Countdown to Mayhem: Tips Needed

On Monday, I will board a plane (and then another) with three short drunk people ALONE. It's definitely countdown to mayhem but also countdown to panic attack #5637. Tick. Tock.

Naturally, I am thrilled for seven days of 80 degrees and the pool and the endless beach and the blooming flowers. (Have I mentioned my resentment of trees in New England this time of year? Every morning I give them a look, a kind of come hither glance, and still, no buds.) Plus two trips in one year? Apologies to Mike Huckabee, but that's like a stinkin' miracle in my world. I'm lucky, lucky, lucky -- and have a father willing to split the airfare. Yay for Dads!

It's the getting there and back that makes me queasy. Last year, our 4 hour trip home took like, ummmm, a lifetime, which might help you understand my anxiety.

I've been working on the carry-on bag and so far it's stuffed with chunky crayons, a magnetic drawing board (mini Spiderman version: thank you Target dollar section), one Nintendo DS (thank you Santa), paper, books, and a disposable camera. I'd throw some booze in there but I'm pretty sure that counts as "liquid" by airport security, to which I might argue: not "liquid" folks, more like magic elixir. I kid, I kid: hootch is for grown-ups only. That's exactly what I tell the Giant Four Year Old when he cracks open my beers.

So, savvy travelers, what else will help us through a car ride to the airport, two flights, one lay over, the rental car reservation desk, and an hour plus drive to finish off the journey? Any tips to get me through this
a) sane,
b) not in the news for losing a child,
c) not in the news for yelling at a child (more likely)
and d) so that in the end I can pat myself on the back for my excellent, superb, well above average organizational and mothering skills?