Dining Room

I have slowly been working on one room at time in our home. The living room is pretty much done. I need a new rug for the living room. I will look for one during sales this year to complete that room. 

The dining room has taken the longest to get to this point.  When we left California we got rid of our dining room table. My cousin so graciously said he would build us a table. I sent him the legs that I wanted and a picture from Pinterest. He made the table exactly like the picture I sent! The table turned out AMAZING! I love it! 

We picked up the table in February. I had plans to buy chairs, but Covid happened. Overstock was having a sale over Memorial Day on chairs I have been watching. I finally pulled the trigger on them. It took about 2.5 weeks to get them. 

The entire room looks so much better!!! I absolutely love these chairs. I am so happy with the look and quality of the chairs! 

Table: custom made by cousin

Chairs: Overstock

Clock: TJ Maxx

Gather lazy susan: Nutcracker Market 

Cash sit at the right end of the table, so I keep that chair to the side under the light switches. There is plenty of room to keep the chair there until he is done with his high chair. We eat breakfast and lunch by the island in the kitchen. We just move the high chair to the table for dinner and put it back by the kitchen for the rest of the meals. Cash can move it himself and puts it in his spot for dinner. All I have to say is time to eat, off he runs to get the high chair and he stands there yelling for us to put him in. That boy doesn't mess around when it's time for a meal. 

Toys my Boys are Loving Right Now!

I am so thankful for our big back yard and the fact this pandemic hit during the best weather in Southern Texas! I can’t imagine this hitting in July. We would be stuck in the house all day!

I thought I would share some of the toys my boys are playing the most with right now. My oldest is 5 1/2 and the youngest is 20 months. These toys are great for both ages.

Duplos

G got this Duplo Set when he was around a year old for Christmas. This is the exact set we have, but doesn’t seem to be available on Amazon. There are lots of other sets to choose from - 1 / 2 / 3

G still plays with these all the time! Cash loves them too. They like to build towers, stacking them on top of each other, build a sky scraper and they ask me to build the exact items on the box!  One evening I took this entire box and dumped them in the bathtub with the boys. They LOVED it!!! The legos got a good wash and the boys had a blast!

Picasso Tiles

My boys LOVE these! They are a magnetic tile that stick together. I should buy 1 more set because there is a lot of fighting over them. G loves to make buildings for his star war characters and dinosaurs.

Cash loves when someone builds something to smash it down. A lot of times this causes problems because Cash doesn’t understand G just spent 10 min making his creation perfect. I try to make a few little buildings for Cash to crash, so he leaves brother alone.

A friend bought these for the boys for Christmas. They are played with every single day! I have added to their wish lists the wheels to be able to make cars with the tiles. I should probably add another set of these to the wish list too.

Magformers

Apparently building items are the best Christmas gifts because all of our sets were gifts. lol These are so magnetic and work with the Picasso tiles. Often times we have both sets out to build large creations as G likes to call them.

It’s nice these sets interact with each other, so the kids can create large things.

Nugget Comfort

I heard about the Nugget from a friend who ordered one last year. I wanted to get one for the boys for Christmas. Well everyone else had that same idea. I was able to get ours around February. Another great item I am so happy we have during this time! 

I bought the koala gray color. We keep it in the boys room against the wall when it's not being used. The boys are able to drag it out on their own. They practice their ninja and gym moves on it. We build houses, use it to climb, jump, flips, relax and sleep on. It's actually REALLY comfortable to sleep on. 

If you want a Nugget it's going to be very difficult to get one. They are closed during the pandemic, but you can get on their back order list. I was able to get one by ordering one in December on their back order and we received it about 6 weeks later. They did say it would take up to 14 weeks for delivery, but we got it much faster. They run about $250. I can see us using this for years! This is one of my favorite purchases we have made for the boys in the past year. 

Outdoor Toys

Bubble flash light

The boys love bubbles!!! I found this adorable bubble flash light at Target for Easter. This is a perfect toy for Cash. He can easily use it and loves it. 

Big Wheel

When the grandkids on Art’s side of the family turn 2 Art’s parents buy them all a big wheel  car. G picked out a fire truck. We moved this car across the country and man am I glad we did. We had nooooo yard for this thing in California. He could go in a circle in our back yard or down the sidewalk. It wasn’t used that much.

Well now we have a huge yard! G drives it and Cash rides in it. G has been trying to give Cash driving lessons. It’s rather entertaining to watch.

I feel I’ve been able to teach them a lot of vehicle safety with the fire truck. Why we need to look all around before we back up. Why it’s important to sit down when someone else is driving. How doors are always kept shut when driving. All of these things sound like something a mom is yelling at teenagers. Lord help me!!!

Solo Cups

Veronika from Veronika’s Blushing posted on Instagram her kids playing with solo cups and building towers. I ordered a big bag from Amazon for around $7. The kids love to stack them up and crash them down with super hero’s or drive their cars into them.

One night I built a tower around the coffee table for them to wake up too. They love finding things I’ve built them the next morning. 

What have you been doing to keep your kids entertained during this pandemic? Are there certain toys your kids have played with for years? 

Sensory Bins

Last summer I created a sensory bin for G with some items I found at the Dollar Tree. Summer in Texas is soooo hot, so we spend a lot of our days indoors. Nap time can get tricky. I don't like G to watch tv while Cash is napping. I am fine with him watching a short show, but I do not want him to spend 2-3 hours in front of the tv. I also like to be able to rest some during this time, so I needed something that would keep him busy. A sensory bin was a perfect thing for G. He can use his imagination and it's also a quiet toy. 

You could also find a lot of these items at Walmart or Target pick up to avoid going to the store during this pandemic we are going through right now. 

I spent around $10 to create this sensory bin. There are sensory bins on Amazon, Etsy and other various sites going for $30+. By creating your own you can do it budget friendly and create it based on what your child loves. 

We used a bag of beans and glass beads as our base in a clear plastic bin. Get a bin with a lid! You will want a lid to store this box up high if you have little ones. 

G loved helping create this box. I also bought a bag of letter beads to mix in. This way you can also make it educational, by asking them to spell their name, find certain letters etc. 

A bug catching set has been a lot of fun! He uses the scoop and the net to scoop up beans or to put some of the animals inside as he catches them. 

We made this sensory bin over 9 months ago. G still loves to play with it! Cash has now started to play with it with supervision. This is not my favorite toy for toddlers because they like to dump beans all over the house. It becomes a huge mess and it's not a relaxing toy for a mom. lol It is a great sensory toy for toddlers, but you just need some patience when you pull this out!

Items for a sensory bin

1 plastic bin - we used a 28 qt bin with a lid 

1 bag of beans

Glass Rocks

Alphabet Beads

Insect Collector Kit

Plastic Animals

Squishy Toys 

Option 1 

Option 2

Play Doh

Trees

Construction Vehicles

You can be so creative with sensory bin themes you would like to create for your kids! 

If you make a sensory bin let me know what kind of ideas of you come up with! 

Bike Rides

Growing up I spent HOURS riding my bike. I wore my tires down until they were balled. I loved to rid. As long as I could be outside I would ride my bike up and down our dirt road. I still LOVE riding bike! It's one of the things that can make me smile and relax me, so quickly. 

G outgrew his bike, so we bought him a new one recently. I also found a used bike since we didn't bring my old one from CA. G and I have loved going for a bike ride around the lake. The hard part is we can't go in the morning when it's the coolest. I have been searching Facebook Marketplace to find a bike trailer. I found one this past week. I loaded up both kids and off we went. Holy cow! Hauling 50 pounds of kids is a great workout for your legs! We made it around the lake one time before I had to go in. It was also 98 degrees outside. Cashy was singing away though on our ride! G will be able to ride his bike in front of us for our early morning rides in the future. 

My parents bought G this little Radio Flier trike for Christmas when he was a year old. When he opened it he gave the box a big hug and LOVED that trike! Now Cashy is big enough to ride in it and boy does he love it. If everyone goes outside he starts yelling that he wants to go outside. He knows if we take him out back we will put him on the trike. 

I have also been going on walks around the lake with the boys. G rides his bike and I push Cash on the trike. Houston heat is no joke! We make it around the lake once and will usually stop at the play ground for a little bit. Then it's home to drink a gallon of water! 

When we first moved into our neighborhood I struggled with how quiet it was. It was eerie to me. In CA we lived on a pretty busy street. Now that it has been a few months I LOVE how quiet our neighborhood is! I love that we can walk around without worrying about traffic. The lake is great to walk around. There is plenty of shade through the entire neighborhood from all the trees. The only thing I wish we had was a neighborhood pool. I feel there are always some trade offs though. You can't have everything, so we will find splash pads to visit in the summers. 

It's very nice to go out for a bike ride or walk and not stress about G staying right beside me. I lived in the country with absolutely no traffic until I was 16. I was able to run and play all day. I like that the boys will be able to go fishing at the lake, ride their bikes, and have space to run and play. 

Cashy - 10 Months

It's hard to believe this little guy is 10 months old today! He has brought so much joy to our family. The moment he was born there was an instant connection between the two of us. He has been the biggest mamma boy since he was very tiny. I have cherished that too! 

He sure loves his brother and daddy. Even though he is a mamma boy he refuses to say mamma. He says dada all the time. Actually every morning he gets up he looks for Art saying dada. Some days it's almost like he is telling me stories about Art. He will be jabbering away talking about dada. So adorable!

He wears 12-18 month clothes

Size 3 diapers

Crawls & walks around furniture

Favorite foods - bananas and sausage are his very favorites! 

We were shopping the other day. I picked up a package of chicken and apple sausages. He started SCREAMING. He wanted to eat one right there. He is WAY picker as a baby about food than G ever was. G wasn't picky about any food at all. G ate anything and everything until he was about 2.5 years old. Cash is not that way. He wants color and flavor with his foods. He spits things, refuses to eat, yells and is very vocal when it comes to food. 

If Cash sees a bottle he thinks he needs to have it even if he just finished eating. He can drink 4 ounces in 2.5 minutes. I should enter him into one of the baby bottle drinking contests. lol

Each day before Cash goes down for a nap or bedtime G has to give him a hug and kiss. G and Cash just adore each other. They are the sweetest together. G might get jealous at times, but he has never been mean to Cash. Cash giggles so much watching G. At this point Cash is 20 pounds and G is 32 pounds. One day Cash got on G back. G was yelling mom get Cash off me I can't move. bahahahha oh boy!

3 Decades

When I started dating Art he was 37. At that time in my life that was the magic age for guys I had dated. I remember thinking why am I going to even date this guy because the others didn't want the same things in life that I did. I was in my mid 20's. I took a chance on him. I remember two conversations we had about the future. One was a phone call where he said he was ready to get married, have another child and find someone to spend the rest of his life with. The other conversation was him asking me what I wanted. Was I willing to stay in CA to take a chance on seeing what happened. These conversations were both exciting and terrifying to me all the same time.

I took that chance and stayed in CA. Now we have 2 boys and we have moved across the country. I have spent 3 decades with him - 30's, 40's and now 50's. 

Happy Birthday to Mr. Post!!!! 

I'm Back!

I have realized blogging goes to the back burner when I have a baby. When I had G I took a break too. It takes a little while to find your groove and be able to do it all again. 

I took a break from social media over Good Friday and Easter. It was really helpful to me to just give my brain a break from all the scrolling. It helped me come up with some things I wanted to share and realize I do miss blogging. I just haven't been able to fit it in. When Cash was first born I felt all I did was sit and nurse all day long. It's true that is about all I did. I was constantly feeding him. 

Then we packed up all our belongings and moved from California to Texas during the Christmas season. When I think back to all that I am like how in the world did we do all that? Well it wasn't easy, there was plenty of stress, anxiety, tears and frustration. My only tip is do not move during Christmas with kids. Putting your house on the market while trying to keep it decluttered during Christmas was a major struggle.

That wasn't our timing for the move. We had been trying to move for 6 months. The entire move was God's timing. We had been trying to move to Sacramento prior to Cash being born. It just didn't happen. I remember being sooooo frustrated because nothing was working out. The middle of September I went in for more tests. I remember thinking is there a reason why the Sac move isn't happening before I went in for tests? I pushed that thought away because things would be the same. Normally my doctor emails me with the results within a day - things are the same we will do scans again in a year, but that email didn't come. I was just going to contact her to see what was going on. She called me a few days after the scans. When I saw her calling I knew it wasn't good. There were new spots and some were growing. I remember getting off the couch and going to my bedroom to talk to her. I had a baby 6 weeks old. How could this be happening?  We decided to have a baby because things have been so stable. 

I took a week after that news and just decided California wasn't an option for us anymore. If I wanted to be with the best doctors for my cancer we needed to move by MD Anderson. Once we made a decision things started happening. We put our house on the market - sold it in 6 days - had a bidding war over it. We flew to Texas to look for a house and Art to interview for 2 jobs. We looked at 34 hours in 2 days. As we got on an airplane headed back to CA we put an offer in on a house. Art had 2 job offers. It was going so fast! 

While all this was happening I remember thinking don't push doors open. If a door isn't opening let it be. I had spent so much time praying over all these changes. I had put it all in God's hands to handle. In the past when I have pushed to get things done things have become a mess. This time I was impatiently patient. It was really hard to be patient. 

I plan to write a blog post on my experience with MD Anderson and the care I have received since we moved. It's TRULY amazing!!!! 

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Thursday! Maybe today you needed to hear to just be impatiently patient. It's ok to be frustrated with the fact everything isn't working out! 

Miracle!

Last week I announced on social media that we are expecting a baby in July! We are so very excited! 

This baby is a true miracle and our rainbow baby. I haven't shared on my blog about wanting another child or our struggle. We had been told by numerous doctors G was a miracle and we probably never would be able to have another one. I went through a period of where I was grieving. It was a very difficult time for me. I feel I haven't been able to make very many choices when it comes to my health. They have all been made for me over the past 5 years. 

I am so very thankful for little G. He is seriously the brightest miracle in my life! 

I found out I was pregnant right before Thanksgiving. I honestly didn't have much hope this pregnancy would continue.  A lot was going on right then. I had my sister coming to visit. I was going with my mom to Mayo Clinic for some health issues. I just tried to continue with life and I would go to the doctor after to see what was going on with the pregnancy. I didn't tell anyone I was pregnant. I just didn't want people worrying or giving me their opinion on things. This one wasn't planned at all and was a surprise. Yes, Yes, I know where babies come from and how they can happen. lol  I am not going into the details of the 6+ months before, but there wasn't much hope. 

We waited awhile to tell family and even longer to tell our friends. 

G felt he had to tell everyone! He was with us at a doctor appointments when the doctor was talking about the baby and we could hear the heartbeat. G says momma open your mouf let me see that baby? He thinks the baby is the hangy thing in the back of your throat. lol

He then went to school and told everyone he was having a baby sister. He told the people at Sonic when we got our soda water he is having a baby sister. I had my friends little girl with me the day I picked up G from school, so his teachers thought that is who he was talking about. 

He has been so excited. He keeps asking hasn't the baby been in your belly long enough?

At night he will pat my belly. He said I need to pat the baby, so it won't cry and go to sleep. 

What will little Post be? Boy or Girl? We will find out later today!

Grandparents Gift Guide

One of the best things ever invented was the Amazon Wish Lists!!!! My side of the family we all have a running wish list. It's wonderful to be able to go to the list and buy something the person actually wants. It's also fun to just send them a gift expectantly too! 

What do you buy grandparents for Christmas? I am all about not buying "stuff" people are going to end up throwing in a corner or in a closet until they decide to donate it. 

Have the grand kids make a video for the grandparents. You could do one for each. Here are some cute questions you could ask the kids to answer. 

• What makes Grandma/Grandpa happy?
• What is Grandma/Grandpa favorite food?
• How old is Grandma/Grandpa?
• What does Grandma/Grandpa do when you aren't at their house?
• What makes Grandma/Grandpa laugh?
• What do you and Grandma/Grandpa do together?
• What do you love most about Grandma/Grandpa?

My mother in law loves the Shutterfly calendars. I take pictures from over the past year and make her one every year. This helps because it is one item I know she will love it!

Who doesn't love a wonderful massage? Most people do! A spa day would be amazing. A massage, pedicure and/or facial. Everyone needs to relax and especially after the holidays!!!

Gift Cards! 

• Amazon Gift Cards!!! These are great for everyone! That way they can buy what they want. Some grandparents love their Kindle, so they can buy more books. Amazon offers every thing imaginable, so this is a great idea for anyone. 
• My dad always needs things and wants things from Tractor Supply. We bought him a gift card for his birthday. He called to tell us everything he bought with it. He liked being able to buy what he wanted and getting deals on things. If you know of your families favorite store this would be a great option.
• Coffee or restaurant gift cards

The possibilities are endless when it comes to gift cards! 

I hope this gives you some different ideas for your parents. Start making your list to get your Christmas shopping completed! 

Monday Thrive - November 13

1) Thank goodness today is Monday and not a Friday! I am not a fan of Friday the 13th! My friend from high school and I were always soooo superstitious. We would go out of our way to avoid a black cat. We were always on edge on Friday the 13th. Random thought I had while typing out November 13. lol

2) We just got back from South Padre Island, Texas. We were there for a week. It was an amazing trip! We did a lot of relaxing. G just loves the pool! It was hard to get him out of there at times. He liked the beach, but the pool was his favorite. The first day he was a little hesitant, but within an hour he was floating all over. I am going to work on a whole blog post about things to do in South Padre with a toddler, reviews of restaurants, review of items we brought with us, and our resort.  

I have a lot of posts planned, but I have a rough 2 weeks coming up! I will do what I can. I wanted to post some gift guides. That might not happen since the holidays are just flying upon us. I still need to figure out what we are doing for Christmas cards! Usually I have them done and printed by now. Yikes!

3) Are you looking for some small businesses to buy from for the holidays? Check out the ihelpmoms holiday guide for up to 30% on the Best Mom’s Holiday Gifts!!! There are some great companies that are offering discount codes. I love SIC Cups. I blogged about them here. 

https://ihelpmoms.com/more/free-books-for-moms/holiday-gift-guide/

4) Next week my sister will be here for a week! We have been making menus and itineraries for the past month! I can't wait for her to come. The last time she was here was for Christmas right after G was born. It will be nice to have her here for a week. I always love having my family with me at the holidays.

Lacey wants to take her fiance to Alcatraz. I have gotten to the point I give instructions to people on how to get there, but I don't go anymore. I want to wait until G wants to go there to go again. I have already been 3 times. It's a great tour! I highly recommend it! I think once you have gone once you don't really need to go again. =)

5) There are always firsts! This year I am going to decorate for Christmas before Thanksgiving. I want all the decor up before my sister gets here. We are going to celebrate Christmas with her while she is here. I don't want to deal with putting it all up when she is here, so I am going to do it this week with G. He has LOVED Halloween. He doesn't want to take the decorations down. I think once he realizes we are putting up the Christmas tree he will love it. I put up my Halloween, fall and Thanksgiving decorations up at the same time. I am really looking forward to Christmas with G this year. He tells us all the time stuff he wants for his birfday and Christmas. 

I hope you have a fabulous week! 

Disclaimer: All thoughts and opinions are my own. The post Monday Thrive appeared first on MrsPost08 Blog. 

Monday Thrive - October 30

1) There are things as a mother I never imagined saying. 

 - If you decide to pick your nose and eat your boogers I am going to have to take the ipad away from you. 
- No, I do not smell, the smell is from the porta-potty. After my toddler announced to the entire pumpkin patch that I stunk!
- Please do not eat that donut off the floor of Dunkin Donuts that you just dropped. 
- We do not take our shoes off at the play ground to run around. You need to leave your shoes on until we get to the car. 

There are so many other things I say that I just can't think of right now. I need to start writing these things down. lol

2) Life has been crazy lately. I actually have traveled a lot this fall. I don't travel much anymore since I stopped working. G and I went to visit my cousin in Texas for a long weekend. Then I went on a girls trip which was absolutely amazing! Art, G and I are getting ready to go on vacation. We planned this trip long before I went on all these others mini trips. I am really excited for our vacation. The 3 of us haven't ever gone on vacation alone. We have gone on lots of trips to see people or taken people with us. It's going to be very nice for the 3 of us to just relax on the beach. 

3) I haven't been posting menu ideas for awhile because I feel like we have been eating the same things every other week. I go to Costco, buy whatever veggies they have, grab meat from Amazon or Costco and throw it together. My energy level has been awful lately. Part of this was because I went off paleo for a few days a month or so ago. I suffered for weeks trying to get back on track. In the future I will have 1 cheat item instead of a cheat days. Wow it really is not good for my MS. I had so many issues after not eating paleo. Also I realized every year for the past 4 years in October I really battle MS. My 2 major attacks were in October. The other 2 years when I didn't have an attack I just struggle with things terribly. I can't figure out why. My vitamin d level is good. October has been warm for us, so it isn't the lack of sunshine. I have actually gotten more sun in the past month than I do in like December or January. Our vacation is coming at a great time. Hopefully the rest and relaxation will really help me. 

4) I am looking forward to the holidays! My sister and her fiance` are coming for Thanksgiving. We are going to celebrate Christmas with her while she is here. It will just be so nice to have her here. Packages keep arriving from Amazon that my sister has ordered. G thinks he needs to open them and check what auntie has sent. Trying to explain to a toddler the boxes can't be open aren't going well. 

I am going to put up my tree before Thanksgiving this year. :::gasp:::: I know before Thanksgiving!!! I want it up before my sister comes and I don't want to do it while she is here. We have way too much tourist activities to be attending. 

5) Last week we lost one of MTC friends. I met her last year at the conference. It's hard to believe one year later she is gone. This is what gets me with MTC. One day people are working, functioning normal life and the next day they are in hospice. If you don't use Smile Amazon please consider it! Each purchase Amazon will donate money to a charity. Medullary Thyroid Cancer really could use the money for research. There is such little research that has been done for MTC. We really need to find a cure. Right now more research is being done than has probably ever been done. I donated some of my tumor tissues recently to help with the research. I am not sure if they will find a cure during my lifetime, but any way I can help to hopefully one day find a cure is so important to me. 

I hope everyone has a spooky Halloween tomorrow!!! G is LOVING Halloween this year! I love that he is so into holidays! 

Monday Thrive October 9

1) G and I went to see my cousin in Dallas a couple weeks ago for a long weekend. We had the best time and I LOVE Texas! There are so many reasons why I love Texas. We drove down to Waco for a few hours. 

A blogger I follow went to Waco earlier this year. One thing she said was do not plan an entire vacation to see Magnolia in Waco. I have to totally agree. Waco is a day trip. My cousin and I had 2 toddlers with us, so we rushed more than we would have if we had been alone. We went through the store. There was sooooo much cute stuff! I only bought a Shiplap tshirt. I wasn't sure how to bring back the huge adorable signs they have at Magnolia. 

G and I traveled 1,741 miles! 

Front of the Magnolia store. They also have a bakery that had a ridiculous line of about 50-75 people waiting to get in. I didn't think there would be anything inside I would be able to eat, so I didn't even wait in line to get inside the bakery. 

Inside one portion of the store. 

I loved the outside area where they had food trucks, area for the kids to run around and swings. It really is a fun place to go hang out for a little while. I don't see how you could spend more than 4 hours max at the silos. That is going through the store, bakery, getting food at the food trucks and enjoying the outdoor area. 

After we were at the silos then we went to Harp Design Co. They have a teeny tiny store with some cute things. I bought a key chain there. We went through the store in about 10 minutes. 

2) Liz and I ate so much delicious food! Mostly tacos! We had tacos at least once a day and sometimes twice a day. I felt like I had gained 5 pounds by the time I got home. lol

We enjoyed some Jimmy John sandwiches! They do have a lettuce wrap sandwich that was AMAZING!!!! 

Let me tell you about these nachos. TO DIE FOR!!!! Liz made this cauliflower nutritional yeast turmeric vegan cheese sauce. It was amazing!!!! Then she chopped up all this product and made an AMAZING mango salsa. We ate this for dinner one night and the next morning for breakfast. lol I came home and made it again for myself!  

3) G had the BEST time playing with Liz's kids! One morning he came down the stairs saying "kids don't worry I am coming down". lol He is hilarious! He just loved all of them. He has been talking about the kids since we got home. He had to tell Chris all about them. 

I brought in diaper boxes for them all one day to make cars. One of the boxes ripped. I cup all the boxes, so they were the same. I told them they now had a mini van with a sliding door. All of them thought that was the greatest thing! 

4) I love Texas! I love how polite and friendly people are. Men hold the door for you and offer to help you. Texas has mega churches all over the place. And they have tacos EVERY WHERE!!!! Mmmm I could eat tacos allllll the time! 

5) Traveling with G was good. We seem to have a great traveling routine down. He usually naps on the plane for a portion of the flight. I load up the tablet with plenty of shows for him to watch, bring lots of snacks, and bring a few new toys. Direct flights are the best! I hate having to change planes. Thankfully we can fly to Dallas direct! On the way home we flew Virgin which was fabulous because they have tv's for everyone!