Is this baby FAA approved?

We leave for Florida in just over two days now, so I've started reading up on airline travel with an infant. I don't think it will be too bad, as long as the following things happen:

• I remember to take all of the liquids/gels/creams out of Squiggles' diaper bag and put them in a 1qt zip top bag. Unless they are over 3oz, then they have to go in his checked bag. Oh, and I have to remember to put my little necessities (hand lotion, lip gloss) in there, too.


• I resist the very real urge to over pack. Since we didn't purchase a separate ticket for Squiggles, we are limited to two carry-on bags and 4 checked pieces of luggage. Shouldn't be too hard since Mom & Dad have a washer and dryer at the house (won't have to pack every onesie we own), but I think I brought way more than that on our last weekend trip.


• We're praying that: a) the flight isn't full, and b) that no one decides to take the middle seat in the three-seat row. Again, since I'm cheap and didn't spring for an infant ticket, Chef and I will reserve the window and aisle seats for ourselves; hopefully that will make the other passengers look elsewhere for seats. Unless, like I mentioned, the flight is full.


• The airline lets us gate-check Squiggles' car seat and stroller travel system. Bonus points if the aforementioned middle seat is available and we can actually strap him into the car seat (note to self: must check and see if car seat is rated for air travel).

Of course, I'm leaving off the really obvious things, like praying that our flight isn't delayed - especially on the runway! - and that Squiggles' takes to flying like he's done it a thousand times before. Actually, now that I've actually written down this list, I'm getting a little intimidated. And I didn't even get started on what it might be like to change a diaper at 30,000 feet!

Clean Sweep

Secret Agent Josephine posted today about helping her mom clean out her sewing room and what an emotional ordeal it was for them. I can kind of relate. My parents got rid of a lot of stuff when they moved out of my childhood home last year. I'm not sure they were pack rats in the true sense of the word, but after living in the same house for 22 years you tend to accumulate a lot without really realizing it. My mom would call every couple of days and ask me if I wanted this cake pan or that set of sheets. I'm proud of them for really downsizing like they did, and I have to admit that I did take a few (or more) things, but it was still hard to watch. I didn't really want the olive green drink cart that sat in our basement all those years (so long that you kind of didn't notice it anymore), but I wasn't really ready to know that such a fixture of my childhood would be gone, either. I can't even begin to imagine what it was like for Mom.

This struck home with me, too, since I've been beside myself lately on how I've let our closet, our guest closet, and our office go in recent months. In fact, I had a mini panic attack the other night over the fact that my closet needs to be cleaned out. I'm pretty sure that my anxiety is only 20% wanting the house to be clean and organized, and 80% wanting to exert some modicum of control in my life. When I told Mom about this worry, she wisely said, "I think you need to sort some things out in your life". Ah, yes, I do need to sort some things out in my life, not just my closets. Like the ever-present guilt that I have over leaving Squiggles all day for work...work that I don't enjoy. Or dealing with the pressure Chef is putting on himself to gain exposure at work so that we might get ourselves into a position soon where I can stay home with Squiggles.

However, I also really don't want to go through what my parents went through the next time we move. Just because we have the space doesn't mean we have to fill it. Sometimes I miss the little condo.