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ten thoughts on traveling

I kept having these random thoughts on traveling…specifically thoughts on traveling with kids, but not limited to. Now I’m no seasoned traveler, but I’ve done enough to know what not to do. And also, these are just my thoughts, not necessarily hardcore facts…so let’s proceed, shall we?

1. If you pack too much carry-on stuff, you’ll regret it. Oh, how many times I’ve jam packed their backpacks full of what I thought would be fun and time-consuming, only to end up lugging the heavy bag across the airport myself or try to find a place to put the dumb thing in the backseat. I have learned to just pack a few things I know they’ll play with.

Which brings me to my next point:

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2. Usborne sticker books. These are so fun! My kids just love these are there are so many to choose from. Sophie dressed up ballerinas the whole trip while Jack dressed soldiers. Two of their favorite things. I know there’s also a wedding book, nights, fairies, cowboys. There’s lots. I have gotten them on Amazon and at B&N for about $9.

3. Bring something…something. Every time I fly I look around at the sad few on the plane that brought nothing. What are they doing?? They are sitting there reading that airline magazine. Have you ever looked at one? It’s basically an infomercial in print. It’s awful. Do anything but read the airline magazine. It’s almost too boring to think about.

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4. Neck pillows. They’re light and save your baby’s neck from getting all disjointed and uncomfortable looking. You can try propping their head up with a scrunched up coat or something, but it’s just not the same. Get the neck pillow.

5. When you’re in the airport, specifically busy airports, do not be rude. Listen, the McDonald’s lady did not purposely give you caff instead of decaf. There is no need to call her a b-word. That’s just rude. I thought you were a b-word after you said that, but I would never tell you that because that would be rude.

6. Bring boys in the girls bathroom if you don’t have a hubby with you. The raised eyebrows are not worth the six-year-old standing at the urinal next to a weirdo. And when you’re in the Chicago airport with 60,000 or so people that could be potential weirdos you just take them in the girls room with you.

7. Children’s Dramamine. This can be used as a preventative to motion sickness even if your child has never had motion sickness. The end.

8. Angry Birds. The end again.

9. New books. Most of the time when we go on trips I’ll pack new books that I know they’ve wanted but I don’t allow them to crack the cover til we’re in the car. The anticipation of a new book is major! Do not underestimate it.

10. Have fun. There’s been so many travel moments I’ve ruined because I’m tired and/or feeling icky from eating badly or sick of being in the car. Dr. Dobson says that it’s a necessity to go away with your family for at least a long weekend to make those family memories. Let’s not mess up the memory making with our rants, k? Ok.

Happy weekend to y’all.  I will not be traveling, but doing some house projects. My six-week plan includes some bedroom projects in all our rooms, so they’re scheduled and on the docket for this weekend. I hope they turn out!

xo,
{alicia}

15 Comments

  1. ok, love the pics.
    also, i am slowly shedding my curse of the 'too much carry on'. what is wrong with me!? so true.

    this is fabulous wisdom here. xo

  2. Great ideas. One of our favorite things was post.it. notes, which the girls would put all over the seat.

    Thanks for your comment on my blog.We are all busy women and comment when we have time. I always understand that. You are a lovely friend and I value that.

  3. Nice timing on this advice – we leave on road trip for Indiana on Tues! yikes. Can't wait to see what organizing awesomeness you accomplish this weekend! ; )

  4. What great advice.
    We aren't quite to the part where we can pack much for Bitsy to play with and well, when we fly with her we aren't really able to read anything ourselves….but know that I will be holding this information dear to my heart once my little ones are old enough to carry their own carry-ons!

    Biz

  5. Never underestimate the power of stickers. And lolly pops. And the sleepy affects of Dramamine.
    Can't wait to pack my bags for my next airplane adventure!
    Have a productive weekend! Can't wait to see what you have up your sleeve for the kids bedrooms!

  6. great ideas, sweetie. ๐Ÿ™‚
    my oldest boy always shrugs his shoulders when i make him come into the girls bathroom{anywhere in public} unless i can stand right outside the {boys bathroom} door.
    like i'm gonna let him go in there alone?! ummmm…no, son. ๐Ÿ™‚
    sad to say, but there are crazies out there, and it just gives me the goosebumps to think about it!
    my kiddos would love those usborne sticker books…gonna have to check them out!
    hope you have a VERY productive weekend. ๐Ÿ™‚

  7. Thanks for the great tipsThey will come in handy later in the year. Have a great weekend and I hope your projects turn out! Can't wait to see what you're up too!

  8. Well said! I just blogged about traveling! ๐Ÿ™‚
    I just have a baby now, but I like this list including what to bring for the kids when they are older.

  9. The pic of sophie made me want to hug my phone…where I'm reading you just in case I threw ya. Oh and girl those airline mags are the bomb. There's all kinds of stuff in the skymall that you didn't know you needed! Do u still love me? But remember I'm your materialistic shopping friend…I apparently have a problem;)

  10. i've made a trip to cali with both kids (kelly came too, thank goodness!) when they were 1 and under. guess what?? we had seats apart from each other (and both babies were lap babies) but NO ONE would switch with us so we could sit close. isn't that RUDE?!!! i flew last summer to cali with sage alone and that was tricky too. believe me, if my kids were old enough for dramamine it would have happened. instead we went with tylenol cold. : )

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