Leaving the Bahamas- Arriving in Seattle

We’re back in Seattle!

We traveled all day yesterday and walked in our house around 11pm.

Flying in first class with Dahlia was trying at times, since we didn’t have a seat for her. She bounced between me and B, but stayed on my lap, on the spacious arm rest between our seats and finally, finally dropped to the floor and let the white noise of the plane lull her to sleep.

D watching Dora the Explora on her pink DVD player

I was in a rush the morning we left on our vacation and returned home to find a fluffy mold growing out of a sauce pan in the sink.

This morning D woke up at the crack of 7am and snuggled with us for an hour before indicating loudly that she was ready for breakfast. Our fridge was empty, so I had to make do with instant oatmeal and then we hit the grocery store and got some coffee.

It’s certainly fall here in Seattle. The sky is grey, it’s raining and my yard needs attention. I like being home, even though I could have spent another couple weeks in the Bahamas. We didn’t get to do or see much in Nassau because we were still on baby time. Between nap time and bedtime, we pretty much stayed on Paradise Island. When D is bigger, we’ll go back and get a little more adventurous.

Ok, so it’s fall. I had a delicious Pumpkin Spiced Latte this morning. Now I’m drinking tea and hating Williams-Sonoma because every fall I tell myself I’m not hosting Thanksgiving or Christmas and then I open the WS catalog, see all the pretty food and the recipes and sure enough, we’re inviting people over. It’s not that I don’t like hosting, because hosting is my favorite part. I don’t like that my house isn’t put together. We still have white walls, sparse furniture, the lighting is frustrating, dog pee stains on the carpet… who wants to eat in a dog pee stained carpet room?! That’s so gross!!! Ugh!

But what’s the alternative? We had the carpets professionally cleaned twice and the dog stains persist. Should we have a new floor put in so we can host a 4 hour dinner party? I say YES!

It’s back to work now for me; time to let my Conciergerie clients know that I love them.

Next trip, Houston in mid October to visit Auntie Em!

Bahamas- Atlantis, Paradise Island

Today was Saturday. We have already lost track of actual time and are now tracking how many days we have left until we must return to real life.

For the last few months I have been reading the blog of a former coworker’s wife. I met him at Microsoft. He is originally from Bermuda and like, the Bahamas, Bermuda was settled by the Brits. Heidi explains on her blog, that rather than saying “hello” and “goodbye”, the natives say “good afternoon” and “good evening”. They are very polite and they have the accent. It’s cool that they say Good Ahftah-noon.

We took D to the super duper awesome kid’s pool today and we all had a blast. I was dying to go down the small water slide, but thought it would be too much for D. I can’t even explain this kids pool, but naturally, I’ll try. They have a large pool that doesn’t get any deeper than thigh high. In the center, there is the equivalent of a big toy, but of course the slides off are water slides.

There is a huge bucket on the very top of the toy that is slowly filled by a fountain with water. Every 8 minutes or so, the bucket overflows and tips over, dousing the whole toy and everyone on it with water. They had water fountains coming up through the floors, through fire hose type nozzles, from out of nowhere. It was a blast, but got to be overwhelming for D.

Watch out! The bucket is dumping!

She napped in the afternoon. B read and I took a nap in the sun on our balcony. Can you finish this story yourself? Yep, that’s right, I turned red. It’s not too bad though.

Then we took a walk on the white, sandy beach and explored a hurricane-battered former hotel. It’s next door to our property on the beach. We approached it with caution because it’s in disrepair. The windows and doors are blown open. It actually looks like an 80-room motel, but the landscaping was overgrown, the paint was peeling and it needed some love and affection. I want to make it mine! It just needs a little TLC! Maybe next lifetime.

Our white, sandy beach

We still had a few more hours of happy toddler time, so we went over to see the “shish” in the giant aquarium. The architects of Atlantis made an underwater model of what Atlantis might have looked like if it was discovered. We walked the route and saw all the fish, the old skool diving gear and naturally, the gift store in the middle of it all. We saw some amazing fish, jellyfish, sharks, lobsters (which I wanted to butter up) and other sea life. It was fun.

We walked back to our side of the property and found ourselves on the other side of the hotel, with the big bridge overhead.

A friendly employee of Atlantis took a family photo of us, so that was very cool.

Here is Dahlia fake muggin' for the camera.

The people here are amazing. I know you might hear that about host cultures all over the world, but dang, the Bahamian’s know their stuff.

Tonight we had the babysitter some back and we went out to a lounge to have a drink, then waltzed into Bobby Flay’s “Mesa” for another beverage and finally, a 9:15pm dinner. YUM. I had the ahi and B had Lamb. We talked about buying a place here, the food was that good.

I feel compelled to mention that my wardrobe has been challenging. I tossed three dresses into my luggage and found last night, that they’re big. Something happened. Thanks to my new trainer, Shawn, I lost a size and a half and now, the dresses that I wore last year this time, are too big! Yeah me! Boo wardrobe! As if I don’t have enough trouble paying for clothing, finding clothes that fit and actually knowing when to wear what. (I know, complain… complain…) I wore a tacky outfit (Tacky is my birthright- thanks dad!) last night. Tonight, I noticed that my pink dress had adjustable straps, so I worked it and rocked the dress.

Date night!

B and I had great drinks and an awesome time. I am fully stuffed like a thanksgiving turkey and now that I have emptied my brain to my friend the blog, I’m now going to pass out and dream about floating down the “lazy river” on an inner tube tomorrow.

Gym tomorrow too. Maybe the “Body Cyclin’ ”.

Bahamas- Dinner at the Ocean Club's "Dunes"

So, yesterday was Friday and please allow me to remind you dear reader that I do not expect you to care about my daily comings and goings; I simply write to remind myself of the many ways I spend my precious time on vacation.

We took baby D to the “zero edge” pool. Zero edge means that there are no steps down into the pool, it’s just like a big, aqua puddle. You walk in and there you are, waste high in warm, Caribbean water.

Dahlia loved it. We chilled for a while and then, fearing skin cancer, we left after only an hour or so. Holding a bouncy, independent toddler in the pool is quite a workout.

Looks like rain

We put D down and I finally tied on my tennis shoes, grabbed my iPod, complete with new play list and made my way to the hotel gym. I think that each hotel here has a gym, but I went to the fitness center. I paid through the nose for the privilege of sweating on their treadmill and then took an "Entry to Pilates” class for 30 minutes, then paid $20 for the second half hour at which point the trainer put me on a Pilate’s machine. I worked my abs, I stretched, I was board.
Back to the gym with Rihanna’s “Disturbia” and Chris Brown’s “Forever” keeping me focused on not focusing and there I rocked the bouncy workout ball with my abs and push-ups and finished off with another two miles. I felt good, like I was catching up after eating too much for the last few days.

One of the reasons I came to Atlantis, was because they have babysitters. Despite all the scary and horrible stories of children disappearing from their hotel rooms while abroad, I had to take the chance. We have to go out. We put D down to be for the evening with the beloved Mister Cat, her binky and her bottle and made sure she was out like a light. We didn’t hear a peep. Our scheduled babysitter, a complete stranger arrived at our door. I gave her the rundown which was cut and dry: “call us if she makes a noise. Do not enter the inner sanctum, for the child will freak out.” D slept and I suppressed all my worst fears. The sitter was great, a local Bahamian woman who worked as a librarian during the day.

That night we went to "Dune" at the One and Only Ocean Club. Here is another site with a photo of Ocean Club. It was gorgeous and quiet, but it was so darn exclusive that it bordered on boring. There was good people watching, but we couldn't see the view and water etc. because the sun had set.

The food knocked our socks off and we barely fit into the car on the way back to our hotel.

I hope the photos turn out.

***

I'm at home now, posting the photos up. Here is a pic of B after we had dinner at Dune.

Arriving on Nassau, Bahamas!

The flight from Orlando to Nassau was one Elmo DVD and half a Baby Einstein DVD long.

We were on an older, 30-seater airplane. Dahlia was a model baby and reacted well to each and every one of my diversionary tactics, of which there are plenty. Allow me to list them in the event that you too are in this situation.

Diversions for an 18-month old

• DVD player
• Bottle of juice mixed with water with only 3 oz. total, to be refilled as slowly and infrequently as possible
• Slowly reviewing her books and pointing to every single thing one every single page
• Stickers- sticking them on her shoes and hands
• Peek-a-boo
• Saying "yuck" and making a face
• Touching/ lightly plugging her nose (sounds funny but it works)
• Reciting her books at home by memory: Wee Willy Winkie runs through the town, upstairs and downstairs in his nightgown. Tapping at the windows, peeking through the locks. Are the children all in bed? For now it's eight o'clock!
• Asking her where her hair, eyes, knees, feet, shoes etc. are
• This Little Piggy...

Upon landing, we walked across the tarmac, which made us feel like we were in The Thomas Crown Affair. B had arranged a ride to our hotel, so we were dragging D's heavy car seat behind us to what turned out to be a limo.

Behold, a car seat in a limo

I can hear you now, dear reader... but what were we to do? Refuse the ride?

A view from "the ride" to our hotel

Dahlia watching the fish (pronounced "shish") during dinner

We're all checked in now and comfortable in our room. B ran to the grocery store today and had the kind of coronary only he can have when he saw the grocery dollar total. I think everything costs 3x as much here since it's all shipped in.

We floated around in the huge, zero edge pool today and were the only ones there. We walked on the beach and sat in the warm water. Why does it smell like sulphur? I picked up a shell and the inhabitant poked me. I set it down again.

Tonight we had a low key, but delicious dinner with local specialities.

Vacation. Good.

Preparing for Vacation

With all the shenanigans that the terrorists are pulling these days, as well as the flat-lined economy, the restrictions of air travel are increasingly obnoxious.

I can't take liquids out of Seatac Airport. I can't bring milk or water on the plane for my kid. Powdered milk it is.

My airline has cancelled complimentary meals, but they can be purchased on-board. Do I dare take the risk? Today I planned out Dahlia's three, flight friendly meals which means that they don't include liquid, they aren't sticky and they aren't going to leave crumbs all over the place.

I opted to make her a turkey sandwich with cheddar cheese on white. We had them for lunch today to give them a test run. I had to add tons of relish and Dijon to mine since it was so bland.

I also broke down and bought a hand held DVD player. It was around $130, but holds a charge for 6 hours. Since we have another 1 hour flight to the Bahamas and back to Orlando and our return flight from Orlando to Seattle and I'll be flying with D again in October, I'm looking at it as an investment. I got her a couple DVDs she hasn't seen before; Baby Einstein (cringe away, I previewed it this morning and it's mind-numbing) and Because of Winn-Dixie, a kid's book- turned-film about a dog that befriends people and brings them together.

I bought some $1 light weight, picture heavy books for D that she hasn't seen before, so that should keep her occupied too. I'm also crossing my fingers that she'll take a 2 hour nap.

Enough obsessing! I'm off!

Flying with a Toddler

We are preparing to embark on our first family vacation with our 18-month-old daughter, which includes a six hour flight from Seattle to Orlando.

I whined to all my friends who are parents, about the lack of information with regards to flying with a kid and from what I gleaned, it's "live and learn".

Today, I just started researching the best way to fly with Dahlia and found a great website, written by flight attendants and frequent travelers.

It's called, Flying with Kids, who knew?

Here are the Best Travel Tips from the flight attendant. She is very straight forward about the fact that the crew is too busy to help and waiting for a flight attendant to heat water or milk for a bottle is unrealistic. Parents must bring everything they need onto the flight and when things get crazy, "keep a lid on the blender".

Flying with Kids recommends a secured flight vest for children who do not have a ticket or seat. It costs $30. Despite One Step Ahead's product description which states that the vest "exceeds FAA standards" there seems to be some controversy. A child is not permitted to wear the vest during taxi, take off and landing. The vest received very positive product reviews, but overall, it was not recommended because no toddler is going to just sit on an airplane seat.

Children's Flight Vest

Since I'm traveling alone with Dahlia and we're meeting B in Orlando, we opted to buy her a seat. According to the airline, a child with a purchased seat, under age two is required to sit in a car seat. There should be some sort of air travel information on the bottom of our Britax car seat, but I couldn't find one on ours... Okaaay, now I suppose I'll figure out exactly what car seat I'm supposed to have.

Everyone is trying to sell me things, so it's tough to tell what's required and what's preying on my paranoia.

Here is another child restraint seat belt called C.A.R.E.S. It costs $75.

The Sunshine Kids Radian 80 Car Seat at Baby Earth has a 17 inch base and their brilliant marketing department points out that their seat "has a 17" base, which is smaller than most, and will fit most airplane seats. FAA approved for use in aircraft."

Our Britax base is 14 inches wide, so I guess it would fit, but I can't take the chance.

Let's check and see if United Airlines has anything to say on the subject. I could have, should have checked with them first, but why make things easy on myself?

Booking a seat for an infant on United Airlines

• One child less than 24 months of age may travel free within the U.S. when accompanied by an adult and not occupying a separate seat.


• You may use an approved infant car seat on board the aircraft when you purchase a seat for your child. The seat must be an FAA-approved child safety seat device.


• If manufactured after February 1985, the car seat should also be certified for use in aircraft. You should seat your child in the child safety seat for takeoff, landing and during turbulence.


• The FAA has approved the use of a child safety restraint system for travel. The system, named “CARES”, uses an additional belt and shoulder harness that goes around the back of the seat and attaches to the lap belt. Children weighing between 22 and 44lbs may use this device. More information is available at http://www.kidsflysafe.com/.


• The following child restraint devices may not be used on board the aircraft: booster seats, belly belts which attach to adult seat belts only, and vests or harnesses which hold the infant to the chest of the adult.

Strollers

• Strollers may be checked to your final destination without a fee, in addition to your free baggage allowance.


• Children can be transported in their stroller throughout the airport. However, strollers must be checked at the gate. The stroller will be delivered to you at the aircraft door upon request at your connecting city or destination.


• United highly recommends using an umbrella stroller when traveling. Umbrella strollers may be accommodated on board the aircraft when space permits in place of your carry-on bag.

My husband just informed me that we're not flying United, we're flying Alaska... so let's try this again!

Alaska Airlines on Traveling with Infants and Toddlers

Car Seats

• Infants traveling on a regular fare are strongly recommended to be secured in an appropriate child restraint system.


• Infants traveling as a lap infant (sharing seat with parent) may bring a child restraint seat on board if: 1) there is an empty seat available for the infant and 2) the car seat bears the following two required labels:

This restraint system conforms to all applicable federal motor vehicle safety conditions.
This restraint is certified for use in motor vehicles and aircraft. (NOTE: Labels that indicate U.S. or Foreign Government approval or show the seat was manufactured under the standards of the United nations are also valid.)

• In addition to the standard CRS mentioned above, children between 22 to 44 pounds and 40 inches or less may use an Aircraft Safety Device for added security. Currently the CARES Restraint is an approved ACSD if it bears a label that reads: FAA APPROVED IN ACCORDANCE WITH14 CFR 21.302(d)


• Any other child booster seats and other types of child restraints may not be used during take-off, landing, and surface movements regardless of what stamp/seal of approval these booster or harness devices carry.

So, for me this means that I need to buy a car seat with the approved flight label.
I called the overpriced baby boutique that sold us the Britax, believing that they wouldn't carry or sell a car seat that wasn't FAA approved. Finally, success!

Amidst the fine print on the various labels behind the seat, one states, "This restraint is certified for use in motor vehicles and aircraft." Aww man! I just noticed that it's in bright red too! Duh!

I'm feeling sheepish because the answer seemed so obvious and available, but when it comes to wasting time on my kid's safety, I'll waste away.

Now onto packing.

Dahlia will have her own carry on backpack. It's the Hello Kitty backpack that I used when I was a kid. It's made of canvas and somehow made it through all these years. I was saving it for my kid and here we are.

I'm packing it with lightweight and very tiny toys for D. Stickers, new books, finger puppets...

Flying with Kids also recommended the following;

• A DVD player if it's in the budget (I'm going to research it and consider it an investment since we'll hopefully be taking more trips from now on)


• Dry milk packets for Dahlia's bottle (Dry milk tastes gross! I can't imagine she would drink it, so I'll buy some today and try it out on her.)


• Food and snacks with eating utensils and a bowl


• Earplugs


• A Ziploc bag for dirty diapers (Hallelujah)


• An umbrella stroller (Our umbrella-ella-ella stroller seems flimsy, but I'll have to deal with it this trip.)


• Leash (They recommend this on almost every page of their site and I always swore I'd never leash my child. A creative friend of mine has her 2 year old wear a cute dog backpack and the "dog" on the backpack has a leash. Hello Kitty is getting a tether, let's just hope I don't have to use it much.

Here is a list of the stuff I have to pack:
My 1 suitcase (checked)
Baby's bag- will be inside my suitcase (checked)
The car seat (checked at the curb and transported to the Jetway for me, I desperately hope.)
The Stroller
The kid- hopefully in the stroller
My laptop bag (carry on)
The kid's carry on/ diaper bag- in the stroller
The kid's Hello Kitty backpack of toys and diversions- on the kid, or in the diaper bag

It's time to pack!

I'll blog my way to Orlando and then to Atlantis in the Bahamas. We'll be dodging hurricanes Ike and Hanna. Thunderstorms are predicted next week.

I love adverse weather conditions!