Vacation - Dramamine Kids

Our kid isn't prone to motion sickness, she's the kid who never complains about the car & loves roller coasters (even Space Mountain).  But something about her & an airplane don't quite mix.  She's flown between Europe & America 3 times now (12 flights due to connections), and each time was increasingly more difficult.  The poor kid had 4 vomiting sessions trying to get from AMS to PHL!!!  By the end of the flight she was covered in it, between little warning and a leaky bag it was a mess.  The poor kid couldn't even handle the smell of the food on the plane and had to cover her head in a blanket just to get some relief.  Eventually she wore herself out and fell asleep, but needless to say there was little enjoyment during the flight.  Based on past experiences we knew to pack extra clothes for the connecting flight - at least this time I wasn't alone trying to handle it.

When it was time to return home, my husband & I dreaded the flight back.  We knew it would be miserable for her, and could possibly put her off flying (and flying back to The States to see family is just part of our life).  We had to do something.  But were we really going to be those parents that load their kid up on medicine just so they sleep through the flight?  It just didn't feel right, but what was better for her, vomiting for 6-8hrs or sleeping?  There we were searching the kiosks at the airport, exploring our options, feeling kind of guilty. Then as if the clouds opened and the sun appeared we found Children's Dramamine!  It was a great option, no guilt, no unneeded flu/sleep medication - one magic pill that we hoped would change everything.  And you know what, it did!  Whether it was a mental thing or actually worked, our 4 yr old didn't vomit once or complain about being sick.  She enjoyed the flights like a kid should (well, she did skip the meals & cover her head again, but that was precautionary in her mind).

Needless to say, THANK YOU Dramamine!  And for any of you out there travelling with kids prone to motion sickness, you have to try it!

Bye! Dag! Adios! Namaste!

:) Danica

Cougar Roar

Yep, it's true, I'm a cougar, my husband is younger than I am!  And that awesome hubby of mine, turned 32yrs old today!!!  Congrats, babe!  It's been great growing up together (he was just 19 when we met)!

I have to admit his birthday did sneak up on me though.  Like I mentioned in my last post he's been travelling a lot, and I've been holding the fort down, and before I knew it his birthday was already here!  He's the type who doesn't like to make a big deal about his birthday but somehow the festivities carry on for around a week. 

Yesterday I wasn't feeling great (and to top it off our street was closed off due to a gas leak) so I wasn't as motivated as I would have liked to get things prepared for his b-day but my daughter really helped!  We blew up balloons, decorated the living room, and filled out b-day cards.  But after about 6 balloons I had to give up, my cold and congestion just couldn't do anymore.  And since we couldn't be at home all afternoon there was no time for the cake, bummer.  My thoughtful husband did help blow up tons of balloons last night after our daughter went to bed, he was even going to let me take the credit but I just couldn't. 

The b-day excitement started early this morning, between our daughter and family there wasn't a chance my hubby could sleep in!  Unfortunately he has to work today, but right now there's a cake in the oven and I have his favorite dinner planned, so there will be plenty to enjoy tonight.

So, let the festivities begin!!!

Happy Birthday, Ry!

And just for fun, here's a Throwback Thursday, me & the hubby way back in 2002!

 

Bye! Dag! Adios! Namaste!

:) Danica

Vicious Vitamin

Besides eating healthy and exercising, we all know vitamins are extremely important.  I myself take quite a few, and I have my daughter also taking vitamins (an old post delves more in to the vitamin topic).  When it comes to myself, I'm generally not picky when it comes to the brand, I tend to buy store brand purely because of the price difference.  The last time I was in The States I was sure to hit up Walmart to buy things we can get here, but are just cheaper there.  One of which being Centrum, I was a huge fan of this particular brand when I lived in Florida.  But as I stood at Walmart my frugal side took over and said, why not just buy Walmart brand, I used to use Equate products regularly.  And since the purchase I have regretted buying their multi-vitamin.  (Equate Women's One Daily, to be exact.)  Why, it makes me puke if I don't have a full stomach!  I know taking aspirin or ibuprofen on a empty stomach can make you sick, but also a vitamin?  I had to find out the hard way while on vacation, and sadly enough it took multiple times before I put 2 & 2 together.  I guess I pinned the restless stomach on food in The States and even travel anxiety (was travelling internationally with just my toddler)... turned out to be the vitamin.  Since making the realization I do my best to take my vitamins right after lunch (this is recommended for a lot of vitamins).  But there are still times when I didn't eat enough or remembered the multi-vitamin just a bit too late and it hits me.  I feel the warmth sweep over me and the nausea coming on (similar to low blood sugar) and there is nothing I can do but wait it out.  My husband thinks I'm crazy and said I should just throw the bottle out and buy something that suites me better, but I'm stubborn and want my money's worth.  (I'm shaking my head at my own trait, right now.)  Out of curiosity, do any of you have problems with certain multi-vitamins?

Decent Weather

All of my plans for today fell through, but at least it's decent weather!  Today I was supposed to be in Amsterdam at a women's conference, called Women's Inc.  My husband was going to take the day off work so he could shuffle our tot to preschool in the morning and take care of her in the afternoon.  But things changed.  My daughter managed to get chicken pox again.  This meant, there was no way I was going to ask anyone to babysit, when she's sick she needs her parents.  But luckily my husband had put in his request for time off and she was going to be with daddy if she wasn't fit for school.  Then my husband found out an important customer requested a meeting.  For a lot of people a day-off is a day-off, the customer can reschedule.  But when you work for a family business and it's one of the larger customers you go to work.  And just like that my plans changed.  The decent weather helped to make up for it though.  I loaded my toddler into the stroller, bundled her up, hooked the dog to the leash, and we were all off for an hour walk.  It was nice to get them out of the house, no one likes being cooped up when sick.  And the weather, well, as you can see above, it was in the 40's, this is great!  (Remind me of this during the summer!)  After a cold winter and snow on the ground for weeks, blue skies and a temp above freezing was more than welcome.  I can't wait to get back to our outside activities... walking, the play grounds, visits to the parks.  The feeling started sinking in yesterday, I'm done with the winter and ready for spring!  What about you all?

Chicken Pox Again

Like father - like daughter, my toddler has managed to get chicken pox twice!  What happened to her father is common, light case as a child, heavy case as an adult.  But my tot didn't wait for her adult years to get the 2nd round, it's been less than 6 months!  At first I thought the spot was a bug bite, and when I found two more I thought maybe a rash... in my mind there was no way she could have them again.  Then when the one on her forehead popped up there was no denying what it was.  I took her to the doctor who confirmed she had chicken pox again.  I asked how this could happen and she said possibly last time she didn't build up enough antibodies.  I figured the doctor would send off for blood work, but she just sent us home.  Now my poor 3 yr old is covered, and it's way worse than last time!  Last time she had a lot of little itchy bumps and fever which lasted around 10 days or so.  This time she has the large ones full of fluid and she keeps getting more and more, they're even all over her scalp.  This was one way to ruin her vacation, she had a week off school and lots of fun activities planned, of course they were all cancelled after our doctor appointment mid-week.  I'm crossing my fingers this round will be enough to build up the proper antibodies so she doesn't have to suffer through it again.  Anyone else know of a toddler that had chicken pox twice?

Circle of Sick

Our family has been rotating a cold now for a while.  We sent our visitors from The States back with a cold, and we have been spreading it ever since.  This week has been the worst so far.  My husband missed two days of work, my toddler has been participating in minimal activities, and now it's my turn.  It's what I get for dancing around Tuesday night bragging about how healthy I am!  I spent most of today on the couch trying to convince my daughter why the Santa Clause trilogy is way more fun than playing outside in the snow, aww poor kid.  As soon as the body aches and sore throat are gone, I hope to get back to blogging as usual.