Skamarakas - Nov/Dec 2005

When: November 27 - December 3
Who: The Skamarakas Family - Anna (mom, 41); Anna (grandmom, 62); Brighid (DD14); Eilis (DD4); Granuaile (DD 7 months)
Where: Port Orleans Riverside from Sunday until Friday, then one night at the Nickelodeon Hotel

I'm not very well organized in this report, so I apologize if I ramble.

We arrived late at night on Sunday night (about 10), and by the time we got into our room, DD4 was running a fever and DD 7 months was so stuffed up, she could barely breathe. We unloaded everything, and got everyone settled, but I was already worried about how Monday would work with two sick kids, ADRs at the Crystal Palace for lunch, and trying to meet up with my friend Dori and her daughter Aviva.

Monday worked lousy. We got up, and both of the little kids were pretty sick. Grandmom decided to hang out at the hotel while Mom took all three kids with her to CentraCare - recommended by the Disney front desk people. When we arrived, the clinic was already pretty crowded, and I was a little upset that I hadn't thought this through. I had not given the kids breakfast, since they slept so late from their fevers, assuming this would be a quick thing. Fortunately, I had formula with me for the baby, and there were snacks in the car from the trip down.

Side note - CentraCare will provide van transportation to and from the resorts at Disney at no cost.

After 3 hours in the clinic, we were seen, and it was determined that the baby had an ear infection in both ears, and both kids were put on antibiotics to kill whatever was causing their upper respiratory problems. They also gave me a cough medicine for DD4. There is a pharmacy right next door to the clinic - attached. I walked right over to get the scripts filled, only to find out that they do not participate with any insurance company, and it would have cost close to $200 to get the scripts filled there (I could get reimbursed by my insurance, but I ended up going to Walgreens for free).

By the time I got back to Port Orleans, we were all starving. Mom had not managed to make her way down to the food court or anywhere else, and now she was a bit stir crazy from having to sit at the room all morning. The doctor had told me I could take the kids wherever as long as they were able to tolerate it, so we decided since we are now pushing close to 3 o'clock, we would skip the parks and head to DTD for lunch/dinner.

We walked right in to the Rainforest Cafe, and ordered way more than we would have normally because we were all so hungry. The kids did good for the early part of the meal, but towards the end of the meal, Eilis got really crabby, and we made the decision to put off shopping until another day and head back to the room. As we left the restaurant, Eilis started browsing the shop, so we changed our minds and pushed our luck.

With Grandmom with us, the kids were invited to choose way more souvenirs than I would have ever bought. Eilis wanted the My Little Pony box, so we went off to the toy store. Our first bit of magic happened here. When Eilis and Dram (Grandmom) had finished stuffing pony pieces into the box, they took it up to the cashier. The CM at the register opened the box, declared she could fit in one more pony, and off she went to cram in an extra pony (Eilis had one). Eilis was thrilled, and all the way out of the parking lot continued to say, "Now I got 2 ponies!!"

We decided not to continue to push our luck with the two sick kids, so we stopped in at Goofy's Candy store, where everyone chose a snack for the room later that evening. We then decided that Brighid's was the best - Dulce de Leche fudge - oh, man, was that yummy!!

We headed back and got back into the room by about 7. Eilis and Gracie are both coughing and feverish, and Grace sounds funny to me. The medicine is making the two littles very tired, and they are both asleep by 8.

Highlight - The great CM who made my daughter so happy with that second pony.
Lowlight - Two sick kids :-( and not being able to catch up with Dori.

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