Last week was ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. It turned out to be amazing, but it could have gone either way.
Grant and I have been talking about us visiting him in Hawaii for weeks now, but we never really knew how or when to go about it. There are so many variables to consider.
When should we go? Should we go over Thanksgiving? Christmas? How long should we stay? Should my mom come with us? How long should she stay? How much school should the kids miss? How much work can I miss? Can I work in Hawaii? Do we have to quarantine? Is anything going to be open?
You get the picture…it was a tad overwhelming. All that being said, we think we finally semi-sort of finalized our plans and I couldn’t be more excited. Now on to planning, packing, and more planning (and then more packing).
On top of that, my computer died. Like, 100%-never-coming-back-on-lost-all-your-stuff, dead. This resulted in an unplanned 5-day hiatus from work and my blog. Missing work was great because I got caught up on a lot of housework I rarely have time for. Not being able to post, however, really set me back. Somehow through all of this I ended up with 2 brand new laptops, so I’d say it worked out in my favor.
Tips For Flying With Kids
The second we booked our flights to Hawaii I reached out to friends and family for any and all tips for flying with kids. Any tricks, hacks, medications (kidding) to make my 10+ hour flight with my 2 children as pleasant/bearable as possible. I received lots of suggestions (and sympathy lol). Some of the suggestions included:
- Play-Doh – Bring a couple of cans and throw them away after the flight (germs).
- Quiet Toys
- Headphones
- Ipad/Tablets – Don’t rely on airplane wifi/tv. It isn’t always working properly.
- Bribes – A long flight is not the time to teach life lessons
- Spill-Proof Cups – I hadn’t thought of this, but I can picture it now – apple juice spilling all over every single thing we brought within the first hour.
- Backpack for each child
Activities For The Airplane
Now, I am no stranger to traveling with kids. We have taken several road trips together. Some more pleasant than others. Our first family road trip consisted of a 15-hour car ride with a 3-month-old. It was absolutely miserable. Thankfully, each road trip has gotten a little bit better and a little bit more fun. (Click HERE for road trip tips)
Plane travel is much different than car travel. Honestly, it is still so overwhelming to me. However, planning has lessened my anxiety. So, based on tips for flying with kids I received from my friends, a little research, and well, knowing my crazy kids, I have pulled together the following items:
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- Melissa & Doug Puffy Stickers – THIS for Wyatt & THIS for Reese
- Crayola Crayons
- Coloring Books (1 for each of them)
- Tablets – They got THESE for Christmas last year.
- Earphones
- Wipe Clean Books – Bringing THIS, THIS, and one similar to THIS.
- Play-Doh
- Spill-Proof Cups – Bringing THESE. These are our favorite cups.
- Little pillow w/ extra case – A gift from my sweet aunt
- Snacks, snacks, and more snacks.
Computer Requirements
Let’s start with the fact that I don’t know much about computers. Sure, I know how to operate a computer…how to surf the web…edit a few pictures…check my facebook…but, that doesn’t mean I know anything about “the guts” of a computer.
When my laptop died I knew I had to buy a new one. Even if my company provided me with a new computer (which they did, thankfully), I knew I wouldn’t be able to use it for personal use (i.e. my blog). So, I immediately went into “laptop buying mode.” Since, I know very little about what to look for I reached out to my brother for advice on minimum requirements.
He suggested the following:
Minimum Computer Requirements for Blogging
- 16 Gig RAM
- 1TB Hard Drive
- i7 or i9 processor
- HP or Lenovo
This ended up being a tad bit pricier than I wanted it to be, but I must say, I am very pleased with my purchase.
I ended up going with the Lenovo Legion 5 (HERE). So far, so good!
Anyway, here’s to hoping this coming weeks goes smoothly =)
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