Still thinking about H1N1?

This fall, we've taken the flu more seriously than in the past.  We do not normally get the flu shot but this year, with the H1N1 virus circulating and having a household with small children, we opted (upon the recommendation of our family doctor) to get the H1N1 vaccines.  All five of us.  This took place a few weeks back - you can read about our hilarious needle episodes here, if you missed it.

We do need to go back shortly, for Finnegan to get his booster.  He's the lucky one: the only one of the three that gets a second shot.  Good thing it's him (if you read the other post, you'll understand why.).

It wasn't an easy or clear-cut decision for us to get the shots.  I know the same probably applies to many of you.  One thing that drove me crazy was the information available.  At times it was sparse, at times it felt like it conflicted.  Opinions ran all over the map.  It was tough to feel confident about making a decision one way or another.

If any of you are still trying to figure out a) if you or someone you know has the actual H1N1 virus (and what do to about it), or b) whether you should get the shot and where to find details about that, I've got a few links here to share with you.   These are trusted and current links from the Government of Ontario and, in some cases are Ontario-specific, but there is definitely some helpful info for everyone who is interested in this issue.

First of all, are you in Ontario and need to know where to get your shot? 
Visit http://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/ccom/flu/h1n1/public/clinics.aspx

Do you wonder if your child has the flu?  There's a helpful assessment tool here:
http://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/ccom/flu/h1n1/public/tools/assessment/default.aspx

Other useful info about the flu can also be found in the main page:
http://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/ccom/flu/

Is your child sick?  Here are some things to keep in mind (courtesy of the Ontario Ministry of Health website):

1. Treat your child’s fever


• Take off heavy clothing and blankets.

• Dress the child in lightweight clothing and keep the room temperature at 20°C (68°F).

• Give acetaminophen or ibuprofen for fever and muscle pain in the dose recommended on the package (unless your doctor says otherwise).

Note : Do NOT give acetylsalicylic acid (ASA or Aspirin®), or any cold medicine that has ASA, to children or teenagers under the age of 18.

2. Treat your child’s other flu symptoms

• Encourage your child to get plenty of rest.

• Use salt-water nose drops to treat a stuffy nose.

• Ask your pharmacist about any over-the-counter medicines for cough.

3. Protect others from flu

• Keep your child at home until his/her fever has been absent for at least 24 hours and he or she is feeling well enough to resume normal activities. It’s important for your child to stay home if there’s fever so that the virus doesn’t spread to other children.

• Your child can return to school 24 hours after the fever has resolved and he/she is feeling well enough to get back to normal activities.

When should you seek medical care for your child?

Use Ontario’s influenza assessment tool (see link earlier in post) or click here

Call Telehealth Ontario at 1-866-797-0000 (if you live in Ontario) or your health care provider if your child is under age 5 and develops flu symptoms. The risk of complications from flu is higher for children under age 2.

I'm participating in the Mom Central Moms Fight the Flu blog tour.  Let's all do our best to keep our children and ourselves healthy.

A digital breakdown mom bloggers will understand

I'm suffering.  I'm going through a digital meltdown.  I'm nearing the end of the road and can't see anything past the big, long drop off the edge of the cliff.  What's below looks painful and uninspiring and inefficient.  What I'm in right now is knee-deep mud without any boots on.

Alright, what the heck am I rambling about? 

Well, it's like this.  I've already mentioned that my 17" Dell Inspiron 9300, which I've had for about four years, is dying.  It's imploding into a heap of painfully slow operation and random crashes and will find itself embedded in the office wall after a 65 mph toss across the room by yours truly.  I'm desperate for a new computer.  A Mac, if I had the choice. 

What else?  My digital camera is suffering paralysis.   Last night, with friends over, Suvi was working the room with the camera taking mounds of (headless and bum-filled) photos when suddenly the thing got stuck halfway open (or closed, depending on if you're a glass-half-full or glass-half-empty kind of person).   The lens...(is that what that whole mechanism is actually called?) is stuck in the halfway position.  It keeps making a grinding noise for a little bit if you press the start up button, but then can't open or close fully. 

So, two of the most critical pieces of technology I have in my life (and use on a daily basis) are on their death beds.

I don't know if I'm going to be able to make it through!  No efficiently functioning computer and no camera... Does anyone know a good therapist?  I may end up resorting to {gasp} handwriting in my journal and {gasp again} hand sketching pictures of my kids.  Oh, the humanity! 

Alright, drop the drama already, I get it.  But, I'm sure you can all agree that certain pieces of technology have really become major parts of our lives, especially as bloggers.  Heck, moreso as mom bloggers, I think, where we use photos A LOT in our blogs.  It's difficult to imagine life without these tools.  I wonder if Santa's elves could whip me up a new Mac and a nice little digital?  That's probably pushing it.  As it stands, I think I'm getting a new ensuite bathroom and that might be all Daddy Crumb can handle.

Wishy Washy Weeeeeeee

Question:

Do you do all of your laundry on one hateful day?  Or do you have continual laundry cycling through the house all week long?    Which is more efficient?

Scientific analysis here.  Need your input, as you are experts.

Have you seen Disney on Ice?

Disney on Ice (Princess Classics) is coming to Toronto in December and we're going to check it out.  We've never taken the kids to any productions on ice before.  In fact, I'm hard pressed to remember whether I even got to see an "on Ice" production when I was growing up.  I certainly remember seeing it advertised and oogling over how cool it looked.

In any event, we're going to be checking out this latest Disney on Ice production with the kids and they're excited.  I wasn't sure if Suvi would be, considering she's moving out of the Disney Princesses stage, but when I showed her a few videos I found online, she was singing along with the music and thought the skating part was pretty cool.

If you happen to be in the Toronto area and are interested in checking out this show, I have a code for you to get a discount on your tickets!   The Toronto shows run from December 18th through the 27th at the Rogers Centre.  If you want to purchase tickets with this discount, visit http://www.ticketmaster.ca/ and enter the code "MCC" in the MC promotion box when you're purchasing.  This deal gets you four tickets for $44 for any show Monday - Friday (excluding Friday evening) or $4 off tickets for weekend performances.  See the fine print at the end of the post for more details.

Have any of you seen the Disney on Ice productions?   What have you thought?   How old were your kids and what did they enjoy most?  

I'll be sure to post back after we've seen the show and let you know what we thought! 

Fine print:

• The coupon code for the Toronto shows will be MCC — four tickets for $44 Monday-Friday (excluding Friday evening), and $4 off tickets for all weekend performances.
• Toronto shows are running from December 18th – December 27th at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.
• The tickets can be purchased from http://www.ticketmaster.ca/ and by entering the MCC code in the “MC promotion” box when purchasing tickets.
• Minimum purchase of 4 tickets required; additional tickets above 4 can be purchased at $11 each during the week and $4 off on weekends.
• Offer not valid on Rinkside or VIP seating.
• Cannot be combined with other offers. Service Charges, facility & handling fees will apply.

Default to random

I've been worrying about what to post about.  I mean, life is still happening (at rapid pace, as usual) but I've had nothing in particular jump out at me in the last few days that's worth writing an entire blog post about.  So, I'm going to use my fall back: random. 

Some random thoughts from the last few days (brace yourself):

* I'm finding it harder and harder to make time to not only post on the blog, but read many of my most favourite bloggers.  Are the number of minutes in a day decreasing and no one told me? 

* My clothes are fitting tighter.  I suspect this is not a good thing to be happening before the holiday season.

* I received a wonderful voice mail from one of Suvi's teachers today, sharing a good news update on how she's doing at school.  In particular, she noted how much she loved Suvi's creative writing.  That's my girl!

* My computer is slowing down, often freezing completely, and I don't know what's wrong with it.  It kind of feels like that dream you have when someone is chasing you but you're running through mud and, despite your best efforts, you're not getting anywhere.  Except I don't wake up from this dream.  My computer really is running through mud. 

* I think it's hilarious that Finnegan can't say the letter "x" so when he says Max's name, he calls him "Matit".   He also makes things disappear and calls that "matit", too. 

* Max has been telling lots of jokes lately.  Many of them involve poo, pee, penises and bums.  Sigh...

* The boys have decided that stickers make for really attractive decor in their bedroom.  Their entire door is covered, their beds, the floor (and don't get me started on how many flippin' stickers I have to peel off the bottoms of socks when doing laundry...) and each other.  I hate stickers. 

Alright, time for a coffee break.   Anyone else have a random bit to add?  Please, drop a random comment!