There's always a moment shortly after becoming a parent when you realize you've become THAT mom. The mom you said you would never become. Those moments have come more frequently for me since we had Nora. For example, recently I was unsuccessfully trying to navigate a double stroller through the narrow aisles of the Eddie Bauer store in the mall. The salespeople were giving me dirty looks as I bumped into their displays and knocked things to the floor. Even though I realized it was hardly my fault they designed their store for people of supermodel thinness, I couldn't help feeling self-conscious. To my chagrin, I had become THAT mom...wielding her diaper bag and snack container with multiple babies in a monster truck of a stroller. *sigh* Other moments like these have followed...giving my child a meal consisting entirely of Teddy Grahams because that's all he will eat, looking with longing and envy at the moms driving the new Honda Odyssey, and now...being the parent of the two extremely loud, crying, screaming, kicking kids on a 1.5-hour flight.
This weekend, Mike and I took the kids up to Minnesota for a big family reunion. My Grandmother's 85th birthday is coming up and everyone met in the North Star state to surprise her. We debated on driving versus flying up there for the long weekend. After finding some low fares online, we chose to fly. I spent weeks planning for every possible need and situation we might encounter on the plane, and I thought we'd have a fighting chance of making it through the flight without incident. Ha! Oh the luxury of naivety!
The trip actually started out surprisingly well. We made it from remote parking to ticket counter through security and to the gate without much trouble. Carter was thrilled to look out the windows and see airplanes up close and Nora was on her way to falling asleep. The dream came crashing down when we boarded the plane. Carter panicked after seeing a hundred pairs of eyes on him while walking down the aisle. The well-meaning flight attendant made things worse when she tried to talk to him about his first flight. Nora woke up as soon as we sat down and proceeded to scream in Mike's arms. Carter didn't want to sit in his seat and he kept trying to escape into the aisle. The flight attendant got on the airplane speaker and invited everyone to welcome Carter and Nora on their first flight. The passengers repeated the welcome in monotone voices like school kids forced to greet their teacher. Mike and I tried to look like she wasn't talking about us.
After takeoff, I held Carter on my lap and tried my best to keep his legs from kicking. But my two arms were no match for his four flailing limbs. I felt awful for the guy sitting in front of me. Even Carter's favorite snack, applesauce in a pouch, didn't come through for us. Carter gave it a hard squeeze and an applesauce volcano erupted in my lap. Mike wasn't having much luck with Nora either. While she cried, he shushed and rocked as best he could in his cramped window seat. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the tray table of the woman sitting behind him. She had to hold her drink to keep it from spilling. We decided to switch kids...Mike took Carter and I took Nora. Things calmed down a little after that. Carter was more comfortable away from the aisle with his DVD player and favorite movie. Nora seemed happier with me as well. She actually fell asleep just as we landed. Whew! We were exhausted and the trip had hardly begun!
My whole immediate family stayed at my sister's house. It worked out really well since they have lots of room and tons of toys! Carter loved playing with his cousin Dalton's trains and cars. He also seemed to get a big kick out of chasing their cats around the house. He would laugh anytime they came into the room and say "Kitty cat!" Nora's experience wasn't so positive. She had a hard time sleeping in a new place, waking up every two hours. Over the course of the trip, she developed a fail-safe, guaranteed pick-me-up-NOW noise. This noise isn't crying or wailing, but it is by far the most annoying sound in the world! I am not exaggerating! Jim Carey from Dumb and Dumber has nothing on Nora! Mike and I took turns getting up with her, but we still felt it in the morning. I surpassed my normal weekly caffeine intake within the first day!
The best part, the whole point of the trip, was Grandma's party. Her face was priceless when we walked in the door. She seemed to be in shock. I loved being able to see so many family members that I hadn't seen in so long. I think I might have been 9 when Uncle Dwight last saw me! Carter and Nora lasted longer than I thought they would at the party. However we still had to leave after a couple hours. I wished we could have stayed longer to visit with everyone and take more pictures. I feel like I missed some opportunities there, having everyone in the same room for the first time in so long.
To wrap up the weekend, Mike and I took Carter to a Halloween trunk or treat with Dalton. Dalton was a cowboy, complete with leather chaps. Carter was a Star Wars jedi, though he shed most of his costume by the end of the event. He seemed to enjoy running around and looking at the sights. Since he didn't collect any candy, I had to steal some of Dalton's (shhh!).
The flight home was the complete opposite of the flight up. Nora slept the entire time. Carter sat in his own seat, quietly watching a movie and eating a snack. After the halfway point of the flight, he sat in Mike's lap and fell asleep. It was kinda peaceful sitting there, looking over at my two guys and down at my baby girl, all sleeping on the plane.
Now we're home with piles of clothes threatening to suffocate us. I hope to kids adjust to the normal schedule without much effort on our part. Click the link below for photos from the trip on Facebook.
Favorite quotes from the trip.
"What is on my leg?" - Mike wondering out loud on the airplane while he held Nora.
"Did you want sauce and cheese in the 2nd layer of lasagna? Or meat and sauce?" - Me getting confused about how Mom wanted me to help make the 4 giant lasagnas for the party.
"Look at the cute cowgirl!" - Random person at trunk or treat admiring Dalton's costume. Is it time for a haircut?
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=238678&id=1012296258&l=5f0cc90b62
