Getting the Family Ready to be Up, Up and Away!

Obviously, Tony and I are pretty seasoned travelers so the packing process to get out of town is fairly painless for us.  We pride ourselves in only taking carry-on bags and have learned the secrets of minimization, while still having an outfit for every occasion.  Our son, however, does not have our same efficiency thoughts. 

I have two wonderful sons, but I swear my youngest is part girl.  I'll start with the fact that he can have 5 loads of dirty clothes in his hamper and still have enough clothes to last another week without doing laundry.  His double-decker closet has two full rods of nothing but t-shirts.  And another with nothing but hoodies and jackets!  Add to that the fact that he has over 26 pairs of sneakers, and you have a packing nightmare.

"No, honey, the people in Grandma's village won't be impressed that you have matching shoes for every outfit."  And "No, dear, you don't have to take a different hoodie for every day."  You should have seen his face when Tony told him he could only take two pairs of shoes (including the ones he wears on the plane).  Or when he was told that one coat and two hoodies would last him the week (and that's being generous).  I'm pretty sure he's ready to call Child Services for cruel and unusual punishment. 

Then of course, you have to add to all this the electronic entertainment that he has to travel with.  BMI Baby limits your carry-on to one bag that weighs no more than 10 kgs (est. 22 lbs) which means that's how much/little his backpack can weigh (yes, for the final leg of the journey they're going to have to check their clothes bags).  Thank goodness finals are over and no school books will be going along!  But let's see ... we have the cellphone and accessories (no thoughts that it won't work in England ... he's got to have it), PSP and accessories, iPod and accessories, toiletries (thank goodness for 3 oz. limits!), and a portable DVD player and accessories.  The backpack is sure to also contain no fewer than 3 baseball caps (another thing he has in abundance), at least two scarves and gloves.  I'm pretty sure he's going to be pushing the 22 lb. limit. 

Our son's packing production began a few days ago with laying out all the items he wanted to take, us cutting it back, him adding more things and us cutting it back again.  So as his big packing production continues, I can promise you that at 8:00p tonight Tony and I will pull out our suitcases, lay everything out and by 8:30p be fully packed and ready to go.



As for my workout today ... it's not looking good.  I thought I was all caught up on laundry, etc. then Ashton appeared with several arm loads of dirty clothes that magically materialized in his room in the past two days.  So I'm spending my morning washing, drying, folding laundry so everybody can pack finish packing this afternoon. 

Following that the house has to be cleaned (yes, I've turned into my mother).  I never understood why she cleaned the house before we left.  But now I do it too because it's just so nice to come back to a clean home.  So please don't think just because I might miss my workout I won't be getting any exercise!  My office is 3 flights of stairs away from the laundry room ... so it's up and down I go all day. 

For now I'll wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving ... Cheri

P.S.  I may sneak in an Abs workout (yes, I got my disc back!) before day's end.  I'll let you know.