8/17/08 Captain Jack's Repossession Repo Cruise to PC thru TPC Part 8

[pyramid2000]

OMG we are SUCH horrible parents! First, DW and I didn't keep the house quiet as a tomb...actually, we played his CD player during naptimes. One of his favorite CDs? A disc that had various household noises...vacuum cleaner, washer & dryer, white noise etc! Our neighbors, however, kept the house totally silenced during their youngest DD's naps.

They also boiled the water to sterilize it for her bottles! We used either water from the fridge's filter or Nursery Water which is pretty much Dasani but with flouride added back in (regular bottled water isn't flouridated).

Oh yeah, we were really horrible...we NEVER heated his bottles!! It was just room temp...because guess what? Never having a heated bottle meant that he never got pissed at us for NOT having a heated bottle when one wasn't available like when traveling or in a store etc! We were flying to PHL once and the flight attendant offered to warm his bottle using the hot water dispenser they use for coffee. DW say "No thanks, he take it cold!" The FA was astounded that we got him trained like that and wished her DD would take a cold bottle.

Can't say about the Bag Balm for diaper rash. We used cloth diapers and the ONLY time he got diaper rash were the few times we went with the disposables. Actually it got so bad that the doc prescribed, get this, BUTT PASTE! ROFL it's an Aquafor based ointment that has to be specially mixed by the pharmacist (there's a different formula for boys vs. girls). Anyway, you can imagine TSA's displeasure with these little tubes of ointment that show up as something nefarious on the scanners...especially when the pharmacy label simply says "Butt Paste"

Ditto with the bottles. I liked using the concentrated formula. All I had to do was add hot water to the cold formula and presto! Warm bottle. It was easy to go from slightly warm to cool to cold in no time!

 

[O'BWV]

There's a little Happy Pill called Xanax and it's my friend

My little Happy Pill for flying is called Valium and it's my Superty Cool Friend!

 

[bellelinus]

I don't think I could go to the top of the ESB. I don't really like elevators all that much and I don't think I could get on the express one. We did go there one time to see DH's friend who was working there. Can't remember the floor, but I swear I could feel the building "sway."

When I lived in a previous apartment, on the 31st floor (I let my kids play on the balcony!) if it was windy you could see the water in the toilet bowl slosh gently back and forth . . .

 

[scuba.mom]

My DS went to WDW at 20 months, DD 2 years old ( her birthday)

I took my son when he was two as well to Disneyland. My husband had a conference at the Disneyland Hotel, so Matt (he is now 16) and I did the park at his pace. (It really can be fun to do a park from a small child's prospective. It is not about how much you can see or do, but whatever catches your attention. It is a whole different pace than I was used to, but lots of fun.)

 

[O'BWV]

Oh No! Tony the Tiger ate O'Blender!!!!

Deanna that was grrrrrrrrreat!

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

also for those picking up on potential dangers..i got to
admitt, i would not allowed a 14 y/o play with 5-6 y/o..something is
out of place...

Well it does depend of the situation and the genders... I know some 14yr old GIRLS that are quite content to stretch/practice their budding maternal instincts with younger girls. For instance my cousin's daughter has come to my eldest daughter's slumber parties a time or two- and she's a few years older than my eldest... yet spent the entire time both times playing with my then 4, then 5, (at various slumber parties) youngest dd... she kept her very entertained and nothing out of place. So it does depend on the situation and the genders. IMO

If you're using Outlook, there is a way to make the BCC field show up whenever you open a new mail message/reply to message. I can't think of how to get to that setting off the top of my head, but I know I have it set that way.

On mine the CC shows up on the line under the email address and if you click that- it shows the box with all the email addys on the contact list and gives the choice of sending to email, CC or BCC there. I haven't figured out how to get BCC to actually show right there on the email "form" so to speak.

We took DS7 at 6 weeks old!!! He was 2.5 weeks late, so the original plan would have had him at 8 weeks old. I totally agree - it was the easiest trip with him. We have been back nearly every 6 months since then. The hardest were 1 year - 3 years.

A few people actually commented to us that "you know, he won't remember this" - Well, duh - the trip wasn't for him! It was for me as a reward for surviving the whole ordeal!

pdarrah (Pamela)

I had people say the same thing about my then youngest dd at age 2. How wrong they were... for the entire time until our next cruise she was the ONLY one that was constantly talking about things we did, saw, and when were we going again. LOL

I'm in luck! My family doesn't know about Deck 7 !

Hmm, I'm wondering- would it be awful of me to just not tell DH about the secret deck on deck 7? I could go there when I want to be alone and then I'd be all like where was I? oh I was looking for you all over the place.
Yeah, that would be bad.

OK, this is totally off topic but I have to tell someone who might actually appreciate it....

DH got up at 3 am this morning and called WDW dining. We're doing 10 days at WDW this coming August.

And he scores - yes - the Chefs Table at Victoria and Alberts. We've been wanting to do this since reading the review in the Wall Street Journal. He's so excited - it's the only thing he really wanted to do this trip.

How awesome- congrats!

Oh No! Tony the Tiger ate O'Blender!!!!

 

[The FairyGodmother]

Great list Esteri - especially the getting dirty part!

Okay, now this isn't a must have but a must do! DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT keep the house quiet as tomb when baby is sleeping - vacuum, play the radio, use the blow dryer. Get the baby used to sleeping through noise early on!

Here! Here! I totally agree. Our kids can sleep anywhere. To this day DD sleeps with lights on in her room and the radio on. They just learned how to sleep in any atmosphere.

 

[pyramid2000]

you are so funny you remind me so much of my Dsil she is scared to death of heights, flying even our nascar seats were to high for her

I really am hopeless. I don't even like other people driving most of the time. Really though. The last time I was on a plane, I was so stressed just thinking about it! I couldn't sleep, and if I did, I had nightmares. It is all a control thing with me. My mother said I was like this since I was a baby. When I would be in the car as a baby (no carseat then), I would get stiff as a board at the tiniest bump in the road. Heck, I remember going to the Franklin Institute in 6th grade. I don't think I had ever been on an elevator before. I waited til everyone got in, then I took off for the stairs with my friend. My teacher wasn't very happy, but she had someone escort me back down the stairs.

But I have been on planes, trains, subways, buses, etc. I just try to avoid them as much as possible. (Although I do love trains)

 

[allshookup]

Just thought I would also mention my DD didn't collect pins before this cruise. All of a sudden..........because she is a return cruiser and gets a lanyard and 2 free pins bam O she is addicted. Great marketing ploy.

Same thing happened to us when we took ME & they gave out the free pins. Now both kids have to get new pins whenever we go & DS is really into trading with the CM's. He is so outgoing & I'm glad because I've always been a bit shy & so is DD.

 

[Esteri]

Great list Esteri - especially the getting dirty part!

Okay, now this isn't a must have but a must do! DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT keep the house quiet as tomb when baby is sleeping - vacuum, play the radio, use the blow dryer. Get the baby used to sleeping through noise early on!

Absolutely! Barking dogs too. Though with our pack that was never much of a problem.

OMG we are SUCH horrible parents! First, DW and I didn't keep the house quiet as a tomb...actually, we played his CD player during naptimes. One of his favorite CDs? A disc that had various household noises...vacuum cleaner, washer & dryer, white noise etc! Our neighbors, however, kept the house totally silenced during their youngest DD's naps.

They also boiled the water to sterilize it for her bottles! We used either water from the fridge's filter or Nursery Water which is pretty much Dasani but with flouride added back in (regular bottled water isn't flouridated).

Oh yeah, we were really horrible...we NEVER heated his bottles!! It was just room temp...because guess what? Never having a heated bottle meant that he never got pissed at us for NOT having a heated bottle when one wasn't available like when traveling or in a store etc! We were flying to PHL once and the flight attendant offered to warm his bottle using the hot water dispenser they use for coffee. DW say "No thanks, he take it cold!" The FA was astounded that we got him trained like that and wished her DD would take a cold bottle.

Can't say about the Bag Balm for diaper rash. We used cloth diapers and the ONLY time he got diaper rash were the few times we went with the disposables. Actually it got so bad that the doc prescribed, get this, BUTT PASTE! ROFL it's an Aquafor based ointment that has to be specially mixed by the pharmacist (there's a different formula for boys vs. girls). Anyway, you can imagine TSA's displeasure with these little tubes of ointment that show up as something nefarious on the scanners...especially when the pharmacy label simply says "Butt Paste"

I think we'll have to start a horrible parents group. We're completely of like mind. Of course, you're talking to the woman who had her DS5 brush his teeth with the electric toothbrush he used to get the crayon off the ceiling!
Butt Paste: I'm dyin' over here. I'll be laughing about that for the rest of the week.

Ditto with the bottles. I liked using the concentrated formula. All I had to do was add hot water to the cold formula and presto! Warm bottle. It was easy to go from slightly warm to cool to cold in no time!

We used powered formula. Very easy with the disposable bottles. Just put the powder in and roll your own. Then find a bathroom with warm water and you're good to go!

 

[pyramid2000]

When we were in Nassau we found the place to have your passport stamped . . . a little building behind a guarded gate near where the ship is docked. . . the first people we passed sent us back to a far office on the right at the end of a long hall. No one was there. We waited and waited . . . then I saw what looked like a stamp pad and stamp on the desk. So we stamped our own passports and headed briskly out of there, sure we were going to be caught or something. I said later it was the Bahamian way . . . "No worries, Mon -- just stamp your own passport!"

 

[O'BWV]

I don't think I could go to the top of the ESB. I don't really like elevators all that much and I don't think I could get on the express one. We did go there one time to see DH's friend who was working there. Can't remember the floor, but I swear I could feel the building "sway."

I worked on the 89th floor of 1 WTC and not only could you feel some sway on windy days, you could hear the building cracking. Also on really bad weather days the water in the turlets was tilted. I was honestly scared working that high up! Only lasted in the job 6 months. I Hated the express elevators too!! Felt like the elevator car was being shot through the air like a big boomarang from the lobby to the 78th Fl. (well I think it was the 78th Fl, well it was the 70th-something Floor anyway) I would go up in the morning and down at 5pm! I did not go to lunch for the whole 6 months!

 

[pyramid2000]

When I lived in a previous apartment, on the 31st floor (I let my kids play on the balcony!) if it was windy you could see the water in the toilet bowl slosh gently back and forth . . .

 

[O'BWV]

John?

 

[allshookup]

Kids have such good ears for accents -- it's why they should learn a foreign language as early as possible. Of course she's already working on the foreign languages "Brit" and "Boston."

My four-year-old does that too. We, too blame the HP movies and the audiobooks I listen to with her in the car. She'll say something and we'll look at her and say "Rebecca, you're not British, you know". She also has a Boston accent for some words -- and she's never been to Boston.

Sometimes I wonder....

You'll have to have them talk to my kids. They'll be thrilled that some othah kids speak theah laguage! That's wicked awesome!

 

[Verandah Man]

Brooke's magical moment.............we were waiting behind the ropes to disembark for Castaway. Brooke & I were discussing the clues to find the buried treasure. I had asked officer Bob about clue # 1. He smiled said he wasn't really supposed to say anything. He left, couple min later comes back and asks how many in our party? We told him 2 he said come with me. We went underneath the ropes and out the door to the gangway !! He made Brooke an honorary security officer. Brooke learned how to use the exray machine which she exrayed my bag. Took a fake gun through and scan our cards to be first ones off the ship for like 5 mins. Can you imagine just having nothing in front of you and the whole Island to yourself? Even for a few min. It was awesome !!! Brooke used the walkie talkie to bridge to get the all clear. Later that day officer Bob came to our cabin and gave Brooke a magical moment certificate. Here are some pictures.

Oh and yes Bob gave us the answer to clue number 1, got the treasure in record time.

How Cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Esteri]

I am guessing they have become more concerned lately?? DH has taken a kid or two by himself out of the country a few times and never had any problems. I think the last time was 3 years ago.

Aparently international abduction is becoming more of a problem with the increase in international marriages. It's when one parent takes the child out of the country (any country) without permission and doesn't return. The other parent has a very difficult time getting the child back. I guess there are some international treaties in place now - but not every country participates. Creepy.

When we were in Nassau we found the place to have your passport stamped . . . a little building behind a guarded gate near where the ship is docked. . . the first people we passed sent us back to a far office on the right at the end of a long hall. No one was there. We waited and waited . . . then I saw what looked like a stamp pad and stamp on the desk. So we stamped our own passports and headed briskly out of there, sure we were going to be caught or something. I said later it was the Bahamian way . . . "No worries, Mon -- just stamp your own passport!"

 

[buckifan]

All of this talk about sterilizing things for baby, etc....reminds me of something I had heard from a female comedian once.....She talked about how with the first baby, the binkie falls in the dirt, you grab it, and boil it before letting baby have it back. Second baby....binkie falls in the dirt, you rinse it under the faucet and let baby have it back. Third baby....binkie falls in the dirt, you pick it up and lick it and let baby have it back. Fourth baby....binkie falls in the dirt, you send one of your other kids over to lick it and let baby have it back.

 

[pyramid2000]

.....
We used powered formula. Very easy with the disposable bottles. Just put the powder in and roll your own. Then find a bathroom with warm water and you're good to go!

And when did you learn to do this so well??

 

[miztigg]

I really am hopeless. I don't even like other people driving most of the time. Really though. The last time I was on a plane, I was so stressed just thinking about it! I couldn't sleep, and if I did, I had nightmares. It is all a control thing with me. My mother said I was like this since I was a baby. When I would be in the car as a baby (no carseat then), I would get stiff as a board at the tiniest bump in the road. Heck, I remember going to the Franklin Institute in 6th grade. I don't think I had ever been on an elevator before. I waited til everyone got in, then I took off for the stairs with my friend. My teacher wasn't very happy, but she had someone escort me back down the stairs.

But I have been on planes, trains, subways, buses, etc. I just try to avoid them as much as possible. (Although I do love trains)

customers of mine at the bar take me and Dsil to 1 nascar race every year when they took us to talladega they got seats all the way at the top (so you can see the whole track it 2.5 miles) there was nothing behind us but a chain link fence needless to say she freaked! she half stood for the anthem however when she saw the jets comming for the fly by she was in the seats way before they started to shake i pick on her but i know when i order seats i take her fears into consideration