Breakin' All the Rules

We arrived safely and in one piece in Chicago but I am about ready to cancel my United credit card.  I have always hated United but they know how to pull you in and with their mileage tricks and make it impossible to get away.  I must stay strong though cause I am really pissed off now.  

So, what went wrong?  Every employee we encountered was a total rules dick.  When you are traveling with a 10 month old, that makes life very difficult.  First, the check in stand.  One of our bags was a few pounds over weight.  The guy said we had to make it lighter or pay $100.  So, we had to put a bunch of shit in one of those clear plastic bags and check that.  Then, the security line.  We went to the family check in and were ready to cruise on through when the machine broke so we had to integrate our line with the main line.  Then, the man doing the screening took his job way too seriously and was looking at every individual item with a level of scrutiny usually reserved for a Berkeley mom choosing a brand of baby food.  Then our bags come up for security and they unpack half of them, swabbing every jar of baby food.   

Then, we get on the plane.  Its quite full and Lilah is furious because she is tired and she does not know how to fall asleep while being held.  This is truly a blessing and a curse and today it was a curse.  We finally realize that she needs to lie down in my seat so I get up and ask the flight attendends if I can hang in the galley for a little so she can sleep.  They say no, so I go sit in the lavatory with my kindle since no one needs to use the toilet.  After a short while, they knock on the door and kick me out so I go to walk the aisles.  I discover that there is one empty seat on the plane.  I tell the other two people in the aisle of my predicament and they say I am welcome to sit in their row for a few minutes.  Less than 10 minutes later, the flight attendant is back.  He tells me that because its an economy plus seat, I need to leave and return to my seat.  I explain, once again, that my daughter is sleeping and that the other two men in the row had no issue and that they are the only ones who could potentially take offense.  He starts mouthing off at me, and I return the lip but do go back to my seat.  Lilah is still sleeping so I spend the next spell standing up, facing backwards, bracing myself over the seat so I could "be in my seat" and not wake her up.  I realize that in all of these cases, I was technically in the wrong, however it kills me that none of these people could have a heart.  Especially in the case of the empty seat.

None the less, here we are. We are staying at "Chateau Wade" with our good friends Kate and Kyle and their 6 month son Owen.  He is only 6 months old, but he is bigger than Lilah in all dimensions so its a little weird.  He has almost all the same toys as Lilah so she feels right at home.