When went to Chicago with Baby Eilan, he was still small enough that putting him in a hotel crib meant dropping him the last inch or so (counterproductive to say the least). Add to that, the fact that the hotels I stayed in had luxuriously fluffy pillow-topped mattresses (I.e. built in baby suffocation hazards). The easiest thing to do was to sleep on my back with Eilan on top of me each night - hardly the most restful situation. That's why I felt so free this week when he fit comfortably in the hotel crib!
Eilan resting comfortably in a hotel crib
A small victory, but traveling with baby Eilan is already starting to get easier.
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Almost every morning for as long as I can remember, D wakes up before E. Sometimes hours earlier. When we are at home, that's no problem. She gets a few quiet moments with my husband and I before the get-out-the-door hustle really begins. When we travel, though, things get tricky.
Usually one parent gets up with D and escorts her outside for a tour of the property, waiting for a phone call saying that everyone else is awake. On the rare occasions when we have multiple rooms or a large balcony, we are able to order breakfast and keep her entertained with a meal and a coloring book. Still, more often than not she ends up waking her brother - which means he's tired throughout the rest of the day.
Readers: What tricks do you have for dealing with an early riser when you are traveling? Tell me in comments
Sometimes having a blog is a little bit like Being John Malkovich. I never know what's coming my way, and occasionally I wonder whether I have momentarily stepped into someone else's life.
Case in point, this Monday, I will join Alan Mulally, the CEO of Ford, and a small number of other bloggers and journalists at a roundtable brunch! That's an experience I would have never dreamed of having when I first started blogging about our family adventures.
I'm thinking hard about what I'd like to ask him, and I'd like your input as well. D you have questions about safety? gas mileage? ergonomics? something else - let me know, and I'll do my best to ask them all.
I paid for our meals and museum admissions on this trip, and as always, all opinions are my own.
Some trips peter out slowly, with my enthusiasm for exploration slowly waning as my desire to sleep in my own bed grows. Other trips go out with a bang. They're extraordinarily fun until they something happens to the delicate ecosystem that is travel-with-kids, and I want to pick up and leave as quickly as I came. This trip was the latter, but before I tell you what happened, I'll tell you about our morning.
Tacoma's Free Light Rail
I always seem to focus on how difficult the nighttime routine can be without a grown-up partner to help out, but forget about mornings. Mornings are harder, in part because you don't have the inevitability of sleep on your side. D woke up first this morning, like she does most mornings.
Still drowsy, she tried to sleep a little more on the fainting couch, and then moved into her familiar stroller (where she did doze for another 30 minutes) but when she finally got up, there was no turning back. My only goal was to keep her from waking up the other kids, but the small space of a single hotel room didn't offer a lot of options, and soon everyone was wide awake. That extra sleep is critical for E, and without it, I knew that he would be a little on edge today.
If I was smart (or perhaps less sleep deprived) I would showered last night. To make matters worse, D has an over abundance of enthusiasm about her baby brother. I can't leave them alone together even for a minute - so we're up and out early today. No shower for me.
E enjoying a ride on the Tacoma Light Rail
Luckily, getting the kids dressed and ready is a breeze when there's a train to catch. Tacoma's Link Light Rail connects the Tacoma Dome Station with downtown Tacoma and trains run every 10 minutes. A stop was conveniently located a block from our hotel, and with another stop across from the Tacoma Art Museum, the light rail was a great way to get around. E insisted on riding to the end of the line before ultimately getting off of the train, and by the time we were done, he had a full assessment of how the train compared with our own brand new Light Rail line.
D enjoys a home baked scone at A Renaissance Cafe in Tacoma
We took a chance on a low key breakfast at A Renaissance Cafe. The decor reminded me of the type of place we might have stopped when I was a child on a roadtrip, and the owners have made a real effort to create a restaurant that feels comfortable. While the old fashioned cash register might have been dated, the food was fresh and comforting. Homemade scones were bursting with blueberries and a waffle huge enough for the kids to split was barely visible through a layer of fresh strawberries. The friendly owner made both me and the kids feel welcome and relaxed, a pleasant break from the normal routine of vigilant child watching that accompanies most restaurant meals.
Next stop, the Tacoma Art Museum. The museum has just four galleries and has always been a favorite of mine. It accomplishes exactly what I think a small city art museum should by focusing on excellent Pacific Northwest Art and a few supporting pieces from international artists that relate to the collection. Exhibitions are always interesting in their own right, and don't fall into the trap of showing lesser quality works from big names.
"Ma Chihuly Floats" installation at the Tacoma Art Museum
Interesting or not, two days of museum going was a little much for the kids, and even the scavenger hunt the museum provided wasn't enough to keep them engaged for long. Instead, we high-tailed it up to "The Open Art Studio" a comfortable sunlit room where kids can check out kits that let them create their own artwork, paint with acrylics, or draw.
Art kits for kids in the "Open Art Studio" at the Tacoma Art Museum
We could have spent all day here, switching between kits that related to each of the various gallery exhibits. In the end, the kids decided to make necklaces with a variety of interesting beads and when they were done, to color with crayons. The Open Art Studio is open during museum hours and is free with museum admission. I wish we had a space like this here in Seattle.
Headed home
Eventually our stomachs got the better of us, and we headed to lunch. That's when things started to fall apart. The kids were feeling fussy, hungry, and tired. Eilan got a blowout diaper that soiled my own shirt, and later spit up on me. Between the diaper and a potty run for one of the older kids, I rounded up all four of us for two bathroom runs before our food arrived. Finally, as the older kids melted down, I realized that the party was over and it was time to head home before I too dissolved into tears.
The Light Rail ride back to the car soothed us all, and by the time we got into the car we were all feeling a bit better. I think all of us were disappointed to leave, there was more I wanted to do here, but we'll be back for a daytrip soon.
Despite the rough ending, I'm glad we took this short trip. In the near term, it broke up what would otherwise be a long week. It is also nice to know that I can leave town with all three kids if I want to, and even better to know what parts were difficult so that I can plan for next time. As tiring as the two days were, I know that traveling with three will get easier as they all grow up.
During our stay in Tacoma, we were guests of the Hotel Murano. I received no other compensation, and the hotel did not require that I express a particular point of view.
I have been experimenting with video lately, so I thought I'd make a short clip about the hotel. One thing that I do not show in the video is that each floor in the hotel is decorated with art glass from a different artist along with pictures of that artist at work. A quiet visit to several floors of the hotel was a nice way to wind down before bed, and a great compliment to our excursion to the Museum of Glass. The kids really were fascinated, and I think it gave them a better sense of the wide variety of shapes, textures, and colors that glass can take on. Click here for my full review of the Hotel Murano
On the way into Tacoma, we drove past the Chihuly Bridge of Glass, a cool pedestrian bridge (loaded up with Chihuly art glass) that connects the downtown area with Tacoma's Museum of Glass. E was fascinated, and luckily for me, he begged to walk across.
E walking across the bridge to the Museum of Glass in Tacoma
The huge art glass displays on the bridge were interesting, though I admit that most art glass is just "eye candy" for me, and I'm rarely as drawn in as I would be by a painting, drawing, photograph or sculpture. The kids enjoyed looking at the glass sculptures in an environment where they could go at their own pace and act like kids.
Art glass on the bridge to the Tacoma Museum of Glass
When we finally arrived at the museum balked at the idea of going inside on such a pleasant day. I finally promised that they could leave after 5 minutes if they didn't like the museum, a risky bet given that adult admission is $12 (kids are free).
Luckily, the bet paid off. Once inside, the kids enjoyed exploring the small gallery space (just the right size for short attention spans). The colorful art drew their attention, and small "please touch" exhibits gave them an outlet for their curiosity. The highlight, though, was the Hot Shop where a visiting artist created works of glass art as we looked on. To my great surprise, the kids sat and watched for at least 30 minutes before the heat and inactivity overcame them.
We took a break from the Hot Shop, and visited the museum's Education Studio, where the kids were invited to create their own Native American bentwood box (a project that related to the Museum's display of glass bentwood boxes. The kids colored and glued contentedly until the studio finally closed. That gave me a much needed break too, and I was happy to sit and play with baby Eilan while they amused themselves
D creates her own Native American bentwood box at Tacoma's Museum of Glass
When the studio finally did close, I tried to gently steer the kids towards the Cafe for a quick snack. The creative time in the studio had been just what they needed to recharge, though, and instead they steered me back into the Hot Shop. I admire their enthusiasm, but frankly there's a reason it's called a "Hot Shop," and wearing a baby in a sling doesn't help cool things down!. Still, I'll do anything to encourage the idea that museums are fun and interesting, so I sweated in the sidelines while the kids watched more molten glass get shaped into interesting and colorful artwork.
Today's outing was hot, tiring, and an unqualified success. We had all the usual hiccups - squabbles over the stroller, spitup on my shirt, and more, but the kids got to do something totally new, and that helped make all of us happier.
Bedtime, one of my biggest worries on any trip, went more smoothly than I anticipated. Ever since baby Eilan was born, the E and D have been sleeping in the same room together. I'm not sure why, perhaps they sense that it will be harder then ever to get us to cuddle with them at night or perhaps they're learning to get more comfort from one another now that my own arms are so often filled with a newborn. Whatever the reason, though, the novelty of being in the same room (although not the same bed) has worn off, and after I put Eilan down to sleep in the hotel crib, I snuggled up in between the big kids and sang them lullabys until they drifted off as well.
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One of the few things that is almost as much fun as traveling is showing off my home town, so I was thrilled to set up a playdate between my kids and Wendy Perrin's kids a few weeks ago. What could possibly be a more appropriate venue than the Boeing Museum of Flight
Exploring one of the exhibits at the Boeing Museum of Flight
My kids are absolutely smitten, by the way. They cannot wait to hop on a plane to New York for playdate Part II
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I paid for our meals and museum admissions on this trip, and as always, all opinions are my own. Whenever I do accept a complimentary product or service, I will always let you know.
Those of you who follow me on Twitter got to watch the live-action details of my solo trip to Tacoma with all three kids. But there's more to tell than what fits in 140 characters and a few pictures!
Monday morning we woke up and headed down to Tacoma. A mere 30 minutes by car, I would usually consider this a day trip. Still, because my schedule is more flexible than my husband's, I have been wanting to figure out how to travel on my own with all three kids and Tacoma seemed like the perfect distance for a trial run. If things really got bad, I reasoned, I could just hop in the car and head back home. If things went well, I might build my confidence for a longer trip on my own.
Our first stop? Lunch. Despite what us snobby Seattlites might believe, my kids think Tacoma has the best food ever. Here's what we ate for lunch:
Hot Dogs from Hot Rod Dog
I had a delicious cheesy sausage and the kids had all beef franks from Hot Rod Dog. After lunch, we headed next door. I won't spoil the surprise about what we ate, but just - look how cute this place is even from outside.
Hello Cupcake Entrance - even the storefront oozes sweetness
But there's no way the outside can match the rows and rows of cupcakes inside Hello Cupcake. We all had a hard time choosing.
Cupcake display at Hello Cupcake - mmmmm
There are few things cuter than kids eating cupcakes, and I felt tempted to upload even more pictures here, but I think this video sums things up nicely:
The TSA website implies that only creamy cheeses are banned, but according to the article, an agent from TSA told the author:
I can't get into a lot of detail because it's what's called SSI," Baird said. "It's top secret security type information but ... Cheese looks on an X-ray like other explosive type material.
About Me I'm Debbie, mother of three delicious kids and I write about traveling with little kids. That's my daughter in the backpack and my son in Paris on Halloween.
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