So what are we going to do?  We’re “chillaxing”, a word my 10-year old coined, and like every summer we’re heading off on a big road trip.  We’re a road trip family.  We have trekked from Connecticut to Arkansas, Florida, Chicago, and to Wisconsin (on numerous occasions!) and we have done it with three little guys in tow.  Every time we embark on a big trip I get a bit anxious about how the boys are going to do and every time they amaze me.  Of course we’ve learned a few tricks along the way….Here are a few tips to keep in mind to not only survive, but to enjoy your family road trip this summer.

When planning a road trip you want to think beyond the logistics of where you are going and the things you need to pack for the destination.  Think about the trip itself, about ways that you can save money, pack for comfort and entertain the whole family along the way.  With these items in check you will go a long way toward curing the “Are we there yet?” blues.

Hidden costs can sneak up on you when you hit the road but a little advance planning goes a long way! For instance rest stop purchases can add up to a lot of cash!  Why not pack your own, healthy food including some sandwiches, fruit, drinks and some healthier treats.

Raisinets now has Cranberry Raisinets and their newest addition is Cherry Raisinets. Have you tried these yet?  If you like the original you’re going to love these. Real fruit, chocolate…Yum!  And they come in resealable packages so they’re great for taking on the road. I also really like their 100-calorie pack because I can enjoy guilt-free without getting out of control.  I should also mention that the kids may enjoy seeing the Raisinet characters on their road trip adventure on www.youtube.com/raisinets.  Very cute!

Another great way to save money with a tad bit of advance planning is to look for a family-friendly hotel that is comfortable, provides continental breakfasts and offers various ways to save.  And don’t be timid to ask if kids can stay free!  Baymont Inn and Suites is often our choice where we feel right at home.  With almost 250 locations around the country they are easy to find and kids do in fact stay for free!  I also love the suites…. Kids get their room, we get ours… everyone is happy.  As for money savers, they are currently offering a discount for US Youth Soccer members, early birds save big by booking ahead and they’re also part of a terrific rewards program called Wyndham Rewards where you can earn free nights and more for your stays!

Also, check out the contest going on right now– the “I Heart My Hometown” sweepstakes where you can enter on their website for a chance to win a few free nights at one of their hotels.

As for comfort, make sure everyone is comfortable, including you! Dress the kids in loose clothing, bring their favorite blanket and pillows and hopefully they’ll nap along the way. And if travelling with a baby remember to factor in diaper stops. But you can keep the baby drier longer by using Pampers with Dry Max diapers. They offer the Cruisers for toddlers and Swaddlers for the little babes. They’re thinner which means more comfort for baby and easier packing for you as they take up less space in travel bags. I wish they had these diapers when my kids were at that stage,… I have a few big-time leakage stories that have become part of our road trip family lore! By the way, Pampers has received great cudos for this diaper from Parenting Magazine’s Mom Test panel and it is the winner of the iParenting Media and Mom’s Choice awards.

Have fun and keep everyone entertained! I love singing and hokey eye-spy type of games but after about a half hour the kids have had enough of my entertainment. Remember to pack plenty for them to do – from coloring to puzzle games to books, movies and handheld games. If you have a laptop with an air card – they can read all along the way with a subscription to DisneyDigitalBooks.com – they have 600 books to keep them reading in the car or any WiFi equipped stop you make along the way. The books are offered at every level, there is an age-appropriate dictionary to help readers define words they don’t know and a story-builder feature that allows children to create their own memorable stories. Love it! And if you have an iPad, Disney has three apps for kids: Toy Story, Toy Story 2 and Princess and the Frog.

Also, if your kids have a Nintendo DS be sure to check out Tetris Party Deluxe. It’s a new twist on one of the world’s most popular games and it’s rated E for everyone.

With over 20 game modes you kids will be entertained for hours, creating custom puzzles, or playing against each other in the multiplayer mode.

Have a safe, fun and relaxing road trip!!

Thanks to our sponsors for this great information!

This article is sponsored by: Disney, Pampers, Baymont Inn and Suites, Nestle and Tetris Party.

This year, I realize Mother’s Day is not all about me. I think about how many women “mother” my children in some way, and realize I just can’t take all the credit. I believe mother’s day is a great opportunity to acknowledge the circle of women who shape and mold their lives, and mine. Women like the aunts, neighbors, teachers, counselors, mentors, or special ballet instructors- all of them deserve to be recognized for their role of mothering.

I am a mother of four, and all of them challenge me beyond my singular skills. Luckily, each have been touched by various women who see in them something I can’t, relate to them in a new way that amazes me, or teach me something about myself that helps me to become a better mother. Can any woman mother alone? Ask one, and she will tell you it’s impossible. It takes a gaggle, a village, a LOT of people to raise a child.

Sometimes the journey of motherhood involves the hello and good bye of our husbands or partners, and we are left alone to mother. Sometimes motherhood is the tough pill to swallow of having a new woman in your kid’s lives, and letting go of being the only mother figure around. I also know that eventually, an acceptance comes that another woman’s hands are helping to shape our children, and with it a choice to take the high road or the low road.

Many women who mother our kids are shoved in the dark labels of our collective female archetypes: Step-Mothers and Ex-Wives. I believe they deserve a little credit on Mother’s Day too. Where’s the acknowledgement or gratitude for their efforts?

I am a mother. I am also a step-mother, and an ex-wife. I was a single mother too. Each role carries its own rules, regulations and expectations. You are supposed to hate the women who come after you in relationships. Kids are not supposed to like their step-parents, even if they really want to. But, sometimes, with time and mindfulness, these women can be a gift to our kids. Kids benefit if both women can rise above resentment, and embrace the moving on.

I am very fortunate to be dear friends with my husband’s ex-wife. We spend many holidays at her house, and we both are very grateful for the mutual respect and camaraderie we have developed. She has no ties to my children, and every reason to ignore us all together, yet she allows my daughters to romp through her shoe closet, and engages in intellectual long talks with my older son that he savors.

I also have a great relationship with my ex-husband’s girlfriend, who teaches my daughter how to make Italian dinners that are beyond my culinary expertise. Both of these women have played a significant role in helping to shape my children’s lives. When do they get flowers? When is it going to be ok for mother’s to officially band together and raise our children in the village it truly is?

People often look at me as if I have two heads when they hear about our strange family ties. For me, it is source of pride, hard work, surrendering ego, and reaching for the highest common denominator.

Want a great new twist on Mother’s Day sure to increase your happiness levels and make you smile? Write a group email to all the women who have touched your children’s lives, and wish them a Happy Mother’s Day too.

LifestyleMom contributor Kari Henley is a featured columnist for The Huffington Post, has her own consulting practice, and is an expert in group facilitation. She is the mother of four and in her “spare” time she is serving as the President of the Board of Directors at the Women and Family Life Center in Guilford, CT

Today’s guests, TODAY Show’s JOY BAUER and health care professional and author BETH IRVINE are both gals that are passionate about helping American’s live a healthier life.  Joy Bauer, as always, will be sharing some healthy nutritious ideas but this time she’ll be focusing on must-have ingredients to slenderize your kitchen and healthy versions of family favorites from her new cookbook Slim & Scrumptious.  Beth Irvine’s special focus is on creating a healthy life from the inside out and today she’ll be chatting about conventional versus alternative medicine and the healing benefits of relaxation.  Remember what that is?!  We hope you can join us!

Beth Aldrich is the CEO/founder and Editor-in-Chief of ForHerInformation.com, where healthy, conscious-minded readers can go for inspiration, ideas and solutions to improve their lives and that of the planet. Through her company, For Her Information Media, LLC, Beth has produced and hosted the PBS TV series For Her Information (appearing nationally in 60 cities as well as in Turkey and Israel), the Seattle satellite radio show A Balanced Life, and the online (formerly print) magazine and newsletter for women, FHI Online. Beth is also a healthy lifestyle-green living expert and Certified Health Counselor through Columbia University and the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in NYC. Beth is currently building a “green” home in Chicago’s north shore with her husband and three sons.

Tracey Mallett has become an International Fitness Icon to millions of moms and working women across the world. During and after Tracey’s first pregnancy, she gained over 55 pounds so she knows first hand what it takes to get back into shape, particularly after a pregnancy. Tracey is a Master Pilates Instructor, a certified personal trainer and fitness instructor as well as a certified sports nutritionist. Tracey is the author of two critically acclaimed books, “Super Fit Mama” (2009, Da Capo Press) and “Sexy in 6” (2008, Da Capo Press), as well as the creator, producer and star of over seventeen internationally released exercise DVD programs. Tracey is a media darling and some of her regular gigs include being a contributor for Prevention Magazine, Pilates Style, Shape, Fitness Magazine, Women’s Health, Fit Pregnancy, and Self. You can also catch Tracey as a guest fitness expert on Perfectly You TV, a women’s national lifestyle show, as well as Fox and Friends, The Balancing Act Lifetime, The Martha Stewart Radio Show, Hannity and Colmes, Better TV, as well as numerous regional programs across the country.

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Welcome to the “Amy Show.”  Today’s guests, AMY MCCREADY and AMY HILBRICH DAVIS are parenting experts extraordinaire who will be helping us achieve some ever-elusive balance in our lives.  Amy McCready will be sharing with us some tips on how we can avoid over-scheduling our families and what we can do to manage the chaos if we’re not seeing much free-time on the calendar.  Amy Hilbrich Davis will share how we can benefit from knowing our strengths and weaknesses so we can create our own personal roadmap to balance, success and happiness.  We hope you can join us!

Amy McCready, parenting coach and founder of Positive Parenting Solutions, Inc., developed the popular and successful Breakthrough Course that has changed the lives of thousands of parents through in‐person seminars, speeches and online webinars. Due to demand from parents around the country and abroad, Positive Parenting Solutions Online was developed in 2008 to give parents everywhere the skills, knowledge and tools to correct their children’s misbehaviors permanently without nagging, reminding or yelling. Amy’s parenting tips and tools have earned her national attention as a parenting expert – she was recently quoted in The New York Times article entitled “For Some Families, Shouting is the New Spanking” and has also appeared as a guest on TODAY, MSNBC, FOX, ABC News and SIRIUS XM Radio. She is a sought after speaker, writer, parenting coach, trainer and most importantly – Mom!

Amy Hilbrich Davis is the happy mother of seven (can you believe 7 kids came out of this little body!) and the founder of inspiring Moms, a company that provides professional development for the job of mom. Her newest product is the Balance Map, which is a personalized roadmap to help moms find greater balance, success and happiness in just 15 minutes. You can find more information at www.inspiringmoms.com.

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Today’s guests, LINE ROTHMAN and CANDI CARTER are two successful mom entrepreneurs who are sure to both inspire, educate and give us the real scoop on what it’s like to both grow a business and grow a family. Line Rothman is the founder, and creative director of Glamourmom, the award-winning manufacturer of stylish and functional apparel for pregnant and nursing moms. Candi Carter is a producer extraordinaire who has put her talent to work with her new award-winning DVD and CD series for young children, “It’s Hip Hop Baby!” We hope you join us!

Line Rothman is the founder, creative director and mompreneur of Glamourmom LLC, a leading manufacturer of stylish and functional apparel for pregnant and nursing moms with distribution and patents worldwide. The brand and business started with Line’s idea of a patented built-in nursing bra tank in year 2000 when she had her first daughter. Her inspired original product design received the JPMA Innovation Award from The Juvenile Products Manufacturing Association in 2006. Line’s designs have been recognized in many national and international publications and she was nominated the “momprenuer of the month” of March 2010 in Pregnancy Magazine. Glamourmom LLC recently opened a showroom in New York City. Line lives in Rye, New York with her husband and three children. To learn more go to www.glamourmom.com.

Candi Carter, television producer and mom entrepreneur, has quite a resume in the TV world, first as an Emmy Award winner for Outstanding Children’s Programming while at WISN-TV-ABC in Milwaukee, WI and now as award-winning senior producer for an international talk show based in Chicago, IL. Two and ½ years ago, Candi launched the children’s entertainment company “Go Child Grow” which produces educational DVD’s, CD’s and products for toddlers and preschoolers. The debut DVD, “It’s Hip Hop, Baby! All Your Child’s Favorites,” is the recipient of the iParenting Media Award. This year, Candi launched the full product line nationwide with three additional DVDs and a CD. The new product line includes “It’s Hip Hop, Baby! Get Healthy Get Fit”- “It’s Hip Hop, Baby! Things We Do Everyday”- “It’s Hip Hop, Baby!- Rockin’ Dance Party”- and the CD “It’s Hip Hop, Baby! Fruit.” Candi lives in Oak Park, IL with her husband Joseph Carter, their six year-old son Emerson Carter and 1 year-old daughter Lily. For more information go to www.ItsHipHopBaby.com.

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Today’s guests, Jean Chatzky and Amy Tiemann are sure to spark some really smart conversation that will spur you to take control of both your financial and parenting lives. Our first guest, TODAY Show Financial Editor Jean Chatzky will be sharing with us some of things you should consider, financially speaking, when deciding to work versus stay home with the kids, the benefits and possible pitfalls to working from home, and getting out of your own way so you can make money, not excuses. Amy Tiemann, the Mojo Mom (love that name!), will be chatting with us today about how we parents need to rise to the challenge of being courageous so that we can successfully raise confident kids. We hope you join us!

Jean Chatzkyis the financial editor of NBC’s TODAY Show and is known by millions for her incredible ability to make difficult financial subjects understandable to everyday people. Jean hosts her own show on Oprah radio, she is a featured columnist for More magazine and the New York Daily News and she is the author of numerous books, the most recent beingMoney 911: Your Most Pressing Money Questions Answered, Your Money Emergencies Solved. She is also the author of Pay it Down, Make Money Not Excuses (specifically targeting we women!) and The Difference, the focus of which is to help people thrive in a tough economy. For more information go to www.JeanChatzky.com.

Amy Tiemann, Ph.D. is a multimedia publisher, educator, and catalyst for social change. She is the celebrated author of Mojo Mom and founder of MojoMom.com. Tiemann reaches a global audience through her books, articles, podcasts, national radio tours and TV appearances, including NBC’s Today Show. She collaborates with the contributors to this new book, Courageous Parents, Confident Kids, to lead the way to a new era of empowered parenting, based on creativity, connection, and action. Learn more at www.MojoMom.com

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Today’s guests, Amy Tara Koch and Debbie Wright are two stylin’ mamas and after spending an hour with them you can be too. Amy is a beauty and style expert extraordinaire, author of the soon-to-be released Bump It Up: Transforming Your Pregnancy Into The Ultimate Style Statement and today she will be sharing with us some great ways to go from frumpy to fabulous during your pregnancy. Debbie, the founder of Project Closet, is known as the Confidence Building Stylist because her focus is on creating more than great outfits; she focuses on creating confident women. Deb will share with us some tips on how we busy moms can quickly add some style into our everyday lives. We hope you can join us!!

Amy Tara Koch is a Chicago based freelance journalist with national reach. Koch is the trend reporter for NBC (WMAQ-TV) and host of THE INC LIFE, INC Magazine’s online trend show. She contributes to Town & Country, The New York Times, Travel & Leisure, American Way, Self, Daily Candy, Healing Lifestyles and Spas, Chicago Magazine, Michigan Avenue Magazine, Chicago Tribune, NPR and Huffington Post. From 2003-2006, Koch was a style columnist for the Chicago Tribune. From 2007-2008, she served as style and beauty expert for iVillage producing and hosting video content and blogging about trends. Her first book Bump It Up: Transforming Your Pregnancy Into The Ultimate Style Statement will be published by Random House/Ballantine on March 23rd.

Deborah Wright is a co-author of the soon-to-be released book Inspired Style and has been a professional wardrobe consultant since 1991. She is a featured contributor every Tuesday on Better CT TV, Channel 3, WFSB most noted for her ambush makeover segment, fashion news and trend reporting. She can also be heard weekly on CBS Radio, The Damon Scott Show, reporting her style finds and giving fashion advice to commuters on their drive home and is a fashion contributor to the Mary Jones Show. Through her extensive retail and corporate experience working for top Fortune 100 companies she now has a portfolio of clients that span across the U.S. Project Closet opened its doors in 1997 offering personal shopping services, closet makeovers, image workshops and fashion show production.

About the LifestyleMom Radio Café

The LifestyleMom Radio Café is an internet radio talk show for women who desire information, inspiration and lively girlfriend-to-girlfriend conversation about the topics that matter to them most. Host Dana Hilmer serves up a delicious blend of entertaining and thought-provoking banter with some of today’s most inspiring women. Pull up a chair, pour yourself a fresh cup and enjoy. Better yet, call in and join the conversation!

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We’ll be chatting today with guests Kim Orlando and Deb Heinrich. Kim, the TravelingMom will share with us some great tips and ideas for spring break, road trips and the ins and outs house swapping for a getaway of your dreams. And Deb, prominent local politician and family advocate, will be providing insights on how we parents can stay a savvy step (or two!) ahead of our techno-kids and how we moms really do have the power to make a difference. We hope you can join us!!

Kim Orlando has created a gig for herself that most women would only dream of. She is the founder of TravelingMom™, the nation’s top Website and Blog Network dedicated to improving, inspiring and empowering the travel experience of moms everywhere in the world. As a media source on moms who travel, she has been featured in leading newspapers and publications, including Forbes.com, CBS News Blog, BetterTV.com and the Montel Williams Show. Kim lives in Connecticut and is happy to be sharing her love of travel with her three young children.

Deb Heinrich is serving her third term in the Connecticut House of Representatives. She is the Vice Chairman of the Budget Committee and also serves on the Public Health and Education Committees. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Women and Family Life Center in Guilford, the Madison A Better Chance Advisory Board and the Madison Land Conservation Trust. She is a scientist by training with a PhD in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics and she lives in Madison, CT with her husband and two young children.

About the LifestyleMom Radio Café

The LifestyleMom Radio Café is an internet radio talk show for women who desire information, inspiration and lively girlfriend-to-girlfriend conversation about the topics that matter to them most. Host Dana Hilmer serves up a delicious blend of entertaining and thought-provoking banter with some of today’s most inspiring women. Pull up a chair, pour yourself a fresh cup and enjoy. Better yet, call in and join the conversation!

Listen LIVE

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Tuesdays 10:00 AM PST (1:00 PM EST)

Join the Conversation

Call-in during the show and chat with us

(818) 602-4929

If you cannot call-in please feel free to submit a question for the guest and it will be asked on the show. Email your question to dana@lifestylemom.com

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