"When I grow up I'm gonna be a Doctor"

They said it themselves, without any provoking...WHY??? Dylan and Riley have come to the conclusion that if you are Doctor you don't have to get shots!

Today I had the joy of taking all 3 kids for their flu shots, by myself. Brad was stuck at work, and with a busy week ahead today was the only chance to take advantage of the Blitz...So I braved it alone.
As soon as I picked them up from school and broke the news to them, things went downhill. There was kicking (literally) and whining all the way there..."Why can't we just go home, and have supper Mommy?"... "No, No, No Mommy this isn't the way home" Upon arrival Dylan sat in his seat crying and refusing to get out of the van, until finally I was able to reason with him, that Mommy would go first and that if it hurt Mommy he didn't have to get his flu shot ;-) (Guess they are still pretty traumatized from their recent 4 yr old vaccinations- 4 shots each on that trip!)

So we get in, register and wait our turn... things are looking pretty good, as we wait I'm bribing their bravery with treats and special activities when we get home. We are called in, and they enter the cubicle cautiously. I go first...I put on a brave face, and didn't even flinch. But just the sight of the needle had them shaking. They both stood up against the wall opposite of me, with fear in their eyes... You'd like they'd seen a ghost. When she asked whose next they both nominate the other and step even further away. (Now mind you I have Brady sitting on my lap, so that gives me limited mobility, and no where to safely sit him, while I wrestled them down) There was no talking one of them into willing going first, so in their scurrying to get away I was able to snag Dylan by the arm, and pull him onto my lap (Brady on the other leg). He's kicking and screaming (seriously), and I'm not letting go. I'm trying my best to talk some reason into him at this point, and its not working. I'm now just moments from grabbing the damn needle and poking him myself to get this over with. But thankfully the gal caught on that I wasn't gonna let him out of it, so it was just gonna have to happen with his cooperation. So she stuck the kid at first chance. As soon as she poked him, he instantly stopped his fit, looked at her and didn't say a word...It was over, and so was the drama. With the safety of a Tasmanian Devil band-aid in place he reported "That didn't hurt that much." Arghhhh!!! All the while, Brady is chewing on the stickers initially used to bribe Dylan, and Riley is practically shaking and looks so anxious that he could throw up. Anyway- No time for the classic "I TOLD SO", so instead I use the teachable moment and had Dylan convince Riley that it really didn't hurt and that he was more scared than anything.
Riley tried to change the plan, requesting to go upstairs and "just get the water squirted in my nose." The preface to this is, earlier we had discussed the option of the Flu Mist, explaining that its kind of like getting water squirted in your nose. But I didn't want to run to another floor in the clinic for the mist nor chance their poor cooperation with a misting dose. So I went with the easy poke and go- assuring they get the full dose. Well Riley's odd comment got me weird looks from the nurse, and led me to lie to my child...I had to get him to believe they were all out of the Flu Mist (Sorry Riley). With that the brave solider hopped up and took it like a pro... some hesitation, but much more cooperative than his brother.

Next up is Brady boy... completely oblivious to what his big brothers just experienced, as he was preoccupied with sucking on stickers... Dropped the drawers, took the needle, cried a bit, gave a smile and grabbed for his sucker too.

After many praises, hugs, kisses and high fives, the crew was out the door and loaded back in the van. While enjoying their suckers (before dinner even) on the way home is when Dylan and Riley discussed their plan to become Doctors. Dylan stated, "I'm gonna be a Doctor so I don't have to get a shot." "Yeah me too, we just give shots all the day" Riley added, "We just have to find a room, that doesn't already have a doctor." I didn't want to burst their bubble, but had to assure them for future reference, that everyone gets shots, and the bigger you are the less they hurt because you aren't scared any more. "Yeah Mommy you were Brave, I will be too when I'm old". I really do hope they grow up to be smart, helping doctors... as long as I'm not stuck paying for all that schooling.

"C" is for Cookie

Yummy Yummy Yummy... Doesn't this cookie look Yummy?

How about now?

Brady just loved sucking this cookie. He was "chew" (suck) on one end for a little while and then flip it around to give the other end some action, and so on and so on. He had so much gunk in between his little fingers, and all over his face. Good thing he didn't grab his hair with those yucky hands.

Oh yeah... What big boy doesn't want a little sippy cup action? So we diluted some Apple Juice and let him try it out. Surprisingly he caught on right away. I just gave him a sip with the plug out, so he knew juice came from the mouth piece. And then put the plug back in, and handed it over.
As you can see he knew what to do with out any problems. Except he gets a surprised reaction when he takes a big pull and has a mouthful of cool juice. It wasn't long into the whole sippy cup thing, before he figured out that "Hey this makes a pretty cool noise, when I bang it on the highchair tray... and these cool little handles let me keep a good grip when I fling it around." Dylan and Riley thought it was pretty cool that Brady is learning to use a cup, and that now they can share their juice with Brady.

Boo at the Zoo

In the spirit of the Spooky season we took the boys out to the Boo at the Zoo event. All the kids dress up in costume, and then trick-or-treat their way around the zoo, collecting candy as they go. Even with the huge mass of people, it wasn't bad at all. The weather was perfect... warm, sunny and no wind. Dylan and Riley were pumped to wear their Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle costumes, and got tons of compliments along the way. I think most of the comments came from parents our age, who remembered watching TNMT when we were kids. (All good things come back at least once) Dylan as you can guess was dressed at Leonardo (Blue) and of course Riley in red as Raphael.
It was cute to see all the other costumes, and run around in the fun of Halloween. The boys still aren't obsessed with the whole trick or treat thing, so this was a fun way to celebrate, and get a little more use out of their costumes.
Brady slept off and on while we were out, and since his costume hasn't arrived in the mail yet, he went just as his cute little self.

There is Freedom outside of healthcare...

Over the past month I've been out of the office a bunch and on the road...Something very different from the 6 years spent within the walls of MeritCare. In addition to the supervision of the call center, I travel the region performing outreach to those other communities we serve. This has sent me to the smaller communities of Hibbing, Virginia, Cloquet, Moose Lake and more. Its been a great opportunity to see the beautiful scenery of NE Minnesota. And at the perfect time of the year, as the leaves are turning. The drives so far have been within 90 miles of Duluth, so nothing thats keeping me from home in the evening, but as I soon venture to the far northeast of Ely or Grand Marais, I may have to take the family and make it a little get-a-way trip. There are some pretty nice sky resorts up there at the tip of NE MN that'll we'll have to check out. Brad and the boys can ski, and I'll just check out the spa :-)
Aside from the traveling liberties I get to wear jeans EVERY FRIDAY!! And... I don't have to pay for it! While at MeritCare you'd have to pay $25+ so you could wear jeans 5 days out of the whole year. Ironically that money went to United Way. Even though I don't have to pay to wear jeans every week, I still donate to United Way, for the fun of it.
Speaking of United Way... Our fundraising campaign is successfully underway. With the crappy economy some may not be able to give as much as before, but the important thing is that they still give what they can. Hopefully we reach our goal this year, as the need is even greater within those agencies we fund. And although I really have nothing to do with the campaign I still need to give a pitch to "LIVE UNITED". I just finished my quarterly report and found that there is a 44% increase in referrals (through 2-1-1)to basic need services (food, housing, financial assistance) from this time last year. All the more reason to give to your local United Way.

Cheering for Cheerios

Just the other morning I was dropping the boys off at daycare and as I was pulling Brady out of his car seat he smiled and I got a glimpse of this little white spot on his lower gum. Sure enough it was the start of a little tooth...just a little sharp point was poking through, but its a start. That same day was his first go with cheerios (cut in half). He rolled it around and around, before attempting to swallow. Each attempt was followed by a slight gag, until he figured it out and was alright with the sensation.

His little fingies aren't quite coordinated to pick up half a cheerio, so he whines until you feed him more. When he does get it in hand there's some fumbling and if it doesn't hit his lap, he's got his whole hand in his mouth trying to get a munch. When that happens the whole house cheers... cheering him on to try it again. He just smiles and shows his little white peaking tooth.

We've got a date...

Between work, home, and kids, its easy to see that Brad and I haven't had much free time to get out and mingle with other couples. But we've finally got ourselves a date for this weekend. Kevin and Valerie invited us out to their lake cabin for back in July for the 4th(which was a blast) so its not the first we've hung with them, but its taken this long to get together again. Before we meet up with them we've first got to attend the Duluth Heights hockey parent's BBQ...NO KIDS ALLOWED. In addition the highly important business meeting, we'll get to meet some grown ups here too. What a great night of big people conversation...no discipline interruptions necessary!
Believe it or not this will be our first night out in Duluth together.

Tonight when I was tucking in the boys, Riley held me up in his bed with a big hug, asking for me to "stay there all the time". As much as I'd love to enjoy an endless hug I do want to sleep in my own bed, so I explained how if I slept with him, Daddy would me lonesome in our bed. Dylan pointed out that "Riley when Mommy goes to bed, I'm still here... Daddy and Mommy share a room and we share a room." But then Riley recognized that, "But Brady doesn't have anyone in his room...maybe we should have another baby?" Hmmmm... something to ponder?... NOT!!! I offered to put a teddy bear in with Brady to keep him company and they concurred that to be a great idea.

Lets Hit the Ice

Hockey camp was a slow success... It was a quick go round~ 3 days, 1 hr at a time. When they first hit the ice they were definitely the small guys. As you can see just how small they were, when their buddies game up to check them out. The first day they were very slow movin, as they were a little intimidated by the big kids skating circles around them. But by day 3 they were much more comfortable and getting around pretty good.


Dylan was a Hoot! When he'd skate he'd be in his ready stance, and not stand up until his destination. But the funniest part of it was he was only pushing off with his right leg, so it looked like he was riding an imaginary scooter across the ice. It seems as though he did it this as a way to help control his speed...making sure not to go too fast.
Riley kinda did the scooter thing too, but not with the face off stance.
Dylan's in the red jersey and Riley in white. Their jersey's were so big they had to go Gretzky's style, with one side tucked in their pants. I guess jersey's don't come in XXXSmall.

Hockey practice starts this Saturday, on indoor ice. This year they will be playing Mite 1 hockey for the Duluth Heights Hornets. And those games and practices will be played outdoors... YES OUTDOORS!! How crazy is that?! Make em' or Break em' I guess.

Happy Birthday Nana!!!

Hey Nana today is your Birthday and we want to wish you a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! Wish we could be there to share birthday cake with you and give you tons of birthday hugs and kisses, but since we can't we made these special posters just for you, cuz your the Bestest Nana ever!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY NANA~ WE LOVE YOU!
- Love,
Dylan, Brady, & Riley