"Traveling" -- a Guest post

Hi everyone! I'm still on vacation, so enjoy today's guest poster!

Hello Hayley's faithful blog freaders! ::waves!::

I am Kelli, I can normally be found here , check me out if you have time.

I am one of Hayley's besties, she has a few. I am special, no not in rides the short bus way, but in the Hayls and I have been besties we don't count the STUPID times we stopped talking, b/c we are girls and that shit happens for over 20yrs way! Pretty cool, huh?

So naturally when she told me about rounding up guest posters for her blog while she is "On A Boat" (I did it again) I said "Um duh of course I'll Guest for you one day!!" So here I am.

So while I am stuck here in dreary PA, HK is in Puerto Rico today soaking up some marvelous rays. Lucky gal. I promised to take good care of her corner of the interwebz, for TODAY anyways! *its cozy here, aint it?*

Just thinking about traveling and vacays reminds me of the first time I traveled with my daughter, E [To learn more about me, go here ].

At the time she was only 16mons. Ek. The day I left I was scheduled to take the GRE & Hayls came into town a few days early to help me pack, she's the queen at traveling/packing, at this time we lived about 2hrs apart and to babysit my daughter while I took the test.

We were traveling to PA to visit my boyfriend, now fiancee (the man E calls daddy). This was going to involve us FLYING 2hours. Normally I don't mind flying, but I remember, before I was a mom, being on a plane hearing screaming babies and toddlers. OMG was I going to be "THAT MOM" now? I had no Idea what to expect.

I did so much research on how to travel, successfully, with young children. Thanks Google! I read countless articles, blogs... you name it. I didn't want to be "THAT MOM". You know what I mean. The frazzled mom who has a screaming kid and she doesn't know what to do. I wanted to be prepared. I booked a ticket that had us flying out at E's bedtime, I stuffed my diaper bag full of snacks & goodies. Toys. Multiple sippie cups full of milk and Juice, which at that time was a special treat. I felt good, I WAS PREPARED.

The night before, I printed my tickets for flying out and coming back. I laid out my outfit and E's jammies. I wrote out the scheudle for the day, down to when we arrived at the airport. I went to bed at a decent time, not only was I traveling with a 16mon old the next day, I was taking the GRE. I felt good, I WAS PREPARED.

I was [already] a mess about the test, I DON'T TEST WELL. But I felt better as Hayls, a real self esteem booster, told me I would do great, plus I didn't have to worry about my kiddo, she was with her godmother. I ate my breakfast and laid out E's.

The long of the short, I didn't do stellar on the GRE, so my good attitude- GONE. I was. a. mess.

I came home. Stressed. Did a final check of my stuff. E had an apt for HER FIRST HAIR CUT so off we went, that was the worst experience. ever.

After a discussion with Hayls we ran out for some lunch, I had a few hours till I had to be at the airport. I felt good, stressed, but good, I WAS PREPARED.

On our way back to my house anxiety set in. I needed my xanex! E was getting cranky, against my better judgement I laid her down for a nap, I wanted her to be tired, but she was being unbearable. After MAYBE 45 we hear quite the comotion coming from the monitor. WE I ignore it, oh she will go back to sleep. Finally Hayls suggests I go in and check on her.

OMG. She was naked. N.A.K.E.D. & had gone peepee & poopoo. IN. HER. CRIB. We had to leave in less then 1.5 hrs for the airport. OMGOMGOMG. I freaked. where's my XANEX Hayls heard this through the monitor and came in...LAUGHING. I DIDN'T feel good anymore. Preparedness, phf!

Quick, I strip her sheets. throw them in the wash. Then wash the baby. I was not going to loose it. Hayls was awesome. She loaded the car. We were off.

I was a good traveler. I arrived 2 hrs early. A skycap saw me and I got lucky, and per my research I checked my bags curbside and FLEW threw security b.c my airport had a special line for families with small children. Before I knew it I was sitting on my thumb at my gate with 1.5hrs; WHAT NOW? I decided to change E's diaper and give her benadryl [per research] to help her sleep on the plane. I felt better, I WAS OVERLY PREPARED and E was getting restless.

Ah but she had other plans, she was hapy to have a clean, dry diaper, yes. But the benadryl was a no go, I got half the dose in her mouth, the other half went down her jammies. We got to board early... the pros of having a baby!

It felt like we sat there forever. It was hot and stuffy in that plane. I was praying that the seat next to me was empty, but the flight attendant assured me that this Friday flight was FULL. And it was. The minute my seatmate sat down I said "don't worry about her she will sleep" She waved it off, as children didnt bother her.

We taxied and I immediately tried to give E her sippie, but she didnt want it, nor did she want her baba. CRAP. Mini Panic attack. We took off, within 20 minutes she was rubbing her eyes. Score. Or so I thought. She started getting restless, she wanted down. I pulled out some toys to try and distract her, they were meet with a swatting hand and a "no mama" nothing was making her happy.

She was tired and started to fuss, but was fighting sleep. I was silently praying for her to please stop. Calm down, anything. Children are like animals, they can sense tension, so I needed to relax, too. Does anyone have xanex?. We hit turbulence and it got worse.

I ended up being "THAT MOM" -- along with about 7 other Moms. We exchanged glances, taking turns walking our children up and down the tiny isle. I don't know how many times I said "I'm sorry" to the people around me. I was met by annoyed glances or "its okay shes fine".

By the time we landed E wasn't the only one who had cried, yes I shed a few quiet tears, I was so stressed form my bad GRE score, the crib debacle, spilt benadryl, and just everything. The woman next to me was a saint & tried to hold E & calm her, while I gathered myself- that made it worse.

Needless to say... I DIDN'T WANT TO BOARD ANOTHER PLANE WITH MY CHILD EVER AGAIN, but I had to get home somehow.

**What are your stories with traveling? Good or bad?**

I KNOW Hayls is having a stress free time in PR today... free of crying babies and mental breakdowns. Lucky Girl.

Thank you for having me. You can find me here. I would love to see you over there.

...

Don't miss a beat, keep up in between posts, I Tweet , a lot.

xo
-Kandid Kelli