Okay, just sent a PM on FB.

Slight comedy of errors where I first went to the nearby UCSD Medical, but Suzi was at a different one. Eventually found her and we went to a ramen place for dinner, so all's well that ended well!

Oh boy! Glad you updated us!!

Epic, once again, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I see my wonderful doc on Friday to start unraveling these stupid symptoms.

Suzi, you are very welcome! It wasn't the way we intended the day to go, but it worked out fine. And now we have an amusing story. Good luck at the doc, I'm glad you're able to get in so soon. Fingers crossed for an easy fix!

I have a question, but first, backstory: the three of us (M, Peanut, and I) are travelling to Waterloo, Ontario next month. It's a 5+ hour flight and Waterloo is an almost two-hour drive from the Toronto airport. Also, this will be Peanut's first time on a plane. She's been a champ on road trips, but we have no idea how she'll react to being cooped up in a tiny metal tube. Also, we're travelling during the day, so probably no sleeping from her.

Question for those who travel to & from Canada a lot: is it worth it to get Global Entry through TSA? I know there's a Canada-only program, but there's apparently no interview stations for that in California, and I would absolutely be willing to pay the extra $150 if it meant that all three of us could just breeze through Customs both ways. We're all travelling on U.S. passports, so at we have that at least.

Also, if any parents have any suggestions on keeping Peanut entertained, I will happily take them. I'm loading up the tablet designated as hers with movies & shows & games, and my hope is that she doesn't get to play with the tablet often, she'll be happy with that for most of the flight.

One thing I noticed when I was flying (without a child of my own) was a mother allowing her daughter to run and jump while they waited for boarding. On boarding, the girl sat down and fell asleep ... for almost the entire flight. It might help.

I love global entry. It makes into the US customs painless, and comes with TSA pre-check, which is as close to going through security while still managing to feel like a person as we have available.

Downside is that everyone in the group, including kids, has to have it

I've never flown in/out of Canada, so I can't help there, but in general the airport is going to be way worse than the plane (because you wait in line and then..you wait in line some more...and then you wait in line AGAIN, and it drives kids BANANAS), so anything you can do to spend less time in line is probably a good idea.

If you can find it, my kids prefer grape-flavor chewable Dramamine over orange. (Sadly, the children's version is non-drowsy so it will not help her sleep.) Bring a change of clothes for both of you just in case.

Lollipops are good for preventing earache for kids who are too young for gum.

Sweet-talk the flight attendants into letting you walk her up and down the aisle once every hour.

Some parents recommend getting a grab bag of little toys and opening one every 30-60 minutes, but I think those parents never met a kid with an iPad.

I too love global entry, if only because then I also always get precheck. But it definitely helps skip customs lines, too. I don't know about for getting into canada (it is faster by car, but I maybe didn't use a lane I could have on my way in th other week, flying, but the line was nonexistent anyway), but for coming back to the us.