Home Again. Home Again
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Hey guys! I made it back from my foray 'cross the border. While I was in Canada, I made the world's stupidest decision to watch the movie "Like Crazy," in which a couple is separated when the girl is deported back to England and spent the rest of the week paranoid that it would happen to me. Good times, good times.
Also, I pride myself in always being prepared for anything at the airport. Flying with a three- and six-year-old, I have to be on top of my game at all times. I'm always on time and have the process down to a science, usually going warp speed through security.
Until yesterday, when on the way to the airport we were stopped dead because the main highway was shut down for a police investigation (oh, Toronto). It resulted in us skidding into the airport 25 minutes before takeoff and doing a full-on, "Home Alone" run through the terminal with my kids. I kept having to remind myself that although I was completely embarrassing myself in public, I would never see any of those people again in my life. I was all hot and flushed during the security and I practically had a seizure when the 9 million-person family in front of me was stopped for extra checkpoints. After yelling "HUSTLE!" for the 60th time at my kids, we finally made it on board with about 10 minutes to spare. I was so worked up that I spent the $5 and bought myself satellite TV on the plane. Nothing that a Kardashian marathon won't fix.
Oh, did I mention that I totally traveled in workout pants? I NEVER travel in workout pants but that's what was clean. If anyone saw me at the airport, I was the sweaty one in the hat. Eastern humidity ruins my hair.
Just a reminder that sometimes, stuff doesn't go as planned. After 12 hours of nonstop travel yesterday, I have never been so excited to see my bed and my beloved desktop. Oh, and my husband. Very glad to see him as well. But I really, really love my desktop.
After all that, I'm back and in action. My youngest has his first day of school and I'm playing catch up, but I've received some seriously awesome reader contributions for Freaky Friday tomorrow so we'll be back in business.
Anyone else have some good "traveling with kids" stories for me? I'm starting to feel really bad at the eye-darts I was throwing at the lady who told me that my bag was 1 lb. (ONE POUND) overweight. Kill me.
Labels:
life
12 comments:
Last April I took my 2 year old to Indiana for my Great Gramma's 100th birthday. Which also happened to be my 2 year old birthday so I count him as barely 2! Anywho, our plane was supposed to leave at 7am and we lived about 45 minutes from the airport. Well, we woke up at 6:15... nice start to the morning! Threw everything into the car and made it to the airport in 20 minutes!! I took Jack and bolted through security and to the terminal. I'm sure people thought I was crazy dragging 2 bags, my son and a Buzz Lightyear! We made it to the gate as they were closing the door. Nice huh? Then had to sit and wait for the next flight. In an airport at 7am with a hungry 2 year old on his birthday. At least I have some funny memories!! :)
Oh, missing flights is the worst with kids. Last time I went home at Christmas they screwed up our flights and we ended up hanging around Denver for four hours. Ohhh save me from that ever again. You can only go for so many rides on the escalator.
Both of these scenarios sound nightmarish.
Glad you made it home safe and sound!
--NB
When I was going home to England for my Dad's funeral I had to leave all my kids behind (including my youngest nursing baby - thank goodness for a patient Grandma and formula) so I was feeling a little fragile. The lady behind me was having a REEEEELLLLY hard time with her 2-year old. He had screamed through the airport, through security, through boarding etc... That didn't bother me too much but the college aged girl next to me who decided to give a full on speech about why she was never going to have children and why couldn't this mother control her kid made me want to headbutt her. At one point she turned to me hoping to get some agreement and I just gave her a withering look and told her I was the mother of 5. She shut up for the rest of the 12 hours...
I legitimately overheard a flight attendant say on a kid-heavy flight "it's like their parents don't even care about the environment." I still have no idea what she was talking about.
Once I witnessed a mom have a full-on, level 5 meltdown when she couldn't get her kid's carseat strapped in and everyone was waiting in the aisles for her. I am so glad I don't have babies to travel with anymore... 3 and 6 is SO much easier.
Dallin is day time potty trained. He had to go to the bathroom on the airplane so off we went. He didn't want to use that toilet because it wasn't HIS toilet. Cut to me sitting on the floor of an airplane bathroom for half an hour because I was not about to let that kid pee his pants on an airplane!
On a very long flight home from Illinois to California, my son pushed on the chair in front of him to get up in the seat. The lovely business man in the seat was not too thrilled that my child was "kicking" his seat. I moved my boys so the little one would be seated behind Mr. Crabby Patty, who continued to make a scene about the horrible children behind him. The flight attendant tried everything to make Mr. Crabby Patty happy but he was intent on being a wonderful example to my sons, complaining and raising his voice about my horrible children. I finally had enough and said, you should be happy you weren't on our trip out when my 2 year old threw up all over his meal and the seat in front of him. It was very nice that the lady behind me tapped my shoulder and told me she thought my kids were being really good seeing as she didn't even know there were kids in the seats in front of her until the crabby man said something. Here I was thinking that my boys were being really good for a 2 and 5 year old and I couldn't believe how rude the business man was. Oh, and my husband, sitting across the aisle, knew of none of this as he had his earphones on and his eyes closed and wasn't paying attention to all the commotion around him. I guess I deserved it, as he had to deal with the fun on the flight out! Always fun traveling with kids and watching other people watch you traveling with your kids. Some people have NO IDEA!
I was harassed by Customs in Australia once and my four year old ran around whipping everyone in line with a giant rubber snake. I kept trying to go get him and apologize but the customs people were so angry I couldnt. The snake was long and it would wrap around the legs of those poor people. lol. Sorry everybody
Kelley
Bahaha I love it. That's what they get for harassing you in customs! Always bring a rubber snake from now on.
We made lots of west coast to east coast flights when my kids were little, typically red eyes, so they'd sleep. My just potty trained 2 year old peed on my lap during take off. When I was 7 months pregnant I flew with my 8 year old and 2 year by myself. My 8 year old wasn't feeling well and threw up all over the terminal once we deplaned at 11:30 at night. Not a soul around to help the pregnant lady in distress. Oh yes, and then the time that I sat on the tarmack for 3 hours with an 18 month old, which resulted in a missed flight, an unplanned overnight in Chicago and just the contents of the diaper bag to hold us over. Good times.
Next time someone complains about your children, look him/her right in the eye, point to said children, and say "Social Security."
--Nora
My traveling is all by car because we're poor. So poor, in fact, that last time we drove out to California to visit my in-laws (a minimum 13 hour drive including bathroom breaks) with my 1 1/2 year-old and 3 year-old, we couldn't afford $35 to sleep in Vegas. So we had to make the whole drive in one go, with no sleep, arriving in CA at 6 a.m. with a graduation to get to at 10 a.m.
We swore we would make sure to have money for a hotel and a buffet for any future trips.
It also doesn't help that there is something about car rides that makes me forget my baby wears diapers. She gets upset and I try to appease her for an hour or 2, then we finally pull over and discover she has peed through her diaper and clothes and soaked her car seat cover. This happens about twice per drive, totaling 4 times per round-trip.
Post a Comment