Traveling with Kids

Travel is one of my absolutely most favorite things to do.  I love exploring new places, turning points on a map into real places in my mind, shopping in new stores, finding cool things for my house or my Christmas tree and eating new foods (and surprising myself when I find something I like!)  I am really looking forward to sharing that love of travel with my boys, making sure they grow up with a concept of just how big and amazing the world is, and how people really are the same at heart no matter how different they may appear.

We traveled some when I was a kid - my dad was stationed in Germany, and we did some traveling in Europe.  I didn't appreciate the food, loved the outsides of castles (but thought the insides were boring), thrilled at the mountains and beautiful vistas, and remember my interactions with the locals with more clarity than anything else.  I think about those trips and wonder if my parents had fun, if my sister and I were well behaved or difficult, and wonder what made some trips so much more memorable to me than others.  And then I wonder what I can do to make our trips a success, to maximize the fun while minimizing the frustrations.

I learned a few things on our trip a couple of weeks ago, and I want to write them down (in no particular order) for future reference before I forget them.

Be Flexible and Listen
We had a full day at Disneyland with some friends, and early in the day we found ourselves rushing past rides and we went across the park, trying to make a show.  After the third time of me telling an increasingly disappointed Finn, "I promise, we'll come and ride this ride soon!" it occurred to me that he was not at all interested in the show.  He wanted rides. And so we rode.  He skipped, he hopped, he beamed with the thrill of it all.  We didn't see the show, but he loved every second of our day. When we were at Sea World, the rides were almost deserted and Finn was able to ride the Elmo ride over and over again, without getting off.  I was tired and dizzy, but he was in heaven, so I let him ride.  And ride.  And ride.  When I ask him now what his favorite part of Sea World was, he says without hesitation, "The Elmo ride!"  

Bring Food and Drinks
I actually learned this one from my friend Mindy when we were somewhere (Peru?) and hungry - she whipped out some peanut butter crackers and suddenly the world was a better place.  With kids, you can never have too many (healthy) snacks.  They'll always want something at the worst time, and huge meltdowns can be averted by quick access to a snack.  I'm so glad I learned this one from Mindy instead of from a hungry 3 year old.

Have Surprise Treats
I packed Finn's backpack with (cheap) little toys and games he'd never seen before, as I knew the iPad would only last for so long.  He loved all his surprises, and it made the flights much easier to bear.  The biggest hit were the $1 rolls of paper tape that he used to decorate his seat.

Bring Back Up
With kids this young, it's so much easier to have other adults around.  I think it's doable without another adult (though I wouldn't want to brave an airplane bathroom with a baby and a toddler at the same time), but so much easier with the extra pair(s) of hands.

There is no such thing as overpacking
I can pack light when I want to (I once went to Greece for 10 days with just a carry on).  But there is NO reason to pack light with young kids.  And don't forget extra clothes for yourself, both in your carry on and in your luggage.

Be Silly
Dress up. Wear silly wings that light up.  Have a light saber battle with your little pirate.  This is what you'll remember.

Don't Overschedule (or Be Flexible)
Have you ever tried to get a 3 year old to hurry?  It's miserable.  It's even worse on vacation.  We had crazy busy days, but we also managed a few days of relaxation, where we were in no hurry.  Those were the best days.  Yes, Disneyland was awesome.  The zoo was cool.  But the time at the park with friends I've known since before we had children, watching our kids play together?  That was the best.  Kids need downtime, and so do mommies. If you do like we did and overschedule, don't hesitate to change plans last minute.  

Take Time to Roast Marshmallows
Finn loved our s'mores roast - the thrill of being out after dark, of catching marshmallows on fire, digging his feet in the sand - it was a fun way to spend together that didn't involve running around and gave us time to just be together.  I'm looking forward to doing it again when Zachary is old enough to join in.  (It was a lot more fun once I embraced the stickiness and mess and just enjoyed it.)

Expect Craziness
Towards the end of the trip, I realized that toddler meltdowns are inevitable.  Baby meltdowns, too.  Water would be spilled, peanut butter smeared everywhere, fingers stepped on, ice cream dropped - and all of it was only a big deal if I let it be a big deal.  My kids follow my lead, and when I stayed calm and dealt with hassles with a sense of humor, they did, too.  (And when I didn't remain calm, their bad behavior just got worse.)

Embrace the Snuggles
It's been 6 months since I've had this much time with my boys.  It was heaven.  Even with the jet lag, we had a post-trip high that lasted until last weekend (which probably made that difficult Saturday even worse).  I'm sure that we would have loved having the same amount of time together if we'd stayed at home, but the fact that we were somewhere different (and I didn't have the distraction of all the things I should be doing) made it easier to really connect and not drive each other crazy.  

We have a few smaller scale trips coming up over the holidays, but I'm already planning our next big trips (while desperately hoping that Zachary turns out to be as good a traveler as Finn is).

Mickey Mouse!

Finn has lots of things he loves - planes, Nemo, Simba (his current favorite imaginary friend), bubbles, shaking his booty, but his absolute favorite is Mickey Mouse.  This love started after Disney World last winter; I think the trip started it, but Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is definitely what has cemented this love.

So I was overjoyed when I was notified that I had a speaker training conference in Orlando this past weekend.  Of course I was going to bring Finn and Nanny M with me, so it seemed completely reasonable to add on an extra day and make a quick visit to Disney World again.

I am so glad we did it!  The entire day was great, and Finn was happy and enjoyed it all, even though it was a whirlwind trip of 3 parks in one day and kept him out way past his bedtime.  By far the very best part was meeting Mickey Mouse.  I was a little worried that he would be scared, so I prepared him by showing him a picture of another single mom friend and her baby with Mickey and Minnie, and talked a lot about what it would be like to meet them.

It's such an overused word at Disney, but the 5 minutes we spent with Mickey and Minnie truly were magical.  He was SO excited to see them, and to give them high fives and tell them he loved them. And ever since then he hasn't been able to stop talking about meeting them and loves to look at the pictures.

I can't wait to take him back and have more time, as I now have a really good idea of exactly how to plan a good Disney vacation with a young child...but I'm guessing it will be a few more years before I have the chance for a real Disney vacation again!

Until then, I'll enjoy this wonderful memory:

And done!

In front of a 300 year old live oak

Hi my bloggy friends! I've missed you the past few weeks!

My boards were today - and man did they suck.  I know there were a few questions I missed just because I forgot something, but most of the ones I didn't know the answer to were things I knew well, but the questions were designed so strangely that I couldn't figure out what they were looking for.  I've talked to a few others who felt the same way, so hopefully the worst of the questions will be thrown out!  Now for the few month wait to find out if I passed...

I'm looking forward to catching up with everyone over the next week or so and looking forward to blogging again, too.

As you may have seen on Instagram, last week we were in New Orleans for my board review course. I'm not sure the course helped my score on the boards but I did learn/relearn a lot, so I'll hopefully be a better doctor for it. Finn had lots of fun with Grandma and PopPop while I was in class, and I played hooky one day so I could do a little sightseeing and take a break from the books.

The travel was exhausting, though, and I'm beat after the stress of today, so I'll start catching up with everyone tomorrow.  It's good to be back - and so good to have my life back after months of studying!

Home

Helping Nanny M with grocery shopping

Friday night I walked off the shuttle bus and into the airport with just my purse and my overnight bag.  As I walked through the doors I marveled at how much easier it was to do this without pushing a stroller while carrying an overloaded backpack, a car seat and dragging a huge suitcase behind me.  I breezed through security and it all felt so familiar: the routine, the noise, the anticipation, all so much like the many other trips I've taken over the years.  I remembered how much I loved this part of my life and for a few minutes my life with Finn seemed like a dream. I miss this - the freedom, the excitement of a trip on my own.  And for a moment, I could almost make myself believe that I'd just imagined having a baby.

And then Nanny M called on FaceTime, and I got to talk to Finn over a margarita and a salad, and reality was restored.  Finn hasn't quite figured out FaceTime, but he did like making faces at me, and giving me kisses.

The flight was delayed and long, but otherwise uneventful; it was after midnight eastern time before I was in bed.  I was expecting a long, deep sleep in my quiet hotel room, but I tossed and turned all night.  I've realized that I do this most nights at home, too, anticipating Finn will be coming to bed with me.  But that's an issue for another day.  I slept horribly until - unfortunately - right before it was time for me to get up. I heard noise in the hallway, and thinking it was around 4 am, thought to look at the clock to know if it was worth trying to go back to sleep.  And it was 7:47.  The conference started at 8.  Somehow I showered and made it downstairs, got breakfast and was seated in the lecture hall by 8:10.  The conference was very well done, and I had no trouble paying attention, and that left me little time to miss Finn.  Nanny M did send me a few pictures at naptime, which made the day a little easier, too.  She assured me that Finn was fine without me, though he did keep asking for Mommy.  The conference was over at 4, and I made it back to the airport in time to get dinner and then was on a plane back home.

The plane bringing me home couldn't fly fast enough, and seemed like it took twice as long to get home as it did to get there.  As I sat on the shuttle bus taking me to my car, I had the realization that this homecoming was so different from all my return trips in the past.  Getting home was always a melancholy experience for me.  A fun trip was behind me, and all I had waiting at home for me was my two sweet, but quiet cats.  It was always on the shuttle bus that I'd start to feel sad and very alone. But this time I had Finn waiting at home for me. I already knew this, but this trip reminded me that while I do miss traveling, and I do miss my alone time, being a mommy more than makes up for the things I've given up.

Finn was sound asleep when I got home, but he came to bed around 3am (while I waited not so patiently, but I'm still hoping he'll eventually sleep through the night in his own bed, so I didn't want to bring him to bed with me before he was ready).  He grinned from ear to ear when he realized it was me in the bed, and then demanded I go get the pacifier he'd left in his bed, sending me off with a cheery "Bye!"  When I came back to bed, he curled up next to me, said, "Snuggle Mommy."  And we both went to sleep.

(Unfortunately, tonight's bedtime wasn't as easy, but again - that's an issue for another day.)