This is it you guys, I’ve made it through another design. Seven whole weeks of design heavy, fast pace ideation and presentation, free-mind sucking weeks… leaving me with very little time to do anything else. But, it’s the piece I love most about my day job by far, which can sometimes leave me with more to desire when it’s all wrapped up. In saying that, this is the space that allows me to still be creative, collaborate and speak to an audience about my point of view. Or in this moment right here right now, the first post since my design season started…. sharing my families travel to Turks.

I’m often approached with the same question from fellow moms, “any advice for staying a sane parent while traveling with toddlers… on very long flights”. Because this is what we do, we go to places on the other side of the world with our twin toddlers, once a year, because we like to test our patience, and theirs. Can you hear my humor?  Here are the four pieces of advice I can safely give without dictating anyone’s travel experience, with #1 being the utmost important.

Take your own advice and just… roll with the crapshoot. We all stress while preparing for trips, right?  We must pack ALL THE THINGS! We must make all kinds of extra purchases because they will save us from… IT ALL. But then we end up wound like a coiled spring, ready to lose our minds at the first flex of a child’s discomfort or boredom. Take your own advice and just… roll with the crapshoot. Traveling to new places with your children to see the world and break them of their routine provides a host of teachable moments that you couldn’t possibly have predicted or prepared for in advance. And most importantly it teaches them how important they are to you.

Get a portable DVD player or tablet. We are mindful about our children’s time with electronics; travel-time is not one of them. In saying that, there are some amazing apps out there that make you feel proud… all while distracting them for hours. One of our favorites is Endless Alphabet. It teaches children the ABC’s with interactive puzzle pieces. Both of my girls have learned the shapes, sounds and word-building from letters in this application.

Bring longer lasting foods. I spend a lot of time curating a balanced snack-bag for our family to eat during travel. Because, not only do I appreciate the power of a good bribe, I’m also very aware of the effects of trying to contain my child in a seat once she’s eaten an excessive amount of sugar. A box of raisins or cranberries is great because it contains natural sugars, and for a good bribe I pack YumEarth Organic Lollipops for them to suck on for a lengthy time. Another great option is Justin’s peanut butter brand has a pretzel stick and peanut butter snack pack that my girls are really into… otherwise known as DYI toddler food.

“Watch out for the airplane Police”! I think it’s safe to say that most parents struggle communicating rules to their toddlers. Children enjoy challenging mom and dad on occasion, and most of the time it’s when their bored… That’s why I recommend the “Airplane Police” trick. These “police” are looking out for badly behaved children as they are not allowed to fly. Okay, I am not suggesting you scare them, just gently warn them that there are procedures in place that we all must abide by. This has proved itself effective multiple times by stopping my toddler from climbing over seats, playing with the fold down table, kicking the seat in front and all the other things that passengers around you really love. Next time pull an attendant or two aside and ask them to pop by and explain these rules… The attendants are always more than pleased to do so.

I hope this helps someone in their next family adventure. Below are some pictures we took in Turks & Caicos, and at Beaches resort.

Jeff’s dad gave him a small fishing boat that he’d held onto until a few years after we first started dating, back in 2002. When we bought our very first place, a condo in NW Portland in 2004, he decided to sell it, because well, we had so many big ideas about what to do with the money from that said boat. Since, we’ve always talk about how we wished we’d kept it, and one day we’d get another just like it. This summer we did. We wanted to spend the last of our summer days wading in the middle of a river or lake. We’d enjoy some sun and giggles with the girls and feast on a beautiful picnic lunch. Comically its quite basically the complete opposite. The journey started at the dock, Marlowe prepped the ride by closing her eyes and nuzzling her face in my neck right after the engine started, and didn’t move an inch the entire ride. She had her eyes locked on eyes, waiting for confirmation that indeed, we were completely nuts for trying to drown our family.  She’s been like this since birth; never close enough to her momma and not as fearless as her sister. Needless to say there was no beautiful picnic, wading or giggles during cruising, but there was sun, love and a dream of many more beautiful days spent outside growing as a family.

We finally took our first official camping trip of the summer in late August. So. Just a touch behind the rest of Oregon, but we’re still considering it a success. Mainly because of the spot we found, which was tucked in the middle of the forest, down the road, around the bend, and far away from any other camper.  The kids were in heaven,  probably the happiest I’ve ever seen them. It was almost as if they weren’t smiling, they weren’t eating dirt. And waking up next to mom and dad in a small fabric house was like, blowing their minds.

My days consisted of papaya/granola/yogurt boats, sun soaking and shaved ice on repeat. Road to Hana, we saved you for our next visit. 

We signed the sale of our house the day before we left for Hawaii. The day after we flew home we found a house we fell in love with. We’re currently going through the inspection process so wish us luck because we’re ecstatic about not having to move into temporary housing and start nesting immediately.

xoxo mw