Poor Kids

Okay, I'm not feeling super free to give details in fear that it might be held against me at some point but I'll share a little about my scare from last night so that you can remember to buckle your kids in:
Half way down the driveway last night, I made a sudden stop to let Scott get out of his carseat and help me drive. The sudden stop on the hill and Scott fell out of his carseat. I was really confused at how he got his belt off so quickly before I realized that I'd not buckled him in. I was both extremely thankful that nothing happened as I imagined the many things that could have happened and heart broken to realize that I didn't do everything in my power to keep my child safe. I was distraught. Scott had no clue. I apologized profusely and explained to him that any time mommy forgets to put on his seatbelt that I need him to remind me that he needs buckled in. Scott helped me finish our trek down the driveway and we made it into the house where a whole new drama unfolded.

Bethany had been abnormally whiny at my moms and I figured she was hungry. She ate some crackers and seemed fine. We got in the van to go home and she whined some more and said her tummy hurt. Not sure if she was just crazy since she had cotton pants on (vs. the regular jeans) or if the tights under neath were comfortable or if in fact, her tummy hurt. At home, she continued her whiny state and I knew that she needed to get to bed since the night before was a late and crazy night at the superbowl party. But she seemed more than tired so I started paying closer attention. She seemed to not want to sit in her hi-chair and didn't want to finish her meal. The little girl on the go seemed to want to be held. She crawled up next to me at the corner buffet thing and stood next to me eating my food and I continued to watch her. I noticed that she wasn't moving her left arm so I decided to move it for her. She reacted with a whiny cry and her arm was stiff and she said "no touch, mommy" and pulled away. I checked it again and sure enough she was holding it close and not wanting any movement from it. Ryan and I continued our observance while we ate and finally called the emergency room. I just knew that we were about to have another late night, this time in the emergency room. The doctor was sure that her elbow was out of place. He explained to me how to get it back in place, how she would react, and that 20-30 minutes later she would begin to use it again. He told me that if I couldn't or didn't want to do it, I could bring her in and he'd be the bad guy. We hung up the phone and I grabbed Bethany and held her and loved her (already remorseful of the pain I was about to inflict). I did just at the doctor explained and while I held her elbow in one hand, I felt/heard it pop back into place. It was such a yucky feeling. I think it almost made Bethany gag as she made a few gagging type of noises. But she immediately reached both arms up and grabbed me around the neck. Halelujah, she was using her arm. We watched the kids play for a while before going to bed and she favored her arm but used it, especially when I treated her with a chocolate chip cookie for being such a big girl.

And that's not the end of my drama...

As we put the kids to bed, I did the normal bed time routine which includes praying with Scott. I try to enjoy the time rather than rush through it but sometimes get frustrated when I expect my son to say what he's thankful for and he starts asking God when he gets to play the Wii next or when he gets to go to California next. I do have to remember that he's only 3. So we finished our prayer and then I started adding to his list of thankful things, like he's thankful that his daddy loves him and puts him to bed every night, and he's thankful that his house is warm, etc. When I said that he was "thankful cause he has the best mom in the world", he looked right at me and said "but mommy, you didn't buckle me in tonight!" Yes, back to reality... I guess I wasn't the best mom in the world last night. Sorry son.