Travel.

We just got back from a week long vacation to Pompano Beach, FL. But this post won't be about the great time we had. It's about traveling. With kids. And Murphy. And her stupid law.

I'm a planner. A list maker. For the world to make sense in my head, everything needs to be in it's place. Always. So when it comes to traveling with kids, I started making a list of everything I need to pack for them. I would keep that list on the dining room table a few days prior to our trip, and as I used something baby/kid-related, I would jot it down. Like the bottle brush, teething tablets, Motrin syringe...just obscure items that can be easily forgotten. Can these things be purchased while on vacation if/when they are needed? Sure. Have you ever had to wash the 37 parts of a Dr. Brown's bottle without the silly little brush, or try to soothe a feverish, teething child at 2a? Finding a drugstore in a new city isn't the kind of adventure I want in the middle of the night.

In addition to my list, I have my bag of tricks. Literally. I stock up on small toys and books from Target's dollar bins and whip those babies out one at a time at the slightest meltdown. In that bag of tricks I always take a change of clothes for the kids. Because you never know when an upset tummy due to motion sickness might strike. Items that go into said bag are always on the list.

This plan worked great. Until I deviated from it.

Enter the morning of August 20th. I never made my list. I've got this down by now, right?! So off we go. Arrive at the airport with time to spare. Smooth sailing...err flying! Until we land. As we wait to get off the plane, Matthew turns to me and says "mommy, I don't feel...." - Yeah, you know what comes next. He threw up on himself, and on his baby brother who he was standing over. Great. We wipe them down as best we can, get off the plane, and I head into the bathroom to change them into...NOTHING. I forgot to pack the change of clothes. It could have been worse, I know. All we had to do was get our rental car and take the 15 minute drive to our hotel. It's not like they spent the whole day that way.

Fast forward to that night. The boys are all shiny and clean after a much needed bath. I go to get Matthew's pajamas on and...I never packed them. He likes to sleep in long sleeve, long pant fitted "jimmies". And I have nothing. I didn't even pack a long sleeve shirt and sweats because - well who would pack that for Florida in August?? So after putting up a bit of a fuss, he fell asleep in a t-shirt and undies, with the promise that we would find him some "jimmies" the next morning.

Except we can't. Guess what, no one wears long pajamas in Florida in August. We went to 3 stores and found nothing. My sister did get him a pajama set at Walmart (that was 2 sizes too big) which he refused to wear, because they weren't like his Carter's jimmies.

So, the moral of the story is: If something works, don't fix it. The one time you deviate from something, just might be the time Murphy creeps in to play a cruel practical joke. She's evil that way. Clearly, she's never traveled with children.