6 concerns and solutions While Planning For and Visiting NYC with my 2-year-old

I recently travelled from Seattle to the east coast and Houston with my young daughter, Dahlia and both experiences were good. My husband used his frequent flier miles to get us first class or business class seating and as a result, the flight attendants were extra accommodating and our luggage was out first.

However, I was in planning overdrive last week while figuring out the logistics of a trip to New York for my brother’s graduation from Columbia University. Since I was so uptight and had so many concerns, I thought I’d list them, along with the way the situations was resolved, in the event that there are others out there who are traveling with a two-year-old this summer.

Concern: Personal DVD players on an airplane are the way to go and Dahlia’s DVDs were a mess. Some were too damaged to work, the cases were broken, she was tired of the movies and we didn't have many to begin with. I needed a solution for the flight.

Solution: I bought a CD case and a few new DVDs. I pulled all the other kid friendly DVDs from my home collection and put them all in her new DVD “book”. She was only allowed to pull one out at a time, and she watched and or listened to the DVDs with her little, pink headphones. Even if she only watched the first 20 minutes of each, she was happy looking through her colorful assortment and choosing the next show. I also had a few other new, tiny kid toys, books and snacks to hold her attention

Concern: What if she had a BM on the plane?

Solution: It’s inevitable! Everyone was seated for takeoff when I smelled something suspicious. Before the other passengers could smell it, I indicated to the attendant that we had a “situation”. The plane wasn't moving yet, but I had to be quick! To the tiny, airplane bathroom we went. I had Dahlia stand on the toilet seat and I changed her diaper while she was standing up, something I perfected on our flight to Houston. Parents, make the diaper into “underwear” and have your kid slide the diaper on, or rip the sides to take it off cleanly.
I then handed Dahlia to her daddy and he safely buckled her in. I flushed the evidence, bagged her dirty pants and like clockwork, we were set in no time.

Concern: What will Dahlia eat? Airplane food is not mother or toddler-approved.

Solution: We planned to have meals at the airports and snacks on the flight. By the time the in-flight meal was served, Dahlia wasn't even interested. During meals, Dahlia and I ate one at a time. They brought her meal first, I tried to feed it to her and then they replaced her tray with mine so I could eat.
I didn’t even attempt sippy cups since Dahlia likes to shake them and make a mess. She drank from bottles while we were in flight.
And first class travelers, beware of the warm chocolate chip cookie! I let Dahlia have one and it was a huge mess. It melted, smeared, crumbled, stained and was everywhere in 5 minutes. I had to bathe Dahlia with a wet nap and change her entire outfit. The flight attendant thought it was hilarious.

Concern: How the heck were we going to get Dahlia from point A to point B in a taxi? Did we have to carry her car seat all over town? How do New Yorkers do it? Should we take a subway?

Solution: There is no government regulation requiring car seats for children in taxis. This solved many of our logistical problems, but it didn't feel very safe to hold my darling sweet pea on my lap while our cab barreled down Park Ave at 50mph. I had to do it though and everything worked out fine.

Concern: I needed a babysitter three days in a row and wanted the same person each day. I didn't want Dahlia to have to get used to one perfect stranger, let alone three while we left her in a strange place with a strange person.

Solution: My brother valiantly tried to arrange sitters for us from Barnard Women’s College, but it didn't work out due to poor communication (I refuse to call people on the phone) and timing (one girl was available for only part of the time. Our last line of defense was the hotel babysitter service. We had used a hotel sitter service at Atlantis in the Bahamas and it worked out really well. We had the same sitter each evening.
In New York, we were staying at the Waldorf-Astoria. The concierge had difficulty communicating on the phone (doubly ironic) and so I arranged everything in person. Their sitting service was… $35 an hour! OMG! HFS! But… we were paying for convenience, we could have the same person each day, we were out of options and we were out of time.
Fortunately, the sitter was great! She was interacting with Dahlia before we even left our hotel room and we returned to find our daughter gleefully running down the hallway or watching a DVD upon our return.

Concern: We will be someplace in public and Dahlia will flip out. We will have no recourse and life will suck.

Solution: I suppose this is another inevitable rite of passage, but we got off easy this time. After we visited the Central Park Zoo, Dahlia took a two hour nap, during which I kicked my husband and dad out of the hotel room so they could check out the ladies in the hotel bar. (Fortunately for me, they were all over 50.)
Later that night, we all attempted dinner in the hotel restaurant and Dahlia, to put it lightly, was not interested. Sadly, my husband had to take her upstairs and get room service, but I was afforded a toddler-free dinner with my dad. My husband and I traded adult time and if you don’t bring a nanny along, it’s what you have to do.

Overall, our trip was really great. Dahlia took naps, she was able to tell us what she wanted, and we communicated to her what we were doing. Tomorrow at a family gathering, Dahlia will wear her new “I heart NY” T-shirt.

Congratulations Uncle Brody!

Winter Wonderland!

It's beautiful! It's amazing! It's different!

The backyard... hmm maybe it's time to go in the hot tub!

Suddenly my laundry room feels like a warm coat room in a ski lodge.

The weather outside is frightful (yay) and the fire is so soo delightful!

Neighbors are saying "hi" and everyone is a kid sledding down the biggest hill around.

My mom made home made cinnamon rolls.

The nights are silent with falling snow.

B makes a wicked vodka tonic with tons of lime around dinner time and we chill out.

We have a mini piano (pictured behind Muppet here) that plays carols and D presses the button and dances around the tree. She can't stay away from the Christmas tree. She knows she's not supposed to be in the living room by herself (sorry Elaine, your gift is almost unwrapped!) so when I go in to get her, D hops over to her child-sized piano and starts pounding away. We sing to the mini piano and we look at the ornaments and lights on the tree. Last night Dahlia snuck behind the tree and scraped her face on a branch. The battle scars of Christmas.

The snow smells cold!

The Christmas shopping has grinded (ground?) to a halt, but since I'm a planner, I'm set. B is risking a drive into town for gifts to put under the tree. Even if he makes it in his FJ, the stores will probably be closed. Our Starbucks up on the hill never ever closes and it's closed today. Lucky for us, the QFC has a Starbucks inside. Our lives are simple and getting coffee is an important part of B's routine. I just like caffeine. While we were at QFC, we watched as people tried to plow their grocery carts through a foot of snow. I wonder how the Eskimos bring their groceries in.

My beverage du jour is a grande, split shot, light whip, peppermint mocha. It's like drinking chocolate toothpaste, but I like to mix my drink selection up.

I've cleaned the house, prepped the guest rooms for Brody and Em. Brody was supposed to arrive tonight at midnight, but we're not even sure if SeaTac is letting planes land. He said that if he gets in by Wednesday, we'll be good.

Since I've started writing, the snow has started falling in flurries again. I am so mad at myself for not having a sled! D would totally love to go sledding! So much for being prepared. We have tons of groceries, I've been feeding the adorable little birds out in the yard. They hop right onto the feeder while I'm filling it now. Must be the only game in town.

I got an email from my auntie Pam on Vashon Island and she was filling a hummingbird feeder and a hummingbird came right up to her.

Hungry Hummingbird and my Auntie Pam

Emelyn arrives on Tuesday. This girl is from Seattle and moved to Colorado for college. She loves mountains, outdoorsy stuff and said she'd never live anywhere she couldn't see the mountains. Then she got a job in Texas. Houston, we have a problem, there aren't any mountains (that I know of) in Texas. So, when Em heard that we have over a foot, she was jealous. Don't worry Em, it will still be here if you can be home for the holidays. Looks like we're having a whiiiite Christmaaaass.... just like the onnnnes we used to knowwww...

The house is ready for visitors and I don't have anything else left to do. I guess it's time to work on one of the many projects I've been procrastinating, scrap booking.

I am still thinking of getting some chickens in the spring. What a riot that would be! D would dig it. Mups would be on full terrier alert and B would want to kill me.

Chickens, cuddly and delicious!

Peets Coffee

I am not the coffee connoisseur that Brody is (exhibit A, exhibit B), but I just tried Peet's "Pumpkin Spiced Latte" and have mixed feelings.

First, I must say that the Peet's crowd is very different than that of Starbucks. They wear wool socks. I saw unshaven faces. The baristas weren't clones.

I just finished my alleged PSL and I'll be damned if there was any pumpkin or spice. Despite this, the coffee was pretty good, but very strong. The caffeine is working as evidenced by my unsolicited, yet energetic email to Maren about starting a greeting card business online and the fact that I am writing this post.

I love my Starbucks PSL. It's one of the highlights of the fall season.

Uncle Brody- The New Favorite

Yesterday Brody and I arrived home at the same time and proceeded to the kitchen to greet Dahlia and Nanny B.
Dahlia ran across the family room to us with glee, passed me without a glance and jumped straight into Uncle Brody's arms!
It was adorable and endearing, but at the same time I was taken down a peg. Mom is old news, even to a 15 month old.
I love that they will have this relationship. Spending time with my brother and sister will give D more opportunities to experience the world... if I can only let go and let her. In my head, she's 15 and leaving on a plane to visit Brody in NYC.