Quick, before I get Sidetrack'd

Our trip last week was the first time either of the children had been to the beach. I was a little concerned with how the week would go since Little tends to be a bit timid and doesn’t always deal well with new things, and Boo, well, he’s just Boo. I am pleased to report that they both did great.

My first concern was the airplane.  We’ve been talking to Little for weeks about riding on the airplane and really trying to play it up as a fun experience so she would be excited.  She didn’t like the walkway or having to walk past all the flight crew and passengers in the first class cabin, but once we got past that point she was fine.  When the engines started she said something about it being loud, but she wasn’t upset or afraid, just commenting.  During take-off she sucked her thumb and held on tight to her dee, but Matt talked to her the whole time and she even said, “Whee!  This is fun!” during the initial ascent.  Neither of the kids acted like the pressure change bothered them (maybe because Little was sucking her thumb and Boo was nursing or had his paci), and both were content during the flight without the aid of video or excessive distraction.

My next concern was the sand considering that Little doesn’t like to get her feet dirty.  We didn’t make it onto the beach on Sunday afternoon/evening due to a big rainstorm that lasted for several hours.  On Monday morning, we got up, “sunscream”ed (according to Little) the kids, and headed to the beach.  Little wasn’t real keen on the idea of putting her feet in the sand at first, but after some gentle coaxing and a few minutes of watching everyone else she was willing to walk in it.  Each time we walked onto the beach it took a few minutes before she would get down.  She loved playing in the sand, though, and had a great time shoveling, filling her bucket, and helping Matt build sandcastles.

And then there was the water.  Little isn’t even a fan of swimming pools, so I really didn’t think we would ever get her into the ocean.  Once she saw the Gulf of Mexico “big, big swimming pool” she was in awe, but only desired to view it from afar.  Fortunately, the water was very calm and the waves were just barely breaking, so it wasn’t as intimidating as it would have been with big waves.  The first couple of times Matt took her into the water she was very hesitant and did not want the water to touch her at all.  He continued to take her out despite her protests (half-hearted though they might have been), and by the end of the week she was sitting in the water (in Matt’s lap, of course) and letting the waves hit her body.  It was so cute to hear her giggle as she played in the water with her Daddy.

Since it’s in the title of the post, I guess I should mention the wind, too.  It was there.  It blew.  Sometimes it was strong enough to blow over the umbrella, but it was never bad enough to kick up sand or drive us off the beach.

It was so much fun to watch the kids, especially Little, experience so many new things in such a short time.  She was a bit overwhelmed at first, but she was up to all the changes and did a great job of taking things in stride.  It did my Mommy heart good to see her react so well and have such a wonderful time.

Is it time to go back yet?

We spent two days of our vacation enjoying the sights and rides of Busch Gardens Tampa Bay.  Matt, my brother, my nephews and I are all big roller coaster fans, so we were excited to try the five big coasters in the park.  We were excited, that is, until we saw this…

Meet Sheikra.  Or, as we came to refer to it, Shriekra.

All day we eyed this bad boy.  All day it taunted us as it towered above the lesser rides.  All day we alternated between giddy excitement and terrified respect.  All day we tried to work ourselves up for the ride.

When the time came to suck it up or go home all four of us decided to throw caution to the wind and climb aboard.

Now, let’s get a bit of perspective that might be missed when seeing this beast in pictures and not in person.

First, there’s this:

and from a different angle:

a ninety degree (that’s straight down) vertical drop of 200 feet.

Then there’s this:

what’s known as an Immelmann loop, or, in layman’s terms, a loop where you go upside down.

Then, there’s this:

a second vertical drop.

Also notable about this ride are the facts that: 1. it reaches a maximum speed of 70 mph; 2. there is no floor to the coaster “car”; and 3. at the top of the 200 foot drop the coaster pauses to dangle you – yes, dangle you – over the edge before letting the car plunge down the track.

Let me just tell you, that plunge was like nothing I’ve ever experienced before!

So, here’s how it played out…

The four of us boarded the car, pulled our safety harnesses as tight as possible, and set off to see if we’d live to walk off the ride.

Up the ascent.  clack.  clack.  clack. All the time seeing nothing but the clouds.

Around the bend.  brake.  release.  brake. Ease forward until we are hanging over the edge of the precipice.  pause.  pause.  pause.  RELEASE!

Into the descent that pushes you out of your seat up into the seat restraints; forces that require you to think about breathing; an adrenaline rush that makes you question whether or not your heart just stopped.

Quickly into the Immelmann loop, around to the second vertical drop, skidding across water, and back into the coaster station.

My brother left the park with a tee-shirt that said “I survived the five”.  After riding Sheikra, he deserved it.

Last Sunday we got up early, like 3:30 early, loaded up the car and headed to the airport.  By seven o’clock we were checked in, through security, and awaiting the arrival of our airplane at the gate.  We were meeting my brother and his boys at the gate (they flew into town from another part of the state) then flying to Tampa.  Everyone was excited, even though the kids really didn’t have a clue what was going on.

When we landed in Tampa we were off to meet my parents (who drove down) at the condo so our vacation could really begin.  We spent the week relaxing at the beach, having fun at Busch Gardens, and generally enjoying our time together.

It was great to be with my brother and my nephews.  It was great for my kiddos to spend lots of quality time with us, their uncle, their cousins, and their grandparents.  It was an adventure involving sand, water, roller coasters, and lots of good seafood.

And I’ll be back to tell you more about it later.  Right now I’m off to take a nap; I’m having a tough time switching from “vacation” mode back into “real life” mode. 

Now it’s time for the second installment of the “Me and My Baby” meme.  Here is a portion of Boo’s life story…

Were you married at the time? Yes, we’d been married for almost 7 years when Boo was born.

What were your reactions when you found out that you were pregnant? We were a bit surprised but very excited.

How old were you? 29 when he was born.

How did you find out that you were pregnant? About two months after Little weaned, and a couple weeks after her first birthday, I began to suspect that I might be pregnant again.  There were a few days here and there where I didn’t feel all that great, and I was feeling a bit more tired than usual.  I decided to take my temperature a couple of mornings (as in FAM); the first morning it was up and I just knew that I was pregnant.  I picked up a test while I was out running errands.  When I took the test it immediately turned pink; there was no doubt it was positive.

Who did you tell first? I called Matt at work to tell him.

Did you find out the sex? But of course.

Due date? April 19.

Did you deliver early or late? A few days early.

Did you have morning sickness? Yes.  Not as quite as bad as with Little, but I threw up regularly and felt bad for most of weeks seven through sixteen.

What did you crave? Chick-Fil-A waffle fries.

Who irritated you most? I’m sure it was Little or Matt just because they are the ones I’m with the most.

What was your child’s sex? It’s a boy!

How many pounds did you gain throughout your pregnancy? About 30.

Did you have any complications during your pregnancy? So far I’ve been blessed with smooth pregnancies; no complications with this one either.  I did, however, have three stomach bugs during my pregnancy (including one the day before he was born, but that’s another story) which was not fun.

Where did you give birth? in a hospital.

How many hours were you in labor? My doc inadvertently broke my water during my weekly visit.  That was about 4:30 or 4:45 in the afternoon and he was born at 12:12 am, so about 7.5 hours.

Who drove you to the hospital? I drove myself.  I was at the doctor’s office, which is directly in front of the hospital, when my water broke.  Matt was on his way home from work (had just left the office when I called), and my mom was at my house with Little, so I was on my own.

Who watched? Matt was the only one in the room through the whole thing; my mom was there until I started pushing.

Was it vaginal or c-section? The old fashioned way again this time.

Did you take medicine to ease the pain? I was bound and determined that I was going to deliver without medication, but they started a pit drip (b/c of my water breaking) and I gave into the pain and asked for an epidural.  The epi was wearing off in a major way by the time I started pushing, so I felt much more this time around than with Little.

How much did your baby weigh? He was exactly 8 pounds.

What did you name your baby? His first name is a family name (he’s the latest in a long line) and his middle name is biblical.  We called him Boo in utero before we found out his gender and it stuck as blogging name.

How old is your baby today? He’s five months old.

Hi, Boo here.  Since Momma hasn’t written about me much lately, I thought I’d take over this place for a bit and let you know what’s going on in my world.

Mostly, Mom’s been complaining about my sleep habits.  I am getting better.  I still get up in the night, but usually it’s only once to eat and once to get my paci back.  Some nights are worse than others, but I am trying to be a better sleeper.

My reflux is doing a little better, so that helps me be a happier boy; that Prevacid is good stuff.  I still have trouble from time to time, but I don’t have to take Maalox several times a day any more.

I’m a boy of extremes.  I’m either very happy with lots of smiles or very mad with lots of screams.  You don’t want to be in my path when I’m mad or you might not come away with your eardrums intact.  Daddy and Momma say I only have one volume – very loud – but I have two cries: the mountain lion cry is for when I’m just not happy (sleepy, hungry, or just plain mad), and the pterodactyl cry which is reserved for when I’m in pain.  Neither are fun on the ears.

I am a very social baby, much more than my sister was, and I always have a smile ready for you.  I love to be talked to and to babble and squeal back at you.  I even laugh, and that makes Daddy and Momma smile.

I love to jump.  I jump when I’m in the exersaucer.  I jump when I’m in the bouncer (johnny jumper type thing).  I jump when I’m in your lap.  I even try to jump when I’m in the sling.  I have very strong legs.

I’m getting pretty good at sitting, too.  I can sit up supported by my arms for a while and I’m getting better and better at sitting unsupported.  My big problem is that I tend to get excited and throw myself backwards; that makes it hard to keep my balance.

I love to watch my big sister play and really want to join in her running and dancing games.  The other day she was pushing her doll buggy around the house and I was going everything I could to grab her as she ran by me.  I like to pull her hair, too; it’s never too early to learn how to make your sister squeal.

I’m even thinking about crawling.  I can get up on my hands and knees and sometimes even start to rock a little.  Sometimes I’ll get on my hands and the bottoms of my feet and just flop over.  Right now this rolling thing is getting me where I need to be, but it won’t be long until I’m getting around on all fours and chasing my sister.

I think that about covers it for now.  I’ll keep an eye on Mom and make sure she’s updating you as she should.  If she slips up, I’ll take over again, I think I might like this blogging thing.

I’ve acquired a new hobby.  In an effort to stock up on some of our household staples and hopefully save a little money I’ve started playing the “drugstore game.”  It’s kind of a puzzle putting together sales, coupons, and store rewards to get household and personal care items for pennies on the dollar.  The challenge keeps my brain working as I put together different savings scenarios, and it’s fun to play the puzzle and to come out with inexpensive goods.  I’m hoping the budget likes it, too.

Here’s what my Walgreens week looked like this week:

Transaction 1
$2.00  Sunday paper
$4.99  Children’s Tylenol
$4.99  Children’s Tylenol
$4.99  Children’s Tylenol
$16.97 Total 
-$3.00 Mfg coupon from Sunday paper
-$4.50 Wags October IVC ($1.50 each)
-$5.00 Register Reward from last week
$4.47 Total OOP (before taxes)

Earned $7 in Register Rewards to use for future purchases.

Transaction 2
$1.99  Dawn dish detergent
$1.99  Dawn dish detergent
$5.99  Pert Plus shampoo (large bottle)
$4.49  Oral-B Pro-Health toothbrush
$1.00  M&Ms (two small bags)
$4.49 Clerz Plus eyedrops for my contacts
$19.95 Total
-$1.99 Wags weekly coupon (Dawn B1G1 Free)
-$0.25 Mfg coupon for Dawn from paper
-$0.50 Mfg coupon for Dawn from paper
-$3.00 Mfg coupon for Pert from paper
-$2.50 Wags October IVC for Pert
-$0.75 Mfg coupon for Oral-B from paper
-$5.00 Register Reward from Transaction 1
-$2.00 Register Reward from Transaction 1
$3.96 Total OOP (before taxes)

Earned $4.50 Register Reward to use for future purchases.

Transaction 3
$3.00  Two bags of lollipops for Little
$2.99  Two new toothbrushes for Little
$4.49  Oral-B Pro-Health toothbrush
$3.49  Swiffer Dusters
$3.49  Swiffer refill cloths
$3.49  Swiffer refill cloths
$3.49  Swiffer refill cloths
$4.99  Charmin bath tissue
$29.43 Total
-$1.65 Wags weekly coupon on Charmin
-$0.25 Mfg coupon for Charmin
-$0.75 Mfg coupon for Oral-B
-$5.00 Wags $5 off $20 purchase
$21.78 Total OOP (before taxes)

Earned $9.50 Register Rewards to use for future purchases.

I spent a little more in my third transaction than I wanted to, but they didn’t have all of the items in my original scenario so I had to substitute a couple of items that were slightly more expensive.  These were all items that we needed, though, so that’s okay.

In summary, this week I spent $30.21 (before taxes), saved $44.63, and earned $14 in Register Rewards to use in the next couple of weeks.  And we’re well stocked on Tylenol and Swiffer products for the next several months. 

This is fun!

It’s been a few weeks since I updated my “challenge” progress.  We just finished week ten, and the news is mixed.  

The good – I’m still losing inches; as of today I’ve lost 30 total inches (5 in pecs (above bust), 4.5 in ribs, 7 in waist, 7.5 in abdomen, 6 in hips)!

The bad – starting this weekend I’ll officially be “off” of my eating plan for a week. 

The ugly – I’m one stinking pound away from my goal weight.  Actually, it is only 0.6 pound, but my weight hasn’t changed in the last three weeks!  Guess I shouldn’t complain too much, at least I haven’t gained any weight.

I have a month until the challenge ends; hopefully my body will decide to give up these last few ounces soon!