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Rolling down the So Cal Coast this summer with your kids? Leave room for a leisurely lunch at Dana Point’s Harbor House Cafe.This casual, kid friendly eating establishment is a beloved gathering spot for locals, surfers, teens, seniors, families… Basically everyone loves the Harbor House. Portions (including those in the kids meals) are huge. Service is friendly and you will never run out of things to look at. The diner-reminiscent restaurant features framed movie posters on every available surface including the ceiling. You can sit at the counter, in a booth or out on the patio if you have a large group. Our advice: get the squaw bread and take advantage of the breakfast all day. You can’t go wrong with their burgers either. The Harbor House is open 24hrs and is worth pencilling into any itinerary that takes your through Dana Point.

I’m currently in a mad dash to pack my family for the adventure of a lifetime. We’re road tripping for three weeks down the coast of California, from San Francisco to San Diego. I can’t wait, road trips are the best! We go on them all the time, and we almost always have an amazing time.

Packing for said road trips? Not so much. I invariably spend the day before the vacation pulling my hair out, wondering why I ever thought a road trip was a good idea. Since we do it so often I thought I’d share some of my packing tips; they’ve been hard earned over the years.

First of all, Ziplock bags will be your saving grace. I used to make fun of people who traveled with them, but they are critical for road trips with kids. Headed to a sandy beach? Put a Ziplock in your bag and fill it with whatever treasures your kids find. You won’t be able to smell the decay of ocean smells all the way home, pure magic. Ziplocks are also perfect for toiletries: shampoo bottles, toothpaste, etc. I always double bag the gooey stuff; you never know when you’ll have an explosion on your hands.

Secondly, take a potty. No explanation necessary.

Individual suitcases for the kids. I bought these two from Lillian Vernon a few years ago on clearance, and it was the smartest travel move I’ve ever made. One for him, one for her, no fighting. Whatever fits can come on the trip and if it doesn’t, too bad so sad.

I lay it all out on the carpet so I can see what I’m dealing with. This trip is the longest we’ve ever attempted to go {3 weeks!} but I’m not taking a ton of clothes for the kids, I just plan on doing a lot of laundry.

I have a bunch of stuff for any type of weather: sweaters, jacket + hat, shorts, tees, 2 pair of shoes, pajamas, a blankie. The usual.

Stack of tees for my son. I usually don’t take this many shirts but this boy can go through three outfits in a day, easy. I don’t want to do laundry every night.

My nine-year-old doesn’t require as much stuff, she usually only goes through two outfits a day.

Laundry: come to terms with it, learn to love it. I’m taking $20 in quarters, a bag of OxiClean {aforementioned son requires it}, dryer sheets, Laundry Tree soap nuts and essential oils, and a laundry bag. I just throw the dirties in the bag so it’s consolidated into one place for my late night hotel laundry room jaunts.

The basics for the car include a bag full of bags. I stash a bunch of my old grocery bags and use them along the way for garbage. I’ve never used this many before, but we’ll be gone for three weeks and I don’t want to take any chances. I love traveling in a clean{ish} car, and “taking out the trash” at every rest stop helps.

2 kids + 2 parents + 20 days on the road = 6 pack of air freshener.

DVD player for the car. This one is critical for long distance trips. We’ve gone back and forth as parents about whether or not to use these in the car; we really would rather promote back seat reading and crafting. But when it comes down to it, halfway to Reno I’ll be bowing down to the gods of electronics for inventing these things. We originally had two screens, but one was damaged on one of our trips, and now the kids have to share. Poor deprived things.

And last but not least, I pack a cooler full of drinks. Gas station stops can add up really really fast. I’d rather pay .59 cents at the grocery store for Gatorade than 4 times that on the road. Ditto for the Diet Dr. Pepper.

Those are my essentials for happy travels with kids! Happy trails.

We always love to go to Disneyland. Where else can you see grown men roaming around in silly hats on a regular weekday? Here are a few of the hats we snapped on a recent visit. What should we take pictures of next at Disneyland? Tattoos? Strollers? Leave us a comment!

It’s not easy getting kids in and out of the car and keeping everything clean, let alone cute. Two products from Itzy Ritzy are your car’s dream come true. I’ve always admired Itzy Ritzy’s gorgeous carseat covers that come in a wide array of fashionable fabrics. They make a utilitarian car interior look smashingly fashionable. From a practical standpoint they are also the best. Let’s face it: blow outs and spills happen. It’s nice to protect your carseat investment with a cover that is easily removed and washed. I’m also able to admit that I am ocd enough to really groove on the idea of having my kids carseat fabrics (infant and toddler seats) match each other. I like matchy accessories!

Itzy Ritzy has taken car travel ease one step further with their partnership with Wet Happened. These attractive bags (also in fashionable fabrics) contain soiled clothing and can be tossed right in the wash with the clothes so that you have less mess in your life. More fashion, less mess… I can only say “Thanks Itzy Ritzy! From the bottom of my neatnik heart!”

You know how your infant/toddler sees a stuffed animal, gets super excited, plays with it for ten minutes, and then drops it in the gutter, never to be loved again?

Come on, it’s happened to you, right? Which makes it hard, after you wise up, to commit to a stuffed purchase. But I have some good news if you still have a soft spot for cute and cuddley plush animals. Buckleyboo toys are definitely not boring.

What makes them so exciting? Buckles. Yes, buckles. Buckles may not be so thrilling to you and I, but to an exploring infant/toddler, they are the bomb. Babies start making connections and putting things together at about 15 months of age. Their minds are little sponges and their hands are busy. When they’ve explored a regular stuffie and “figured it out”, its on to the next thing. But with a Buckleyboo they’ve got a lot more to explore. First there is the concept of matching, each buckle has a different color and pattern. Then there is the fastening and finallly, by age 3 or 4, unfastening. Note: These toys will not prematurely teach your tot how to get out of their carseat, so don’t stress! They are a different kind of buckle!

Buckleyboo is a really clever toy that keeps kids occupied and learning. I always love to have a few of these “busy toys” on hand, so I was thrilled to hear about this one. Check out all the Buckleyboo animals in their shop. There is even a small Buckleyboo that is perfect for travelling with.

Who would have thought that having a mobile wifi device in my car would save me hours each day, and dollars too? I’m such a fan of Autonet mobile that I now refuse to go anywhere without it. I was even interviewed by Kurt the CyberGuy about how much Autonet has helped our family. It’s one product I recommend wholeheartedly to any and all connected parents on the go. Perfect Mother’s/Father’s day present too, in case anyone is searching.

I spend at least two to three hours a day in my car, taking my kids to their schools, their dance lessons, brownies, lacrosse practice, hebrew school, etc. I also work from home, mostly on my computer. Over the years I have become familiar with which parking lots and coffee spots have free (or paid in a pinch) wifi. I’m expert at stitching together a patchwork quilt of connectivity, here, there and everywhere. But my quilt has holes. Which means, when I need a reliable connection, I gotta go home.

Autonet mobile changes everything. It goes wherever I go, providing easy reliable internet access, turning my car into a roaming hotspot. Which means I can park the car, save the gas and take the time back. Perfect Example: It takes ten minutes each way between my kid’s dance studio and home. In the past I gave up on getting much done during this time period. I dropped the girls off, raced home to work for half an hour and raced back to pick them up. Not only am I saving 20-30 minutes of drive time now, but I’m spending the time sitting on a sunny park bench, relaxed and productive. Autonet not only works in my car – the signal works for 150 feet around the car as well. Suddenly I can blog at the beach, stream photos from the park and twitter from the sportsfield.

If only we’d had Autonet on our Car and Caboodle Blogging Roadtrip last summer! I can’t wait for this summer’s journey, I’m so excited that connectivity is not going to be an issue this year. Entertaining the kids will be easier too. Having Autonet practically replaces all your other in-car Navigation and Entertainment needs. On a recent driving daycation my daughters spent the trip watching Taylor Swift videos on You Tube, playing Webkinz and chatting on Facebook. Even my 4yr old was happy to play PBS kids games in the far back of the car. Quietly!

Later on in the trip my kids caught up on recent episodes of their favorite shows. Autonet wifi also saved the day for us when we could not find a specific grocery market on our car’s built in Navigation System. We simply logged on to Google and had the address within moments.

Autonet is about $399. The monthly subscription rate is $29. You can buy Autonet online from several retailers or purchase one at BestBuy if you live in the LA area.

Want to save $100? If you live in LA you are in luck. Here’s a coupon you can use at BestBuy. It’s good thru May 31st

I cannot help but feel like the future is here with wifi in my car. It’s the sort of thing I would have sighed wistfully about only a few short years ago, saying “if only…”.

Are you comfortable getting your car serviced? Do you know what to ask? This Video from AskPatty & Jody DeVere gives you the critical info you need and important questions to ask when taking your car in to be worked on.

Yes, that is a Smart Car outperforming a Ferrari on a drag strip. It’s actually a Smartuki, a Smart car with a Suzuki GSX-R 1100 CC 4-cylinder “Hyabusa” engine installed.

Smart cars are the laughing stock of the car world right now, overpriced, undersized and underpowered, with embarrassing 0-60 times, Premium fuel requirements, and a clownish demeanor. New in the US for 2008, they’ve been running strong in Europe for a few years now. So some enterprising Brits figured out that the Smart’s entire drivetrain bolts right out and one can with little pain drop in a 10,000 RPM screamer from a sportbike.

Now I know this is a family car magazine, and the 2-seat FourTwo doesn’t really have much relevance to us even in its’ 50-hp stock capacity, so what interest do we have in the 180-hp overstuffed screamer? Every! It’s a marvel of modern technology! It’s a go-kart with a phonebooth on top! It does wheelies and can burn rubber all day! It simply looks like it’s a lot of fun, and my mid-life crisis is inching closer and closer…

Fear not the flung pacifier! With the Pipila portable sanitizing device, pacifiers can be purified just about any time, any where. The device uses ozone and UV to kill all those nasty germs (kills up to 99.9% of them!) and does not affect the shape, smell or taste of baby’s favorite paci. It fits conveniently in a bag or in your glove compartment. Plus it is sort of funky looking. The Pipila device works with most pacifier brands.

For those of us who live in climates where a hot parked car is the norm, the Cold Seat is the answer to that issue.  It’s October and still in the high 80′s here in SoCal.  I get into my car and still blast the A/C.  I do wish sometimes it wasn’t like that.  It’s even worse when you have to put your precious baby in their seat, and you know it’s not comfortable.

How many times have you put the car on with the A/C running BEFORE you put your kids in the car?  If you do that then the Cold Seat is for you.  This ingenious product rolls up and gets placed in the freezer.  When you are going to the car you take it out of the freezer and unroll it.  Then you place it in the carseat for 5 minutes.  The car seat has cooled down tremendously and your child will not be whining about how hot their carseat is.

Just the other day I had to take my sick 4 year old to the doctor and it was 90 degrees outside.  I felt bad he wasn’t feeling well so I went to cool down the seat before he climbed in.  It was a nice bonus for a little guy who just didn’t feel well.  It’s made with a washable cover.  The whole thing is reusable as well.

The Cold Seat is not just for summer, it’s for all year round.  Just one thing don’t forget to take the Cold Seat off before placing your child in their car seat.