**This post is sponsored by Vick’s available at Walmart. All opinions and malarkey are my own.
The moment a single leaf falls to the ground, my eye twitches a little with nervous anticipation of the crappy little holiday present I never ask for but get every year anyway: the cold and/or flu.
Except for some reason, it’s like germs sense that I’m a mom so they usually exclude me from some much needed bed-rest and instead infect everyone around me so that I get to play nurse and take on even more worry and stress than I already do. Sometimes this mom gig is crazy. Want
to clean puke and diarrhea off a bathroom floor at 3am? Then I can’t recommend having kids highly enough.
To make taking care of sick kids a little more tolerable for everyone
involved, there are some go-to items that I arm myself with every year. Kind of like a cold/flu/cough/sanity survival kit.
Here are my must-haves for the god awfulness that is cold and flu season:
Rubber gloves
Let’s be real. Sometimes when the kids get sick, the mess is just downright vile. And guess who gets the privilege of cleaning it all up? That’s right – mom. You will become well-acquainted with the ol’ mop and bucket, which brings me to my next item…
The family puke bucket
Every family ends up with a puke bucket that was never meant to be a puke bucket. For instance, my family’s puke bucket is a festively decorated plastic Tupperware bin meant to hold baked goods, only now it gets to hold digested food and stomach acid as well as my tears, sadness, and last shreds of sanity.
Disinfectants
Sprays, wipes, soaps, hand sanitizers, anything and everything that can tame the germy cesspool that is my home during cold and flu season is vital. If there were a disinfectant bath bomb, I would plunk one in a bath and drown myself in it. Even better, if there were an actual bomb made with disinfectant. I’d somersault around like an anti-germ Rambo, blowing up my house with disinfectant.
Movies
When sickness runs rampant in my household, the living room turns into a giant sleep pad because when they don’t feel good, kids have trouble getting to and staying asleep which means you’ll spend many a late night cuddling your little sickos on the couch.
Crackers
Go ahead and just buy out your local grocery store’s entire cracker inventory because they are all your kid is going to be able to stomach.
A tarp
Save yourself the back ache and repeated dry-heaving involved in scrubbing vomit out of the carpet and heaven forbid, your couch. I don’t wish scooping chunks out from between couch cushions on my worst enemy. I’m lying, but you get the point. Get a tarp or plastic tablecloth, drape it over your kid’s mattress or couch, cover it up with a sheet, and you’re golden.
Ear plugs
Because listening to your kids sniffling all day will make you want to stab your own ears out.
Vicks products
Like their VapoRub. I know it’s considered an old wives’ tale to put Vick’s on the bottom of your kids’ feet before bed and then putting socks on over them and that it’s not proven to work but I still do it. And, you can put it on their chest to give them soothing Vicks vapors too. Plus, right now, you can save on Vicks at Walmart:
*$1 off any Vicks product at Walmart (except drops, Sinex, and ZzQuil) *BrandSAVER coupon from the 11/25 newspaper
*$1 off Vicks Nyquil at Walmart – iBotta offer
*$0.75 off Vicks VapoDrops at Walmart – iBotta Offer
*Bonus $1.25 rebate when you use both iBotta offers
Like their VapoRub. I know it’s considered an old wives’ tale to put Vick’s on the bottom of your kids’ feet before bed and then putting socks on over them and that it’s not proven to work but I still do it. And, you can put it on their chest to give them soothing Vicks vapors too. Plus, right now, you can save on Vicks at Walmart:
*$1 off any Vicks product at Walmart (except drops, Sinex, and ZzQuil) *BrandSAVER coupon from the 11/25 newspaper
*$1 off Vicks Nyquil at Walmart – iBotta offer
*$0.75 off Vicks VapoDrops at Walmart – iBotta Offer
*Bonus $1.25 rebate when you use both iBotta offers
My other secret weapon that I rely on all the time now but is especially helpful when my kids are sick, cranky, contagious, and don’t have the energy to go anywhere is Walmart’s grocery pick-up service. It’s free and insanely easy and convenient. All you do is go to grocery.Walmart.com,
select your preferred store location, add whatever you need to your online cart, select a time to pick up your groceries, drive over, park in a designated spot, and then an employee who has battled the crowds for you brings your groceries out to you and LOADS THEM INTO YOUR FREAKING CAR FOR YOU WITH NO EXPECTATION OF A TIP! They actually can’t accept tips (I asked) so you can enjoy this beautiful service without any guilt. And it’s FREE as long as you spend over $30.
Walmart’s grocery pick-up service should be every hot mess mom’s best friend. It doesn’t require me to put on makeup, actual pants, or even a bra if I don’t want to, and it’s great for when I don’t want to be seen in public because I don’t know about you, but when my kids are sick, I look awful.
I’m always on the lookout for more cold/cough/flu tips and tricks, so if you’ve got ’em, drop ’em
in the comments below and help a tired, worried momma out!
