Flying with an infant

My trip was great. I had a good time visiting with family.  My little guy touched the pacific ocean for the first time.  It was a bit cold, so he didn't like it too much, but it was still fun.  He enjoyed meeting new faces and being held by old and new friends.  One thing I had been a bit nervous about was flying with my little guy.  I had asked some friends and family members for tips on the logistics of bringing a stroller and formula on and if they had any tips for what to do while in the air, and they were quite helpful.

Traveling on the airplane with my little guy went pretty well.  The way there was slightly harder.  The flight was full, so I had to have my little one on my lap the whole time.  I had a window seat and I was a bit nervous about that because I knew I would be stuck in my seat the whole time.  But I had read that moms recommend the window because you have a little more room to set up your stuff and you don't need to worry about getting bumped and stuff by the flight attendant's cart and stuff.  Unfortunately, my little guy needed a diaper change immediately after getting up in the air, but and the guy next to me had just fallen asleep and the guy next to him was engrossed in his iPad.  I didn't want to bother them and make them get up, so I just changed his wet diaper in my lap.  It wasn't bad.  Later when my neighbor was awake I did get up to change my little one in the bathroom.  I didn't want my neighbor to get upset or scared that he might get sprayed.  I was a little nervous about changing him in the bathroom because I had no idea where the changing table would be.  But as soon as I walked in I found it.  It was above the toilet seat.  I had never noticed it before.  And it was good size and the diaper change was easy to do.  It was nice to get up and we had fun looking in the bathroom mirror and smiling.

The 3 hr flight seemed longer than usual.  Probably because I had a baby on my lap and I needed to entertain him most of the time.  I was told to try not to have him sleep until he got on the plane, but of course he took a little cat nap before we boarded and didn't want to go back to sleep.  I usually fall asleep on airplanes, but not this time.

The pressurized cabin didn't bother him.  I had him suck on his pacifier and/or drink his milk when we took off and landed.  One friend had told me of a tip she had learned from a flight attendant that can also help.  Here is the tip:  Mix hot and cold water to make lukewarm water.  Pour it into 2 styrofoam cups, then put enough napkins or paper towels in the cups to absorb the water.  Then cup the cups over your child's ears.  She says it works every time.  I ended up doing this for my little guy when our first flight was landing because he was wide awake, not hungry, and at first did not want to suck on his pacifier.  I am sure my seat mate thought I was crazy, but hey, maybe it worked.  My baby didn't cry at all.  I wish I had 2 extra hands and I would've tried it on myself, because my ears always hurt so much from the pressure of coming down.  I may have to construct a little headband type thing for next time.  And I will let you know how it goes.

The way home was a breeze.  Another full flight.  Another window seat.  This time I got on the plane a little earlier and had more time to get myself situated.  The man next to me said he had been visiting his 4 1/2 mo old granddaughter, so he was very nice.  The lady next to him was a bit grouchy and complained that her seat was broken.  She said the seat cushion was uneven.  So she was moved to a different seat.  So my neighbor moved to the aisle seat.  He said it felt exactly the same as his middle seat;  and I had an open middle seat to lie my baby down on or to put my stuff on when I was holding my baby.  It worked out great.  Also, my little guy slept for most of the flight, and I was able to get a little nap in myself.  The flight seemed to go much faster on the way home, so that was nice.

Gate checking my stroller and car seat was easy and it was nice to have those to push him around in at the airport.  It was a little tricky taking it all down and putting it up with one hand when I needed to go through security with my baby in my arms, but I managed.  I appreciated the help I received from people along the way at every stage of the journey.

Would I do it again?  

You bet.  I'll go anywhere and do anything as long as I can do it with this little guy.  

Amazing Race

The reality show I enjoy watching is the Amazing Race.  I love to travel, I love to learn about other cultures and places, and if I can't travel, at least I can watch others do it.

This season there is a team made up of a biological mother and her daughter she placed for adoption.  The first episode was last week, and it was interesting to see them interact.  The first time they spoke on the phone was when they submitted their application and it is unclear if they met or interacted much prior to meeting up on the race.  

You can see how they are a bit unsure about how to interact with each other and they want to take advantage of this time together. 

I am looking forward to watching their relationship develop and I hope they make it far on the race.

I did it!

What did I do? Well, I actually exercised today.  I don't know why it took me 1 hr to get out the door for a 20 min run, but it did.  Getting out the door is seriously the hardest part for me.  And once I do, I wonder why I didn't want to get out.

I haven't exercised in awhile.  On vacation we actually worked out 3 or 4 times.  Even ran over the Sydney Bridge and realized what a long bridge it was :)  But once I got home, I just haven't been able to go, that is until today.

Bungy Jump Video

Here is the video of my bungy jump.  I still can't believe I did it.  New Zealanders invented the bungy jump and my hubby said, if i thought I wanted to sky dive, I should be able to handle a little bungy jump.  Did he do it?  No he had no intention of doing it.  But he told me, it looks so easy.  He is a funny guy.  Glad I did it, but I don't know if I ever want to do it again.  

Australia Pictures

aboriginal people making fire.  

hot air ballooning. it was beautiful.  at the end we helped put the balloon back in it's little bag

 we fed bird heads on a stick to crocodiles

hanging out with "joey"

we saw some beautiful beaches

 most koalas are sleepy

 just hiking around. 

 a local working on his tan

bondi beach

 my bruise from falling on the rocks :(

hubs at Manly Beach showing off his guns

Blue Mountain.  

 Tourist JRS

 This kangaroo has the right idea. 

 calmly feeding the cockatoos, things aren't too out of control yet...

this isn't working out. 

I'm outta here. Give me my thumb back!

 Bats hanging around in the Botanical Garden

Opera House and Sydney Bridge

There you have it, a smattering of some pics from Australia.  

New Zealand Pictures

I am going to try to load some pics of my trip.  Slowly but surely.  

New Zealand has tons of hills w/ sheep and cattle grazing all over them.  It is beautiful there.  My hubby is so wonderful, he is always willing to stop on the side of the road to take pics.

another roadside pic.  Driving on the left side of the road was quite an adventure.  

New Zealand geothermal park.  This is in front of the "Devil's Bath"

We hiked this mountain.  It was beautiful, right next to the beach. 

Sheep show where the guy sheared sheep super fast, and I fed a baby lamb.

Mauri dinner show.  Great food, great fun.

New Zealand invented the Zorb--I rolled down the hill in it. and they invented the bungy jump, so if I was ever going to do it, this would have to be the place.  

Australian Time Machine

Yesterday--Thursday I stepped into the Aussie time machine.  I left Australia at 10:30 am only to arrive in Los Angeles, CA at 6:45 am on Thursday which Down Under was around midnight.  And since I left early in the morning I hadn't been able to sleep a wink.  I was wide awake the whole trip except of course the last 2 hrs when the lights were turned back on and I was being served breakfast.

We practically flew into the night time.  On the plane they fed us lunch, popsicle snack (my favorite part), then breakfast.  After I made it through security in L.A.  I went to go buy lunch.  I had no idea it was 8:30 am until the food court people told me that they didn't serve lunch that early.  Thankfully I found a Chili's to  go lunch because I had just eaten breakfast and didn't want to repeat that meal again.

The whole day seemed liked groundhogs day.  And it was so long.  I was able to sleep on my last leg to Texas, but now I'm wishing I hadn't because here it is 2 am and I am wide awake and not quite sure what meal to eat.

Australian Toilets

Here the toilets are called bathrooms, but within each toilet is an actual toilet.  And with each toilet after you go to the bathroom you have the option to do a full flush or a half flush.  It is quite strange.

I understand the concept of conserving water and all, but I do get tired of thinking after each time I use the toilet--should I do a full or half flush?  Australia is very environmentally conscientious which is good and all, but to a point.  I have used several composting toilets.  That's a little much if you ask me.

I am looking forward to when I am back in the USA and I can simply flush the toilet without the added pressure of which flush to choose.

That is probably more than enough toilet information for you. 
By the way, the bathrooms today were soap less. 

Attacked by Cockatoos

So now I can add another injury to the list--bitten left thumb and scratches on my arms. 

It is my own fault, or maybe better yet, my friend's fault.  She had these pictures of her feeding cockatoos and said it was so fun and so easy.  So I decided I needed to do it.  She told me to wear a long sleeve shirt b/c their talons are sharp--I did, but it was a thin long sleeve shirt. 

Anyhow, so I had sunflower seeds in each hand, and sat down in the middle of the lot of them.  And they started climbing all over my arms and eating the seeds from my hands.  They were going nuts, jumping all over me and scratching me.  And then one flew on my head and then I decided I was done w/ this feeding the cockatoo business.  As I stood up, they flew all around me and I was shaking my arms to get them off me, but one hung on.  I looked down and realized his beak was attached to my thumb.

What was I thinking feeding these crazy looking birds?  Well, obviously I wasn't thinking. 
I'm glad I got out of there with only some scratches and a beak bitten thumb and not another bruise on my butt. 

Soapless Bathrooms

I am starting to get a bit tired of using the public restrooms here.  Maybe it's because I'm a nurse and hand hygiene has been drilled into my head, but since when did washing your hands with just water count as washing your hands?  I am so glad I brought hand sanitizer.  And maybe the USA has bathrooms like that, I guess I have just been visiting tons of public restrooms in remote locations and I guess it's bound to happen wherever you are. 

This is the last week of my trip.  It has been fun, relaxing, and beautiful. 

I have come to love some Australia treats:  Tim Tams--delicious bits of chocolaty goodness, and anything that the company Arnott's makes--biscuits, crackers, etc.

Blue Moon at Blue Mountain

So yesterday my hubby and I went hiking at Blue Mountain.  It was beautiful.  The mountains really do look blue.  I think it is from the eucalyptus leaves or something like that.  But anyhow, we went on hike along some waterfalls and it was lots of fun.  But guess who fell on her butt?  Yep, me.  I slipped on the tiniest little rock and banged my other butt cheek.  My butt has really taken a beating on this trip.  Luckily I have a lot of padding there.  

Drowned Rats

Today we went to few other beaches and I came away with more sand in my suit, a huge bruise on my butt, one less pair of sunglasses and an exciting story to tell.

My hubby and I were climbing around on some rocks that the surf would break on and we decided to try to go out to the highest and closest rocks to the surf.  It was pretty cool and when the waves would break the water would just cover our ankles and occasionally our calves.   So you needed to brace yourself when the waves came because it could sweep your feet out from under you.  There were also channel and pools in between the rocks.  So as we made our way back we needed to jump from one area to another.  As we were getting ready to do that a big wave came and swept our feet out from under us.

I am always most in awe of the power of the ocean when I am stuck in a huge wave and getting tossed about like a little rag doll.  We were thrown in between the huge rocks into a narrow channel and started trying to get back to the surface and avoid getting a concussion from being thrown at the rocks at the same time. 

My hubby was hanging on to me to keep me safe but it was keeping me from swimming.  When I finally got my head to the surface I yelled, "let go".  and then I was able to swim more freely.  My hubby gets sunburned so easily, and we saw his hat rushing away so we swam after that.  I saw him holding his flip flops and I realized that mine were no longer on my feet.  I was holding my sunglasses and saw they were broken. 

We slogged unto shore--our clothes dripping wet.  We were a mess.

But we had survived. 

But I needed to find my flip flops.  My mother in law had bought them for me before my trip because I couldn't find "the flop to my flip"--or in other words one of my flip flops before the trip.  So I scrambled back on the rocks.  My hubby yelled, "stay off those rocks".

I replied, "ok" and continued on my search.  Luckily there was my flip and then my flop sitting on the rocks.

I have the biggest bruise on my butt.  It is so sore.  Picture to be posted later.

What a wipeout we had today.

The day ended with me laying on a grassy part by the beautiful Bondi Beach sleeping peacefully until a big white dog ran over my forearm.  At least there is no bruise to be seen there.

It was definitely a memorable day.

Manly Beach

Today we went to Manly Beach.  The name came about when some explorer arrived on the beach and saw aboriginal people and thought they looked manly.  Strange name, beautiful beach. 

My hubby would do something chivalrous like let us go ahead or hold a door for us and then say, "that's a manly thing to do".   I got him to flex and show his muscles and show how "manly he was".   Hubby wasn't wearing speedos, but we saw other men wearing them.  We didn't see anyone sporting a mankini on the beach.  It is the craziest thing--it is a speedo that a man wears, but it hooks up over the shoulders.  It's pretty gross. 

What's up Down Under?

Well, Sydney is a beautiful city.  We are staying w/ friends and they have an awesome view of the Sydney opera house and harbor from their balcony.  Every night huge bats (they call them flying foxes) fly by their windows, this morning we saw them all sleeping in the trees at the botanical gardens.  It was pretty crazy.

Today we saw a cool koala and kangaroo exhibit.  I have learned all sorts of cool animal facts out here.  It also seems that we have learned all sorts of reproductive information about these animals.

• koalas are pregnant for 35 days. And their babies are so tiny--just a few inches long.  
• kangaroos also have a short pregnancy, but if say there is a drought or other reasons they can stop their pregnancy for a year of two and then resume it.  Who knew that they would think a month was just too long to wait for a kind.
• snakes have 2 penises.  The ranger said they only reason they could come up w/ for that was just in case one didn't work.  LOL
• sharks practice tough love--bite the female so they can get in position

Hope you enjoyed that little bit of trivia.

I survived!

The bungy was so fun.  The bungy cord was attached to my feet and I went off head first.  The scariest part was waiting for my turn and then when I was at the very top having to go off.  I told the guy I might need a little push to help me out. 

I got pictures and everything!

It was in a beautiful setting, with cliffs and a lake below.  I tried to touch the water, but my bungy didn't quite make it that far.  If I was ever going to bungy I would have to do it there.  And New Zealanders invented bungy jumping. 

Now I'm ready for skydiving.  My hubby said if I couldn't bungy, how was I going to sky dive?  So now that I have conquered the bungy, there is no stopping me.  My hubby was so funny.  He kept egging me on to do it, even though he had no intention of doing it.  I am the daredevil in the family. 

Today we saw the coolest sheep show.  We saw all sorts of wooly sheep and then we saw one of them get sheared.  Then they had sheep dogs come in and they walk on top of the sheep.  It was the craziest thing.  And then we saw a demonstration of a sheep dog herding sheep and then a wool carding demonstration.

And then I also went down a hill in a ball called a ZORB.  (also invented in New Zealand).  It was pretty fun.

Tomorrow at the crack of dawn we are on our way to Australia to see the Great Barrier Reef. 

Woo hoo!

New Zealand words:
trolley is cart
lift is elevator
cabinet food is what they call pre made foods like muffins or cakes behind the glass in a cafe

Oh, I tried some Vegamite,  to all of those Aussies and New Zealanders that love it, I have to say, I don't think my tongue will ever touch it again.  It smells awful and tastes how it smells. 

Why live on the edge when you can jump off it?

That is the slogan here at Taupo Bungee Jump.

And for whatever reason I signed up to do it.  What was I thinking?  Aaaah!  I  am SO nervous.  And now I just need to wait a little while until it is my turn to go. 

I hope I live to see the end of this day. 

New Zealand

is beautiful!!

The trip here was brutal, 13 hrs on a plane from LA.  A family was sitting in front of us and as soon as we would fall asleep it seemed like their girl would start to scream bloody murder.  I had my neck pillow and sleeping shades and somehow got some sleep.

But so far, it has been worth it.  We spent a lovely day in Aukland and today we are in Rotorua.  We hiked to the summit of a small mountain and had a lovely view of the beach, and then tonight we are going to a Maori cultural show w/ dinner.

It is fun to hear the accents here and the funny different ways they say things.  They like to call trash, rubbish which is funny.

Driving on the left side of the road is a bit crazy.  The passenger sits where the driver should and away we go.  Thankfully we have our GPS and have just been following that.

It is so fun being in a different country.

Adios Amigos

Well, tomorrow I will be on my way to Australia.

I can hardly wait.  I have been planning this trip and all of it's details for so long and now I get to go experience it!

I'm all packed, the bills are paid, the house is as clean as it's gonna get.  And I'm outta here.

Here is a short list of things we plan to do.
1. throw a boomerang
2. feed kangaroos.
3. see a koala, (maybe hold one)
4. go hot air ballooning
5. snorkel at the great barrier reef
6. hike and see beautiful scenery
7. hang out with friends
8. eat new foods.  Vegamite sandwich? Kangaroo meat?
(I wonder if it just tastes like chicken)
9. maybe skydive???
10. learn some cool aussie lingo
11. buy some fun souvenirs
12. take some awesome pictures
13. relax and enjoy life

Bathing Suit Shopping...Take 2

I was pretty down in the dumps about my inability to find a decent bathing suit, because I really wanted to feel good about myself while hanging out at the beach.

Your comments helped me so much.  And I thought, there's got to be something out there for me to wear.  I  googled where the best place to buy bathing suits, and then the type of bathing suit you should wear with a muffin top and I got some good suggestions.

It also said to find something you will feel good about yourself in.

So I decided to be brave and try one more time.  I headed to Old Navy and found a black tankini--it's cute, I think I look pretty good in it,  so unless they had trick mirrors up in the dressing room, hopefully that will do the trick.

I am feeling much better about hanging out at the beach and can't wait to go on vacation!

Good News Minute

At church there are various classes that I attend.  One of the classes is called Relief Society and it is just with the ladies.  Before class starts we hear announcements of any upcoming activities and then the lady conducting always asks if anyone has anything to share for the "good news minute".

Of course there are always pregnancy announcements, but there are also people telling that they ran 1/2 marathons, or are graduating from college, etc. Well a few weeks ago after my big baby shower gift shopping spree one of my neighbors that goes to my church came over.  I was showing her my purchases and we were chatting, and she knows I'm infertile and stuff.  So she was telling me how she had just turned 40 and had been freaking out because she hadn't had her period for 2 months.  She said she had just gone to the doctor to get a pregnancy test and was so relieved that it was negative.  It was hilarious.  I thought how she is thrilled she isn't pregnant and I am devastated that I'm not.  It just depends on our stage of life how we react to our period and to pregnancy test results.  I still told her that if she ended up getting pregnant I was prepared with a shower gift for her.  :)

That led us to start joking about the "good news minute" in Relief Society and how it would be a bad news minute if she had to share her pregnancy news.  (We currently have at least 7 ladies that are pregnant at church).  We were laughing our heads off.  Then she said, "Ok,  on Sunday I'll announce that my good news minute is that I turned 40.  And then you can say, And more good news is that she's not pregnant."  It was great to think about it.  But we never did it.  She never announced her news, so I couldn't follow up with my part of the plan.

But this week during the "good news minute" one of my friends announced, "I'm pregnant."  To which my neighbor chimed in, "And I'm not!"  It was too funny.  All of the ladies were confused.  The room was buzzing with, "Who's pregnant now? and What did she say?"  It was awesome.

So, here is my good news minute:  I'm going to Australia & New Zealand in less than a month!  I am so stinking excited.  I love to travel.  I can hardly wait to hold a koala bear or jump into a kangaroo's pouch.

What's your good news minute?