AAAhhhhh! #TripPlanning with #Toddlers

Anyone else have this problem? We have just found out the official date for my BIL's wedding. Yay! So excited!! The problem? The wedding is in California and we are in West Virginia. 5 hours. In a plane. With a toddler. Actually, after driving 9 hours (which inevitably turns into 10 because around hour 6 Fuss decides to potty every 20 minutes) to my Dad's, a 5-hour flight shouldn't really be all that bad. My dilemma there? The car seat. I have a rather bulky seat, but it is an awesome seat for the price and goes up really high in weight limits. The issue is that it might be too wide at the base to fit in the airplane seat correctly. The average seat width is somewhere around 17.2" (Source) and my seat is 20.8" wide. I asked on a Facebook group what the solution would be and the answer was to lift the arm rests. Okay, I can manage that. What about the weight of the seat carrying it through the airport? (It weighs about 15 pounds.) Well, I can cart it. My other option would be getting a new, but cheap, car seat for the trip. Bonus: That second seat would end up going to my MIL for use when she baby sits Fuss. The second seat is only about 1" less wide, but is 4 pounds lighter!

Secondly, we have to consider entertainment for Fuss. She gets bored easily and when she gets bored she, well, fusses. She will either scream or fight or wander. (Insert reason #1253 for taking car seat here.) On the other hand, it is only 5 hours. I don't want to be "those" people with the screaming kid, but I don't want to have to lug around more than necessary. She HAS to be harnessed according to FAA regulations. So, I can probably take some crayons and some snacks, but what else would you take on a plane ride for a 3-year-old?

Once I get all the planning sorted out in my head, I will be a LOT less stressed about this. Of course, I don't have just 1 trip to plan. Hubby and I also have to plan a trip for my baby sister's graduation! These events will be just a couple weeks apart, so that should be interesting.

Have you traveled with your kids? What did you do to entertain them?

#MMM Back From Oblivion

I'm joining in on a blog hop with The Gnome's Mom to share a little bit about the life I lead here. The Gnome's Mom is one of my favorite blogs to read and follow on a regular basis as well. If you're a blogger and would like to link up, feel free! And add us on Twitter with the hashtag #MMM

Okay, so not really oblivion, but close enough! Let's see here. June 25 I was able to post while on vacation. And, let me tell you, typing on a smart phone SUCKS! But Lori was able to link me in (because being on said "smart" phone, I couldn't link myself) that week. Fast forward through Sesame Place, Crayola Factory, and the trip home while milking our truck for all it was worth trying to keep the temperature down to a normal level, and we arrive 10 MINUTES before the biggest storm of the YEAR wipes out nearly all of the Tri-state area of West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. I swear, I wanted to turn around and drive my butt back to Philadelphia...of course, I don't think they had power either.

So, here goes the week of July 4th. Starting out with no power and little clean clothing because we had a week's worth of clothes with us in Philly for vacation. Fuss had NO underwear left and Hubby and I were almost out of socks and shorts. We are down to charging our cell phones in the car or going to the local US Cellular stores for their Ah-may-zing battery swap program. 500,000 people were out of power during this time and most were told it would be a week or more to get restoration underway. Our problem had nothing to do with the storm. Not a single line was broken on my street. What was it? A fuse. Took the guys 20 minutes to fix it by switching for a new and larger fuse. We waited a week. With a 2-year-old. My in-laws had power 2 days before we did (and they live up the street). My next door neighbor never lost power (on a different grid), so we were able to plug in our fridge to their outlets. Hubby's friend "Driver" let us borrow his generator for the rest. It was hot and humid all week. I guess I am just glad it wasn't worse. I mean, we could have lost more than power. So, I am very thankful for that. We also found out just what we can live without. A fan is NOT one of those things! LOL.

Now we come to last week. After the power outage screwing up my ability to log on and do work for a week, I got to start my new job on July 6. Last week was my first full week of work. I am loving it! My MIL had Fuss almost all day on Monday of last week while I was working. The thing that sucked was that I had almost 100 transcriptions to do and they ALL had to be done by 4 p.m. Central for review. I was learning the new system and trying to figure out exactly how everything was going to work. It has been quite a week there! Not to mention, that amidst all of this, I also was cleaning the house (that I couldn't clean with no power) and trying to get ready for my Dad's visit from NY on July 11. I was making myself crazy! At least, Dad stayed at a hotel, so I didn't have to worry about where they would sleep (Dad, Step-mom, and sister). Fuss had a great time with Grammy, Poppa, and RiRi while they were here. I wish we all lived closer for sure.

Finally, today...Dad left yesterday for his return trip to upstate NY. I think this was probably one of the best visits we've had in years. Hubby and I got to spend a lot of time with Dad and Step-mom as well as Ri. I am very excited to see them again in November. Today, I actually woke up with a migraine. Guess my hormones are going a little spastic on me since I went off the birth control (as of July 6). Even with the migraine I still managed to get 80 transcriptions done in about 6 hours. I'm really beginning to get the hang of the system and enjoying the work. I am still working on how to get everything scheduled and accomplished with this new role in my life. At least half the week Hubby can help me out. And we have my MIL watching Fuss on Mondays and my next-door neighbor watching her Tuesday and Wednesday so I can work. I know the schedule and all that will fall into place eventually. The last few weeks have been absolute chaos, so I am definitely looking forward to finding some kind of balance again.

Until next time...

#MMM Truly Frustrated

Well, in the true sense of Manic Mommy Monday, I have no home computer, no power, AND no sanity left. Made it home from vacation on Friday evening returning from Philadelphia to, what else, a freaking tornado! The airport just up from me reported 66-mile-an-hour winds and neighbors lost lots of trees during this insane storm. I am currently sitting at the library computer after realizing that I don't have enough cash on me to print my contract for work (which was supposed to start today) and I am so flustered I am about to scream. So, for today, that's it. I am going to attempt to take Fuss to see Brave this evening as long as I can manage to make it there before 6:30. I will be updating on our trip to Sesame Place, Crayola Factory, and Please Touch Museum whenever I finally have life back to some semblance of normal. Oh, and the kicker? Our truck has a blown head gasket...that we had to drive home with. Now, it's a 2,000-pound lawn ornament.

WELCOME HOME!