Float Milwaukee Review

Sweet baby Jesus! Where do I begin? I’ve wanted to try floating for some time and it was never a priority until I won a float. A free float? Well that certainly makes it a priority!

I arrived and parked in a gravel lot across the street (free parking). I took off my shoes, put on the sandals they had and was greeted right away. I signed a waiver while they were finishing the filtration on the pod.

Once you enter into the hallway, it feels very much like a spa. It smells clean, the inside was clean and the colors were neutral and calming. The young man working showed me around and then took me to room 5 where I would see my “floating” pool. *Cue to angels singing* I was given the full rundown on how things were, how to control the light, the noise, where the panic button was located, etc. He explained to shower prior to entering and then rinse off after. He gave me a very good rundown on everything and I felt like I was very informed.

(I'm in love with that art work!)

I opted to float in the open pool when I made my appointment. I’m admittedly a little claustrophobic so I wasn’t sure the pod would be for me. I’m happy with my selection.

The young man left and the magic started. I put in the silicone ear plugs. They don’t block the sound, they simply help to keep the water out of your ears. He suggested I try them as not to distract from the floating experience and I’m glad I did. He also suggested I use the ring for your head just to be sure that my neck would fully relax. I took a shower and got in the pool in my birthday suit.

I wish I could fully describe what happened next but it’s impossible. I put the ring behind my head and relaxed back. Instantly my butt popped up and my whole body was floating. I’ll be real, I wasn’t entirely convinced that I wouldn’t feel like I needed to use my muscles to “float”. Let me tell you, you DO completely float, there’s no work on the part of your body at all. It took a few minutes for me to get situated. My mind raced, I futzed with the position of my legs and arms but what I was doing didn’t feel natural so I just took some deep breaths and relaxed into the pool.

That’s when the real magic went down. I closed my eyes and my hands instantly wanted to be palm up and straight out from my body, my legs naturally fell apart a bit and my toes relaxed. Occasionally I opened my eyes to look around and I would be in a different position than I started. I had no clue that I was just floating around in circles in there! I continued to relax and was awoken by what sounded like a door bell. I opened my eyes briefly and then closed them again. A few minutes later, another door bell…. NOOOO, I didn’t want it to be over!

I got out, showered off and then got dressed. I used the q-tips in the dressing room just to clean the extra water from the shower out of my ears. They have other products available there as well for cleaning up and getting ready. The two people working asked how it went and we talked about my experience and theirs as well.

Does it compare to a massage? Yes but no. My husband and I weren’t convinced that I would like it “better” than a massage. It’s a completely different experience. To me, I felt more relaxed and refreshed after and less exhausted. Massages always make me want to be a bum for the rest of the day. After leaving the float, I felt energized. I also liked that it was quiet and dark, except the dim light of the pool (which I could have turned off) and the faint sound of meditating music.

Try it… today! Make it a priority, for real! I’ll be back, one float wasn’t nearly enough!

Adaptive bike fair update

We were the first two people to arrive and the fine folks of Emery's were still setting up. I was greeted by Brent one of the owners and then later by Ben another owner. They happen to be brothers and work together to make the adaptations possible. I really enjoyed meeting both of them. Ben reminded me SO much of my dad. He's tall and built like my dad. His personality is much like my dad too. He's crafty in a mechanical way, I was blown away about his resemblance to my dad. I told Bella in front of him that he reminded me of Papa John.

Both Ben and Brent were awesome, they make custom bikes to meet the needs of their customers. I was seriously blown away by some of the bikes they've made for customers. They are incredible. Every child and adult should have the opportunity to do things that so many of us take for granted... like bike riding! Look at all of these amazing bikes, seriously incredibly!

I can't believe such a resource exists and I had no idea it was so close. It's unfortunate that when you go to your appointments with your pediatrician or even to the ortho clinic at Children's that these resources are not given to families. This is the stuff we as parents NEED to know about!

This is similar to the adaptation they would make. The black piece at the top would be curled more to hold her hand steady in place. 

This is Brent working with Bella to show her the adaptation that they were thinking who would for her.  She said that she liked that it was comfortable on her left hand and she thinks it would make a difference. 

How can you not just open your wallet and hand over your credit card. It's tough. I told her that we had to come home and show Daddy and talk to him too. It's hard because I want to give her the world on a silver platter. It's also hard because if we spend the money, I want her to use it. I love the idea of supporting a smaller, local bike shop that does incredible work and truly cares about creating the best fit for their customers.

So what's the cost? For the complete set up on her current bike, it would be about $500. That's a hard number to swallow. It's not a need, it's for sure a want. Or is it a need when you only have one hand? How can we not give her the same opportunity that other kids have? How can we not help her to feel more comfortable and confident on the bike? Are we terrible parents for not just plunking down the credit card? Are we thinking too much into it? Is it truly necessary? Can we help her for a more reasonable cost? What are some other things that we could do? Do you drop any amount of money on your kids for things that you think are necessary? Are they truly necessary? What amount of money is reasonable? Those are all things we'll have to discuss tonight. 

It happened... again.

Today we went to Nixon Park, if you haven't been and you are in the Milwaukee area of visiting, I highly suggest it! It's awesome! There is a great playground with a place for bigger kids and a set for smaller kids, there's a spider web and a merry go round. Do those things make anyone else want to vomit? There's also a great splash pad that's open Memorial Day to Labor Day from 10am-7pm. It's a perfect place for all three kids to burn a ton of energy. Bella, in particular, has been begging to go! With only a few weeks left of summer and me off work for a couple of weeks (yay teacher schedule!) we have to live it up!

All parents know that the very first thing kids ask for when you get anywhere is food. Like seriously, breakfast 1, 2 or 3 didn't fill you up? Oh and the two snacks before we left didn't either? So we packed lunches AND snacks to take along.

I sat on the side and let the kids do their thing. Bella is all about making new friends so she's the first to leave my side. She played with a group of girls first. It always surprises me to see her playing with girls her age, she is much more of a girl that plays with boys. She says boys have less drama... I tend to agree most of the time. Her two best buds at school are boys. I watched from afar as all three kids explored and did their own thing. I noticed that her hand started to become a topic of conversation. Ugh, seriously, can't she just be her and not be defined by her difference. None of us are defined by our differences, like eye color or hair color...

She played with them and then ventured off to an older girl. She told me later, the "new" friend was 10. She's often drawn to older girls because they ask about her hand and then move along. Girls her age that aren't around her frequently tend to continue to ask questions, then more questions, then more... it's irritating to her and to me. Let it go already!

I watched as one girl pointed and loudly said "HEY SHE DOESN'T HAVE A HAND". Bella was too busy playing with the 10 year old girl to notice. The teacher from Kindercare swooped in and talked to the girls for a few minutes. The girls then went back to playing without saying a thing further about her hand. I watched as it all happened and stayed safely planted on my towel at the edge of the spray ground.

Before they left, I approached the teacher. I thanked her for "handling the situation". She said "Oh of course, that behavior is not ok at all. I mean I know they are curious but that's not ok. Of course I would take care of it, they are my responsibility." I thanked her again for getting the situation resolved quickly and quietly. I told her she did a nice job observing and watching all of the kids interact. She thanked me for pointing it out.

Bella and I didn't talk about it any more. I figure if she wants to talk about it, she knows I'm always willing. She's pretty open with me about things that bother her or make her feel good. She did say "Oh man, my new friend was leaving, that's a bummer". Agreed kiddo. You make friends every where you go!