FAMILY DATE: PICNICS IN THE PARK

This year started off non-stop…and it shows no signs of slowing down. And I don’t mind it because I love my job and I love traveling…but having two toddlers can be challenging when your career is demanding. One of my challenges is to ensure that the energy that I put towards work and my passion projects – I give that and more to my kids. And by the time I get home at the end of the day..I’m barely at 5%. So the weekends are when I look forward to spending the most time with them. My Saturdays and Sundays are devoted to my children and what they want to do.

I had to leave town this past Friday for a quick business trip – but before I left – Miss Bobbi requested that we have a picnic over the weekend. Genius idea on her part. Open park time (run free children – burn all that energy!!) beautiful weather, and an excuse to have wine and cheese in the park sounded great to me. But after flying back home on Saturday morning…running home to get the kids ready to head to their big brother’s birthday party, I was really looking forward to a Sunday in bed – catching up on all of my favorite ratchet TV shows. Wishful thinking.

I reached out to two of my mom friends. We all have toddlers around the same age – just months apart….and there’s even a 4-month old baby in the mix. We all lean on each other for advice, to vent, to watch each other’s kids and even pass down clothes. (With a stylist in our group – we’re winning!) I appreciate having other moms and dads in my circle that I work with, vacation with, party with AND play date with! It gave me a boost of energy, knowing that they would be on-site with their kids as well.

Picnic in the park; Family date — A few members from the cool kids crew: Miss Bobbi, Nyla and Prince hanging out on the rocks at South Pointe.

We went to our favorite spot – South Pointe on Miami Beach. It’s the perfect setting with beautiful scenery of the water and lots of greenery. There’s a CLEAN and safe playground that offers something for toddlers and the big kids. There’s lots of space to play football or just run around…and you’re steps away from the beach if you want to take a dip in the water.

Playtime; picnic in the park — Miss Bobbi and AJ’s favorite spot

Picnics are quickly becoming one of our favorite family past times. I created this list of helpful reminders that I thought I would share to ensure a successful picnic day!

Picnic Checklist

Picnic Blanket: love this one from Amazon.com. Or you can always use an old quilt that no longer works from your bedroom.

Picnic Basket: While I love the look of a gingham lined picnic basket; its just not practical with kids. I love the picnic backpacks that leaves you hands free to wrangle your children.

Snacks: I like to pack a cheese board and fill up a nice rectangular sized tupperware with a variety of fruit. My kids faves are grapes, apples, watermelon, strawberries and bananas. Most of them can be cut up the night before and stored in the fridge so you can grab and go day of. The pre-cut cheese cubes or cheese sticks wrapped in turkey slices are great options for snacks throughout the day. My cheese board includes gouda cubes, brie slices and mozzarella sticks. Don’t forget the crackers! Mini sandwiches (Peanut butter + jelly, turkey sandwiches) are easy to pack as well.

I try to feed my children lunch before we leave the house. That way – I just need to worry about light food and snacks at the park. If you’re feeding your child a hot meal for lunch at the park – pre-pack it in tupperware and warm up before leaving the house!

Drinks: My choice of drinks for the kids is Honest Kids juice pouches. And I fill their thermos with water.

Paper goods: Your normal paper towels, plates, disposable utensils. And I also pack a garbage bag to collect trash throughout the day and jumbo ziplock bags for any leftovers that I want to take back home. Sidenote: I don’t leave home without ziplock bags – they are the perfect catch all!

Music: We actually forgot our portable boom box at our last picnic – and interestingly enough – no one missed the music. Between talking and hearing the families playing, kids laughing – we had enough background noise! But next time – we won’t forget it because there’s nothing like Bob Marley playing on a beautiful breezy day.

Toys for kids: For my son, I bought a mini-football and soccer ball to kick around in the park. And for my daughter – I bought along her tea set so we can have a tea party on site. Those were perfect for the moments that they actually wanted a break from the playground. And it kept them from climbing all over me and distract me from the main event of the picnic – which is….

Wine! For the adults who have to endure hours of playtime, don’t forget to bring a chilled bottle of white wine or Rosé for the occasion. And I love these Govino Shatterproof Wine Glass to take on the road.

Other essentials: