Toddlers on a Plane.

Tom was out of town last weekend so I took the boys to Tulsa for several days to avoid being a single parent. I have no idea how single parents function day in and day out. Kudos. So this time we flew and I usually drive with them so I was a teensy bit concerned about how that would go. Specifically, about how Walker would do. Being visibly pregnant, I feel like I'm a target for judgement when my kids aren't behaving. I'm sure that's all in my head but I feel like people are thinking, "Lady, how are you going to handle a THIRD?!?!?!?!" Maybe that's just what's going through MY head! Anyway, it was fine. I borrowed the best invention EVER from my friend Jen. Thank you!! It was a car seat that converts to a stroller. Genius.

It made life so much easier. It didn't roll down the aisle though, so I was at the mercy of flight attendants to bring it to me. We totally held up the line getting on the plane the first time so the next time I explained the situation and asked if we could pre-board. She was sympathetic but said no. I went a little further into detail, hoping for  mercy. Nothing. Then, as I was walking away, the lady said. "WAIT! You're pregnant!!" Apparently that qualifies as a disability so I could pre-board. Awesome! I feel disabled at times so that seems fitting.  I was hoping to get the front row because a certain someone enjoys kicking the back of the chair, but no such luck. However, we were sitting behind someone that required seatbelt extenders and was COMPLETELY squishing the man in the middle seat and seemed self conscious about it, so he didn't complain about the kicking.  Poor man. He was bending over backwards to be nice to the guy in the middle and that guy wasn't really having any part of it. I bet the guy in the middle seat wished he hadn't waited until EVERYONE else was on the plane to come running up to the gate. He boarded about 2 seconds before takeoff and was totally out of breath. Everyone else passed up the middle seat in front of two small children, for some reason. Anway, on top of the occasional kicking, all Walker wanted to do was press a button on a Halloween book that played a few lines of the Monster Mash song. I bet he played it for 30 minutes straight. I think that's preferable to fussing, so I just let him keep doing it. I bet no one sitting around us wants to hear the Monster Mash ever again. That was all on the way home.

 Our first leg was over naptime. Seconds after takeoff with is what happened.

PERFECT!

And do you think this guy was excited to see his Mimi?

And it's a good thing he looked so cute because he had the beginning of a stomach bug on the way there. His first symptom was frequent, DEADLY, gas. I kept smelling it, hoping it wasn't one of my kids. Sorry, flight 249. We took him on a five hour flight when he just turned one, and he came down with something while on that flight, too. Then, he was in diapers and there was no place to change him so I just kept having to do it in the seat. People were gagging and coughing all around. No joke. It was a spectacle and it only got worse. While we were in the customs line, he projectile vomited ALL OVER ME. And then he started clapping, he must have felt so much better. But there was absolutely nothing to clean it up with, no toilet paper or paper towels in the bathroom, so we just had to leave that enormous mess and smell in the middle of customs. A little gas is nothing, in comparison.

On the way back Harris spent quite a bit of time looking over the safety procedures.

I don't know what was so interesting but he looked at that almost as long as Walker played the Monster Mash.

One thing we did, randomly, was go visit some piglets. Walker is a major animal lover so I thought he'd be all over that. He wasn't as into it as I thought he would be but still was interested.

 I thought 6 week old piglets would be much smaller than this. They were surprisingly affectionate, though. Our trip was action packed, so I'll finish the rest of the trip later. It's good to be home!

Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Galations 1:10