Heat, Humidity, and Our Favorite Disney Dog Was a Thug! LINK TO NEW PTR!!

[IheartDDuck]

We did laundry almost the entire vacation in July. At least that's what it felt like.

The Swan will forevermore be referred to as the Goose. I will it to happen.

Mmmmm, those scallops look absolutely scrumptious.

 

[RGirl]

We did laundry almost the entire vacation in July. At least that's what it felt like.

I was solo missing the one-bedroom villa from our prior trip - I could just throw a load of laundry in at any time. That was AWESOME.

The Swan will forevermore be referred to as the Goose. I will it to happen.

It will certainly forever be The Goose to me!

Mmmmm, those scallops look absolutely scrumptious.

Mmmm - I love scallops. They were great! The whole meal was just lovely.

 

[RGirl]

Hey all! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! I hope you don’t mind if I share a little about our holiday and a few pics.

Willow was super-excited because her one and only cousin was arriving the Saturday before Christmas. We drove the hour to a nearby airport to pick up my brother and his family and bring them to my folks’ where they were staying for a week. Later, Willow went over to play with her cousin for a couple of hours. When she got home, she said she wanted to take a nap. That was weird. Sometime later, she came and said she didn’t feel well. And then she snuggled up with me, and I realized she had turned into a furnace. I took her temp and it was over 103.

I dosed her up every few hours to bring the fever down. I’m not big into fever-reducing, but at that high of a temp, I felt it was the best thing to do. By morning, however, her temp was back up to over 103. The night before, a friend mentioned that this was exactly what her son did and then tested positive for flu. I normally just wait illnesses out, but because I have a health condition that makes me one of those people who can die from the flu and because we were so close to Christmas, I took Willow to urgent care on Sunday morning. The same incompetent doc I had seen there this summer was working. No choice though. He kept saying, “Well, she doesn’t have a fever now.” I kept saying, “That’s because I gave her Tylenol.” Finally, I kind of insisted on a flu test. It was clear he didn’t know what that actually was since he kind of left the room without saying anything and then came back and said, “Oh, it’s just a nasal swab, so we’ll go ahead even though she seems fine and I doubt she has the flu.”

Yeah, you guessed it. Shortly after they did the swab, he was back to tell us that she had tested positive for flu. He then said she didn’t need tamiflu since she was doing fine and didn’t have a fever and that was only necessary if she was exposed to someone who had a compromised immune system, etc. I reminded him AGAIN that I was one of those people who can die from flu and that she DID have a fever. He wrote the prescription along with one for me since I needed to be on a preventive dose.

And then we went home. Christmas was barreling at us, and Willow’s cousin was just down the street. And now she couldn’t play with her. She had been waiting for months. Willow was so sad - remember, she doesn't have any siblings, and this is her ONLY cousin. It was really sad. We figured we would be good for Christmas Eve at our house with her cousin though because the day before, her fever was gone without meds. Until late afternoon, when it went back up again.

Long story not very short, my parents decided to come over for Christmas Eve, but my brother and family weren’t going to be there because Willow had not been fever-free for 24 hours. HOWEVER, my dad (a retired physician) called my brother and told them to just come on over - Willow was at her most contagious before we knew she was sick, and they had been together for hours that day. So Christmas was saved! And the cousins got to have some fun together for a few days at least!

Here’s what Willow looked like when we told her that her cousin was coming over after all.

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Willow left a lot of treats for Santa and his reindeer along with a cute note.

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Stocking time.

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Santa’s gifts to Willow - requested scooter, Christmas PJs and Ariel mermaid doll.

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Finally time for the under-the-tree presents!

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Willow reading the note explaining her “big” present and not quite getting it. Hard to explain to a six year old that she’s going to Disneyland several times … but not yet!

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The presents got put to good use almost immediately. Just one example.

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Thanks for letting me share. Again, I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday.

 

[Simba22]

Aww! Poor Willow! The flu is horrible! I had it last January and basically slept for three days. That doctor really needs to go through! If it were me, I'd be complaining to whoever runs the Urgent Care and/or finding a different place to go! Imagine someone in your situation who doesn't have the guts to question him? What if he had sent you both home without the Tamiflu? I mean, you could've DIED! That's malpractice waiting to happen! Good for you for being insistent!


Your Christmas morning pictures were so adorable! Thank you for sharing!

 

[STLMickeyMom]

Oh, that flu! It's so bad here that one of the boys I nanny had a day off because so many kids were out with it that they canceled school. I'm glad you're ok and that willow got some meds and had a great Christmas with her cousin. She looks pretty excited and happy considering she was getting over the flu. And how cute was that Santa note?!?

 

[Jackiemarie21]

Oh poor Willow, the flu on Christmas is the worst!
I am glad you were able to make the best of the holiday and I hope Willow is feeling better now. She sure did look excited when she found out her cousin is coming over.

 

[dizneeat]

I just love the real life update!

But .... being sick is no fun and being sick on a holiday and missing play time with a cousin is just horrible.
I am glad your father could save the day and Willow got to play with her cousin. AND I am happy you did not get sick.

Love to see the excitement in Willow while opening her presents. There is something about kids and presents.

 

[wiigirl]

Super cute pics!

 

[jedijill]

So sorry Willow got sick! Glad you stuck to your guns about the Tamiflu and that Willow was able to play with her cousin. Looks like a great Christmas after all!

Jill in CO

 

[RGirl]

Aww! Poor Willow! The flu is horrible! I had it last January and basically slept for three days. That doctor really needs to go through! If it were me, I'd be complaining to whoever runs the Urgent Care and/or finding a different place to go! Imagine someone in your situation who doesn't have the guts to question him? What if he had sent you both home without the Tamiflu? I mean, you could've DIED! That's malpractice waiting to happen! Good for you for being insistent!

Thankfully, Willow seemed to have a very mild case - she never felt all that bad. She was more upset about missing out on time with her cousin than anything else. She did put herself to bed at 6:30 several nights in a row though, so I know she wasn't feeling GREAT.

Yeah, that doc is terrible. In this small town though, we don't have a ton of options. I sliced my index finger in July and went in there. That was the first time I had met him. He asked me if the finger was numb, and I told him it was. He kind of laughed, pressed my finger and said, "haha you can feel that though, right?" I was all, "Um, no….." He chuckled and then sewed up the finger. Only later did I learn that the numbness meant I had severed the nerve and should have been referred to the ER and a hand surgeon. It has been almost 6 months, and I still have no feeling in a large portion of that finger. I should complain, but I honestly don't think it would do any good - we have kind of a doctor shortage.

Your Christmas morning pictures were so adorable! Thank you for sharing!

Thanks! I hope you had a great Christmas!

Oh, that flu! It's so bad here that one of the boys I nanny had a day off because so many kids were out with it that they canceled school. I'm glad you're ok and that willow got some meds and had a great Christmas with her cousin. She looks pretty excited and happy considering she was getting over the flu. And how cute was that Santa note?!?

Wow! I guess it's really running rampant, huh? Obviously, the flu shot was not terribly effective this year. That happens some years.

Willow was so lucky - I have never seen anyone with the flu be less sick. I mean, she didn't feel great, but she wasn't in bed all day or anything.

I loved that Santa note too.

 

[RGirl]

Oh poor Willow, the flu on Christmas is the worst!

Thanks! Luckily, she seemed to have a pretty mild case. I was worried we would have to reschedule Christmas or something, but we were very lucky.

I am glad you were able to make the best of the holiday and I hope Willow is feeling better now. She sure did look excited when she found out her cousin is coming over.

She is much better - thank you! She missed out on a lot of time with her cousin, but she was very happy to get what she did - she is so thrilled to HAVE a cousin, you know?

I just love the real life update!

Thanks Karin!

But .... being sick is no fun and being sick on a holiday and missing play time with a cousin is just horrible.

It was definitely disappointing for Miss Willow. But she did handle it very well.

I am glad your father could save the day and Willow got to play with her cousin. AND I am happy you did not get sick.

Thank you! I am glad I was able to start the tamiflu right away - I'm sure that helped.

Love to see the excitement in Willow while opening her presents. There is something about kids and presents.

Yeah, Christmas is just so fun for the little ones, isn't it?

Super cute pics!

Thank you!

So sorry Willow got sick! Glad you stuck to your guns about the Tamiflu and that Willow was able to play with her cousin. Looks like a great Christmas after all!

Thank Jill! It definitely turned out a lot better than we feared. Phew!

 

[RGirl]

Some Friends Cheer Us Up​

When I left off, we had enjoyed a delicious dinner at Jiko, but Willow’s mood had turned pretty sour. We were having some difficulty deciding what to do after dinner. Willow wanted to go swimming, but when I said she would need to wear a life jacket to do the slide since I was not going to swim (she is actually a very good swimmer, but that pool is HUGE), she no longer wanted to swim. Instead, she wanted to go to DHS. So we were going to do that, but then she got herself into a little snit over nothing, so I nixed that plan. We were just going to have to go back to the resort instead.

We took a bus to Epcot, because we could walk to the BWI through Epcot. It was kind of funny because I realized that we had not entered Epcot from the front since our first trip in 2010.

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Willow had apologized at this point, so - although we weren’t going to stay for rides or fireworks - we did enjoy our walk through the park together.

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Hmm, I am 100% sure that we stopped for PP pics here. But I didn’t get any of them in my account. Wish I had realized that sooner so I could have contacted them to find them. Oh well! On with our tour of Epcot in the evening.

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As we walked past the Character Spot, Willow noticed that there was no line and asked if we could stop. That seemed like a great idea - one last chance to see our old friends since we would be leaving the day after tomorrow and who knew how many of them we would run across tomorrow or how many would join us on the ship.

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Willow was excited for the next character!

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Pluto seemed much happier than he had been at ‘Ohana…..

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How adorable is Minnie????

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After that, we headed to the International Gateway.

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We just missed a boat, so we decided to walk back to the BWI.

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Willow had been really good the whole time we were at Epcot and on the walk back, so I told her that she could go swimming if she wanted - either with a life jacket in the big pool or in the quiet pool (where I did not require a life jacket). She chose the quiet pool.

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This lasted all of 2 minutes because she was convinced there might be a shark in the pool. We headed back to the room, and Miss Willow was asleep by 9:30. Tomorrow would be our last day at WDW!!!

Up Next: Breakfast with Minnie

 

[IheartDDuck]

Oh no, poor Willow.

Oh, shocking that she tested positive for the flu. Sometimes, the people who work at the clinics just drive me crazy.

I'm so glad that the family ended up coming over and her cousin came by. I have several cousin's, but my cousin Michelle in Texas was always my girl, so I would have been devastated if I couldn't see her!

I have a kid story coming up later in my TR, when Gavin started acting the fool. You'll appreciate it.

Hahaha. A shark in the pool. Kids, I tell you.

 

[STLMickeyMom]

our oldest loved those light up sidewalk squares too! she could have played on those all night!

I had to laugh when I read that willow thought there might be a shark in the pool. I used to sometimes feel the same way! i'm not sure why I was convinced there could be a shark in there, but I remember a few times on vacation, swimming in a hotel pool with my dad, and telling him I was done after only a few minutes. he'd just shake his head and take me out. where do we get these ideas?

 

[dizneeat]

Yeah! More character pics!

I am glad to hear that you decided to walk through Epcot. It is so beautiful at night and so easy to get to the BWI via the International Gateway.

It's lovely to see how she is playing with the lights. They are so fun, even for adults.
OMG ..... a shark in the pool! How scary. Kids have some imagination for sure!

 

[chattadisser]

Just stopping by to try and get caught up. Glad you all had a great Christmas and that Willow rebounded from the flu. It has been going around here as well and there is only so much you can do to avoid it.

I'm also glad she rebounded from her snit and apologized. It's funny to read this now as we just went through (or are going through) a snit period now in our house. I love it when they finally get why they are being punished and that apologizing does really make things better.

Glad to see that Pluto could start to redeem himself in Epcot.

I also remembering being her age and thinking "things" were in the pool with me, especially at night and if there was no one else in the pool. I think it's something to do with it being so quiet and such a big pool. Now I would think it was just relaxing!

Christine

 

[shan23877]

Great! Another thing to worry about-sharks in the WDW pools!

I'm glad Willow rallied and got to go swimming. Love the character pics! How cute is Minnie cradling Baby Goofy? She's so sweet.

 

[cheryllarsen]

About like my daughter. She has been going to Disney since she was born.

 

[wiigirl]

Such cute pics!

 

[cheryllarsen]

Really enjoyed reading this. Thanks for posting!