Friday, July 11, 2008

Ohio or Bust

So for those of you who may not be aware, my brother (yes, the one who keeps money he finds on the urinal) is the MAN. He used his awesome finding skillz to hook me up with a roundtrip ticket to Ohio for just over $200. That's right, folks, taxes and everything included, roundtrip ticket across the country. Amazing. I bought the ticket about a half hour after Dan got the info to me, after making sure that Braden was cool with it and that the dates would work out. I leave on Tuesday and will be gone for 3 1/2 weeks. I'm so excited!

Jenna will be with me, of course, which makes me happy and nervous. Nervous because, what the heck am I going to do to keep her entertained for hours on a plane?? I did buy some new toys and a bunch of little books to bring out every so often on the plane. We're also going to see if we can find a cheap portable DVD player that I can tuck into the baby backpack. Anything to make it easier on me! I'm going to call the airline and see if I can bring our umbrella stroller up to the gate, check it on the plane and then supposedly they'll have it waiting for me as I get off. Having a stroller would make it much, much easier on my pregnant body, since I'll already have a heavy backpack on. I don't know if it will work, though, since I read online that if you do check it at the gate, you're at the mercy of the staff to get it back to you, which can sometimes take a while. I cannot afford to lose ANY time getting off the plane, because I have exactly 30 minutes to get to my connecting flight. So I may have to not bring the stroller, which won't be fun, since Jenna goes where she wants to go. :) We'll have to see how that works. Yeah, 30 minutes would be fun without a little one and not being able to run! I hope the flight from Seattle isn't late. The way back has the opposite problem, since I have a layover of almost 2 hours. At least we'll be able to go to the bathroom and eat some overpriced airport food, though. :)

Anyway, I'm stoked about going and seeing all my relatives. This means I'll be going to the G family reunion in North Carolina, and I haven't been to one since 2002, so it'll be good to see everyone. No one's seen Jenna since she was two months old (she slept the whole way on the plane then!), if at all, so it'll be fun. Plus, there'll be 5 little ones near the same age there, and now that Kennedy and Jenna are older, I hope they'll have fun together.

I've already started adjusting both of our schedules as far as the time difference goes. It's going well so far.

And...wait for it...wait for it...

I have a maternity swimsuit. Ah yeah.

3 comments:

Gina said...

Not to add more to your list of stuff to carry, BUT...

Call the airline before you leave your house. Ask if the flight is full. If it isn't full, some airlines will allow you to bring a car seat and hook it into the seat next to you. I didn't know this the last time I flew with Amy, and it would have been a lot easier!

Have fun!

Gina

dan said...

The one time we flew with a stroller, it worked out just like you said.

We wheeled it right up to the gate, folded it up, handed it to the flight attendants and then they had it set up for us right when we walked off the plane when we debarked.

Also, depending on how many bags you have and how many people you have dropping you off, you might want to consider paying a bellhop to take your bags. We did not (of course) and it was a lot of work lugging all of our huge giant bags around the place.

Have fun,
dan.
(the brother who picks up money off of urinals)

Carolyn said...

I know this might not be a popular idea for many people out there...but if you can't do the stroller thing, then I recommend a toddler leash for Jenna. I know, I know. You're probably saying to yourself, "I'm never gonna be one of THOSE people who holds their kids on leashes!" But if you have an active toddler who tends to run off in busy places, it's a great way to keep her safe. We got one at Walmart many years ago and used it for Amy in an airport. I felt she was much safer. But I hope the stroller works out for you. That's a better option.