Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Skiing with Kids
Posted on: March 22, 2009
Going to get the 6 year old and the 3 year old up on Ski’s this week for the first time. Well my daughter is actually only 2 years and 11 months old, but they are making an exception to enrol her in the age 3-5 junior kids camp. This includes the ski rentals, lift pass, and 2 hours of time with a private instructor.
We are going to Blue Mountain, and staying in a chalet rented from Blue Chalets. The mother in law is joining us and a few other family members. Might as well get some help if I can right?
It is of course the last full week of skiing here in Ontario, and it will be very springlike skiing conditions. I hope the kids enjoy it, because their dad loves to ski! And Snowboard. Me; okay not so much. I did ski in high school, but I had a wicked wipe out in Vermont, and that kind of freaked me out for life.
I much prefer the comfort of the ski lodge with a nice cup of hot chocolate (with whip cream of course), or a nice glass of Pinot Grigio depending on the time of day.
How sick is too sick for School?
Posted on: March 5, 2009
What rules do you follow? When kids are in daycare here, the general rules are keep them home if they have had a fever in the past 24 hours, and too sick to participate. So now what happens in school? I wrestle with this question every time my kids get a cold.
HOW SICK IS TOO SICK FOR SCHOOL?
Yesterday my son had a fever when he woke up (he has had a cold for a number of days), so I gave him Tylenol to see if he would perk up. He just wanted to stay home and he actually did go back to bed for an hour. But after that and for the rest of the day he acted quite normal, and I kept asking myself; “Should I have sent him to school?”.
WebMD says keep them home if they have a fever of 100.4 or higher.
Fever
If your child’s temperature is 100.4 degrees or higher, keep your kid at home. While at home, encourage your child to drink plenty of liquids. Your child should be fever-free for 24 hours (without medicine) before returning to school.
Mild Cough/Runny Nose
If there’s no fever, and the child feels fairly good, school is fine.
Bad Cough/Cold Symptoms
Children with bad coughs need to stay home, and possibly see a doctor. It could be a severe cold or possibly bronchitis, flu, or pneumonia. But when the cough improves, and the child is feeling better, then it’s back to school. Don’t wait for the cough to disappear entirely — that could take a week or longer!
Diarrhea or Vomiting
Keep your child home until the illness is over, and for 24 hours after the last episode (without medicine).
Sore Throat
A minor sore throat is usually not a problem, but a severe sore throat could be strep throat even if there is no fever. Other symptoms of strep throat in children are headache and stomach upset. Keep your child home from school, and contact a doctor. Your child needs a special test to determine if it is strep throat. He or she can return to school 24 hours after antibiotic treatment begins.
Earache
The child needs to see a doctor.
Pink Eye (Conjunctivitis)
Keep the child home until a doctor has given the OK to return to school. Pink eye is highly contagious and most cases are caused by a virus, which will not respond to an antibiotic. Bacterial conjunctivitis will require an antibiotic; your doctor will be able to determine if this is the case.
Rash
Children with a skin rash should see a doctor, as this could be one of several infectious diseases. One possibility is impetigo, a bacterial skin infection that is very contagious and requires antibiotic treatment. Also, fifth disease is a contagious viral illness spread by coughs and sneezes; it’s no longer contagious by the time rash appears.
9 months old and she is crawling across the floor at lightning speed, but she really enjoys pulling herself up on every piece of furniture within reach and creeping around on her feet. Could she possibly start walking this young??
Yup the 2 girls are down with some kind of virus. Started with low fever, then diahhrea, runny nose, sneezes, now congested and coughing.
Orla was up at 5:30am. Too congested and stuffed up to take her soother/pacifier. So downstairs we headed and I stumbled around to make coffee in the dark. I was too tired to put the light on at first. Then I realized the coffee can was too empty for me to scrounge one more pot of coffee out of it. So I had to use my piece of crap can opener to open a new can. Nearly broke my hand. Why can’t Tim Horton’s have an easy open can of coffee? I guess I’m too much of a coffee snob to complain too much. It’s not like I’ll just settle for Maxwell House coffee just because they have an easy open top. But it sure would have made my morning that much easier!
The good news is we have NOTHING to do today but relax! I’m staying in my pj’s till noon!
By the way, did anyone else catch the recent story in the News about VICKS VAPOUR RUB? Apparantly by putting in on or near the nostrils it actually increases mucus production!
And anyone heard about putting this stuff on a child’s feet?? I’ve never understood this one??
Crawling……………..Backwards!!!
Posted on: January 22, 2009
She is almost there folks;
rocking, reaching, scooching,pulling,
then she gets into position and takes off across the room…….
BACKWARDS
I’m assuming once she figures out how to move her body better she’ll change direction but for now it is pretty funny to watch!
Time to bring out the safety gates again, once she’s on the move there will be no stopping her!
Just introducing WHEAT
Posted on: January 21, 2009
Today I introduced Orla to wheat cereal. I’ve waited this long because of her dairy allergy. I wanted to make sure she was clear of hives for a few weeks before introducing something new, especially an item that is known to cause allergies in some babies. So far so good. I don’t know how long she would have to be on a food for it to show up as an allergy, probably at least a few days right?
Anyways, after all the thought & effort and stress of starting this new type of food………………….I carefully read the label………………………………
“This cereal is produced on equipment that also processes milk. It is not suitable for babies at risk of a severe reaction to cow’s milk.”
WTF???
Bowling
Posted on: January 18, 2009
A great family activity, even Orla at 7 months was screeching with joy as the older kids jumped around the bowling alley.
Now they didn’t have the kiddie rails available, so we took our chances with the 2 year old. But she actually did pretty good. Only a few times did the ball end up stopped halfway down the alley and then the rest of us raced to see who could “knock” it out of the way 🙂
My son, who is 6, came very close to my sucky score of 85, well you know he is constantly playing the Wii Bowling!
Our bowling alley also has GAMES, which is pretty much the only reason the kids want to go. For $20 in tokens, we could play a variety of tacky & cheap video games, some of which if you were lucky did NOT take the token. If you are REALLY lucky you might win a ticket or two.
At the end of it, the $20 in tokens nets you some tickets which you can redeem for a dollar store toy! The kids LOVE this!
Bowling; a great activity for a cold & snowy Saturday afternoon!
Back from Vacation
Posted on: January 17, 2009
Went to Vegas for a few days; half business half pleasure 🙂
It was my first time there, oh man what a great time!
It was fun to see “old” Vegas, as well as the new parts. Way too much to see and do in just 3 days.
I missed the kids while I was away, but it was nice to get a break as well. I think small breaks are healthy for everyone. For me anyways, it makes me appreciate them that much more when I come home! I think allowing myself some grownup times makes me a better mom.
Some highlights of my trip: partying at Lavo nightclub, eating at Tao, shopping!!!
We stayed at the Gold Coast, a smaller hotel, but for $35/night can you really go wrong? It was perfect, a very relaxed atmosphere, and we could just grab a cab to the strip…….or walk across the street to the Palms.
Happy to be home and back with the kids, I would definately go to vegas again!
30 Hours in Each Day?
Posted on: January 6, 2009
How is your time allocated? Try this little test:
How many Hours do you spend doing the following (in an average day): my answers are in pink
Childcare on average 8 hours (3morn, 5 evening)
Housework, running the household, making meals, laundry etc etc 4 hours
Work 8.0 hours
Eating, Personal Hygiene 2 hours
Sleep 8 hours
Free time HAHAHAHA
Well how is this possible, the total is 30 hours, and that does not include free time?? As you can see I mega multi task, so I am often working while watching the children, or doing housework while watching the children, as I’m sure most mothers do.
I’m reading this book: “The Secret of Happy Children” by Steve Biddulph
Not far into it yet, but it already has hooked me. The first part of the book talks about how the things that we, as parents, say everyday to our kids are programming them consiously and sub-consiously, i.e. hypnotizing.
I am obviously doing absolutely everything wrong, and am probably on the road to putting my children in therapy for the rest of their lives (according to the book anyways)
For example, if you tell your child on a regular basis “you are such an idiot”, that gets planted into their minds and will affect their self esteem for the rest of their lives. Even if you are saying it just in a “kidding” sort of way.
Here are some of the things you should NOT say to your child:
“Hey, elephant ears! Dinner’s ready”
“You’re as bad as your father!”
“Why can’t you be sweet and good like your baby brother?”
“You hit him again and I’ll KILL you!!”
“She’s very shy I don’t know what’ll become of her” (telling other people when child is in ear shot)
“He sure BELTED her, He’s a real little tiger”
and my personal favorite:
“GOD, you exhaust me! I’m so sick I could just lie down and die”
My Family Rants 