My brother comes home today.  He’s spent the last 4 months in Mexico through a drink study abroad program.  I hear he has had a lot of fun.  He decided to finally join Facebook to keep in touch with friends.  Yes, friends.  He added me as a friend after 2 months and 139 friends later.  No hard feelings, though!

Anyway, my kids are SUPER excited to see their Uncle Geoff.  They’ve missed him.  Especially Mason.  Well, they’ll have their share of my brother come next week when he stays at the house and helps my mom out with the kiddos while Brett and I are in Florida for a wedding.  If those 5 days don’t serve as birth control, I don’t know what will.  I can’t wait to hear about everything that happens while we’re gone.  Should be an adventure!

Geoffrey is 7 years younger than me.  By that point in time, I wasn’t looking for a sibling.  I had everything I needed.  I should find the picture of the first time I saw him.  My grandpa carried me into the hospital.  My face says “I can’t believe you have to live with us you’re a BOY”.  Not happy.  I got over that for a few years, mostly while he was still non-verbal.  Once he became verbal (and mobile, most likely), I went back to not liking him so much.  Really, we probably became “friends” once I moved out and went to college.  And even better “friends” when I got married.  And since then it’s kept getting better!  So I have no qualms about my little brother watching my kids.  He will have a blast.  And they will wear him out!

Me and Geoff playing Wii on Christmas morning while Emma looks on.

This Not Me Monday is brought to you by Atlanta. Oh, and MckMama over at My Charming Kids. You can play along too! It’s fun!

So you want to know what didn’t happen in Atlanta?

Well…it didn’t start off with me drinking too much on the first night and not feeling up to par the next day.  Never on a vacation!!  Not me!  But the rest of the trip I was such a good girl!  I really didn’t eat my weight in Southern food!

–WAIT–  Can I change this post to “Me” Monday?? Of course I can.  It’s my blog.

Ahem.

So many great experiences this weekend.  Did I tell you that my Aunt Libby flew into Atlanta for the weekend too?  In the beginning it was coincidental.  But we three gals had a blast!  Lots of highlights, but I’ll share with you probably my #1 favorite: hiking Stone Mountain.  Since I didn’t get a picture of it in the distance, here is what it looks like:

It really has that cool “etching” in the face of it.  It was 1.3 miles each way and yes…it’s all stone!

See the Atlanta skyline in the distance?  It was a beautiful day, if not a bit windy.

On the way back down, Kim and I decided to be hot shots and jog most of the way down.  I have to say, we kicked butt!!

I’m in love with Georgia…it’s so pretty there!!  I thought about taking Emma with me in the fall when I go back.  She’s such a great traveler!  But I think I might go one more time without the kids so I can see more of it…just me!  Next time, Kim and I will travel to Savannah and spend some time there.  I’m looking forward to it!!

How do I know this?  I can have my windows open all day and night!

My kids play outside ALL the time…I love it!

My allergies are driving me insane.  To the point of wanting to cut off my nose and pull out my throat.  Graphic enough?  Physically impossible to boot.

And…the quail have returned.  For the 3rd year in a row they have chosen a pot by our front door to make their nest and lay their eggs.

Also, having nothing to do with spring, I’m in Atlanta this weekend!  I get to spend the whole weekend…without kids, mind you, in Georgia with my cousin eating Southern food and hanging out!  I am SO excited!  I visited her in Atlanta  1 1/2 years ago and couldn’t wait to get back!  It’s a short stay, but I will be back this fall again.  Biscuits n’ Gravy…here I come!  Oh, in case you’re wondering, Emma and Mason are staying with my parents.  I hope they survive!!  (my parents, that is!)

Kim and I in Atlanta (Centennial Park) in ’08.

My good friend suggested that I write about what it’s like to travel with a special needs child.  I thought that was a good idea…it’s not like traveling with a typical child, that’s for sure!  But, for us, it’s not all that bad, either.  It just takes more planning and organization.  And fortunately for me, that’s one of my strong suits.  I will say this…it gets easier and easier the older they get.  And that’s not necessarily due to her special needs.  That’s mostly due to the fact we don’t have to lug around so much crap!  Bye bye to pack-n-plays, extra diapers, lots of toys, bottles, baby food, etc.  I am so happy those days are behind us!  (can you tell we’ll be sticking with or 2 kids and not adding anymore to our brood?)

However, in place of some of that “crap”, is my son’s nebulizer, the steroids that go into it, his inhaler, nose spray, and everything else allergy/asthma related.  And that’s just for Mason.  With Emma, it’s a careful organization of medication, and making sure not only that we have enough, but that we have extra in case our trip becomes extended.  Since she can’t swallow pills yet, we also take enough oral syringes, Sunny Delight (the sweetest juice to mask the bitter pills), and applesauce for those pills whose contents don’t dissolve (called “sprinkles”, FYI).  And for her shot, we make sure there is enough “juice” for the duration…otherwise we pack another vial.  Don’t forget to add extra needles in case one is defective, and extra alcohol swabs as well.  Oh, and last but not least, her patch.  For without that, our days become really long with a child who is bouncing off the walls and everything in between the walls!

It sounds daunting, I’m sure.  And it was at first.  But like I said, it just takes a little extra planning and organization. A wonderful pill organizer that I use is something similar to the picture below.

So if we go on a short getaway for the weekend, I don’t have to bring the appropriate days. (I found that organizer here.  For everything else, I use labeled gallon-size Ziplock bags.

The other consideration that is always in the back of my mind is the bathroom.  My daughter has a big ginormous fear of bathrooms.  It started when she went potty at an airport that had an automatic toilet.  Well, it flushed on her, of course, and she’s been leery of every public bathroom since, even the ones with levers.  For those situations, when she’s going to have to use a public restroom, I use positive reinforcement or bribery.  I’m not above bribery.  For example, when she and I went to Disneyland in October, I scoured the Internet for tips on potties.  Wouldn’t you know there’s a whole website dedicated to the toilets at Disneyland?  I kid you not!  You can visit it here.  That website saved my sanity!  (an FYI for anyone in my situation traveling to D-Land, in the baby center they have “small” potties perfect for those tiny tushes.  The “cast members” tried telling me that she was too big for them, but I gently let them know she has special needs and wouldn’t use the other ones.  Perhaps next time she’ll be ready for the regular restrooms that are smaller in size with lever flushes (like the ones by the AAA kiosk at City Hall and the ones by Big Thunder BBQ).  Is this sad that I know all this?  Perhaps.  But you know what?  It makes my life and her life much easier.  And she knows that she can’t go on her favorite ride,  Thunder Mountain, until we take a trip to the potty.  Worked for me every time!

Okay, that was a total side track.  That last paragraph wasn’t supposed to be about Disneyland.  And now I just want to go there!  Okay…potties.  Obviously every place we go to won’t have a whole website dedicated to the potties of that place.  So we make sure she potties before we leave, and if possible, while we’re out.  In the car, however, it’s another story.  We set a portable potty seat in a hidden place and she does her business!!  The seat she uses looks similar to this one below.

Convenient?  Not always.  Does it work?  All the time.  And again, it makes life easier for her and for us.  And if we pack really efficiently, we put it in the back of the car for even more privacy.  The baggie comes out, gets tossed, seat gets wiped down, and it comes with a neat little carrying case!  Perfect for the situation.  However, I’m not sure what we’ll do once she outgrows it.  That time is definitely coming!

As far as the rest of the trip goes, I always create a binder for our trip.  It contains all the information on our flights, hotel/s, car rental, and always contains information on the nearest children’s hospital.  That last part is SO important to us, and really I think it would benefit every family to have that information when going on a trip.  We’ve been to several Children’s Hospitals around the country now.  I’m so happy I have had the necessary information with me!

If I forgot anything about travel, or if you have questions please let me know.  I would love to be able to help people out with simplifying their travels!

What travel tips do you have to share?