That's all about to change.
I have three days left until the kids and I leave for Portland. And I'm scared. I swore after our last trip that I would never fly alone with the two of them again.
It's been slowly dawning on me the past few days that I have so been putting off getting ready for this trip for just that reason. I'm fine with pretending it's never going to happen.
But it is and it's soon and I have much to do...
--find or buy and pack enough toys, books and snacks to keep a 22 month old and a four year old entertained for 5+ hours in flight
--figure out if the kids have any fall clothes that fit them. For example, Sawyer's footwear currently consists of only flip-flops and crocs. Not really Ring Bearer attire. I realized we've been living in tank tops shorts and bare feet for the past three months and now we're heading to the Pacific Northwest for three weeks in September. I don't think it will be 100 degrees there as it has been here. I don't even know if my kids have pants that fit them. Or sweatshirts. Or even long sleeves.
--ditto for me. Between the rate that I shrink clothes and the rate I've been eating these desserts around here I should probably consult my closet before I pack.
--then again, maybe I"ll just take mostly empty suitcases and shop while we're there.
--figure out how to get three weeks worth of stuff for three people (including two carseats, cameras and a laptop) to and through the airport by myself.
--mentally prepare myself for the trip itself; not only the dreaded flight but for living out of suitcases for three weeks, staying in different homes and sharing a room with my kids for most of the trip (I HATE sleeping in the same room as my kids!!).
And so begins the myriad of lists...
Here's the rundown of my countdown:
Today (Wednesday): saw Jenn off at the airport, make my lists and take inventory of what we have/need for the trip.
Thursday: Laundry and shopping. I'm predicting that will take up most of the day.
Friday: Ryan's having his "surgery" (the ol' snip-snip) at noon and after I cart him to and from the hospital for that, he's considering himself out of commission for the rest of the day. For the rest of the weekend if you go by his plans. My plan; to run around like a crazy woman gathering and packing and hoping he can at least entertain the kids for some of that.
Saturday: I'm pretty sure we will be re-examining Ryan's handy excuse that he needs to spend all day "healing", conveniently holed up in the basement on the comfy couch in front of his NEW TV. Yes you read that right. No I don't want to talk about it. All I'm saying is he may be helping out more than the quality time with the big screen he's hoping for, so that I can attempt to get the three of us out of town on time bright and early on Sunday.
Sunday: we're outta here. And Ryan can rest in front of the tv all he wants. :)
side note: Anyone else who's been through the vasectomy... Recovery? We've gotten conflicting advice/predictions of post surgery activity. Some say they worked the next day, some say they were down for a whole weekend. Also, horror stories of not taking it easy and ripped out stitches and hemorrhages and such. Any experiences out there to pass on so we have more of an idea of what to expect?
second side note: I'm really not dreading the flight as much as it may sound. Well maybe I am. But my philosophy is to expect the worst and then it can only be better! And with five hours to look forward to (plus a plane transfer in the middle) with Sawyer on my lap, thinking about his
Posts
8 comments:
We will be thinking and praying for you as you travel with the kids!!
Hey there! What a coincidence - we're going to pdx soon too, although I think we'll just miss you; we're there for the weekend of the 22nd.
Sorry, I don't have any vasectomy words of wisdom, but I am quite an experienced traveller-with-kids-er. My best advice there is...DON'T DO IT! No, just kidding (sort of). It's always torture at the time, and then before we know it we're booking another flight with the thought.."well, it wasn't THAT bad..." I hope it goes well. I hope Sawyer unexpectedly zonks out on your lap.
HAPPY TRAVELS!
Amber-Rose
Girl, you're BRAVE!!! I can't imagine 5 hours on a plane with TWO kids... and SHARING a seat. Brave... or nuts? A little of both, maybe? It was hard enough with Ryan and I both and Porter... eeek.
After Florida, I swore I'd never do the "lap riding toddler" thing again... I'd fork up the extra money for a seat for Porter as all he wanted to do was move around. I'm assuming tickets were pricey as if they were cheap enough I'm sure you'd have bought him one.
Tips... I have none. My plane flights (which were a mere 2.5 hrs vs your 5) were hell. Just pray that:
1) you don't get stuck behind a bitch that's "exHAUSted" and irritated with her own kids and "Can't sleep because THAT is behind her"
2) pray pray pray you get a 3rd seat!
3) can't Ryan get his paws on some kind of sleep inducing drug.... huhhh???
HAHAH!
Good luck!
I don't envy you the traveling woes...but I will wish you a huge GOOD LUCK!!! Alyssa loves those Brain Quest flip books, and I bet Sawyer would even like to play along as best as he can, too.
Ryan's "big V" was no biggie. He slept the whole first afternoon away since they had given him painkillers. That evening/night he just laid around, kept ice on it like he was supposed to, and while he was sore, he was pretty much back to normal the next day, and back to 100% in less than a week. (he didn't do anything to strain or lift though just to be safe!) He said the soreness was only maybe a 4 at the worst point on a 1-10 scale, and never complained about it all.
I'll say a prayer that traveling goes well, and I'll say one for Ryan, too!
Heather, have you invested in a portable DVD player? They are the best trick up anyone's sleeve on an airplane for young children. We would let Emilio watch as much as he wanted on our 4+ hour flight from Chicago to p-town or back as long as he was entertained. Anyway, just an idea, they aren't too expensive at Target or Walmart. Also, be sure to ask if the flight is full when you are at the desk, or at the terminal. Often, nobody in their right mind wants to sit next to a mom with two little kids. There were only a few times someone was crazy enough to do it/and or the flight was full. I've had friends bring playdough on a flight to entertain, also bandaids or stickers and just let the kids go crazy with them, all of them, if needed. Hummm, well you probably know snacks that maybe they don't always get, that are special. Also, I thought it always looked awful before I was a parent and saw a child with a harness on, but once I had two and Emilio still wasn't listening to me (when he was under 2 and just over) I got one of those cute little dog backpack ones at Target and it at least kept him close and safe with me. Just an idea if the S-man isn't a good listener yet and has as much energy as my guy. Anyway, I'll be praying for you. I'll let you guys know if I'll be in p-town....not too sure yet.
Too bad for Ryan. Hope it goes well. I thought you mentioned wanting to have another in post blogs??? You don't have to answer that if I'm prying. :)
Christina-
We are hoping to have another one or two... we are going to be trying to start an adoption hopefully in the next few months. We are interested in a domestic adoption, as we know we want to grow our family, but don't feel it necessary to have our own. Lots of kids out there who need mommies and daddies!!
Heather...we'll be praying that you make it through the flight without too many annoyances and for Ryan's snip-snip.....
I had a vasectomy a couple months ago, it was a no-scalpel (keyhole) procedure. I highly recommend it if you can get a doc qualified to do it. The procedure was simple and recovery was truly a piece of cake, I took two Tylenol and that was about it. I didn't bother with constant icing, but I did take it easy for a couple days and laid off my workout routine for a week or so. Better safe than sorry.
Go for it!!!
Post a Comment