To tote or not to tote

Well, it seems we're in the big leagues now... Ryan has soccer. Bella has cheerleading. All the kids have swimming lessons. Which means I'm spending a lot more time away from home, with ALL the kids than I used to. And that means I have to come prepared... chairs to sit in, blankets/towels for the ground, entertainment for Felisa, hair bands and comb for Bella, snacks, water, etc.



I've always been one to tote around a lot of stuff - just in case. And I don't mind bringing everything but the kitchen sink. I just don't like looking as though I've brought everything but the kitchen sink. The last few weeks spent at the various activities has shown me that a lot of the items I'm bringing need to come to all the places we go, so I should have it all in one bag that is always ready. Another reason to have only one bag is that Ron likes to travel light. He gets impatient when I have a lot of stuff to round up and transport. So if I only have one bag, I can just grab and go, thereby avoiding the dirty looks and the exasperated sighs.



We've graduated from diaper bags (woo hoo!) so now I'm searching for the perfect "bring everything but the kitchen sink to every place under the sun" bag. I read a review of a bag over at Family Travel Gear that has lots of pockets and compartments so you don't have to dig around in the big black hole trying to find what you're looking for. Sounds good to me... one place for water, one place for snacks, one place for the cheerleading horses (ask Felisa about that one!), etc. I don't want to buy a bag sight unseen but I like the idea of pockets. I saw a couple bags at Tuesday Morning this morning that looked promising. The purple bag was smaller, and it was purple, but it was $50. There was another sport duffle with a mesh pocket for the soccer ball, but it had no price. And so the search will continue for a few more days at least...