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Here are some highlights from our travels from San Francisco to Vancouver, B.C., — the start of our great summer family adventure!

My son and my baby daughter were happy to arrive at the Vancouver Airport. Our flight got in at 9:30 a.m.

My number-one lesson from the day
Never book a 7 a.m. flight when you're traveling solo with three kids.

I don't know what I was thinking when I booked a 7 a.m. flight. I must have not been thinking.

The early departure required us to wake at 4:15 a.m. My two oldest kids, ages 9 and 11, were dead to the world when I barged into their room and started singing "You Are My Sunshine." I had to belt out the words at the top of my lungs before their eyes opened.

And then there was the 11-month-old baby who screamed as if she were starring in a horror flick when I pulled her out of her crib.

Somehow I got the crew dressed and piled into the car along with all our luggage. By the time we got to the airport parking garage, everyone had perked up, but my daughter did say, "Why did you ever book us such an early flight? This is crazy mom!"

One good thing about early flights: They're less likely to be delayed and ours was on time!

My kids are the most amazing Sherpas: Do you want to hire them?

Our luggage included the following separate pieces: One 40-pound suite case (yes, we packed everything for four people into one big bag), one portable crib, one large camera, one violin (because I'm a crazy mom who makes her son practice on vacation), two backpacks and a car seat. Oh, and a baby!

The only thing I had to carry was the baby. My kids lugged everything else to the ticket counter where we dumped the suitcase and crib. I was so proud of them.

I think they could stand outside on the airport curb with a sign "Hire us to carry your stuff" and they'd make a lot of money.

How do I interpret this conversation with my kid?
Mom: I'm so sorry Dante. You're seated a few rows ahead of Paris (his 11 year old sister), Julia (his baby sister) and me. I can ask one of the passengers to switch seats so you can be with us.
Dante: It's Ok. Don't worry about it.
Mom: But it's no problem. I don't want you to sit by yourself.
Dante: Mom, I want to sit by myself.

My new favorite airline is Air Canada

British Columbia Family Vacation Air Canada Baby Changing Tables Plantes

Changing tables on Air Canada flights make babies happy!

After my kids and I settled into our seats (Dante seated four rows ahead of us), the flight attendant came over and said, "Can I help you in any way? Do you need milk? Water? I see your son's sitting a few rows ahead by himself. I'll keep an eye on him. Here are some bags for your diapers. Oh, and there are changing tables in the lavatories."

Changing tables? The look I gave her was one of complete and total shock.

First of all, I'd never been treated with such kindness and respect by a flight attendant. Most often they scowl at my children. And secondly, I was so thrilled that there was a changing table, something I hadn't encountered on a plane in years. Most airlines have removed them from their planes and I find myself doing a yoga act in the closet-size bathroom trying to change the baby. We usually end up scrunched up on the floor. Poop gets smeared on the walls. The baby cries. A line develops outside the door as I clean up the mess. Nightmare!

But on this Air Canada flight, with the big roomy changing tables, doing diaper duty was a dream and my baby Julia smiled and squealed as I put on a clean nappy.

Air Canada I love you!

Taxis are affordable in Vancouver
Traveling with three exhausted kids, I thought it made sense to take a taxi to our hotel. Usually, I opt for public transit to save money, but this morning I decided to splurge and pay for a taxi. What a deal! We paid only $28 to get into town. Well worth every penny!

My secret tip for keeping a baby entertained on a long plane flight Read Post

My secret tip for keeping a baby entertained on a long plane flight

She wasn't interested in any of the toys I packed. The set of colorful plastic keys. The squishy teether shaped like a giant strawberry. The soft pink piggy with a squeaky nose.

She turned her head every time I tried to hand her one of those products thoughtfully designed to entertain a baby but really don't. My 9-month-old daughter, Julia, was bored, fed up with and downright annoyed with all the brightly colored plastic.

How was I ever going to survive a six-hour flight between San Francisco and Hawaii with a baby?

Simple. Paper towels.

I'd stuffed about half a roll in my backpack because I figured they'd come in handy at snack time. Julia loves to eat and I'd pack a cornucopia of gourmet food: creamy eggplant hummus, mini falafel balls, roasted corn, chunks of feta, slices strawberries. I'd need the towels to control the mess.

After she'd bitten into peach and its sweet juices were trickling down her cheek, I pulled out a towel. She immediately grabbed it from my hands, squealing with delight. With her tiny fingers, she carefully inspected it and then slowly tore it into thin strips. Fifteen minutes later, I pulled out a second paper towel and then another. Soon we we were sitting amid a sea of shreds. It looked as if it had snowed.

I started to tie the towel pieces into bows and we threw them into the air and watched them slowly float down into our laps. Two hours. Two hours! Those paper towels kept us busy for a huge chunk of the flight. Yes, things got a little messy but it cleaned up easily and Julia never cried once during that entire flight. She was fully occupied with delicious food and paper towels. Next flight, I'm bringing a full roll.

Yes, it's possible: How to have a successful flight with a baby Read Post

Yes, it's possible: How to have a successful flight with a baby

When you have a baby, you don't need to stuff your suitcases in the very back of the closet. Your travel life can continue. In fact, newborns are often the best travel companions because they sleep often through flights.

My husband and I brought our first child to Paris when she was only four months old and at the end of the flight a woman sitting in the row in front of us said that she didn't even know we had a baby. Our little girl didn't make a single peep.

That said, before you jump on a plane with your bundle of joy, here are a few tips:

1) Fly at the right age. Airlines will allow babies to fly after 14 days, but your pediatrician will probably tell you to wait until two or three months when your baby's immune system is stronger. If you have a mellow baby, this can be a great time to jet off to see relatives, but if your newborn is fussy my advice is to wait until four months when most babies magically snap out of the colicky stage. This is a beautiful age because your baby will likely be nursing regularly and easily fall asleep at your breast. Once your baby is crawling (often around eight months), he won't want to sit in your lap for hours. Between four and about seven months is the sweet spot for long flights. It won't be easy again until she's about four years old and able to watch a long movie.

2) Fly at the right time. I've flown early in the morning and red eyes and everything in between with babies. The best time to leave is late morning-early afternoon, between 10 a.m. and noon. This allows your baby to get an early nap before you take off for the airport. If she doesn't sleep on the plane at least she has a few hours of rest.

3) Fly in the right seat. The safest place for a baby on a plane is in a car seat, but many parents opt to hold their babies in their laps because airlines allow babies under age 2 to fly without a seat. Some 85 percent of parents choose this option because it's convenient, affordable and generally safe, unless the plane hits sever turbulence. When I fly with a lap child, I always arrive at the airport early to ask the airplane to put me near an open seat if there are any. This way I can set up the car seat and use it when my baby's napping and during turbulence. Airlines always prefer to have babies in car seats so they'll try to accommodate you. Keep in mind that car seats need to be strapped into window seats, so I'll try to book myself a window seat in hopes that the middle remains open.

4) Fly with the right stuff. Start packing your diaper bag for your flight a few days ahead so you don't forget anything important (Read: Wipes!). Here's a list of what I like to include: Diapers, changes of clothes, wipes, disposable changing pads, and plastic bags for dirty diapers. Two- to six-month-olds need teethers; seven months and above need toys. I'll always bring one favorite toy and one new toy -- though keep in mind your baby will be most entertained by tearing apart in-flight magazines. Babies over six months will need solid food. I like the pouches and Happy Puffs. On a recent flight from Los Angeles to Hawaii I kept my baby entertained for a good hour with these rice puffs. Disposable bibs are great.

60 Healthy Airplane Snacks Read Post

airplanes

60 Healthy Airplane Snacks

Fruits > candies. Sweet little alphabet found here.

When it comes to family trips, this isn't my first rodeo, and I like to think I have the prep-work down to a science. But I have to confess, between packing suitcases, repacking suitcases, scrounging around for missing flip-flops, remembering to charge everyone's electronics, and triple-checking tickets, something usually gets left for last minute, which means, of course, that it doesn't happens. Too often, it's figuring out what to bring for the all-important airplane snacking, which leaves us spending half our kids' college fund on M&M's and Chex Mix in airport convenience stores.

No more! I just came across Dotting The Map's list of, read it, 60 TSA-friendly and oh-so-healthy airplane food ideas, and I'm printing it out to bring to the grocery store before our next trip. She's included loads of simple, delicious, not-too-messy snacks - string cheese, apple slices, dried apricots, mini rice cakes - as well as some tricks I'd never have thought of: want to keep something cold? Just pack it next to frozen yogurt sticks. Genius!

Check out her full list here, and if you have any airplane-friendly snacks to add, leave them below in the comments.

My Secret to Keeping Babies Safe From Turbulence Read Post

Family travel tips

My Secret to Keeping Babies Safe From Turbulence

Julia en route to Hawaii, in her Baby B'Air vest.

I know you’re probably distracted by that cute-as-a-button face, but please direct your attention to my daughter Julia’s red vest: it’s called the Baby B’Air, and I’ve used it while flying with all three of my kids.

Over 90% of injuries to airplane passengers occur in-flight (that is, not while taxiing, taking off, or landing), a fact that was driven home by last week’s United Airlines Flight 1676, which encountered severe turbulence on its descent into Montana. Five people ended up in the hospital, and in addition, a passenger’s baby was thrown from his parent’s arms, landing (fortunately unhurt!) a seat over. Reading this made me think immediately of our family’s Baby B’Air, stashed next to our suitcases, waiting patiently for our next flight. It could have made a real difference on Flight 1676, and more parents should know it’s an option when traveling with babies.

Children under the age of two can fly on an adult’s lap, no ticket required. While this is fantastic for family travelers’ bank accounts, it’s less than fantastic where safety is concerned; when that “Fasten Seat Belts” sign lights up, the under-two passengers are left unbuckled, and in cases of severe turbulence, can be propelled from their parents’ arms. Enter the Baby B’Air Flight Vest. After we reached cruising altitude on our flight to Hawaii last month, I slipped it over Julia’s head and threaded my seat belt through the loop on the back. Secure baby, free hands, peace of mind. (And doesn’t red suit her?)

While the Baby B’Air hasn’t yet been approved for use during take-offs or landings, it has FAA approval for the cruising portion of any commercial flight. It’s marked as such, but in my experience flying with the Baby B’air, I’ve never run into any problems with flight attendants unfamiliar with the vest -- just a healthy amount of questions from curious fellow passengers!

You can read more about the Baby B’Air here, and let me know in the comments below if you’ve flown with the vest (or something similar), and what you thought.

Happy, peaceful flights to you all!

Expert Tips For Hitting The Slopes Read Post

Expert Tips For Hitting The Slopes

New year, new adventure: the family ski trip. Worth it? Oh, you bet! There's nothing like that crisp blue sky, glittering blanket of snow, and ear-to-ear grins after a successful run down the slopes. Rosy cheeks over mugs of hot chocolate after a full afternoon of skiing? Bring it on.

That being said, not all family ski trips are created equal, and parents who have been there, done that are valuable resources on how to avoid a weekend getaway wipe-out.

Pint Size Pilot posted a must-read list of tips for a successful first (or fifth) ski trip with toddlers and kids. From the planning stages (don't be too easily seduced by "kids ski free" deals - kids under six are often free anyway) to picking out gear (here's some new vocabulary: taped seams, grow cuffs, and powder guards) to packing (bring extra gloves and plenty of handwarmers) to actually hitting the slopes ("pizza" and "french fries" apply), they've covered all the bases, with plenty of new-even-to-me advice.

Check out their post, and I wish you fresh powder and short lines at the lifts!

Merry, Bright, and Stress-Free Read Post

Merry, Bright, and Stress-Free

Look at that face! Photo via USA Today.

This USA Today article has some great tips on keeping the stress to a minimum as you set out on your travels this coming week. From what not to forget (hand sanitizer - no colds, please!) to what to ask when you get there (is Aunt Sally ok with snacks in the living room?), it's the little things that keep the adventure rolling smoothly. The most important tip in the whole piece, in my opinion? Maintain your sense of humor!

Click through to check out the rest of their suggestions - and may your holiday travels be merry, bright, and stress-free!

When Wintry Weather Hinders Travel Read Post

When Wintry Weather Hinders Travel

Photo via Daily Mail UK.

Winter travel can mean a welcome change of scenery, an escape to sun and warmth, and a chance to recharge in the middle of a long, cold season - but, unfortunately, it can also bring unwelcome travel glitches. Hindered business travel plans are bad enough, but when wintry weather gets in the way of a long-planned family vacation, frustration and disappointment levels are even higher.

This post over at Traveling Moms should be required reading before you pack your final snack bag and head out the door; hopefully you won't need 'em, but it's chock full of tips on what to do if you hit a bad weather travel snag, from placing blame (or not) to making the most of the time you do have. Read on!

8 Tips For Healthy Eating On The Road Read Post

8 Tips For Healthy Eating On The Road

Staying on top of healthy eating is hard enough in your own kitchen, but when the whole family's on the road, keeping the kids (and you, too) on a healthy diet becomes much more challenging. In my opinion, though, it's well worth the effort: healthy, nutritious snacks and meals make for more energetic, less meltdown-prone little travelers, and they need the fuel for all the extra walking, learning, and processing that traveling to new places asks of them.

Judy Robbins, a Colorado-based family travel expert, wrote up a great list of 8 Tips for Healthy Eating for Travel Mamas (a fantastic resource itself). While I already had some of her tips and tricks in my repertoire, many of them made me say "Why didn't I think of that?". For example: start your good-health campaign before you set out; sneak immune-boosting foods into your family's meals to help them stay healthy once you hit the road. And if you're flying, don't limit the healthy snacks to what you can fit in your carry-on: pack an extra stash of nutritious snacks you know the kiddos like in your checked luggage, and they'll be snack-happy the whole trip.

Check out the rest of the Healthy Eating Tips here, and if you have any tricks of your own, leave them in the comments!

Fantastic Tips for Bringing Kids to an Art Museum Read Post

Fantastic Tips for Bringing Kids to an Art Museum

Museums rank high on most vacationers' itineraries, but it's no secret that many museums, especially of the art variety, don't mesh well with kids. Room after room of old paintings, lots of things you can't touch, high ceilings and marble floors perfectly designed to amplify the "I'm booooreds"...who can blame families for skipping art museums altogether? But what a shame! Art museums have so much to teach, and each one is unique - how sad to miss out when you're in the neighborhood.

I was thrilled, therefore, to come across this handy list of Tips For Taking Kids To An Art Museum. The parents behind the travel blog Gone With The Family clearly know a thing or two about successful family visits to the art museum, and I can't wait to try out their suggestions on my family's next vacation.

A sampling of the great tips:

Prepare for the Visit:

The most important step for a successful museum visit will probably take place before you ever leave home. There are a number of great books and other resources that can be used to introduce kids to art and get them excited about what they are going to see...[And] consulting the kids to find out what they are most interested in seeing at a museum will improve your chances of having a successful visit.

Limit Time:

Don't plan on spending a full day in a museum or the entire family is likely to end up exhausted and grumpy. An hour or too will be more than enough with younger kids and even older kids and many adults start to lose interest beyond half a day.

And of course...

Wear Comfortable Walking Shoes!

This is truly a wonderful list - click through to take advantage of the full thing. And happy museum-ing!

Say No to Melted Crayons: A Survival List Read Post

Family travel tips

Say No to Melted Crayons: A Survival List

Photo via Pinterest

Are you squeezing one last summer family road trip in this Labor Day Weekend? Despite how often I've hit the road with the kids in the backseat, I'm always happy to peruse another road trip survival list: most seasoned family road trippers have a couple new-to-me tricks up their sleeve to keep the kiddos entertained, and I'm always game to give 'em a try.

Family road trip veteran Nadia of Child Mode put together a great list of tips for Babble: she covered all the basics (bring snacks! bring snacks!), and included some extra-expert tips as well (choose pencils over crayons, unless you want a gooey melted mess on your seat).

Check out her full list here, and happy road tripping!

The Ultimate Carsickness Survival Packing List Read Post

Family travel tips

The Ultimate Carsickness Survival Packing List

Love this poster from Poster Pop on Etsy.

It's no secret that I'm a die-hard family road trip fan, but even I'll admit: it's not all fun and (backseat) games. There's the whining, the never-enough-snacks, the "mommy I'm boooored"...and then, there's carsickness.

When I came across Shelly Rivoli's list of 10 items to have on hand in case of carsickness, I knew I had to share it: not only has she tackled a rather icky topic, but she's come up with a brilliantly thorough list. In addition to the basics (trash bags, etc.), she's included clever cleaning supplies like squirting water bottles and fingernail scrub brushes.

Read the full list on her blog Travels With Baby - and may you pack them all but never have to use them!

Improving Family Travel: City Bike-Share Programs Read Post

Improving Family Travel: City Bike-Share Programs

Photo by Nice Ride Minnesota

New York City's brand new Citi Bike program has gotten lots of attention in the past month, and fortunately for us family travelers, city bike programs are a growing trend. Nearly a dozen cities have launched programs in the past three years, and the list continues to grow.

What's so great about these bike share programs for visitors to the city? For families with older kids, they offer a convenient, hands-on, budget friendly way to explore. Instead of relying on scheduled tours, or dealing with the hassles of parking and re-parking a rental car, bikes allow the family to take the city at their own pace, and to hop on and off at attractions of choice. (Plus, what better way to build up an appetite for the best grub the city has to offer?)

Over at Parentables, there's a great list of cities with bike share programs, along with suggested routes for each city. Keep it in mind for your next family trip!

Fun and Original Road Trip Games Read Post

Fun and Original Road Trip Games

While screens and headphones have their place, you can never have too many good old-fashioned games up your sleeve when heading out on a road trip. There are some real gems in this list over at BabyCenter, many that are new to me, no stranger to road trips!

I love Treasure in a Bottle: just drop ten or so household "treasures" (a button, a puzzle piece, etc.) into an empty soda bottle, fill with bird seed or rice, and seal the top closed. Then hand it over, with a list of the treasures buried inside: the kids will have to twist and shake the bottle to check off each one.

Encourage them to play with their food! Pack snacks with architectural potential, like pretzel sticks and mini marshmallows. First one to build the Eiffel Tower wins!

Here's the whole list of games at BabyCenter, and happy road tripping!

Road Trip Tip: Activity Books Read Post

Family travel tips

Road Trip Tip: Activity Books

Planning ahead for summer road trips? Gather up a stack of travel-themed activity books to keep the kiddos entertained in the backseat. Kidventurous has a list of books that look especially good: they're packed full of riddles, puzzles, fill-in-the-blank stories, from-the-car scavenger hunts, and more fun (don't tell the kids, but a lot of it is pretty darn educational). View the full list here.

Expert Tips for Surviving Road Trips Without Electronics Read Post

Family travel tips

Expert Tips for Surviving Road Trips Without Electronics

Never pass up on the chance to stop and take pictures with bizarre roadside attractions: here are my kids stretching their legs (and giggling) in New Mexico.

My family will be spending many hours in the car on our Arizona trip next week, and while we're no stranger to road trips, I'm always on the hunt for new ways to pass the time without relying on electronics. (Although, yes, they have their place, too!)

Family Travels on a Budget wrote two great pieces on the subject, one for youngsters and one for the older crowd. I love that, when her boys were too little for the usual licence plate-type car games, she would tell them that hills in the road were roller-coasters - arms up in the air on the way down! Now that her kids are older, she's got a new batch of tips, including getting them more involved in activity planning: one of her sons makes the playlists, and the whole family plays "Name That Tune".

Read her full Tips for Tots list here, and Tips for Tweens and Teens here.

From A to Z: Tips for Traveling with Kids Read Post

From A to Z: Tips for Traveling with Kids

Photo from The Perrin Report

An oldie but a goodie: Wendy Perrin of The Perrin Report takes us from A to Z with 26 tips for traveling with kids. Some of my favorites:

B is for Bananagrams. Think Scrabble but with no board, no complicated scoring, and no need to wait your turn...

K is for kids eat free, kids ski free, kids cruise free, and other money-saving family vacation packages...

and

Q is for "Quit kicking the seat in front of you" and "Quit banging the tray table." When that fails, Q is for Questions you can ask to redirect kids' energy, —e.g, "Who do you like best: Mickey or Goofy?"

The whole list can be found on the Conde Nast Traveler website. Happy travels!

Summer's nearly over—make holiday travel plans now Read Post

Family travel tips

Summer's nearly over—make holiday travel plans now

You might still be enjoying the last bit of summer, wearing flip-flops, swimming with the kids, and barbecuing in the backyard. Christmas probably isn't on your mind—but it should be if you want to hop on a plane this holiday.

If you want a good fare, or even a seat, now's the time to start researching and maybe even buying tickets.

Start researching fares. It's smart to start tracking air fare prices now and then when a good deal comes up you'll know it. If you saw a $500 round-trip in early August and then that same flight dips down to $300 in September, you'll know to grab that ticket. Sites such as Bing, Yapata and FareCompare can help you track prices and will even send alerts when a ticket price goes down.

Buy after Labor Day. Ticket prices often go down after the three-day weekend holiday. If you see a good price, buy it—especially if you want to visit a popular destination such as Disney World or Hawaii. Flights going to these places fill up fast and prices are likely to only go up. With less popular destinations, you might have some time to shop around and wait to see if prices dip.

Book tickets with frequent flier miles now. Airlines release a limited number of seats that can be purchased with frequent flier miles and they go fast. If you want to go to Hawaii on miles, you're probably already too late, but you can still score seats on less popular routes.

Photo: gracey / Morgue File

Got extra time to spare at the airport? Teach your kids life lessons Read Post

Got extra time to spare at the airport? Teach your kids life lessons

Last week I found myself with my two kids at the Portland, Ore., airport three hours before our plane was scheduled to take off. Ugh! What to do?

I decided to use the time to teach my kids how to navigate an airport. We rolled our luggage into the main terminal and I handed them a piece of paper with our flight details. "Here," I said. "You figure it out."

At first my kids ages 7 and 9 gave me a baffled look—and then they got mad. "Mooommm! This isn't fair! We're just kids! We can't figure this out."

But they quickly realized that I wasn't going to help so they started reading the piece of paper. They figured out we were flying Southwest Airlines and found the check-in counter, but it took a lot of sign reading and frustration to figure out which line we needed to stand in.

Once we standing in front of the check-in computer their attitude changed. Pressing the buttons on the computer and following the prompts was fun (though of course they fought over who could work the computer).

Boarding passes in hand, they read the tickets to figure out which gate we were leaving from and directed us to the correct security check-in. They read the signs in line and got out my laptop and told me to take my shoes off. The tables were turning and they realized that bossing mom around was fun.

Soon we were sitting at our gate, with more time to spare.

"Ok, you have $35 to cover lunch for the three of us. Figure it out!"

My daughter wanted pizza and my son wanted us all to go to a sit-down Mexican restaurant. My 9-year-old daughter walked into the restaurant and asked a waiter if she could bring a slice of pizza into the restaurant and eat with her mom and brother.

Soon we were snacking on chips and salsa and my daughter was enjoying her pizza. My son ordered us a taco plate to share to so we made sure to stick within our budget. But mainly they wanted to make sure we had money leftover for ice cream. They had definitely earned it.

Hey, that's me sharing budget family travel tips on WXYZ-TV, Cincinnati Read Post

Budget Tips

British Columbia family vacation: Traveling from San Francisco to Vancouver

My secret tip for keeping a baby entertained on a long plane flight

Yes, it's possible: How to have a successful flight with a baby

60 Healthy Airplane Snacks

My Secret to Keeping Babies Safe From Turbulence

Expert Tips For Hitting The Slopes

Merry, Bright, and Stress-Free

When Wintry Weather Hinders Travel

8 Tips For Healthy Eating On The Road

Fantastic Tips for Bringing Kids to an Art Museum

Say No to Melted Crayons: A Survival List

The Ultimate Carsickness Survival Packing List

Improving Family Travel: City Bike-Share Programs

Fun and Original Road Trip Games

Road Trip Tip: Activity Books

Expert Tips for Surviving Road Trips Without Electronics

From A to Z: Tips for Traveling with Kids

Summer's nearly over—make holiday travel plans now

Got extra time to spare at the airport? Teach your kids life lessons

Hey, that's me sharing budget family travel tips on WXYZ-TV, Cincinnati

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