Despite the rain ...

it's been a busy summer. The last two weeks we've been busy with work for me, daycare (we call it school) with the kids and getting ready for our big trip. I don't know if I should be filled with anticipation or dread or with the anticipation of a dreadful trip.

I've spent fifty dollars at the dollar store and packed little sandwich bags with various trinkets and toys that will only last moments whether from falling apart or lack of interest. At the gym the other day I was talking to a friend and mother of two young children and she asked me if I'd bought any Gravol yet. I looked at her a bit puzzled at first and then said "Oh gosh, I never even thought about that, what if they get motion sickness on the plane?", I'm so naive, she meant to knock them out. I really never thought of that! I guess she was on the plane to Florida and everyone with small children had drugged their kids. I bought the Gravol but not for the knock out factor but the sick factor - can you image children vomiting on the plane! I was worrying about them screaming, running up and down the aisle trying to negotiate two children in one very tiny washroom, changing dirty messy pull-ups with three hundred people watching, dirty looks and rude comments. Maybe I should take the Gravol and fall asleep on the plane and just let everyone else deal with my children.

I have a huge carry-on bag with wheels and have been having nightmares about grouchy check-in attendants at the airport informing me that my bag is too big and I'll have to leave it behind. It's filled with toys, post-it notes, crayons, things that light up and glow in the dark, Hersey Kisses (if you're good you get a kiss), Smarties, Teddy Bear Crackers, Fishy Crackers, puddings, peaches etc. I've got two umbrella strollers with clips that tie them together, each child will have a link chain tied to each stroller so that if they don't want to sit in stroller they have to at least have one hand on the link chain. We had to buy a goalie hockey bag that cost $140 so that I could pack and check two Britax Marathon car seats, Matt actually weighs enough for a booster seat but I don't want to worry every time we get into the car. I even bought a potty seat to bring along as we are in the midst of potty training, I'm so over prepared it's not funny.

We leave Saturday morning at 8:00 am which means we need to get up at 4:30 am, get everyone up, fed and dressed, into the car by at no later than 5:30. Drive an hour to the airport, wait in a ridiculously long line as Al is no longer an Elite Member, hold onto two small children and hope and pray that they take the hockey bag with the car seats and my carry on luggage along with the strollers. I have to make it through security all by myself again hoping and praying they do not want to tear apart my carry on luggage, find our gate and entertain my children until boarding. Spend five hours on the plane, disembark, find our next gate and wait three more hours in Vancouver Airport. I've read that they have play centres in the airport which I will be looking for along with the nearest Starbucks; I've also packed some balloons as a last resort cheap form of entertainment.

We will then have another one hour flight up north and arrive at the place of my birth. My mom will meet us at the airport and entertain two very over tired little boys and watch our luggage while I install two car seats into her van. I'll spend a week with my maternal family and try to negotiate the whole vegan/vegetarian thing hopefully without insulting anyone. Then the following Saturday I'll do the whole thing again in reverse. Sounds like fun doesn't it? Everyone tells me that my boys might just surprise, quite frankly I'm sure they will.

Have a great week, I'm fairly certain that I'll have plenty of blogging material upon my return.