ReadySetMom

Where to rent baby gear when you're traveling?

Amber is headed to Denver with her baby and doesn't want to lug a bunch of gear with her:

Does anyone know where I might be able to rent a pack-and-play and a high chair in Denver? It's just me and the baby traveling this time, and I don't want to have to take EVERYTHING with me. The car seat will be enough! Are there any companies out there that rent out gear?

When I went to Tampa a few years ago, we were able to rent a portable crib and high chair from a Florida-based company. I just Googled "rent baby gear denver" and found three businesses: The Traveling Baby Co., Baby's Away and Baby Stay Rentals. The Traveling Baby Co. also rents gear in other states as well. Looks like demand has fueled an industry!

Families abroad

As Renee mentioned, we just returned from a glorious camping weekend with friends and our families. This morning while our kids were hanging on the dock with their daddies, she and I hopped into a little raft and pushed off before anyone could stop us. Eventually we started talking about travel and dreaming about ways our families could spend several weeks in a French, Italian, Dutch (insert any European country here) village. Just immerse ourselves in the culture. The writer Calvin Trillin and his wife, Alice, did this with their two daughters for several summers -- and he wrote about it hilariously in Travels with Alice. (Of course it helps if you're a mobile writer earning enough to support a family in Europe and a brownstone in Greenwich Village.)

I'm wondering whether any of you have spent time abroad with young children. Where did you go? And if you haven't, where do you dream of going? Has anyone tried house-swapping? Any good money-saving tips to share for overseas travel? Dream with us...

Streetcar sightseeing - fun or forgettable?

We have friends in this weekend from the Bay Area and we thought it might be fun to ride the streetcar.

Has anyone done sightseeing by streetcar? Any recommendations on places to hop off? How long does it take to ride the entire loop? Will the kids get bored?

A follow-up on my children...

...because I know you are all *dying* to find out. Actually, a few people have asked me recently how a couple of issues I mentioned have turned out, so I thought I would share:

My daughter's trip to Florida: In June I wrote about my daughter's fear of leaving me behind on her trip to Florida with my mom. About two days after she said, "I'm not going," she changed her mind. (It might have been due to a mention of her brother going instead of her, but who can tell?) She stuck to her guns and got more and more excited about the trip as it got closer. There was no fear. I had been so busy worrying that she would back out at the last minute that I didn't have time to think about my fear of flying...until we got to the airport to say good-bye. Then I got a little freaked, but maintained a brave face. She and my mom had a fantastic time visiting my grandmother. They went swimming every day, went to the beach and played lots of Uno. I talked to her on the phone every night and she was not one bit homesick. My mom said she never mentioned us, which was just fine with me (ungrateful wench). Knowing that she was happy made me miss her less as well (that sounds awful, but it was really reassuring). The trip enabled my mom and my daughter to have their very own adventure; something that they shared exclusively, which I hope she remembers forever. And, hoo boy, I got so much done around the house!

My son's aversion to his penis: In a post that created a little bit of tension in my household, I mentioned that my biggest challenge to potty-training my son was his refusal to touch or have anyone else touch his penis. I am happy to announce that he now touches himself uninhibitedly. Sniff. I could not be more proud. Let me state for the record that his father played absolutely no role in this development. And no pee-pee tongs were needed. While he isn't potty-trained yet (my son, not my husband), he's made huge strides and I feel confident he'll get there before preschool starts in September. Oh. God. Please.

Travel without mom or dad

A couple of months ago, my mom asked if she could take my daughter to Florida to visit my 96-year old grandmother. Now, my daughter has met my grandmother and talks about her all the time. Plus, my grandma has a pool. My daughter has also spent many days and nights alone with my mom and has never shown any kind of remorse about leaving mom and dad. So I asked her if she'd like to fly on an airplane without mom or dad to visit Grandma Myrtle. (I'm waiting for the day when Myrtle is the trendy, new girls name.) I received an emphatic "Yes!" I explained that she would be going with G-ma (my mom) for five days and that neither daddy nor I would be going. No problem. We've been talking about it for two months now. D-Day is next Thursday.

Well, last night she came to me in tears because she didn't want to leave me. She wasn't scared about going, she just wanted me to come, too. She absolutely didn't want to go without me. OK, fine, you don't have to go. Then my husband (kiddingly) suggested that her brother go instead. Suddenly she was fine about leaving me, was absolutely going to Florida, and can we just stop all the talk about the younger brother going already? I figure she'll be waffling for the next week, but I also recognize that she's too young to intelligently make this decision. So I wonder, do you think 5.5 is too young to travel without mom and dad? Have your kids done it?

A few things I learned on vacation

We returned home last night after a week up at Orcas Island. It rained for three days; otherwise it was pleasant. The only computer I could find to use had dial-up. Dial-up! I could have taken the ferry and driven five hours home before I got a connection. I was so out of touch. Happily I got caught up with all the important world events on People.com last night, so I feel whole again. I thought I'd share some things I gleaned from our first vacation with two mobile children:

1. Plan a vacation for you and your spouse immediately following the family vacation. You'll need it.

2. If your child is used to sleeping with a nightlight, bring a nightlight.

3. Don't allow your children to wander off with an island child who thinks it's fun to step on snails, unless you think it's a hoot to scrape smushed snails off the bottoms of your children's shoes.

4. Always ask the owner of your vacation rental if the third bedroom is accessible from inside the house. Don't assume that it is.

5. If the menu says "freshly-caught halibut", it could very well mean the fish was recently caught by the chef as he dumped it out of the Mrs. Paul's box.

6. No matter how many toys you bring, you've always brought the wrong ones.

7. Beer. Lots of beer.

8. You, too, can complete the Sunday New York Times crossword puzzle for the very first time. See tip #7.

9. To a child, the passage of the ferry in front of your vacation rental is cause for raucous celebration. Eighteen times a day.

10. The best photos of your child's life are taken on vacation.

I missed you guys!

Kids flying alone

At what age would you let your child fly alone on a plane to visit relatives in a distant place? I tend toward overprotectiveness, so my first response is, say, 18 or 20. I'm sure more rational parents might think 12 or 16 or other ages would be fine. Does anyone have any experience with the whole "unaccompanied minor on an airplane" enchilada? Do the airlines have any guidelines I should be aware of?

Weekend getaway ideas

Good news: my mom is coming for a visit this spring. Even better news: she's offered to watch the kids for a weekend during her visit so my husband and I can get away and spend some quality time together. We are not one of those families blessed with a beach house or condo in Sunriver. So we're looking for some place that will be fun, not too far and not too expensive. I should add that we're not B&B people We almost burnt one down a long time ago. Bad memories. I won't elaborate.

Where do you go for a weekend getaway? Do you have any suggestions on where we should go?

Take extra care if you will be leaving your home over the holidays

Over the Thanksgiving weekend, a friend of mine had her house broken into. She lives near me in a non-rural house, with neighboring houses very close by. The thieves broke a window to get in. The thieves took two cars, two computers, all of my friend's jewelry and all of the family's personal financial information. My friend is sharing her story so we all can learn and hopefully not have the same thing happen to us. Here are her recommendations:

• If you haven't already done so, establish a good relatioship with your neighbors and let them know when you will be gone for an extended time.
• Stop your mail. You can stop your mail for as few as three days and as many as 30. This service is free from the US Postal Service. You can even make this postal hold request online. If you don't stop the regular mail delivery, have it picked up daily by a trusted neighbor or friend.
• Have a neighbor or friend visit your house while you are gone to maintain signs of life: turn on and off lights, open and close curtains, etc.
• Stop delivery of your daily newspaper or have a neighbor pick it up.
• Go through your files and shred things you really don't need that contain personal information.
• If you leave spare keys to your vehicles in your home, leave them in an inconspicuous place: not by the garage or back door (right where a burglar will look).
• Install security sensor lights around the outside of your home with cages over the bulbs so the light bulbs can't be unscrewed.
• Install security storm doors on all exterior doors with windows. Be sure the security doors can be dead-bolted.
• Secure your personal electronic data with passwords and don't set your computer to "remember" these passwords. Back up your data on a regular basis and keep in a secure location. 
• Write down serial numbers and take pictures of all items of any value in your home. Keep this information in a safe place and not in your computer.

The best news I can share is that my friend's vehicles have been recovered. Please be careful and have a safe holiday season.

Planning a family vacation? This site might help.

I saw this site mentioned in the Oregonian travel section on Sunday -- WeJustGotBack.com -- and it's worth checking out if you're looking for vacation ideas. It's a little lean on content, but I can see that if it continues to grow it will be a good resource. They go pretty in-depth on hotels, amenities, restaurants and family-friendly attractions, but they don't really list that many destinations yet. Sigh. White sands. Fruity drinks. Tropical fish. A girl can dream.