California here we come...

Do you remember that episode of "I Love Lucy" where Ricky & Lucy, Fred & Ethel drive cross-country in a convertible? Ricky gets a job in Hollywood and of course, they all go with him. They've have all kinds of adventures along the way. I loved that series. Am I showing my age?

Anyway, we're off to California - Pasadena to be exact - on Wednesday. Another schlep through the airport with the twins but at least we'll have a direct flight to LAX. We're getting pretty good at this travel-with-toddlers thing. Once there, we'll rent a car and settle into the Ronald McDonald House in Pasadena. We've stayed there twice before. Evan spent a month there with Zelda while she was still in the NICU and having her first eye surgeries. Then last summer, the 4 of us spent 2 weeks out there so that both twins could have exams and surgeries. Our eye doctor of choice is Dr Khaled Tawansy (of course recommended by the Oracle) who has experience dealing with toxo kids as well as ROP - that's retinopathy of prematurity, for all of you non-preemie parents out there. Zelda will hopefully have outpatient surgery as well as exams to be fitted for some new little spectacles. Creed will be examined as well - possibly under sedation - and will be fitted for some stylin' new glasses. I'll go into the surgeries later and spare you the details for now. Just please, wish us luck - or more specifically the eyes of our tiny toddlers.

Pasadena promises to be sunny and temperate. It's a lovely town filled with mid-century sprawling homes with lush gardens of the most gorgeous flowers and greenery. Each time we go, I try and imagine us living there. If only...
When not in hospitals and appointments we'll spend our days visiting museums, galleries, the beach and eating Thai food at our favorite Pasadena restaurant. We'll have mojitos at the Hotel Figueroa and eat steak at the Original Pantry. There's a Dan Flavin expo at the LA County Museum and a gallery in Santa Monica is interested in Evan's work. The RMcHouse has a lovely lawn and Zelda has a new bathing suit. My plan is by the time we return home, the twins will be proficient in drinking from cups on their own. Not sippy cups, mind you! Creed is well on his way, hence the bathing suit attire for la petite Z.

So off we go, I'll try and update from there.

I need a Sherpa!

Okay, so last summer we flew at least 4 times with the twins - they were sleepy little ones that we held on our laps. We checked all of our luggage and simply rolled the double stroller right up to the gate. When we landed, it was waiting for us as soon as we disembarked. We would rent a car at our destination as well as the car seats so as not to have to haul stuff onto the plane and through the airport. On the plane, we weren't allowed to sit next to each other holding twins because of the oxygen mask rule so we sat across the aisle from each other and handed the babies back and forth. Many a kind traveler offered assistance because with twins, someone always has their hands full. With one baby you can take turns, with twins it's "Wanna switch?".

BUT, this Thursday we are off to Chicago. We are taking 2 toddlers (who walk and climb and don't like to be stationary for too long), 2 car seats (so the twins can be safely strapped into their own seats on the plane and in the rental car), a double stroller (to whisk them through the airport and to use on the streets of Chicago) and assorted luggage including 2 fold up booster seats (so we can safely feed our little angels in the hotel suite). Going out for meals is an option but it is a difficult one. We have enough trouble with it at their age and here in Austin, we happen to know all of the restaurant owners so apologies are readily accepted. They are getting better at it however, because we insist on eating out at least once a week.

Anyway, I know we are not the first family to travel with twin toddlers plus other kids and I appreciate the road that has been paved for us by other brave families. But I really want a Sherpa! I want someone to help Evan negotiate those cumbersome car seats through security and help him strap them into the seats on the plane while I sing and dance and entertain the kiddos as we wait for boarding and delays. I want a Sherpa to take our luggage to the check-in desk and fetch it from the baggage claim and ride with it on the shuttle bus to the car rental place. I want a Sherpa to help us navigate the double stroller through the airport to the gate as well as when they have to carry it around the security checkpoints because it's too wide to roll through the metal detector.

Okay, so I know that I am whining but I am also trying to mentally and physically prepare myself for the schlep - I mean trip...is that so wrong?