Airplane Ride for Three

"Moral of the Story" for short attention span readers: No amount of Pinterest ideas will ever prepare you for an airplane ride with a two-year-old and one-year-old.

 Just submit that your children will not keep their seat belts on, not stay in their chairs, not agree on whether the window should be up or down, and finally you will get lots of comments to the affect "You have your hands full." Just smile and enjoy the terrible day, because along with the trials you will be so blessed in good ways but who wants to read about those...  :D

Favorite Highlights:

1.) Daphney loves to announce at the top of her voice for everyone on the plane when we are landing, "We are going DOWN!" -She is finally old enough to really enjoy flying and loves flying frontier, because it has animals on the tail of the plane. At one point during our lay over we were watching a Buffalo plane that she was convinced she was going to fly on. So when it taxied away she started banging on the window and yelling, "Wait for me... Don't leave me!... Your forgetting me! Come BACK!" 

2.) This video is an example of when your kids won't believe you that they are going the wrong way and should get on the right escalator and turns out you can't do anything about it... pull out the camera. The legs at the end of the picture belong to the TSA guy who chewed us out afterwards.... So maybe my advice isn't fool proof. 

3.) We brought with us a small stroller to help with carrying things. Daphney loves to ride in it and help push with her feet and Demitri loves to push from behind. He has entered his independent stage and I am not allowed to help push at all. (It takes 300 times as long to get anywhere when you swerve and twirl into everyone's way.) 

Another time I was helping Daphney push the stroller and behind us Demitri fell so I let go to comfort him and the stroller that was packed with bags tipped backward and smashed my daughter. There she just laid pinned and looked up at me and said, "Crazy Driver!"

4.) Best Tip: More important than entertaining toys make sure to bring lots of napkins/wipes/Kleenexes you always need alot and who know if others will share. We ate at Panda Express where I asked them if I could have three water cups with no water, so that I could fill them at a fountain after I had the bags and kids situated. They said no I could only have one cup because I only ordered one meal and they filled it up with water, so I decided to let the kids eat right in front of the restaurant and make as big of a mess as they wanted with our one allotted fork and cup. You could have as many chop sticks as you wanted though! 
I think they may have hated us from the beginning, because Daphney kept arguing with me that we couldn't eat at panda because she wanted Chinese food. Darn American-Chinese Food...

Bathroom Stories... (I don't often share these but they make me smile this time.)

5.) After Chinese Food my daughter went and hid behind the trashcans. She has this thing of hiding whenever she is doing her diaper business because she is a lady. So picture for a good five minutes Daphney dear in the middle of the food court with her head stuck in a trashcan. (She can't see us then obviously no one can see her). You think a good mom would take her to a private place... well I tried. It wasn't until the janitorial guy came over to check on her and make sure she wasn't eating scraps that she finally gave into my coaxing and left her "hiding place." Yes this not so good mom made a photo opportunity out of it too. :D 

Next we went into the family bathroom to change Daphney and while we were doing that Demitri seized his opportunity for attention and loaded the toilet with some of the paper towels. 
Thank you automatic paper towels! 
I fished the towels out and made him sit on the changing table til it was his turn to be changed. Daphney thought it was hilarious and often tries to be like Demitri so I should have seen it coming but alas I did not. The toilet was once again full of paper towels. (ps. We used this bathroom again later and they were out of towels... weird?!) I explained to her while still changing Demitri that she would need to fish out the towels and throw them away like I had done for Demitri's. She responded unknowing what the big deal was, "No, I can just flush it." It was in that split second that I was yet again trying to rescue as many towels as I could before they were gone. At this point Germophobe me was a little on edge so I hurried to wash my hands in which time both my kids washed their hands in the toilet only difference is that Daphney used soap. 

6.) One time as boarding was about to start Daphney decided she needed to go to the bathroom. (Got to love potty training.) I dropped her off at the door and went back five feet to pick up Demitri. I went into the bathroom to see if Daphney needed any help and she wasn't in there. I began freaking out and nearly knocked over a woman with my stroller in my hurry to get out and find her. End of the story we found her in the men's bathroom and it had to be shut down and all the men sent into the stalls and told to stay there until I had gone in and helped Daphney and exited. That was an experience! - (Blessing- we did not miss our plane.)

The thing I learned most from this trip is to be proud of my and my kids best effort and not worry about the opinions of people who don't understand exactly how frazzled and exhausted both my kids and I are. Oh and not to cry when in trouble because trouble happens a lot with kids.... AND I DIDN'T...   ... so SUCCESSFUL DAY!!