We just returned from a quick family vacation for a wedding. This was my fourth time flying with my little girl and my husband's second time. He is still amazed at the amount of stuff we have to bring and the difficulty of getting through security with said stuff, especially with bottles and formula. The first time I flew with our little girl I was really nervous and tried to find out as much as I could, here are some of the things I found...

Make sure you have something for the wee one to suck on while taking off or landing (or nurse if you are still doing so)

Check wherever you are staying to see if they have a pack-n-play you can use. My mom has two for when the grand kids stay. But our last trip we stayed on an Air Force base and they also had one for us to use. One less thing to haul to the airport is ideal.

Southwest had a bag for our car seat to keep it clean since we checked it. Bring a trash bag if the airline does not provide a bag.

Stickers. I have heard many people comment on the usefulness of stickers to keep a little one busy on the plane. Stick them on the child, stick them on yourself, stick them anywhere and let them remove.

Tape pieces of ribbon to the back of the seat in front of you to entertain little ones (I did this for my little girl's second flight when she was about 5 months old.)

Hook toys to the clasp of your tray table. Though if your baby can pull, make sure they can't pull hard enough to pull on the seat.

Treats. Our treats right now are only Puffs, but she sure does love them.

Small dollar store toys wrapped for them to unwrap and enjoy.

Buy this. I found mine at Target, but I am sure they can be found almost anywhere. It is pure genius; my husband wishes he had thought of the idea. We used this on the plane, at the reception, at lunch on our old stomping grounds and pretty much wherever we needed to.

My little girl is only 9 months old, so I do not have experience with older children, though from what I see it is mostly treats and portable DVD players. Any other ideas?

Homemade Granola Bars

I brought this yummy treat to playgroup yesterday and was told they tasted much like no-bake cookies (minus the chocolate) their moms made when they were younger.

I used a recipe from allrecipes.com (that is where I start for recipes I am looking for) but substituted some things that I had. If you click on the link (title below), you can find the original recipe. It called for raisins, sunflower seed, wheat germ, sesame seeds and chocolate chips. Seeing as I didn't have any of these, I used what I had.

Homemade Chewy Granola Bars

1/2 c packed brown sugar (why is brown sugar almost always packed?)

1/3 c peanut butter

1/4 c corn syrup

1/4 c melted butter

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp coconut extract

1/2 c oats

1/4 c craisins (the pomegranate flavor is delicious)

1/4 c pecan pieces

1/2 c coconut

Combine all ingredients and put into an 8" greased pan. Bake 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees.

The recipe said to fold in the chocolate chips, but I didn't think this was necessary or possible since it is a very thick mixture. I can't imagine it would be easy to fold them in.