Getting There from Here- A Guideline to Traveling with Children

Rule #1- Luck Favors the Prepared

Our trip to the Oregon coast, down through the Redwood National Park and finally to San Francisco was quite the challenge from a packing perspective. We had a variety of activities (sight seeing, hiking, church, swimming, etc.) in a variety of climates (cool, hot, rainy, dry, windy, etc.) and a variety of locales (city, forest, beach and hours upon hours of travel time in cars and planes). I've never been one to open a suitcase and just start throwing stuff in, but for this trip I had everything meticulously packed 3 days before we left. That's when the laundry was caught up and there were the greatest number of clothing possibilities. 

Every day had a complete outfit for each girls (including underwear and if needed, socks) which I rolled up (prevents wrinkles, minimizes space) and placed in the suitcase based on how soon it was needed. Every morning I handed each girl her roll of clothing for the day without digging around to find a top to match a bottom or to find clean underwear... it was all right there. After 5 days, I did a massive amount of laundry and redid the rolls. It worked beautifully. Their travel outfit was layers so they were warm enough taking off from O'Hare but able to shed a hoodie and cool off in just their tank top when we were in Portland.

My obsession with matching... and personalization laid bare.

As for the stuff... ya know, the toys and games and stuff everyone wants to bring along, I made it standard. Everyone had a travel pillow, a doll, headphones and a fidget spinner. We have two tablets and with our phones it was enough to keep everyone occupied during down time. Even though it felt like those pillows kicked around a lot, I'm really glad we had them. The girls napped so much better on the plane and in the car than they would have without them. It was also nice for them to have something that was just theirs as they shared beds and blankets throughout the trip.


Rule #2- Leave the House Spotless

If a vacation is amazing, returning home to a mess is just depressing. If a vacation is a complete bust, returning home to a mess is just plain cruel. And no matter what kind of a vacation it was, you will be tired. SO tired!!! When I'm traveling with the kids, I always find I need a "vacation from the vacation" once I'm home. Not having to worry about piles of dishes, mounds of dirty clothes, or sticky messes is pretty much the nicest thing I can do for myself.

Keeping the house clean during the summer when all the girls are home is kind of like trying to breath through a very long straw while deep sea diving. I mean, maybe it can be done, but it's nigh impossible. It took me a solid week to get the house into good order before departing for the airport. Once an area was successfully deep cleaned, it was off limits to the girls (and if I'm being honest, sometimes Brent, too). Eventually the girls shared our bathroom and I kept squeezing them into bed with each other. In a way it was good preparation for the tight quarters we would be working with as we traveled. The night before we left, they were bathed so not too much need for a bathroom and everyone had to sleep in Brigitta and Ireland's room. It warmed the cockles of my heart to find them the next morning all crammed into just one bed.

Still not sure how they managed this one. Ireland kicks like a catatonic ninja in her sleep and Liesel likes her space (as you can see).

We ran one last load of dishes right after dinner so we wouldn't walk out of the house with any water running. BAD idea if you are going away on vacation!


Rule #3 Dress the Kids in Matching Outfits

This one is a biggie for me. A lot of people think I dress the girls alike because it's charming or cute and that's definitely partly why I do it. But the real reason I do it is for safety. When the girls are in matching outfits, it 's easier for Brent and I to spot them in a crowd of people. Having them dressed alike also draws a lot of attention from others. Liesel is ADD and therefore easily distracted while Brigitta is a runner; It doesn't take long for someone to be lagging or lost. The matching outfits send an unspoken message that these kids are supposed to be together. Time and again complete strangers have helped us gather a wayward girl because they were so noticeable as a group. Any child predators would have to think twice about targeting one of the girls because they so clearly belong together and so many eyes are on them.

My favorite corridor of O'Hare.

A side benefit I've found of dressing the girls in matching outfits is people are generally kinder to us in regards to the girls. If Sydney has a melt-down, I'm not as likely to get the sidelong glances and pursed lips. I'm not entirely sure why, but I can tell you without a doubt it's true. It also makes me happy to see so many people smile when they spot the girls and count them up. "All girls?" "Any twins?" "What are their ages?" We connected with so many fellow travelers, which can be surprisingly rare in this day and age.

Rule #4 Manage Your Expectations.

Travel demands a lot of the average adult with changes in time zones, uncomfortable seats, waiting in long lines then rushing to get to where you need to go and just the general bureaucracy of it all. While a little one might be somewhat oblivious to all that, when they hit their breaking point, it's a point of no return.

A couple of weeks before we left, Brent and I worked different aspects of travel into our casual conversations with the girls. There's no way we could cover absolutely everything, but we didn't want to just throw them into the situation either. Not only did we remind them about what flying would be like, but we reminded them over and over we would be on the plane and in the car for a long, long, looong time.

Once we arrived at the airport, we had the older two take charge of finding security, departure gates, restrooms, baggage claim and even the rental counter. We spent some time in front of the Arrival/Departure screens and showed them how every airport has clocks to show local time. Liesel and Ireland relished the responsibility and it made them more aware of their surroundings as they read signs and navigated corridors.

Brent and I agreed to not fall into the trap we see so often on The Amazing Race where we waste time annoyed and/or screaming at each other when we needed to focus on the task at hand. That may sound silly- to agree to not fight- and maybe it's a fault in the way we handle traveling with kids, but agreeing beforehand to have each other's back made a difference when it came down to it.

Sydney on our layover at Dallas-Fort Worth. She insisted on having that hoodie up the whole time.

Rule #5 Do It

As complicated as it is to travel with children, I'm a strong believer in the benefits. Seeing new places, visiting friends and family, and exploring this amazing earth we live on is an education that can't be attained any other way. I spend so much of the time leading up to a vacation steeling myself for every scenario that can go awry that I tend to only think about surviving it to the best of my ability. Throughout the vacation as we make memories and then afterwards when we reminisce are moments that are just so precious to me.

Ireland is familiarizing herself with the safety information cards. Ha!

It's not easy, but it's well worth it!