bag lady

at the end of may, the 4.2 of us will be traveling to florida to celebrate dave's grandma's 90th birthday. SO exciting. we've decided to make a vacation out of it because frankly, well already be there, in sunny florida, which is no small feat. so it makes a LOT of sense. AND as part of the celebration, grandma is putting her whole family up at the safety harbor resort & spa, which is beautiful, so what better place to stay?!

the last time i flew, i was 4 months pregnant with piper, and elias was a lap child. the way there? easy. the plane was almost empty, and he watched curious george on our portable dvd player and read books (annnd was spoken to by the flight attendants frequently for being a rollicking, exuberant almost 2 year old). the way back, however? nightmarish. picture elias on my pregnant lap for over two hours, and the gentleman sitting next to me being 6'3" and 250, easily. and i was alone, because dave had driven a car back. this time around, being pregnant again, and having piper to contend with? not gonna lie- i'm a little scared. but i have dave, and elias is always such a good boy. i also tried to book direct flights that worked with their schedules, which will be SUCH a big help.

the ONLY thing right now that i have to figure out, is how to account for car seats. dave's grandma is renting a van or suv for the family while everyone's down for the weekend, so i'll need to have car seats for the kids to sit in while we're carting them to and fro in florida...but that means i'll somehow have to bring them/check them/carry them/have them. this is tricky, but this is not the first time someone has traveled with small children. and i know there must be at least a few of you out there who have done this.

i need to know: are there special car seats that are small or that fold up that are also legal for driving? because i don't know if we can carry all our luggage, a stroller, a pak-n-play, carry-ons, juice cups, blankies, 2.2 children, AND 2 car seats...

SO. i need some options, ideas, and advice. because although something like this guy below looks good, it's not exactly freeing up any hands, and it's not exactly something i want to invest in. i need inexpensive options that can help me avoid being a crazy bag lady and pack light...i think. or something?

anyone??