Lessons from the plane

After little man's 3rd plane trip, I've learned a few things:

1. Traveling with a 6 month old is MUCH easier than with a 14 month old.  Less stuff.  Less acrobatics.  Less vocal gymnastics.

2.The #1 best circumstance on a plane is getting to sit next to another family with young kids.  For one, they entertain each other, and two- if any of them start screaming, you have an ally. Strength in numbers.

3. (C)RAISINS!  One by one.  I found them to be the best food distraction and prevented at least 30 minutes worth of screaming.  They were such a lifesaver that I didn't even care when they all reappeared in his diaper a day or two later...

Clyde turns 1

They say that a year goes by in the blink of an eye and it's so true!  Our little miracle turned one last month and we had a shindig at the park with friends and family.  Inspired by one of Clyde's favorite books, Cowboy Small by Lois Lenski, I went with a cowboy theme and it was a blast.

Happy birthday, Clyde Stephen!  We can't imagine life without you.

If anything makes flying more miserable, it's United Airlines.

#ifIhadTwitterthatwouldbemytweetaftereverysingleflightwiththemasfarbackasIcanremember

Photo Comparison

It's time for another photo comparison. Let's do this by 4's:

4 days:

4 weeks:

4 months:

4x2=8 months:

and... 4x2.375=9.5 months (ok, cheating maybe, but how else was I supposed to post a current photo?):

Exploring

I love to travel and only wish I could do more of it. My ideal vacation is one where I'm always on the move, and seeing as much as possible in as little time as possible. This requires some extensive research and planning prior to the trip, and there is nothing I love better. Forget about sitting in the hotel room flipping through pamphlets, deciding "where to go next" or "rest and relaxation". I can get R and R at home, and there are few things that put me in a more sour mood than being cooped up inside a house or hotel room when there is so much to do and see out there.

Sometimes I'm a bit overly ambitious in my planning, squeezing too much into one day, but I think it's better to err on the side of having to drop one thing from the agenda than to wonder at the end of the day if I could have seen more. My true exploratory and independent nature comes out when I'm traveling solo (usually on a work-related trip)-- in between meetings and seminars I'm riding public transit, jogging downtown, or taking a stroll at the park on my own. I absolutely love it. Any city with a good transportation system (D.C. takes the cake--- I'm pretty much in heaven) allows me to go everywhere and see everything. Public transit or not, one essential item that must be packed is a pair of running shoes. How much I can explore a city on foot! Even in the dark! Even without a map! It's glorious.

This week I'm in Minneapolis. I'm ready to get back to the warm weather at home, but I have to say that this city is quite attractive. It's clean, pedestrian-friendly, there are huge parks for running, free exhibits, and it's easy to navigate. Unfortunately I left my running shoes at home. I'm never doing that again. Oh well, at least I still got to see the spoon and cherry.

Boarding planes

After another round of flying I began to wonder how boarding "zones" are assigned. I'm about as picky about my seat assignment as I am in picking out bananas at the store (VERY picky!!!), and part of the reason that I choose to sit towards the back of the plane (aisle seat, please!) is because I want to board first so that there is plenty of room in the overhead compartment. But most airlines board in random order so that even though I'm in the back, I could board with the last zone/group and risk having to check my bag to my final destination.

This randomized method hardly seems the most efficient to me. I spent mucho time thinking about this and returned home to find this blog entry, proving that analytical/statistically oriented minds think alike. Some people ponder about the meaning of life. I meditate on things like this.

Fascinating.

I guess it matters not whether I book a seat near the front or back of the plane.

Time Flies

I've lost some weight since last April, but I pretty much still carry it around with me everywhere I go.