"We've Really Been Healthy this Winter!"

"We have been soooooo healthy this winter" has been the frequent phrase coming out of my mouth the past few months.... (Is this my self-reassurance that I was correct in NOT getting my kids the H1N1 vaccine?) Well, the cold/flu hit our house about 3 weeks ago and has gone round and round that I can't quite keep track of its actual route. I do know that it started with Charlie's nose and has bounced back and forth between Max's conjested chest and Charlie's now famous runny nose! Mike and I have both felt subpar, but as parents do, we have just kept going, going, going! I never quite know when to and when NOT to take the boys to the doctor. Most of the time, when I do decide to bring them, I have a huge let down, when after a long wait in the waiting room, and then even a longer wait in a 4x4 examining room, we are sent home empty handed... with NO new medicine. Somehow, the exhaustion, even after finding out it's nothing serious, seems like a total waste! As a new mom a few years back, this happened frequently. Other times, when I go and "really don't think anything is wrong," I am told phrases like, "He has a double ear infection!" Surprise and dumb-foundedness hit me like a ton of bricks... wouldn't a good mother just "know" this? Well, today I decided to take the boys through the McDonald's drive-through immediately after school in order to help them (I mean me:) deal with the trip to Urgent Care. Max's congested chest was not getting better, and his little eyes looked exhausted... after 3 weeks of "sucking it up," I decided today was THE day. They devoured their "plain cheeseburgers with ONLY ketchup" by the time we hit Midelfort Clinic Urgent Care, and they brought their Happy Meal toys in with them and provided free entertainment for the other poor sick individuals. Max was asked to wear a mask but told me, "But I can't breath!" so that lasted less than 1 second. He and I chose 2 seats, and Charlie proceeded to chose a chair across from us right next to a cute, college-age-looking female talking on a cell phone... she just looked at me and smiled, and to my delite, didn't even move. We past the time imagining what exotic animals could be hiding in the fake plants behind us and pretended to let the elephants and snakes take sips of their juice boxes, when the nurse called, "Maximilian!" Now, we all got to enter the HUGE 4x4 examination room... during what was likely 10 minutes but seemed like an hour, Charlie played with the water in the sink, paged through a "Food & Wine" magazine, and actually completely pulled out one of the metal stirrups from the examination table.... plopping it on the floor (right in front of the bland personality. (Very talented at quick repairs, I guess!) Turns out, Max DID have an ear infection.... BINGO, we won and earned a prescription, and now I am hopeful I won't be lying when I tell everyone, "We've really been healthy this winter!"

Now "Blogging" and NOT heading to jail

How do I start out my very first blog? Why am I even starting this? Curiosity, I suppose! Seems like a fun way to share the little stories of my life that make me chuckle and perhaps put a smile on the faces of those of whom I most care! Perhaps I am a bit lonely now that all but 1 of my 4 bordering neighbors have flown south for the winter.... not that I regularly conversed with them, but the darkness of their homes makes it seem as though I live in the very very north woods.... now really that far, I guess. Now for the fun to begin.... Story #1: Friday, on the way home from school, driving over the UWEC bridge over the Chippewa River (to give you a COMPLETE visual), I realize Charles in standing up, very proud of himself, ready to jump into the front seat of the car. Remaining "calm" and pulling over at the first possible right, I said, "Charlie, you HAVE to sit in your car seat! It's the law. Mommy could get arrested if the police saw you!" (Thinking the scare tactic would "suddenly" work with my boys!) My oldest, Max, thinks for 1/2 second and then requests, "Mom, could you call Dad to come pick us up and bring us home so we don't have to go to jail with you?" Wow, nice to know that it would be just NO BIG DEAL for my boys if I had to head to the slammer! Guess my boys are definitely secure:) Story #2: As for Charles, I felt like I was living in the midst of "If you Give a Mouse a Cookie" today. When I picked him up at school, he was, in fact, finishing a cookie. Attempting to encourage 1:1 communication with him during as we pull out of his school parking lot to pick up big brother, Max, I said, "Did you like your cookie, Charlie?" Charlie replied in his slushy speech, "Yesh... I'm hungry!" I "calmy" told him we'd get a treat at home in "just a minute." (How many times do I use THAT phrase each day?) One block from the school driveway, and Charlie gets bothered by his runny nose. Being the ever-prepared mom that I am, I have NO tissues in the car. Imagine that! Realizing the nose must get wiped, or this will be 1 LONG car ride, I hand him a basic black scarf that I usually throw around my neck half-hazardly on my way out the door each morning. IT CAN BE WASHED! Charlie wipes his nose... Yeah! However, the soft scarf must remind him of his blankie, because within 30 seconds, he is requesting his blankie.... I tell him AGAIN that it's at home, and we'll get it in "just a minute." (He will have a very INACCURATE concept of what "just a minute" is, I know!) And then, the blankie must remind him of his "boppy" (nickname for the currently-being-phased-out pacifier). Again, not in the car. But this time, I don't tell him "just a minute," because he and I both know that unless it is a VERY special circumstance, such as a MAJOR meltdown, Charlie will not get his boppy until bedtime:) By the time we get to the Max's school car line, Charlie is out of objects to request and is, regretfully instead, repeating his mother and telling the car in front of her to "hurry up!" Yes, slight rage and tension in the school car line... part of it stems from my daily fear of the teacher giving me a less than stellar report of my Max's behavior! So far, so good THIS WEEK! Someday, I am going to remember to pack a snack for the boys to eat during the 10-minute car ride home from Max's school. Otherwise, they inevitabley resort to poking each other, grabbing each other's belongings, and by State St. hill, we are in an all out crying fest by at least 1 of them. And Mike wonders why I would like to resort to a minivan... the ability to distance the boys from each other every now and then has the potential to do wonders for my sanity! What's really funny is that when we pull into the garage, Max says to Charlie, "You are my BEST brother ever, Charlie!" Guess this is what family is all about!