Once again, the family has caught some wacky sickness. Not as bad as the last one, but enough to be thoroughly miserable. Colds get worse when you’re Mom. Because I can’t feel miserable and want to lay down and sip hot tea and watch re-runs of NCIS while the Munchkin and the Rascal are both sneezing boogers all over the house.

So, based on the experience of the last week, here are some small, friendly tips to help you with your wintertime colds.

1. Read a good book. If you don’t have sick kids, too, a book is a good way to keep yourself from feeling quite so miserable all the time. And yes, this is also a shameless plug for me, the author. Don’t forget to pre-order your copy of Phoenix today.
2. Drink lots of water. Seriously. Just drown yourself in it.
3. Go nuts with the cough suppressants and antihistamines. Let’s face it, there’s no point in being miserable if you don’t have to be. In addition, Genexa makes over-the-counter stuff with no dyes or common allergens, which is also nice if you can find them.
4. Use a diffuser. I’m not one of those fluffy “everything must be oh-so natural, and I refuse to feed my kids anything but organic food and would never give them actual Benadryl” moms. There’s nothing wrong with Tylenol or Benadryl when you need it. But, sometimes, if you’re in the middle of a huge coughing fit and the DayQuill just isn’t cutting it, a small diffuser filled with a combination of eucalyptus and peppermint is very helpful. I like Plant Therapy essential oils the best. Their quality is excellent, and they label everything so that you know if it’s safe for kids or pets, or during pregnancy.
5. Sleep upright. The hardest part of a cold is trying to sleep, but you need sleep to make the cold go away, but you can’t sleep because of the cold, which means you feel worse . . . and so forth and so on. Big pillows propping you up on the couch are useful, rather than trying to lay flat in bed. And if you wake up and can’t sleep because of the evil cold, watching old Perry Mason reruns is easier from the couch.
6. Go outside. I know, it seems stupid. But cold air is easier to breathe than hot air, especially from a standard HVAC system. That air is dry and hard to breathe, and sometimes makes coughs worse. So, if you live in Texas where it isn’t quite as freezing outside, try to go out and inhale some cold air a few times a day. You poor souls who live in the northeast . . . I’m not sure I can help you. You might go outside and just freeze into a popsicle.
7. Zicam Cold Remedy. I might be imagining it, but the little Rapidmelts seemed to help. It didn’t make the cold go away, but it seemed to calm it down a little. And the kids definitely did better with Hyland’s Tiny Cold Tablets.

Voila, a list of tips. Hope you can get some use out of them. Because this garbage is thoroughly miserable, and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.