Luggage.

Sorry, this is probably a boring post. But, for posterity's sake, I will post to show how airheaded I can be......you've been warned. :) This is how we travel now. Our children have more frequent flyer miles and can recite the flight attendants briefing before flight. I think Ava's first word will be "fly" or "plane".

Because of times of scheduled flights, I list each leg separately. This makes it so I get the flights I want even though they are really close together. (less than an hour lay-over) This makes life easier, until I had another kid. Ava has officially thrown a kink in my routine of flying! :) I was perfectly fine to tow two children, two suitcases, a car seat, camera bag and purse. I never had to check luggage (for fear of it getting lost) and I felt in control. I seriously had a system of where everything was and where, when, and how things happened. Can we say OCD? Checking in and security was a breeze. *Eli hated the fact that I took my ID out and into my back pocket before I even got to the airport:) but he was hardly ever there helping me so I had to make adjustments. Adding another little one has fried my brain. It refuses to work anymore :) Now I check our luggage because it consists of several suitcases, diaper bag, and other paraphinalia that accompanies having a newborn.

I have lost our luggage once already. We eventually got it back a day or two later. (As a paranoid freak I usually put extra everything in a back-pack that I carry on JUST-IN-CASE! I hate purchasing extra items I already have...somewhere.... )

Well, in a recent trip home again I scheduled the return trip. In the back of my mind, a day or hours previous I don't remember which, I remembered I needed to list all together. And to not make the same mistake with above said luggage. That was obviously too long in advance because I did indeed forget. BUT I hadn't put two and two together until I was on our first leg. Of course today would be the day that my dear hubby had called (on a friends phone) to inform me his phone was dead with no way to charge it. He would accompany us home, and fly back later. (see? angel.) BUT, he would sleep until we arrived and told us where to find him IF he wasn't at the gate to meet us. So as we are decending I'm trying to see if there was a possible way to fix my error, without a major headache, since I didn't leave us very much time. The only way this was going to happen was if Mr. Mayes was waiting at the gate. So I prepared myself and children to move quickly. We were seated at the very rear of the plane.

I had a heavenly site of Mr. Mayes waiting just inside the door. Huge grin on his face..... until I started waving like a mad woman for him to come outside and meet us.....can you picture it??? waving frantically, dragging children... :) I handed him my pen and told him he needed to direct all six pieces of luggage home. As I was dragging two excited girls away from their most favorite person in the world....confused looks on their faces why dad was going one way and us the other. I had to check in again and take a very quick potty break, grab a bite to eat and board the next plane.......

Eli got to our bags in the nick of time. They were already on the trailer that would usher them to the lost luggage room...eventually. I'm pretty lucky. (All he needed to do was write over the top of our tags and make sure they were on the right trailer. But he has to go in the back behind the engines, where we're not allowed. Good thing he still had his badge and uniform on.)

Next time on my crazy life, ..... "OCD and Airport check-in"

or how about "Losing my mind and I only have 3 kids". Or something to that extent........