(Editor's note: In last week's edition of Redondo Mom, Michelle Veale Borden wrote about how she discovered black mold in her living room.)

After finding out that we have a mold problem in the living room and we can't be in the house while they tear the walls apart, I discovered that two tickets home to Alabama cost less than staying a few nights in a hotel. Joe, my husband, had jury duty and a trip to Vegas planned, so the toddler and I were on a solo mission (we chose to accept it).  I've flown with Smith before, but I've either had Joe's help, or I was breastfeeding—the perfect nap inducer. 

• Mom Talk: How do you handle flying with children?

The last time I flew solo with a car seat, it was a nightmare.  After lugging it through the airport via the GoGo Babyz system and installing it on the plane, I was exhausted.  Maybe another baby might have been comfortable being rolled on the GoGo Babyz, but not mine. I honestly didn't blame him, like I do when he breaks a coffee mug. Gogo Babyz was really close to the ground, so Smith saw his Mommy way up there, and a bunch of feet coming towards his face.  

As I've said before, I'm crazy.  I spent quite a bit of time researching the best way to travel solo to a place where Nana, Aunt Martha and Grandmere all have car seats just itching to pick Smith up.  If you are heading somewhere that lacks a car seat, then you may want to bring your own and get a Gogo Babyz or a Traveling Toddler attachment.  My sister loved the Traveling Toddler attachment, but her daughter is also mellower than Smith.  

I finally came across the CARES system while I was elbow deep in a bag of sweet potato chips.  It's the only child safety device, outside of a car seat, that the FAA approves.  Sold!  Well, I was sold after reading 40 reviews on Amazon and finishing the bag of chips.

Flying with a child can be harrowing, and it's even more painful if the people beside and behind you are angry because you took an hour to install your child safety seat.  On the flight, there were a couple of people behind me, and they didn't seem to mind as I installed the CARES harness.

Smith knew the drill, as I had practiced putting him in the harness with the help of our padded dining room chairs. It was a fun game—just don't leave the kid there while you answer the phone.

Smith stayed in his harness for the duration of the flight. I loosened it while he napped on my lap, but that was also after they let people up to flounce about the cabin. How did I get him to nap? I told him that we were going to watch a movie and have a snack after naps. So he napped after I told him that there was to be no movie and no snacks if he kicked the girl's seat in front of him one more time. We had our own little "time out" on the plane, and then he drifted peacefully to sleep.  

He is now fully aware that he can have M&Ms on an airplane. I do not give him candy often, so he was floored when he woke up to a movie and M&Ms.  

Now that we're on the gournd, he is still talking about it.

As an aside—I have no idea where he gets his love of sweets… Well, I may have eaten a tube of Dr Pepper-flavored Chapstick that I might have stolen when I was little. If it did happen, it was probably embarrassing, and my mother should not have made me go in and tell the clerk that not only had I stolen it, I had eaten it, too.

Where was I? Oh, yes, the harness.  

The CARES system is amazing. I highly recommend using it when you have to fly across the country with your child. I also recommend it for any traveler with a child that weighs 22-44 pounds. It's incredibly light and easy to install, and you don't have to lug a big car seat around the plane. If, like me, you have a hard time walking down the aisle without running into people (in planes, theaters, grocery stores or even at weddings), the CARES system will save precious First Class elbows from your clumsy ways.  

Safe and happy travels, Redondo Beach. Don't forget the M&Ms and flavored Chapstick.