My job requires me to travel quite a bit and when I can, I take the kid with me. This time we had to do a quick Michigan run, then we were off to Toronto to go visit his new cousin and my new nephew!

6:50am flight!
We started on a Wed with a 6:50am flight. I could have kicked myself for making my flight that early but I had a 10am in Detroit so that was my only option. The kid was up and at em like a pro. He was in the taxi before I was and was yelling for me to hurry or the plane was going to leave us. We got to the airport and he whizzed past security check while questioning every person in line as to where they were going and why. When we got on the plane he asked the lady in the aisle seat if she was going to go to sleep because he was and that is what you do on planes.

hotel keys and fruit stirps make for a happy kid!
We arrived in Detroit in one piece and immediately hit the ground running. First meeting was at 10am, the kid behaved for the most part. Next up I had a noon conference call during which time I thanked GOD several times for the mute button. The kid was acting like a wild banshee in our hotel room. After the noon call we had a 1:30pm meeting back in the city so off we went. We finished that meeting and hopped in the car for a 4pm in Saginaw. This was the time for the kid to decompress and take a nap. That he did. Our 4pm turned into a 5pm dinner which was fine by me since the kid was still sleep until we pulled up to the restaurant. Dinner was done and we headed back to Detroit. The kid watched Thomas the whole way back. Score for me and my awesome dvd selection!
Day 2

The kid doing some sight seeing in Lansing. This is Magic Johnson’s high school.
We headed to Lansing for a 9am breakfast meeting in which my kid believed that Cracker Barrel was his own personal toy chest. We left with a toy of course. We then headed to Flint for a noon lunch meeting. I gave the kid his Japanese dvd so he could at least practice something educational during our 90min drive. Once we got to my station in Flint I discovered it was take your kid to work day. That meant that the kid needed to make the other kids present his subjects and try to create as much havoc as possible. Clearly this was a huge distraction for my meeting not to mention that every woman who walked by interrupted my meeting with offers to purchase the kid. I almost took the 4th offer, she seemed nice. I finally powered through my meeting and we hit the road again. On our way back to Detroit it was imperative I stop by Neiman Marcus last call. This was going to take some behavior bribing and a good nap. Once I hit the road the kid knocked out which was perfect. By the time we got to Neiman’s he was still sleep, so we sat in the parking lot until he woke up. I made some calls, sent some emails, it was a much needed break. When he woke up I promised him Gelato if he behaved while I shopped. After 6 stores, some new shoes, and clothes for the both of us, we got our Gelato and headed back to the hotel. I asked the kid what he wanted for dinner and he said “hotel food”. Exactly what I wanted, it was room service and lights out!

knocked out!
Day 3
We had a 10am meeting in Detroit which he behaved for and then we hopped in the car to head to Toronto. 5.5 hours of Thomas on repeat was enough to make me never want to see or hear a train of any kind ever again. Once we arrived at my sister’s house things were a bit less hectic since we had no meetings to go to or strangers to entertain. We ate, we played with the baby, and we slept.
Day 4
We ate, we played with the baby, and we slept.

The gelato bribe:-)
Day 5
Back in the car to head back to Detroit to catch our flights back to Chicago. The kid slept the whole way to Detroit so I was able to play my offensive music as loud as I wanted and we made it back to Detroit in 3 hours. Weird, but I was thankful! After returning the rental car I discovered that I really do not like the kid’s car seat. It is cumbersome and very difficult to carry. I made a mental note to return it. We’ll see how quickly I get that done. We made it back to Chicago, and as soon as we got home we hit the couch to take a nap!
I am so proud of the way the kid handled this trip (for the most part). It was a hectic schedule and most of the people we met with were strangers to him and he held it together. We really on had one meltdown and one episode of “I do what I wanna do, you are not the boss of me”. I would say that is pretty darn good for a 3 year old! He has earned himself another roadtrip:-)
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