Here we are...

We took the red-eye to Dulles on Friday night. We arrived at SFO three hours early for our flight. I gave the boys their backpacks at dinner – pizza at the food court. The backpacks went over really well. They kept the boys entertained until our flight. We also visited the Kids Zone, which is a play area at the SFO airport. There were a lot of small children playing at 9 pm at night. The boys got to run around, and the time between arrival and our flight literally flew.

I had hoped that the boys would sleep on the flight, but they were too excited. They ended up falling asleep two hours into the flight and slept for two and half hours total. When they announced we were landing in a half an hour, I wished we had a couple more hours. They slept for a tiny bit on the car ride to their grand parents house… but clearly not enough.

Saturday we spent the afternoon with family. We were also able to get four-hour naps in, and then get the boys down at around 11 pm ET (which wasn’t too bad).

Now it is Monday and I feel like both of them are on a schedule, and aren’t overly tired.

Today we went to the zoo. We made the mistake in parking in Parking Lot C, which requires an uphill climb with stairs. We powered through it with the stroller, but for future visits to the National Zoo be warned when there is a sign that says no handicap access, that stroller access might also be difficult.

The weather was fabulous, and Caleb especially enjoyed seeing the animals. We were sad that the giraffe exhibit was closed, while the zoo is expanding the elephant exhibit. We were happy to see the elephants, lions, tigers, reptiles and the pandas.

The National Zoo is on a hill, so it was a good thing that we had a stroller with us. Two might have been better, but we made do. We also ran into another little boy in Caleb’s class at daycare. Small world.

Tomorrow it is off to Wheaton Regional Park which has a miniature train and carousel. Then dinner with some old friends in Frederick, MD.

10 Simple Rules About Packing

I have one reoccurring nightmare before every trip. My flight is in two hours, I just woke up, I’m in my pajamas, I’m not packed and I’m moving in slow motion.

The packing process gives me the most anxiety. Will I pack too much, will I forget something, and will I give myself enough time to pull it all together before the trip?

So, here are my 10 rules for pain-free packing…

1. Put everything you think you will need on a list, check off items when you pack them, and give yourself plenty of time. This will keep you from over-packing (impulsively packing from the clean laundry pile), or forgetting something.
2. If your trip is longer than five days, plan to do laundry. You should also research laundry facilities locally for each stage of your trip. For example, everything is closed on Sunday’s in Vienna, including low cost Laundromats.
3. For small children pack 1.5 outfits a day. So for a trip over five days, you would pack eight outfits.
   
4. Decide what you can buy once you’re there. Caleb is still in diapers, and our trip will be 12 days long. I figure he uses five diapers a day… so we will need 60 diapers on the trip. However, I’m only packing three days worth, since it will be easy to do a diaper run once we’re in DC.
5. Pack extra underwear in case you can’t do laundry on the 5th day. I’m packing seven pairs of underwear each for the potty-trained members of my family, so if we somehow don’t get to laundry until Day 6, I can be assured that one part of the outfit is clean.
6. If you are sharing luggage, invest in mesh bags for each family member to keep you organized.
7. Adjust the wardrobe for where you are going... What will the weather look like? Will you need a dress up outfit? How do the locals dress? I remember several years ago visiting our friends in December in Southern California. I was dressed in my fashionable Northern California winter grays, all the locals were in tank tops and flower skirts and I thought I’d die of heat stroke.
8. Don’t take whole bottles of hair product, even if you plan to check your luggage. I’ve made it 23 days on a travel-sized bottle of shampoo and conditioner – you can too.
9. Put change of clothing for each kid in the carry on. Last year Xander got sick all over himself in the first hour of a three hour car trip. I didn’t think to pack a change of clothes. Bad, bad mommy.
10. Always, always, always pack rain gear, especially if you are going somewhere that gets rain. When you don’t it rains, and when you do it takes up space in your luggage.

Now, with three days left before our East Coast adventure I’d better get packing.

Have We Got Baggage

On last year’s trip to Austria, we had to switch trains to go from the Lakes region to Vienna. It required getting off one train, running across three train tracks, and hopping on the next train (leaving just a minute later). My husband grabbed the big bag, and the stroller, and I had the travel backpack and the three year old, and it was all well and good until I fell (managing to hold the toddler up, so I took all the impact). Once I was on the ground, it took every ounce of effort to pull myself up.

One of the most important considerations of any trip is baggage. If public transportation, including airplanes play into your trip, your baggage selection can impact your overall experience. Will you need to make quick changes between trains? Are you transferring between airplanes, and terminals (I have made the run from B to C at O’Hare, cursing my carry-on)?

For our East Coast trip we will have the cross-country flight, followed by mostly car travel (with a short trip to NYC by bus or train).

With small kids it is best to plan to check your luggage. This makes it much easier to board the airplane – you only have to worry about collapsing the stroller and putting away your carry-on luggage (complete with toys, DVD players or computers, books and comfort items).

These days checked luggage, means fees. Each airline has a different policy, so it is best to review prior to your trip. We are flying United who just started charging $15 for the first bag, and $25 for the second bag. My husband and I have status in the Mileage Plus program (for this year at least) so the fee will be waved on our bags. If we didn’t have the fee waved, the airline would charge us $15 for each bag up to four bags, and then $25 a bag for each additional bag up to eight bags. Since our children are over two and fully ticketed passengers they are entitled to checked baggage.

We will be traveling with five bags total -- three carry-on (includes the two kids’ backpacks – which can easily be tucked in our other luggage when needed – I’m thinking 6 a.m. ET when we arrive in D.C.) and two checked bags. The checked bags include a fabulous Target wonder duffel bag (about 34 inches long) that comes on wheels. It is very versatile, and at $30 it was great deal too. It will fit my husband and my clothes, the toiletries, first aid kit, as well as the checked travel toys. For the boys I have a medium-sized backpack for their clothing.

We will also have a small backpack for the computers and other electronics, reading material and comfort items (like blanket). By the way your little backpack should be big enough to double as a diaper bag for long day trips, and fit change of clothing, coats, etc. Mine even comes with it’s own raincoat.

When we go to NYC we will only take the small and medium backpacks. So imagine boarding a bus or a train with toddler in toe, and each adult carrying a light backpack – perfect.

On Wednesday I will post on traveling light… what to pack. We had to do it to avoid expensive overage charges in Europe (around 50 lbs total for all the luggage including carry-on per person) -- so we are quite experienced at traveling light.

Travel Toys

When I was 9 my dad was transferred from upstate New York to central California. My parents decided to drive across country and camp at KOA sites along the way in our travel trailer. My great Aunt packed a bag of goodies for my sister and me. In the bag was a gift-wrapped game or toy for each day of the trip. Every morning my sister and I got to open a present, and we played with it all day long.

My mom also brought an Encyclopedia of the United States, and whenever we entered a new state, we got to read the chapter for that State. That trip was one of the most memorable adventures of my childhood.

So, from an early age, the importance of great travel toys was instilled in me.

Yesterday I started pulling together travel packs for the boys. The boys don’t know about them, so it will be a complete surprise. It was a lot of fun to pull them together.

For our East Coast trip each boy will have a small children's backpack. Since they are both little, we don’t want too much weight in the pack. In the backpack are crayons and a small pad of construction paper, a recorder (I figure the airplane noise will drone out the sound… otherwise, I’ll put them up high until we land), and a Thomas & Friends airplane (named Jeremy). I’m on the fence on getting them a Cars Mac truck with Lightening McQueen (it might be too big)… it is really cool. I’m also going to let them take 3 to 5 trains or cars. Xander can also easily fit Bear – Caleb doesn’t have a comfort toy.

Packed separately are a bag of balloons, a beach ball, books and a bag of blocks. Mega Blocks has a small bag with small blocks that are safe for age 1 and older – which we love. We took them with us to Russia and Austria, and they provided hours of entertainment.

We will also be traveling with laptops, which we will equip to be personal DVD players. We have a splitter so we can plug three headphones in. Three is important; because I want to make sure that the sound is safe for little ears. I also have one pair of headphones safe for a child, and I will need to buy a second pair in advance of the trip.

I might take glue and play dough as well – although they will be need to be checked, even if you go with a small travel size. When I talked to TSA about it they said no, because they closely resemble bomb-making material. By the way, children’s scissors are legal on the plane. My 4 year old loves to cut things up… but it could get very messy and annoying.

The Light Rail Train

Today I thought I’d take a break from talking about our East Coast trip to write about this morning's adventure. I went on my son’s preschool field trip on light rail. It was a practice run leading up to longer field trips this summer, where the destination will be something other than riding the train.

There was a lot of build up for the trip, and Xander was anxious and a bit scared this morning. I try to prepare my boys for their day, so there are no surprises, and they know what to expect. But recently he gets really worked up about trying new things. He was scared to go to his first baseball game, scared to go to swim lessons and then scared to go to the movies -- he even told me that he is scared to turn 4 on Friday. But once we are there, in the moment, he is really happy and has a great time. I think it has a lot to do with his age, teetering somewhere between babyhood and childhood. It makes this mom a little sad to think that my baby is growing up.

Ten parents volunteered, and we each got to be the hand holders for two preschoolers (ages 3 to 4). I escorted my son Xander, and his friend Emily.

The kids all wore blue shirts, with the address and phone number for their preschool. It is a good idea not to put childrens' names on their shirts, otherwise they could be lured away by a stranger. Since all the children were closely supervised, there wasn't even an opportunity for the kids to interact with strangers.

When planning outings for small children, it is good to be reminded that sometimes kids can have fun doing things that adults might find mundane. The destination is not always the important part. We road the light rail train through downtown San Jose, all the way to a stop 30 minutes away, and then took the return train back to school. The kids had a lot of fun.

We were also able to reinforce some good safety practices, like holding hands when we were walking through the parking lot and onto the platform, standing behind the yellow line, and staying seated on the train. We plan to take public transportation on our East Coast trip, and it never hurts to practice safety.

The War Room

Today I’m cleaning out the office to make room for the war room. It is the staging area for everything that needs to be packed for the trip. I start creating a war room and putting together the packing list about two weeks before a major trip.

When my husband and I were just novice world travelers I would have balked at the concept of a war room. I would have spent two hours packing the night before… of course. I probably wouldn’t have had a list. But then my husband forgot underwear and socks on our Chicago trip, and I went to Boston in February without a coat.

Now multiply the packing fun by about five, and you have all of the moving parts required to effectively and happily travel with children.

Here are some of the areas that my packing lists cover …
Stroller
Toys (for the airplane and for a hotel)
DVD Player with DVDs
First Aid kit (including any medications)
Clothes
Toiletries
Snacks and Sippy Cups
Comfort items (blankets and cars and bears … oh my)
Paperwork (birth certificates and passports)

Once I have carved out my war room, I will start putting aside items that can be packed early and won’t be missed. This process will lead up to two days before we travel, at which time I will be going over the list with a fine tooth comb… Will we forget something, maybe… but it won’t be my 4 year old’s irreplaceable, comfort toy “bear.”

To take a stroller

With my youngest approaching the big 3 and my oldest now 4, both my boys have pretty much outgrown a stroller. So, why am I planning to take a stroller on our East Coast trip?

The long lines and long walk through SFO will present many challenges. There is lot’s of stimulation. People are busily ushering from gate to gate and not looking down to see my wee ones under toe. It’s an easy place to get lost if we don’t hold hands. And mechanical walkways and other fun looking safety hazards lurk at every turn.

In fact a couple of years ago we witnessed a child get a flip-flop caught in the mechanical people mover. They had to shut it down to get her flip-flop unstuck. She was okay and probably a little bruised, but how incredibly terrifying. As fun as playing on a walkway or an escalator may seem to a little one -- they can also be very dangerous.

Strollers also immediately signal to security that you are there with little ones. I’ve had the privilege of being sent to the front of the line many times because I was traveling with a small child. And since you can gate check the stroller, there really is no downside in taking a small lightweight stroller.

And on long day trips it is better to have the option, then to try to lug 39 lbs of tired preschooler across the zoo.

Last night when talking to our neighbor about this post, he introduced me to another stroller/car seat consideration. It is a San Jose company called gogo BABYZ, which has developed two very cool apparatuses, the gogo Kidz travelmate, and the gogo Babyz Infant Cruiser AT. These products convert any standard car seat into a stroller. My neighbors use both for their 3 year old, and 14 month old on frequent trips to Austin.

Our car seats are really heavy, and so are our boys… So I still don’t think I want to lug our car seats cross-country.

We are only taking one stroller. Based on two adults, two kids, and luggage it will just be easier to deal with one stroller, instead of two. Our lovely double stroller also doesn’t fit in most cars so it is not an option. One child will have to walk, or be carried, and the other will get to ride in the stroller. When both kids want to walk, then the luggage will get to ride in the stroller…

I’ll talk about luggage and packing later, but it is always good to do a trial run, and have a mental picture of how two people will be able to manage two busy bodies and lug everything from point A to point B. In the end having a plan will save a lot of frustration and stress.

Should we talk about the weather?

Growing up in the Bay Area I remember spotting the tourists at Fisherman’s Wharf by their t-shirts and shorts. San Francisco was probably a stopping-off point on the way to Los Angeles or Hawaii, and they were not prepared.

Weather forecasts are essential in planning any family outing. When planning a long trip it is difficult to get accurate information, but by checking the weather sites you can at least get an idea of seasonal averages.

My favorite weather site is accuweather.com. It is especially good when you are going to obscure towns outside of the U.S. If possible I do compare information, so I'll also follow weather.com closely as well.

I include weather in the itinerary, and use the forecasts to determine what I’ll need to pack. For example, when researching last year’s trip to Austria, I discovered that it rained a lot during the summer, and it was significantly cooler (50s to low 70s) then Russia (80s to 90s). So, I packed special clothing (additional layers -- sweaters, raincoats, long pants) for Austria in one suitcase, and clothing for Russia in another. We didn’t need to open the Austria suitcase until we got to Austria.

Our first night in Austria, I switched out the most summery clothing that we wouldn’t need there and put it into the extra suitcase. We then hotel checked the suitcase until our return. That way we could travel lighter.

No matter what, if the place you are going to gets rain, take rain gear, even if rain isn’t in the forecast. The best outcome is that you hauled your rain gear halfway around the world and never used it. The worst-case scenario is that you spent 5 miserable days locked inside, damp and uncomfortable because you didn’t pack your rain gear.

For the trip in June, I’ll be packing rain gear. Now I need to wait until I’m within 5 days of the trip to determine what the weather will be like… muggy and hot, or muggy and cold (that actually does happen).

The Itinerary

The rule with itineraries when traveling with small children is one major activity a day. It is also a good idea when visiting family to have a general sense for what you want to do, with the flexibility to change the itinerary for anything that might come up, a sick kid, or torrential rain, or a parade…

You should also make an assessment of what your kids will tolerate. Both my boys are early risers, up at 6 am. They are best behaved before 3 pm. They will skip naps on weekends, and then crash hard. For example it was hard to get my 2 year old out of bed this morning. All of this you need to take into consideration.

So we know when visiting any site, it works best for us to get there when it opens. Since the boys nap in the afternoon, and car rides will put them to sleep, long car trips should be planned for afternoon.

You should also consider the time-change. Any time you have a time-change, jet lag lasts one day per hour… So my sweet little guys won’t be on a schedule until Day 3. Until that day we need to avoid large indoor crowds, like an aquarium, or museum, or we will set ourselves up for failure. At the same time, parks like the National Arboretum would be perfect.

All in all we will be in DC for six very full non-travel days. We plan to visit with three friends and their families, and see as many as four sites. So, you can see the one activity a day may be quite difficult to accomplish.

The target sites include a mix of indoor and outdoor, and if we can do most of them during the weekday that would be best.

US National Arboretum (Outdoor)

The National Zoo (Outdoor)

National Aquarium Baltimore (Indoor)

B&O Railroad Museum (Indoor)

Annapolis for a crab feast (Mixed Indoor)

We also wanted to go to the DC Trolley Museum (boy do our boys love trains), but since it is closed until late summer it came off the list.

We will continue to refine the itinerary (I’m geeky enough to add weather to the timeline – but that is a different blog post). The final Itinerary will be a thick document with everything from train schedules, to confirmation emails for hotels, babysitting services, directions to friends’ houses etc.

However, as I mentioned earlier, flexibility is key. So if something doesn’t work out, that is okay. The goal isn’t to see the most sites. The goal is to have fun.

Sweet Dreams

We are three weeks from our trip, and now is a good time to decide where the boys will sleep. When we travel, and stay in hotels, I prefer that the boys co-sleep with us (for those who don’t spend time on the mommy boards this is shorthand for sleeping in the same bed as us).

Co-sleeping is cheaper; you don’t need to rent a suite, although it does put an end to your love life. I’ve also read that since the parent represents home, safety and security – when traveling co-sleeping makes the child feel safe, no matter where you are.

During our 23-day trip last year, Xander co-slept with us the entire trip. And although the first two nights of the trip he cried “I want to go home…” He got used to being on the road, and I think the co-sleeping helped a lot.

Although once we got home it took us a month to get him out of our room, and into his own bed…

For the trip at the end of the month, we will spend the majority of the time at our in laws. We’ll be sleeping in a slightly broken hideaway double bed (I always dream that I’m skiing). Jonathan thought that the boys could sleep in sleeping bags on the floor – Xander is game, Caleb not so much. But we’re worried about the boys roughing it on a cement floor for 10 days. I love camping, but there is a huge difference between sleeping on dirt, and sleeping on concrete.

We could rent toddler beds, but that can add up ($80 a week, $16 a day)… so I’m thinking that we might just buy an air mattress ($100). The boys can sleep on the air mattress, while we sleep in the hideaway… The in laws want to buy it once we arrive, so I’m going to make sure it is in stock at the local Target.

The Car Seat Dilemma

Since we are visiting family, one of the things we’ve struggled with is car seats. I honestly don’t want to transport our huge Britex car seats on an airplane cross-country.

I’ve been researching booster seats, since both our boys are over 30 lbs. I love a five-point harness at home, but when traveling, I think we can make do with a booster.

On Target.com I found the Evenflo Big Kid Booster seat for $39.99. Because it has a back it works for kids 30 lbs and up (no back, and the kid should be 40 lbs). I’m going to order it and have it shipped to my in laws. That way we’ll have something for our trip – we can also store it there, and until the kids are 60 lbs I won’t need to worry about car seats when we visit.

By the way, a note to folks designing booster seats -- Why do you have to put in cup holders? It is hard enough to fit six people in a car, but when you add an extra 8 inches for each child for cup holders, it is just impossible.

As it is, I think we’ll be taking 2 cars for all of the family outings. Romantically, I’d like to take the train to NYC, but I’m still working out the New Jersey side trip. My thought is to do a local car rental, and rent car seats at the same time...

Go East Young Men

At the end of the month we will be flying to DC and visiting friends and family. We plan to make a side trip to New York City and New Jersey. This will be our first East Coast trip with Caleb who is 2 and a half. We brought him home from Russia last summer, I'll write about that trip later. We're not sure how well he will travel. Our only experience with him was 20 hours flying from Moscow to Frankfurt to San Francisco when he was 22 months old. The trip out is a red eye, so hopefully he'll sleep.

Our oldest Xander is 4, and he is an old pro at traveling. He went with us on our trip to get Caleb, a 23 day adventure in Austria, Germany, Moscow and rural Russia.

My biggest concern is that Caleb isn't quite restaurant ready. We've been working on getting him to sit at the table (something he is not too fond of) and actually eating the meal in front of him (that still needs work).

On the trip we will take it easy on restaurants. We have to go to Rio Grande (as a California I can safely say the best fajitas ever) in Rockville, MD and perhaps a Crab feast in Annapolis. Both are fairly family friendly places, and we will go in the early evening to avoid crowds.

In New York City we will have a date night. We read about a baby sitting service (they specialize in coming to your hotel room) and I'll be sure to review it on the blog.

In terms of other activities, we plan to get outside as much as possible. Toddlers and preschoolers seem to be happiest when they get plenty of fresh air. We'll probably go to the Arboretum in Wheaton, MD, the DC Zoo and spend a day in Central Park. Since my husband is from DC, and we used to live in the area, we'll also have lot's of play dates for the kids as well.