Tetnus shot

Today Nathan got his "going into 6th grade tetnus shot". He was very brave, did not cry until he got into the car and we were done. The nurse that gave it was very good. She was no nonsense, just came in, talked with Nathan about school and then gave him his shot...he didn't really even have time to think about it. I find I do the same thing with my patients in the ER. On Sunday, I was taking care of a 15 year old who had a severe allergic reaction to something and was covered with hives and was itching like crazy. The best and quickest treatment is IV benadryl, IV pepcid and IV steroids. He agreed but when I came in with everything, he started to freak...I just kept talking to him, took his arm and stretched out. Told him I would not stick him without telling him when I was going to, cleaned the spot and then quickly said, "1, 2, 3 stick" and stuck him...slid the catheter in, took the needle out and he went "thats it?". So the fear was greater than the actual pain. However, I will not tell any of my patients that it will not hurt; because it will...I am sticking a needle in! His mom kept saying, this won't hurt and I kept having to tell him, yes, this will hurt, but not for long...
We have been working with training with the horses. Rhanda is doing great, she seems to be picking up the training quickly. I would love to be able to ride her soon. But we really need to do a lot of ground work first. We are using the Clinton Anderson method and it is easy to follow, and it works!
Amilia is working with a tutor over the summer. She is moving quickly with her reading abilities. The teacher is one from school, we will probably try and keep her working with Amilia through the school year because the one on one is making a huge difference. And her confidence is building. I see her stuggle with things that seem so simple to me but recently, she has had more "aha" moments, putting together the way words and sounds work. She really struggles with reading short i, short e and short a...to her, they sound very similar. Her teacher is actually teaching Amilia how her mouth should go with each sound. It has help alot!
Nathan is working on the Walter Farley series. He has read the first two books, will probably bring two or three to family camp. I remember reading those books over and over again growing up. I am thrilled that Nathan is enjoying them!
I am off work until Friday. I hope to get a lot of stuff done this week. I want to sort through the basement and figure out what I want to keep and what I want to sell. I have a bunch of stuff I need to take pictures of and post on Craigslist to sell. I just need to get motivated to get going!
The kids are creating their own chore charts today with a huge reward at the end of the summer for working hard and following the charts as much as they can--a day at the local water park. We are going to put small rewards in too. Nathan has been very helpful lately without any prompting so I slip him some money every now and then. Amilia has been getting paid to give me back and foot rubs!