Flu Mist ~ Now with More Screaming

Last week, I had to take the childrens to get our flu "shots". Since none of us are in a high risk category, we get to have the flu shot up our noses. I liken this experience to what it might be like to snort peanut butter. It just feels so gross going down the back of your throat. Last year, my kids were perfect. The hardest part of getting them to inhale live germs was not allowing them to blow their noses for a half an hour. This year? Nose blowing was the least of my problems.

Actually, the problem STARTED this past summer. While we were home visiting family in Indiana, *Z* got sick and we had to take her to the emergency room. At the ER, they decided to test her for the flu. Do you know how they do that? They shove a Q-tip up your nostril. Poor Big Z has been having issues with nose bleeds since she was about 20 months old. She had had a big bleed that morning. And shoving the Q-tip up there made it happen again. So she's not too keen on things in her nose.

When it was time for her vaccination, my lovely daughter LOST HER DAMN MIND. There is no other way to describe what happened to her in that small room in the immunization clinic. I threatened to have the nurse get a needle and have her give her a shot. And I think I would have had her do that, if the shot could have gone in her arm. In the end, I had to lay her down on the bed and hold her down. Her crying fit lasted more than half an hour. Which caused her sister, who didn't care one way or the other about the flu mist, cry. All Little Z cared about was the Barbie sticker after it was over.

And Big Z? She is still mad she didn't get a sticker!