"How do you do it?"

People keep asking me, "How do you do it?"

I guess a twenty-eight hour drive alone with two kids and a dog does sound pretty daunting. But I must say that this year's cross-country drive couldn't have gone much better.

In fact, hours one through twenty-six were dang near perfect. The last two hours when the kids were hopped up on car snacks and I was exhausted weren't as much fun, but they were still okay. Throw in some good weather and hardly any traffic and we had it made.

Oh, and I must proclaim that if I ever meet the inventor of the personal, portable DVD player, I owe him a big, huge, wet kiss of gratitude. And I might just stop into the Crayola factory on the way home and pass on my deep appreciation for Color Wonders. Those things rock!

Besides the fact that my husband isn't with us, our extra long summer vacation is going very well so far. We dropped him off at the airport and said our goodbyes with very little drama. Our trip to see Grandma, Grandpa and the cousins completely distracted the kids.

I think the next time someone asks me, "How do you do it?" I'm going to tell them that I do it with technology, good planning, and the best team a mom ever had.