Spring Break Baby!! How To Entertain a Toddler on a Plane

For this spring break I hopped on a plane with nothing but my bikini and a good book in a backpack in search of a righteous beach and a minty mojito.

Or I laboriously packed my carry on with ten thousand things to entertain a toddler on a 50 minute flight to Ohio to visit my parents.

If I'm being a hundred percent honest I would prefer to do the latter, which is a good thing because that's what I did.  For the most part Callah was very good on the airplane.  I opted to hold her in my lap and save the $400 price of her ticket for a rainy day.  It was a bit difficult to contain her 18 month old enthusiasm from scampering up and down the aisle, but my bag of goodies helped in this area.

Tip #1:
Pack an outrageous amount of food.

Tip #2:
Raid the toy box...and buy a new toy!  I bought a couple new toys at Target in the dollar spot area and hid them until we were on the plane.

Tip #3:
Coloring book, crayons and stickers.  She wanted to pull the tray up and down a million times, so being able to put a coloring book on it distracted her from that activity.

Tip #4:
Patience is a virtue.

On the return flight United kindly put us in a row with an empty seat.  Callah buckled and unbuckled the seat belt an average of 5,000 times on that flight.  When all was said and done we only had one meltdown and the flight was well worth the fun visit we had with my parents.

The FLU and an explanation for my absence

Three days laying on the sofa can make a person introspective.  Once I've exhausted the finite number of episodes of "Call the Midwife," there's nothing left but to think.  I don't do well with too much time to ruminate about life's imponderables, it has a tendency to blow my mind then make me anxious. I've always had a bent towards the melodramatic, from the age when skinned knees were akin to amputations right up to full mourning for a break up. It shouldn't surprise me, then, that when I have the flu I always without fail, think I'm dying. I tearfully tell my husband there is something very very wrong with me.  I pitifully ask for a glass of gingerale and an ice pack cherishing them both as if they were my last meal.

Something about this flu seemed even more pathetic. As I lay on the sofa fully immersed in my misery, I was aware that I had a daughter to take care of.  I heard her being brought home from the babysitter's and being given her bath.  I was forbidden by my germ phobic husband to have contact with her, so I waved at her as she was wisked off to have her diaper changed.  Perhaps most traumatizing was listening to her tears when she was being put to bed without our nightly nursing ritual.  I didn't have the strength nor the desire to pass on my germs, so I listened to her cry.

Being a parent makes everything just a bit more special and a bit more difficult.  Eventually the flu made it's rounds through our family.  First the projectile vomit of Callah where I spent two hours wiping the floor, Callah and me up and waiting for the next eruption.  She felt fine the next day, but by that time my husband was laid out flat for two days.  Remarkably that was the first such experience for us and although it was a rough week, we survived it and all still love each other.

The flu and spring break explain why I have been so remiss about posting on my blog lately.  I hope to get a few more posts and pictures of the last few weeks up shortly.  In the meantime, I plan to relish the spring and enjoy the health of my family!

Working Mom Accomplishments & Time Savers

Last night something wonderful happened--I finished my book!  I wish I meant a book I was writing, as that would truly be a sense of accomplishment.  Sadly, it was just a silly murder mystery that I have been reading for so long I've renewed it at least twice.  My husband teases me that I read 3 pages and pass out, and it's not far from the truth.

My job is tiring.  At the end of the day I feel weary.  I've long ago used up my patience and when I crawl into bed at, let's pretend it's at least 9 pm, I am ready to succumb to the day.

So, yes finding out after all these weeks who killed Joy Something-or-Other (I've already forgotten most of the plot) did feel really, really good for about three seconds until I conked out.

In honor of those precious three seconds at the end of every day I've made a list of all the ways I try to save time each week.

Make ahead lunches.  This week: wraps!

Make a menu at the beginning of the week.  Probably everyone does this, but it's not something I did until I met my husband, it's genius.

My job allows me the flexibility to work late one night a week.  I usually leave work at 3 pm, but one night a week I will stay later and plan and organize for the following week.  I never, ever leave work Friday until everything is all ready for the following week.  Then I don't give my job a thought over the weekend.

Work through lunch.  I started doing this out of necessity as all my friends that share my lunch hour were out on maternity leave, and I was sitting in the creepy teacher's lounge with only the giant rat trap for company.  So off to my classroom I went, where I can eat and work on an IEP at the same time.  Trying very carefully to not leave any crumbs, of course.  No giant rat traps for me please!

10 minute speed clean.  I read this in a magazine once and it is brilliant.  When I get home from work I spend 10 minutes tidying up.  Sometimes I just have time to wash dishes, but other times I'll wipe the bathroom counters off and swiffer.  My house is usually not filthy as a result.

Since I have the luxury of not working for three months at a time, I know that mom's who stay at home fill up their days just as much as those of us who slog off to work every day.  So I'd love to hear more time saving tips from mom's everywhere!