PROVIDED Personalized temporary tattoos for your children are available at www.safetytat.com. A package of 30 tattoos that contain important contact information costs $19.95.

It’s time again for our annual trek to Indiana to visit Mimi and Papa. This year will be a bit different for a few reasons. For starters, I will flying solo with a 2-year-old. To add to this excitement I am of course pregnant and still every bit as queasy as I was oh, 10 weeks ago even though the books say this should have long passed. And finally, my son will, for the first time, not be in my lap but in his own seat which means I will be lugging a car seat through the airport, through our Dulles connection and onto the plane. I am already extremely exhausted just thinking about it.

I realized early on I couldn’t physically lug the car seat and the stroller and a 2-year-old through the airport, never mind the airport security line. But I have found what I think is an awesome solution: the Gogo Kidz Travelmate. This contraption works like one of your roller suitcases and quickly turns your car seat into a stroller. You can push it in front of you like a stroller or pull it behind you like your roller bag. I found mine at Babies’R’Us in North Charleston for $79.99. Amazon.com is selling it for $69.95, but I was afraid I wouldn’t get it in time so I made the trek to North Charleston. There are a few things to consider before you pick one up. First visit their Web site at www.gogobabyz.com to determine if your child’s car seat will work with the Travelmate. Also, we have the Britax marathon car seat and after digging around on some online "mommy boards" about travel and checking reviews on Amazon.com, I learned that our car seat is too large to make it down the aisle of most airplanes. So I would need to remove the car seat once we step onto the plane and carry both the car seat and the Travelmate to our seat. Small details, but good to know ahead of time to set my expectations as we board. Also, the two will need to be taken apart as you venture through the security checkpoint. Again, good to know in advance.

Now anyone that has ever traveled with a rambunctious 2-year-old knows keeping them safely with you at all times when everything in their being wants to run free like the wind is a challenge to say the least. I am hoping this next purchase was in vain, but still worth the cost for peace of mind. I found these great tattoos online at www.safetytat.com, that allow you to create a personalized temporary tattoo for your child with all your important contact information should the two of you become separated. Considering that when the nice man at the Pak Mail ask my son this week what his name was and he responded, "Baby," this invention could really come in useful. You can pick from several designs, we went with the rocket ship in honor of our flight, and for only $19.95 you will receive 30 tattoos.

I have to say that since buying our portable DVD player I would never leave home without it. This little machine has allowed us to enjoy meals at restaurants we would otherwise not attend with our son and will of course be stuffed in my backpack for our three hours of flight time. We love our Sony FX810. One of the best features, especially for the close proximity of air travel, is the ability to turn the screen 180 degrees so my son can’t reach the controls. It is light weight as well and has several hours of play time. We picked ours up at Target, but you can also find them at Amazon.com for $129.99.

And finally when all else fails I have the bag of backup toys. I took advantage of the new daily sales over at Daniel Island Pharmacy and picked up a couple of cool safari trucks with the doors that really open for 40 percent off on Macho Monday, a couple of small board puzzles on Wacky Wednesday for 50 percent off and finally a whole slew of stamps, stickers and craft items by Melissa and Doug on Tuesday when every toy is buy one get one 50 percent off.

I am sure this time next year as I am preparing for my trip with not one, but two babies in tow, I will find it laughable that I thought traveling with one seemed like work. Here’s to hoping the friendly skies really are.