Nah, not instead of your own kids. Though I thought of that. I mean in addition to yours. Yes, I am totally freaking serious! Think about it: wouldn't it be great to take the edge off somehow, take the pressure away from 24/7 dealing with your own spoiled and whiny lovely kids? After all, this is all about you: whatever makes your trip easier has got to make it better for everyone, right?

Enter the new trend in packing a friend. Actually, this is nothing new, but it makes so much sense. And if I didn't have three kids at home already, I would try it. But, my three plus a kid each for them, equals way, way too many kids. There's a few things to keep in mind, though, starting with making sure everybody's clear on who pays for what. According to the New York Times, which you would figure would know about such things, "The general etiquette seems to be that the guest’s family provides air fare and spending money." Okay, that works for me. Which means I'm paying for food and board and, uh, what else?

Another potential pitfall is obviously if there are behavioral or discipline problems, either with your kids or with the guests. But I find that kids generally behave better when there's other people around, so as long as you don't invite this girl you're probably okay.

I'm thinking, though, that the real trick here would be to find families who wanted your kids. Mine are available. Anyone?