we're ready!

We are now only two days away from our trip to the States!  To say that we are excited is an understatement.  We have our calendar for school that we have been marking off the days everyday.  Each morning, the girls run out of their room and ask to mark off the day before.

I am very experienced with travelling with these two girls by myself.  The first trip we took to the States, let's just say, it was not pleasant!  Emily was only 8.5 months and Bella was 23 months.  Talk about being overwhelmed.  And, our return trip home was very memorable.  But, not a memory I ever want to relive.

The girls are 4 and 5 now and much easier to travel with.  That doesn't mean that they still don't have their moments...when they are tired, being lazy, or just ready to have the travel part over with.

We leave out of Guadalajara and have a connecting flight in Dallas (Houston in past years).  Because making our way through immigration and customs isn't always speedy, and having little ones that don't understand the concept of urgency, I always leave us plenty of time between flights.  There have been times that we have had almost 5 hours between flights.  So, we always take the "blankies" so a nap can happen during that time.  Or, if we get cold on the plane (or sleepy).

It never fails the girls don't want to carry the blankets the entire time.  And, you might guess, I have enough to carry without having to carry their blankets.

I came up with an idea to make a blanket holder with a strap.  They might exist out there in the world somewhere, but I figured I would make the one from my thoughts.  This way, the girls can wear the blankets like a bag.  Their hands will always be free.  And, in turn, I won't be asked to carry the blankets.  A win-win situation.

I had some fleece that I used.  I figured that it would be soft enough to be comfortable as a strap.  It worked out really well.  They aren't the prettiest things because I just threw them together quickly.  But, they will definitely do the job.  The girls are already excited about using them.  They have had their blankets rolled up and in the carrier since I made them yesterday.

These pictures show you how simple the design is.  There is definitely no rocket science involved. 

You can see the girls are proud to model them.  Emily didn't even unroll her blanket last night.  If you know Emily and her love for her blanket, you will know how big a deal that is!

Hopefully, our trip goes smoothly!