Baby Tea Leaves: March 2009

Tuesday

iHeartFaces: Pets

So I've tried, but I just can't let this week go by without telling you about Putty during Pet Week on i Heart Faces (by the way it's pronouced Putty like Putty Tat as Tweety Bird would say.)

She has kind of an odd face, I know. But that's part of her charm.

When I was living in New York in my teensy tiny studio apartment on 49th street, my friend's sister needed someone to catsit for a couple days while she moved. Three weeks later...

I found that I loved her company. There, but not...minds her own business, comes out to keep me company sometimes, a little purring...the perfect roommate really. And that's all she wrote. I asked if I could just keep her and then Putty became mine. She's this tiny little 6 pound kitty cat who is very dainty (whenever I would try to give her a french fry, she wouldn't eat it unless it were on the floor. On a napkin.) And yes, I figured that out myself.

She's so quiet you'd hardly know she was around. She has a TON of hair when it all grows out, you can hardly find her face. And sometimes, you just find her sitting in the oddest places with this look on her face like, "What?!"

I found her sitting in the high chair once like she was waiting to be served. (I still have no idea how she actually got in it.) What makes it so funny is that she's so not the type to climb into random places. She goes about her business, she actually is not that sociable and absolutely does.not. like being picked up and petted. Which was a hard fact for me to get over since I love to love my pets and pet them and hug them. So finding her in places like a high chair and sitting on the toilet always cracks me up. After I run to grab the camera of course...

Anyway, Putty moved to Utah with me and kept me company, then moved back to sunny Florida with me and met my husband who also has a soft spot in his heart for her. So here's Putty. On the Potty. Because why wouldn't she be.

See more great pet pics at i Heart Faces!

Happy Wedding!

Congratulations to my beautiful sister-in-law and her new husband on their marriage over the weekend!!

It was such a beautiful ceremony. And sunny Florida in March really is beautiful. Even though it can be a little windy...

My son was the ring bearer.

He did pretty good walking from way far away all the way down to where he was supposed to go. Without even running. He did hug the pillow the whole way (the one with the fake rings on it...) and if you scroll back up to look at the happy couple, you'll see a fountain.

(The pillow almost ended up there.)

When my son got sidetracked by the pretty fountain and the running water, which to an almost three-year-old is like kid-catnip. He got so excited he completely forgot he was supposed to complete the walk by standing next to the groom.

Except for the discreet panicky mommy yelling which I like to call the "yell-whisper" -- the raspy whisper that is the loudest possible whisper just one decible below actual yelling. But still discreet enough for people to know you're not really yelling...

Besides that, he did well.

Oh I just love tiny suits, don't you?

And then, there's the part just after the dessert but just before naps...

It was a good day. Congratulations guys! Love you!

PS. softball update: no hit yet. There's still next week...

Monday

Mantra Monday: Achieving Potential Part II

Softball starts tonight.

Again.

Down here we play year-round. I started playing again over the summer last year after an almost 4 year hiatus. I had wanted to lose the babyweight before playing again and didn't want to be "bouncing" around the bases.

So when I finally got to a weight I thought I could sprint at, I joined a team as an "orphan" and some random team that needed a girl picked me up. And for not having played in four years, I did pretty good. And my team rocked! We've since played two more seasons. The fall season was awesome. I was actually on some great hitting streak, which was pretty amazing for me.

Then it hit. The slump. And it all started at the tail end of the fall when someone yelled, "You got it girl! Just hit one of your singles!"

Which when you're on a hitting streak, is supposed to have been a compliment. But what annoyed me was the fact that yes, I was on a hitting streak, but I was only hitting singles. Nothing spectacular. And since someone had taken the time to yell that out, it was pretty common knowledge that I commonly hit singles.

So what did I do?

I flied out of course.

Because I'm playing in my head again. And we finished out the season, started the winter season and we had three games before I got a hit in '09. In fact, I remember thinking that since I played right field and no one's hit anything to me in a while, that I hardly contributed anything as a player. Except maybe a couple of walks because I'm short. And I have a little strike zone.

So I'm going to continue with last week's mantra, "Achieve your potential," because I know I'm better than that. It's time for me to get out of my own head and have a hit. A good hit that takes me at least to second base. But yes, I'll walk before I run (scuse the pun) first and actually focus on hitting and getting to first because apparently this is a problem for me. I need this. So here's to me and the new spring softball season and a hit. Tonight.

Happy Mantra Monday!

iheartfaces: Pouty face!

This week's theme at i Heart Faces is "pouting" and unfortunately there is no shortage of pouting around here! There is no shortage of smiles, either, but since tragedy comes in many forms to a one and two year old, for example, God forbid someone has misplaced the beloved green blanket or needs a juice refill or is without their favorite toy because they are in timeout for hitting or wants CEREAL -- NOT WAFFLE!! after mommy already made waffles, well, the effect is the mighty pout.

Which doesn't get anyone anywhere, just in case you were wondering.

But it is pretty cute. And sometimes I have to hold back my laughter because pouting and crying over things like trucks and footballs (in the house) make me think, "Hey, if that's the worst thing going on here, we got it pretty good..."

So here is my older son's version of the pout, which is actually a "furrowed brow". I am constantly saying, "Get that look off your face," in a funny voice, which actually makes him laugh and then we laugh at it together. So here it is, the pout-slash-infamous "furrowed brow".

Check out other pouty faces at i Heart Faces!

Sunday

Winner

The winner of the book "Step Into Your Future" is Monkey's Momma! Congrats! An e-mail is headed your way!

Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday: Sleeping right through it...

I usually keep Wednesdays wordless but I think a little explanation is in order on these. Ohh my poor little boy.

My (almost) 3-year-old had an ear infection this week and a cold and a horrible cough that kept him up all night for a few nights. So we've been doing the nebulizer 4 times a day. We call it the "firemask" though, because he all but worships firefighters and they wear special masks like these when they're fighting fires, like we've seen on one of our favorite shows, "Fireman Sam". He's a trooper about it though. On this particular "firemask" session, I had sat down all ready to open up the computer, but instead I asked him if he wanted me to snuggle up with him. And to my glee, he said yes, which is huge for my little man because our snuggle days are so few and far between. So right before I took this picture, I was laying next to my little boy with my arms around him, while he had on his "firemask" and was watching Wall-E. And he fell asleep. It took all of me to not close my eyes and nap with him but I couldn't let that loud motor on the nebulizer keep going and going (darn thing). But he was sleeping pretty hard, too, because he didn't stir when I wiggled my way out, got the camera and snapped a few pictures right before carrying him off for his nap.

Sweet thing. But he's almost all better now, and I'm glad because he missed school this week and his big Spring Festival for school is on Friday and he just can't miss that!!!

Tuesday

Welcome, Ultimate Blog Party Hoppers!!

Hi!!!! So, I'm a little late to the party (as usual) but there's a huge blog party going on at 5 Minutes for Mom, including live performances (no joke!), door prizes, and partying! So here I am, and I'm even wearing my party dress!! Wanna beer? (Oh, it's too early?)

Anyway, this is really cool because it's like a real live party going on over there and it's going all week long! So I thought I might just drop in and say hi and put my party hat on. If you're here from 5 Minutes for Mom, welcome!!

So here's a little bit about me: I am a mom of two boys, one of which will be 3 on Easter, and the other of which is a year and a half. After my first son was born, I decided to put my career as a news producer on hold to stay home with him and I've been home ever since.

I used to severely miss the rush of breaking news and the creative outlet and the noise and the recognition of a job well done. But really, staying at home is just the same in other ways and this is how: I am in a constant state of heart attack like when there is an unexpected trip to the E.R. or one of the kids nearly pulls down the other one while he's still strapped in his booster chair, which is very much quite like the feeling I used to have as a producer sitting in a booth during a live show and a signal during a reporter's live shot would fail.

I get to do a lot of writing about things that interest me now through blogging, like getting fitter and healthier, cooking, mothering, wife-ing, potty training, picture-taking, and overall life-ing, and actually this is better in some ways than the writing I used to do, because that writing would be about car crashes, war, death, violence, and of course, politics... Sure there was some good news, but let's face it, there's a lot of focus on the bad these days and it's just so darned depressing. I don't like depressing.

And instead of stacking a show full of news and commercials, I'm stacking my day and the day of two other little tiny people: from 7-8 we're having breakfast. From 8-9 we're getting dressed and the little one takes a nap. There is quite possibly a pee-pee or poo-poo accident in between followed by some floor-cleaning. From 9-11:30 the older one is in school and I get some stuff done. Whatever that is. See? It's like my full day of newscast. A 24-hour newschannel of my own, if you will.

The noise? I'm sure I don't have to tell you what that sounds like though I've come to love the sounds of my house. And of course, I will probably get that much sought-after recognition of a job well done when the kids get their full scholarships to Harvard, but until then, I'll settle for the applause from their teachers on the water fountain I made for their spring festival this week.

Anyways, while my blog party photo shoot was under way, my oldest one woke up from his nap, so he joined me...

And then we did what usually happens toward the end of the party....

I know. Total party foul. When I was putting the camera on the mantle to take pictures I knocked over a picture and bam. Thousand pieces. Well, every party needs a party foul! It's usually me anyway so I'm used to it...

I also love meeting new people so welcome to this party and tell me a little about yourself!! Of course, it wouldn't be a party without a cocktail and since you're too far away for me to hand you this beer, please do try my favorite recipe for Sangria.

2 large oranges
1 large lemon
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup Triple Sec
1 jar of maraschino cherries with stems
One 750 ml. bottle inexpensive, fruity, medium-bodied red wine, chilled (I get whatever is on sale at Wal-Mart for $3. Seriously. Merlot is my favorite for Sangria.)

Slice up one orange and the lemon and put in large pitcher with sugar. Mash with wooden spoon until the fruit releases the juice and the sugar is dissolved, but don't completely mash the fruit. Juice the second orange and pour over fruit in the pitcher; stir. Add triple sec and wine, and entire jar of cherries and juice. Yes, this is more sugary stuff, but I love eating cherries out of my sangria. It reminds me of the Sangria I used to have at this little dive in New York City that I LOVED! (Guess where my wooden spoon came from! Ahhh memories.)

The Sangria is yummier the longer it sits. I've made it and let it sit for a couple of hours, but I've also let it sit overnight and overnight it is UNBELIEVEABLE!

Happy party-hopping everyone!! Nice to meet you!! Come back anytime!! Oh, and I've got a giveaway going on as I often do so click here for more on it!!! It ends Friday!! Cheers!

Monday

Mantra Monday: Potential

DON'T JUST SEE YOUR POTENTIAL. BE YOUR POTENTIAL.

(And if I could add a "Goddammit" after that line, I would.)

This is a mantra that, for me, I will carry long after this week is over. Because I've seen a part of myself recently that needs to be changed.

I've done a lot of self discovery lately through sports. Most of my life, I've been a team-sport type-a gal. I've played softball and volleyball (I know, shorty me) for as long as I remember. And for as long as I remember, I've always been good at sports. I love sports and I am good at sports and I have the potential to even be great at them. But I don't allow it.

Does that make sense? And why is that, I wonder?

I play sports in my mind. When I get into a hitting slump (like the current hitting slump of '09), it's because my mind is in a slump. My body is just fine. There is no reason my body can't hit a ball or catch a fly. I am coordinated. I am strong. It's all.in.my.mind. I've always love-hated this about myself. I am a very internal person. I let things fester, I overthink things, I tend to carry one mistake around with me in my backpack until, inevitably, I make another and there is a domino effect. And in my mind, there lives this little tiny cynical voice that continually repeats words like "can't" or "no" or "shouldn't" or "I don't know". Harmful things that question my ability to do anything. It's the thing, I'm convinced, that keeps people in all walks of life, good people, from being great. It's the thing that separates the people who live their potential from the people who just see their potential. And unfortunately, I am in the latter group.

I started to see a little of this when I started flying solo and running, in a sport where it's you versus the world and probably even more importantly, you versus yourself. I started learning a lot about my potential. As in, I see my potential. But I don't always use my potential. I see this when I see a woman my age flies by me like a gazelle.

But it really hit me when I played racquetball with my husband the other night (who is, by the way, a brilliant racquetball player. He could kill every single shot if he wanted, but he doesn't because he's nice to me.) He was joking around with me about how I let a ball go by instead of reaching out and grabbing it. And then he said something about playing doubles one day and I immediately dismissed the idea in my mind. Because, I thought, he is great, and I am just good.

And I thought, why do I always say things like this to myself? Why do I shortchange myself in this way? Of course I can be great. Of course I can compete against other people. But I treat myself like I am pretty good and leave any possibility of being great up to other people who I think are better than me.

And that's where it gets me every time. I will repeat this. I LEAVE THE POSSIBILITY OF BEING GREAT UP TO OTHER PEOPLE WHO I THINK ARE BETTER THAN ME.

What is this? Is this fear? Is this laziness? Why does this voice sit there in the back of my mind like this? Where did it come from??

Other people are off being great. And here I am just being so-so because I think I am only so-so. Even though I know I probably could be better than that.

Why! It's really rather ridiculous. I have to bring my mind to the mechanic and have them take out that old rusty part that allows me to think that I am no better than average. That part that tells me, sure, you're good but see her over there? She's better. Or, you can't do that, you don't have that experience. Or you're not really a runner so it's ok if you do a 5k in 36 minutes.

You've even seen me label myself here! I have written proof! I've called myself a "fake runner". And said that I'm not really a runner. Why? Does it give me an excuse to just be mediocre, maybe? Because that's just the attitude that will keep me running a 36 minute 5k. (Not that there is anything wrong with that, by the way, I am just measuring my own self here...)

So the more I discuss this with myself, the more I see signs of it everywhere. I get training e-mails from Active.com where I signed up for the triathlon. And ironically, do you know what was in that e-mail this week? It was called "11 Tips for Triathlon Success From a Navy Seal". No I am not a Navy Seal (although I would love to do a one-armed pushup like Demi Moore did when she was one...) But you wanna know the first tip?

"1. Eliminate self-limiting thoughts. More often than not, people have
preconceived notions about what is possible for them to achieve. They sell
themselves short. Abolish thoughts that hold you back from achieving your true
potential."

Are you kidding me????? If that's not a sign from above I don't know what is... This is me and my mantra, and hopefully for life. Because being good just isn't good enough anymore.

* * *

Grab a button and join us Mondays for Mantra Monday and share yours!

iheartfaces: no flash!!

It kills me. It really does. My kids love to play in the curtains. And I have a love-hate relationship with this. I love it because they are so cute when they're in the curtains. They pretend it's their long flowy hair, they make shadows behind them and when there's bedhead involved, it's hilarious. They play peek-a-boo... But then there's the pulling and the yanking and the curtains have fallen down more than once. And now my curtain rods are all bent and bowed and curvy where the kids have pulled on them. We've had to screw the rods in a million times over and now we have attractive holes surrounding the curtain rods, reminders for all of us of all the places where the curtain rods once lived. (And by the way, this is on my last nerve so I'm making today a spackle day.) Anyway, I can't help but take pictures of the kids when they're doing this (this is mommy sending really mixed messages about curtain playing --- wait! don't do that! let me take your picture first! ok, now you can go play somewhere else...) And this is one time when the sun was setting and the light that comes through the front window is always so beautiful, especially when there's a child in it to fall on (of course while playing in the curtains.) So for "no flash" week, I submit the following:

If you wanna see more "no flash" pictures, head on over to i Heart Faces! I absolutely love this photosharing site because I am learning so much about Photoshop and photography. I have all these fun tools but I had no idea how to use them! Well, I only sorta know how to use them now.. but one day I plan to get there.

Sunday

Blog Tour: Step Into Your Future and Giveaway

For as long as I remember, I've wanted to open up a tea room or bed and breakfast with my mom. We've already started compiling our tea room collection; tea pots, linens, and china, and every time we add to it, we feel like we're one step closer to realizing our dream.

Last year, when my mom and I really started to talk to people about our business, we spoke to the owner of a tea room that we loved and discussed the possibility of buying it from her. She wasn't going to give it up to just anyone because she had built a clientele and a great reputation in a very affluent area. She wanted to pass it on to just the right people. I felt like I had a connection with her. We had really only entertained the idea and when my mom and I went to make a reservation for tea there a couple weeks later in hopes of entertaining the idea some more, the number was disconnected. The tea room was no more.

And in hindsight, that made the reason why we visited that tea room in the first place a bit more ironic. Originally, we planned to hold my sister's baby shower at a tea room near my home. A quaint tea room with delicious food that we had grown to love. The week before the shower, they called to say they were closing unexpectedly and they were sorry but they were going to be unable to host the shower. That's how we found this other tea room; they were able to graciously accomodate us last minute. So we were saddened when we learned that just a few weeks later, it had also closed.

Was it the economy? What was making these tea rooms, a favorite of so many, suddenly close their doors? This made me worry about other women entrepreneurs whose businesses are suddenly slowing, especially because I was hoping to become a businesswoman myself. And when I saw the title of this book and the opportunity to be a part of the book tour for Step Into Your Future: A Businesswoman's Path to Profits, I jumped at it.

It may not be the right time for us (I know there will be an opening for us some day...) but I want women everywhere to have a shot at success in this trying economy. This business planning book provides business owners with, among other things, tools to help boost profits and ways to attract clientele. Here are excerpts from an interview with Rosemary Hossenlopp, the author:

“What’s specific inspiration changed your life … and why do you feel it had such
a ‘mind-shifting’ impact on you?”

Rosemary Hossenlopp: I believe in easy; an easy way to see what you
need to do and came up with a quick process that allowed me to identify steps
that accelerated my success."
“What specific incident inspired you to gather together this information and put together a book?

Rosemary Hossenlopp: "Let’s face it, being a Small Business Owner is HARD. You don’t have time to focus. You’re stressed and you rush around. You’re all over the place; catching planes, picking up kids and completing proposals and contracts. And it seems like you’re doing this all at once. You’re lost in the trees and blind to the forest.

Rosemary Hossenlopp: "The heart of success is figuring out what gets you the best results. You hear about business planning techniques that can help you focus on getting the business results you want. But you procrastinate in implementing them. I know this because I have been there too. It is overwhelming when you need to be the plumber, the accountant, the salesman and the person who delivers the goods. It is hard to make the time to work “on” the business and not work “in” the business." More planning advice is available at www.StepIntoYourFuture.com/teleseminar/

This book is about realizing and maximizing your business potential and if you're not seeing the profits you should be, especially in this economic climate, this book will help guide you in a better direction. I don't know what caused my favorite tea rooms to close, but I only wish that they had something like this to help them turn it around.

But, the good news here is, one of you might! I'm giving away one copy right here. So leave me a comment by Friday, March 27th at 8pm et and I will randomly select the winner and announce it on Saturday. Enjoy!

Friday

The Week In Review, Followed by an Open Letter

I feel like it's been a busy week so I feel the need to review if only for my own records. Because here it's more than a blog, it's record-keeping.

This week I appropriately repeated (as necessary) the mantra, "Serenity Now!" from the inaugural Mantra Monday, which came especially handy when the little one somehow wrestled free an entire piece of floor molding and the older one followed suit by swinging it around like a giant lightsaber and coming dangerously close to hitting everything in an 8 foot radius (it was quite perplexing: from the stove I see this giant piece of flange flying around and could only identify it by moving closer...) or when I saw my little one trying to drink out of the cat bowl or putting all of his fridge magnets in it. Or when the older one almost knocked over the booster chair WITH THE LITTLE ONE STRAPPED INSIDE OF IT (heart attack. heart attack. heart attack. Motherhood is made up of a string of tiny little heart attacks.) You know, normal things like this.

But we ate corned beef and cabbage because it was St. Patrick's day, and we drank green beer, and I made green shamrock jello jigglers (that actually came out right! but they're smothered with green whipped cream so they don't look like it in this picture) with the older one's class,and we saw the shuttle Discovery lift off from our backyard, and I came dangerously close to neglecting my beautiful new plants (I was going to take pictures, but instead, I used the time it would have taken to take the pictures to actually water them this time. Oh and before I forget, Happy First Day of Spring, everyone!!) And I performed all of my scheduled triathlon workouts ("the fly" was out in full force) and I ended the winter softball season with two flyouts (better luck next time!). Oh, and he's just shy of 16-months old, but you can just call him "Business Giver." Because the little one has hit several developmental milestones recently that I thought would best be described in a monologue.

So, in closing, I leave you with what can only be called a fictional work, entitled:

"Taking a Stand: An Open Letter to my (almost) 3Year Old Bully Brother" :

Hello, Brother. Remember me?

Your little brother? The punished, the tortured, the victim, the baby? The one you hit, knocked down, pushed over, ran over with your motorcycle, car and train, bit, slapped, kicked, poked and punched?

Yeah, him. Well guess what? I've got one word on my mind and it's this: revenge.

Because sometime over the last week or two I found my voice and doggone it, I'm using it!

Sure, I'm short. Sure, I am still bald. And sure I speak only a few words that the human ear can recognize. Like "Peesh" (please), "Gank Goo" (thank you), "Ay-uh" (princess leia), "Kee Ka" (kitty cat), "I Loo" (I love you) "Num Num" (yummy) and the normal baby rubbish like "Mama" and "Dada"...

And sure, I look all cutesy when I do things like sit around in my diaper wearing your fireman hat.

But don't let my baby cuteness fool you. Like it fooled the lady at Panera Bread who saw me grab two fistfuls of your hair with my tiny angry hands and refuse to let go. I heard her; She told you I didn't mean it. But we all know better.

This baby facade I got goin' on is perfect and I'm going to ride this as long as I can. And don't think I won't.

Because I may not speak words (that you understand), but I have a voice now. And I stand over you (while you're sitting down) and I yell, "RAH RAH RAH RAH RAH RAH RAH!!!!!!" while standing 2 inches from your face. And I follow it up with some angry-looking babypointing with my tiny finger and yell some more "RAH RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH!!" in my angriest raspy babyvoice and you hear me. Finally. And you give me back that toy you just took.

Victim? I take it no more.

Now I follow you around the house yelling in what could only be described by others as baby expletives as you run off carrying my truck. And I have the slightest bit of satisfaction when I see that you now "get it". Because you turn right around and hand it back.

Oh yes, I have a voice.

And when you're sitting there silently, watching Curious George or some other pre-school drivel that mommy puts on the tv for us ~~while she blogs~~, I sneak up behind you and hit you in the head with your Bob the Builder hammer. Or I stand there smiling at you and then nail you in the face with the remote.

It's payback time.

Because no one thinks I am quite capable of this. Maybe you don't even think I'm capable of this.

But I've got a lot of history to make up for, Brother! My mind's like a steel trap! You don't think I forgot that time you smacked me in the head when I was getting ready for my Christening, do you?

Oh, no. So just remember, whatever you can do, I can do now. And probably even better. Like use a fork (what was that display last night with the fistfuls of spagetti? What are you, one?!) or use a straw or put your big boots on my tiny feet or wear your backpack as I follow you out the door to school.

I will no longer be bullied. Yes, Big Brother, it's officially on!

(But just so you know, at the end of the day, I still love you.)

With loving regards,

The little man with the big voice

ps. I'm coming for you!

Thursday

Traveling with Toddlers: part I, De Plane

And I call myself a "blogger".

I took pictures of everything when we went to my niece's Christening two weekends ago. But what I didn't take pictures of was the most important part.

The gear.

Oh.Mi.God, the gear.

(That's my dad. I caught him at the end of a really long day making friends with giganto-carseat.)

I'll get right down to it. There really has to be an invention better than a luggage cart that will help you with all your gear. Like a luggage butler or something. Where there are an extra pair of hands with you at all times to stop the baby from screaming in the security line because you were dumb enough to let his (empty) water cup peek out from one of the pockets of the diaper bag.

Or an extra pair of hands to smack the guy behind you in the security line, the one who's hemming and hawing and rolling his eyes because his life and existence is so much more important than yours. And he's doing this while you're taking your shoes off, collapsing the stroller, taking the laptop out of the bag, jamming the carseat through the conveyor, taking the kids' shoes off, all with one arm because you're holding one child on your hip and all while sweating profusely and trying not to leave anyone behind (sorry sir, that you got slapped, but it wasn't me, it was the butler...and honestly? You deserved it. Because, sir, we are ALL TRYING TO JUST GET THERE.)

LISTMAKER, M.D.

So ahead of the trip I was a person made up of lists. Three of them, to be exact. There was the "diaper bag" list, there was the "Mommy Miscellaneous list" and there was the "Kids everything else" list.

These were lists entirely separate from the clothing lists, but I consider them more important because we can live with clothing mishaps. We cannot, however, live without the items in the aforementioned lists.

So, for your enjoyment, I have saved these lists because I feel you will benefit from them. And honestly? If you have anything to add to them or any way to combine, condense, or minimize these lists, I would love to hear your tips.

Here it is, list number one: The Diaper Bag. Because this is literally the only thing you have for the most dire essentials whilst on the plane away from your luggage.

-Snacks. Because they can't scream while their mouths are stuffed. I was not above bribery in this category either, these were only about 50% healthy. On purpose. Included animal crackers (the real boxed kind), Little Debbies, apples (because pilots eat them), pop tarts (which were breakfast because our flight was AT 7 a.m.), and miniature oreos. Ok, so maybe not even 50% healthy. Oh well. They'll live.
-Dvds and computer (which turned out to be a flop because you could hear approximately NOTHING over the loudness of the plane.)
-Toys (cars, magnets, magnetic strip for Lightning McQueen magnets, crayons, coloring book, stickers, blocks)
-Extra kiddie undies and plastic liners (because we're traveling with a toddler who's potty training.)
-Wipes
-Diapers
-Hand sanitizer wipes
-2 empty sippy cups (empty because of security remember)
-laptop charger

OK. Yes, as you can imagine, this was a great deal of crap so I had to split it up into two bags, one for me and one for my husband. So it turned out to be a doublediaperbag and did I ever give my husband business for trying to put one of these in the overhead compartment, rendering it completely useless at various points on the flight, like takeoff.

List number two: Mommy Miscellaneous because these are the things I would forget if I did not write them down.

-My head
-Christening gift
-camera and battery and since we have a Nikon it also required its own bag/case. Must invest in smaller camera for this purpose.
-phone
-phone charger
-ID
-Birth certificates for children (not mandatory but good to have while traveling just in case.)
-Hairdryer (because every time I believe whereever we are going will have one, they don't and I end up buying one. Of course the opposite is true when I do bring it. Everyone has one and there is an influx of hairdryers and a fuse eventually gets blown.)
-Makeup
-Toothbrush. Which, despite list, I forgot.

And then there's the final list, the "Kids Everything Else" list of things that are mandatory but cannot exist in diaper bag(s) or mommy bag.
-Clothes
-Jammies (yes, separate from clothes because I always forget them.)
-Diapers
-Wipes (The mother load. Just in case there are no stores in Washington, D.C.)
-Baby monitor
-Sneakers for both kids
-Dress shoes for both kids
-Pack n play/sheet (my sister had another one for us to use so we wouldn't have to travel with two, thank God)
-Coat. Even though it was only really cold for about a minute and a half.
-Most important of all, the kids' blankies. Mr. Green Blankie and Mr. Blue Blankie.

So, if this isn't exhausting just looking at it, I'll give you a moment to picture the four of us.

Mommy with camera bag and shoulder bag, pushing stroller with two half-asleep kids. I got the better end of the deal. Because there, trailing along behind us, is a (very helpful) daddy with a diaper bag backpack, carrying a pack n' play and wheeling two suitcases, one of which has a bum wheel. (Oh and did I mention I packed myself and the two boys in one of those smallish suitcases? I still have not become masterey of the packery.)

Of course there were no luggage carts where we parked.

(And when we got to the tram we realized we forgot the carseats.)

We proceeded ahead to check-in anyway and decided he would run back to the car to get them. And here is where I (again) sing Tampa International Airport's praises. Not only is it easy to navigate, there is an entirely separate line in security for the poor folks like us with two kids and a ridiculous amount of crap. It was luxurious and we were spoiled. It wasn't until the trip back when there were only two lines of security at Reagan, where there was hemming and hawing and "come on!"-ing going on behind us (my husband was so frazzled he kept having to go in and out of the x-ray machine because he kept forgetting that things like his wallet or his sunglasses were in his pockets.)

Helpful tip alert: Children under 2 can ride on your lap for free. But, if yours is like mine, 15 months old and refusing to sit still ever, you can bring the carseat and if the flight's not full, you can use the carseat in a seat of his own without paying for an extra ticket. If the flight's full, you're out of luck and you have to gate-check the carseat. But so what? It's worth a try. Check with the airline though. I know for a fact U.S. Air does this. Even though they make you pay $15 to check one bag. We checked three. 45 bucks. Thanks a lot.But at least they brought back the free inflight beverage. That (almost) makes up for it.

Now, a trip wouldn't be a trip if we didn't do what we do best and do things like lose the keys. So it was utter madness a half-hour before we left for the airport to come home, the bags in disarray, my sister's house turned upside down... And then upon returning home having to take a van-cab home, get the spare key from my mother-in-law, and then take the van-cab back to the airport to pick up the car. At 10:30 at night. Of course, I stayed at the house and put the kids to bed while my husband got to know the cabbie and go back to the airport, but you know, $70 bucks later... Oh yes, and the keys are still missing.

Believe it or not, the going to and fro was the most difficult part. Because there was peace on the plane and it looked like this.

I could only imagine what it would be like if the kids were tired, cranky or tantrumy. But they really did roll with the punches. (Except for the short bout of screaming in the security line...) If it weren't simply because of the gear, the traveling part would have been easy. But I really can't see any way around that madness, at least for now, while we have two in carseats. And the counter to traveling without carseats resets if we have a third child one day, a fact that my husband was quick to point out at the end of the trip. But oh, wait there's more. See what happens when a family of four shares a room and a Christening after-party gets out of control (some names may be changed to protect the innocent) in part II...Oh yes, the scoop on what my family's really like. It's what makes the travel part all worth it!

Kashi Winner

The winner of this week's giveaway, a scrumtrelescent (shout-out for creative adjective goes to my brother-in-law) box of Kashi goodies, goes to Noreen at Silly Mommy of 2 Silly Girls! Congrats!

Tuesday

Wordless Wednesday: A Shadow Montage

Shadows Part one: Copycat

Shadows part two: Bedhead

Happy St. Patty's Day!

May the road rise to meet you.

May the wind be always at your back.

The sun shine warm upon your face.

The rains fall soft upon your fields

And until we meet again, May God hold you in the hollow of his hand.

Happy St. Patrick's Day from the O's!!!!

Monday

iHeartFaces: Green

This week's theme for i Heart Faces is "green." And honestly, I cannot get past the color green without thinking of my son's blankie, affectionately called, "green blanket."

You have no idea what happens when green blanket is missing. We've had to dig up a blue blanket and refer to it as the "magic blanket" if green blanket is missing. Green blanket goes everywhere there is an overnight stay. If there is no green blanket, there is no sleep. This is his friend, his partner, the very first love of his life only to be replaced by a (possible) high school sweetheart and/or potential life partner/mate. Because, for now, green blanket is here to stay.

I'd like to call this photo: "Ensconced." Because if he could be ensconced in green blanket every minute of every day, he would.

Visit other photos this week at iheartfaces!!

Pages

Tuesday

iHeartFaces: Pets

Happy Wedding!

Monday

Mantra Monday: Achieving Potential Part II

iheartfaces: Pouty face!

Sunday

Winner

Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday: Sleeping right through it...

Tuesday

Welcome, Ultimate Blog Party Hoppers!!

Monday

Mantra Monday: Potential

iheartfaces: no flash!!

Sunday

Blog Tour: Step Into Your Future and Giveaway

Friday

The Week In Review, Followed by an Open Letter

Thursday

Traveling with Toddlers: part I, De Plane

Kashi Winner

Tuesday

Wordless Wednesday: A Shadow Montage

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Monday

iHeartFaces: Green

Races in 2010

Blog Archive