Flying with two kids under three

My cousin recently got married in OH and I haven't seen various cousins or aunts and uncles since I got married in '07, so of course I jumped at the chance to fly over there and see everyone. Rex didn't really want to go and we didn't have the money to fly us all out there anyway so he got to stay home. Since Rex wasn't coming my mom reluctantly volunteered to help me take the boys on the plane. 

We flew Delta and they charge $25 for the first checked bag and $35 for the 2nd but you can have one carry on and one personal item per person. Rather than pay $50 roundtrip for a big bag I thought that since I had to pay for Ry, and he gets a carry on plus personal item, I'd just cram everything we need into two carry on bags. Which in theory would totally work. My mom ended up checking a bag and I put two dresses plus a small cooler of frozen milk in her bag. But everything else I was able to cram into those carry on suitcases (I'm pretty impressed at myself for packing two children plus myself into those small bags and my mom had to use a giant suitcase plus carry on for herself) 

So there we were Rex dropped us off curbside and it was my mom, myself carrying Colton in the front pack, Rylan in a small umbrella stroller... and our luggage. We had one large bag, three carry on suitcases, three personal items (large backpack for me, small backpack for Ry and a tote for my mom) sweatshirts for me and my mom, blankets for the boys, and two carseats. We got a cart to take us to the check in counter, and checked in ONE carseat and ONE large bag... which meant we still had three carry ons, three personal items, sweatshirts, blankets, a stroller and one carseat... and we had to get this all through security. The people in the security line were very friendly and let us go through the family line so we didnt wait in the big long line (what a relief) My mom is such a stress case though and tried to rush through the whole thing just throwing things on the conveyor belt. She worried too much about people behind us and it just made me more agitated. From the point of us having to break everything down; taking out our liquid ziplocks, laptops, taking off jewelry, taking colton out of the carrier, taking shoes off, it must have been at least a 30 minute process getting everything put back together. 

The flight was good, it was a full flight and they asked for volunteers to check their bags (for free) and we jumped on the opportunity because we knew it would be a nightmare getting the bags on the plane. My aunt also caught the same flight we did so she could help with the baby wrangling. We caught a redeye and both kids slept through most of it. Ry cried about halfway through wanting to get out of his carseat, so I let him out for a bit and he got to sleep on my lap. Once we got to Ohio my sisters were there waiting at the airport for us so they got to help us carry our luggage and kids. 

You would think that having such a traumatic experience wised us up for the flight home and we would pay the $25 to check our bags... nope.. we struggled through security all over again, and even worse we didn't check our bags at the gate and had to struggle down the plane with ALL that luggage. Luckily my aunt took the same flight home as well and she helped a LOT. As soon as we got home I told Rex "when we go to disneyland we are CHECKING our luggage" At least we're flying southwest and the first checked bags are free. 

the missing keys

Last week on my day off with the boys Ry and Colton were both being especially devilish. I thought that I must have been overtired because REALLY could they be THAT bad?? But no they really were THAT bad.  Ry was having fun taking small toys and putting them in various boxes, drawers and back packs. I was preoccupied with cleaning and taking care of Colton, so I was just glad that he was keeping himself busy in that moment. It was pretty cute because he was even pretending that he was cooking his toys. On one trip to the kitchen I noticed that Ry had my car keys in a drawer. I grabbed them out and said "Don't play with Mommy's keys! They're not a toy!" he said "HEY!!! I was cooking that!" I was annoyed and put the keys on the table and walked away.

Later that night (around midnight) I started getting my things together to start work the next day. When I was getting my purse together I realized that I didnt have my car keys. I immediately went to the drawer that I saw Ry putting them in earlier. They werent there. I went through all the little boxes that he was hiding his toys in, no dice. I went through the other drawers that he put toys in, I found some random cars but no stinkin keys! I turned the entire kitchen, dining room, living room, laundry room, bathroom UPSIDE DOWN and still NO FRIGGIN KEYS! I even take the garbage bag out and jiggle it to see if I hear keys. I dug through one layer got grossed out and quit there. Rex was annoyed at me at this point because I was making so much noise and had the audacity to turn the hall light on so I could see into our bedroom and search near my bed. (no keys there either) I took my cell phone and lit up the drawer in Rylan's end table, still no stinking keys. I'm completely stressed and tired at this point and pretty much have a nervous breakdown, and I just go to bed. In the morning I still can't find my keys and I take Rex's beat up pickup to work. (which puts me in an even worse mood because the thing drives like crap)

Once at work I call Rex and ask him if he interrogated Rylan when he woke up (he was still sleeping when I left) and Ry said he remembered playing with them but didnt know where he put them. GREAT. At this point I figure its a lost cause, I assume they're long gone in the garbage or something, so I call Mitsubishi to see about getting a new key. They told me I have to have my car TOWED to them so they can match the microchip. This just keeps getting better and better right? There's no way I'm towing my car 20 miles so they can get a stinkin microchip, so I say that I'll wait until the weekend and if I still can't find the dang things I'll cough up the $$ and get towed.

When I got home from work Rex tells me that he bribed Ry with candy if he found the keys. Ry understands that he wants CANDY and thats about it. He knows how to find something if he knows where it is, but he doesnt know how to look for something that's lost. I decide to retrace my steps a bit and remembered packing the boys' bag of clothes for their week at daycare. I opened Ry's shirt drawer and I THINK I hear a jingle of keys... but nope not in that drawer, but I have HOPE. The next drawer I go to is his sock drawer and lo and behold there they are. I have never been happier to see my keys before in my LIFE. I'm so lucky to have looked in there because since I had already packed their bag for the week, I had no need to go in their sock drawer. And who knows when the next time I would've gone in there because the weekends are when I do laundry so I usually just grab the socks fresh out of the dryer. Rylan was upset that I had found them and he wanted to re-hide them so he could "find" them again and get some candy.

Almost the worst day of my life

Colton has been sleeping in his crib in Ry's room and woke up at 2 and 4 am. I brought him into my room at 4 since I thought he was waking Ry up too much. In the morning Colton woke me up at 8:45 and this was slightly odd because Ry has been waking me up at 8 on Monday mornings. I figured Ry was tired for all the middle of the night wakings, so I fed Colton. When Colton was done eating (9:00 by now) I thought I'd get a jump on the day before Ry got up. I went to his room to check on him but he wasn't in his bed. I thought "oh maybe Rex thought it was Tuesday and brought Ry to daycare..." I called Rex and asked him "did you take Ry to daycare today?" he said "no why would I do that?" A wave of panic came over me and I told Rex that Ry wasn't in his bed, I hung up the phone and ran to the living room to see if he was watching TV, then I ran to Ry's bedroom again and checked behind his bed, in Colton's crib, then in the bathroom I checked the bathtub, I checked to see if he had actually crawled in bed with me and was lying on Rex's side and maybe i didnt notice, I ran through the dining room kitchen and laundry room. NO RY-RY. I flung the back door open and screamed his name, I didn't see him in the yard at all and I was about to run back into the house to call 911 when Ry stood up at my feet. I fell to my knees (almost dropping poor Colton) and grabbed Ry and cried. We both cried and I called Rex saying that I found him.

All day I couldn't help but think about what would have happened if he went out the front door instead of the back, he could have wandered to the street gotten kidnapped or lost. I get all weepy thinking about it. And he must have been so scared. I can't even imagine what he thought when he was locked out and no one came to get him.

I asked Ry why he went outside by himself and he said "moeowzie bit me!" Rex left the house that morning at 7:30 and let meowzer in, when I woke up at 845 meowzer wasn't in the house. So we figure that Ry got up between 730 and 830 and meowzer was in his room (which he doesnt like) he must have then gotten into a fight and chased Meowzer out of the house and gotten himself locked out in the process (our doors can be opened from the inside but lock behind you when you go outside) He also said he was finding Daddy so he might have been looking for Rex.