Tips for traveling with a baby (or children)

A friend of mine with a three-month old recently asked for tips on traveling with her baby. Sharing my thoughts incase it's helpful to you! These can easily be translated for traveling with children of any age.

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While I am no longer a baby gear expert (hard to believe that season was 6 years ago for me and so much has changed in the baby-gear realm!), here are a few general principles/ideas I've discovered to be helpful along the way. Obviously less is more when traveling, especially when there's so much baby gear that can be required on trips!

1. Know the resources at your destination and do an initial errand run if you can for items such as diapers, baby food*, etc.
2. See if there's anything you can borrow (from the airline, hotel, rental car or a neighbor/family member at your destination) so as to avoid lugging a lot of gear (pack n play from a neighbor/family member, crib from hotel, car seat/booster from rental car company, etc.).
3. Ship what you can: for long trips have diapers/baby food delivered from Amazon, etc. (I've had Zappos ship sandals at the last minute to our destination).
4. Do what you can to make your life easier by cutting corners that you usually wouldn't. (If you make your own baby food, give yourself a break and buy pre-made food on trips.)
5. Pack an awesome bag of essentials; it will likely be your sanity! (a few diapers, wipes, burp clothes, change of clothes for baby, extra pacifier if using, light blanket, *snacks and favorite toys plus a treat for yourself.* A drink/pacifier that baby can suck while plane is ascending and descending, if you're flying.) Older children can pack their own bag-of-fun, and I like to pack a small bag of extras with interesting toys/books for when their supply runs low or–on road trips–has landed on the car floor.
6. Figure out when you can catch a break on the trip and plan on it. ...So important as trips require extra energy and usually mean less sleep when little-ones have a challenging time sleeping in a new environment.
7. Show yourself grace, especially in the tough moments, and go with the flow of the adventure!

Rainbow Quilt Surprise

Came home after a fantastic dinner with my husband and friends, and found this lovely surprise under my desk! I think I literally gasped because I was shocked to find this little creation of art. Though both of my sons were in bed, I knew which one made it. Signature order, structure and thoughts expressed through pattern. After stumbling across this expression, I could just imagine seeing my little guy's movements, effort and thoughtful placement of the fabric swatches. I used to see surprises such as this a lot, but it's been a while now that he's in Kindergarten all day. What a delight to see such playful artwork in a unique place. Refreshing. Thankful for my present tonight.

Spelling Practice

A new way for my little guy to study his spelling words: Ordinarily I strictly request no toys at the table during homework time. Instead, tonight I capitalized on a spark of creativity and asked Gabe to teach his three Lego friends how to spell each word off of this week's list by reading the word, writing the word and spelling it out loud. Gabe's imagination is one of the most beautiful things about him. He took my recommendation very seriously and did it with delight. A win-win, no homework struggle.

New Years Resolution 2013

Okay, readers (if you're out there). One of my new years resolutions is to blog more. Not because I want to be one of those hip, famous bloggers, but because I love sharing ideas. And do I usually share my thoughts here? No! A brief note: I have countless photos I've taken and thoughts I've jotted down with good intentions to share here, but that have gotten lost in the abyss of to-dos and the following.

I used to think I didn't have time to blog because I was too busy parenting, designing, exercising, reading, researching, cooking, you get the idea. And it was true, or at least a nod to my priorities in that ever so busy season of having two little, energetic guys 15 months apart.

But now, I'm in a new season with both of my fast-growing boys off to school all day. Excuses are gone if I want them to be. I'm still busy, but could certainly make the time if I really want. Plus, I'm in a new era of technology than years ago when it was such an arduous process to share photos and submit a post on the fly.

However, with my recent discovery that I'm a 3 on the Enneagram (more on that later), I'm realizing that my current inactivity with social media / my blog lies mostly in the fact that it is sometimes nearly torturous for me to write freely and candidly, especially when it comes to the reality of the possibility of being scrutinized 24/7 in the ever-so-vast, vulnerable, never sleeping realm of the virtual world.

And if I'm really honest with myself, blogging regularly also comes with the fear of caring too much about it and seeking the approval of those of you reading this, which I have worried would manifest in a false self-identity to the ultimate demise of my soul and become an unproductive waste of time. (Hello, run-on.)

But alas, I am choosing to let go of those fears and give it a shot, even if it turns out to be a failing one.

So here goes, and thanks for reading.

PS: One last thought: the awful aesthetics of my current site is a major inspirational hang-up for me. Look for a face-lift in the near future!

Great Parenting Article

Check out this article on Raising Successful Children from The New York Times. I often think of overwhelming extremes when I hear a title like this. Think tiger mom or helicopter parent, both of which are addressed in the first sentence of the text. The article is one of the best on parenting that I've ever read. (...So good I'm actually posting it on my blog - surprise!) It is concise and based on research. Thank you, Madeline Levine and Carol Dweck.

Teaching Good Perspective to My 5 Year Old

Yesterday at breakfast it became apparent that my son needed a little help with his perspective after I sliced a banana into his cereal bowl and popped the tiny end that I had been holding into my mouth. Gabe was bummed that I had eaten the teeny piece, which for me was just an automatic action. I apologized and pretty quickly seized the teachable moment by moving on to helping him view the situation with good perspective. Behold, below is the sketch I drew while we conversed. This was also a good reminder for myself as I am in a season of overhauling my perspective, being disciplined in my thoughts and living in the present moment.

Love as a Verb

"Love is the commitment of
my will to your needs
and best interests,
regardless of the cost."

From a book I'm reading called Grace Based Parenting. 
Great way to put it. So hard and important to live out.