Traveling With Forgetful Teens

If I had a dollar for every time I've had to remind my teenage daughter not to forget her bag, cell phone, MP3, gloves and keys behind when we're traveling, I'd have just enough money to replace them....for that month. It's a good thing we had e*tickets for our train trip this past weekend otherwise she would have lost those, too.

I did a show down in Bethesda, Maryland over the past weekend. It was wonderful. Not only did we stay in a Hilton, (which believe it or not, I find caters greatly to children) so the kids got to swim despite the frigid temps outdoors, but we were so close to D.C. that we spent a marvelous day sightseeing. It was fun and educational. My daughters, especially my 9-year-old, just finished a whole section in school on Martin Luther King, Jr. So she was thrilled to see the Stone Of Hope and the Lincoln Memorial. She regaled me with stories of MLK and so many of the important dates surrounding his short life. She actually remembered the year he was born too, I was so proud. Not to be outdone, my teenager chimed in with the correct year and location of his assassination...yet, she couldn't remember where she put her bra the night before! She only had two days’ worth of clothes with her but she still managed to lose her bra over night! Kill me. Where the h*ck could it be? (Probably in the same place she left her room key.) We checked behind the bed, the couch...we never found it.

She drove me absolutely batty this past weekend. I even made her write a list ahead of time with all the items she needed to bring with her and ultimately bring back too. She lost the list three times during packing! We were only gone for 48 hours but preparing her and trying to keep her in check was exhausting. Needless to say, I didn't forget to have a big ole drink once my show was over. She suffers from ADHD so organization is a skill she is sorely lacking anyway so I'm all about lists and keeping on top of her but this teenage forgetfulness is like Extreme ADHD - it's Attention Deficit Disorder in High Def.

Please tell me what to do with this person. I've tried: lists; the old "if you've forgotten it you'll have to go without it" routine (which never seems to make much of an impression); making her pay replacement costs (at this point she owes me hundreds); and just taking things away from her till she earns them back by showing responsibility. Nothing seems to be working. She actually didn't mind going without a bra for the day. She thought it was more comfortable then wearing one and believe me, she needs one. She wasn't embarrassed at all. The whole thing was so frustrating and enervating that I'm actually thinking of planning a holiday without her this summer. No kidding. I'll still do a family holiday with all three of us but I'll definitely just do one for my younger daughter and I as we both need a break from Allison. 

Did you ever plan a holiday without your teenaged children? What did or do you do to help 'manage' them while you're all together sharing a hotel room?