Candy Keane's Blog, page 178

Try Acidil Meltaway Tablets for Comforting Uncomfortable Bellies

The first time I ever experienced heartburn was when I was a few months pregnant. It was like a fire that wasn’t quite in my belly or my chest, and I felt just awful. I was terrified there was something wrong, but a quick Google search revealed it was just heartburn. But it felt SO MUCH WORSE, and that’s how my husband ended up at Walgreens at 2AM buying antacids. Ever since then, I’ve kept antacids in the cabinet. But it seems after I turned 45 they found a new home – in my purse!

I received this product for free from Moms Meet to use and post my honest opinions. Compensation for this post was provided and this page may contain affiliate links.

*CLAIMS BASED ON TRADITIONAL HOMEOPATHIC PRACTICE, NOT ACCEPTED MEDICAL EVIDENCE. NOT FDA EVALUATED

I recently got to try Boiron Acidil Meltaway Tablets, which are homeopathic melting tablets for occasional heartburn, upset stomach or acid indigestion symptoms. They can be taken before or after a meal that you may absolutely love, but discover one day it doesn’t love you back. It’s no fun to indulge and end up with bloating, gas or the dreaded flaming heartburn. The Acidil tablets melt under your tongue pretty quickly and have absolutely no taste.

Made with Plant-Based Active Ingredients

Boiron Acidil is the #1 best-selling heartburn homeopathic medicine in natural food stores, and made with sustainably sourced, plant-based active ingredients:

Abies nigra 4C HPUS—Relieves stomach pain after eating* Carbo vegetabilis 4C HPUS—Relieves stomach bloating with gas* Nux vomica 4C HPUS —Relieves heartburn due to excessive eating and drinking* Robinia pseudoacacia 4C HPUS—Relieves heartburn with acid indigestion*
The letters HPUS indicate that this ingredient is officially included in the Homeopathic Pharmacopœia of the United States.

The last time heartburn snuck up on me was on one of my favorite nights- Taco Tuesday! We waited too long for a table so I was starving by the time we got to the table. I dove right into my favorite Spicy Jalapeño Margarita and gobbled a pile of chips and salsa on a very empty stomach and instead of feeling better, I suddenly felt very very Wrong. I thought I was going to be sick. The burning was in my chest and kept getting worse until I realized what was happening. It was the heartburn again! I had to leave dinner immediately and find a store with antacids. I didn’t even get to have my tacos.

So this time I at dinner I came armed with the Boiron Acidil. I took one before the meal as a precaution, but near the end I started to get that familiar burning sensation. I immediately let two tablets dissolve under my tongue and the discomfort slowly eased up. The instructions are to let two dissolve for the first dose and then follow up with two more every 15 minutes up to an hour. I feel like it was effective at putting that fire out before it started to grow and plan to keep these little tablets in my purse now.*

Comfort Food Without the Discomfort



Where to Find Acidil

Acidil Meltaway Tablets typically retail for $9.99 to $11.99 (box of 60 tablets) and are available to purchase at RiteAid, Walgreens, Sprouts Farmers Market, Whole Foods Market, Vitamin Shoppe, and online at amazon.com, iherb.com, and vitacost.com. Visit boironusa.com/store-locator for the full list of locations and learn more about Bioron online at BoironUSA.com

*CLAIMS BASED ON TRADITIONAL HOMEOPATHIC PRACTICE, NOT ACCEPTED MEDICAL EVIDENCE. NOT FDA EVALUATED

Christmas at Gaylord Palms in 2020

Every year I see ads for the Christmas wonderland at Gaylord Palms in Kissimmee, FL and I’ve been planning to attend when my son was old enough to really enjoy it and actually remember it. He turned five in the year of COVID and I decided to take a chance and go this year. I figured at least it wouldn’t be as crowded as usual! So we packed up our masks and headed to the Orlando area. If you haven’t been yet, their Christmas events go until January 3, 2021.

Christmas at Gaylord Palms

Gaylord Palms is a pretty neat place even when it’s not Christmas. There’s lots to see and do with their unique Florida themed atriums that feature beautiful plants and greenery, live alligators, a castle, a boat you can dine on and plenty of areas to explore. And their pool area and water park is pretty amazing! The water is heated and there’s huge water slides and a play area plus a giant pool that’s not more the three feet deep so little kids can play in the entire thing.

The whole place is decorated for Christmas and there’s a very large Christmas tree in the middle of the atrium. The tree is the star of the light show where the atrium is lit up with a dazzling light display set to music. There’s so much going on that we managed to only catch bits of the light show, and never quite made it to the Cirque Dreams Unwrapped show, but we did several of the activities and overall had a great time. There’s no box office on site, so you need to buy your tickets in advance online.

The Grinch’s Wonderful Awful Idea Scavenger Hunt

We started our Gaylord Palms Christmas adventure with The Grinch’s Wonderful Awful Idea Scavenger Hunt. For $12 you get a paper booklet that sends you on a scavenger hunt around the atriums and at the end you get a small prize. This actually ended up being one of our favorite activities and was a good way to learn our way around. The book gives you clues and you have to look for the Grinch, or things the Grinch has stashed all around the resort.

Christmas Activities at Gaylord Palms

After the scavenger hunt, we picked up our wrist bands for Snow Flow Mountain so we could go tubing down the ice slides. This is one of the best deals because you can go all day, as many times as you want. There’s two slides- a small one and a big one, and you can do a single or double tube. The line moved pretty fast and it wasn’t too long of a wait. Especially compared to previous years according to friends that have been before. They take a photo as you go down the slide and you can purchase it as a snow globe type keepsake.

Their big annual ice carving display, called ICE!, was cancelled this year, so in place of that is the I Love Christmas Movies walk-through experience. It’s one of the most expensive activities at nearly $30 a person, and to be honest…not really worth it unless you really LOVE Christmas movies. Our five-year-old was not impressed and not happy about the wait time to get in. He also didn’t really know any of the movies besides the Polar Express.

They did do a good job of coming up with something they could keep generally socially distanced. Each area is decorated like a scene (or scenes) from the movie and you are led through the sets by a “Production Assistant” and have to stand on your marks before the scene starts. The sets don’t do much, but a voiceover from the movie plays. It was neat, but had we known exactly what it was, we probably would have skipped it and went down Snow Flow Mountain a few more times.

We did a couple other small activities we also probably could have skipped- gingerbread decorating and the Snowball Build and Blast. We paid $22 for a kit with two gingerbread men, a little tube of icing and a handful of colored ball candies. I was expecting a bit more in the way of decorations! I’d suggest splurging on the whole house kit if you do this one. The snowball activity is $12 and you get one short turn (like a minute or two) to make snowballs from a bin of snow and throw them at targets. It would have been worth it more at half the price. But the kiddo had fun at both, and that’s the important thing!

A Socially Distanced Christmas Wonderland

Overall it was a fun Christmas experience at Gaylord Palms and I’m glad we made the trip. Everyone was wearing masks, and I noticed they were quite diligent about telling people to keep them on. Though some areas were a little crowded, they did a good job of trying to keep everyone socially distanced. The elevator situation was a little tough due to people just wanting to ride by themselves, so the lines got very long. I suggest getting a room on a low floor and using the stairs. We were on the 4th floor and skipped the elevator line most of the time.

We got there on a Friday and the difference between the crowd on Friday and Saturday was obvious. Week days are definitely the best to avoid the crowds. Everything had a bit of a line, but nothing over 15 minutes. I definitely would like to go again! It’s a great little family holiday adventure.

I promise we only took the masks off for a quick photo

A Rookie Parent’s Guide to Christmas

My son is only five, so I still consider myself a rookie parent, but I’ve a learned a few things these first few years that can make Christmas go a little more smoothly for everyone. You may think you know how to do Christmas, but having a kid changes the rules a bit. Next thing you know, you’re up at midnight sneaking presents under the tree, stealing Santa’s cookies and hoping you don’t get caught. Christmas with kids brings a new level of excitement to the holidays, but also a new level of stress to an already hectic season. Read on for a few handy tips to prepare you for Christmas with kids.

Indulge in the First Christmas Experience

The first year is more about the new experience than the actual gifts. So go ahead and indulge in all the first Christmas gear- the ornament, the stocking, the “My First Christmas” onesie. Your baby isn’t going to be much of a participant this year beyond crinkling up wrapping paper or trying to chew on bows. This is the year you get to take it easy and not worry about sneaking gifts out in the middle of the night.

Assemble All Toys Ahead of Time

Once you move into the toddler years and start wrapping up toys, always remember to assemble the toys first. I cannot stress this enough if you want to have a (mostly) stress-free morning. Toddlers have ZERO patience and when they see that toy on the box and then open it to find it in 47 pieces instead, you’re headed straight for a Christmas meltdown. You don’t want to find yourself surrounded by heaps of wrapping paper, a screaming child and badly written instructions.

Stock up on Batteries

Kid’s toys require a lot of power so be prepared with a wide array of batteries in all sizes. And if you are giving a gift that requires charging before using, then open the box and have it charged and ready for when they open it. Kids toys require so many batteries, that I am now the proud owner of a battery organizer case that is stocked and ready to power toys of all shapes and sizes.

Don’t Go Overboard

Your instinct may be to give your child the biggest Christmas ever, but too many gifts and they will get overwhelmed. Stick to a few really good presents, otherwise they play with things for five minutes and then forget about it. And you could probably save a lot of money on the two and under set by just giving them the boxes and pretty paper because that’s what they’ll be most interested in anyway.

To Santa or Not

First-time parents may wrestle with the concept of Santa and how much to indulge in the story. Kids will be introduced to Old St. Nick at some point, so it’s good to get your story straight before they start asking questions. We embraced the idea that Santa is the delivery guy for all the gifts from mom and dad, and then we include one small gift just from Santa. It brings a little more magic to the season that way, especially with the little kids.

Enjoy the Season

Kids bring a special kind of joy to the holiday season as they experience everything for the first time. So go build the gingerbread houses, visit Santa, drive around and see the Christmas lights and share the fun things that will make wonderful memories. Everything may not go perfectly, but it’s all worth it for those magical moments that do go as planned.

And if you just hold onto just one thing from this post let it be this: Assemble the toys ahead of time!

New Geeky Christmas Carols Book

Tired of regular old Christmas carols like Jingle Bells and Silent Night? Then this new DC Christmas Carols book is just what you need to geek up your festive tunes with creative remakes like Jingle Bells, Harley’s Swell and Silent Knight.

We Wish You a Harley Christmas by Daniel Kibblesmith is a “sensational seasonal collection of classic Christmas carols with a DC twist. ” The small (5″ x 7″) hardcover book would make a great stocking stuffer!

It features all your favorite holiday songs remade with DC super heroes and villains, along with vintage and contemporary artwork by DC’s past and present artists. (including Alex Ross, George Perez, Elsa Charretier, Tim Sale, John Byrne, Dustin Nguyen, Sean Galloway, Dave Johnson, Sergio Aragonés, J.Bone, Ro Stein and Ted Brandt)

At 72 pages long it covers dozen of Christmas carols and is sure to bring a bit of festive fun to your holiday celebration. You can find it where ever books are sold, but if you get it on the Chronicle Books website, there’s a pop-up for 30% off, plus they offer free ground shipping!

Welcome to Geek Mamas Magazine

The website is in the middle of a re-design and I decided to jump the gun a bit on implementing the new template. I was trying to get all the posts set in their new categories, but I did the math and 600+ posts at my current pace would take just over two months. I can’t wait that long! So there will be some oddness and missing pieces while trying to navigate the menu until I get everything situated.

Wait, Isn’t this a Mom Blog?

Technically, yes, since I am a mom that blogs. And there will still be all the old categories available under the “Mom Blog” header. That’s where I’ll be putting all that wonderful “mom life” stuff that made up the bulk of the blog the last five years. And the blog will continue, just with a new focus on women in geek culture and involving other people.

Print Edition Launching Summer 2021

The actual print magazine is set to launch Summer 2021, as a quarterly magazine, and will feature original articles and photos not available on the blog.

New social media! I’m keeping the @SewGeekMama social media as my personal accounts and created new ones for the magazine:

Twitter – @GeekMamasMag

Facebook: Geek Mamas Magazine

Instagram: @GeekMamasMag

Things Are About to Get Weird

I’m working on a total blog overhaul, and things may look funny while I’m redesigning and moving around the categories and other things. It’s time to go back to my original blog plan, before Mom Life took over and all I had time to do was bang out a couple paragraphs about how awful toddlers can be. The funny thing is, 99% of the people visiting the blog won’t actually see this or realize what’s going on. But for the few that have been here since the beginning, or read the front page of the blog today, big changes are coming

Another Year, Another Blog Overhaul

There’s something about the new year that always give me the itch to completely redesign my entire blog. I feel like I make the “Big Blog Changes Coming” post around this time every year. So here it is again! But this time I’m going in the opposite direction I usually take, and downgrading the website. … Continue reading Another Year, Another Blog Overhaul

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Just Me Whining About Publishing a Book During a Pandemic

I published a children’s book about attending large events, during a pandemic where large events have all been cancelled because they can literally kill you. I really didn’t see that one coming. In case you are just stumbling into this story now, I’m Going to My First Comic Convention is available on Amazon. It’s a … Continue reading Just Me Whining About Publishing a Book During a Pandemic

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A Happy Thanksgiving in 2020

It’s been a really weird year, but I’m heading into the holidays with an optimistic outlook for a Happy Thanksgiving with few family members. Immediately after writing that first sentence, I got off the computer and didn’t bother with it again until now, which is Saturday and Thanksgiving is done and gone… So belated Happy … Continue reading A Happy Thanksgiving in 2020

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10 Ways to Determine if Your Child is Intellectually Gifted

Today we have a guest post on ways to determine if your child is intellectually gifted. I find it interesting that many of the things on this list describe my son, although the last time I wrote about his school performance it was about how I had just gotten his first preschool assessment and he … Continue reading 10 Ways to Determine if Your Child is Intellectually Gifted

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