Sick Days at Disneyland

The happiest sick days on Earth?

I feel like we've experienced our share of memorable Disney trips, but our most recent trip was truly one for the books... We made it to the happiest place on Earth... but never stepped foot into the park. WHAT?! Because one of us caught the FLU. Read on to hear about what happens when a magical trip takes an unexpected turn....

We've made it to Disneyland (kind of)
Our little family was ready for another Disneyland weekend. I was especially excited about this trip since we had not one, but THREE, yes three new DIY/Disneybound styles I had worked so hard on to debut at the parks. We also had some magical experiences we were ready for like the Food and Wine Festival at DCA and checking out World of Color after it's year long hiatus as well as Ben's firs time seeing the show. Most of all, this mama had just spent the prior 2 weeks taking care of Ben all on her own since PB was away on another Asia business trip for work. This Disneyland trip was to be the magical reward for a hectic 2 weeks prior!
Literally hours after PB landed from his flight from Shanghai, we hopped on another flight out to LAX and made it to SoCal! We spent the night at my sister's house in LA for some quality time with loved ones and good food before having to head out to Disneyland the next day.

The next morning, after a cozy indoor picnic breakfast due to the rainy weather, Ben's good spirits took a turn. Our poor little boy ended up vomiting multiple times. We chalked it up to maybe breakfast not sitting well, so we decided that it'd be best to still head to Anaheim, but rest up at our hotel for the rest of the day and just push back our Disney plans by a day. After calls to the airlines, rental car place and talking with the hotel, we were able to extend our trip by an extra day to make up for our sick day in.

The FLU
We spent all day on Saturday resting Ben up in hopes that he'd be better for a full day of Disney on Sunday. He seemed to have been getting better once we reached Anaheim, he was drinking and eating again, had no fever, overall he just seemed to be doing okay. Then Sunday rolled around... Ben woke up and looked even worse than he did the day before. He wasn't vomiting, but he just looked... unwell. As a parent you just know when your child is acting different and this was the definition of "off". We decided to forgo the parks again to let him rest more. When we all started to feel a little restless, we headed for some fresh air at Downtown Disney. This Disney mama had a chance to quickly run into World of Disney to pick up some magic, while daddy and Ben took in the sights outside. We thought the outdoor distraction would lift Ben's spirits up, but he got fussy so we called it an afternoon and went back to the hotel. This is when we noticed Ben's cheeks were super flushed, so PB ran down to the Walgreens next door for a thermometer and low and behold, our little guy had a fever of 101. 

Naturally, as any parent would be we were concerned and honestly, freaking out because we knew that we were officially in "sick" territory, all while away from home. We remembered that we had a 24 pediatric nurse hotline from our medical provider at home, so we called and the nurse suggested that we get Ben checked out at a local Urgent Care. Less than an hour later we had a diagnosis for our Ben: THE FLU.
The happiest Urgent Care on Earth! Literally, the Anaheim Urgent Care waiting room... Appreciated the touch of Disney!
The flu. It's a sickness that can bring even the strongest adult down, but for a child under 2? It's potentially very serious. Thankfully, because Ben had the flu shot (more on this later), his symptoms weren't as severe are they would have been if he hadn't received his flu shot a few months prior. We were also lucky enough to catch the flu within the first 48 hours, so Ben was able to get Tamiflu, a medicine that helps lessen the symptoms and speed up the recovery time of the flu.

Disney will always be there...
So we gathered our Tamiflu, Pedialyte, soup, and lots of TLC and hunkered down to help our Ben recover. We decided it would be best to just cancel the remainder of our Disney trip and head home. So we hopped back on the phones to cancel our already rearranged airline tickets, changed our rental car to now drive back home to the Bay Area (the more comfy option for Ben and to not spread the flu elsewhere, lol), and agreed that our little Ben and his health came first. Besides, Disneyland will always be there for us when we're ready and 100% healthy to be back!

A lesson learned from sick days at the happiest place on earth

So what did Ben getting the flu on our Disney trip teach us? Well a lot, it was just another notch in our parenting belts. And apparently this is quite a common occurrence since we received so many messages from fellow moms and families about how their own Disneyland trips that were cancelled, cut short or interrupted due to illness. 

So what are some tips & tricks that we have for when you or your little one get sick at Disneyland and you're away from home? Here's what we found helpful:

1. See if you're medical office has a 24hr hotline. Ours thankfully had a pediatric nurse on call 24/7. It's a quick way to to talk to a medical professional about symptoms and find out what they think should be the next steps for care. They can also help put you in contact or help you find a doctor or urgent care nearby.

2. If you don't have a hotline and need medical help or need to see a doctor right away, look up a nearby Urgent Care. They're usually walk ins and always have a doctor on duty. We went to Anaheim Urgent Care- Euclid Street. The staff was super friendly, the office was clean and best of all? The doctor we saw was truly amazing. This was probably the nicest Urgent Care we've had to go to and they treated our little Ben with so much kindness and care. We're thankful for the kind nurse that took her time to get Ben's oxygen/pulse reading after many failed attempts and to the kind doctor who immediately made us feel at ease and that Ben, despite the flu, would be okay.

3. Drugstores. There's a ton of drugstores spread out around the Disneyland area, there's two major ones just a block away from the front gates of the park (CVS and Walgreens) on Katella and Harbor! We we basically stopped in the Walgreens connected to our hotel (Hyatt House Anaheim) multiple times during our short stay. They had everything we'd need pretty much 24hrs a day from bananas, water, pedialyte, baby thermometers, and a pharmacy to fill our recent Tamiflu perscription. There's also a pretty well stocked Target just down the street on Harbor for more store variety!

4. TLC. A whole lot of tender loving care can really help when you or your kiddos aren't feeling well. It helped Ben a ton to just stay in the room and rest. Taking some time to just rest up, hydrate with tons of fluids and practice some self care for you or your little one does a world of wonders!

5. Travel cancellation policies. THANK GOD that our plane tickets, hotel and rental car all had flexible cancellation and revision policies. If not, we'd be totally out of luck in rebooking things and our money. Because our airfare was flexible, we were not only able to change our flight dates once, but also come back the next day and cancel the return flight all together with no penalty. Same thing went for our rental car and hotel arrangements too. The hotel was great about letting us stay an extra night in the same room (with the same rate we booked) and were able to cancel the change the next day when we had to leave. The rental car we had was also great since they allowed us to return the car to another airport, in our case back home at SFO for another fee, but it was possible so we didn't have to fly home.

My point of this? Whenever you're booking your next travels, Disney or not, especially if you have kids... get that flexible cancellation policy! Those extra few dollars will really be worth it if you have to cut a trip short due to an unexpected illness. 


6. Trust your gut. With our Ben, we just knew something was "off" with his demeanor the day he was diagnosed with he flu. As a parent, you just know when something just isn't right with your child. I'm so glad we went with our instincts and brought him to Urgent Care when we did. If we had let Ben's flu linger any longer he could have gotten worse and we wouldn't have been given the Tamiflu, which in turn helped ease his symptoms tenfold!

7. Flu Shot. Okay, so I know this is a hot button topic with some mama's and families out there, but hear me out. As a mama who recently went through the experience of a kiddo with the flu, I am SO THANKFUL we got him his shots. The Dr. basically said that if we hadn't gotten Ben the Flu shot months before, that his symptoms would have been more severe and he would have been hospitalized or worse! The flu is NO JOKE, it can lead to potentially life threatening and serious complications in young kids. I know some of you might be thinking "Ben had his flu shot, so why did he get the flu?" Well plain and simple, there are many different stains of the flu out there. The flu shot can protect you from getting it OR lessen the symptoms if you happen to catch a strain that wasn't in the shot, just like what happened to Ben. So our Ben WAS protected from the more serious effects of the strain of flu he had. Let me tell you, watching our little guy the first night, the worry, the anguish on his little face, the discomfort and pain he was in? Knowing that it could have been much worse if he didn't have the shot? I can't even imagine what would have happened to our son. So THANKFUL for the flu shot and that it helped Ben stay out of the hospital or any further complications.

8. Know that it's okay to not be at the happiest place on earth. So we literally were within range of Disneyland, like one block away type of range. We could step outside our hotel and see DCA, we could hear the fireworks going off each night. Literally so close... yet so far! It was definitely a little heartbreaking to have our Disney plans shaken up... But you know what? That's okay because our little Ben and his well being came first. As it goes with a lot of things in life... sometimes plans change and it's okay because more than likely, its for a good reason. Disneyland is great, but it'll always be there. Your health, or your kiddos health should always come first! Plus, it may not seem like it now, but having to cancel or cut a Disney trip short because of getting sick will actually be a great story to tell to others or look back on someday. Lol, our experience did just inspire this entire blog post!

We'll see ya real soon, Disneyland
So as I type this, Ben is currently still in recovery mode and both PB and I are still doing okay all thanks to our own flu shots (yay!). So once Ben is fully recovered, hopefully in the next week or two, we'll make our way back to Disneyland. Until then, thank you for reading! Here's to flu free and sick free Disney days ahead! 💜



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PB&J Parenthood: 14 months

Hello Month 14!
February may be the shortest month of the year, but it was definitely full of new adventures, fun and more! Read on to find out more...

 Starting off with a dose of MAGIC
The very first day of month fourteen literally began with a hefty dose of magic for our family! We made our 2nd Disneyland trip of the year for the most wonderful of reasons. In a crazy turn of events, we were invited by Disney Family to experience all the fun at Disney California Adventure Park's Lunar New Year event. Read about DCA's Lunar New Year HERE.
This was such a short but sweet trip. We literally were only in the parks a total of 24 hours! We drove down from the Bay Area late Friday night, got to the parks the next afternoon, then back home the very next day. Despite the shortness of the trip, it's always so good to be able to be back at the parks.

Hearts & Love
February was also a month of LOVE. We celebrated our 2nd Valentine's Day with our Ben. As the years have passed our versions of romantic Valentine's celebrations have definitely become way more low key. Now that we're parents, to a toddler no less, Valentine's day took a back seat to the reality of everyday parenthood. We made the best of a Thursday night Valentine with a nice home cooked meal, a sweet surprise of flowers, and just spending some quality time together as a family.

Curious George meets the Enegizer Bunny
We're another month into being parents to a toddler which means another month of growth and learning. Ben is much like Curious George, he literally wants to know about anything and everything! We joke that he has the mind of a little engineer already just like his daddy! He wants to know how everything works. He's so curious about his surroundings. If there's a button, he'll press it (favorite activity), if theres a screw, he'll want to unscrew it. If there's a knob, he'll want to open it. Let's just say our stock in baby proofing materials has gone up tenfold!
With all this curiosity also comes new mobility adventures for our Ben. This kid won't stop moving. Another way to describe him: an Enegizer Bunny. If you let him roam free, he can crawl clear across the room in seconds. He's also learned how to climb up on everything to get what he wants, which is both impressive, and scary at the same time!

Ben is also turning into a little grown up right before our eyes. It's really quite amazing to say the least. Watching him problem solve in situations, learning how to self feed, vocalizing his needs and wants? It's been crazy to see all the development literally happening with each day that passes.

One step at a time
Ben is now well into one year and two months old, and one thing he hasn't done yet? WALK. This boy can crawl like Speedy Gonzales around the room, pull himself up and climb over things, pretty much stand on his own.... but the one thing he hasn't managed to do is take those fateful first steps on his own.
Last year when we were in the thick of being newly minted parents I obsessed about everything. I followed every growth chart, milestone tracker and learning program for our little one to make sure he was "on track" with everything. When he hit 4 months and his cousins and same aged counterparts were rolling over, Ben wasn't. Our pediatrician assured us that Ben was fine and that he might just be "lazy" (said in the nicest way possible, lol) and that he had all the growth and physical ability to do so, but just didn't want to. Then in the very last month of the typical timeline, he finally rolled over.... then never stopped moving.

What I remember clearly from those days was the anxiety and the fear things not happening in these preset "timelines". As a parent, you get sucked into all the apps and the sources telling you what "normal" should be, but what I've personally learned in the last 14 months or so? Every child does things on their own time. Chances are more than not, they'll do what they need to do eventually!

So with Ben still not taking his first steps yet at this point in the game, we're not too worried. We know our little guy will get there... just on his own timing. And for the record, most children tend to take their first steps and walk between months 12-15... we've still got a month left to go! LOL. Our little Ben is getting there, we see it get closer each day, so hopefully by next month he'll take those giant leaps forward!

Onward!
So here's to looking toward another full month of memories and fun ahead. Much like our February, we'll be kicking off month 15 with another magical trip to our happy place. We're ready for a whole month of new adventures, memories and growth! So until then, from our little family to yours, thank you for reading!💜

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Rainy Days at Disneyland

Rain, Rain go away?
There's a saying that a rainy day at Disney is still better than a rainy day anywhere else. Read on to find out if thats true...

Rainy Day Luck
Rainy days are a rarity for Disneyland, especially for what's usually a sunny SoCal. That is, except for this odd year! In what feels like a crazy chance of rainy day luck, the two Disney trips we've made so made in 2019 have been completely rained out. Fortunately with a little weather.com checking and some wet weather prep, we didn't let a little raindrops dampen our Disney days!

Team Rain or No in the Rain
The top question I received after our trips was: "how is Disneyland in the rain?". Well you'll either fall into two categories, Team Rain or Team "why are we even here, my socks are wet". It's kind of a personal preference on how you do in wet weather. Personally, I love it! Crowds are usually low, especially if the rain is already forecasted ahead of time and the park just has this extra magical feeling to it, like puddles reflecting the park lights, empty walkways, and more!
The trick to enjoying your visit in the rain? No expectations and some easy wet weather prep. To start, some basic rainy Disneyland information you should know about. Depending on the severity of the rainfall or weather there can be potential closures of some rides that are outdoors or exposed to the outdoors. The handy Disneyland app can help tell you what rides are still functioning in the wet weather and which are temporarily closed. Another thing to keep in mind is that certain entertainment options such as parades, the fireworks, or any outdoor shows may be cancelled due to the rain. Please check with the official Disneyland app or ask an information desk or CM to find out more about what is on the rainy day schedule during your visit.
Characters are still out to play in the rain! Sometimes there's even some fun meet and greets that pop up for guests!
But with all the potential attraction and entertainment closures, there's still so much fun to be had at the parks! I mentioned above that crowd levels are lower. We've found that on each of our rainy day visits that the parks were anywhere from lightly crowded to pretty empty. Wait times are generally shorter for things and you'll also get a glimpse of the park in a whole new way if you haven't visited in wet weather before! Here's an example: there was a heavy rainstorm that hit on the Saturday of our last visit, but the parks were DEAD. We walked onto every ride we wanted to go on and while checking wait times, the usually "biggies" like Guardians, Space, Soarin' and Toy Story Midway Mania were all 20 minutes or under. Walkways were empty and the parks just had this quiet and calm about them. It was really nice!

Be Prepared
So how to enjoy to parks in the rain? Be prepared with all the rain gear and wet weather style! Here's a list of things that helped keep our family dry and cozy in the rain:

- Rain boots! I can't stress this enough. Rain boots are a godsend walking through a drenched park. Disney works really hard at keeping puddles at bay with their puddle sweepers, but there's always the stray puddle or those unknowingly deep ninja pools of water. There's nothing worse than putting your foot forward and SPLASH your entire shoe, sock and foot are soaked. *Cringe* just the thought of walking around in wet and squishy shoes on a cold park night sends shivers down my spine, lol! So do yourself a favor and invest in a pair of rain boots or a weatherproof shoe. I got a ton of questions about the boots I wore on my previous rainy day trips and here it is! I LOVE THESE BOOTS! They were under $30 on Amazon and were comfy walking around a wet and puddle filled park all day long.

- A good raincoat. This is pretty much a given, but having a raincoat or jacket keeping you dry can make all the difference. I also got a ton of messages asking about my pink polka dot coat and again... AMAZON to the rescue! It was lightweight and not bulky at all so I could layer underneath easily. An added plus? It just screamed "Minnie Style". Shop the Pink Polka Dot Rain Coat
My polka dot raincoat not only kept me dry, but in the best Disney Style as well!

- Umbrellas. Yes, even with a raincoat, an umbrella will definitely help keep you extra dry! Plus you can get some cute rainy day shots styling them.

 - Waterproof bag, plastic bags, anything to keep your personal items dry from the rain!

- Stroller protection. For my families with strollers, invest in a stroller rain cover! Again, this is amazing to have. It'll keep your little one dry while strolling around.

Want to see some of my other picks for rainy day style? Amazon Rainy Day Style Essential Round Up























So there you have it, my tips and tricks for making the best out of a rainy day at Disneyland! If you're heading to the parks and see wet weather is in the forecast, don't despair because there's still tons of fun to be had at the happiest place on earth. After all, a rainy day at Disneyland is still a day at Disneyland!💜
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Disney Lunar New Year

Happy Lunar New Year!!!
It's the Year of the Pig and there are oh so many ways to celebrate. But there's one place that is celebrating the Lunar New Year in the most magical of ways: The Disneyland Resort!

Our little family was invited by Disney Family to check out all the Lunar New Year fun on their behalf and here's our personal recap below! Check out more from our day here: www.DisneyFamily.com Lunar New Year 2019

Disney & LNY Magic
The fusion of two amazing things, the Lunar New Year and the happiest place on Earth! This celebration is one that definitely sparks some extra joy on a personal level. I'm part Chinese, my mom is of Chinese descent, so growing up we'd celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year with our loved ones. Getting to see my heritage represented at a Disney Park and done in such a spectacular way was beyond wonderful!
Showing Ben all about the Zodiac animal signs.

Food, Decor and Mulan, oh my!
Whenever Disney puts on a special event, they truly go above and beyond to give you the best experience possible. So it was no surprise to walk into Disney California Adventure Park and not be amazed by their Lunar New Year set up. There's amazing decor all about, festive music, fun activities for the kids like lantern making and face painting. Let's not forget the adorable merch and of course, the biggest draw: the amazing food!

I absolutely loved seeing how Disney managed to pair Mickey with the right amount of cultural elements when it came to decor and merchandise.

The food! Oh the food! That is what surprised me the most about Disney Lunar New Year! So many menu items that you'd never expect to see at a Disney Park (not in Asia) here at home. There was everything from Shumai, Pork Belly plates, pan fried noodles, almond milk tea (yum) and the piece de resistance: A fried whole tilapia fish (WHAT!?!?). Yes, you heard that right. A Disney Park.... in the United States is serving up a whole fried fish dish to guests. This is mind blowing because this is something so typical in an Asian household or menu, but to see it being offered to park guests, complete with servings of rice and soup is amazing! And if you're wondering, yes it's pretty dang good, my aunties would be all over this dish!
From the top going clockwise: Orchid Sptriz drink (yummy if you love floral flavors),  Pork Belly Banh Mi (this was AMAZING!, spicy short rib shumai, mandarin green tea tart and pan fried wheat noodles with chicken meatballs.
Mango Pineapple Pastry was my absolute favorite treat!
Yummy and extremely photogenic
All about that whole fried tilapia fish! So yummy and comes with a side of rice for two.
**Tip if you're visiting the LNY at Disney and are looking into enjoying the different specialty foods offered, I highly recommend the "Sip and Savor" pass! For $39/$36 for AP holders you get a pass with 6 tabs that can be redeemed for any food or beverage (except alcohol) at any of the LNY marketplace food booths and even at the quick service Paradise Garden Grill special event menu offerings. So worth it and it'll let you try a little bit of everything!
Sip & Savor pass is totally worth it!
Of course, this being a "Disney" Lunar New Year event there's a few magical touches in store besides the fun traditional elements. One of these doses of magic is their special character meet and greets! You'll meet your favorite Disney pals dressed in their traditional LNY best! While we were visiting, we met Mulan and Mushu (twice!). Our little Ben was dressed as a mini Mushu, so it took the whole experience to another adorable level! We also saw Pluto dressed in some Lunar New Year style, and although we missed them, Mickey and Minnie are there in some amazing traditional New Year wear, as well!


A celebration not to be missed!
So if you're looking for a fun way to celebrate the Lunar New Year, be sure to get on over to Disney California Adventure Park to see all of the fun! The event is ongoing from now until February 17th, so you don't want to miss it. THANK YOU DISNEY for sharing the magic of representation for so many cultures and shining a light on the Lunar New Year!

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