To shot or not to shot...

I've always thought that shots were a good idea. I'm one of those moms that follows the vaccination chart religiously. But, do the flu shots count? I'm looking for opinions out there...

Do you give your kids the flu shot every year? What about the H1N1 shot/mist? Do you trust it? Am I being paranoid by questioning the FDA ?(insert sarcasm and roll of the eyes here)

My kids see "flu shots available here" signs all over town and remind me each time that they don't want any shots this year. Am I bad for giving them the shots or bad for not giving them? Either way, I think I'm screwed.

Help?

And now for something completely different

In honor of my sister J who had her second baby today, and after receiving Michelle's comment on my last post, here's to the things I won't miss. Because I agree with Michelle, it isn't always sunshine and rainbows when raising kids.

Things I won't miss:

• Being pregnant. I don't miss much of those 27 months of my life.
• The poking/prodding/examining of being pregnant.
  
• The swelling/pain/stitches of labor and delivery. Sorry sis. I feel for you tonight.
• Diapers. I was so glad to be DONE with this stage.
• Middle of the night feedings. My kids didn't sleep through the night until they were one. That makes for a very fuzzy thinking mommy.
  
• Potty training. Don't even ask me for advice on this topic. I hated it and waited until they pretty much did it on their own.
• Laundry. Does it ever end?
• Vomit. I know. Disgusting. Why would I put it here? Because I will never miss waking to "that sound" in the middle of the night when you know that you have bathtime, three loads of laundry plus carpet cleaning to do RIGHT NOW.
• "What's for dinner? Have I had it before? Do I like it?" How do they ask those questions and whine at the same time?
  
• Body fluids. Let's face it, little kids are pretty leaky and gross.
• "I don't have anything to wear" when it's five minutes before we have to leave for school and I have just finished the last load of laundry only to find that there is a large pile hidden in the corner of a bedroom of said child whining about lack of clothes.
• Homework. They have a lot more than I had in elementary school.

Okay, deep, calming, relaxing breath.... I better stop there. Wouldn't want you to think I was turning all negative...

On a positive note, sister J and baby boy J are doing great. I'm so excited to go see my newest nephew at the end of the month!! Jonathan is just thrilled because he is outnumbered here with two sisters. He thinks it's pretty cool to now have three boy cousins in UT and two boy cousins in MT.

I'm Gonna Miss This

The other day I was picking up an endless supply of toys, paper, pencils, books, etc. and I looked down and saw little, tiny paper airplanes. Now, my oldest child LOVES to create and draw with anything. Her newest love is to make paper airplanes in all shapes, sizes and colors. With that comes lots of paper shavings, and supplies. I haven't been the best in teaching/coaching/making any of my kids pick up after themselves, so I usually do it after they go to school or to bed. Well, I looked at these little airplanes after picking up the supplies, and my first thought was, "Will I ever be able to go into my living room and not have crap to pick up?" And then the next thought was, "Yes and it will come all too soon". Then a song "You're Gonna Miss This" popped into my head. (Papa Echo forgive me because it is a country song.) The chorus is:

You're gonna miss this,
You're gonna want this back,
You're gonna wish these days,
Hadn't gone by so fast.
These are some good times.
So take a good look around,
You may not know it now,
But you're gonna miss this.

So, here is a list of things I will miss in seven to twelve years. (big sad sigh)

I will miss:

• The shredded paper, toys, pencils, books, necklaces, hair ties, shoes, socks, school papers, notes, more paper, art projects, cardboard tubes made into ANYTHING, more paper, paper and PAPER all around my house except for where it belongs.
• Tucking my kids into bed.
• My kids curling up next to me to watch a movie.
• Requests of ice cream for dinner. (Have I ever said yes? and yet they still ask)
• Teaching them how to read and write their own name.
• Stories of school and friends.
• Playing "airplanes" for the 100th time that week.
• Watching their creativity.
• All the questions.
• Seeing their different personalities develop. And boy is each child different!
• Reading school papers.

I'm sure I could think of a million more reasons and anyone who now has an "empty nest" could add a million more. I guess this post is to say that even though I get frustrated and tired, I know that I'm lucky I get to be a part of their lives for this short amount of time. 18 years is not long at all. Once they go off to college and then on their own, it just won't be the same as now. There will be awesome parts I'm sure, but it will be different. So, I'm just going to remember to enjoy these moments now, because they sure are a lot of fun.