Transit trials
I'm mostly back on track after an across-the-state trip last week with another mom and our two preschoolers. Pennsylvania never seemed large until we started planning for this trip to see a mutual friend who lives in New Castle, up in the northwest corner of the state near the Ohio border. I had some serious doubts that we could do the drive from Philly in less than like 10 hours because the kids would perpetually want us to stop.

My friend had a secret weapon. That's right, a portable DVD player. I'll admit that I used to moan every time I'd see an ad on TV for vehicles equipped with this device. "Great," I'd tell Joel, "just the way to guaratee you never have to actually speak to or interact with your children."

Well, I've revised my opinion a bit on that count. For fidgety toddlers on long rides, the technology can be a big blessing. My friend bought the DVD when her mother was dying from ovarian cancer and she needed to make regular 8+ hour drives to North Carolina with her toddler son. It kept her sane and prevented her son's motion sickness (so long as the player was below window level). When we had her son plus Claire in the back seat, they were far more content watching Elmo or Pooh than my attempts at a puppet show. The power struggles over toys also ended when a video played.

We also didn't need to make many stops. We did the 400+ mile trip in about 7 hours total, not too shabby for travel with kids aged 23 months and 3 and a half years. And I even got to do some needlework in transit!