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??

it was just right

christmas was, simply put, a really nice day. we finally made our way down the stairs around 9 o'clock with the tots...enjoyed big delicious sticky buns and mugs full of tea...unwrapped piles of presents that made us all smile...played toys on the living room floor...listened to christmas music...and when noon rolled around i made eggnog french toast- my new favorite seasonal brunch item.

this year, dave made a rather funny observation about the things we tend to buy each other for christmas. for example, i tend to buy him books, cd's, clothes. i sprinkle in some tools and household items handy men like my man like. but mostly, the things i buy him are things i want or like. same for him. he gets me electronic devices, things that require charging, batteries, and instruction manuals, and a sprinkling of kitchen items, maybe. mostly things he likes.

so this year we ventured to buy each other things that the other person would tend to buy. with some success, too, i might add. but dave was the clear winner, buying clothes for the fashion major and music for the music lover. bravo. i got him a few things that raised his eyebrows but i still need some help in terms of purchasing electronics. not exactly my forte. maybe i could apprentice at best buy next year...

it was such a relaxing day spent with our little family, then with my family that evening. i find i can't always enjoy myself when there's too much going on. too much noise or too much to do or too much to prepare. but our day wasn't too rushed, it wasn't too busy, it wasn't too much work...it was just right. i was really grateful for that. i wanted to absorb it all.

elias really is enamored with so many of his gifts- his lightening mcqueen racetrack, his play-doh, his blocks, his firetruck and hess truck. he loves them all. we're hearing a lot of "play with me, daddy!" and "play with me mummy!" ultimately that's all we've done since thursday. and my little bird? well, she got clothes. and books. of course :)

now we head north for some more christmas cheer with the other strattons. so i turn my attention to packing, laundry, organizing, and preparing. if only i could pick up our home and throw it 4 hours north. that would be much quicker. but it will be a nice little escape for us. there will be plenty of arms to hold pip and plenty of legs to run with elias. that will be nice for me. i haven't escaped much since july.

we won't be back until the eve of a new year. it's been great, 2008. but it's time, 2009...

see you all then!