There's nothing like being back in America.
Whew! What a week it has been. On Sunday night at midnight we all headed in the car to the Dammam airport to load the plane to Texas! As scared as I was traveling with two small children alone, I was so thankful that my friend, Stephanie and her daughter, Lainey came with us.
It is so great to share the crazy travel moments with someone else. There is also always more laughing when traveling with someone.
The plane flight to Istanbul wasn't bad. The pilot escorted us to the next stop! He was smitten with the girls!
We traveled Turkish Airlines this time-and my stroller was given back so I was pleased! =) We had a 7 layover in Instanbul which wasn't made as bad because of the amazing Turkish lounge we got to go to. In the lounge there is an endless supply of alcohol, massage therapist walking around (for free), food, lockers, movies playing, and the greatest part is a kids room. The changing room has diapers/wipes, there is a nursing room (thank goodness I don't have to worry about that anymore!), a crib and 5 Ipads. It is really is an amazing place for kids.
Stephanie and I were able to take showers, eat, drink, and regroup before our big 13 hour flight to Houston.
The way to Houston was a really bumpy ride. The turbulence seemed so bad the entire flight. We kept getting in to bad weather on the way. The kids could not have been much better! I opted to not use Claire's car seat on the flight this time and it worked wonders. She was able to move around more and didn't feel so trapped. Elise's ears hurt her a lot and nothing seemed to help! The flight attendants were fabulous on the Istanbul to Houston flight. The food is nothing to be excited about, but our flight was only half full so we really got to lay out and have lots of extra room!
More flying tips for people traveling with toddlers:
I found a great new product at HEB--this works very well--it's not as long lasting as the melatonin. It worked great when I wanted to keep Claire awake, but didn't want her to be fussy.
I also remembered to pack light on the airplane. I only had two carry ons-my backpack and Elise's backpack. The only thing I brought for Elise was the ipad and applesauce. When we were descending I always give them Pez candy. Usually by the time they are finished eating them we have landed.
Our first day here we really tried to recover from jet lag. It is much harder when Josh isn't with me to assist in the 2 AM wake up. It's also hard for me because it's hard for me to fall back asleep. Hopefully in the next couple of days we will be back to normal!
We have already been to Target and the mall. I have gotten my Corona, sonic, and Whataburger!
Thank you for all of your prayers for our safe flight. We are so glad to be back in Texas and back to "normal."
