Plane Travel with Kids

Step one: Hyperventalate. totally freak out about the idea of being in the air for 6 hours and being in transit for close to 10 hours door-to-door. Ok, take a step back. Look at the "50 ways to amuse your kids" article I pinned on Pinterest. Nope, none of those apply to my kids. Those "special" travelers who won't sleep and who also get airsick. Yep, it happens on planes, trains and automobiles. Although the longest train ride they have been on was in Disneyland, does that count? Plus they were pretty unhappy in line, so I'm calling it all modes of transportation.

As I mentioned in my car travel with kids post, we love these backpacks. Our son has the Wildkin Olive Kids Under Construction Pack 'n Snack Backpack. They have a main compartment for workbooks, headphones, and iPad etc. and a smaller insulated compartment for snacks. I got an assortment of workbooks for the kids, mostly sticker ones for my son, and writing/word ones for my daughter.

For snacks I like to bring things that won't make a mess. At preschool age that means fruit bars, almonds, raisins, squeeze applesauce, a "kid bar" (which in our family is a special treat). I also pack lollipops for takeoff and landing. I found it helps their ears.

Each kid carries their own backpack through the airport, my husband has a backpack with things for him (and, optimistically, a book for me), and I have a diaper bag with supplies for the baby. I switched into a larger diaper bag for this trip, the Skip Hop Studio Diaper Bag , since it zips closed, very important.

Honestly, the trip wasn't awful, but then again, we don't have any kids currently in what I classify as the "No Fly Zone" which is between 6 months and about 2. 

Under 6 months, and the babies aren't yet mobile, don't need toys, and I can just nurse and hold them. For this flight, we had a seat for the baby with her car seat, but she was in it for about 30 minutes total. My back was killing me from holding her, but at least she was relatively happy. After being held (or in a car seat) for so long, in the airport and when we arrived I made sure to give her plenty of floor time.

Over 2 years old (and change), kids are easier to amuse. They might watch TV (we bring an iPad loaded with pre-approved shows), do a workbook, or in the case of my son, snack for the entire trip.

Between these two ages, it's a rough road (or flight as the case may be). The baby wants to move but can't and isn't old enough to reason with. We have certainly flown in that time period, once even with two kids in that age range (I've blocked out all memory of that trip), but I am trying hard to avoid it with the current baby.

Jessica

I link to these awesome parties:

Sunday: I Heart Naptime, Nifty Thrifty Things, Inspired Honeybee, Nest for Less, Delectable Home, It's Overflowing  Monday:Between Naps on the Porch, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Thrifty Decor Chick, Alderberry Hill, Debbie Doo's, Home Stories A to Z, Home Savvy AtoZ , Tuesday: Coastal Charm, Tip Junkie, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Carolyn's Homework, Made in a Day, Our Delightful Home, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Get Your Craft On, Kurtz Corner , Organize and Decorate, Natural NestersWednesday: Savvy Southern Style, Mommy Solutions, Power of Paint, Newlyweds Recipe Linky, Southern Lovely , Home Happy Home Thursday: The Shabby Creek Cottage, Made in a Day, House of Hepworths, the 36th Avenue , Bloggeritaville Craft, Scrappy, Happy, 52 Mantels Friday: One Artsy Mama, Serenity Now, Tatertots and Jello, The Shabby Nest, Thirty Handmade Days, Addicted 2 Decorating, Funky Junk Interiors, Financial Friday, Furniture Friday, At the Picket Fence, The Rooster and the Hen

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Pina Colada Cupcakes

I'm sharing my favorite parenting tips and tricks over at The New Modern Momma today, so if you have little ones, head on over.

For those of you that asked after seeing my pantry post, here is where some of that coconut went!

I used this recipe for the pink cupcakes for our friend's 1st birthday party, as well as for our St. Patrick's Day green cake. Delicious. The recipe is from Glory, who is a master of baking. Every recipe I've tried from her is amazing. Of course, it wouldn't be the stayathomeista way if I didn't tweak it a tiny bit, based on what we had on hand.

I didn't have cream cheese, so I just made a buttercream frosting with vanilla extract, almond extract, and the reserved pineapple juice from the can. Oh, and I used chunks of coconut instead of crushed, and I didn't have sour cream so I used some homemade greek yogurt instead. I think it gave them the same tangy flavor that Glory intended:) I topped them with flaked coconut.

Here is her original (and I'm sure perfect) recipe:

Pineapple Cupcakes
(recipe by Glory Albin)

2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups canned crushed pineapple (drained slightly)

Directions-
1.  Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
2.  In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the eggs and sugar until slightly thickened and a light cream color (about 2 minutes).
3.  On low speed, mix in the oil and vanilla until blended.
4.  Add in the pineapple and sour cream and mix until fully incorporated.
5.  Add the flour mixture and blend until just combined and smooth.
6.  Line a cupcake pan with 12 paper liners and fill about 2/3 full.
7.  Bake cupcakes in a pre-heated 350*F oven for about 22 minutes.
8.  Remove from pan and cool on wire rack.
9.  Frost with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe below)

Recipe yields 24-28 cupcakes.

Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting
(this is just a slight variation on my Cream Cheese Frosting recipe, but I'll add it to this page as well, so it's easy to find)

½ cup (1 stick/8 Tablespoons) butter, at room temperature
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (always use pure vanilla extract if possible)
1 1/2 teaspoons coconut extract (you may want to start with just 1 teaspoon of coconut extract, you can always add more, but you can't take it out!)
4 cups powdered confectioners sugar
1 Tablespoon heavy cream, heavy whipping cream or milk 
-or-
1 Tablespoon Dark Rum

Directions:
*Place butter in a large mixing bowl and blend until smooth. Add cream cheese and blend until well combined, about 30 seconds.
*Add vanilla extract, coconut extract and powdered sugar (1 cup at a time) and blend on low speed until combined. Increase to medium speed and beat until it begins to get fluffy.
*Slowly add the heavy cream or rum.
*Beat until fluffy, about 1 minute.
*Use at once or keep refrigerated. (This frosting will keep well in the refrigerator for several days, but you may need to re-beat it for the best texture.)

For added flavor and texture, top frosted cupcakes with toasted coconut. 
(To toast coconut- lay about 1 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut on a baking sheet and bake at 375*F about 4-5 minutes).

I link to these awesome parties:

Sunday: I Heart Naptime, Nifty Thrifty Things, Inspired Honeybee, Nest for Less, Delectable Home, It's Overflowing  Monday:Between Naps on the Porch, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Thrifty Decor Chick, Alderberry Hill, Debbie Doo's, Home Stories A to Z, Home Savvy AtoZ , Tuesday: Coastal Charm, Tip Junkie, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Carolyn's Homework, Made in a Day, Our Delightful Home, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Get Your Craft On, Kurtz Corner , Organize and Decorate, Natural NestersWednesday: Savvy Southern Style, Mommy Solutions, Power of Paint, Newlyweds Recipe Linky, Southern Lovely , Home Happy Home Thursday: The Shabby Creek Cottage, Made in a Day, House of Hepworths, the 36th Avenue , Bloggeritaville Craft, Scrappy, Happy, 52 Mantels Friday: One Artsy Mama, Serenity Now, Tatertots and Jello, The Shabby Nest, Thirty Handmade Days, Addicted 2 Decorating, Funky Junk Interiors, Financial Friday, Furniture Friday, At the Picket Fence, The Rooster and the Hen

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