Archive for the 'toddler travel' Category

In case anyone wanted to know


Found this draft and thought I’d post, although it’s a little tardy.

Took the kids to see Wall-E and there was some good and some bad. The good part was that the kids wolfed down a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a bag of carrot sticks by the close of the previews. Then, we lasted about 20 minutes into Wall-E before the kids looked at me pleadingly and asked to leave.

In my opinion, the lack of dialogue and effort one must put in to follow the nuances of the robots’ “body language” was just too tough for toddlers. I wasn’t entirely surprised, and knew it had been a gamble. Luckily, the theater I went to gave me three rain check coupons so we could try again with a different movie. And, of course we will. They have a movie goober for a mom.

DisneyHowInTheWorldCanTheyStayUpSoLong?

Just returned back from a week’s vacation in sunny (and half the time rainy) Orlando to take the kids to Disneyworld. I think I returned more exhausted than when I left. However, it’s an “I’ve never seen my kids this exhilarated” type of exhaustion rather than a “case of the Mondays” type of exhaustion that comes around after individuals pass their vacation deprivation threshold (I have a low one).

Highlights
~ Who knew my daughter was so in love with Goofy? It’s the cutest when my son (who at this point <3s everything my daughter does) yells “Ooofy! Ooofy!”
~ Watching my son fearlessly cannonball into his dads arms in the pool at the resort time and time again. Keep in mind he turned two the day after we got back. He’s a crazy lad.
~ Seeing my daughter barrel down a 40 ft tall water slide with perma-grin – and her dad (hey, no need for Social Services, I am no Britney!).
~ Wearing sundresses and shorts every day for a week.
~ Watching my kids spend quality time with their grandparents, and the genuine joy they bring to each other. Yes, Velveeta comment but true.
~ Hearing the story that my daughter told my sister that her shoes were ugly.
~ The Expedition Everest roller coaster at Animal Kingdom. Ask to go in the front car. If you like Space Mountain, but want even a bit more extreme, go for it. My dad howled with delight the whole ride and I swallowed two bugs.
~ There is nothing like returning home to your own bed.

The Hmmms…
~ We had a two bedroom “flat” for me, my husband, our two kids, my sister and my parents. I was no math major but those numbers don’t add up right for me. Now, peanut gallery, be kind – I know my folks (who sported the pad for us free of charge) will probably read this post!
~ How does a three year old have the energy to go-go-go from 6 am to 10 pm every night? Cinderella adrenaline fixes? Dumbo rush?
~ I believe it’s stupid that you have to ask a flight attendant for a barf bag. Obviously, in that circumstance, it’s already too late. To shout out the obvious consequence, my husband and I spent the ~4 hour flight and then the 1+ hour layover in SLC and the remaining 50 minute flight back to ID covered in our son’s barf.
~ My daughter thought for several days after our return that her new bedtime was 10 pm. WRONG.
~ I had grand ambitions of coming back w a tan. It rained at some point almost every day and I am just as pasty as when I left. Dammit.

the OTHER part of our trip

Traveling with toddlers. The kids did awesome at the airport and were great about getting on the plane. However, my kids (like me) are prone to getting motion sick. In a ‘bout of poor judgment we gave our three year old Cheetos (yes, I know they are unhealthy) as a snack at the airport. The result? Orange barf on the airplane. Sweetness. The flight attendants loved us, I know it.

Trying to make everyone happy (including me?). The goal was to spend as much time as I could with colleagues and clients while I was there. However, knowing my cute little tots were waiting for me at the in-laws made that tough. That is probably the hardest part of traveling for work when I have the whole fam with me.

The sickness sticks like stink on a fart. For the past year (seems like basically since the kids went into preschool/daycare) our house has been like the petri dish for all colds, flus and other illnesses floating out there. Regardless of geography, the germs found us. My hubby was yakking his brains out Wednesday. Yay for Round Table (that’s where I took the kids to get them out of the house)! I think I spent almost $5 on those dumb tattoos/stickers/jewelry/toy machines that now cost 50 cents a pop.

Thank God there isn’t a Target in Ketchum. Somehow we (either me or my hubby) found a reason to go to Target every day. By the time I took the kids on an errand there on Day 5 my daughter instructed me which way to go so that she could show me the Cinderella roller skates she wanted for her birthday (which is in October, btw).

Connecting with friends, and not. The truly great part about where our office is located is that it’s near a few of my dearest friends. However, when I travel with the kids it feels almost impossible to juggle work, nap, family and bed times so that I can successfully connect with friends. DRATS. I missed three of my fantabulous friends this time around, which really sucked. On the bright side, I did see one of my girlfriends that had just given birth to a very adorable baby boy the week before. I heart babies.