Stella turns 3 next week which will also mark the anniversary of the last time Justin and I had a night together alone outside of the night I labored to birth Sebby – does that count? I mean, Sebby was sort of there with us right?

I’m one of those mom’s who can’t leave their children for fear that something terrible will happen. Like they might wake up in the middle of the night crying (gasp) or what if they go hungry (have you seen our children eat)?

Or maybe I’ll miss some major event (Sebby is going to walk any day now, I’m sure of it…Note: he barely wobbles in a standing position…he ain’t walking any time soon…).

Not that I don’t leave them for the date night or to finally get back to my career and work a bit. It’s just the overnight thing. I want to be the last person to tuck them in at night. Give them a kiss. And the first to see them when they wake up. Is that so bad?

But I also know that I’m in desperate need of a few things for me:

1. A night of un-interrupted sleep.
2. A morning where I wake up when I want.
3. A night when I go to sleep when I want (most nights, it’s early because of #2)

….are you noticing a theme here…SLEEP!

4. Some alone time with a book by the pool without an “expiration date” or someone asking me to help them with 1 of about a million things.
5. And of course some serious QT with my hubby.

Next weekend we are finally going to get that time. We’ve just booked a night in Los Angeles for a work event and more importantly some adult time.

Justin’s Dad is coming down for a visit and he and his girlfriend are going to watch Stella and Sebby for us.

Of course I’ve got a laundry list of things to get organized to make sure things are easy for Grandad and Teresa while we are away.

But this trip it’s fun to actually get to plan what I’m going to wear. Where we are going to eat. What club we are going to hit. What book and magazines I’ll be bringing to the pool!

Not:
How many diapers should I bring;
Do we need both strollers?
What snacks, toys, books, etc. should I bring?
When should we plan to drive up so it coordinates with naps?
What will we do while we are there that children will like?
Call to book a crib for the hotel…
Yada, yada, yada…

Nope, none of that.

So easy!

The simplest “baby free” travel.

A word on my absence from writing…

Life has been pretty chaotic for us over the past 8-9 months. We moved 4 times…were homeless for a month (not bad “homeless” but just in between houses and spent time with family and friends), bought and furnished a condo in Vancouver, started a new business, moved to San Diego…the list goes on. But hopefully I’ll be back to writing more. We don’t have a lot of trips planned (staycation is in our vocabulary now…a bit tired of travel) but I have quite a few to catch up on.

We are off tomorrow for the Olympics in Vancouver. I am really excited to be back “home” and to feel some of the Olympic spirit.

There was quite a bit of organizing and planning involved for this trip as Stella is staying behind (Grandad, Justin’s Dad, is here and taking her to Sea World and Disneyland) and we are just taking Sebby.

A little QT with Sebby (something he hasn’t really had being “the second born”) and also some time for Stella to enjoy her Grandad and his girlfriend Teresa. And of course a little break for Justin and I. Our old and dear nanny, Ciska, is going to babysit a bit for us as well. We are looking forward to seeing her.

Tomorrow night we are going to the Swiss House (most of the big countries represented at the Olympics have a “house”). Saturday we are going to just enjoy the Olympic venues downtown or in Richmond. Sunday we are going to a venue downtown to watch the USA vs. Canada game. Should be a good time. No events on the agenda for now…tickets are crazy expensive or not so exciting (curling anyone…).

But who knows!

Will miss my little girl dearly but should be a great weekend. It will be our first time away from her.

It’s weird to be traveling again with just one baby and it seems so simple since he’s still breastfeeding and doesn’t really need any toys. We aren’t even checking bags…

Vancouver here we come!

I can’t believe it, but it is true…Justin found my blankie at his Mom’s house!

Will be a very relaxing drift off to sleep tonight…I’ve never felt more relieved!

For those who know me well or have ever lived with me know that I have a “blankie”…or rather had a “blankie.”

I’ve had my blankie since I was born.

I was brought home from the hospital with it.

I’ve slept with it every night minus the months I’ve gone traveling for extensive periods of time. And it never went away with me for a weekend or a week long trip (minus college where in some cases I had to take it with me to be protected from my roommates-you know who you are – Heather and Alison- who found it funny to “torture” blankie by hanging it outside and other bizarre things!).

But generally speaking, I’ve slept with it every night of my life.

It’s comforted me on the worst days of my life and relaxed me on the longest days. And all the days in between it just made me feel “good.”

Well blankie is gone. Vanished. Lost on our trip to San Diego…I’m heart broken. I’ve called every hotel we stayed. Justin’s Mom has searched her guest room countless times. I’m actually impressed at how understanding and thoughtful some of the hotels have been…even when I tell them, well, actually “it doesn’t really look like a blankie…it’s just some shreds of material…”

It’s been like losing someone close to you. I feel lost. I’m embarrassed to admit this but it is true.

My blankie held a ton of sentimental value to me. It wasn’t much more than a piece of tied together string (what was left of both my blankie and my mother’s blankie’s soft edges–I “inherited” my mother’s when she passed away five years ago–more on the shreds later)- Or better said by my good friend Katina when we were living together one college summer and it went missing after a big party…and I quote, “oh that, I thought it was something the cats drug in and threw it away.” Several hours later and after much digging in the apartment complex dumpster and trashbags, blankie was found and given a very good bath.

Blankie, to my knowledge only went missing one other time. It was several months after Justin and I had been dating. He used to think it was funny and would throw it around my room playing games at seeing what he could hit with it…ummm, not so understanding of my attachment. It went missing one day and I blamed him for months. It finally turned up when I moved out of my place. It had been wedged between my bed frame and the wall.

Now that it’s gone and after having to describe it to countless hotel staff, it got me thinking, why was blankie in shreds? Why was it merely a bunch of tied together edge pieces? What happened to the rest of it? Now that I’m a mother with a daughter who has a blankie and a “blankie attached little boy in training” I think I know why…my mother must have cut the blankie up so that if it went missing she had a spare bit to give me (I vividly remember stories being told of when I was 2 or so and had to have my tonsils removed and she got all the way to my grandmother’s to drop my brother off to be watched and then had to go all the way back home (45 mins) to get my blannkie). So eventually all the pieces must have gotten so worn out that she had to tie them together. I’m not sure about this theory but I’m guessing it’s a pretty good one.

So what does all this have to do with a blog about traveling with children? A lot.

You see when you travel (child or not) part of the excitement (or not) is being in an unknown place with unfamiliar tastes, sounds, sites, smells, etc. For an adult this can be very exhilarating (or unnerving for those who don’t like change or different things). For a 2 year old it can be quite disturbing. Bring a child’s blankie (or any “lovey” for that matter) along and that sense of comfort of home and familiarity is maintained. While we don’t let the children take their blankies out on everyday adventures (for fear of losing them), they are always with us on overnight trips anywhere.

Travel tip: if your child has a blankie or a lovey, don’t leave home without it if you are traveling. And I guess if you think it might get lost have a spare just in case. Or cut up the blankie into pieces so there’s several spares…

I’m fearful that blankie is in a landfill somewhere in California but hoping that maybe blankie will still turn up.

But for now R.I.P. BLANKIE, you will be missed…

We are finally here! After a very long 60+ days of moving, packing, unpacking, traveling, driving, flying and countless hotels and gracious family and friends who provided us a bed and a “place to call home” if even for a night, we are finally in our new house in San Diego.

We left Vancouver on December 31st with one goal in mind, don’t crumble and buy the portable DVD player…

We did it! It was sort of a personal thing for Justin and me. Everyone said, “you have to get a DVD player for Stella,” but for multiple reasons we didn’t want to do it. We agreed that if it got bad we’d pull over at the first Wal-Mart we could find along I-5 and buy a Dora Box Set along with a portable DVD player!

Even the fights over the radio (Stella wanting Dora or her “Music Together” CD’s and Justin wanting to listen to all things sports or 70′/80′s rock…I was happy with my magazine) weren’t so bad.

In all fairness we didn’t do any crazy driving days. We started out with a short trip to Seattle where we spent 2 nights and then broke the bulk of the trip up into 3-4 hour driving chunks. 3-4 hours in the morning, a break for lunch and 3-4 hours in the evening for 3 straight days. With a final stop in LA the day before we arrived in San Diego on January 5th.

Both Stella and Sebby did really well. I had a lot of toys and snacks and spent a bit of time in between the two of them reading books and singing songs. We even had a fun evening of making up new words to songs. I also spent a bit of time hovered over Sebby breastfeeding while Justin was driving…no easy task and quite amusing to the trucks passing by I’m sure…

Little Sebby also cut his first tooth on the trip!

My advice for anyone planning a long road trip…
1. Don’t plan any driving distance for more than 3-4 hours with out a significant break (we didn’t do any drive-thru lunches but actually went in and sat down). Everyone needs to stretch their legs and get some fresh air.
2. If we could we tried not to stop for 3-4 hours (note my breastfeeding gymnastics above) but did have the occasional potty break (for me…). I tried to get Stella and Sebby out at each of these 1.5 hour breaks but Stella didn’t want to get out usually.
3. Have tons of healthy snacks and variety…and don’t be afraid to let your toddler have a bit of candy…it’s a nice treat…but not too much or you’ll have a wild child in the back seat.
4. GPS! We don’t travel without it. We swear it “saved our marriage” on our last cross country trip!
5. Get plenty of sleep! I didn’t sleep in the car as I was usually pretty busy with the children and then when they slept it was nice to just chat with Justin or read a magazine, however, I was in bed when the children went to bed each night.
6. If you can get a little exercise in the evening after you arrive it really helps. This is one thing we didn’t get to do much but I think it would have made me feel a lot better over all.

Outside of Sebby’s new tooth the trip was pretty uneventful which was great given the chaotic and “bad luck” we’d had in December.

For all of our friends and family who have contemplated coming out to our new place in San Diego for a visit…don’t delay, book your ticket! This place is awesome. We only have it for 4 months so we’d love to share this time with as many of you as possible.

Sorry we don’t have any pictures to share…our camera broke just as our “bad luck December” started.