Fear of being *that* family

We are only a week and a half away from a much-needed family vacation to Hawai'i, but I'm not too sure how relaxing it will be.

Oh, I know being on the beach with my family will be great, especially hanging out with my parents and sisters since I don't see them much anymore. And playing with Amy and Reese is always a good time.

I'm more concerned with getting to and coming from the islands.

A five or six hour airplane flight can be tough sledding for adults, but having a toddler is going to be an adventure. I am starting to worry how we will keep her occupied in a somewhat quiet manner for the flight. How can you bottle up a person who thinks running in circles banging pots and pans and shrieking like a banshee is a normal Wednesday morning? But enough about me, what am I going to do with Reese!

But seriously, it is a little daunting to try to train Reese to sit still for an extended amount of time. She barely sits through a book when we read to her. She likes to hold crayons and markers, but doesn't really doodle or draw, and when she does, it's only for a small chunk of time before she gets up and runs around in circles again. She will watch bits and parts of shows like Sesame Street or Yo Gabba Gabba and other kid shows, but only bits and pieces of the show. Plus, she will dance and "sing" when a song comes on, which is generally frowned upon in most airplanes (except, possibly, "Airplane" with the singing nuns or "Soul Plane" with Snoop Dogg as Captain Mack).

I have been trying to keep Reese up in the morning and putting her down for a nap at 11, which is when our flight is scheduled to depart, in the hopes she will get used to sleeping at that time and therefore sleep for most of the flight.

But I also know that nothing is certain, and the stimulus of the airport, the airplane and everything else going on would easily keep Reese awake. So I need to come up with some sort of plan to keep her occupied and somewhat quiet so other people on the plane don't look at us and groan. I don't want to be *that* family. You know, the family people complain about once they get home. "Hawaii was fine once we got there, but the flight over had a family with a little girl..."

Besides the nap (cross your fingers!), books and possible iPhone shows/games, we are planning on bringing lots of snacks. The snacks will keep her attention and keep her mouth busy with something besides "finding her voice." Grapes are key, especially still on the bunch. She then needs to pull them off and then eat them. It may seem silly, but that little extra effort means a lot. Also, crackers are handy because they take more time to soften and chew and swallow. Again, that little extra time can mean a lot.

If all else fails, I plan on ordering a couple of drinks from the flight attendant. Not for Reese, but for me!