Some kids do better than others

Yeah, that's the facts. Some kids just travel better than others.  One of the trips I dread is the hour or so trip to the Jacksonville Airport.  My kids are so active, they just don't enjoy being in the car.  My good friend just recently took her daughter on the same trip.  I asked her how it went - her daughter spoke two or three sentences on the way up (with no toys for entertainment) and watched a dvd on the way back. No problemo!  I'm so seriously jealous when I hear stories like that! 

My own two boys are great examples.  Adyn has always had no problem napping in the car.  Kael, on the other hand,  only naps for 20 minutes each trip.  Whether the trip is one hour or one day, we are  guaranteed one 20 minute nap and a lot of fussiness for being over-tired.  Adyn, however, demands more interaction, while Kael is often content to play with a toy by himself for long periods of time. Go figure.

Think about your own baby or toddler.  What good travel habits do they have for which you are thankful?  Do you think that you did something to instill these habits in them or do you think it's due to personality?  Feel free to post your thoughts and especially any tips for bringing up babes that travel well!

Caution: Slippery When Wet

One of the first things I realized when traveling with my babies is that it can be difficult to bathe them.  I have found bathtubs with questionable sanitization - like in the hotel we were forced to stop at with the marquee out front that read: "We cater to truckers."  We have encountered broken bathtubs that no longer have the capacity to hold water.  Believe it or no, most of these have been at the houses of friends and daily.  And finally, I have been faced with a total lack of a bathtub with only a shower available  (common while camping or on cruise).  What's the point of this catalogue of bathing experiences?  A very easy but important tip:  Teach your babies to shower young.  We taught our babies to shower with us for practical reasons.  It's a quick and easy way to get the entire fam clean.   

One serious caution: babies are extremely slippery when wet!! If your baby isn't old enough to hold onto you at all, I suggest bathing them with their diaper on until the end of the shower.  This gives you something to grip as their little bodies, combined with soap and water, can be amazingly slick! Practice showering at home with your little buddy a couple times before you trip.  This will ensure you are ready should you encounter less than optimal bathing  conditions.   

What other tips for travel ease have you learned along the way with your baby or toddler?

We forgot the most important thing!!

We jetted over to the west coast of Florida for a weekend. And by jetted I mean packed a bunch of random stuff together at the last minute and crammed it into our already overflowing mini-van.  Call me cocky, but after taking so many 8 hour and 12 hour car trips with our two active boys, 4 hours almost seemed like a trip to the mall, stress-wise.  We took the kids to the beach in the morning, came home and grabbed sundry items to take with us for our little overnight get-away, and then hit the road in time for them to eat a late lunch before dozing off to sleep in the back seat.

In all my confidence, I managed to forget one of my favorite road tools - a sound a machine.  I found this little $30 luxury item early on in our travels and at the time really debated it's value. We had never been big advocates of "sleep aids", this proven by the fact that our first born wouldn't sleep unless he had his woobie (a cute little bear head with a small satiny blanket for a body), his blanket, and his blue musical bear.  But, I digress.  For argument's sake, and my own pride and self-deception, let's just agree that I believed that I did not want to cause my child to be addicted to anything (other than the aforementioned inconsequential list of items) for sleep and so I hesitated at the purchase of a machine meant to lull the unsuspecting to sleep.  That and the amount of other things I could think of to purchase with that $30.   

I can now say without a doubt it is one of the most vital things I now take on any trip - to grandmother's, a hotel, or elsewhere.  Our model is an alarm clock that includes six different "soothing" noises - rainfall, ocean, waterfall (sounds like a device for pottytraining not a sleepaid).  We set it on the waterfall noise which is basically a dull roar, much like static on a radio.  It blocks out doors shutting, footsteps, the sound of us turning over in bed if we are sharing a room with our kids (Adyn wakes in the morning to the slightest noise and he is ready for action), other people's voices, t.v.s, radios, U.F.O.s, B-52 Bomber Airplanes, and other cosmic catastrophes.  This little device has helped both our kids fall asleep in strange settings, and stay asleep for longer periods of time.  And to think I wiffled and waffled when it came to committing to the purchase.  It's lasted three years with no problem but I can say with confidence, the moment it fails us, you will find me heading to the store for a replacement.  I need my own sleep-aid, afterall!

Little Things

     As most of you know, traveling with your kids really ups the ante on how much gear you can actually manage to finagle into a car or suitcase.  There is an exact ratio between the age of the your child and the amount of stuff necessary.  The younger the baby, the more stuff they seem to need.  Infants require that you cram mountains of stuff into the exact same space you had before they were born.  If you are not careful, you will end up with plenty of additional onesies in the spot where your own extra undies used to securely sit (in this case onesies do NOT double as adult underwear, so don't let your baby's stuff squeeze out your own packing space)!

     I believe this packing challenge is some sort of cosmic test to see if newbie parents really have what it takes to make the long haul.  But don't let your guard down once you feel you have mastered it.  This is a common trial of traveling with little ones that will rear it's ugly head on each new occasion you have for packing.  Should you bring that extra sweatshirt for baby? What about bottles, do you have enough? Pacifiers? Diaper Cream? Diapers? Thermometer? Medicines? Yikes, I get stressed just thinking about it. 

    One thing that really takes the stress away is creating a master list (yes, this requires a bit of organization) and actually adhering to it when packing day arrives.  If you are used to packing for two, the jump to packing for three may feel more like you are packing for thirty at first!  To help with the shock, make a list weeks in advance of items that are absolutely necessary, then keep the list handy so you can add to it daily as necessities come to mind.  This will take the guesswork out of packing and hopefully help to reduce stress so that you can enjoy your trip with your little one. 

Toddler Review: Moe's Southwest Grill

We ate at Moe's Southwest Grill with an almost 2 year old (Kael) and a 3 1/2 year old (Adyn).  The food was delicious (but a little on the expensive side.)  Adyn and Kael split a cheese quesadilla which proved to be an excellent choice.  They gobbled it up and there was no mess! I can't say it was the healthiest meal they have ever had - it consisted of cheese, tortilla, and tortilla chips - but hey, once in a while won't hurt 'em too much (That's how I comforted myself too when Adyn downed the entire side dish of sour cream by himself!) 

The thing we liked best was that we were able to eat at the outdoor tables.  This cut down on several key worry areas for me:

1. The amount of noise my boys were allowed to "legally" make until the other diner's glares became too much to bear.

2. The amount of crumbs we were allowed to drop before I would feel compelled to hand sweep the entire floor around us.

3.  The amount of movement my children could get away with without tipping, spilling, or otherwise wreaking havoc on an otherwise peaceful restaurant.

The outdoor seating eliminating all these worries.  The music was blaring and we had the outdoor area to ourselves so we even got to enjoy a little impromptu family dance party.   Overall, it was a great experience.  I recommend hitting up Moe's on Tuesday nights - it's kids eat free night! For every adult meal purchased a kid gets a free meal.  The regular portions aren't overly huge so I'd recommend getting a free kid's meal for each one that you have - you can always scarf up the leftovers=-)

Quirky Tip for Portable Dvd Players

Here's a quirky tip for you:

If you take your portable DVD player on trips, you may have noticed by now how difficult it is to position it right.  It often slides, cases that come with straps can be complicated, or bumps will throw the whole thing off.  For your next trip,  take a portable booster seat (you may already be taking it with you if you are on a long road trip.)  The booster seat is the perfect shape to cradle your dvd player with the sides and back holding it in place.  It's a little weird, but it works!

New find: Denny's

 I recently found a "new" spot for dining with my little guys, good ole Denny's Restaurant.  This weekend we were in Orlando, nearing the dinner hour, and my husband was still in meetings.  I was sick of fast food and honestly had a craving for pancakes.  There's nothing better than breakfast for dinner, am I right?  So, there's Denny's, sitting innocently on a nearby corner beckoning.  I was a little nervous. I really don't think I have ever ventured into a restaurant with my two kids by myself.  The previous two nights we had "dined" with friends in fast food joints and the kids had been crazy out of control!  It's not that my kids are bad.  They are boys.  They are active and to be perfectly honest, they are loud, just like their parents. Factor in their ages - Adyn is 3 1/2 and Kael is almost 21 months.  They tend to egg each other on, especially in public places!  Put it all together and you will get a clear picture of why Dean and I don't dine out regularly, even in family restaurants.  

I took a deep breath, told Adyn, my 3 1/2 year old, that he was taking mommy out on a date and entered the restaurant.  I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised at their toddler friendly menu.  Not only did they have really cute dishes (Star and moon chicken tenders, and pancakes that looked like a clown face) but they also had some really healthy options ("galaxy grapes" - (simple fresh grapes) and fruit salad, to name two). Here's the kicker: for 79 cents I was able to get a side order of multi-colored goldfish crackers which the waitress brought immediately.  Before we were even done, our food was there.  I will say, the prices were higher than I had remembered.  But, because of the baby friendly food options, this will be a stop we make again.  What places have you found to eat with your babes that are not in the fast food category?

And, oh, yeah.  The kids did pretty good. Adyn did have a moment where he leaped over our booth, into the round booth beside us and did a lap.  But, other than that we had a pretty good date.