HELP! I'm Trapped In My Car with My Kids!!

"Busy" used to be how I described my old life. My pre-adoption, pre-house selling/house-house hunting, pre incontinent dog life. You know, the life when all I had to think about was taking care of my two kids, my family, my volunteer stuff, my house stuff (laundry for days and days, my gosh where does it all come from!!), and feeding and keeping everyone alive, and as a bonus, get to have a social life. I would get to relax. I would go to girls nights and have fun, i.e. not still be stressed out from the day. I would visit with friends and not have racing through my head all the places I still had to be and go that day. Oh, how I LONG for the busy days.
Now my life feels like it is in an utter tailspin. I mean, I guess when people ask, I still describe it as busy, but I think ridiculous would be a better word. I have to give a big thank you to Erin for giving me the best little mini vacation morning last Thursday. I was just at her house, but I swear it was like I was at a spa. She did an amazing job on my hair, and even gave me warm hot chocolate made with milk. There is something about taking care of yourself in the midst of chaos, and well lets face it, about having great hair, that can change your attitude about just about anything. I have never had great hair, or anything close to it, but Erin has me on the right track. It is good to have a friend who will be honest with you about things like that, and even better if she is an actual professional hair stylist. Thank you Erin! I didn't feel like a crazy person for at least the rest of the afternoon!
I am trying my best to keep a semblance of balance for the kids and their social lives, which is making my world shrink to the size of my van. Soccer, play groups, play overs with friends, after school playground time, I have to make time for them so that the looong trips in the car driving all over Austin won't feel so claustrophobic. And we have been having quite a few long car rides all together lately.
Have you ever felt trapped in your car with your kids? Because that is exactly how I feel. Adeline now hates getting dressed first thing in the morning because she knows it means we have to go somewhere and that means AUSTIN TRAFFIC all the way down Mopac. I told her that it makes me want to cry too. She didn't seem to understand. Tell me your tricks for surviving in traffic stress free with your kids. Maybe you can change my life!!