The List

Those who know me well know that I am a great list maker.  Without a list I am relegated to the early onset dementia category.  Even the height challenged one knows about 'Mummy's list'.


This weekend, I was able to cross off a number of items on my list.  


1.  Baby carrier - sorted
2.  Tardis back pack - sorted 
3.  Self compression travel storage bags - sorted
4.  Play and craft activities to keep the short one busy on a 16 hour + 6 hour flight - sorted
5.  Convert Play School DVD collection to mpegs and copy to laptop hard drive to keep the short one entertained on a 16 hour + 6 hour flight - sorted
6.  Buy warm coat for Daddy O'Connor - sorted
6.  Appointment at Apple to repair iPhone - sorted


However, in so doing, I have thought of other items to add.  


1.  Get some money - always a handy commodity - still not sorted
2.  Wash the thermals that have been put away since the last time we were silly enough to go to the far northern hemisphere in the middle of winter (remind me whose idea this was?) - still not sorted
3.  Dry clean Mummy O'Connor's winter coat - still not sorted
4.  Source extremely warm clothes - not sorted...ohhh, for crying out loud...whose idea was this???




5.  Head-read...mmmmm, should really get on to this

Three out of four ain't bad!

1. Well, what do you know! Baby food and drinks are exempt from the 100ml LGA restrictions.  That's a relief!  I was wondering how I was going to check in a jersey cow without anyone noticing.
2. Found a baby carrier that reputedly carries small children with ease and comfort.  (Yeh, right, you try carrying 12 kgs for extended periods with ease and comfort!)
3. Why can't everyone just speak English?  Make life so much easier! I think the chances of me remembering these words are close to slim and none.  You try saying wegwerfwindel (G), jednorázové pleny (C) or wegwerp luier (D). Surely me coming at any shop keeper with a squirming child whose smell would outlast religion would give them some indication that I wasn't there to pick up a nice red!  Though, come to think about it...   
4. Still working on this one...

Now looking for a baby bag that resembles Dr Who's Tardis.  Any ideas?

You can do too much research!

I have been a huge fan of Kaz Cooke for some time.  She held my hand all through my pregnancy with week by week blows of what was going on inside. Her book, 'Up the duff' was a treasure trove of advice and support, sprinkled with lots of humour.


Once pregnancy was over, life took on a whole new perspective.  I had this inert appendage on the outside now.  So I thought I had better continue seeking my guru's advice and invest in Part 2 - 'Kid Wrangling'.  Like Part 1,  I considered it a tome of helpful tit-bits!  That was until today...


...so you want to take a toddler on a holiday?  Get someone to lash you to a chair until the feeling passes.  Why you want to travel with a toddler is not really important.  Either you have temporarily lost your mind or you don't have a choice. Kid Wrangling p699


Ummmmm, we do have a choice...please refer to point 4 on 'To do list'

To do's for today

Going OS is always exciting.  Planning your trip is half the fun.  Planning a trip taking into consideration a height-challenged person just adds to the mix.

The top items on my to-do list today includes:

1. Check out customs and the restrictions that apply to baby food, liquids & gels
2. Find a baby sling carrier that instantly reduces the weight of the baby being carried
3. How to say 'nappy' in German, Dutch and Czech
4. Where I can get my head read

The Holy Grail of Hotel Rooms

Any overseas trip requires a level of planning.  Overseas with a baby just requires that little extra bit of layering...right?


Searching for the holy grail of accommodation - great location, reasonable tariff, spacious rooms, cots, tea/coffee facilities, mini-bar fridge, bath, family-friendly staff!  Probably not a challenge in most cities in Australia.  Add Europe to the mix, and Monty Python's eternal search comes to mind.


Appears that most Europeans are happy to accommodate their tourists in spatially-challenged rooms. It is preferable that guests have a certain level of fitness and flexibility that ensures that entering their accommodation is facilitated by a triple twist, back flip, 1/2 somersault in the pike position to get from the door to the bed and another similar feat from the bed to the bathroom!

Bags, bags and more bags

Add a wee child into any equation and things become just that little bit more challenging...


Take luggage for an example.  No longer can we freely, and with gay abandon, trundle down the wide open spaces of check-in aisles, immigration and customs.  We now have to consider long and hard the logistics of getting from A to B like some sort of finely executed maneuver whilst on bivouac.  


Paul assumes the moniker Captain Courageous as he takes to battle with his girls to go bag shopping.  After several hours of bag inspections, trial wheelies, pushing, pulling & wrestling, he acquiesces and decides on a new 4WD.  Might as well stick with the motor vehicle theme!!

Toddler Travels

At the time it sounded like a good idea...an opportunity too good to miss...the perfect excuse to travel OS again...a conference in Munich, Germany on education.  I can go to the conference, Paul can visit his ultimate destination, BMW.


BUT...


there was just one little (very little) formidable factor...we now have a 20 month old baby!