Jack and I arrived in Honolulu (the winning destination of WanderTot’s poll) tonight after Jack’s longest flight yet. I still can’t believe he stayed awake for the ENTIRE seven-and-a-half-hour flight.

We were scheduled to arrive yesterday, but our flight left without us even though there were 11 empty seats, thanks to weather-related weight restrictions. I was like, come on people, you can let on the skinny chick and the baby!! No such luck. Thank goodness we got on today and, not only that, we got an entire middle row of three seats to ourselves.

Everything was going great until, an hour into the flight, the top popped off Jack’s sippy cup, which was FULL of apple juice. It spilled all over him, so he was soaking wet from neck to toe, I mean DRIPPING wet and screaming because a) he had no idea what just happened and it terrified him and b) he was cold and wet. I took off his shoes and braces to make it easier to change his clothes in the cramped airplane bathroom. BAD IDEA. He stood on the floor while I took off his pants and diaper. The second I took off his diaper, he peed. Did I mention I left his socks on? Yep. I brought a clean shirt and clean pants, but I did not foresee him peeing on his socks.

Yeah. So. I just let him go barefoot while the socks were drying out. We went for a much-needed stroll around the plane and I definitely got some looks. The where-are-that-poor-baby’s-shoes looks. Eventually, I had to put them back on because Jack has to wear braces on his feet and he can’t wear the braces without the socks. Also, pee is sterile so don’t give me that look.

So then, THEN, we had another little incident, which you may not care to read about if you don’t yet have children. Let’s just say some of the airplane food didn’t agree with Jack and we had a leaky diaper situation. I had only brought the one extra pair of pants onboard and now they were ruined too. I had two choices. Let Jack rock the diaper, shoes and shirt look or put back on the apple-juice pants. Luckily, they had had about four hours to dry out, so they were only damp when I put them back on. Now the only clean thing the poor kid was wearing was his shirt.

Lesson learned: bring one change of clothes for every few hours on a flight. Plus extra socks.

The rest of the flight actually went really well and Jack was pretty much an angel aside from the forgetting-to take-a-nap thing. He ALMOST fell asleep after we touched down, while taxiing to the gate. He completely conked out on the shuttle ride to the hotel.

I hope he can sleep on the plane on the way home. Especially since it’s an overnight flight.

(Quick note: If you are reading this and you don’t have children yet, you still might see something helpful. But mostly, I want you to think about this next time you’re going through airport security and realize how easy you have it. Because I know I had NO idea.)

My son and I are usually by ourselves when we fly, so I have to be incredibly organized about getting through security with all our stuff. Because of that, I’ve developed a little system to get us through security faster than most people without kids. I have, in fact, cut in front of such people who were taking too long untying their shoes and putting all their stuff in the bins.

On our recent trip to Orlando, my “little” brother (who happens to be 6′ 7″) joined us for the flight home. I did my usual thing when going through security and he commented on how amazed he was, so I thought, what the heck, I should share the method to my madness with you all. Maybe you will glean a tip or two you hadn’t thought of before.

I try to keep Jack in the stroller while in line, using whatever means necessary: snacks, toys, etc. It’s just too much to manage a stroller, luggage AND a toddler who wants to run around instead of standing in line. When the line stops and Jack is occupied, I get out my boarding pass and I.D. so I’m ready when I get to the checkpoint.

When it’s time to get through the x-ray machine, I usually use the Family/Medical Liquids Lane (you can read more about that here). I leave Jack in the stroller while I get everything ready to go through. This part is a little like a juggling act. There are a lot of steps involved, but I can do it super fast. I HAVE to do it super fast because at this point, Jack wants out of the stroller BAD.

I grab three bins and put them on the counter, along with my carry-on suitcase. Then I get my laptop and ziplock bag of liquids out of the suitcase and put them in separate bins, using the third for my diaper bag. Then I throw my slip-on shoes and Jack’s shoes in with the ziplock bag. This process goes much faster since I plan for it when I pack, so you also might want to check out my packing tips.

At this point, I get Jack out of the stroller and have him hold on to the table leg (so he doesn’t run off) while I fold up his stroller and put it up on the table. Then I pick him up and have him put anything he’s holding into a bin, whether it’s a toy, his lovies or a snack. The TSA agents will not let him through with anything besides his clothes. If I ask him to drop it in, he thinks it’s fun. If I just take it away, not so much. Then I push everything through the x-ray machine and we walk through the metal detector.

Now I have a loose baby and all this stuff to gather up, so I get his stroller down first and put him in it. Then I can get the laptop and ziplock bag back in the suitcase, grab the diaper bag and slip my shoes back on. I usually wait until later to put Jack’s shoes back on so that we can just get moving out of the area and onto one of Jack’s favorite parts – the TRAIN!

Of course, you might have additional luggage or children or a helper, but I guess the main thing is to have a plan ahead of time, even while you’re packing. Getting through security can be quick and painless, even with kids, as long as you think ahead. You will be much more relaxed and probably less likely to forget about the metal on your baby’s pacifier clip, get pulled aside for screening and then, in a panicked state, imagine the TSA took your baby away, as one mom recently did.

I have actually found TSA agents to be very family-friendly, often doing little things like getting my stroller down for me or giving Jack a sticker. Of course, I’m sure other families have had bad experiences, but being organized and knowing the rules ahead of time helps make it easier for everyone.

Usually our trips to the airport are pretty standard. I have my ziplock bag of liquids under 3 oz. and we just make our way through the security checkpoint without anything interesting happening. I usually bring an empty sippy cup and Tang to mix with water from a drinking fountain inside the terminal so that my toddler has something to drink while the plane takes off to prevent his ears from popping. I breastfed my son when he was a baby, so I never had to worry about bringing formula.

On our way home from San Diego, I happened to have some juice in a sippy cup when we went through the security checkpoint. I had totally forgotten about it in the crazy trip to the airport. So, when the security officer picked up the sippy cup and asked if I had any liquids he should know about, I told him I had forgotten about the juice and he could just dump it out if he wanted. Well, he looked at me like I was totally crazy for thinking they would just dump something I might be trying to make a bomb with.

So after we got our shoes back on and all that, we were whisked away to the side, where they performed all sorts of crazy tests on this little yellow sippy cup half full of apple juice. I couldn’t help finding it a bit humorous, although I don’t mind all the security procedures since they help keep us safe. The juice came back clean and off we went. It only took a few extra minutes, but make sure you don’t have any extra liquids if you’re running late!

If you do want to take some formula, milk or juice for your children, here’s what you need to know:

•  You can bring over 3 oz. of baby formula, breast milk or juice through the security checkpoint in reasonable quantities.

• Breastfeeding mothers can bring breast milk even if traveling without their child.

• Separate these exceptions from the liquids in your quart-size ziplock.

• Look for the family/medical liquids lane. We always use this lane anyway, since no one behind us gets all anxious while I’m folding up the stroller and all that. It actually seems to go just as fast as the other lanes anyway.

• Declare to the security officer at the checkpoint that you have the item(s).

• Your extra liquids will undergo special screening, which should only take a few minutes.

• You or your child will not have to taste the liquid to prove it’s safe.

For more information, visit the TSA webpage about traveling with kids.