Destination Paradise

Preparing to embark on a 14-hour flight across the ocean, who's panicking? Flying with a little one, especially by yourself, can strike fear in a mom. Recently, a few people have asked about my experiences flying, especially internationally, alone with a child. I flew by myself with Lucas nearly a dozen times before he reached age 3, which means I've seen some of the best and worst of it. I am by no means an expert, and there are braver moms than me who fly alone with not one, not two, but three or more children. Much of what I do when traveling I've learned from them. I figured I'd share my view and the things I do in case any one else is nervous about the prospect. I know I definitely was the first time. Bear with me here - this stuff might be obvious or well-known to you, but for the benefit of those new to flying with kids, or flying in general, I wanted to include info on everything I've been asked by other traveling moms. Experienced travelers, what su...

So maybe I exaggerated when I said the blog re-design was just about ready to be rolled out.  Sometimes I think I'm more capable of awesomeness than I truly am.  And sometimes I wonder why I insist on doing things myself, and having them come out *JUST PERFECT*, and waiting until that elusive standard of perfection is achieved before I release my project to the world.  This statement applies to my approach to our immigration battle, by the way, and I think it's unfortunate. I'm not sure where things changed.  I remember a time when I was a lot less concerned about things.  Let's start with Barcelona, where Carlos and I discovered that our original goal was not going to be attainable.  So we said, "Hey, let's explore Europe and then move to Mexico."  I actually remember the moment when we had that conversation, sitting on an ancient Roman wall in the Barri Gòtic, watching some backpacker slink by, shoeless and slouchy-shouldered.  "Could we end u...

Our blog finally has a title! Took forever to find a meaningful one. Explanation: It all starts with Laura Pausini and her remake of a song of the same name. It's in Italian, and, like all her songs, is totally moving. Ultimately, the song is about a voyage without boundaries, destination Paradise. We're on a voyage right now. We travel through cities/countries searching for the place where we will finally belong and be happy, our own paradise. And if we never find it on Earth, we know our ultimate Paradise awaits in heaven. So that's our blog title. As far as our current status in our voyage, things have returned to their crazy pace full of lesson plans, 7 a.m. duty extracting arriving students from their cars, and the usual exhaustion. Carlos is currently working from about 10 am - 6 pm downtown (about 20-30 minute commute in the Cheyenne), teaching English. However, in late February he will transfer to the location a few minutes from our house, where he will pi...

The tickets have been purchased, the plans have been made, and it all gets underway in a few weeks! Here is our summer itinerary: July 6 Carlos and Amy go to Michigan to attend Dan Godoy's wedding to Meagan Cammenga! July 10 Carlos flies to his hometown Monterrey, Mexico to assemble documents for Barcelona. Amy remains in the U.S. for logistical purposes. August 17 Amy leaves Chicago and flies to Cancun, Mexico! Carlos fies from Monterrey to join her there. August 17-19 Carlos and Amy enjoy a brief honeymoon in Cancun! August 19-20 Carlos and Amy fly overnight to Dusseldorf, Germany and spend the better part of a day there. August 20 Carlos and Amy fly to Barcelona and settle in for a wild adventure!