I Don't Think I Would Take My Kids To New York City

A year or two ago, a friend of mine was asking for travel advice since she was taking her infant to New York City for a few days. And I am afraid that my reaction scared her. I was shocked that someone would take their kids there and I might have even said that I wasn't ready to take my kids. I did give her some advice and tried to encourage her and was silently a little skeptical that she would still have a good time. Well, since then I have eaten my words and even had a change of heart about the whole thing.

Would you take your kids to NYC? What planning would it take? How would you need to be prepared? My 3 kiddos were 3 and under when we headed off to the Big Apple and we made it just fine. Were we prepared? yes. Did we know where we were going? yes. Did we know what we were going to do? yes. Did my kids know and understand certain rules? yes. We were only in New York City for a day but we had plans and kept those strollers moving. And our rules, you ask? Well, they are 1) listen 2) obey and 3) stay in the stroller. Oh, we did let them get out and run around every once in awhile-but definitely not in Times Square!

Even though my kids are small, we had read stories about NY and they were able to recognize the Empire State building and the Statue of Liberty. Since they knew what they were seeing, they were much more interested in it. They were also excited about seeing taxi cabs and riding on the subway-the little things in life are what make great vacations. We didn't even need to ride the subway since we were just on it for one stop, but in my son's eyes our trip would not have been complete without that ride. They are still talking about it.

So, moral of the story is hop on that plane and visit some big city. Yep, it is hard work but it is worth it. Your kids will always remember it. Heck, my kids are still wondering how the taxi cabs we see in our city came all of the way from New York City!

Coke in My Baby's Sippy Cup

You have always heard pick your battles. But when it comes to flying, anything goes. When I step foot on an airplane, my mission is to keep my 3 little ones happy. If they are happy, I am happy. But if they happy, everyone else on that plane will be happy too. Ever been on a plane when there is not a little one happy?

Before we had kids, I remember my husband putting his fingers in his ears because a child was screaming behind his seat. And this last week, we saw a child throw a huge fit and he finally calmed when we found a toy car out of my son's bag and handed to the boy. This could be another post. What could stop a meltdown? candy, bribes, new toys, stickers, juice. Whatever it is, have it with you and have lots of it with you. That is why my airplane diaper bag/back pack weighs 20 pounds!

Yes, I know kids will throw fits. But I have no sympathy for you unless your child is special needs or unless I can tell that the parent/parents are doing everything they can do to calm the child. Don't just sit there is your kid is melting down, stand on your head and get that kid to be quiet so he doesn't freak my kids out and make them start crying.

So yes, my 13 month old drinks coke out of his sippy cup on airplanes. Don't stare at me and think I am a bad mom. It is not my kid screaming, my kid is happy. He may have cavities but he is quiet and happy and I know that makes you happy too!

Travel Tip #20 - Pick your Shirt Wisely

What not to wear on travel day, you ask. Well, I will tell you. On that day where you will be hauling 300 pounds of luggage 5 miles through an airport terminal while holding a baby and pushing a stroller. What should you not wear? Or when you will be trying to keep a 13 month old quiet in a plane while you are confined and have about 12 inches for the 2 of you to sit and the people in front of you keep reclining and while sitting by strangers who don't look like they like babies. What should you not wear? A low cut shirt!

I don't have many low cut shirts but on this travel day home, this was all that was clean. So I put it on without thinking a thing about it. After bending and picking up some suitcases and feeling a breeze, I was quickly aware of my mistake. It wasn't a big deal until we were in the plane and I looked down and my baby had pulled my shirt down way too far (if you get my drift). Thank God the lights were out or I could have been the in-flight entertainment. Next trip, I am only wearing turtlenecks!

Will it Fit?

Flying 1400 miles, driving well over 1000 miles, 7 nights in 5 different hotels, 3 kids, 3 car seats, 2 back packs, 1 diaper bag, 1 ice chest, 1 pack n play and how many suitcases do I take? That is the question. Well, since my airline and most other airlines charge per suitcase-how many do I take. So here is the plan: carry 1 small suitcase on and check 1 very large suitcase. Will it work? I don't know.

Since we are changing hotels so often, I hope to pack everything we need for one night in the small suitcase. Each night, I can grab the bags with the next days clothes in it and put them in the small suitcase. That means-5 people (yes, 3 of them are little people) in 2 suitcases for 1 week. We are going to do 1 night of laundry so I can narrow down the clothes we take by 1/2. But with little kids, that is still a lot of clothes since I have to be prepared for any drip, spill or accident.

Should pack 7 outfits (one for each day), but since we are doing laundry that bumps it down to 4 outfits. So the plan is 2 outfits in the big suitcase, 1 in the small one and 1 each in my diaper bag. Math...eeek. Now, I need to multiply all of that by 5: 10 outfits in the large suitcase, 5 in the small one and 3 each in the diaper bag (hopefully, my husband and I can keep our clothes accident free). And again I ask, will it work? We will see, preliminary packing starts tomorrow!

Travel Tip #19

Obviously, I am crazy obsessed with packing my bags early so I can have plenty of time to think of anything else that I might need. I hate not being able to sit my suitcase beside the door the night of a trip. But I can't zip those suitcases without toothbrushes in them.

I am sure that the my dentist would say to change out our toothbrushes every few months but at my house we change out our toothbrushes each time we travel. I pick up a few fun toothbrushes for the kids and pack them in that suitcase. That way the suitcase can be zipped and by the door and we can use our old toothbrushes one last time before hitting the road.

Driving In Ireland

When I was in grade school, I vividly remember my Mom taking my Grandpa to a doctor's appointment. We were driving on the interstate and must not have been going to fast (after all my Mom was driving). But my Grandpa had his hand on the dashboard and was saying "oh, Jesus, oh, Jesus"-and this is how I felt while driving in Ireland.

And I wasn't even driving while we were in Ireland. I was just riding but I still felt this way! We thought, how hard could this be. Drive on the right at home, drive on the left in Ireland-not a problem. Ha! Driving on the wrong side of the road was quite a challenge.

I had a few very important jobs while on the Ireland roads:

• Reminding my husband to "slow down" countless times during the day
• Helping him get his hand stuck out of the Pringle can or Lemonhead box (after all he was having to eat with a different hand since he was driving with a different hand)
• Shouting "left side, left side" when I felt that he was unconsciously moving to the wrong side
• Looking from left to right and left to right and even left to right before turning
• Not wearing a hole in the car floorboard while braking for my husband (I did wear a hole in my shoe though!)
• Grabbing the bushes off of the side mirror when he got a little too close to them
  

I know, how could he have done it without me? Seriously though, the roads were like Lombard Street in San Francisco except the lanes were only 3 feet wide. On each side of the street were high shrubs and bushes so you couldn't see around the bend. And the speed limits? They were only 100 km-which is around 60 mph. And every car went at least that-every car except ours that is! The driving was crazy-and that is not even mentioning the roundabouts.

By our last few days, my husband had become a pro at driving and I was a little less nervous. Until we came to a roundabout where three lanes all flowed into the circle. And in the middle of the circle: a traffic light. Our usual method for the roundabouts was to go around a few times until we were sure of our exit-but this one, we exited as soon as we could! If you are wondering if you can drive in Ireland...I don't have an answer for you. I could never drive there but I am a great rider (most of the time!) But if you are up for an adventure, have good insurance and a strong heart-go for it!

(Yes, I know this post doesn't have to do with traveling with kids but sometimes you need to travel without the kids!)

Packing List-Carryon

When I pack my carryon for an airplane trip, here is what I am packing. Remember that I am packing for a 5 year old, 4 year old, 2 year old  and an 18 month old (along with a very few things for me)

• Diapers
• Pull Ups
• Extra Clothes
• Bibs
• Wipes
• Gas Drops
• Cups
• Formula Packets
• Bribes
• Candy
• Snacks
• Taggie
• Pacis
• Burp Rag
• Baby Food
• Rice Cereal
• Spoons
• Bottles
• Formula
• Crayons
• Trash Bags
• Driver's License
• Sunglasses
• Lip Gloss
• Credit Cards
• Water Bottle
• Make Up
• Brush
• Light Jackets