OK, it’s official. I just registered for the Rock ‘n Roll San Antonio Marathon, Sunday Nov. 14, 2010. Anyone care to join me?
JR Andrews's location@6:21pm,8/21 New York, NY http://m.google.com/u/m/zDlgUu
Back home in ATX
JR Andrews's location@2:12pm,8/21 New York, NY http://m.google.com/u/m/dRrLOY
Back in the US.
JR Andrews's location@2:03pm,8/14 http://m.google.com/u/m/x45tIB
Last week was one of “those weeks.” All major crises were averted, but nothing went particularly well either. Well that’s not exactly true, but enough plans were thwarted that it felt like a wash. Perhaps it was the fact that Olivia was in VBS all week and I got the idea that meant I’d be more productive because I’d be minus one child. Except that I was minus my helpful, mild-mannered child. And she had to be somewhere at 9 and picked up at noon. And because we were out to drop off & pick up Olivia, it seemed like a good excuse to finish off my list of errands to run before we head out of town again. And then there were the unusually large numbers of tantrums from the little sisters left in my care. It seems Violet is getting extra teeth and Molly isn’t getting enough sleep – what a fantastic combination! So every outing last week involved tears and every day provided a good dose of humility for Mama – from dropping my fancy new Android phone on the concrete, to diaper “issues”, to time management failures, to struggling to carry on a simple conversation, to my To Do list being the same length Friday at 4pm as it was Monday at 8am. After all of that, what really sounded good was meeting some other moms at Chuy’s for frozen margaritas & the all-you-can-eat nacho car. Happily, we had a great alternative to take advantage of – we met a new friend for a late afternoon playdate. She greeted us warmly, the girls immediately ran off to enjoy the company of their new friends and a house full of new toys. My new friend & I fell into easy, light-hearted conversation. By the time the visit ended, I was ready to let the week go and focus on making the best of the weekend. So here it is Sunday night and I am ready to give it all another try tomorrow morning. We’ve got a lot less on our calendar, we have no errands to run (one benefit of the craziness of last week!), and I am planning to spend a good chunk of time just reading books to the girls in the new reading corner JR finished up tonight. There will always be ups & downs in life with young children and it isn’t realistic for me to think we can make it through a week without a few mini-crises. But hopefully, I can learn to follow my girls’ lead and live in the moment, enjoy the simple things, and hold onto the good times.
Here at the Andrews’ house, we like to think we’ve got the best Daddy ever. I thought it would be fun to ask the girls a little about why they love their dad. Here goes:
1. What is something your Daddy does better than most dads?
O (4.5 yrs): Let’s me do special stuff like gives me treats when Molly gets a treat for doing nice things.
M (2.75 yrs): Climbing walls (I think maybe that is what she said first) and going to bed.
V (1.75 yrs): Wawa.
2. What is one of your happiest memories with Daddy?
O: Eat candy, make fruit smoothies & snuggle with him.
M: Climbing up the wall.
V: Daddy!
3. What is your favorite thing about Daddy?
O: Picking flowers (no idea where that’s coming from!)
M: Flying.
V: Daddy!
4. When you grow up, do you want to be like your Daddy?
O: No, I want to be a princess!
M: Yes, because.
V: No.
5. Is there anything else you’d like to say about (or to) Daddy?
O: I love you, Daddy! Happy Father’s Day!
M: I love Ariel the Mermaid. Happy Father’s Day, Mommy! (and then after correction) Happy Father’s Day, Daddy!
V: No. (and then after being asked if she can say I love you, Daddy) I won’t say that.
Jenny spent the day with what looks like food poisoning so to give her a break I took the girls out to Chick-fil-a for supper. I picked Chick-fil-a because it is one of their favs (which meant they would probably eat well) and because the staff is so nice I knew they would be extra helpful to a dad with three kids that hadn’t had naps. I was right and they were very helpful and the girls ate well. Half way through supper a guy came through and asked if I had a dollar. I said no, which was the truth, and he went on and eventually walked outside. From the smell and his lack of shoes (he barely had what you would call socks), I guessed that he was homeless. A bit later I saw him back up at the counter trying to figure out what he could get for $1.05. I’m not sure you can get anything for that. So I walked up to the counter and offered to buy him a meal. He said that he was just wanting to get a sandwich. I got him the meal anyway. He said thanks and not much else. He took his meal to the back where he ate it and then laid done for a bit. The staff was cool about and eventually he left. The girls played in the playground in the meantime. At least someone had a good meal and a nap today.
We are about to embark on our biggest family adventure to date taking two toddlers and a preschooler on a 4-hr nonstop flight from Austin to Seattle to spend 7 days of fun with family. Then we will take a flight down to San Francisco & spend 3 days with our favorite MC, before flying home with a short layover in Arizona! Several people have expressed interest (concern?) with regard to what we plan to do with the girls to keep ‘em out of trouble. I just finished packing each of them a child-sized backpack for travel and thought you might like to see what we settled on. I wanted to balance between things that they enjoy playing with but that we wouldn’t be sad to leave behind (or that wouldn’t be expensive to replace). Overall, I chose items that are good for quiet play, require few pieces, have multiple uses, and most importantly – things I already had on hand. I am actually really looking forward to getting some of these treasures out of their goodybags. Many have been neglected for lack of effort on my part to actually make the time to sit down for awhile and practice the skills required. I’m thinking a 4-hr nonstop flight is the perfect opportunity for us to spend some quality time where I can give the girls my undivided attention!
For what it’s worth, here is what each backpack contains:
Additionally, Violet will have her special blanket, girafa, & a full supply of pacifiers! I am still debating about letting her take a baby doll as well . . . guess I’ll see how much room is left in my carry-on.
Molly will also be able to choose her favorite doll or stuffed friend and a small blanket (she loves the ladybug one made my Violet’s godmother when Olivia was born).
Livy will also be choosing her favorite doll or stuffed friend and a camping pillow with a small blanket.
As a backup, Daddy will have a portable DVD player and a few new movies in his carry-on (Pinnochio, The Princess & the Frog, and Fox & Hound). We’re also packing our two Gertie balls for some inflatable instant fun. And we plan to take along some of the girls’ favorite music, probably on an mp3 player. They use a CD player in their room.
Here is the rest of the list I considered, but either didn’t fit in their tiny bags or we didn’t have it on hand. We will probably use these ideas for the next 14-hr car trip to NE (just 3 weeks after we return from WA/CA)! The key for packing for those trips is that they have to be able to do it all themselves. Another reason I’m looking forward to the plane ride where we’ll be able to sit together and work on the items that require a partner.
Well there you have it – my best list of toys, books & activities to keep a toddler or preschooler occupied while traveling! The best thing is that for this trip, we only had to purchase the coloring pages, magazine & re-usable sicker books – everything else was already here at home (but thankfully, most of it was ‘out of rotation’ so it will be like new)! 
In my research, these were the best websites on the topic of traveling with babies, toddlers & preschoolers:
Walk 2009 (Olivia -3, Molly – 1, Violet – 9 months)
In a few weeks, Olivia will be participating in her 5th annual Walk for Life benefiting the Texas Alliance for Life. As usual, Molly & Violet will be joining her and for the first time this year, we are going to attempt being stroller free! The Walk will take place June 19th at The Quarries park in Austin. To sponsor them with a one time, tax-deductible donation, click here: Sponsor a Walker. You can make a donation right away using your credit card or make a pledge to be billed later. To join the fun and participate as a walker, click here: Walker Registration. Either way, I hope you will support this worthy cause. The girls will be walking with hundreds of Texans to promote the Culture of Life and to raise funds for life-saving programs and agencies in the Austin community. 100% of the proceeds will support peaceful, legal efforts by Texas Alliance for Life to protect mothers and children and to promote respect for all human life. To learn more about them, visit their home page here. All donations are tax deductible. There are new incentives for Walkers this year – how ’bout sending us out to the ballgame??
Thanks for your support!
Incentives for Walkers
Oh, and Sunday is Pentecost and the last day of the Easter season so this year, we’ll be singing Happy Birthday to Daddy & the Church on the same day!
