My school year is well underway and so far (knock on wood), I’ve been lucky enough to escape any illnesses this year. I did start to get a sore throat at the beginning of the year, but that always seems to happen when you go from summer break to teaching and talking so loudly for 6+ hours a day.
I absolutely adore my 31 first graders this year! They are the cutest bunch of kids and are so sweet and eager to learn every single day. They also like to give me tons of hugs and even share their snacks with me
.It’s a sweet gesture when one of them hands me a snack and I’d never want to crush their spirit so I kindly thank them…and dispose of it properly when they walk away. 
It’s extra important to be on top of your health when you’re a teacher because if you’re sick and have to be out of the classroom, it affects everything. (We all know what can happen when there’s a sub.) I’m very fortunate to be a “seasoned” teacher because a brand new teacher is likely to get sick more often, suffering from up to 2 colds per month. I remember those days!
With cold and flu season upon us, I set up an appointment with Kaiser Permanente Orange County Physician Dr. Eric Troyan to chat and get his his best advice for keeping healthy in the classroom. He had some great tips and advice for me, which could be valuable information for anyone who has prolonged contact with children on a daily basis and works in a school or daycare like me. 
Here are some of the great illness prevention tips we talked about:
Hand Washing and Sanitation
Washing your hands as much as possible is actually the #1 scientifically proven way to stay healthy. In the case of teachers, if a teacher comes in contact with a child and then touches their own face, it’s an instant transfer of germs. Always wash your hands before you touch your face. In my own classroom,I don’t have access to a sink so I keep a big container of alcohol-based hand sanitizer nearby. It’s not a substitute for hand washing ,but does get me by until recess, lunch, or after school, when I can access a real sink.When you do wash your hands, it’s recommended that you use soap and warm water and lather for at least 20 seconds. (I recommend signing the ABCs to know that you’ve lathered for long enough.)
Keep Your Immune System Optimized
Your immune system is everything when it comes to illness and preventing and avoiding illness. The stronger your immune system is, the less often you’ll get sick and quicker you’ll recover. Sleep, Nutrition, and Hydration can all affect your immune system.
- Get Ample Sleep – You should try to maintain a regular sleep schedule of at least 10 hours a night. If you get less than 8-10 hours of sleep, your immune system is more likely to take a hit. Studies show a correlation between sleep deprived people and illness.
- Nutrition – Your body depends on proper nutrition to stabilize your immune system. Eating the recommended daily servings of fruit and vegetables is very important. Vitamins in the foods you’re eating are ones that your body uses most efficiently. However, we can’t always eat a balanced diet and get every vitamin we need so supplementing your diet with things like Vitamin C and Vitamin B Complex is a great idea, too.
- Hydration – It’s always important to stay hydrated but doing so can also help you avoid getting sick. Everyone should be drinking about 64 oz. of water on a daily basis but increasing it to about 12 glasses per day (or 96 oz.) is ideal when you’re starting to feel under the weather. Hydration is important overall and helps with many things, not just avoiding illness.
Get a Flu Vaccine
It’s important to actively take care of yourself so you can avoid illnesses, especially when cold and flu season rolls around. One of the things that Dr. Troyan highly recommended was to get a flu shot. 
He really stressed the importance of this one for people like me who are around children. He also explained that the flu vaccine this year will be more effective than the one last year and told me that it’s considered a “killed version” vaccine as opposed to a live one, which you would hear about people actually getting sick after receiving it. The best time to get a flu vaccine is before Halloween but if you don’t do it by then, you’ll definitely want to get yours before Thanksgiving! Flu season tends to peak after the New Year in California, so why not go into it well prepared to fight it off?
Teacher wellness is essential when it comes to a successful school year. Do you or someone close to you work with children? What kinds of things do you do to help fight off illness during the school year?
Open enrollment kicked off November first. If you’re looking for a new provider, explore
plans with Kaiser Permanente Orange County and you’ll have the ability to select from many services for you and your family including primary and urgent care, emergency facilities, labor and delivery, pharmacy, and lab all housed under one roof. Find out more today at: kp.org/orangecounty.
Connect with Kaiser Permanente Orange County on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Also new for the season is the holiday-themed “World of Color—Season of Light,” a nighttime water spectacular that will inspire guests with cherished holiday music and treasured Disney animation. This fourth all-new production of “World of Color” creates a sparkling winter fantasy with magical storytelling, brilliant lights, lasers and high-definition projectors, along with fountains that shoot as high as 200 feet to create the giant screens of water.
Holidays at the Disneyland Resort is a time many guests celebrate as an annual tradition,
At Disneyland Park will enjoy the one-of-a-kind transformations that create “it’s a small world” Holiday, Jingle Cruise and Haunted Mansion Holiday. Now celebrating its 20th holiday season, “it’s a small world” Holiday has added some “Hidden 20s” for guests to discover on their voyage.
Holiday Highlights at Disney California Adventure Park
Haunted Mansion becomes Haunted Mansion Holiday, with Jack Skellington
Jungle Cruise is transformed into Jingle Cruise, as the jungle skippers gather
There’s so much to see and do during Holidays at the Disneyland Resort and it’s a perfect time to create new family memories together! For more information, please visit 
When I received a very special opportunity to attend an advanced screening and a press junket with some of the cast of Trolls, I walked around asking my friends to pinch me! I think my family was equally excited to see it early! Can you tell we’re big movie fans in our home?
The Story of Trolls 
Here’s a synopsis:
Once I screened Trolls, I found that I’d completely fallen in love with it! By the time I walked out of the theater, I felt so happy, colorful, invincible, empowered, and positive. Part of my empowerment may have come from the adorable Trolls wigs they gave us! 
1. It features an all-star cast.
And did I already mention that I got to meet Justin Timberlake and Anna Kendrick?
3) The music
4) Princess Poppy
I don’t believe in posting spoilers or any sort of details that will ruin it for someone who has yet to see a film, so don’t worry, nothing I’ve written will spoil any of it for you! I can honestly say that Trolls is appropriate for all ages and will definitely keep anyone from young child to senior citizen engaged and interested! DreamWorks Animation’s Trolls is in theaters November 4th! Please come back and tell me how much you loved it, ok?
One of our favorite annual traditions this time of year is to visit Irvine Park Railroad for their Christmas Train! Have you been before? It’s open 7 days a week from December 1-December 23rd and it’s a family event that’s not to be missed! It’s also so popular that it sells out very quickly! (Tickets for the Christmas Train may only be purchased in advance, online and are $12.00 per person. Children 24 months and younger are free. Click 
Irvine Park Railroad’s Christmas train will take you on an enchanting night ride through the historic Irvine Regional Park to meet Santa Claus. The train departs from the brightly-lit train station and drops passengers off at the North Pole. 
Children can share their wish list with Santa (print out a free wish list to fill out and bring to Santa 
In addition to an option to purchase a Santa photo taken by Irvine Park Railroad, you may also take pictures with your own personal camera.
After visiting with Santa, you’ll hop back aboard the train and enjoy the colorful Christmas lights and decorations, as well as the magical “Tunnel of Lights”, on the ride back to Santa’s Village.
Santa’s Village is a fun area that includes a variety of festive activities, some require tickets, while others are free.
Santa’s Village Activities include:
Irvine Park Railroad is located inside of Irvine Regional Park, which has a fee to enter. Prices are as follows:
Also, for a limited-time only, Yogurtland has two new collectible spoons inspired by the Trolls main characters Poppy and Branch so guests can bring home the fun from Trolls and the tasty flavor from Yogurtland. These collectible spoons are only available while supplies last so hurry in to get yours!
So, are you headed to Yogurtland right now? I would be! You can also enter my giveaway for a $20 Yogurtland giftcard. Just go to the Rafflecopter below! Good luck everyone!
About Trolls Movie
Don’t worry, The Switch Witch is a friendly witch and she will make your life so much easier. This time of year, kids everywhere are gathering way too much candy for their own good. Whether they’ve gone to Halloween parties or received goody bags from school, it’s all more candy than they should be eating. As soon as Halloween night hits, your home is going to be overthrown by even more sweet treats! 
The story of The Switch Witch is a fun, friendly one and a game changer for parents everywhere who are looking to get rid of their kid’s Halloween candy! It’s important to know that she is a friendly witch and a friend of The Tooth Fairy, Santa, and The Easter Bunny, so that’s how I first explained her to my daughter. She only visits during the first few nights after Halloween (including Halloween night). 
Kids get to pick out 10 pieces of candy and put them away somewhere safe. Then, they leave the rest of their candy out for The Switch Witch before they go to sleep. (Some kids even write her a nice note!) Later that night, when everyone is sleeping, The Switch Witch will come in and “switch” out their candy for a surprise!
When kids wake up the next morning, they get so excited to see what she left them! We’ve done this for every year that my daughter can remember and it really saves what could be looked at as a lot of unwanted sugary treats from being ingested by your kids. Your pediatrician and your dentist will be so pleased with you! Happy Halloween! 
What starts off as a headache just seems to escalate and get so intense that my head feels like it’s going to pop off! The pain can get so bad that I need to go lay down in a dark room to sleep it off, which usually means sleeping until the next morning. Even worse are those migraines that last more than one day.
I decided to set up an appointment to meet with a Kaiser Permanente Orange County Clinical Dietician. I wanted to chat in person and talk about my own experiences with migraines, what I’m eating, and if there’s anything I can alter in my diet to help minimize my migraines? I’ve had a few friends mention certain foods being related to the cause of migraines,so that was one of the things I wanted to inquire about. I also wanted to ask for other tips to help minimize the frequency of my migraines. I was anxious for my appointment with Natalie Lloyd, R.D., who’s a Clinical Dietitian from Kaiser Nutritional Services. 
The first thing I learned was about 90% of migraine sufferers have a family history of migraines, which means, if your parent has migraines, you’re pretty much guaranteed to experience them also. My mom does get them, so that was discouraging news, however, there are still things I can do to combat that statistic. I’m not giving up hope.
Some other factors that can be related to migraines include lack of sleep, dehydration, hormones, and stress. Well, I fall into every one of those categories, too. 
I decided that it was time to make some big changes and get more pro-active in my efforts to do things to counter what could be making me get migraines. 
During my appointment with the Clinical Dietitian, I learned that there’s no actual evidence that’s been found to link any certain food as the actual cause of a migraine. So weird because I swear there are foods that set mine off. We discussed this further though and although there isn’t actual evidence to support that, there are certain foods and ingredients used in foods (and some drinks) that can be avoided to help minimize migraines.
The Clinical Dietitian also gave me some great general nutrition tips to follow as well. I feel like her tips were great for maintaining overall wellness, which is something that Kaiser Permanente Orange County strives to teach all of its patients and staff. It’s really more of a general guide to daily living, that could easily keep you on track and I feel like it’s really helpful. She also suggested keeping a food journal or food log, especially if you’re attempting to eliminate certain foods to see how your body reacts.
I learned so much at my appointment with the nutritionist. Although there’s no cure and nothing will completely eliminate my migraines, it’s been a big help to be more educated about some of the things to avoid. Since my appointment, and after making some changes in my diet and regimen, I feel a lot better and have experienced far fewer migraines lately.
I made the decision to take a few steps to turn it around and honestly, just making those few changes to my daily diet and regimen, has me feeling better already. I’ve had a few friends ask me what I’ve been doing differently, which makes me happy because it makes me realize that others can see a difference. I’m always open to sharing my secrets and what works for me, so here you go. 
I started keeping a journal.
I started drinking more water. 
I chose healthier snacks and foods. 
I took myself out for a daily walk. 
I added 
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The Amazon Studios special is set to premiere on Friday, October 21 on Prime Video in the US and UK and is the first of four original American Girl specials that will be made for Prime Video.
“Melody Ellison” is one of American Girl’s newest historical dolls and she’s beautiful. Each of the American Girl historical dolls has her own “story”. Melody’s story is an extremely important one and is based in Detroit, in 1963, during the civil rights movement.
The Amazon Original Special is based on American Girl’s Melody character and inspirational story. 10-year-old Melody’s eyes are opened to the racial inequality surrounding her, including the tragic 1963 Birmingham Church Bombing. As a result, her belief in the “indivisible” promise of our country’s Pledge of Allegiance comes into question, as she challenges her teacher on the validity of this given the horrific tragedy. After an emotional journey of self-reflection, her mother gives her the courage she needs by instilling in her that love brings out the best in everyone, reminding Melody that it’s important to “stand up for what’s right, even when it’s hard or scary.” 
You’ll instantly fall in love with Marsai Martin (Black-ish) as the title character Melody. Idara Victor (TURN: Washington’s Spies) who stars as Melody’s mother, Frances Ellison and Frankie Faison (The Wire) who stars as Melody’s grandfather, Frank Ellison. Together, these 3 have such a special family that you just want to be a part of it. Frances Fisher (Titanic) also stars as Miss Abbot, Melody’s teacher. The feature is Executive Produced by Alison McDonald and Common. 
My Own Thoughts
The Amazon special addresses a big issue that was presented as being in the 1960’s but sadly, there is so much of these kinds of things that still happen in today’s world. It was an eye opener for me and as I sat there with my 7 year old niece. I did have to explain some of the scenes to her but I believe it was an important her to see how so many other children lived (and live) this way as their reality. 
This story presents themes that are very timely and relevant for the world we live in today and in my opinion, it is a way to start a healthy dialogue in families about the topic of racism, both historically and present day.
Melody’s character was one that was filled with so much grace. She endured so much ugliness in her little world and because of her momma, she continued to have hope and respond with kindness and kept love in her heart.
I won’t post a complete spoiler of the film but I will say that it’s a must-watch for everyone. It’s a topic that may be uncomfortable to watch but that’s all the more reason to watch and maybe even learn something. Also, it is an American Girl story, so rest assured that it will have a happy ending…but the story will always remain in my heart. Melody Ellison is one special little girl and I’m happy we will always have her doll, her books, and her movie in our home. 
Where to Shop for Melody
Don’t Forget to Watch
A very special thank you to American Girl and Amazon Video for hosting us at this very special event and also for the beautiful Melody Ellison doll. It was a night to remember!