Syndicate

I wasn’t nervous this time when I got ready to go to Denver.  I really felt that losing my ID in the airport on the way out there was probably the worst thing that could happen (other than the plane crashing, which is statistically unlikely) and I survived it, so it seemed to have cured me of my flying jitters.  However, that doesn’t make flying any less stressful.

Getting to the airport was uneventful.  We were as early as we needed to reduce the stress of rushing to the gate.  Going through security is always annoying.  For some reason, in the Newark airport, our car seat won’t fit through the x-ray machine when it is in the car seat bag , even though it fits without issue at DIA.  So, the security people are always annoyed that they have to pull the car seat out of the bag, and it is a PAIN to put it back in.  At the end of the ramp, I tried to stand mostly out of the way, with Chloe screaming and complaining again because I put her back in her stroller and she wanted to walk, and tried to shove the car seat back in the bag.  After about five minutes of wrestling with it, I paused, took a deep breath, and started over.  It went in without issue and I felt kind of silly.

We got to the gate without issue and had time for Chloe to run some of her sillies out before boarding the plane.  When it was time, we went down the tunnel, and I got Chloe out of stroller, and tried to collapse the stroller.  It wouldn’t collapse.  I tried again and again and again.  Meanwhile, all these “helpful” people are asking me if they can help, but really they are just in the way and annoying Chloe.  So, after saying several times, “No, thank you, really, I can get it.”  I stopped, took a deep breath and looked at the stroller to figure out why it wouldn’t collapse, I realized that the strap was caught in the mechanism which kept it from collapsing.  I fixed it, put it in the stroller bag, and herded Chloe on the plane holding her gigantic carseat in front of me.  I got to our row, and started to strap the car seat into the chair, and I JUST COULDN’T GET THE BUCKLE TO BUCKLE!  Another five minutes of cursing under my breath, I finally got the buckle latched and got Chloe situated in her seat.  Then there was some commotion when the people behind us realized they were in the wrong seat, everyone looked at their tickets and it became clear that we were actually in the wrong row!  With a sigh, I unbuckled Chloe, got her out of her seat, passed the car seat to the row in front, held up the aisle of people getting on the plane to move all of our stuff the new row.  Meanwhile, there were people grumbling, “They should have just let her stay where she was,” and “Let the baby stay in that row!”  But, we moved up, buckled her in, and settled down for our flight.  The flight went swimmingly.  Chloe was calm, sweet, and perfectly behaved.  I actually was able to read almost the whole flight and she entertained herself.

I just really wish it weren’t so stressful to get on and off the plane.  The flights are always fine, but the transitions are always so rough!  I always feel like I have run a marathon by the time we get off the plane.

Chloe and I leave tomorrow for Denver again.  This time we are flying out to go to our friends, Lance and Midori’s wedding.  With all this traveling, I feel like I am getting pretty good at packing and I thought I would share my tips.  (Okay, so I am actually procrastinating doing the actual packing, but its still might be useful!)

1. Make a packing list beforehand with everything that you could possibly need on it.  Print out two copies, that way you can mark all over it on the way out of town, and then use it to make sure that everything comes home with you.
2. Pack clothes in outfits.  This avoids extra clothes.
3. If you travel frequently, invest in clothes folders and cubes.  It helps organize items, helps reduce wrinkling and are generally pretty compact.
4. Keep in mind any activities that you plan on doing while you are there.  For example, even if there is a chance you will go swimming, pack a swimsuit.  If you might go out to a fancy restaurant, pack a nice outfit.  Its much easier than scrambling and paying more money than you normally would to get something at your destination.
5. Pack socks inside shoes, it helps them keep their shape and saves the bulk from the socks.  pack underwear and other smaller items in the lining of your suitcase for the same reason, it helps cut down on bulk, and it doesn’t matter if those items are wrinkled.
6. Even though it is a pain to get through security, I recommend wearing bulkier shoes on the flight and packing lightweight ones.  Yes, it takes longer to untie and retie your shoes, but they take up a tremendous about of space in your suitcase.
7. Keep samples and smaller bottles of your toiletries in your toiletries bag, it helps save time later, and the smaller bottles are much more compact.
8. If you are traveling with a child (or even if it is just you) pack snacks for the flight.  You never know these days if you will get food on the plane, and even if it is a short flight, there is always the chance that you will be delayed and will end up spending more time on the plane than you planned.
9. If you are traveling with a child, bring toys, books, an extra sippy cup or water bottle, and a video ipod.  The Ipod is vital, but you need the other items for when they won’t let you use the ipod.  Chloe hates when I take the ipod away, but she is getting used to the idea that there are times when she can’t have it.
10. Finally, when going through security, keep track of you driver’s license.  Take the extra time to put it back in your wallet.  Trust me on this one!

We spent the afternoon at the Monmouth Park Raceway with Heather’s family.  Chloe got to ride a pony, and pet a pony (who was celebrating his birthday) and chase Abby (3), and see some big horsies, and chase Abby some more, oh…and eat a blue cupcake.  It was big fun!

Chloe did not want to ride the pony at first, but Mommy held firm and strapped her on there anyway.  She wasn’t too sure she liked it, but she didn’t seem to hate it either.

The infamous blue cupcake, which she dubbed, “Big girl cupcake.”

Checking out the horses and the guy with the trumpet.

A good time was had by all!

Tired girl!

See the gallery for more picts, there are so many cute ones, I could go on for pages!

Somehow, Chloe always knows when I go to bed late.  Last night I was up talking with a long lost friend from high school until almost midnight (and okay, so yes I was also playing mob wars, but I can do both I swear!)  At 3:30 am, Chloe started coughing.  The poor kid suffers from the same allergies as I do, which must be a night blooming something or other, because my nose gets runny and my throat gets scratchy every morning around this time.  Well, of course the coughing woke her up, and then she woke me up.  After putting her back to bed four times, I finally just told her that Mommy was going to go back to sleep and I wasn’t going to come back into her room until it was time to get up (this was around 5:00 am.)  I tried to go back to sleep, but we have the STRANGEST sounding birds I have ever heard in my life outside our windows.  So, I shut our bedroom window.  Then it got too hot in our room so I turned on our window AC unit.  Even with that running, I could hear Chloe coughing and and playing in her room.  Finally, at 6:00am I gave up and got up with her.  Now, she’s taking another marathon nap and I am sitting here blogging, wide awake and full of caffeine.  (Oh, and playing Mob Wars.  I have to have something to obsess about, right?)

So, I am a huge stalker.  I love reading people’s blogs, especially people I knew a long time ago.  I also joined Facebook and can now stalk a lot more people, and all those people’s friends.  Its kind of fun, but it makes me feel a little dirty.  Maybe I should actually talk to some of these people, just so they know I am stalking them.  Hmmm…nah.

Mia Micheals (famed choreographer, currently judge of hit TV show, “So you think you can dance”) HAIR STYLE! I am going to see if I can get a still picture of her to take to the hair dresser. BEWARE! The next time you see me, I may be the coolest person in the room!

(disclaimer: Tiffany realizes she will never be the coolest person in the room, no matter what her hair looks like, this includes but is not limited to: cut, style and color(s).)

Oh, and by the way, Twitch is my FAVORITE DANCER OF ALL TIME! Let’s see how long that lasts.

One of Chloe’s most annoying traits is repetition. She will say the same thing over and over and over again with little changes in her tone. “Mommy, BYE BYE?” “MOMMY, bye bye?” “Bye bye, Mommy?” MOOOOOMMMMYYY, BYE BYE!” You get the point. It drives me NUTS and for the longest time I couldn’t understand why she did it, because my answer is always the same, “Mommy’s not ready, Mommy needs to get ready.” No matter how many times she says it, it still takes me the same amount of time to get ready. So, why oh why does she feel the need to repeat things 150 times?

Then today:

“Chloe, help mommy clean up your dinosaurs.” (pause, no response.) “CHLOE, help mommy clean up your dinosaurs.” (small smile, saunters over to a different toy) “Chloe, help MOMMY clean up your dinosaurs.” (Finally, I walk over and lead her to the dinosaurs) “Chloe, HELP mommy clean up your dinosaurs.” (Compliance occurs.)

well, duh.

Chloe: “Guys, guys, look, I did it.”

John: “What did you do, Chloe?”

Chloe: “I fixed it.”