Staving Off Mommy Guilt Via Advanced Planning

Levi's first baseball practice was last week on what seemed like the coldest day this year. The long sleeves I put on the kids were useless in the face of biting wind. Not the best of times to discover that Casey had cleaned out the trunk of my car for me...taking all the jackets inside. So how come I was still the one feeling guilty about my freezing little ones? Cause I'm the mommy, that's why. But my friend Debbie came to the rescue pulling hoodies out of the back of her van like some kind of supermom, wordlessly reminding me that I need to get our "on the go" stuff organized. Through the winter we stayed home a lot, just venturing out for church and our library's storytime. But now that baseball has started up we'll be running a lot more and running with a baby and a toddler (and a preschooler...and, oh did I mention, a kindergartener?) requires much more stuff. And so I must organize the stuff. Also, organizing the stuff is a handy way to avoid trying to figure out why I feel threatened when other moms appear to have it more together than I do. Cause really, that's a whole other post.
So...what does one need to keep several small children warm or cool (you just know as soon as I remember to put sweatshirts in the car it will be 99 degrees), fed, entertained, safe, clean (enough), and out of (too much) mischief?

• sweatshirts or jacket
• baby wipes and diapers
• a small first aid kit
• a potty seat lined with a diaper in a plastic bag
• paper towels
• extra clothes & underwear for babies and toddlers
• a throw blanket and/or plastic tablecloth for picnics or for sitting on when the ground is wet
• Tylenol & Benedryl ( I might add Valium to this list later)
• plastic bags and baggies
• sunscreen
• a hand broom to knock the sand of the playground set before they get in the car
• drinks and snacks
• toys, paper and crayons or markers (which would hold up better in a hot trunk? Probably markers, huh?)

I have a rubbermaid container in the trunk that usually holds most of this stuff, but I may need to upsize a tad. On the one hand, I like to be a simple mom.

Need a drink? There's the water fountain.

Want a snack? Use your money.

Bored? Go play on the playground.

But my kids are too little for all that simpleness to be very effective. One mom with four kids (one who's yelling "hey, mom, watch this" like every.five.seconds.) is NOT simple and I need to just admit that and move on. So what am I forgetting on this list? What other possible scenarios could I be prepared for?