PCS 2013, Part 3: Crossing the Pacific

The number 1 thing I hated about living in Hawaii was the journey it took to get off the island and somewhere on the mainland. Even California is a 4-5 hour plane ride. When we went home for Christmas last year, it was pretty much a nightmare with Charlotte. Being out past her bedtime, being in a whole new environment, and surrounded by a ton of strangers proved to be a recipe for disaster. Naturally, I was dreading this part of our PCS.

Since the Army pays for a seat for kids {hallelujah!}, we took Charlotte's carseat. Girl does fantastic on car rides, so we decided to take her seat with us. Besides, it really couldn't hurt. For the most part, having her carseat really helped.

Of course, having Bunny helped, too. =)

She was pretty upset for the first part of the flight to Atlanta {an 8hr flight, by the way}. She was so upset, in fact, that she wouldn't even nurse for comfort. Pretty sure she was outside-of-her-mind tired. She'd only had 1 nap and nap #2 should've been an hour before takeoff. Fun. Anyways, I ended up draping a blanket over her seat and she cried herself to sleep. I hated it {and I'm sure everyone around us did, too}, but after that she slept for about 3 hours. I nursed her after she woke up and she stayed up for about an hour...maybe hour and a half. She fussed on and off after I put her back in the carseat. I was so tired, though, so I didn't have the energy to fight with her. I closed my eyes, pretending to be asleep, hoping she'd get the hint. I guess she did because the next time I woke up, she was out!

In all, I think Joe and I got about 2 hours of sleep the whole stinkin' flight. Maybe we got more, but I doubt it. We had barely an hour layover in Atlanta - just enough time to change terminals and grab a quick breakfast. Our flight out here was barely 30 mins. =P I was glad because we'd spend the whole night flying, but it felt weird to be in a plane for only 30 mins. Haha! So, after about 10 hours of flying/traveling, we finally made it! Georgia. The mainland. The South. Home.

All the stuff we traveled with, minus the pack n play which almost got left behind.

4 suitcases, 3 carry-ons, stroller, carseat and carseat base.

3 humans, all sleep-deprived. =P

 Getting to our hotel on post was quite an ordeal... But suffice it to say we made it! This place has a separate living room and bedroom - YAY! Charlotte is sleeping in the living room which makes life a lot easier. I'm not constantly living in fear of waking her, haha! I honestly don't know how anyone shares a room - or bed! - with their kids. I'd never sleep well...or do anything else. ;-)

We're adjusting to the 6 hr time difference pretty well. Yesterday was rough; all 3 of us ended up taking a nap, and Charlotte had a hard time settling down for the night. She woke up at 10:30, I nursed her and put her back to bed...and then she cried on and off for like an hour. And all 3 of us slept until about 7:30 this morning. I actually had to wake Charlotte up!

Despite being homeless and carless, I think we're doing pretty well. I'm praying our car gets here soon so we don't have to keep relying on the stupid post shuttle to get groceries and dinner. And maybe, just maybe, we'll get a house soon, too!

Long story short - we made it. It's so good to be back on the mainland! {Though, I gotta admit I miss Hawaii's weather!}