The Little Sprig: Little Rhode-y Part 1

We took off to Rhode Island on a red eye Thursday evening and if it looks like we have a lot of luggage, well that's how you have to roll with a one year old. We packed reasonably light, but for some reason we look like the beverly hill billies in this photo. For all you mothers who want to or are about to travel with little ones, fear not, it's not as bad as everyone makes it out to be, just be prepared & keep a positive attitude. Miles and I made a pact before we left and said, "No matter what happens, have be it our flight delays, the weather goes sour, Luca has a polar meltdown, or be it any other type of chaos, we will stay calm, we will smile and laugh about it all, and we will have a great time because we are in control & this is our vacation dammit!" And so it goes. I stuck to the plan more so than Miles did, but Miles only had a couple mini meltdowns here and there (patience is his downfall), but speaking for myself, staying calm and positive made all the difference in how smoothly our travels went. I would repeat to myself when I began to feel myself get frustrated or upset, "Go slowly. Be easy. And keep your head up & your heart open."

I always come up with little mantras to help me when I'm feeling nervous or uneasy. You can use mine or come up with your own, but the key is to repeat it over and over to yourself & most importantly believe it. Believe what you are saying. Go slowly--slow down, take a breath, and take your time, rushing isn't necessary. Be easy--don't sweat the small stuff, just go with it. Keep your head up & your heart open--In other words, you are in control of your emotions and how you react to everything happening to you, and how you react is a reflection of your character. Keep your head up and you may notice something or someone you hadn't noticed before. Be aware of what is happening around you & smile and say hello to people. Keep your heart open and allow good things to come into your life because you deserve them. This is all so much easier said than done, but it's a practice and before you know it it'll become habit. For me, it took my mother passing away when I was 18 to really make me realize what is important to me in this life. Life is too short to live angrily. It's all about enjoying the little moments and I mean YOLO, right? (To my Granny reading, YOLO means "you only live once.") As corny as it is to quote Drake, he said it best, "YOLO," so live well and be happy! I promise, it feels really good (this goes for my husband Miles too, who far too often lets situations take control of him. Go slowly, and be easy babe, believe me, it feels really, really good!).

Miles and I traveled to the east coast a few months before I found out I was pregnant with Luca and we roamed and roamed. This time things are a little different, but so much more fun seeing everything through the eyes of my baby. So far everything has gone smoothly minor mishaps have been few, but that's to be expected when traveling with a little one & if not, well then you're just lucky and you should probably go buy yourself a lotto ticket.

Luca was very excited to be at the airport, after we went through security of that is. Backstory: You can carry your child through the metal detector if you allow them to swab your hands, so Miles attempted to go through with L first, but he beeped, so then I took trial secondly and I beeped as well--mind you, this never happens to me. While all the chaos and commotion is happening, Luca tries to jump ship on us and run in the opposite direction...laughing ferociously, I might add. At this point, the people behind us were rolling their eyes, so I said "you can go ahead," and then jetted off to grab Lu. Miles held L while I removed my watch & all my jewelry to carry Luca through security (praise the lord it wasn't the x-ray machine). By that point Luca was shaking in his boots and squirming in my arms. We shuffled through, they swabbed my hands and we were free at last, free at last, thank god almighty, we were free at last! (You can't quote Drake and then not quote the great Martin Luther King Jr., am I right?) So there we were, free as birds, with 3 hours to spare because of course we took extra precaution in being overly punctual.

The rest of the ride was smooth from there. I don't know what Luca & I are doing in this photo, but I just noticed we are matching. We boarded the plane on schedule, took off, and I braced myself for L's ears to start hurting, but he had his pacifier and never made it a peep. We all slept & five hours later we were in Newark, NJ where we had a 3 hour layover & slept some more. Also, where I was most likely fist pumping in my dreams.

Our flight from Newark into Providence was 29 mins and we all slept even more, landing in Rhode Island at 9:30 a.m EST. We were all in one piece, all our luggage was in tact, and my mother-in-law was there waiting to pick us up. We had arrived in the hometown of Dumb & Dumber, coffee milk, and according to my grandmother-in-law, Hasboro's "Mr. Potata head."

My little potato head played in the grass all afternoon with the cold, brisk air standing still at 39º F at Mile's mother's home. Some might call that cold, but we love it. My mother-in-law & her husband live in a charming little town called North Kingstown with the cutest little New England houses and colorful leaves everywhere. Luca loves the cold & I like dressing him for the cold because he can wear a pom beanie purposefully!

And I get to enjoy a true fall!

Miles and Lu tested out the most high tech lawn mower we've ever seen. No one in California has enough lawn to need one of these bad boys, and I'm sure if you had that much lawn, the state would be punning you the cause of our drought. Miles was drooling with envy, and Luca was ready to get on with the outdoors. Joe, Miles' stepdad, had plenty of "work" set up for Lu. L got to collect twigs and logs (staged just for him) into a barrel for his pops.

Lulu was happy to help.

I couldn't resist picking some fresh balsam and evergreen sprigs and stuffing them into my pocket. I did so after I staged this adorable photo with Lu's mittens because miniature mittens may just be the cutest. Yes, evergreen is that accessible out here. There are "christmas" trees everywhere. My mind flooded with the idea of how many wreaths I could whip out if I were to live here. Is this whoville?! Douglas furs and Jack Pines just naturally grow on every corner and square inch of uninhabited land, it's lovely.

Here is Lu very upset. He hated wearing his puffer jacket. I think he felt like he couldn't put his arms down and accessibly do pretty much anything, but he kept it on just long enough to snap this photo and then it was a wrap.