I'm Renee

Loving Wishing Sold - Confessions of a Shopaholic

16:08

In between the 'Things to do in Tokyo with children part 2', I thought I would share my latest loving, wishing, sold installment - don't tell S ...

1. Yannika (and Mister Zimi) dresses. I came across these recently thanks to a friend's recommendation and I'm hooked! Such an easy style of dress to wear and so comfortable! Loving the bright colours and patterns and I'm a huge fan of the dropped back hem. Warning, the Yannika dresses run short and do shrink a little in the wash so size up whereas the Zimi dresses are pretty true to size I've found.

2. Mister Zimi Swim. I love their dresses and thanks to my beloved J Crew one piece needing to be binned last week and Zimi's their recent Australia Day sale, I snapped up these Bora Bora bathers after umming and ahing for awhile. I was initially put off by the style as I thought they wouldn't be suitable for a D cup chest until I actually read the description and discovered they have a built in shelf bra. They haven't arrived yet but I'm hoping they will be here in time for our pool day on Australia Day.

3. Monogram anything and everything, give me all the monogrammed accessories! I need a decent phone cover so really this is a necessity and I will no doubt pull the trigger and buy it in the next week or so. Loving the navy with blind initials from The Daily Edited.

4. And still on the monogram love, how gorgeous are these key rings from Neue Blvd! Planning to buy one for a girlfriend for her birthday (ideal for the person who has everything) and I'm pretty sure there will also be one in the order for me as the tassel one I have from Country Road has seen better days.

5. Lilybod pink lemonade tights are definitely my next purchase... after I stick to my treadmill commitment for a few more weeks to make them worthwhile. My sister swears by Lilybod tights for comfort and no bunching/rising. Helps they have some cute prints/styles too.

6. Miann & Co grey cross hatch foot pouf (bean bag). I love the style and versatility of these poufs and have been wanting one for awhile to use in our lounge room as both a foot pouf and for the boys to sit on. They are huge - it comfortably holds both boys. The grey cross hatch one I bought was half price and is sold out but they still have a navy/grey or blush/grey option.

7. State of Escape neoprene bag. I've been on the lookout for a 'mum bag' after doing a huge clearout of my heavy leather Oroton bags that just don't get used anymore with my entourage of two little boys. A few friends have bought and love them and SSG's (Sydney Shop Girl) bag comparison here really sold me on its practicality. I like the look of the navy and grey and am planning a self gift of it soon - stay tuned.

8. More monogram ... this pouch is everything! I bought it in the limited peony pink with blind initials from The Daily Edited for myself for Christmas and haven't looked back since ditching a huge wallet for it. I love I can grab it out of my bag on the go and it holds cards, cash, phone, car key, pen and lipstick. Perfect for kindy drop off and quick errands when I don't need to lug everything else with me.

9. Neue Blvd again. These Celebrate white glasses are on my homewares list ... once the laundry is done - could be waiting awhile.

boy mom

Best things to do with children in Tokyo part 1.

11:43

boy mom

Flying with Children: the reality (hint, we all survived)

12:30

... well, barely.

The flight there was the worst I'd say. We departed at 10:30am and landed after 8-9 hours in Narita just outside Tokyo at 6:30pm with a one hour time difference.

We got to the airport early (I would always do this with children so you have plenty of time for any surprises) and spent lots of time walking around exploring, watching the planes land and take off etc.

We boarded the plane among the last which I definitely recommend as you still spend awhile on the tarmac once the plane doors are closed.

For the 4 of us, we got lucky with two of us to a row of 3 seats and the other 2 directly behind in a row of 3 seats.

The first two hours started so well and lulled me into a false sense of security. Everyone was happy, excited and entertained. Around the two hour mark though, CB lost all patience, was fed up with being confined and my food and entertainment distractions were buying a ten minute window at best.

There was lots of climbing back and forth between seats, starting movies only to refuse them 5 minutes in and just general irritable behaviour.

We tried to set him up for sleep with his familiar blankie and bunny and lots of cuddles but he wasn't having a bar of it.

That's when the fun began. Tantrums, squealing and all out screaming. We tried ignoring, coaxing, bribing and I resorted to crying myself.

After 2 hours of hell, he finally closed his eyes and we had respite for a whole 90 minutes ... I prayed for 120 but that 90 mins at least was bliss.

The remaining 3 hours followed much the same as those prior to sleep until he suddenly found his better spirits on descent and became Mr Charming Chatterbox to all around.

E on the other hand was a total delight, completely entertained by all the tricks in my carryon and happily watched movies etc until the last hour when he was clearly exhausted from refusing to nap and became whingy. Of course tiredness got the better of him and he fell asleep during the descent and needed to be woken upon landing meaning he was sooky and tired all through customs and getting our bags which wasn't fun.

Once we landed, we cleared customs easily and upon grabbing our bags, unpacked the pram and set E up in it where he went straight to sleep again while CB rode the skateboard and gave us running commentary on the sights.

We had decided to catch the Narita Express into Tokyo having used it before so we found the ticket machine and platform easily and with little fuss, were Tokyo bound.

As E was still asleep in the pram, S and I took turns remaining with him in the luggage hold area and it was during S supervision that disaster struck.

All was quiet and fine (and the train wasn't busy thankfully) when I looked up in time to see E sit up in the pram ... and vomit, EVERYWHERE. All over himself, the pram, the floor ... and he just kept going.

I jumped up leaving CB with his godfather who was traveling with us. S grabbed E and held him while I sacrificed my scarf throwing it over the worst of the mess on the floor and pulled out the wipes and plastic bags I had in my carryon.

Poor E was pale, exhausted and upset so S concentrated on him while I spent the trip into Tokyo scrubbing the floor and pram of vomit - fun times and not quite how I envisaged our holiday starting.

S had to take back all his questioning of why I took so many packs of wipes and plastic bags in my carryon after that experience.

We were lucky having been to Shinjuku before that we navigated the enormous station easily and caught a cab to our accommodation where our Japanese friend met us. He had already checked in for us, turned on the heating and made sure all the services were in order.

Poor E had one more vomit so I got the boys in the bath asap, threw on a load of washing (thank goodness we did Air BNB so had a machine) and got them to bed - it was still 11pm by that time and CB was all bright eyed and bushy tailed.

They both slept well thankfully and E was fine by morning much to our relief.

The flight home was an overnight one, leaving at 8:30pm and arriving home at 6:30am.
This is the one that had me worrying the most because the good thing about day flights is that people don't NEED to sleep apart from to kill time so if your children do act up, its really not the end of the world. A screaming toddler at 3am on the other hand is hideous for everyone.

We set off for the airport early and lucky we did as check in and immigration/screening took forever ... we had just 30 minutes before our plane boarded by the time we got to the gate.
At the gate, we changed the boys into pjs (Bonds zippies are ideal for travelling) and encouraged the boys to run around and pretend to be different animals, do little jump skip hop obstacle courses etc - anything to tire them out.

Again, we waited to board last and I highly recommend this if you are flying with kids - minimise your time on that plane!

Once seated, things looked grim for the flight ahead with CB ... he was overtired and not happy to be on the plane. He spent the first 90 minutes carrying on and pushing boundaries while E watched a movie. Then suddenly, he took himself to the floor, grabbed his bunny and blankie, and WENT TO SLEEP! I couldn't believe it. E was out too and while I tried to rest, even managing a few fitful hours, every time one of them moved, I stopped breathing, terrified they would wake.
I finally relaxed when there was an hour and a half till landing - I realised we were going to make it unscathed without everyone on the flight hating us.
As it was, the boys slept right up until we were making the descent, so 45 minutes before landing. I seriously couldn't believe how lucky I was, a dream come true.
The flight home was a breeze, especially compared to the trip there.

What worked from my carry-on
If you've been following along, I packed a pretty extensive carry-on and there were a few things that worked really well with the boys.

triangular crayons (they don't roll off the table) and small colouring books
snacks, lots and lots of snacks ... try to go easy on the sugary ones but the biggest hits were Shapes biscuits, mini Oreos, pre-cooked Barilla tortellini, blueberries/grapes/strawbs/mandarin segments, le snacs, fruit cereal bars, yoghurt squeezies (frozen prior) and lollipops for take-off and landing
mini Star Wars micro machine playset - kept E busy for hours
Blind bags - Thomas mini's, The Good Dinosaur, Mash-Ems ... I had a few of these and they definitely entertained
Blankie & bunny - both boys used these as comforters
Large ziplock bags and 2 packs of wipes - story above, enough said
Ipads, wireless hardrive and kids headphones - we loaded the hardrive up with the boys shows and movies plus a few they haven't seen
plasticine - CB loved this stuff and spent a good ten minutes at a time playing with it
The fruit pouches - a must! Flying can play with bowel movements and I think these really helped the boys (take a few to have once at your destination also - CB really needed them).

family holiday

Travelling with Children - Japan - The Carry On

12:57

We are just over a week out and the scariest part of traveling with children? The flight of course. The fact that you're trapped with nowhere to escape or take your child for time out if it all goes to hell and they meltdown - pretty much guaranteed with CB.

I have no concerns for flying with E, with the ipad, snacks and a few surprise new Star Wars toys, I won't hear a peep from him. C on the other hand ... he's two, a typical two year old with short attention span and is completely egocentric expecting his demands be met instantly or pay the price for his dissatisfaction.

Needless to say, I have researched the heck out of flying with children for tips, tricks and advice. The key seems to be preparing for the worst, accepting that the flight part will eventually end no matter how bad things get and a properly stocked carry-on could be the difference in at least 20 minutes of peace.

I'm going to let them pack their own little Skip Hop backpacks with a few treasurers (nothing too precious for fear of loss) and based on the boys' likes, ages and the trip, my Carry-On(s) is going to look something like this:

Mini fishing magnetic game - I played this as a child and bought 2 off ebay for $3 - it should buy a good 15 mins
Pipe cleaners for craft - they take up no space and the boys have never used them before
Wrapped toys from the dollar shops - maybe mashems or blind bags or cars
Star Wars micromachines playset for E - it will be a surprise and should keep him occupied for at least an hour (I got a Storm Trooper head set for $7 on clearance down from $35 and have stashed it for the flight)
Thomas mini trains - maybe ... they take up no room and are fun to zoom around
Mini puzzles - E loves a good puzzle so I might surprise him with 2 different mini ones - they cost all of $2 so can be given away or tossed if need be
Snap/fish/memory cards/Magnetic tanagrams/Mini Guess Who game
Plasticine & mini cutters - C loves playdough so this could be a lifesaver
Crayola colour wonder books - no mess, I love love love these sets!
Smiggle triangle crayons - because triangular crayons don't roll (great tip from fellow mums)
Busy book/quiet book - we have a few of these but they are bulky so might not make the cut
Ziploc bags - for everything, dirty clothes, snacks, toys, rubbish, you name it (Ikea do great ziplock bags and one box comes with 2 sizes of bag)
Pullups for C & a change mat & a pack of wipes
Uniqlo parkas (fold down to nothing & change of clothes which will likely be PJs for once we land and clear customs
Both ipads loaded with games and movies - S has discovered a hard drive with bluetooth capability so we will just fill this with their favourite TV shows and movies
Headphones x2
Country Road blankets - they have both had their CR blankets since birth and I figure they're perfect for travelling being small, lightweight and something familiar from home
Drink bottles of course
Child nurofen - goes without saying
Snacks – fruit pouches, tiny teddies, gummy bears, pre-cooked cheese tortellini, shapes biscuits, skittles/m&ms, baked beans, cereal fruit/muesli bars, strawberries, mandarins, yoghurt buttons, pretzels, frozen yoghurt squeezies, dry Star Wars cereal, cup noodles and Star Wars lollypops for take off and landing (you cant have too much food I figure)