Clean Underwear

In the 'old' days (BC) Before Children, we would toss a few things in a bag and off we would go. It didn't matter what time we were able to get away, we simply - left. If it was 10 p.m. before we were able to get away from work etc. and had a 6 hour drive ahead of us.. so what. We were young and had no set bedtime ;)

Once, we left Chattanooga TN at 2:30 a.m. for our drive home. We arrived home just in time for Dave to get to work by 7 a.m. Boy have things changed! A little NoDoz went a long way then.

It seems like whenever we prepare to leave, it takes twice the amount of time we will be away to get ready.
~Loads of laundry

~cleaning the house (sort of like your Mother telling you to wear clean underwear in case you have a car wreck)..

~arranging for house/ dog sitter who isn't afraid of 'killer' the 3/4 wolf 1/4 pit bull house pet

~ making sure the house sitter's gun permit is current

~ packing snacks for little tummy's that can't wait until a plane lands

~things to occupy the little hands so the flight attendants can relax and so can the folks in the next seat

~ oh and packing while remaining within the airlines weight limits.

By the way, if you are in a car accident, wouldn't the last thing you would be concerned about is clean underwear?

So, we stuff the wedding attire poofy things into the Samsonite, hoping it won't be lost in transit. Still, there is excitement, and fun. Elizabeth is experimenting with about 10 - 12 clothing changes a day (or whatever is in reach in her closet) and packing the things she deems as the utmost importance that we take along. This must include Papa (her panda), oogle boogle (a small blankie that our friend Shelley made her when she was a baby) and her pink Bee Bee (blanket). Without these precious items, no one would be having fun! They will travel with us as carry ons!

The last time we traveled long distance requiring a lengthy flight with Elizabeth was when we returned from China. She cried - no screamed for almost 13 hours. It was the longest day of our lives!! She still only wanted Dave, so HE held her the entire time and I felt totally helpless as I saw him struggle and didn't know what to do for Elizabeth. We tried it all, sippies, eating, swallowing anything she would take, walking the isle, nothing worked.

Our seats were in the premium economy section, and when we landed in L.A. we were the only ones left in that entire section. It was so bad that all the other passengers, one by one left that section and went to sit in coach giving up their precious extra 4 inches of leg room!! I still have recurring nightmares about that flight! Turns out, she had the beginning of an ear infection (poor baby!) and we didn't find this out until we arrived home. She still tells us her ears hurt on airplanes. We hope lots of bubble gum will do the trick this time. Ears are clear as far as we know! Never again will I be irritated with a screaming baby on an aircraft. I will simply be eternally grateful that it's not US!!