Esmerelda
04-11-2003, 06:54 AM
***This is a rather old trip report, but I got it out last night and reviewed it in planning for our next trip. I hope my "lessons learned" will help someone else. It is actually even humorous to me now!
Lessons Learned-08/30/02
Prior to Leaving-
I had ordered a new super duper special needs stroller for my daughter because she can not walk long distances. She has mild cerebral palsy and although she “looks” normal, her left leg gets tired and she starts dragging it and trips when she is tired. I had the stroller shipped to my office, so some of the other appraisers could help me assemble it (OK, they completely assembled it, I just coached them and asked them every five minutes if they wanted to read the directions).
My daughter LOVED this stroller. Every time she came to my office she would sit in her stroller, sometimes for over an hour! I loved the stroller too because it was so lightweight (less than 20 lbs).
****LESSON LEARNED #1****
See if your stroller will fit in the trunk of your car BEFORE the night before your vacation! Actually, preferably before you spend $600 on it!
Well, the problem is, if it didn’t fit in the trunk of our car it wasn’t going to fit in the trunk of our friend’s car who was going to pick us up at the airport. I am in a panic and start pricing vans but since it is less than 24 hours before arrival all codes and discounts for vans were invalid. It was a holiday weekend and there were no reasonable rates. I called Tiffany towncar and they could not assure me it would fit in one of their towncars. Then I finally realized maybe it would fit on a Mears Bus. So I called Mears and they said it would fit on their bus, but not in their van. OK, I thought we could handle Mears and I went to bed feeling a little bit better.
August 30, 2002.
1:00 AM-Elayna comes in my room and says “Mommy, I’m going to sleep with you”. I say “Why” and she says because there is throw up on my bed. Aaaarrrggghhhh! I go to her room and what do I see? An empty bag of Double Stuff Oreo Cookies that she had snuck in her room(from our packed suitcase). I asked her if she ate the cookies, and she said she didn’t remember, that she woke up and they were all gone and that Maybe our dog had eaten them(she blames the dog for everything). I take her sheets to the laundry room and start washing. I told her it was her fault she threw up and that she was NOT going to sleep in my bed. I tell her she can make her bed with some clean sheets from her linen closet. After she told me in an indignant voice “Mama, you are supposed to be NICE to me when I am sick” she went up to her room. I go up later and the poor thing is scrunched up in the corner with her sleeping bag.
****LESSON LEARNED #2****
Do not let your kids see which suitcase you pack the snacks in!
6:30 AM-We start to get ready for work and I finish packing. I had intended to take Elayna to school in the morning but I just knew she would tell her teacher’s she was sick and I would be called to come get her. So I take her to the office with me. I am working like crazy trying to finish up my work before I leave and she is whining that she wants to go to school. I tell her to go in the playroom(next to my office) and pretend like she is at school. I was busy concentrating on my work and I realize it has been quiet for two long. I go in the playroom and she is writing on the wall in magic markers! She says “But Mommy, there wasn’t a chalkboard or a dry erase board! I didn’t want to bother you because I knew you needed to concentrate.
****LESSON LEARNED #3****
Do not take your child to work with you the morning of your vacation, especially if you are trying to cram 8 hours of work in 3.5 hours.
At 11:05 we head to the bank and then to the airport. We get to the airport and things are beginning to look up. We even get a good parking space! We check in uneventfully and we go to our gate. I ask Elayna if she is hungry and she says she is starved. The only food place open after you pass security is a hot dog stand. Well, Elayna just happens to remember that the last time she at a hot dog there she got sick, so guess what? She refuses to eat one and I tell her that all she can have is a snack then. She said But Mama! I will still be hungry! I refuse to go back to the main part of the airport because I am NOT going to fold her stroller up and then put it back together to go through security again. So, in the art of compromise I tell her she can have two snacks. Whew! A meltdown avoided. We are then allowed to preboard due to needing extra time to fold up her stroller. By the way, this stroller was a PAIN to fold up, and it took a lot of maneuvering room to fold it up. This stroller was huge as it is good for people up to 150 lbs and 5 foot 4 inches tall. Well, I get this stroller folded up and tell Elayna to pick out a seat. She freezes, looks at me in total terror and becomes hysterical. I am ready to turn around and run back to my car to safety. Then I realize the problem. She thinks she is never going to see her stroller again. While I try to calm her down of course about 50-60 people get on the plane so the advantage of preboarding is gone. Luckily for us though after seeing and hearing the meltdown nobody wanted to sit with us and we had the only empty seat on the whole plane between us.
****LESSON LEARNED #4****
Explain to your children before the flight that if you gate check things they still go on the airplane! Or If you want an empty seat between you and your child make sure they are well trained in performing meltdowns.
Our plane arrives at 3:30 and I begin to get a little excited. Oh no, Elayna announces as we are waiting for her stroller to be brought up that she has to use the bathroom NOW! The problem is she doesn’t want to go until she has her stroller in her possession. Well, then she realizes that wasn’t a good idea and we rush to a bathroom. Unfortunately, she didn’t make it…. Thank God I had packed an extra change of clothes. However, I decided to just throw her underwear away. It appears that she had a strong bond with her princess panties so here came meltdown #2.
****LESSON LEARNED #5
Do not buy your daughter pretty underwear with pictures of the princess on them. Just buy plain white. Trust me.
Lessons Learned-08/30/02
Prior to Leaving-
I had ordered a new super duper special needs stroller for my daughter because she can not walk long distances. She has mild cerebral palsy and although she “looks” normal, her left leg gets tired and she starts dragging it and trips when she is tired. I had the stroller shipped to my office, so some of the other appraisers could help me assemble it (OK, they completely assembled it, I just coached them and asked them every five minutes if they wanted to read the directions).
My daughter LOVED this stroller. Every time she came to my office she would sit in her stroller, sometimes for over an hour! I loved the stroller too because it was so lightweight (less than 20 lbs).
****LESSON LEARNED #1****
See if your stroller will fit in the trunk of your car BEFORE the night before your vacation! Actually, preferably before you spend $600 on it!
Well, the problem is, if it didn’t fit in the trunk of our car it wasn’t going to fit in the trunk of our friend’s car who was going to pick us up at the airport. I am in a panic and start pricing vans but since it is less than 24 hours before arrival all codes and discounts for vans were invalid. It was a holiday weekend and there were no reasonable rates. I called Tiffany towncar and they could not assure me it would fit in one of their towncars. Then I finally realized maybe it would fit on a Mears Bus. So I called Mears and they said it would fit on their bus, but not in their van. OK, I thought we could handle Mears and I went to bed feeling a little bit better.
August 30, 2002.
1:00 AM-Elayna comes in my room and says “Mommy, I’m going to sleep with you”. I say “Why” and she says because there is throw up on my bed. Aaaarrrggghhhh! I go to her room and what do I see? An empty bag of Double Stuff Oreo Cookies that she had snuck in her room(from our packed suitcase). I asked her if she ate the cookies, and she said she didn’t remember, that she woke up and they were all gone and that Maybe our dog had eaten them(she blames the dog for everything). I take her sheets to the laundry room and start washing. I told her it was her fault she threw up and that she was NOT going to sleep in my bed. I tell her she can make her bed with some clean sheets from her linen closet. After she told me in an indignant voice “Mama, you are supposed to be NICE to me when I am sick” she went up to her room. I go up later and the poor thing is scrunched up in the corner with her sleeping bag.
****LESSON LEARNED #2****
Do not let your kids see which suitcase you pack the snacks in!
6:30 AM-We start to get ready for work and I finish packing. I had intended to take Elayna to school in the morning but I just knew she would tell her teacher’s she was sick and I would be called to come get her. So I take her to the office with me. I am working like crazy trying to finish up my work before I leave and she is whining that she wants to go to school. I tell her to go in the playroom(next to my office) and pretend like she is at school. I was busy concentrating on my work and I realize it has been quiet for two long. I go in the playroom and she is writing on the wall in magic markers! She says “But Mommy, there wasn’t a chalkboard or a dry erase board! I didn’t want to bother you because I knew you needed to concentrate.
****LESSON LEARNED #3****
Do not take your child to work with you the morning of your vacation, especially if you are trying to cram 8 hours of work in 3.5 hours.
At 11:05 we head to the bank and then to the airport. We get to the airport and things are beginning to look up. We even get a good parking space! We check in uneventfully and we go to our gate. I ask Elayna if she is hungry and she says she is starved. The only food place open after you pass security is a hot dog stand. Well, Elayna just happens to remember that the last time she at a hot dog there she got sick, so guess what? She refuses to eat one and I tell her that all she can have is a snack then. She said But Mama! I will still be hungry! I refuse to go back to the main part of the airport because I am NOT going to fold her stroller up and then put it back together to go through security again. So, in the art of compromise I tell her she can have two snacks. Whew! A meltdown avoided. We are then allowed to preboard due to needing extra time to fold up her stroller. By the way, this stroller was a PAIN to fold up, and it took a lot of maneuvering room to fold it up. This stroller was huge as it is good for people up to 150 lbs and 5 foot 4 inches tall. Well, I get this stroller folded up and tell Elayna to pick out a seat. She freezes, looks at me in total terror and becomes hysterical. I am ready to turn around and run back to my car to safety. Then I realize the problem. She thinks she is never going to see her stroller again. While I try to calm her down of course about 50-60 people get on the plane so the advantage of preboarding is gone. Luckily for us though after seeing and hearing the meltdown nobody wanted to sit with us and we had the only empty seat on the whole plane between us.
****LESSON LEARNED #4****
Explain to your children before the flight that if you gate check things they still go on the airplane! Or If you want an empty seat between you and your child make sure they are well trained in performing meltdowns.
Our plane arrives at 3:30 and I begin to get a little excited. Oh no, Elayna announces as we are waiting for her stroller to be brought up that she has to use the bathroom NOW! The problem is she doesn’t want to go until she has her stroller in her possession. Well, then she realizes that wasn’t a good idea and we rush to a bathroom. Unfortunately, she didn’t make it…. Thank God I had packed an extra change of clothes. However, I decided to just throw her underwear away. It appears that she had a strong bond with her princess panties so here came meltdown #2.
****LESSON LEARNED #5
Do not buy your daughter pretty underwear with pictures of the princess on them. Just buy plain white. Trust me.