teresajoy
Remember the Tag Fairy?
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2001
I let Corey sleep
I told the girls they could lay back down if they wanted to. They were too hyped up to sleep though!
OK, I'm just going to say it
They were
TOO EXCITED TO SLEEP!!!
Shortly enough, Denise's alarm went off and I woke up Corey. Denise laughed when I told her what I had done! Corey and Denise got around quickly and then we were on our way. In the van, Denise told us that the hotel where she made reservations had a shuttle from the aiport we could take if she wasn't back yet. Then, in the mornig we could walk to a restaurant and eat and hang out at the hotel until she came back to pick us up, or she said we could take the hotel shuttle back to the airport and get on the blue line to downtown. She stressed not to take the bus. I was just confused. The El? the Blue Line??? The bus?? how do you pay?? How do you know where to go??
I will not stress, I will not stress...
Brian said, "What? You aren't going to pick us up?"
Denise replied, "No, this was the plan, remember? "
Brian proceeded to give her a bit of a hard time about the whole thing, even though I had told him not to before we got into the van. But, sometimes he just can't help himself and he likes to give his little sister a hard time.
Denise told Brian that she didn't know when they would be getting back from Mackinaw, it could be Saturday or Sunday. She didn't really know when she would be able to pick us up on Sunday either. So, we made sure everyone had cell phone numbers, and I tried not to think about it much. It was too early in the trip to think about the end of it.
Denise didn't live too far from the airport and we got their quickly.
We pulled up to our termindal, got all our stuff, gave Denise hugs and thanked her. I was very grateful that she had offered to let us stay at her house and then leave our van there too.
I've never flown out of Ohare before and I must say they were not as friendly as Detroit. (we live about halfway between the two).
The lady at the Spirit desk was grumpy.
(just pretend there is a grumpy lady behind the counter and people standing in line, ok?)
Yes, it was early, but for goodness sakes, be nice! Thankfully she was grumpiest to the people ahead of us! I felt bad for them. The lady had a purse and then a plastic shopping bag. The lady at the counter made a big point of the customer having two personal bags. Of course this was easily fixed by the customer putting her shopping bag into her purse, but the customer was looked pretty embarassed. I felt bad for her.
Brian always brings one of his fishing poles with us when we go on vacation. He breaks them down, takes off the line and the reels and then twist ties them together. It makes them pretty small by the time he is done. We've taken them on the plane for the past two years with no trouble. However, the lady at the Spirit counter told us, "THEY are not going to let you get on the plane with those. You are going to have to come back here and pay for me to check them, I guarantee it."
Brian told her that he had always taken them on the plane and she retorted, "Well was it with Spirit?"
Nope, it hadn't been, and she gave us a knowing look.
It was very annoying.
She also seemed very confused by the concept of my taking a carseat onto the plane for Lydia to use. I had to explain that one to her a few times.
Instead of taking our luggage there, we had to take our checked luggage (two bags) around the corner and hand them off to someone else. She didn't tell us this, so we started to leave the luggage with her, which did not please her.
Little side not here. Carry on luggage is pretty big! I would urge anyone who doesn't mind carrying their luggage on to look into the size regulations for your airline! I think we could have packed all our stuff into the carryons! I didn't realize that though until I payed for the two bags though.
There weren't many people waiting to go through security, but there was only one line open, so it took sometime.
As we were waiting, with our one personal and one carry on apiece, two carseats, one stroller and a fishing pole, the ladies sitting watching the line (maybe they were security??), kept eyeing us. One of them came over and told Brian knowingly, "They aren't going to let you on the plane with that fishing pole." Brian said he always had before and he would just see.
They kept eyeing us, I could see that they were tyring to count how many items we had.
(Because she was pointing her finger at each item we had and I could see her lips moving)
Actually, we could have had one more carryon if I'd wanted to (and knowing this I had packed an extra carryon bag in one of my bags). The stroller and carseats do not count towards the luggage. Neither did the camera I had strapped to my neck. I had read the Spirit baggage rules very carefully.
One of the ladies came over to me looked at two carseats stuck in the stroller and said in a rather snotty tone, "Where is the baby?"
I laughed and told her that the babies were right in front of me and I pointed to Arminda and Lydia.
The lady said, "Those two? They are to big for carseats! No one puts kids that big in a carseat!"
Decision time for Teresa!
I could go one of two ways,
snotty
or nice.
I thought it was in my best interest to go for nice.
I replied, "I know, isn't it sad? You know, when my oldest was a baby, they didn't make carseats that were big enough for older kids, I had to take him out of his carseat when he was only 3."
And, this started a friendly conversation about kids and how fast they grow up.
Brian commented later that he was really proud of me how I had really turned that whole situation around!
When the slow moving line finally got up to the security,
we took all our stuff put it in little grey tubs and sent it on it's way. However, Lydia's carseat wouldn't fit in the little x-ray scanner, so they had to inspect it manually. Of course, they didn't figure that out until it got stuck in their machine. I was worried that Arminda's carseat wouldn't fit either, but amazingly it did.
As they were inspecting the carseat, a pilot and crew went through security. I figured that was a good sign that we weren't late for our plane!
As Brian carefully placed his beloved fishing pole into the gray box, and sent it on through the x-ray scanner, we all held our breath.
You could feel the tension in the air.
Would they accept it? Would they stop us?
Would 10 agents jump out and wrestle Brian to the ground for daring to bring such a thing onboard the sacred aircraft???
As the box slowly inched it's way to the scanner, we all saw that the security agent was taking a special interest in it.
We were on pins and needles...
Then, it happened
The security guard looked Brian square in the eye and said, "Sir, is this your pole."
Say NO Brian,
Say NO!!
RUN!!!! RUN!!!!
I'll cover you sweetheart, just RUN!
Brian ignored me and said, "Yes, sir that is mine."
Oh no, oh no, oh no!
I'm going to have to go on vacation with the kids all by myself while Brian sits in jail!!!
(Because there is NO way I'm cancelling MY vacation!)
You could cut the tension with a knife as the security guard drew in a breath and then said,
"I've been thinking of getting an Ugly Stick, have you been happy with it?"
PHEW!!!!
Brian briefly chatted with the security guard about fishing and we were out of there!
Finally, we made it to our gate! We still had 1 hour before takeoff, so we took the time to take a potty break and fill up our water bottles for the ride. There was absolutely no way I was going to buy drinks and food on the plane!
I was missing Southwest with the free baggage and free snacks.
We were all mesmerized by the toilet seats at Ohare. If you don't know what I mean, let me explain, they have AUTOMATIC seat covers!! You wave your hand in front of a little sensor when you go in, and a new seat cover comes around the side of the seat and there you have a nice neat seat to sit on!
Seriously, how cool is that!!!
We broke out some of the snacks I had brought, Lydia wanted a banana
Brian also got up and I assumed he was taking his potty break too, but instead he came back with a coffee for me!
I had tried to find a coffee pot at Denise's, but she didn't have one!!! Can you believe that???
Anyway, he is so sweet, he went and bought me a coffee!
Soon, they announced it was time to get on the plane!
We were in one of the first groups to board,
so it wasn't too hard to carry Lydia's carseat down the aisle without bumping anyone in the head.
I'll say it again, they should let people with carseats on FIRST! Not because I want the best spot, but for the safety of all the other passengers. I had printed out our boarding passes the night before and was very pleased when we all had seats together.
After I got the carseat buckled in and the girls situated, I looked up to notice that the plane was just about EMPTY!
I did a count and there were not even 50 people on the plane. I was thankful that no one was sitting in front of Lydia, because being in the carseat she didn't have much legroom, and if someone were to sit in front of her and put the seat back, she would have none.
The plane took off nice and smooth and when I looked over Lydia was already fast asleep.
Actually, almost everyone on board was fast asleep.
One person, however decided that they needed to find a new row to sleep in so they could stretch out across the seats. In an almost empty plane, with many many rows to chose from, where do you think this person decided was the best spot to lay down and put the seat all the way back???? Can you guess, can you???
Yep, right in front of Lydia! I was a little peeved, but she was asleep anyway, so she didn't mind. I was almost hoping she would wake up and start kicking the seatback!
At one point, I went to lean forward to get my bag, and I felt my shirt slightly sticking to the seat back. When I later had to get up and use the bathroom, Corey told me, "you know that stuff on your seat? It's all over your back now." When I looked in the bathroom mirror, sure enough, there was something green and sticky all over my back!
GRRRRR
I had only worn the shirt once or twice before this so I was not pleased! I really didn't like having to walk around with a mysterious green sticky substance on my back.
When the plane landed, I told the flight attendant about it. She looked and said, "Hmm, looks like gum." Then she got off the plane. So, I'm sure whoever sat down there after me also got up with green sticky gunk on their back too!
Lydia had woke up just before our plane landed, so I didn't have to worry about waking her up to get off. As usual, I waited for everyone else to get off before I got off, since I hate bonking people in the head with a carseat. And, you know what? I have a feeling they don't really like it either.
On the way out, one of the flight attendants made a point to come over and say,
"You KNOW, once a child is over 2 they don't need a carseat anymore."
I thanked her for telling me, but let her know that I preferred her to be in a carseat.
WHY do people feel the need to tell you that you don't have to put your kid in a carseat?? Why doesn't it occur to them that some people would like to keep their children as safe as possible? It annoys me.
But, then, we were off the plane and in Florida!!! Yeah!!
I told the girls they could lay back down if they wanted to. They were too hyped up to sleep though!
OK, I'm just going to say it
They were
TOO EXCITED TO SLEEP!!!
Shortly enough, Denise's alarm went off and I woke up Corey. Denise laughed when I told her what I had done! Corey and Denise got around quickly and then we were on our way. In the van, Denise told us that the hotel where she made reservations had a shuttle from the aiport we could take if she wasn't back yet. Then, in the mornig we could walk to a restaurant and eat and hang out at the hotel until she came back to pick us up, or she said we could take the hotel shuttle back to the airport and get on the blue line to downtown. She stressed not to take the bus. I was just confused. The El? the Blue Line??? The bus?? how do you pay?? How do you know where to go??
I will not stress, I will not stress...
Brian said, "What? You aren't going to pick us up?"
Denise replied, "No, this was the plan, remember? "
Brian proceeded to give her a bit of a hard time about the whole thing, even though I had told him not to before we got into the van. But, sometimes he just can't help himself and he likes to give his little sister a hard time.
Denise told Brian that she didn't know when they would be getting back from Mackinaw, it could be Saturday or Sunday. She didn't really know when she would be able to pick us up on Sunday either. So, we made sure everyone had cell phone numbers, and I tried not to think about it much. It was too early in the trip to think about the end of it.
Denise didn't live too far from the airport and we got their quickly.
We pulled up to our termindal, got all our stuff, gave Denise hugs and thanked her. I was very grateful that she had offered to let us stay at her house and then leave our van there too.
I've never flown out of Ohare before and I must say they were not as friendly as Detroit. (we live about halfway between the two).
The lady at the Spirit desk was grumpy.
(just pretend there is a grumpy lady behind the counter and people standing in line, ok?)
Yes, it was early, but for goodness sakes, be nice! Thankfully she was grumpiest to the people ahead of us! I felt bad for them. The lady had a purse and then a plastic shopping bag. The lady at the counter made a big point of the customer having two personal bags. Of course this was easily fixed by the customer putting her shopping bag into her purse, but the customer was looked pretty embarassed. I felt bad for her.
Brian always brings one of his fishing poles with us when we go on vacation. He breaks them down, takes off the line and the reels and then twist ties them together. It makes them pretty small by the time he is done. We've taken them on the plane for the past two years with no trouble. However, the lady at the Spirit counter told us, "THEY are not going to let you get on the plane with those. You are going to have to come back here and pay for me to check them, I guarantee it."
Brian told her that he had always taken them on the plane and she retorted, "Well was it with Spirit?"
Nope, it hadn't been, and she gave us a knowing look.
It was very annoying.
She also seemed very confused by the concept of my taking a carseat onto the plane for Lydia to use. I had to explain that one to her a few times.
Instead of taking our luggage there, we had to take our checked luggage (two bags) around the corner and hand them off to someone else. She didn't tell us this, so we started to leave the luggage with her, which did not please her.
Little side not here. Carry on luggage is pretty big! I would urge anyone who doesn't mind carrying their luggage on to look into the size regulations for your airline! I think we could have packed all our stuff into the carryons! I didn't realize that though until I payed for the two bags though.
There weren't many people waiting to go through security, but there was only one line open, so it took sometime.
As we were waiting, with our one personal and one carry on apiece, two carseats, one stroller and a fishing pole, the ladies sitting watching the line (maybe they were security??), kept eyeing us. One of them came over and told Brian knowingly, "They aren't going to let you on the plane with that fishing pole." Brian said he always had before and he would just see.
They kept eyeing us, I could see that they were tyring to count how many items we had.
(Because she was pointing her finger at each item we had and I could see her lips moving)
Actually, we could have had one more carryon if I'd wanted to (and knowing this I had packed an extra carryon bag in one of my bags). The stroller and carseats do not count towards the luggage. Neither did the camera I had strapped to my neck. I had read the Spirit baggage rules very carefully.
One of the ladies came over to me looked at two carseats stuck in the stroller and said in a rather snotty tone, "Where is the baby?"
I laughed and told her that the babies were right in front of me and I pointed to Arminda and Lydia.
The lady said, "Those two? They are to big for carseats! No one puts kids that big in a carseat!"
Decision time for Teresa!
I could go one of two ways,
snotty
or nice.
I thought it was in my best interest to go for nice.
I replied, "I know, isn't it sad? You know, when my oldest was a baby, they didn't make carseats that were big enough for older kids, I had to take him out of his carseat when he was only 3."
And, this started a friendly conversation about kids and how fast they grow up.
Brian commented later that he was really proud of me how I had really turned that whole situation around!
When the slow moving line finally got up to the security,
we took all our stuff put it in little grey tubs and sent it on it's way. However, Lydia's carseat wouldn't fit in the little x-ray scanner, so they had to inspect it manually. Of course, they didn't figure that out until it got stuck in their machine. I was worried that Arminda's carseat wouldn't fit either, but amazingly it did.
As they were inspecting the carseat, a pilot and crew went through security. I figured that was a good sign that we weren't late for our plane!
As Brian carefully placed his beloved fishing pole into the gray box, and sent it on through the x-ray scanner, we all held our breath.
You could feel the tension in the air.
Would they accept it? Would they stop us?
Would 10 agents jump out and wrestle Brian to the ground for daring to bring such a thing onboard the sacred aircraft???
As the box slowly inched it's way to the scanner, we all saw that the security agent was taking a special interest in it.
We were on pins and needles...
Then, it happened
The security guard looked Brian square in the eye and said, "Sir, is this your pole."
Say NO Brian,
Say NO!!
RUN!!!! RUN!!!!
I'll cover you sweetheart, just RUN!
Brian ignored me and said, "Yes, sir that is mine."
Oh no, oh no, oh no!
I'm going to have to go on vacation with the kids all by myself while Brian sits in jail!!!
(Because there is NO way I'm cancelling MY vacation!)
You could cut the tension with a knife as the security guard drew in a breath and then said,
"I've been thinking of getting an Ugly Stick, have you been happy with it?"
PHEW!!!!
Brian briefly chatted with the security guard about fishing and we were out of there!
Finally, we made it to our gate! We still had 1 hour before takeoff, so we took the time to take a potty break and fill up our water bottles for the ride. There was absolutely no way I was going to buy drinks and food on the plane!
I was missing Southwest with the free baggage and free snacks.
We were all mesmerized by the toilet seats at Ohare. If you don't know what I mean, let me explain, they have AUTOMATIC seat covers!! You wave your hand in front of a little sensor when you go in, and a new seat cover comes around the side of the seat and there you have a nice neat seat to sit on!
Seriously, how cool is that!!!
We broke out some of the snacks I had brought, Lydia wanted a banana
Brian also got up and I assumed he was taking his potty break too, but instead he came back with a coffee for me!
I had tried to find a coffee pot at Denise's, but she didn't have one!!! Can you believe that???
Anyway, he is so sweet, he went and bought me a coffee!
Soon, they announced it was time to get on the plane!
We were in one of the first groups to board,
so it wasn't too hard to carry Lydia's carseat down the aisle without bumping anyone in the head.
I'll say it again, they should let people with carseats on FIRST! Not because I want the best spot, but for the safety of all the other passengers. I had printed out our boarding passes the night before and was very pleased when we all had seats together.
After I got the carseat buckled in and the girls situated, I looked up to notice that the plane was just about EMPTY!
I did a count and there were not even 50 people on the plane. I was thankful that no one was sitting in front of Lydia, because being in the carseat she didn't have much legroom, and if someone were to sit in front of her and put the seat back, she would have none.
The plane took off nice and smooth and when I looked over Lydia was already fast asleep.
Actually, almost everyone on board was fast asleep.
One person, however decided that they needed to find a new row to sleep in so they could stretch out across the seats. In an almost empty plane, with many many rows to chose from, where do you think this person decided was the best spot to lay down and put the seat all the way back???? Can you guess, can you???
Yep, right in front of Lydia! I was a little peeved, but she was asleep anyway, so she didn't mind. I was almost hoping she would wake up and start kicking the seatback!
At one point, I went to lean forward to get my bag, and I felt my shirt slightly sticking to the seat back. When I later had to get up and use the bathroom, Corey told me, "you know that stuff on your seat? It's all over your back now." When I looked in the bathroom mirror, sure enough, there was something green and sticky all over my back!
GRRRRR
I had only worn the shirt once or twice before this so I was not pleased! I really didn't like having to walk around with a mysterious green sticky substance on my back.
When the plane landed, I told the flight attendant about it. She looked and said, "Hmm, looks like gum." Then she got off the plane. So, I'm sure whoever sat down there after me also got up with green sticky gunk on their back too!
Lydia had woke up just before our plane landed, so I didn't have to worry about waking her up to get off. As usual, I waited for everyone else to get off before I got off, since I hate bonking people in the head with a carseat. And, you know what? I have a feeling they don't really like it either.
On the way out, one of the flight attendants made a point to come over and say,
"You KNOW, once a child is over 2 they don't need a carseat anymore."
I thanked her for telling me, but let her know that I preferred her to be in a carseat.
WHY do people feel the need to tell you that you don't have to put your kid in a carseat?? Why doesn't it occur to them that some people would like to keep their children as safe as possible? It annoys me.
But, then, we were off the plane and in Florida!!! Yeah!!
NEXT
May the trip begin!!!!
). Last night, my Dad went and picked the kids up for me after school (I had gone to Tessa's graduation and then just stayed at Mom's house for our Friday Pizza Night) and then when I went to go home, I didn't have to switch my carseat from their van to mine!
the days she talked to you. 
