Wednesday, April 21, 2010

are we there yet?

and other things about traveling with babies. i know i should stop calling them that as i am reminded daily that they are not babies anymore, big kids instead. uh, i kinda don't like it, but it's life and it's wonderful and it's going to happen whether i like it or not, right?

traveling with children can often times seem like this big daunting task. with the packing, and security lines, and shoes being taken off/on, healthy snacks that may soon turn into unhealthy ones as the day moves on.

all moms know what it entails to prepare for the travel part of the trip...forget the actual vacation...it's the traveling portion that has us stressed out and hitting the dollar spot at target for last minute 'keep 'em busy crap.'

but even with all that a trip entails to prepare for, it is so worth it all. actually, i am afraid of the day when i don't need to pack the kids' carry-ons full of toys, markers, surprise new coloring books, snacks, fresh boxes of old maid and go fish. yes, soon enough an ipod and a #6 at burger king is all they'll carry on the plane.

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beckham would tell me he saw a plane with the same excitement as when
he saw the first. peyton played it off a little more cool, but told me a few times how much
she was having.
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at one point today, i looked at the seat back in front of me and i smiled to myself. there used to be a day when all i would see in that little pocket (which turns out to be extremely useful even as tiny as it is) would be a cosmo magazine, a danielle steele novel, a bottled water, and a king size bag of peanut m&m's. complete with a pillow and blanket *provided by the airline.* traveling was a breeze. it was nap time.
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random, 'i love you, mama!' and hand holding initiated by them or question after
question about why the wings don't move on a plane like they do on a bird or
'why aren't you looking at my picture, mama?' i love these questions. those big brown, innocent eyes that look to me. i get tired and at times i want the questions to end,
but today i answered all of the questions and it felt good to rock out motherhood today.

and...i like what i see in my front seat back pocket today a lot more than what i saw in the 'good ole' days' except that peanut m&m's do sound pretty good right about now. ha.
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Photobucketwith travel, comes the promise of a wonderful new adventure and this is exactly the way i have been feeling since the minute we landed. what will we do? who will we see? which of my favorite restaurants do i 'just have' to visit. i'm thinkin', mexican gardens! i flew in for a couple of photo shoots that i was asked to do, but decided to stay a bit longer. i feel free. like a bird...with a camera and two kids in tow.

we flew to michigan today! the special place where all of my immediate family live, my oldest friends, and in-laws. i'm always comforted by the nostalgia that 'going home' gifts you with.

i'm thinking all this freedom and flying bird talk may be because we had a scary beginning to this adventure. i'm not the most calm flyer in the world, but normally i have jeff to hold my hand. today, he wasn't there and when the plane kept dipping from air pockets and peyton and i wanted to throw up, and beckham kept asking me what those noises were, i smiled calmly and told him it was the strong engine making the plane fly. inside i was praying and scared as hell and just wanted us off the plane.

just when i thought i could be overreacting , i looked to my left to gauge the reactions of the other passengers because that's what you do in situations like these, right? i expected them to be snoozing, reading, unfazed by all the dipping and diving. not. so.much.

i had no less that 6 scared looking people studying me at the same time i was gauging them... i had two choices...smile and appear to be unfazed OR look at them with complete fear and say..."i'm not sure if this is right," which is what i did. dude, i can only be strong for two people...p & B, and they got the last bit of fake calm i had left, so when they weren't looking, i crumbled for a second. only a second before, i laughed it off and said..."it's okay, the attendants seem fine. it's okay."

then, as if things couldn't be anymore surreal...they started playing calming elevator music over the intercom 5 minutes before we were to land and i'm pretty sure that never happens. they were trying to distract us. it didn't work. cue silent prayer after prayer, tight hand holding, kisses and hugs.

was this the last bit of music i would ever hear before...? kind of depressing but the kids liked it and b started dancing in his chair to it.

...after a pretty terrifying landing...the flight attendant validated all of our fears by announcing...
"well, say your twenty hail mary's and call us in the morning."

he was trying to be funny. we all laughed our nervous laughs, i squeezed my kids tight and said thank you too many times to the captain and the super 'funny' flight attendant.

beckham thought the "bumpy plane was fun, mommy!"

"oh, yes it was beckham!!!"

afterward, my mother-in-law taught me how to make her specialty and i will share that later this week.
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we watched the kids discover old toys that seemed like new to them, we took a short walk outside in our pj's and collected weeds and flowers before it rained. we were wrapped in the before-the-rain smell. yummy. it's like warm pavement, grass, and rain all rolled into one perfect wind-filled evening...
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sito hooks the kids new bubbles and super scrubber soaps. bath time is way more fun here too!

and we hung with linnie's best friends and watched american idol.
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and i saw myself in my girl tonight and i wanted that moment to last longer...
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all in all, today was a really, really good day.

next post...ice skating seems to be the new sport obsession of the week.
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i hope you find your own little adventure tomorrow with or without the travel part.
with lots of love. xo.

38 comments:

iColossus / Monster said...

Oooh, I get to be the first Commenter, yippee! Well, it's just 1:23am here in LA.

Love that pic of your airplane pocket NOW and that pic with the super cool Croc that Beck's wearing. Your babies look all beautiful as usual. :)

I miss you now that you're in Michigan (wha...?!!!)And I texted you a long one today to your Facebook account but messed up and it never got sent, wah, wah, wah.

And AGAIN no pics of the Mommy. Talk about the vanishing twin.

Making flight plans.

Love ya,

- iColossus

Anonymous said...

gracee and i fly to florida 2 times a year normally...we hit the one dollar spot at target before we go as well and i agree with you, the day the iPod replaces the dollar spot i think i will be a tad depressed.

you know that every word of this could have been written by almost every mom i know...'specially the "why aren't you looking at my drawling'" i adore how our little ones want to be the one and only thing we think about..truth be known they are!

so you are from michigan?? my brother lived near toledo ohio and just recently moved to geneva on the lake. he lived in toledo for about 20 years and when we visited we occasionally ended up in michigan...we stayed "up state" at escanaba once for a week...walleye baby doll! i come from a long line of fisherman and believe me when you vacation with one of us it usually is centered around the catch of the day!! i bought one of my favorite pieces of pottery there..fun!

goulet was yummy...i think i actually like it better with the chicken..not that the lamb wasn't good but it just tasted cleaner (ha..whatever that means)..i guess healthier is the right word. i put mine on pepperidge farms deli rounds..yum.

i think peyton is the spitting image of you...but isn't it soooo cool when they start acting like us..well most of the times. everynow and again gracee will say something that i have said and i think "ouch" momma has to stop that! have a great day! ♥

Jeff Darwish said...

Wow! It almost makes me want to get on the flight with you guys...sike! I don't know how you did it but you made the travel look fun. From my recollection, travelling with the little peanuts is borderline Hell. From peyton throwing her jar of babyfood on the person in front of us to Beckham's poopie to having to walk the kids up and down the plane 20 times...(literally). I guess I am thinking back a few years, it does seem to be getting a little easier since there is now nintendo ds for Peyton and anything sporty for Beckham. I'm glad you guys are in Michigan safe and sound. I will miss you guys while you are gone but I know you will have a great time.

Since you know I don't comment much the reason I did was because as I was reading this post I literally did a double take at one of the pictures of beckham and said to myself that I thought I was looking at a picture of me when I was a little one and then the next statement I read was that you thoght Peyton looked like you! How cool is that! Okay, back to work for me. Kiss my babies for me.
Daddy

Lisa Hewlett said...

Gosh! Kudos to you for keeping it together. I HATE planes and haven't travelled on one with Jack yet. Usually when we travel (from NC to PA or OH to see family) we drive through the night while he's sleeping... but next week we're packing him up and driving to Ohio during the day... he's 11 months, should be fun! :-)


Your children are beautiful :-)

April said...

heidi, i'm still here! i still love you (and your blog), but just haven't commented! i am actually at work today, but wanted to stop by and say hi! i didn't get a chance to read your post (have to get back to court), but i see that you're in michigan ... what a beautiful place! enjoy it, and i'll be back soon! as always, thanks for your sweet words on my blog!

april

kim said...

So glad you guys made it there safely! I was actually holding my breath reading your post, waiting for the outcome, although knowing you were the one that actually wrote the post and it was written in the past tense made getting through it a little bit easier! :)

Peyton does look just like you, and I'm sure she "rocks it out" in her own little Darwish style!

Oh...and Jeff's comment generated a few tears on this end...just something beautiful about your husband leaving you a little comment on your blog about sweet memories and his love for you & your sweet babies (and you can call them that FOREVER and EVER if you want to, trust me, even at "almost 13" they still wanna hear it every now and again).

Enjoy your trip home, love on your babies, and take some fabulous photos! :)

SDM said...

happy travels!! how amazing that you can travel with two small kids AND take pictures while doing it --- amazing!! and LOVE that your hubby comments -- I agree with above that it brought a little tear... but a good tear!!
be safe!
xo
-s

Loosy said...

OoooOoooOoOOOOOooo have a bliz-ast on your vay-k! I LOOOOVE your pictures, per usual, I'm looking forward to seeing more from your time in Michigan.

Safe Travels!

Brooke

1 Funky Woman said...

Oh it was all sounding so sweet until you talked about the dipping and the noises. I hate to fly. It terrifies me and I'm a little on the claustrophobic side. I don't think it would have made me feel any better knowing 6 other people were just as freaked as me. So glad you all landed fine and are enjoying your trip!

Anonymous said...

Good on you for traveling alone with the kidlets, but oh my word, Freaky!! How scary was that!? I'm glad your kids thought all was fine, shows you did a great job of keeping calm. Still crazy though.

Have fun on your mini vacay! The pics already look fun...look at the blossoms on that tree! We are finally just getting buds :)

Cheers!
Lori

Anna Ruth said...

Enjoy your time up north. I love the bubble bath picture!

P-nut said...

phew... i was actually a little nervous reading about the flight.. i had to remind myself, okay, she posted this so they are all fine! LOL... bravo for bravery! (even if you had to fake it for your kids!)
i hope you have a fun trip and a SAFE and uneventful flight back!!

S.I.F. said...

I remember the first time I flew on the plane as a kid - it was just such a cool thing!

The pictures are awesome. I love the black and white in the tub - classic!

Anonymous said...

ok..from one girlfriend to the other..thanks for the gentle nudge..new post on my blog...so now it is your turn..HA..give me something to read! ♥

Kelly Hutcheson said...

I love that back seat pocket! So indicative of the adventures in flying! You go girl! Have so much fun with your family! Soak them up; there's nothing like em'!! xoxo

Anonymous said...

hey i know that you are busy and just back from trip but girlfriend is home sick with a sick child (double ugh!) and needs something new to smile about! no pressure...just sayin. ♥

Annette said...

Hi Heidi! I didn't know you were coming into town! How long are you here? Lets get together! Miss ya
Annette

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