The packing before the storm

I've written before, though probably not on this particular blog, about how much I like to make lists.  As my mother says, we are a list-making people!  Lists, lists, and more lists, and packing lists are my absolute favorite.  (I know, can I be any more of a geek?)  A few years ago, when J was still a baby, I finally started typing out my packing lists for trips and then opening up the list for the previous trip and editing and saving it again for the upcoming trip.  Doing this has made my packing so very much easier, I can't imagine why I didn't do it earlier!  I'm a very obsessive methodical packer, so having all the lists in one place makes me very happy!

Frankfurt's list was the first one in a long time that did not include any specifically baby or infant or toddler items.  Gone are the diapers and binkies, even the training pants, and I love how little we need to travel now.  We still bring sippy cups but only because I would rather use a cup with a lid on the plane than end up with a lap full of ice cold 7-Up (not that I have any personal experience with that).  We could just as easily use their water bottles if I could find all the lids for those.  And I'm a stickler for bringing children's Tylenol because my children have a sad habit of getting sick on vacations and Tylenol helps with a world of ills (including, ahem, drugging them on a plane if worst comes to worse, not that I have any personal experience with that, either).  And each child has a stuffed animal they sleep with, Moose and Baby Fox respectively, but that's about it as far as little kid items go.

NOW we bring lots of supplies for drawing, some little toys that would have been choking hazards not too long ago, card games, quite a few books as usual, and our electronics that double as toys in a pinch.  And our preparations are completely different now, too.  A few nights before we left, the husband and I attempted (and were finally marginally successful) downloading a few movies and cartoons onto our iPads as a back up for a faulty airplane entertainment system (I've heard too many horror stories not to do this now).  The husband also played a certain video game involving sharks that the boys love long enough to get the elusive Great White Shark, which will ensure that they stay entertained for as long as we let them play.

Under normal circumstances, our snack list would still be basically the same, but Qatari snack availability has changed our basic template.  We can still do carrot sticks and apples, but this time we are also including pretzels (because Goldfish are no longer a snack food but a premium indulgence), some strange but good crackers, gummy things (what, pray tell, is the world's love affair with all things gummy all about?  Here you have two choices only: gummy or chocolate.  Oh, and Mentos!), tic tacs, and Juicy Fruit, both of which E loves, these bizarre breadsticks you dip in chocolate that J loves, and perhaps Qatar's version of granola bars, which are basically gussied up rice krispy treats dipped in chocolate.  Healthy?  No.  Yummy?  The kids say so.  I am splurging on individually waxed cheeses because they are so good for traveling even though I had to grit my teeth while buying them. I bring many, MANY snacks, one could argue an excessive amount, but the key to happiness in flights is occupying the kids and food with many pieces and some sugar can be very helpful!

And because all quote-unquote travel bloggers with a capital T include lists of the favorite things they love to pack always and forever, I'll post mine here:

• Mead Five Star two pocket folder with stay put tabs.  These are strong, sturdy, poly-laminate folders in bright colors (mine current folder is green, of course).  I use to keep all travel docs organized and protected in my carry-on or purse.  Yes, I could keep all this info on my phone, but I'm very old school.
• Lightweight fabric bag.  I use this as a purse, a tote bag, a grocery bag, whatever I need it for while we travel.  It weighs nothing and isn't valuable or sentimental so if it gets ruined or lost I'm not put out and it expands to hold all my kids' ever-increasing stuff that seems to accumulate during a day of travel.
• Extra outfit in my carry-on.  EVERY time I forget to do this for both myself and the boys, I regret it.  This is a rule I introduced my husband to, and he now follows it religiously as well.  Whenever I start to think I might not do this, I remember my father's move to London a few years back when his clothes didn't arrive for a week!  
• A noise maker and extra batteries.  When I travel back to the States, we have one we leave there that we love.  But we also have a very small, battery-operated clock radio that we tune to static when we need it.  My kids now only sleep with the sound of the air-conditioning, but we all sleep so much better when there is some sort of white noise around, and hotels are inevitably loud when we stay in them.
• Headlamp or book light.  We have not graduated into staying in more than one room, which means we either all go to bed when the boys do, or we have something available to help us stay up a little longer.  Kindles or iPads or the like can illuminate themselves but aren't a lot of help when you want to read a good, old fashioned book or find your way through unfamiliar surroundings without waking up with little boys.
• Pass the Pigs Pig Party game.  This game requires no board and no set-up, makes no noise when you play it, and is easy enough that E could play it before he turned 3.  This particular version comes in its own zipper pouch and you can even fit another similar game in there if you want.  This trip I am including Greed in my Pass the Pigs pouch for double the fun!  Always, always carry something to while away waiting time in case the electronics fail!

There's more, but those are the tried and trues that come to mind today.  Back to packing!  I'll let you know how it all went on this little jaunt very soon!