowing there are ways to keep long days a little healthier just by adding a few new additions, like our little green cooler!

xoxo, Mari