It Only Took Her A Minute And A Half!

I am feeling all itchy. Red welts are starting to appear on my arms and legs and chest and back. This is how I react to man-o-war stings. It takes about 12 hours after the initial sting for the welts to show up. And then they itch like mad. Should be fun trying to sleep tonight.

I should back up. This morning I swam with my gang in the ocean. Great swim in choppy conditions. I like choppy water because I have an easier time keeping up with Brett and Nalani. They kill me in the pool... and when the ocean is calm I usually can't even draft, but when it's super-chop, well, that's my thang. I can hang when its super-chop. So I was having fun this morning doing intervals along the buoy line in Kailua. Remember how last week I was all relieved that I didn't get stung when just about everyone else in my group did? Well wouldn't you know it... the ocean has a way of making everything 'right'... because the two of us who didn't get sting last week were the two that DID get stung this morning.

OW OW OW!!! When you swim into a man-o-war you can feel the tentacle and its usually quite long, which means you get all wrapped up in it. It kind of feels like you're being shocked... it's been a while since I've been stung but this morning I felt a shock wave zap through my whole body. I didn't have to stop swimming or anything (in fact I think I sped up temporarily due to the shock!). After a few minutes the pain pretty much goes away, and then returns as itchy red welts about 12 hours later. Nalani described my incident as a 'full body blessing' this morning. She is always so positive.

Moving on... a few weeks ago I posted on FB that Moana was trying to copy me and use chopsticks to eat her dinner. I let her try. It was pretty funny. She actually had a bit of success when she used them as a stabbing tool, but then she figured out that she could bang on her high chair with them like drum sticks so that was the end of dinner that night.

After that post, Regina's son sent Moana a thoughtful gift. You can watch her opening it here. (Sorry the quality isn't great here... I shot it on my iPhone.)


I figured this was Regina's attempt to get back at me for some of the crazy workouts I tell her to do. Because if you have (or have ever had) a toddler, you know how they react when they want to be able to perform a task but cannot actually perform said task... oh my. I was sure we were going to be in for an evening full of whine. Regina asked specifically for a video of Moana using them while trying to eat. I was in the process of sauteeing garbanzo beans and I thought that would make quite a funny first attempt with these chopsticks.

And yes, sometimes we let Moana eat dinner while in her swing on the patio. But check it out! She does exceedingly well I think for her first attempt.


I swear I wasn't planning on timing her as she ate with these things... it's like a reflex or something with me.