Just when I had made friends and felt settled and comfortable in Idaho, had accepted and even grown to enjoy the idea of being there for the next few years of life the Army decided that we needed to up and move yet again. We've traded the quiet mountain life of Pocatello for a more urban life in the Columbus, Ohio area. Getting used to crowds and traffic and it taking longer than five to ten minutes to get anywhere I need to be is certainly an adjustment. I'm also still very much in the "I miss my friends! I miss my routine!" phase of relocation. It's been below freezing and snowy almost every day that we've been here so far which is such a downer, but I'm already looking ahead towards June when school is out and I will suddenly need to turn into a camp director.
An issue that I've run into summer after summer after summer is bags. What kind of bag do I need? Even though I only have one kid still in diapers, it seems like there's always a ton of just stuff that needs to be carted around. Water bottles and snacks for the day for sure, and then things that we pick up along the way like library books, red box movies, crafts we've made somewhere, etc. I have a really lovely brown leather purse that can hold quite a lot, but it's heavy to carry around all day long and not exactly something I feel okay about just chucking into the bottom of the stroller. Not to mention that my little ones don't really want to be sitting in the stroller much these days, either. I'm constantly going back and forth between a big tote bag, or a backpack. I've attempted to see if there are any blog posts out there about what other moms who don't need a diaper bag, but still need some sort of jill-of-all-trades bag carry around, but I'm not coming up with much which is why I decided to blog about my search.
Currently if I know I'm going to be out and about all day with the kidlets and want to be able to carry a lot of things in a bag that I can just toss about and not worry about it, I use my Petunia Pickle Bottom bag. (The style is the Touring Tote which is discontinued.) It's light weight, has a crossbody strap so I can be hands free, lots of pockets for organizing, and holds quite a bit. However, It's short and wide so it can feel a bit bulky when it's packed. I'm always finding myself wishing it were a bit taller. I also don't love all the weight being on just one shoulder. Logic says I should look into carrying a backpack for summer, but ugh. They're just not the cutest things ever.
What kind of bag do you use during the summer when you're out and about with kids? Backpack? Tote? Crossbody? Do you just make your kids carry their own bags and sherpa their own things themselves?
