Roadtrippin' with my two favourite allies.

Back in the olden days, there were no DVD players for the car. Because DVD's weren't invented yet.

Both of my sisters had two children in quick succession ... in recent years I watched as one sister and then the other relented, buying DVD players for their cars. For long trips. I thought they were such a luxury.

I have resisted for so long. Dave asked me about it once - "Nope. I was bored in cars when I was a kid and it didn't kill me." No it didn't, but then again, this is what my youngest child turns into halfway through a long car trip:

                               Damien? Is that you?

Squashed into his forehead is the red crayon from the pack of crayons I bought him, to do some "fun playtime in the car."

The following week, I bought a DVD player with two headsets - OH MY GOD. It's changed my car-journeying life. The silence .... she is GOLDEN.

Back when Dave and I were just, like, boyfriend/girlfriend ... I used to make him mix tapes. (Except they were CDs, I was being ironic.) I'd call them things like "Davey Gravy .. with a Bullet! Or "Davez Eazter Hitz!" .. and take into account where he was travelling to. Sometimes to his annual African drumming camp at Bundagen, sometimes just down to his mums and back. I'd plan and plot those songs and agonise over which order to put them in. He needed something cruisy to start off with, then hardcore rock, reflective/bluesy ... and back to cruisy. He loved them.

I am the boss of music in our relationship ... he fully thinks he turned me on to Eminem with the Recovery album. The only way I could convince him otherwise was to break out into the full rendition of Cleanin' out my Closet circa 2001. We were out in public at the time and he hissed at me - Ok ok you found him first now SHUT UP.

Sometimes, I find an old CD mix tape that I made him and put it on ... how badly do songs remind you of the time you first heard them? Songs at the beginning of our relationship were Drops of Jupiter by Train, or Smooth by Rob Thomas and Santana. Completely vanilla. I grab Dave and remind him urgently. "Remember, hon? Remember back when it was just us and we'd go for drives and you'd light my ciggie for me in that old bomb ute?"

Back before everything got so bloody complicated.

Music is my essential part of any roadtrip. Rocco even has his own album, called "Do Fun Stuff." I would like to thank Ryan from Pacing the Panic Room for the song "Potty Time." You helped my child not take dumps on the floor, Ryan. I owe you. Big time.

What's your car music? Have you relented like me and bought a DVD player for the car? Or do you think the olden days were better?

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This is a Kidspot Top 50 post on the theme "Roadtrip." The Ford has a DVD player in the ceiling. Technically, I could have two different DVD players, playing at the same time. My kids would never get out of the car.