i am like the least qualified to talk about this since this is only my third plane trip since parker’s been born and two of which were like an hour long. this was longer, four hours, but still nothing that deserves some sort of, “we made it!” post. still, i was semi proud of myself for not geeking out over germs and a whiny baby. in part because, he did a really good job. he fell asleep moments after take off and slept for a good hour and a half of the trip. plus, we had a whole row for him to sort of move about on. i packed playdough, crayons, coloring books, a few duplos (the boy likes to make a tower and then pretend it’s a sword while shouting, “vennyaaaa!”), a couple little lego men with the various hats and appendages that can be removed and switched around, books, and of course… snacks! hummus and carrots and cucumbers and, for emergencies… a whole thing of blueberries! (packed it all in these, which, i know i’ve mentioned before, but they’re literally my favorite ever.) he shoveled those down his gullet faster than you can say… airplane?
it also helped that like two weeks before we left, staples contacted me and asked if they could send me a samsung notebook (um, sure staples? and thank you!). you know how i have waxed at lennnnnnngth before about how we limit computer time and such so this was the last thing william and lindsey were expecting their ‘ol crotchety parents to reveal for the plane trip. we saved the surprise till the morning of, and then let them each download a few apps. we made them pack a book too – lord of the rings for william and some warrior series for lindsey – so their brains wouldn’t totally turn to mush. i mean, i can imagine some kids machete-ing (not a word, nevertheless) every piece of fruit they see after playing a certain amount of fruit ninja… parents! don’t let it happen to you! so, anyway, fruit ninja and some driving games, some tetris, and hangman! hangman was my fave. i played a few rounds with lindsey until she did kudu and dewdrops and i was all, “lindsey, do you even know what a kudu is?” she didn’t. dirty hangman player, that one. we even let parker swipe a few pieces of fruit in fruit ninja and, you know, an activity that keeps their interest for even ten minutes is like GOLD when it comes to flying. “he wants to play with toilet water in the airplane bathroom?! will it give us ten minutes of peace?! ok! give the child what the child wants for the love of god!” and then we downloaded cars and wall-e and rocky 3 (steve’s choice. don’t ask me.) for some potentially boring bit of the trip that might require a movie. so, in conclusion, samsung notebook, you were clutch! clutch!
if there’s ever an appropriate time to pull out a notebook, it’s certainly for traveling with kids. we told them it’s “for travel” and they’re all, “yeah right!” but i am a determined mother and will win this battle. so far, i’ve kept it stashed in my bag so that they actually look out the windows and appreciate the beauty that is colorado. little do they know i may catch up on game of thrones on it though 🙂 and if i start speaking dothraki, so be it.
Staples provided me with the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 to test and review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. To pick up your own Samsung tablet, head over to Staples.com.
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