I'm Back (More or Less...)

I know, I know, I've been gone a long time! Lots to share, particularly once I download a ton of photos! Let's see, there's VBS, Chinese Camp, and a two-week trip to Rhode Island and Vermont to visit my mom and my cousin's family. I should be able to post photos by the end of this week!

In the mean time, I came up with three very helpful "tricks" while on the road (or, rather, flying the friendly skies) with the girls (Al stayed home to work and paint the kitchen). Here they are...

1. I've heard of packing your children's individual outfits in ziplock bags so that each day, you can just grab a bag and hand it to your child and she can be completely dressed without having to dig through various shorts, tops, underwear and socks. A good idea, except my girls' tops outnumber their shorts by about 2 to 1. Instead, I got those huge, 3-gallon bags with the fancy zippers. I put all of each girl's shorts in one bag, all her tops in another, and labeled them with her name. I still had to go through two bags per girl each morning, but it was a lot easier than having to rummage through the stacks in the suitcase, which never stay separated. It especially helped with things like denim shorts, which all look alike! As I did laundry, I just put the clean clothes back into their appropriate bags. Unpacking was a breeze, too. The dirty clothes just went into the suitcase loose, and were immediately taken out and put into the laundry pile. Then I took each bag of clean clothes and emptied it into the appropriate drawer.

2. United Airlines wants each of your checked bags (or in our case, car seats) to have one of their little paper luggage tags attached. But to stand in the baggage check line with three little girls and way too much luggage and about 100 people in line behind you makes it tricky to fill out those little tags with your name and address. I took a bunch of return address labels and stuck them in the outer pocket of my backpack. I just stuck a label onto each tag and slipped it on each bag or seat. Quick and easy!

3. My mom and I wanted to take the girls to the wonderful children's museum in Providence. But I just hate trying to keep track of my three in a crowd of kids. So we didn't go until 3:30 in the afternoon. There were only a few families left, and the girls could enjoy all the exhibits and hands-on stuff without waiting a long time. The museum closed at 6:00, so that gave us a good 2 1/2 hours to enjoy everything, and gave us a definite end to our visit ("We have to go now, the museum is about to close."). I actually got this idea from my friend Sara, who goes to the local pool after 3:00 when the crowds start to disperse (and the sun isn't so hot).

More soon...