Trip for Three

I'm packing up the tots and heading home to Idaho for a "little" (3 week) vacation. I am nervous about the flight by myself with two kids but I'm very excited to see my family.

I've taken a few steps in preparation to make my travel a little less stressful. First, I purchased a leash for Spencer.

I have nothing against leashing children although reading reviews online prior to purchasing this made me feel guilty. There are a lot of strongly opinionated people out there that are anti child-leashing and I know I'll be surrounded by them the entire time Spencer is hooked up.

To those without children who will be judging me (hopefully silently) I say go ahead and judge, at least my two year old won't be able to play hide-and-seek in a crowded airport. I showed Spencer a picture of the leash before ever buying it. I asked him if he'd like to have a monkey backpack to hold his snacks...of course I had him at the word "monkey" but "snacks" was the icing on the cake.

When it arrived a few days later he gave his monkey a big hug and wanted to wear it right away. Since then he has worn it on several outings and around the house, I think it will be a good traveling buddy for him.

Because Spencer is two we had to purchase a plane ticket for him and he gets his very own seat. Natalie on the other hand is on the itinerary as riding on my lap. I plan to beg the flight attendant for a row with an open seat and I am prepared to use my adorable children as leverage...especially poor little Natalie

How could someone honestly look at her cute little face and her sad little harnessed body and deny her the comfort of her own seat?

The last and final trick I have up my sleeve is to spoil Spencer rotten. I'm taking loads of snacks, movies, books...he is going to wish he could fly in an airplane everyday.

I guess we'll see how well my plans work out when the time comes. Do you have any tricks or ideas that have made your traveling with kids easier?