The Long and Winding Flight

Thank you to everyone who has e-mailed me this summer missing my weekly (sometimes daily) blogs. I do enjoy writing them, but we had a busy summer. We are now back and after a busy week getting Thing 1 ready for kindergarten, getting everyone’s inner clocks on Warsaw time, catching up with old and new friends, etc., I am blogging once more.

Our flight back went better than expected. I was stopped several times by people offering to help and wondering how I was managing with three carry on's, a stroller, and a car seat. They were really curious about how I was managing the car seat. So, here is a visual......to get around the airports with all that stuff, I placed Thing 1's backpack in the stroller storage area (it also contained the DVD player). Thing 2 was strapped into the stroller. Her diaper bag was hanging from the back of the stroller. My backpack was on my back. I flipped the car seat over so that the seat part draped over the stroller's handle bars and the head of the seat was pointed towards the floor. I had Thing 1 hold on to the stroller and I pushed the car seat/handle bars to make my way through the airport. When claiming the bags at the terminal, Thing 1 wheeled Thing 2 around (without the car seat hanging off the stroller) while I wheeled the baggage cart with all our stuff.

Here is a little travel log I kept (partly documented in flight while the children slept)....

2:50pm/8:50pm ( Miami/Warsaw ) – Whew! We made it to the gate with 10 minutes to spare. Thing 1 is confused because he is happy to see his dad, but sad to be leaving the rest of the family. How can he feel both things at once, he wonders?

3:00 pm/9:00pm – Pre-boarding has begun. This is one of the few perks of traveling with young children. Thing 1 is walking in front of me with his backpack and Thing 2 between us. I am carrying a heavy backpack, diaper bag and a car seat. Thing 2 finds a nice roomy chair in the first class area and proceeds to accommodate herself. She has good taste although she gets quite upset when I motion her to keep walking. A nice flight attendant begins talking to her and she forgets about her disappointment. This keeps her entertained while I install the car seat and get situated. Thing 1 is a pro at this and by the time I finish he is already seated, buckled in with his backpack underneath the seat in front of him.

3:30pm/9:30pm – We are beginning to taxi. Thing 1 is "reading" the safety pamphlet. Thing 2 is flipping through a Lufthansa magazine telling me about the pictures. She then plays with her headphones and is amused by the music she hears coming out them. We begin to pretend that we are the Little Einsteins and are about to blast off. Thing 2 begins to pat-pat-pat on her lap and plays along. We are airborne!

5:00pm/11pm – Thing 2 has not had a nap today. A flight attendant brings out an early meal for her. She eats a bit, but she is more tired than sleepy. I need to keep her up a bit longer. Out comes the DVD player and as she focuses on that, Arthur and the Invisibles starts on the flight screens. Both kids are happy and entertained.

7:00pm/1am - The kids need to get some rest. What I am about to describe, only a parent can understand. Thing 2 is constipated. Either that or she is not comfortable pooping on the plane. She keeps grunting in her seat and it is obvious that nothing is happening. I take her to the bathroom which she hates since it is so small. I check her diaper and nothing. I rub her tummy and try to move her legs a bit to give her some support in case she wants to go. Nothing. I put on a fresh diaper. She is irritable at this point. She drinks her bottle of milk (not the best option for her predicament, but a soothing one to her) and passes out within the hour crying out in her sleep periodically due to the gas pains she must have been experiencing. Mylicon is the one medication I wish I had brought.

8:00pm/2am – The DVD player battery dies. Thing 1 willingly falls asleep shortly after. As people begin reclining their chairs, I begin to wonder why small commuter planes seem to have more leg room than these larger planes used for transatlantic flights. If someone reclines their chair, you practically have their headrest in front of your face. It makes no sense. It should be the other way around. I try to dose off, but Thing 2 is obviously uncomfortable and keeps tossing, turning and crying out every so often. Another child is screaming down the aisles. I am thankful it is not my child.

9:00pm/3am – Thing 2 is up again. She tries to wake up her brother, but he is sound asleep. She throws a minor fit before I give her the "not acceptable" menacing look and she gets herself together. She begins watching a little of the second in-flight movie and babbles for about 45 minutes before falling asleep again.

10pm/4am– I finally dose off for about an hour.

5am/11pm (EST) – Coffee and breakfast are being served. The kids are sound asleep. I am exhausted.

6:15am/12:15am (EST) – Passengers clap as we land in Frankfurt . Exhaustion (and Thing 2’s constipation) aside, the flight was uneventful. I change Thing 2 into her regular clothes while we wait to deplane. Thing 1 is not waking easily. He says he wants to stay in Germany . I finally tell him that we have 1 hour to catch our connecting flight and if we miss it, we won't see daddy today. He gets up. We deplane and make our way to our transfer terminal and through security once again. I make everyone go to the bathroom (Thing 2 is still constipated!) and we make it to the gate with 10 minutes to spare.

6:55am/12:55am (EST) - I let Thing 2 walk around the waiting area. A little activity may help her situation. Thing 1 has a snack while I read a USA Today paper.

7:15 am/1:15am (EST) – We board our next flight and the flight attendant tells me that my car seat (which I just used on another one of their flights) does not meet their "regulations" for the aircraft. He will have to ask a supervisor. I tell him don't bother – just take the seat. It has been a hassle to carry.

7:45am/1:45am (EST) – Thing 2 is quite happy in her own seat and looks very proud of her "big girl" privilege. The flight attendant asks me how old Thing 2 is. I know what he is getting at: children under 2 have to be harnessed to their parent during takeoff. I lie "she just turned 2." She is wearing size 24 month clothing after all, so technically she passes for 2. They leave me alone and Thing 2 has harness free flight. She eats her breakfast. Thing 1 plays with his toys.

8:30am/2:30am (EST) – I smell something foul. Thing 2 has pooped. We get up to change her diaper. There is only one bathroom with a changing table and some woman was in it putting on make up for at least 15 minutes. I gave her a dirty look as she exited. Thing 2 feels much better. She is clean and fed.

9:15am/3:15am (EST) - Thing 2 passes out in her seat as the plane lands in Warsaw . We deplane and make it to the terminal for passport control. I am the first in line. However, there are three guys at the window and guess where they are from? United Arab Emirates ! So, we have the Polish version of the national guard reviewing their documents, and not one, but two agents reviewing the passports. I appreciate their thoroughness, but my patience is wearing thin. The only thing that makes it tolerable is that the kids remained quiet during our wait. While I am the first in line, I am the last from my flight to clear passport control. My bags are ready for pick up on the belt. The Cat is calling on the cell phone.

9:45am/3:45am (EST) – The Cat is waiting at the terminal with flowers for me. Thing 1 practically abandons Thing 2’s stroller as he runs to his dad saying "I miss-ed (pronounced just like that) you so much daddy! I am so excited to be home." Thing 2 begins to kick her legs and throw her hands up in the air for daddy to pick her up.

12:30pm/6:30am (EST) – After a shower and lunch, I pass out for an afternoon nap. The kids play with the Cat and begin dropping like flies around 2pm. My nap helps get me through the evening, but I am up Sunday morning at 5am wandering the house aimlessly while everyone sleeps until about 10am.

Jet lag continues for about 5 days….

THE END!

School is back in session!

You never quite understand the wonderful feeling of school starting again until you are a parent. I have spent three weeks trying to keep two children entertained at home since it has been hovering near 0 degrees for the past 2 weeks and after the holidays I have no interest in seeing a shopping mall for a while. Don't get me wrong - I have enjoyed doing things with both kids while they were home for the holidays. But it is a paradox because it can be exhausting trying to keep idle hands and minds from become too bored.

Since Thing 1 began going to school regularly, I have come to the conclusion that when any given child is alone with their parent, they are a dream to be with. Add another to the mix and it become a chemistry experiment gone awry. Sure, they love each other. I see it when Thing 1 defends Thing 2 as she gets in trouble or Thing 2 gives her brother an impromptu hug. But, if boredom gets in the way, watch out!

Boredom tends to bring on trouble - sibling strife now being the most popular form of trouble in my home. It goes something like this. One child becomes bored. They rely on you to find something for them to do. If you cannot accomplish that task quick enough, soon enough, you will hear the shrieking of your other child as child one decides to have fun by tearing up someone's LEGO creation or taking away their blanket. And as usual, the other child always started it - even in toddler babble!

Silence is never a good sign when a child is in the home. Silence usually means someone is up to no good. In the past three weeks, I heard the sounds of silence a lot and while I usually enjoy it, in this context, it was nerve-racking, especially when my youngest would go missing somewhere in the house. I would find her shortly after she had dragged all her blankets out of the drawer and had proceeded to drag them all over the floor. Then of course, came the screaming when I would pick up the blankets and give her only one - it's never the one they want is it? Other silent moments led me to find her going through my purse and pulling debit/credit cards out of my wallet. To avoid moments like this, we had art time, music time, looking through pictures, ball pit/tunnel time, etc. But there are only so many activities you can do before they (or you) lose interest.

Technology is your friend when you have two kids to entertain. Forget TV - all these websites with kid friendly programming are fantastic. Nick Jr. and Noggin were a big hit. I must have watched every video from Jack's Big Music Show. They have all these coloring pages you can print out. You can make music, read, etc. Both kids love watching animal videos on You Tube too and of course the Jib Jab animations over the holiday were fun and had to be played over and over. Thing 2 even learned how to replay it. Of course, being stuck in the house, you have to find some way to get the energy out. Nothing like giving the kids two soft pirate swords and unleashing the swashbucklers on each other. Keeps them entertained so they forget that you are there.

And the secret weapon - have a friend over! Bring in a third child to make things more interesting. Unfortunately, in our situation, most of Thing 1's friends were away for the holidays, but that first week, we took full advantage of anyone who was still home. Thing 1 and his friends play with each other and Thing 2 just follows them around trying to feel like she is part of the action. Your house is turned upside down and it looks like a hurricane came through, but at least it gives you another way to keep the kids busy - clean up time!

Thing 1 was very excited to go back to school. He is still at the age where school is enjoyable - no tests to study for or papers to write, etc. But, no one is more excited than us parents who send our eager children off to school today - at least through winter break!