Tag: travel

  • Six tips for traveling with kids

    Six tips for traveling with kids

    Ziplocs in action.

    It is a gargantuan task to get our family out the door, to the airport, past security, onto the plane, into a seat that is actually ours, and through the flights (there are ALWAYS more than one). Over the years I’ve tried IT ALL on long flights, and here’s what works for our family.

    1) It’s Ziploc time!

    If you don’t live in a country where you have access to lovely little pre-packaged snacks, get out the Ziplocs and divvy up whatever snacks you have available. Always equally, and always with the same appearance, to avoid airplane sibling rivalry at all costs. The last thing you need is a huge fight on the plane because someone has more pretzels than someone else.

    Often I will have 20 (yeah, TWENTY!) Ziplocs in my bag that contain MORE THAN JUST SNACKS.

    My advice? Hit the dollar store and buy matching cheap, toss-abe, and NOISELESS stuff. Matching Ziplocs with an activity inside (a crayon and one piece of paper, a sewing project, a sticker book, etc). Matching Ziplocs with one new toy car or small doll. Matching Ziplocs with a new wallet pre-loaded with fake currency and credit cards. Matching Ziplocs with a snack and a prize. IF you are extra crafty you can even wrap these things up as presents to be unwrapped on the flight.

    Save the used Ziplocs to use throughout the journey… trust me, you will find a way to use them!

    2) Keep them entertained without killing yourself.

    If you are on a long international flight, there is a high likelihood that there is an in-flight entertainment system. When we are really on top of things, we call ahead or go online to check what they will have available for play.

    On our recent flights Delta, for example, had little to no age appropriate kids programs on their system yet KLM and SAA were loaded with lovely kiddie goodies.

    If you have an iPad, a computer, or a smart phone make sure it is fully charged and pre-load it with some NEW kids stuff that they haven’t already seen.

    For the kids that don’t care about an in flight entertainment system (aka the 3 and unders), you have your work cut out for you. We have found that the best toys we could find for this age are already on the plane. Cups, spoons, water bottles, other passengers (be gentle), stewards (again, gentle)… these all make great toys that hold attention for about as long as anything you would have packed. Save on space, and use what you’ve got in front of you. Take walks, get to know one steward/ess by name that is sympathetic to the plight of parenthood and can help you through the flight.

    3) Pack one carry on that the kids can have full reign of.

    This should NOT be the bag your ziploc stash is in.

    We have found that our kids think their own backpacks are boring but THEY LOVE riffling though our bags. Having a kid bag (that they think is your bag) keeps them from tearing apart your “real” bag… and the airplane.

    Our  two year old spent an hour just riffling through “the kid bag” on our last long flight. If you don’t have to be concerned about what they are “getting into” and can instead close your eyes for a minute or just breathe a little easier, it’s worth it to pack all the things you don’t mind them getting into in one bag. Things to pack in the kid bag:

    A travel Etch-a-Sketch

    Paper

    Crayons

    Coloring book

    Silly Putty

    Glow Sticks

    Things that you have to pack anyway but you don’t mind them “getting into”: a change of clothes for them, extra diapers, etc.

    4) Make tough goodbyes easier, turn the flight into one big adventure.

    If you are an international family who has to say tough goodbyes, firstly… you have my heart. I UNDERSTAND. I know the pain and the exhaustion of watching your children cry their eyes out over grandparents, and cousins and friends.

    I SALUTE you for making such brave choices for your family. THIS lifestyle of ours is a CHALLENGE but there are also so many REWARDS.

    To ease the tough goodbyes, we talk about the JOURNEY as an ADVENTURE for days in advance. We refer to it as a big airplane adventure with endless TV and lots of fun stops. We tell them that they are part of an elite airplane club and that hardly ANY kids in the world get to fly as much as they do. Thinking of the trip as an adventure will help YOU relax a bit too!

    This is where it pays off to know your airports. There is something you can make a part of the adventure at every airport (even Nairobi… the WORST airport on the planet!). Amsterdam, for instance, is THE BEST AIRPORT ON THE PLANET for kids. They have TVs playing cartoons, an indoor playground, a cool Dutch library, iPads full up with Dutch cultural tidbits, hotel rooms in the airport (for a price), and a free BABY SLEEP ROOM.

    Baby sleep room, Amsterdam

    5) Do what you believe will allow your family to arrive as rested as possible.

    Many who talk to me know that I am not opposed in the least to giving my kids a dose of children’s medicine with a drowsy component in it so that they can sleep. I am sure there are MANY people in the world who would disagree with this method of getting through a long flight, but for our family it works. When my family is faced with OVER 40 HOURS in transit on an uncomfortable airplane it is best FOR EVERYONE if my kids can wind down and sleep! Often our kids can not wind down naturally because airplanes are loud, uncomfortable, bright, exciting, etc. I would never endorse giving kids perscription drugs that are for you or adult doses or any craziness like that, but something that allows them to sleep will help both you and them… as well as the people sitting next to you. Of course, CHECK THIS WITH YOUR DOCTOR. Our doctors have often perscribed something for the flight that is MUCH heavier than we are comfortable using. Follow your gut, talk to your doctor, don’t do anything silly, and test whatever you would like to use out before you go while you are ON THE GROUND.

    If you are uncomfortable giving your kids anything (and even if you do), try using the complimentary blanket as a tent and doing your bed-time routine under it.

    6) Ask for special treatment… nicely.

    If you have kids under five, and if one of them is a baby, chances are you will get this anyway. Ask while you are checking in if there are any extra seats on the flight and if it’s possible to have a few extra seats next to one another so that the kids can stretch out.

    BEWARE of bulkhead seating!

    It is great if you have a small baby, but once your baby no longer fits into the bassinet, it is somewhat cumbersome. The arm rests in bulkhead usually don’t go up and down (read: your kids will not be able to stretch out) because they house the entertainment systems and the tray tables.

    Lastly,

    Have GRACE with yourself and your kids.

    If you are changing time zones AND ARE RETURNING TO YOUR HOME (away from grandparents and friends) jet-lag will be harder. Plan time in to your schedule to account for jet-lag, otherwise you will be in deep doo-doo.  It is important, especially if you are an international family, to give you kids plenty of love and hugs and to LISTEN to how they are feeling.

    2 am jet-lagging.

    Returns can be tough on everybody. Not only are you experiencing jet-lag, but you and your kids might be grieving. Give yourselves grace and space to deal authentically with what you are going through. When I was telling someone recently about how tough a time our kids were having adjusting back to life in Burundi, their response was, “Well, sure… it’s like leaving Disney World!” In a way that’s true. They went from spending time with family, experiencing Christmas in America, being out of school, etc. back to a life with just mom and dad and school and French.

    Draw pictures together and TALK about them, tell stories about the people they miss, CALL the people they miss, STAY CONNECTED however you can.

    I hope this helps you on your journey. Bon voyage, mon amis!

     

  • In Another Land

    We walked across the sand and the sea and
    The sky and the castles were blue.
    I stood and held your hand.
    And the spray flew high and the feathers floated by
    I stood and held your hand.
    And nobody else’s hand will ever do
    Nobody else will do

    Then I awoke
    Was this some kind of joke?
    Much to my surprise
    When I opened my eyes.

    We heard the trumpets blow and the sky
    Turned red when I accidently said
    That I didn’t know how I came to be here
    Not fast asleep in bed.
    I stood and held your hand.
    And nobody else’s hand will ever do
    Nobody else’s hand

    “In Another Land” by Bill Wyman, sung by The Rolling Stones 

    We are enjoying some much needed family time. It is hard to believe that we are here, and our short time is going sooooo quickly.  We are eating it up (I mean that literally) and Burundi already seems so very far away. Another world. For now, we are enjoying this one. It’s a world full of brothers and sisters and cousins and grandparents and cold and firsts. Our kids are getting some great “firsts” under their belts.

    First time seeing snow.

    First time wearing winter jackets.

    First time ice skating (that didn’t go so well).

    First time sledding.

    First snow ball fight.

    First time seeing their breath outside.

    First time having Christmas with their grandparents and cousins.

    Our poor kids experience so many new things every day that they fall into bed exhausted and wake up late (we are loving it!).

  • but somehow…

    In silence I can finally see you.

    This aloneness soothes my weary self away.

    Even though it’s just.one.minute.

    I’m bent like a twig before you,

    the Creator of all time.

     

    My minds eye wanders to love.

    Your love for this place.

    I can see it as clear as day, you love this land.

    You are chasing it down…

    like my baby, arms wide, running after a new friend.

     

    This no electricity, barely any running water,

    dusty, pot hole infested, people killing for no reason land.

    You hover over it.

    Aching to snatch it up from misery.

    To hold it close.

     

    Here the sun shines like a light chasers dream.

    Like my dream.

    The mountains are purple with it,

    the lake reflects it back boldly.

    You love this land and at first…

     

    I thought I didn’t.

    I thought I couldn’t.

    I was sure I wouldn’t…

    but somehow,

    I already do.

  • Riding Burundi Roads at My Peril

    With internet spotty at best up in the highlands of Burundi this post will undoubtably be short.  I just can’t help but share in what is taking place though.  By far the most productive trip yet to Burundi I’m in a celebratory mood.  Except that my sore back, hurting bum and broken ribs (long story about why you shouldn’t play rugby in Burundi with American Marines could be inserted here!) will let my celebrations be limited to a beverage of choice and early to bed.

    The Beauty of Burundi is that I can sit in a “hotel’s” restaurant high in the hills of Burundi and listen to a Jordin Sparks (ya, I didn’t know until I googled her either) song on repeat being beat into my head.  So if I type “just one step at a time….” it’s not my fault.

    The past four days have been filled with incredible scenes of vibrant rolling hills, lush coffee trees pregnant with ripe cherries and aromas ranging from fresh sweet coffee smells to burnt roasting goat.

    I want to tempt your senses to try and imagine fresh(ish) goat being roasted on an open fire with green bananas that taste like potatoes to accompany.  How about hundreds of pounds of freshly harvested coffee cherries piled up ready to be washed clean of their pulp.  Or my favorite aroma of sweaty stinking people piled on top of each other and me as we wind our way up the mountains in a mini bus.

    Where do you drink coffee?  Intelligentsia? Counter Culture?  Stumptown?  Dunn Brothers? Bean There? I’m visiting the very farmers that are producing their best coffee.  It’s a good day in Burundi.  It would be great if Kristy and my adventurer boys were here too.  Just four weeks until we are all here!

    I may never feel or smell the same again.  But my discovery of this black gold is seductive and the hands that are processing it are the poorest and knurliest I have ever laid eyes on.  The adventure has begun.

  • Home is…

    At the risk of sounding vain, I am going to share with you that one of my highest values is aesthetics. Just staring at beautiful things… man made or made by God fills my soul. The mountains, the lakes, the palm trees, the veins of a leaf, the sun light through the trees… and the cute dress, the lovingly hand knit blanket, the beautifully bound book, the amazing DIY project. It’s what makes me… me.

    Having an appreciation for these “things” makes me a better wife, a better mom, a better photographer… and it grows my love for God. That might sound funny, but it’s true. When I look at something beautiful He’s made “WOW” my heart goes pitter pat. And when I watch someone at work, doing what they do best, creating something beautiful, I am in awe of how God places visions and gifts inside people that just, when nurtured… grow. The truth is… I am inspired by beautiful things, the bought and the not.

    Soon I will be placing everything pretty I own, just about, into a vehicle headed for Burundi. That vehicle needs to travel 4,052 Kilometers through 3 or 4 border patrols over dirt, mud, tar and rock before it reaches Bujumbura. Once it’s there, if things don’t work out in our new home country… we have no clue how we would get our things out again. The same goes for the dog. Once we bring her in, I have no clue if we can get her out. The only thing I know we can get out is us. The thing that matters most… us.

    It is a fragmented feeling to put everything that makes a house a “home” to you inside a vehicle traveling an insane distance through dangerous territory with no back up. By everything, I especially mean the driver. Ben is the heartbeat of this family and the love of my life. Sending him on such a volatile journey just so that we can have a few our “things” in Burundi could be something I deeply regret if it doesn’t go as planned. Scratch that, of course it won’t go as planned, it never does in Africa. What I meant is… if something happened to him how in the world would I cope?

    So what if the curtains and towels and pots and pans and baking utensils and cookbooks and pillows and bedding and blankets and kids toys and kids books and even the medical supplies don’t make it? So nothin’. We would be fine, but having those things that remind us all that we are “home now” would bring us a whole lot of ease and comfort.

    My nervousness about this trip is not being helped by my  hubby who tonight said, “Oh… FOOD! We should probably pack some of that to eat on the way.” Yeah… let’s just say Coffee Guy is not into details, unless that detail involves coffee. Luckily for us, Ben had to delay his vehicle trip for a few weeks while we pray, on our knees, for all the vehicle funding to come though. In the meantime, he will have to fly up next week to house hunt and visit all the coffee farms he can. Oh, that reminds me… what should go up in that fist suitcase with Ben? Gotta think about that.

    Luv,

    Kristy

    image via Pintrest


  • Tomorrow…

    Tomorrow Coffee Guy, my hubby, takes off for nearly two weeks. He will be attending EAFCA in Tanzania, meeting with key players who will help shape the future of coffee in Burundi. From there he will be off to Kenya, where he will meet with some of the leadership of The Navigators in Africa about our move to Burundi. I love our little family and it is a real bummer when we don’t get to spend every minute together, well ALMOST every minute… by 7:30pm I am usually ready for a loooong break from the tiny humans. It is hard when one of us is away, but the boys and I are planning to sleep in a tent in the living room, stay home from school, swim in the pool and generally have one big party!

    Once the party is over (around day 2, I’m guessin’), I plan on doing my darnest to look at the world like my rope swing loving son does. Up. Up towards God. Up for a new perspective. Up for a breather. Up to appreciate the light. Up just for fun!

    Luv,

    Kristy

scroll to top
error: