Cold Spaghetti

Our rough itinerary:
— June 17th Sunday. (Father’s Day and my parents’ 34th wedding anniversary): Leave New Orleans at 7:25 AM. Plane change in Dulles. Arrive in Harrisburg at 1:35, wait for Mom’s 2:22 arrival and then get rental car (2007 Chrysler Town and Country Minivan!) Late arrivals, delays, and a 40 mile detour on the PA Turnpike help for a late (5:30) arrival in Carlisle. A trip to the store, pasta take-out, and a quick dip in the pool — kids in bed around 8:30pm. Paul works into the night.
— Monday. Paul works via hotel WiFi all day. Mom, me and the kids spend the day at Uncle Corky and Aunt Roxanne’s home in Carlisle, where my Grandma Betty lives with them. My cousin Katelin makes it back from her job at a local bank to visit. My Dad and Great Uncle Gus (Grandma Betty’s brother) drive from Pittsburgh, where Dad has been over the past weekend seeing the U.S. Open.
— Tuesday. Granna and PapPap, Uncle Gus, and the four of us (me, Paul, and kids) head to Strasburg, PA (Pennsylvania Dutch Country) to ride Thomas the Train. — Tuesday Night: Paul works late into the night to catch up on hours. Will wakes up at 1:35am throwing up all over his bed. He’s burning up.
— Wednesday. Will seems better in the morning… except for complaining that his “bones hurt” … uh-oh. It’s a family day with everyone (minus a working Paul) at Uncle Corky and Aunt Roxanne’s… Paul takes break from work to join us for an early dinner.
— Thursday. We leave for the airport at 4:18am. Dad (thankfully) drops us off so that we don’t have the added trouble of rental car return. Flying through Chicago, we arrive in NOLA around 11am. The kids handled the flights well (1.5 and 2.5 hours, respectively); Kate seems hoarse and Will is still complaining about his “bones.”

We’re back from our trip to Carlisle, PA, where we visited my Grandma Betty and spent time with my extended family. I’ve got a host of amazing pictures and some experiences that I would like to take the time (ha!) to compose thoughtfully, but until then have to vent:

Of all the things to get nailed for in security check-through, the jerk security guard TOOK AWAY THE FREEZER INSERTS TO MY BREASTPUMP. I showed them at the pre-screen without problem, but apparently they were too suspect to go through the xray. There was no problem with the two bottles of juice, carton of yogurt, and two sippy cups (that I claimed at the xray). Even the many items I forgot to claim (not completely intentionally) went through security without a second glance. (And, by all rights, I could have gotten really nailed for the things I forgot to mention.) But frozen inserts to a breastpump??

Still, the whole thing wouldn’t have been that much of a big deal to me if it weren’t for the flaky, all-powerful ridiculousness that went into his decision about the contended contraband. It wasn’t that they were “against the rules” which made it impossible for me to take through, it was his ASSESSMENT of them. This included a survey of “just how young a child” I was caring for and “whether the things inside really needed to be kept cold.” Apparently, having a teething child and wanting to keep drinks and binkies cold is suspect. As are a 1-year old’s leather sandals.

So, two of my medela freezer inserts were sacrificed to the jerk at Harrisonburg Airport. (!!)

I almost forgot to wax on poetic about the marvelous Tampa Airport. The Southwest terminal was a dream for parents… wide, open, lots of chairs in open places, a huge changing station counter-top surrounded by mirrors, and even a flight-themed preschooler and toddler play area. Will loved “flying” in the squooshy airplanes.
Kate, on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with being kept inside of an airplane (hadn’t she already done that once on this day and was preparing to do it again?) See that face? She was much more content running out of the play area and getting chased to come back inside.

— Flying direct is ALWAYS preferred.
— No matter how many toys you bring, playing with the fold-up tray is more fun.
— People who are not handicapped or traveling with children SHOULD NOT SIT IN BULKHEAD SEATING. This means you, annoying woman with the Soap Opera Digest and WWJD bracelet. I’m just guessing here, but I’d venture that Jesus wouldn’t plop down in bulkhead while 3 older women in wheelchairs and 2 families with small children shuffle into the back aisles.
— Southwest is a good airline for family travel: priority open seating, kids’ activity books, willing to fill zippy cups early in the flight before beverage service, give drinks with lids and straws to all members of the family (for when that rouge toddler kick knocks everything off your tray).
— Raleigh Durham airport gets a big thumbs down. There is no gas station within 5 miles of the car rental return. We had to drive far away (in morning traffic) and search for a place to fill-up. (Thank goodness we were early.) Then, the rental agency van drop-off is 50 meters from the terminal — separated by a landscaped divider with STAIRS. Big stroller, 6 bags, 2 kids… couldn’t we have been dropped off closer?? Then the Smart Cart dispenser ate our $2 without giving us a cart. I called the 800 number to “request a refund” — not in my best moment, I described the “b” in my name (for which I usually say “b as in boy”) as “b as in bullshit”.
— Flying with kids is really nothing to be scared about. It’s just more of a pain to pack for flight (versus throwing a ton of stuff in the car) and get from each point in a timely fashion when you’ve got kids to worry about.
— Having an extra bedroom and kitchenette in a hotel makes a TON of difference. Free high speed internet (for streaming WWOZ when you need some New Orleans in your day) is a big plus.
— Kids can’t handle long car trips without plenty of stops and exercise. Maybe this is just my kids, but they really can’t be held down too long without all of us suffering.
— We really love minivans.

We think that Brayden is going to adore his older cousin, Will. After just two days, Brayden developed Will’s well-established affinity for hardware.
Sunday afternoon, we took the kids to make a surprise for Nana. I’m posting two pictures that Paul took — Nana knows this much about her surprise so we’re not spoiling anything major. The remarkable thing is that Will wasn’t the one to spill the beans about our secret errand… Paul was!


Will is GREAT with babies and it was no different with Brayden. He loved giving him zerbers, playing peek-a-boo with Brayden’s feet, and tickling him… Brayden laughed and laughed at his silly cousin!


I’m already worried about when they are teenagers and ask for the keys to the car to go out together.

Then a walk to the lake, where I messed around with the camera and took pictures of all the “monsters” Will found.

Nana read Thump Thump Thump and In a Dark, Dark Wood about 47 times. This is not an exaggeration.
The kids played — rolling on the air mattresses, laughing, sharing binkies (Brayden is a master binky-stealer; Kate taunts him to try for it), and reading stories.

A few details…
— Paul’s b-day is May 5th, Kate’s (first!) is May 9th. We had an early birthday for them in a fun cafe in New Bern.
— But first we explored.
— Horses and carriages… churches…playgrounds…old fashion hardware stores…artsy-fartsy galore. Loved it.
— Kids had a great time in the party room at the Funky Cow — complete with a cow-themed farm in the back as a play area.













I got a bit artsy. The black-and-white seemed to work a bit more here. I think that a black and white filter would help the contrast a bit more…? But I like these.


Will loved the minivan. He told us the birthday was for him, too — and that he was now SIXTEEN and could drive.

A few details…
— Brayden is 3 months younger than Kate… but outweighs her by a good 3-4 pounds and has an inch or more on her. He rolls, moves on his stomach, and pounds out intense beats with his feet, which are always moving, or his fist and feet in unison. I am completely in love with him.
— Nana Nancy’s new house has a great playground in the backyard with swing (see below) and sandbox. Will worked very hard to “fix” it so that it was safe for the babies to use.
— One picture, three smiling children? Not in my world. But it was fun to try.

What surprise it has been to find myself at a point in my life where the sight of a new minivan can make my heart skip a few beats.

For this trip, we had Some Serious Stuff (including the mega stroller) so we pushed the limits of Paul’s per diem and splurged an extra few bucks on a minivan. It was a basic Dodge Caravan, no extended “Grand” cabin, no power gear, nothing but the basics… and it was pretty nice.

We tested the ‘van on the open road Friday afternoon, driving down to New Bern, NC. The drive took us about 9 hours — traffic around DC, slow backroads, and frequent stops to let the kids run around — but we made it! Amy, Kevin, and Brayden were already there — I spent the rest of the weekend as paparazzi.