I hadn't had a milkshake in YEARS. Maybe a decade. But when I got my cold, I really fucking wanted a milkshake. So I threw together a frozen banana, some soymilk and sugarfree chocolate syrup and OMG. It's now an addiction. At least it is pretty damned healthy.

Strawberries work too, but the banana makes the creaminess.

This is genuinely confusing to me because I've seen so many parents who integrate their children's needs into their own and everyone gets what they need. Rather than losing something by having kids, they seem only to see parenting as gaining something in their lives.

I can't imagine a world in my family where everyone got what they needed. It just doesn't work out for us that way. Instead, we have a world that has been greatly transformed and where real sacrifices are being made because of the needs of our children. And granted, the needs are different than many kids, but I think most parents do sacrifice, actual genuine sacrifices, for their kids.

I will also say that the sacrifices I make are well worth it, even when it maddens me.

RE: Traveling was difficult for just me with Noah. If I had to do it again, I'd do non direct flights because I think maybe a layover would give him time for new stimulus. It's hard to be the sole entertainer for a 15 month old.

My brother once arrived home from a flight peed on, barfed on and smeared with peanut butter. D was in a great mood, though!

If I had to do it again, I'd do non direct flights because I think maybe a layover would give him time for new stimulus.

I kind of think that for myself, after my last trip!

Sure! It takes longer, but stretching my legs and his might not be a bad thing. I think of this because in the Spring we might travel to see my parents.

Sixteen weeks until pitchers & catchers.

See, I've been debating that for Christmas. 1 stop makes flights much cheaper, but I fear weather delays.

For Vegas, it turned out that the nonstop I took was cheaper than the one-stops I was looking at. I think it was just some weird fluke.

I will make a point of never flying through Memphis in the evening, or Chicago in the winter, if I can help it at all, though.

msbelle, yeah. 1 stop is different than an unexpected overnight or an unexpected 6 hour layover.

I saw two other mothers travelling with a passel of kids and they were on a layover between NJ and CA in Ohio. They were the ones who pointed out how good a stop is.

I read a book called "Rockabye" that infuriated me for exactly the "You just integrate your kid into your life! They are flexible!" And sure, that's true for some kids and some parents. But it's not true for me and not true for Noah and not true for Grace for sure.

I think of how selfish it is to assume that my kid will just adjust to me without thinking about what their specific needs are. Like, Noah will be happy entertaining boy all night but honestly, he is much happier the next day if he actually sleeps at 7 PM the night before. So sure, he could adjust to my personal life of going out if I had one, but frankly, it's not worth it to me in the long run.

And Noah, bless him, is an easy baby. He does self entertain and we go out to eat with him at least one meal a week. He is actually a dream in restaurants. But frankly, that's an oddity. I would never expect him to self entertain on a long car ride (though he made it between CA and Idaho twice in a 4 month period and he also does okay between LA and Vegas or LA and SF) or on the plane.

When I fly cross country, multi t der. Tyoe what I think, not what I type -stops are always cheaper. However, I'm often flying to nowheres, so... I can't recall my last non...oh wait! To B'ham. All of 90 minutes away.