Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Ten Tips for Air Travel with a Two Year Old




You can find my post here about traveling with an infant and traveling with a 1 year old year, but now it is is time to update and let you know how I survive (barely) traveling with a two year old.

Here are my ten tips:

1) J now gets his own seat! When your little guy turns two, you are required to purchase a seat on most airlines. We fly Delta about 99% of the time and they require you to purchase the seat for age two and up. While it hurts to pay the extra money it is well worth it. When it is just J and I traveling, I've recently started booking the window and the isle seat in hopes that no one will book the middle and we can have the entire row. I figure if someone ends up in the middle I can always offer them the window or the isle. It worked on our last trip!

2) The CARES harness might be one of the best inventions ever. It basically turns your child's seat into a car seat. Without the harness J would be able to get out of his seat belt. I told J that once we are on the plane, he has to buckle up and now he knows this is just part of the trip. You have to be very careful about the placement of the strap, it should be at their shoulders and not above or below.



3) A portable DVD player. We bought the cheapest one we could find (why give my two year old an expensive one). I will admit that we have issues with him opening it up and pushing the buttons, but we've learned that Thomas will disappear if we do that. I also put stickers over the buttons or travel with scotch tape. We use earphones that I already had, but they also make toddler earphones. A friend of mine has them and loves them, I just ordered them for our next trip since above mentioned earphones I already had were involved in an accident on our last flight. (More on that later...)




Our current favorite DVDS are:

Curious George Takes a Vacation and Discovers New Things

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

CARS

Monsters Inc

4) We read a lot of books when our DVD player has to be off. I finally learned (with experience, to pack mostly paperback or small books). Our favorite travel books include:

Amazing Airplanes 
Dazzling Diggers
Flashing Fire Engines
Planes
Corduroy

We also love sticker books! Handing your child an individual sticker and having them place it into a book can burn a good 30 minutes or so. I pick sticker books with themes that J is currently "into" to help keep his attention. On our last few trips we've had the following:

Disney Sticker Book
Insects Sticker Book
Pets Sticker Book
Melissa and Doug Sticker Book


5) We still do lots of snacks! I use small zip lock bags and fill them with our current favorites: animal crackers, goldfish, Jammy Sammy, mish mashpeanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and now that we are older...even a few lolly pops!

6) Crayola color wonder is the best. They advertise that they are mess free and so far they have been such a great help to us. I bet Delta didn't even notice that we tried to color on the back of the seat and the windows. Thanks Crayola for your invisible markers and paints!

7) We travel the most to our families in the South so we don't have to bring our car seat that often (our moms both have their own), but when we do need to bring our car seat we use the jl childress cover and check it with our luggage. It has straps to carry it on your back and wheels (but they don't work that well).

8) Traveling with a two year old can be hard because chances are they are going to act out. I don't allow the trip to be an excuse for bad behavior. On our last trip alone, J kept poking the man next to us. I asked him not to do it a good 3-4 times and he continued to laugh and do it. I took him out of his harness and marched him to the back of the plane. The stewardess saw that "Mom look" in my eyes and actually moved the cart out of my way. I told J he was going to time out and I placed him next to the door in the back of the plane facing the corner and sat behind him for our standard 2 minute time out. Yes, I gave my child a time out at 30,000 ft and he quit the poking.

I also learned NEVER to put J in the middle seat. Even though Delta took him out of his window seat and I didn't want to put him on the aisle (little hands and carts don't mix). I should have just asked the man to switch to the aisle, he probably would appreciated that more than being poked. Lesson learned.

9) Don't forget a change of clothes. One of these times you are going to need it (above mentioned accident). On our last trip A and I were upgraded to first class. J was not. HA! The plane was overbooked and I'm guessing Delta didn't want me to put J back there in coach by himself, so A gladly went to coach so J and I could travel in luxury. If you have the funds (or the miles) that is the WAY to go. J was SCREAMING for milk (I normally fill his sippy cup right before we board) and  the sweet stewardess immediately obliged. J then became memorized with his own his personal tv and we were good to go!  When we were being served dinner, I learned the options were not kid friendly. Not to worry, I wasn't expecting dinner anyways so I popped out J's peanut butter sandwich. The stewardess asked him if he wanted anything and he told her, "cake, please." Ha! She showed up with a brownie seconds later. (Nice service, hope he doesn't get used to it!) I actually cut the brownie in small pieces. I don't normally cut most small soft foods anymore, but for some reason I did this time. Good thing. Minutes later, J was stuffing his face with the brownie and started gagging. I had just been served my plated dinner and a glass of wine and was toasting my life when this happened. I automatically held my hand out for him to spit out the brownie and he proceeded to throw it up...in my hand. Thanks J. The stewardesses scrambled with hot towels to assist me in the clean up and removed my dinner tray so I could begin the clean up process. Daddy randomly showed up (thank God!) to help and I was able to do a quick change of clothes thanks to my extra set. That my friends, is why you have an extra set of clothes in a gallon size quart baggie. Gross clothes went in the baggie, I washed my hands and we went back to watching satellite tv in first class.



10) I bring my diaper bag (my stevie is green and white stripes if you were wondering and I love it as a toddler diaper bag!) and a Vineyard Vines tote for all of our trips. I pack the VV tote with all the fun stuff (books, snacks, etc) and the diaper Bag has only necessities.  I love that the VV tote is just the right size and it has a zipper so that things won't spill out all over the floor of the plane.

Hope these tips help you on your next plane ride with your toddler!

Do you travel a lot? What tips do you have?

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Winner of Monogram Madness Personalized Easter Basket

Congrats go to:

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:
36 
Timestamp: 2011-03-29 21:38:24 UTC

Delete
Blogger Tales of a Peanut said...
Plus I'm a follower!
March 25, 2011 6:02 PM
Congrats Jennifer! Please email me at magnoliasmarriageandmanhattan at gmail dot com and we'll get your Easter basket out to you.
Delete

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Personalized Easter Basket Giveaway from Monogram Madness

It is hard to think about Easter when it is currently SNOWING outside in NYC. Yuck. But, this next vendor will bring a smile to your face.We bought J a hand painted Easter basket for his 1st Easter and I love watching him grow with it. These adorable Easter baskets will hold lots of memories for you and your kids for years to come. Monogram Madness is offering some of these adorable designs this year and each of them can be personalized.You can find a full list of personalized Easter basket designs here on their facebook website. Owner, Lacie, HAND PAINTS each basket! I only wish I had that kind of talent.












Want to win one of these adorable personalized Easter baskets? Monogram Madness is giving away one basket of your choice to a lucky MMM reader. Here's how to win:

Here are the rules:

1) Visit Monogram Madness' Facebook Page (look under photos for all items for sale) or website

2) Come back here and post your favorite item in the comment section.


For additional entries (and please remember to post each of these in a SEPARATE comment or the random number generator won't count it):


1) Become a follower of my blog or let me know you are already a follower in a separate comment

2) Blog about this contest or add it to your sidebar and let me know you did in a separate comment.

3) "Like" Monogram Madness on facebook. Follow this link. Let me know you like them in a separate comment.

4) Tweet about this contest to @MrsMMMBlogger and let me know you did so in a separate comment.


That is a potential for FOUR additional entries!! Good luck ladies! The random number generator will pick a lucky winner on March 29th!

Monday, March 21, 2011

Five for You and Five for Me

Here are five things I'm currently loving: 

1) My fruit infusion water pitcher. It is such a great way to get you drink more water! You put fruit in the little tube and then you just refill the water. We've tried doing lemons, limes, oranges and cucumber and mint. I have really started drinking more water because of this pitcher.




2) New flash deal sites that are popping up! The latest I have found are Bitsy Bug and Little Bird for NYC and Atlanta Moms. I just love all the great deals I've been getting!

3) My Pottery Barn tissue cover. I gave these as gifts this past Christmas and everyone just loves them. I bought two for myself and they seriously have made me smile every time I've needed a tissue. They are GREAT gifts! Go get a few.




4) J's CARES harness has been getting some serious mileage. We just returned home from round one of our house search and I couldn't have done it without the harness. I highly recommend it for traveling with your toddler! I promise I'll do an updated travel post soon.

5) Running out of things to do with your little one? An old classmate of mine from Atlanta created this website for Moms. It is simply amazing, you must check it out!

Now Five Questions for YOU!

1) What is your favorite home or decorating magazine? I'm getting so excited about decorating our new home. I want to go ahead and start some inspiration files. I would love any tips you have!

2) One of the first purchases we'll have to make is mattresses. How exciting! We have our mattress, but J is still in his crib. We'll move him into a single bed and we want to upgrade our queen to a king. So we'll need 2 twin mattresses and a king and maybe another queen. What kind do you have? Any recommendations?

3) We're planning to go to Chicago in May. Do you have any recommendations on where to eat? We'll have J with us, so would love to know some family friendly sights to see. I've only been twice so I'm very excited. We are going for my SIL's graduation from seminary!

4) Atlanta friends, if you have recommendations on babysitters, house keepers, painters, inspectors, yard guys, etc, etc, etc. Send them my way! I'm starting my "can't live without them" file. magnoliasmarriage and manhattan at gmail dot com

5) Does anyone have any tips on saving money while renting a car? Our car rental bill was so high (as was our hotel bill). A simple house hunting trip costs as much as a nice vacation. Since we are going to need to go again, would love any tips you have to share!

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Thank you to everyone that entered the  J. McLaughlin giveaway. Sorry for the delay in drawing. I've been in Atlanta the past week house hunting...more on that later. I know y'all are dying to know who won so...........................

The winner of the adorable bamboo clutch is..........................

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:
58 
Timestamp: 2011-03-20 19:07:14 UTC


Congrats to: 

Blogger All Things Cherish said...
Love the Panama Dress!
March 10, 2011 9:44 PM
Delete

Please email me at magnoliasmarriageandmanhattan at gmail dot com and I'll get you set up! Congrats!

Thursday, March 10, 2011

J. McLaughlin Giveaway

J. McLaughlin has been a longtime leader in all things preppy. They opened their first store over 30 years ago and are still going strong! Their retail stores can be found in 16 states and DC and their online site is easy to navigate.

Here are a few of my current favorites on their website. They have me wishing for budding tulips on Park Avenue and boat drinks at the beach!



































































To celebrate the beginning of spring, I'm teaming up with J. McLaughlin to give one very lucky MMM reader an adorable bamboo clutch in natural. (It retails for $150.00!!) Just think how cute you will look toting this clutch with your white jeans and blue and white stripe top! What outfit DOESN'T this clutch go with?





Here are the rules:

1) Go to the J. McLaughlin's website and pick your favorite new arrival

2) Come back here and post your favorite item in the comment section.



For additional entries (and please remember to post each of these in a SEPARATE comment or the random number generator won't count it):


1) Become a follower of my blog or let me know you are already a follower in a separate comment

2) Blog about this contest or add it to your sidebar and let me know you did in a separate comment.

3) "Like" J. McLaughlin on facebook. Follow this link. Let me know you like them in a separate comment.

4) Tweet about this contest to @MrsMMMBlogger and @JMcLaughlinNY and let me know you did so in a separate comment.

5) Join their Mailing List by clicking here (enter info at top of page) and let me know you did so in a separate comment.

That is a potential for FIVE additional entries!! Good luck ladies! The random number generator will pick a lucky winner on March 17th!
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