Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Traveling on a Plane with a Toddler!



Andre and I were super excited to be part of our friends wedding this past weekend. This wedding took place in Nassau, Bahamas which is also were my in laws live. I thought perfect two birds with one stone- wedding plus time with grandma! Then it hit me I was going to be traveling with my very, very, very, very busy toddler. Ari is very active and I was dreading this trip because I was not sure what to expect since we have never traveled on a plane with Ari. When you board a plane with small children in tow, no one is happy. No one wants to sit next to you. No one wants you behind them. No one wants you in front of them. Ah yes, the joy of plane traveling with children especially one that is very squirmy. As cute as your kids may seem to you, I have discovered that when push comes to shove, no one else thinks your kids are so adorable when they are trapped with them on an airplane. Until this point I thought children under 2 that were flying on your lap were free... NO THEY ARE NOT! Of course the airlines have found yet another fee to charge their passengers. You are now required to pay a $43 fee for a toddler even though they are taking up no space. Another thing I learned: Airlines have all but done away with pre-boarding for families with children.

Well, if your destination requires a flight, and you have young kids, then you better do some advance planning. Trust me, I have learned the hard way. Here are a few tips that I learned when traveling with a toddler:

1. Arm thyself. You need toys. Books. My absolutely favorite traveling piece was an Ipad!

2. Make sure that you have a large diaper bag  that could fit a purse and all of the child's toys and personal items. (This trip I took a beach bag)  Include a change of clothes or two outfits, diapers, toys,  changing pad, baby wipes, and utensils. I also brought an empty sippy cup to fill up after we passed security.

3. Purchase candy or snacks. Ari loves gummies so I brought a few with me to provide as a treat.

4. Carry aboard only the essentials!!!!!! My in laws asked for us to bring a few items with us which ultimately made our trip through the airport a bit more challenging because now we had to carry additional items.

5. Be understanding! The little ones are not used to traveling and do not understand that additional rules may apply to this atmosphere.


Overall, the trip there was way better than the trip back home but I believe was due to Ari being tired and sleepy. The Ipad was truly my absolutely favor item to bring on the place. It was light weight and I downloaded a few Dora and Elmo episodes and a few game apps and that kept Ari pretty much occupied the majority of the time.

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Thankful!


 
 
Growing up I always wanted to give my children more than what I had growing up, so some spoiling seems inevitable. Growing up I didn't have even the simple things like pictures of myself as a child so instead I capture hundreds of pictures of my little princess. After experiencing such a hard time getting pregnant and then a troublesome pregnancy I have learned to really appreciate every single moment I have with my daughter. Most people on my Facebook timeline are part of the Thankful project for the month of November. At first. I thought that I may take part in the thankful project and then I began to really thinking about the things that I am truly thankful for. Above all I am truly thankful to be a Mommy! Becoming a mommy gave me a purpose. I became a better person because now I look at life through two little eyes that are watching my every move. Children have a way of making life seem as simple as it really is. It’s easy to get caught up in the little annoyances that can feel so big to an adult — but life doesn’t have to be that complicated. So instead of doings a daily thankful project, I decided that I will write about a dozen reasons why I am thankful for my daughter.

1.  I am thankful for  having cuddle buddy.
2.  I am thankful for training my resistance to patience.
3.  I am thankful for helping dig through my creativity.
4.  I am thankful for all of the laughing moments that you give your daddy and I.
5.  I am thankful that you think I am perfect just the way I am.
6.  I am thankful for being happy with the little things.
7.  I am thankful for you celebrating when I go to the potty.(lol)
8.  I am thankful for testing the level of my sanity with your endless tantrums.
9.  I am thankful for helping me define unconditional love.
10. I am thankful for all of the little hugs and kisses.
11. I am thankful for the opportunity to watch your dad be the best daddy a little girl could ask for.
12. I am thankful for you allowing me to be your mommy so I can watch you grow into a beautiful woman.

Just because you give birth to a child doesn't make you a mother! Being a mother means taking care of your kids, cuddling, watching them grow, watching them play and argue, being there for the good and the bad, and most importantly showing them your unconditional love every second of EVERYDAY!





 

Friday, November 1, 2013

Trick or Treating was a Real Treat!

http://www.amazon.com/Princess-Paradise-Poodle-Toddler-Costume/dp/B005OTI4S2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383350641&sr=8-1&keywords=pink+poodle+costume
Costume was purchased from Amazon.com (Click on the picture to go to the purchasing site)

It was Halloween time and the day and night was full of excitement! Well I couldn't wait to go trick or treating this year. Our little Ari is now 19 months so we expected this year to be super fun since she can talk, run up to doors and kind of understand why we keep knocking on strangers’ doors and getting candy. Every parent wants Halloween to be fun for all, but with toddlers it can be a challenge. I was pleasantly surprised that Ari was able to run to doors actually say, "Trick or Treat and follow by saying Thank you!" Before last night, I asked a few mom friends for some words of advice when it came to having a great Halloween with toddlers, check out the suggestions that I was given and some that I learned on my own.

1. Bring a stroller or a wagon along. If you have more than one then the wagon may be the better option.

2. Practice before leaving the house. For example practice knocking on your own door and saying, "Trick or Treat."

3. Take photos before going Trick or Treating. You want to get pictures of their cute costume in bright lights not in the dark.

4. Make sure they are well rested especially if you are going to stay out past their normal bed time.

5. I put Ari's costume on early and let her play in it before we headed out. I was surprise that the remainder of the night she did not attempt to take it off.

6. Go trick or treating with friends who have children similar in age. The older kids are not going to want to wait on the little kiddos.

7. Very important.... teach your kids manners. Teach them how to say thank you!

8. If you stay in a humid state like Florida always have bug spray. We learned this lesson last night!!

9. Make sure to have a smaller and lighter basket that your little one could carry. The regular round pumpkin basket became too heavy for little Ari to carry.

10. Have fun!


Here is Ari on Halloween!