Kelly Ripa Praises Flight Attendants While Sharing the Struggles of Traveling With Small Kids

Even though Kelly Ripa's kids are all adults now, she still remembers the struggle of traveling with them internationally when they were little.

"I remember getting off the plane and seeing [my husband] Mark there to greet us and I started crying," she recalled on Thursday morning's episode of Live with Kelly and Ryan. "He thought I was emotional. I was like, 'Take them!'"

The famed TV host, 51, was describing a flight to Australia when her oldest son Michael, now 24, was a toddler and her middle child, daughter Lola, now 20, was a baby. (This presumably happened before youngest son Joaquin, 19, was born.)

As soon as they boarded, the stress began, she recalled.

"The other passengers were protesting just by me walking on," she said. "I was like, 'Hey, everyone, why don't we wait for the kids to freak out before we react?'"

However, Ripa was prepared for the long flight with projects — like popsicle sticks to color with magic markers — and toys to keep her little ones occupied.

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic Kelly Ripa, husband Mark Consuelos, daughter Lola Consuelos, sons Michael Consuelos and Joaquin Consuelos in 2015.

"I had a diaper bag filled with, not just diapers, not just snacks, but filled with activities. I wanted to bring Play-Doh, but you couldn't take that on the plane since it was directly after Sept. 11 and Play-Doh was a no-fly thing," she noted.

The moment either got bored, she said was there with another activity, with Ripa thinking, "They'd be like, 'Mom is a wizard!'"

However, even the best-laid strategy wasn't enough.

"One slept for the first 10 hours and the other one slept for the second 10 hours," she said, meaning she got no time for rest.

But she had plenty of support on board in the form of the plane's crew.

"Thank god for those flight attendants," Ripa said, calling them "unsung heroes one and all," as the audience applauded in agreement. She said they kept bringing her Biscoff cookies for the kids, joking that she still finds them in her suitcase and bags now decades later.