The day we were to travel for the holidays, I woke at 4 or 5 so I could take a shower before we had to leave. We woke so early that we actually had to wake the baby before she could wake us up with her usual 6 a.m. squawk.

We had decided to fly, because the idea of driving (for 10 – 12 hours) with a baby made me break out in hives.

We were supposed to leave the house at 6 a.m. At 6:10 a.m., I asked DH if he had the birth certificate we needed for the airline.

Nope. He had made copies, but he didn’t know where the copies were located. I continued nursing the baby while he ran around looking for them.

At 6:20 a.m. we finally leave the house.

Our flight was to leave at 8:15 a.m.

We decided to leave without the birth certificate and get going. Of course, the highway was clogged.

“This doesn’t look good,” says DH.

“No, it doesn’t.”

We continue to crawl at 5 mph on the highway. We get past the traffic jam and start moving at a real speed. Time ticks on.

At the airport, we have to park the car in Outer Mongolia and take a bus into the airport. We do this while carrying a car seat, a baby, three suitcases and two diaper bags.

At one point, my husband exclaimed at me carrying the baby on the front, my diaper bag on my back and wheeling a suitcase in each hand. I felt like I’d conquered the world.

Until we got in line and were immediately told there’s no way we’d make our flight.

Why?

Because of the looooong line to check in. Because we were late. When you have a lap baby, there is often no easy way to check in. Because I had to go through the special security line that blows air on your body to check for bomb dust. My 16-month-old does not know how to make bombs, but she had to have air blown on her, too.

(Note: Coming back from an unnamed airport in a smaller city, I was shocked that I NEVER had to provide photo ID.)

After we had definitely missed our flight, I felt so much less stressed! Wow, what a difference! While people ran past us to get to their flights, we could amble along knowing that we had already messed up and missed ours.

What a relief.

We ambled around. We let the baby walk to the security gate on her own with no worries of being on time.

We elected to try for standby. We were 2 and 3 on the list.

After 3 hours of waiting, we had sunk to 9-10 on the list. Those darned special United frequent flyer whatever people had gotten ahead of us.

We decided to rent a car and drive.

Our luggage had already gone ahead to Detroit, MI.

At one point, our car was in Virginia, we were on a highway in Pennsylvania, and our luggage was in Michigan.

After we got the rental car, I took my somwhat sheepish husband to out favorite Japanese sushi place. I knew that getting loaded up on sushi would make everything okay. Plus, there’s a fantastic toy store. I knew we would need toys — lots of them — to make it 10 hours in the car with the baboo.

I tore through the store throwing coloring books, crayons, soft books and bascially any toy that won’t hurt if thrown at my head into the cart. More than $100 later, we were set.

Ah, the holidays!

• A set of little books
• A wagon, preferably one with a little door on the side
• A Rody ride-on bouncy toy
• Train set
• A child-size but real cleaning set with broom, duster, spray bottle, etc.
• An egg carton filled with sensory materials such as playdough, gak, etc.
• Bathtub bin for bath toys

Technorati Tags: mommy+blog mom+blog parenting baby+gifts toddler+gifts toddlers

A pull-along toy (cute and beautiful!) by Brio/Ambi or Building Blocks by Brio (Brio won’t let me connect right to the product page, so these links go to their main page.)

Toys from Haba (Clutching puzzle, ball tracks, and adventure bag)

Tabletop Easel by Alex (Don’t open this at work without muting your sound!)
IKEA Child’s table and child-sized chairs.

Technorati Tags: Baby Gifts – Baby Holiday Gift – Parenting – Toddlers – Gifts 12-18 Months – Mom Blog – Mommy Blog

Shutterfly

Mothering Motherhood Parenting Mommy Blog Mommy Blogging Baby Toddler Baby Photographs Baby Photos

I am grateful for my husband, who has been (and continues to be) a CO-parent. I am grateful for all the high-protein meals he made for me when I was pregnant and could only manage to come home from work and crawl into bed due to mind-bending exhaustion. I would not have eaten properly without him.

I am grateful that my baby was born without inhaling meconium and without any other problem for which she would need a NICU since we had her unexpectedly at home. I am grateful for terbutaline sulfate.

I am grateful I survived my birth and that I had my husband there to make sure I got the help I needed. I am grateful for lessons my shocking birth experience taught me.

I am grateful for the friends who came by to visit me when I was frazzled, for the lactation consultant who saved my breastfeeding relationship, for friends who kindly brought us dinner when we were so exhausted and overwhelmed.

I am grateful for my parents and my husband’s parents (and our siblings) who have been supportive. Since this happened recently, I’ll single out my father for special thanks that he tells us from time to time we are doing a good job raising our daughter. It’s really nice to hear. I’ll single out my in-laws to say a special thanks for watching the baby while we went out on a date. I’ll single out my mother for saying yes 99% of the time I ask her to babysit.

I am grateful for the daycare provider who lovingly cares for Nugget 3-4 times per week and is, to me, like Nugget’s third parent. Often, Nugget comes home doing or knowing something new, and I have M to thank for this.

I am grateful for my online and local friends with whom I’ve been able to discuss with blatant honesty my feelings about motherhood, the plight of working mothers, and any other number of baby-related details that would put most non-mothers to sleep in about 1 minute.

I am grateful for my town, my house and my neighbors. I love the size of our house. I love that we’ve worked to make it beautiful and peaceful for us.

I am grateful for thrift stores and freecycle, which have allowed us to provide our daughter with fun toys without spending much money.

I am grateful for cloth diapers, which help us be kind to the environment and save money.

I am grateful to Super Baby Foods for teaching me to make cleaning products that will not harm me, my child or the environment. After using a line to dry our clothes exclusively for 5 months, which I enjoyed, I have new appreciation and gratitude for a clothes dryer. We just got one 2 days ago, and it’s lovely to have a pile of warm, dry clothes.

I am grateful for my childhood friends and how we’ve managed to stay friends even if we don’t always agree about everything. I appreciate how we can disagree and still be respectful of other people’s choices. I appreciate their cooking and patience and funny jokes!

I am grateful for all of the jobs I’ve had. Each job gave me skills that I’ve been able to apply to following my passions — such as starting a website geared towards parents. I don’t know how else I would have learned such a wide variety of skills.

I am grateful for all of my family even if I have not singled out each of them here. And this, really, is just the tip of the iceberg. Happy Thanksgiving!

TAGS: Mothering Motherhood Parenting Mommy Blog Mommy Blogging Baby Toddler Thanksgiving Gratitude Parenting Blog

Strawberry: Dress your little one all in red. Red socks, shirt and pants. Place a green cap on her head and you’re set to go. If you’re feeling especially artistic, you can make a leaf or two out of green felt and attach it to the hat by sewing it or by using a safety pin or two. (We know you’re busy, so you might not have time to sew!)

Leopard: It’s fairly easy to find pants in leopard print for children. If you’re on a budget, you can even visit a thrift store and find pants like these. Put your child in a leopard top, too, if you can find one. Put him in a black top if you can’t. You can buy some inexpensive cat ears anywhere costumes are sold and voila! You’ll have a little leopard on your hands.

Pumpkin: Little ones look adorable dressed as pumpkins. Wouldn’t you love to see the round, smooth face of your baby peering out from a pumpkin costume? You can make one by dressing your baby in orange. Cut out triangles for a nose and eyes and then cut out a crescent shape for the mouth. Either sew the nose, eyes and mouth onto the orange shirt or use safety pins (you can put the safety pins in from the back so they won’t be very visible). A green cap for the stem is a wonderful addition to this costume.

The Cutest Witch Ever: Although you can buy these costumes all over, this one is so easy to put together. Get a small pointy black hat. Dress your little girl in a black dress with striped or wild-colored tights (for fun!). That is all there is to it.

A Cowboy or Cowgirl: Lasso up your young one for Halloween! Dress them in a cowboy hat, plaid shirt, jeans, and boots. If you can get ahold of a vest and a sheriff’s badge so much the better to convey the idea of the American West.

Choosing a costume can be so much fun. If you want to explore more budget-friendly ideas, visit a thrift store or a child consignment shop and see what they have in stock. As with baby clothes, the costumes are barely worn, yet you end up getting them more than 50% off the ‘new’ price.