The things us MEAN parents make our kids do!

Yesterday, hubby called me from work to let me know that "Today was the day".

Uh, Oh!

Today (now yesterday) was the day we had been dreading.....

FLU SHOTS!

Hubby works for a utility company, and they greatly encourage them to get flu shots. They were so adamant this year, they offered free vaccines to all employees and their families.

**These shots are the "regular" flu shots....NOT the H1N1 vaccines. We've already had that in this house, so we WON'T be getting those!**

Every year, we always have Chelsea vaccinated, just because of her past health/lung issues. Her lung capacity was only about 80% the last time we had it checked, so we don't want anything further compromising her breathing. Some years we have gotten the vaccine, other years not. Jameson has only been vaccinated as an infant.

This year, however, we ALL decided to take the plunge.

Chelsea was out of school yesterday because of a school-related trip she decided not to go on, so I told her as soon as I got the call from hubby.

Jameson, however, didn't know anything about it until we picked him up from school.

Let me just say that hearing the news was NOT the highlight of his day!

Jameson HATES shots more than any kid I've ever seen. Chelsea was so used to being poked and prodded, she never even flinches when she gets an injection....so dealing with Jameson's fear has taken us a lot to get used to.

The whole way there, he kept thinking up ways to talk himself out of it...

"Little kids don't get the flu!"

"None of my friends have to get the flu shot!"

"I've got a lot of homework to do and if I get a flu shot, I won't be able to use my arm!"

Sorry kid, those excuses don't work!

We finally got there and met up with hubby (who was coming in from work). We went in and completed the necessary paperwork....and then it the time had come....

(The gang heading in)

I jumped up first, just to show Jameson that there was nothing to it (it did hurt like a doozie, but there was NO WAY I was going to remove that smile from my face!)

Then Marty...

Then Chelsea...



THEN, it was Jameson's turn.

He was so scared and upset, I almost did make him get the shot, but things would be much worse for him if he did get the flu. He was a preemie and was on a vent too, so he is more susceptible to respiratory infections, however not as bad as Chelsea.

It took 3 adults to hold his arms so he could get it, but he did....and he didn't even know when she gave it. He was fussing and whining and didn't even realize that he was finished.

**Here is where I admit how bad a mom I am....I videoed him getting the shot. Yup, I did. I've never been able to get Jameson to calm down when he gets upset....Marty always has to, so Marty was helping to hold his arms while I had the camera out. However, he was so upset with me for taping it, I deleted it. I don't want him hating me for anything I may post. I felt really bad for doing it and I won't do it again. I don't see how mom's (and dad's, too) post things that embarrassing to their kids.**

So, once we were finished, we quickly went to the "sucker" basket to get a treat. Jameson felt that his shot was so much worse than everyone else's, so he deserved to have two (Marty just let him have his...he doesn't eat many sweets).

We all survived and have the generic bandaids to prove it!

(I didn't post a picture of my arm because the bandaid had blood on it...YUK!) The kids decided that they needed rewarding for their trauma, (I mean, isn't a sucker enough?) so we took a detour to Target and perused the DVD/CD/Clothes/Toy/Halloween isles.

We may have exited Target with a bag or four two of things.

Jameson played his "injury" to the hilt, and fussed and complained the entire time he did his homework...

"Mommy, I CAN'T MOVE MY ARM to write my spelling words!!"

"I HURTS too bad to read my book!"

However, when Spencer came over to play, he had a "sudden" miraculous recovery....except for the few minutes he was sharing his "War" story with Spencer.

By the time he got into the shower, he had completely forgotten about the day's horrific events.

This morning, his flu shot was a distant memory, as evidenced by his need to "Poke" my arm repeatedly this morning....right where I got MY shot.

KIDS!