Fall Weather & Trips for November

Andy is going to Chicago to attend a business conference. We were at first, thinking of trying to tag along- his room is paid for, and we would just have to take care of airfare and personal money. But, financially, we just won't be able to swing it this time. We would need about 800-1000 if we want to eat, go to the Shedd Aquarium etc. That, and practically, Andy would have been working day and night- so this time around, he is on a recon mission for us instead. We have received all the info as to how we can do it next time, if we are lucky enough to have extra funds. I have a few friends in Chicago, so we might just make it a family trip on our own.

Of course we have to go on a couple overnights for some weekends. So we have a weekend in November reserved for the Huntington Library. We have an extra day off, so no vacation days will be used. When we first went, we were in the middle of a heat wave and the grounds were impossible to move through. Now, it is chillier and we will take the girls (of course) and be able to enjoy the gardens fully.

I love, love fall weather. I love cloudy, chilly, almost rainy and rainy weather. I was really meant to live in the UK or something. Being born and raised in San Diego, where it's sunny almost year round... I get depressed about the sunny, perfect, weather quite often. I think both the girls like the cooler weather, as when we went up to San Francisco and we had to bundle them up, they looked like they were having such a good time.

Advantages of Colder Weather:

• For picnics, and just snack toting- food and milk doesn't get spoiled as quickly, you might even get away with not having to bring a cooler. A lot of baby bags have insulated stuff- that keeps the hot things hot and the cold things cold.
• Socks. I just like socks.
• Layering. Some summer stuff can be layered, light pants can go under dresses, boys long sleeved shirts can go under tee shirts etc. I love Baby Legs. Baby Leg Warmers that you can throw over leggings, under dresses, even wear on arms (yours or your kid's!) And when you are trying to make a quick diaper change, they make it much easier.
• You can stay out longer. You don't have to worry about little ones getting sun stroke and heat exposure. Also, the little ones are less likely to get tired right away.
• Places to go are less crowded and busy.
• Everything is pretty much cheaper, admission, flights (except for the days before and after major holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas.), hotel room rates, etc.
• Souvenirs from little trips during the cooler seasons make great Holiday gifts. So, multi task and do some small holiday shopping (be sure you can pack it on the plane!)

Stuff to bring when you go out in the chilly fall weather... room temperature bottle of water, hand sanitizer, (proven fact, we wash our hands less in the colder months.) Blankets for infants (of course) and a Toddler needs a snuggle also.

I am going to be working most of these holiday weekends at a retail job so we can make ends meet. More on that in a few, can't post what I am unsure of. Both the girls are excited about the prospect of Pumpkin Patches, dressing up as Darth Vader & Yoda, Turkeys and Christmas Trees. Hopefully, you'll be on the seat of your diapers and keep up with us!

Will Work for Travel

The Family and I have some exciting local trips ahead, well, in the planning still... First off, we want to go somewhere cold, within a 2-4 hour flight from San Diego so we can go on a weekend. If we can't really see the seasons, we will settle for San Francisco. This will be sometime in November. We have a couple weekends reserved for our new favorite, the Huntington Library, and also a trip planned to Disneyland for a wedding for our dear friends Tim and Chelsea. We are really, quite excited about that.

So there are hotel room nests to build, bags to pack... and I am also in the market for rolling luggage. Rick Steves, my favorite travel guru, sells a nice carry-on standard rolling luggage which I simply must get, and a lot cheaper than most. I know his stuff won't fall apart on you either.

In order to pay for these trips, I am applying for a seasonal job, cutting back unnecessary Christmas expenses and looking for deals and coupons everywhere I can find them. (For trips as well as every day household things.) Basically, "Will Work for Travel" should be my new motto. I am signed up to see some time shares that we can't afford or buy, with no intention of buying them. Just want the free trips they give away with them, and the 30 bucks cash they give you for your time. Nice.

Other ways I have made a little bit of money:

• Consumer Surveys (25-65 usd an hour, about 1-3 hours)
• consignment stores for the girls old clothes (about 100-200 bucks a drop off)
• seasonal part-time retail position
• enter free contests
• rebates, coupon cutting (this is very time consuming, but you will be surprised how much it adds up.)

Road Trip Tips!!

Portions of this post can also be seen on my Examiner Entry

As you know, we just came back from our five day Redwoods Trip. I am a packing fiend, especially for the kiddos. But my weakness has always been the overnight trip, or the short, domestic trip. I can fit both girls and my things in a 40 liter backpack for two months in foreign countries, but for a four day road trip I pack the rented Volkswagon Reuton with 5 shopping bags of food, three bags for personal stuff, two backpacks, a case of diapers, a cooler and a case of water, bedding and two strollers. For some reason, I always take too much on the short trips. It's as if my brain is saying, "We will definitely use THIS. We don't want to have to go back and pay overblown tourist prices for something simple." It really is living in luxury as they call it.

A few awesome snacks I recommend for road trips?

Two items that you can open, and toss over your toddler:

Snack trap cups with Cheerios or Gerber Puffs.

Squeezy Applesauce

Juice Boxes

Stuff we had in our cooler:

Half and Half (for me and Papa's coffee)

Case of foil wrapped juice packets

8 diet sodas

3 energy drinks.

4 yogurts

squeezy applesauce

bottled waters

Extra tips: Have your hotel info and/or vouchers, maps, paper information in one designated place, so much easier than digging.

I also like to put the designated gas money or card, in that folder or envelope also, so that I know I don't spend it on other stuff that isn't gas, also this way, we don't have to worry about it on the trip itself.

Make sure you have what you need for baby within an arms reach of you, in case you need to reach him.

Clear a spot in the trunk (if you are taking a van, this is especially helpful) where you can change diapers. If you are taking a car, make a changing station that can easil be folded or rolled up and put on the ground where you can make a quick change. Have all this stuff handy, diapers, wipes bags.

Bring your own trash bags and dispose of everything properly. Be a responsible visitor.

Driving tips:

Make sure you are both agreed on driving and being able to pull over and switch when you are tired.

Find something interesting where you should stop, if there is anything. Most of the time there is. These are the stops where you can see an Alien Diner, use the restroom, change diapers, feed the kids that need to be fed. Of course, if you are breastfeeding, your stops need to be more frequent, as we did this on our first road trip to Utah when Myles was 5 weeks old. Making the journey part of the trip makes all the stops worth it.

Back From Long Beach

I could kick myself for forgetting some things. Here I am preaching to moms about clever things you need to take, and what do I do? I forget half of my stuff! Anyway, here's what we forgot...

Blue Painter's Tape (to tape all the drawers shut for our little cruiser, as well as tape hotel washcloths to corners of tables)

Power outlet covers (4-6 of them)

extra sticky things for the tub so the toddler doesn't slip.

Papa made a nest for the toddlers sleeping quarters... I tweeted about it. It was awesome. We used the bedcovers (because they aren't very clean) to pad the bottom. Then we used, some extra hotel blankets and finally a new set of clean hotel sheets. Myles brought her blanket and her own pillow and the nest had a ring of hotel pillows around it. At the foot of the bed was Emmy's travel bed (basically a folding drawer) and we made that cozy for her. All of this stuff was on the floor so that Papa and I could sleep and not worry about them falling off the bed.

Anyway, we did alright otherwise, but we would have had an easier time if we had brought the stuff. I am definitely bringing it on our road trip because that will be all motels.

The trip was great, we saw the Long Beach Aquarium and had a great time with family. We stayed completely under budget, so we can definitely do this again! =)

Quick Overnite to Long Beach

Heading up to the OC for our lovely Cousin Ganzuzu's Bday party and to the Long Beach Aquarium on Sunday. Can't wait to take this teeny trip, as the stresses from work and whatnot make us want to take a couple days off. Budget for this small trip is small as well.

• Tickets to Aquarium are $18.95 USD. (Five dollars off, normally $23.95 USD if you buy them online ahead of time. ) $37.90 USD
• Gas will be about $25.00 USD.
• Hotel for us, is going to be about $80.00 USD.
• Food Budget $40.00 a Day

Total: $223.00 USD

Any trips we take we try, and try to pay for everything in advance. I like to use sites like www.hotels.com, which mostly books you and pays for it. One less expense to worry about. The girls are excited about the prospect of breaking the monotony. I think Memmy already has the travel bug because she loves, loves being in a new place and people watching. Myles is pretty much a veteran traveler, and she knows to stay next to us when she's in a different place. Knows about the value of new places and situations. I know this from the way she recognizes things and observes them. Let you know all about it as well as post pics. Have a great weekend everyone!

CARES Harness...

So, you no longer have to lug a car seat on the plane! FAA Approved, for children 22-44 pounds.

check out Travel Mamas for more info on the thing. It's pretty awesome, gonna order mine and letcha know how we feel about it.

Two Worlds Converge: Super Geek and Super Mom

Before my little beans were born, I never noticed the attendees who mumbled under their breath, every time a baby made a sound in a theatre, or during a panel. I never noticed how many times people exhaled in discontent every time the wheels of a stroller touched their feet in the crowded exhibit hall.

But it happens.

San Diego Comic-Con is, it’s the largest ever convention of its kind- celebrating the popular arts. Comic Books, Movies, video games, role playing games- anything and everything that at one point touched Comics or Science Fiction. It’s set up for about a quarter of a million people, at the San Diego Convention Center. The exhibit hall is where people are hawking their comics, books, costumes, zombie contact lenses... and major companies like Warner Brothers (who incidently, had a wonderful display of “Where The Wild Things Are” to advertise their new movie based on the popular Chilren’s Book. Nickelodeon had a Tribute to Sponge Bob Square Pants. Snoopy and Pikachu were walking around one of the days.

The other rooms are set up for panels and trailers and interviews with famous people and shows. there are workshops for people in the business. The panels go from The cast of Twilight to a small writer's circle with intimate Q and A's.

My conclusion, after bringing Myla when she was 3 months, and then when she was 20 months and then now when she is two as well as Emily when she is 8 months, is this: UNLESS NECESSARY, DON'T BRING YOUR BABIES. Kids over 7 maybe are great to bring on kids day, but anything under probably shouldn't attend...

Here are the reasons why:

1. After seeing Brobee from Yo Gabba Gabba, although they will enjoy it for a moment and get their picture, there really isn't much more for them to do.

2. It's way to crowded. Like horribly crowded. Germs. Toes. Arms. Legs. Not a great place to take the buggers. Now, when Myles was little, we carried her in the carrier and we also had her in the stroller. But when she got older, all she wanted to do was run around. And with god reason, there were people dressed up, big kids running around like little kids. To the two year old eye, it looks like a safe place for them to play. But it's a different kind of play. And it's really hard to explain this to an anxious Toddler.

3. There are no facilities for people with babies. They do not have a place for people to breast feed (I asked) and they said it was up to the conventions to set those up. Comic Con does not set any aside- which is again, understandable. My one complaint about this, is there are a LOT of babies there. Also, there are no changing facilities. I am fine changing babies on the floor, but something irked me about seeing all of these moms in corners changing their babies like it was a dirty shame to have one around.

4. Babies make a lot of noise. During panels, people who attend Comic-Con sometimes have to wait in line for hours to get into some of these panels, and when they are trying to hear Brucs Campbell talk, they don't want to hear a crying baby. Or even a babbling, happy baby. Music to MY ears, but not to your average 2009 Super Geek Model.

So these are some of my reasons as to why you shouldn't bring your beloved ham hocks to San Diego Comic Con... I have in the past, brought an infant (under one) and she was fine in the stroller or the carrier, but toddlers definitely a reconsider. Please, if there are great reasons as to why you SHOULD or have brought your toddlers and infants to Comic Con, please put them here! I would love to hear your input.