2009 California Vacation: Flying With Kids

Oh, goodness. There are no pictures of our flights to and from California, for good reason. Flying with two children in the toddler/preschool age range is far, far more difficult than anything I have ever experienced! I've flown with a single 15 month old, a three month old and a 2 year old, but flying with a 19 month old and a 3 year old takes the cake. The difficult child? Hint: it wasn't the 19 month old!

As there are four of us and the airline seats are arranged in rows of three, we had to either sit 2x2 or 3 in a row with 1 person across the row. We chose the latter situation, so that we would not have two strangers constantly inconvenienced by our children and constant climbing over the seats to get to the bathroom.

The flight out to California started with a three hour drive to Cleveland. At 4:30am. Nolan fell back to sleep on the ride, Matt did not. This means that we started our day with an overtired three year old- a point to remember.

Getting out of the car and into the terminal was a feat unto itself. Dragging three full size suitcases, one stroller, one carseat, three backpacks, one 3 year old, and one 19 month old through the terminal is enough to qualify for an Olympic event. For the record, Dennis handled the three suitcases and one backpack. I handled the carseat, one backpack, the stroller, and 19 month old. Matt handled himself and one roller-style backpack that contained a billion dollar store toys. The fact that he cooperated and stayed with us is more than a minor miracle!

We checked the baggage (oh, checked baggage fees, I loathe thee) and then went through security. This involves, of course, the removal of shoes from all parties. Then putting shoes on again, which means wrestling with two small, hyper children. TSA employees cringe when they see a family with toddlers in the line.

Waiting for the flight was easy, because there is a play area at the Cleveland airport and a conveniently located Cinnabon. Yes, we were loading our children up with sugar prior to a 5 1/2 flight. Hey, it kept them happy at the time!

Pre-boarding ain't what it used to be. Basically, they let you board exactly 3.2 seconds prior to the entire aircraft. This means there is a line of impatient travelers stuck behind your *ahem* heiney, which is jutting out into the aisle as you try to install the carseat. Matt was treating the row across from us as a bounce house, and Nolan was simply crying to get picked up again.

We did get our entire party settled, and Nolan immediately realized that his carseat put his feet at a prime seat-kicking angle. The lady in front of us turned and glared at me, "excuse me, but your son is kicking my seat!" Having removed his shoes, I told her, "I'm sorry. He's a baby. The only thing I could do is bind his legs together, and I don't think that is legal." She assured me it was OK, with that glare of I hate you people and your annoying kids left in her eye.

Five and a half hours. 20 dollar store toys in the backpack. A play rate of one toy per minute. You can see where I'm going here. Nolan eventually cried and fell asleep. Matthew did not. He did find that the tray table had excellent entertainment value. Up and down. Up and down.

"Matthew! Leave the tray table ALONE."

Five more minutes pass. Up and down. Up and down.

May God bless the kind lady in front of us for maintaining her peace. Perhaps she realized we were doing the best we could.

Finally, the descent into Los Angeles. The blissful popping of ears and screeching of tires on the runway. And the most glorious site in the world: grandparents who are all too happy to pick those little cherubs up (stain smeared faces and all) and carry them all the way to the car.

The best news of the trip: both boys slept for the entire ride from Los Angeles to Oxnard (about 2 hours in length).

For the record, here were the best travel toys on the plane:

• Stickers. Nolan stuck these everywhere and found it hilarious.
• A toy tool set from the dollar store. Matt liked this a lot- it lasted a whole 20 minutes.
• A light up toy (press the button, it spins around). Both boys played with this a lot.
• A Lego ATV kit. Matt built this several times. We were anxious about losing pieces, though.
• Yogos. The best travel snack ever invented.
• A tile-slide puzzle. Even Nolan liked sliding the tiles around.
• Toy cars. Matt played with them on the tray.

The toys that our boys didn't care for:

• A squishy ball. Nolan was afraid of it and Matt didn't care for it.
• Coloring books and crayons. Matt doesn't like to color. Nolan was entertained for a few minutes.
• Color Explosion book and markers. For the reason above- Matt is not into coloring.
• The DVD player. Matt wouldn't wear the earbuds we had and Nolan couldn't hear it. Next time we'll get over-the-ear headphones to see if Matt likes it better and Music Links for Nolan's aids. Both boys love this in the car, so it was definitely the use of the headphones that made them not like it (or able to use it).

The ride back was much the same as the ride out, only Matt kept shoving his legs into the aisle rather than lifting the tray table up and down. They were a bit more mellow on the ride home, and the flight was also an hour shorter. Hopefully things will be easier next year, when we have a 2 1/2 year old and a 4 year old. Hey, one can hope!