We traveled with two small children and lived to tell about it

We just returned from a week in Texas. We swam in the Gulf. We played in the sand. We ate Mexican, BBQ, and burgers. We visited friends and family. And we managed all of this with two small children. Oh, and there was that part about spending a full day traveling to get down there and a full day traveling to get back. A few things I learned about traveling with a three-year old and one-year old:

• Expect your one-year old to curl up sweetly in your lap and nap the entire flight to Houston
• Expect her to simply smile at other passengers.
• Expect no poopy diapers
• Expect a relaxing time picking a place to eat while waiting for the next flight in the Houston airport
• Expect that your one-year old will sleep sweetly in a storage closet at the beach house
• Expect that your three-year old will be kind and not try to abuse others
• Be happy that your three-year old has his Kindle to play on the flights
• Be happy that you filled a backpack full of snacks and books
• Be happy that your three-year old never has accidents
• Be happy that your three-year old slept sweetly at his grandparents’ and with cousins at the beach house
• Be happy that the water temperature was as mild as the sun
• Be happy that the sand was perfect for building castles, moats, and crocodiles
• Be happy that grandparents hooked us up with places to stay, driving us around, food to eat, diapers, wipes, toiletries, even a little potty for the one-year old
• Be happy that your kids visited their great grandparents while they’re still happy to see them
• Be happy about all of the delicious food (because Texas and Mexican combined)
• Expect your one-year old to slip back into your daily routine once you’re back home
• Be happy that you don’t have to sit in a cramped airplane again for another year or two

Now, I get to enjoy the memories and pictures of our vacation. It’s exhausting to take small children far from home so coming home means recovery, but the trade off was worth it. They’ve been to the beach and loved it. They spent time with family and didn’t want to leave them. And in the end, none of the other passengers said anything rude to our faces and a few nice folks even told us our children were good travelers. Kind people.

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