On my last trip to Ethiopia, I traveled with my 36 month old and my 13 year old and brought home a 6 month old. (Parent to child ratio- 1:3). This summer I am intending to go with my husband and my 33 month old and bring home 9 and 11 year olds. (Parent to child ratio- 2:3). Judging by the parent: child ratios, this trip might be a little easier than the last one. However, if you figure the "known-child" to "unknown-child" ratio (2:1 last trip, 1:2 on this coming trip) this next trip might be more stressful. Who knows? I guess we’ll just have to see how it goes.

In any case, as I dream about/ pray for/ long for a June or July court date, I’ve also been thinking about how we might best entertain our toddler on the way to Ethiopia and back. It’s 27 hours with layovers to Ethiopia from my neck of the woods, which is a daunting trip for anyone, let alone an active two year old. Here’s a list of some if the things I am planning to pack to help keep her occupied.

DVD player and movies.
My sister has a portable DVD player I can borrow. I spent a lot of time online last night looking at batteries. The average battery lasts in the three hour range. It looks like I'd have to shell out at least a hundred bucks for a decent external battery, but the thought of 6 hours of movie play is really tempting me.

Floam, cookie cutters and stacking cups.
Floam is easier to get off odd surfaces than playdough and is a little less crummy.

Color Wonder fingerpaints and book.
These were a hit on the trip with my other daughter. She liked the gooey feel of the paint and I liked that the color only showed up on the Color Wonder paper.

Pipe cleaners.
Hopefully she'll have fun playing with these, and my creative husband will certainly be able to make her some cool creations.

Sticker books
I'll probably also pack a blank notebook and a pack of mini markers.


Edibles. (in order of distraction value)
Goldfish crackers (I'll skip the wild colors)
Cheese and sticks (in the little rectangular packets)
Gummy bears (maybe a ‘healthy’ brand with less sugar and food coloring.)
Oreo O’s (my son looooved these on the way home from Korea)
Lollipops (emergency rations)

Containers.
I’ll pack most of the edibles in little spill-proof containers-- the kind with the criss-cross in the top that lets the child’s fingers go in for the treats, but doesn’t let treats out when shaken or spilled. And I’ll be saving half the goodies for the trip home.

Benadryl.
Um, yes. If I need it, I will use it. However, my daughter is a pretty good little sleeper, so we’ll wait til we get desperate to break that out.

Pullups.
Yes, she’s been fairly reliably potty-trained for 6 months, but I’ll be much less worried about the juice box she drank half an hour before her three hour nap if I know she won’t wake up with a wet seat.


Most important, I’ll be packing my sense of humor. If we get to a point where she’s whining non-stop, I’ll do my best to keep her happy. But I’ll also try to keep my perspective and not stress too much about the people glaring around me. Chances are I’ll never see them again. Even if my daughter has some very unhappy moments on the airplane, I know in the long run she'll be happier with me than she would be staying home without me.

Related Posts:
Siblings who stay home
Traveling with little ones, part one | part two