Affiliates
Partners
And this is how it’s done
By Moriah on June 12th, 2008
The flight this morning was probably the best one I’ve ever had with kids in tow. Having Andy along made it almost breezy. There were no lines and the kids were very well-behaved despite their high-energy and excitement.
We had to bring a LOT of stuff (including several items of baby gear), but most of our carry-ons could be piled high atop the stroller. I use the chest clips to attach the car seats to the stroller handle, a handy little trick:
Although, when we pulled up to the gate Madeline jumped out and the whole thing toppled over backwards, with Adelaide still strapped inside. Yeah, top heavy. No one was hurt except maybe my pride.
I think Drew’s a little excited to go swimmin’, don’t you??
(Pardon my early morning face and hair.)
Being their normal silly selves:
Madeline, can you say “static cling?”
Why I drag carseats onto the plane:
Coloring in the coloring book that our new airplane friends let us use (I had an empty seat next to me and then another mom sat in the third seat and she was so nice. Her two little kids sat in the row across the aisle.):
After we landed, we found all of our checked items save one – Adelaide’s carseat. (It’s supposed to be delivered to our hotel by tonight and they gave us another one to use in the meantime.) Andy went off to get our rental van and the kids and I waited. And waited. And waited.
And waited.
I was starting to think he had ditched us and gone to Disneyworld.
Finally – about an hour and a half later – he pulled up outside the baggage claim doors. He’d taken a wrong turn and ended up having to go across Tampa Bay and back.
So that little, um, setback was the worst part of our day. Not too bad, in the grand scheme of things.
And as soon as we got in the rental van:
(And yes, I realize the straps are in the wrong slots – this was the one we “borrowed” for the drive to the hotel and frankly, I wasn’t about to re-lace the whole thing for such a small window of use.)
Watching TV in our hotel room (because what else are you supposed to do, cooped up in a small space with a half-fridge, desk, two beds, and a tiny bathroom?):
Andy with our stash from Publix:
The kids resting and warming up after a late-afternoon swim:
Looks like it’s going to be a relaxing weekend after all.
6 Responses to “And this is how it’s done”
Leave a Reply
An hour and a half–wowsers. That part is like my worst nightmare! And poor Andy driving all that way! Yipes as my youngest would say.
Your kids are so cute!
I knew I should have kept the big double stroller for something. That’s a great idea to hook the car seats on it. We have a thingamajig to hook one car seat on our rolling carry on, and Dave carried the other one on his back.
I’ve done the Tampa Bay bridge wrong turn thing. Almost made me miss a flight…glad you were able to go to a hotel and a pool afterwards! :) Enjoy your trip!
You made it!
Just looking at your pictures made me remember how MUCH STUFF traveling with children requires. I wish I had known when my kids were smaller that you could hook the carseats on the stroller like that!! Very smart, friend!
The last time we took a trip that required the use of an airplane, my oldest was 18 months. She’s now 5 :). I just can’t imagine traveling with 3 kids, carseats and all, without losing my mind a little. You and Andy are heroes in my book! LOL
PS, I still say you look great without makeup!
Wow- nothing like traveling with the kids. Not only have you brought ALL your gear with you (I saw a couple Graco products in there!) but I’m totally impressed by your thorough documentation of all of it. Looks like you all had a wonderful time. My DH and family will be doing the same thing in 2 weeks ourselves!