3 Amazing Benefits of Traveling with a Child
I once traveled with my then-3-year-old nephew and his parents and it was so much fun! Well, other than the time he wanted to see the pilot, visit the flight attendant station, run down the aisle and remove his clothing for no reason. Yes, other than those, it was a riot. I also traveled with a set of triplets once-my nephew and nieces and i couldn't believe how comfortable everyone made us feel. Do you get any preferential treatment when you travel with kids? How do you deal with traveling with your kids? Do you find it stressful? Any travel hack tips to share? Here are 3 benefits of traveling with a child from my experience:
Skip that oh-so-grey airline meal
Did you know toddlers could have their own homemade food on a flight? So not fair, while we get stuck eating those plastic chickens and weird brown rice. Anyway, we had made him some noodles to take on the trip but he didn't want it, he wanted cereal instead and all the juice the flight attendants could produce. So we ate his juicy, spicy noodles instead of the plastic chickens. Noodles on the plane is the best.
Those eager helpers
People love to help families with children. All you need to do is look distressed and borrow someone's child like I did and help starts flooding in! Even at security, there's usually at least one person mesmerized by the child , cooing and gooing!
Get seated first
People with kids get seated first right after priority. If you fly first or business, then you probably don't care but if you don't, welcome to the land of endless hand luggage storage opportunities! We know your luggage is already over weight, so take advantage!
Any experiences? Share, share!
Remember to enter the giveaway!
24 fun things to know about Nigerians (P.s And 1 reason to have one as a friend)
It's cute and exhaustingly amusing when someone from another country tells me "Hey, you speak really good English" or when they think suddenly in their minds "EBOLA!" and begin to panic, just because i said i'm Nigerian (hehe) or when they think "Hmmm" and immediately activate their Inspector gadget Internet-fraud sensors. The best is when they think we are terrorists. Someone actually once referred to us (to my face) as "You terrorists!" LOL! I love foreigners. I'll be honest, i thought about hitting him over the head with the pack of pasta i was holding but then 1) It was a rare pasta that i usually buy from Italy 2) You really can't beat ignorance out of anyone 3) He was much shorter than i was (i might have been whisked away by the police for child abuse before they understood that he was actually 35). However, what can i say, we all are ignorant at some time or the other (e.g. my sore disappointment whenever i'm on Baker street and I don't run into Sherlock Holmes or whenever i'm in New York and i don't run into the cast of friends, so hey.)
when someone asks how I learnt to speak English
Here's the truth, the typical Nigerian has no interest in terrorism, communicates excellently and is quite the culinary beast. If you aren't friends with us for any reason, at least, for the sake of your olfactory and gustatory senses, make friends with one Nigerian!
Happy Independence day, baby!!!
Fun things to know about Nigerians:
We don't really believe in snacking (our snacks look like meals)
We don't eat food without meat. Lol!
We respect the elderly
We don't act up when we drink. We don't know why. No falling in the gutters, no puking, nothing. We just breath in the alcohol.
We are awesome drivers! We make it work without traffic lights, floor markings, reflectors or street lights. So to all my people who have failed their driving tests in diaspora, We Shall Rise!
We can tell if you are not from Nigeria and we don't even have to speak to you to know
We really are very clever
We make amazing jollof rice #NigerianJollof
We know there's a God and he hooks us up
We love the familiar but we appreciate the foreign (We actually like foreigners, maybe too much)
We aren't all shafty and dodgy internet fraudsters
We love to dance! You have no idea
Our fight/flight system is off the hiz (does anyone even say that anymore, it was such a good adjective)
We love football
We thrive. We live in the most remote parts of the world. Ok that's stretching it, Iceland , Antartica.... all stretches. We thrive anywhere that promises economic prosperity.
We have a good ear for music
We drive a hard bargain. It's almost embarrassing
We have coded in our DNA the entrepreneurial gene; here, there, there, enough said
We discipline our kids, no back-talk or you get a back-hand
We make amazing Jollof rice (did i say this already? You bet i did, i'll say it again We make amazing jolly...even autocorrect be hating...JOLLOF rice!)
We can be naive and at the same time deeply cunning . Shrug, what can we say, it's a gift
We like nice things....very very very nice things
We dress up not down.
We DON'T enjoy extreme sports ; no bungee, mountaineering, hiking (less than a quarter mile will do)
Come on, love us will ya!
Add to the list! I know our traits are inexhaustible......
10 gifts (+another 10) to take to a bridal shower
Going to a bridal shower? And have no idea what gift to buy. Well, relax, I'm about to bring more than 10 ideas your way.
I am pretty sure I have goofed everytime I tried to buy a bride a gift. Simply because I usually buy her what I want. Hehe. There's nothing more demoralizing than seeing the gift you bought her, dusty and unopened, seating in her junk closet, after her third child. So let's try some personality linking to our purchases. What's her personality like? Is she adventurous or a couch potato? Is she glam or a jeans and t-shirt kinda girl? Does she live on a treadmill, does she eat oats and quinoa all day long? Is she a foodie or an artist? Pick out which of these the bride is and check below! If she's not on the list, drop a comment below...let's brainstorm together!
The Daisy bride (1)
The Musical bride (2)
Headphones (an upper grade Sennheiser, she will love you for life. Bose, if you can. Beats, if she loves color. Sony, if you are on a budget. )
The Foodie bride (3)
A cookbook or a paid trip to a chef's kitchen to learn new dishes, or simply lunch (as a foodie I know I'd rather just eat it. Away with any cooking!)
The Sexy bride (4)
The Health enthusiast bride (5)
A pedometer and/or a smoothie maker
The Bride who actually cares to wear an apron (6)
The Satchel-lover bride (7)
A purse of any kind!
The illustrator Bride (8)
an illustration of the couple or of both of you
The make-up on-point bride (9)
Of course, more makeup. And some makeup remover. Am I the only one who thinks everyone needs a good makeup remover?
The Shoe-lover bride (10) this works for most brides, it's a no-brainer
The bride who has now morphed into bridezilla (11)
Space (I'm kidding, I honestly don't know what would please a bridezilla) Any ideas?
The Adventurous bride (12)
The Stressed-out bride(13)
A spa voucher (she will need this the week before the wedding)
The Nerdy bride (14)
A Journal/book, not this book
That moderately Sexy bride (15)
Moderately Sexy PJs
The Bejeweled bride (16)
The tipsy bride(17)
A bottle of red wine
The Gym-junkie bride (18)
Gym gear or Boxing gloves and pads.
The student bride (19)
Money/ Some investment too
The blogger bride(20)
I'm stuck here. What do blogger brides want? A paid session with a pro photographer for her blog, maybe. A session that probably lasts a week!
What kind of bride are/were you or will you be? What would you want?!