Nick and Rachel

tech tuesday: CES 2010

// January 5th, 2010 // No Comments » // Nick, Rachel, Tech Tuesday, Travel

tomorrow i lose my husband to vegas. for the third time. i have yet to join him in sin city.

nick’s going for CES: the consumer electronics show. it’s a giant convention that showcases and previews all the upcoming technology. i tease and keep referring to it as “nerd fest” but secretly i want to go. mainly to check out e-readers as they’re my new obsession in the tech world.

what’s not a secret is that i want to spend some time in vegas. but what do you do in vegas with a nine month old while your husband nerds it up all day, and a few nights at VIP events? it’s only 60 degrees so lounging by the pool is out. not that you can lounge with a baby anyway. i know i’ll get to spend some time in the entertainment capital of the world one day, but i’m getting a little impatient.

ok, ok…technically i’ve been to vegas. we did a drive by a few years back on our trip home from california. we literally drove down the strip so i could say i’d been. didn’t even get out of the car and touch solid ground. one day i’m gonna stay. and play the slot machines. and get all dressed up.

besides the fact that i have to stay in frozen minnesota where tomorrow it will warm up to 14 degrees, i’m excited for nick. he’s wanted to go to CES for way too long. (but not as long as i’ve wanted to go to vegas *cough*) he’ll be blogging it up on {htcsource.com} and {samsungrelease.com} which helps make us a little extra cash. and the more cash we make, the sooner i can blow it in vegas. right?

baby travels

// July 9th, 2009 // No Comments » // Rachel, Travel

for all the security measures in place for airline travels these days, they sure to make it easy to kidnap a child.

let me explain:

mariah and i are traveling to virginia next week to see my family, so i booked a ticket on travelocity.  i’m so used to purchasing for adults only that i forgot to add a child (it’s really tiny on the site to add a child, no wonder i missed it).

so on monday i called up suncountry airlines to add my little girly to the reservation.  all they wanted to know was her name and date of birth and ta-da! she was added.  easy. (well, after being on hold for 5 minutes)

i then asked about her identification for travel day.  i said, “she has a passport already, can i just use that when checking in?”  the response:

“oh, she doesn’t need any identification, we just need to know you’re traveling with a child.”

WHAT!!??

no wonder her passport was never checked in the U.S. when we traveled to italy.  wow!

so, what they are saying to me is this: i could purchase a ticket and add a child to my reservation making up any name and birthdate, then on my way to the airport, or perhaps even while i’m there,  i could pick up a random child under a year old and take them with me!?   and no one would check to see if it’s the child i said i was taking?

something should be done about this!  honestly!  i mean, i doubt a person traveling with a baby would be a terrorist, but someone should really address issues other than terrorism, don’t you think?

the bed and breakfast

// June 25th, 2009 // No Comments » // Rachel, Travel

some of my favorite pictures from our switzerland trip were taken while we stayed in lucerne, but i don’t know if it was actually my favorite part of the little excursion during our time in europe.

perhaps it’s because it was raining when we arrived and it made things look a little drab. or maybe it was a bit too touristy for me.  or it could simply be i pictured switzerland differently in my mind.  don’t get me wrong though, even though it wasn’t my favorite stop, i enjoyed my time there.

the best part about our time there was the little bed and breakfast we stayed in, appropriately named the bed and breakfast. with 20 beds and its modern, minimalistic interior, i could have stayed there much longer than two nights.  we stayed in the attic of the building with peaked ceilings and skylights giving us tons of natural light. we even had our own bathroom – down a little flight of stairs, but still in our room – which was a plus. the other rooms were just as well lit, with fresh decor and the building had been recently renovated which included putting in beautiful hardwood floors.

the breakfast was wonderful as well.  an assortment of granolas, salamis and cheeses, hard boiled eggs, coffee, fresh orange juice…all served on ikea dishes (my kind of place). (more…)

nursing in public

// June 15th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Motherhood, The Grays, Travel

last month i posted about breastaurants and how i was learning to love them since nursing in public was scary to me. now after traveling half way around the world and taking long day trips in europe, i am happy to announce i no longer have a fear of nursing in public!  i was forced to learn the skill during our travels, and now i’m a pro. i can nurse anywhere.

while i was gone, i kept a mental list of all the bizzare places i nursed and thought it would be fun to share.

top 10 places i have nursed:

10. on an airplane next to the window.  we were all alone in the isle and nick had to help do all the covering and holding the blanket.  i was so nervous. i was just a rookie then.

9. on an airplane next to an unknown man.  at least he was a father. again nick helped cover me. perhaps this is when i started to be more comfortable.

8. in an airport with strangers sitting straight across from me.

7. back seat of a mini-van at a rest stop while nick’s brother and grandparents waited outside. at this point i still hadn’t mastered the cover up bit, so i had to ask them to leave.  besides, i couldn’t nurse while in a moving vehicle, right? (more…)

life is beautiful

// May 25th, 2009 // No Comments » // Rachel, The Grays, Travel

as we were preparing, i knew i’d enjoy this vacation, but WOW!  we haven’t even been here 24 hours and i’m in love with life.  this morning i found myself asking nick when we were moving here.  traveling went so well and i love summer here in italy.

mariah wins the award for best behaved baby during our long flight.  she got a little fussy on the last leg/flight, but it was very short lived during our landing. i have now overcome my “fear” of nursing in public as i did it over the 24 hour period – even right  next to the man on the airplane.  mariah really is a natural born traveler and has been a little angel.  she only woke up one extra time in the night to eat so i think she’ll adapt to the time change pretty well.

we ate the freshest tortellini on the balcony last night.  it was hot and humid, but the breeze outside kept us just cool enough.  we could hear little italian children playing, watched a man back into his tiny garage and get out in a linen suit smoking his cigarette.  the food was delicious and i can’t get enough of the sights and sounds of italia.  

because of the hot weather all of the windows and doors are open this morning to let the breeze come through.  this is the beautiful scene i had to capture in bed this morning.

now we can hear the children in the daycare across the street and i love watching the ladies hang their laundry from their balconies.  i might just be in love with balconies.

*sigh*  life truely is beautiful here.  i don’t know if i’ll be able to leave.  tomorrow we leave for our little exursion to switzerland and france.  will they be as beautiful?