Flying with kids

Yep, I am officially insane. At least I am aware of it, right? I mean who flies with a two year old and a 3 month old willingly by herself? This girl right here.And let me tell you I collected a fair share of different kind of looks. The most common kind was "That poor woman." but I had many looks of "Better her than me." And trust me, I wanted to be in their shoes too.

 We flew Southwest and they really were amazing. I honestly can't imagine flying with anyone else. And their customer service, Fantastic! And who can beat 2 free bags per ticket, priority family boarding, and all baby equipment flying free.

We flew out of Boise on a Monday, armed with sippy cups, snacks, a whole bag of toys for Drew, my moby for Alynn, bottles, and little or no sleep. We were able to get an escort pass for Naythan so he could get through security with me which was a God send. We thought we had plenty of  time since we were about 2 1/2 hours early, so we camped out with the laptop and "How to Train your Dragon." Our plane was running late but I made sure I was listening for the boarding call since we were camped out a ways from our gate. My luck, the called "Connecting flight from Salt lake City boarding now." Ummm not "Flight 1234 to Seattle." so I stayed put. Then I heard the dreaded words "Finally boarding for flight 1234 connecting from Salt Lake to Sea/Tac." Um WTH? So we gathered up the kids and rushed to the gate. Gave Nayt a quick kiss and boarded. Our full flight. 

If you have ever flown Southwest, you will know they do not assign seats, and I needed at least two empty seats together since as much as I'd liked to have passed off Drew, i couldn't really do that. We made it all the way to the back of the plane without finding a place to sit. Me, 3 carry ones, 2 kids and 1 blanket. Oh and at this point Alynn was already screaming her pretty little head off. Thankfully I asked a flight attendant about seating right in front of these two college guys, and both guys offered to move so we could sit down. At the time I didn't know how much I would fall in love with this kid in a short 1 1/2 flight. I introduced Drew and I since Drew was already getting himself acquainted by climbing all over him, I got the bags under the seats, my cell phone off, and my seat belt on just in time to start moving. (thats how late we were!) The kid next to me helped me buckle Drew in, and I dug out Alynn's bottle. And we were off. And screaming. If one kid wasn't screaming, the other one was. Finally, Drew feel asleep and Alynn was calm enough to just chill in the moby. I wish this was my happy ending. We touched down, and all was well at Grammy's. But it wouldn't be a horror story if it ended like that.

Did you know it was possible to puke while sleeping? I sure didn't until the moment I heard Drew hurling up Red Robin hot dogs, Iced Tea, Chocolate milk and Power aid. Oh and gummy bears. Right as Alynn starts screaming. The kid next to me offered to take her so I could clean him up, only to have him projectile vomit all over me, the poor kid, the back of the seat, and his blanket. (Think Exorcism style.) I wanted to curl up and die. And finally we landed. I wanted to throw my self on solid ground yelling "LAND!" Like a freak. Instead I handed off Drew to my brother and Alynn to my mom and zoned out for the rest of the night, knowing that the flight home was looming in only 2 short weeks. 

I am happy to report though that the flight home went a million times better thanks to anti-nausea medication, an empty window seat, and lots of coffee!