The Good, the Bad and the WTF

The good was Halloween.




The good was yesterdays election. I am proud and delighted we have elected a smart, accomplished, unflappable president. Who also happens to be black.




The good was yesterdays weather, sunny and 70's, but with all the wondrous colors of a Currier and Ives autumn.




The bad was ...


We went to the library yesterday morning, but got there before the library opened, so I let Sabine out of her stroller and let Arabella and Sabine run around on the library lawn. Another mother and her son were there early too, so she and I talked while the three kids ran around in the unseasonably pleasant weather. Then Arabella picked up Sabine (something i am constantly asking/telling/commanding her not to do) and spun around with her. Arabella stumbled and fell on top of Sabine. They fell slowly, and I didn't think Sabine was hurt, but after Arabella got up, Sabine just lay there, totally limp, unmoving. By the time I got there, she had begun to cry, but I am used to her crying immediately on falling, not 4-5 seconds later. I asked Arabella is Sabine had lost consciousness, realized that doesn't make sense to a 4 - almost - 5 - year - old, and asked her if Sabine had "fallen asleep" when she fell on her. Puzzled, Arabella said yes.





After the library, and playing with the mothers and kids at the La Leche meeting I happily stumbled upon in the library, I called the pediatrician about the brief loss of consciousness. It was nearly 2 hours after the incident, and Sabine had shown no symptoms of a head injury -- no vomiting, no crabbiness, not even a lump on her head. But the pediatrician said we should go to the ER for a CT scan, just in case. So, worried about Sabine's health and head, we went. We waited for over 3 hours before we were called in, missing lunch, and I was stranded with 2 children who were all but licking the floors in the waiting room. Michael came and got Arabella after almost 3 hours, and then I just had to herd Sabine around. By the time we were ushered into a room, Sabine was tired and crabby. The doctor did a physical, but recommended against getting a CT scan, saying it was a lot of radiation when there were no other symptoms of a problem (now over 5 hours after the injury), but told me to monitor her for 24 hours and gave me a list of symptoms that I should rush her in should she present any.



When Sabine and I got home, tired, hungry, and irate, but also relieved, Arabella asked for the billionth time why we had spent so long at the hospital, and I explained for at least the thousandth time. When I got to the part about Sabine "falling asleep," Arabella said, "oh, well, I was just teasing." I was afraid Michael might lunge across the table and strangle her. I was utterly horrified and furious.


So she was lying to me about something serious (and I know I said that if she had "fallen asleep" that would mean a trip to the doctor), or she was lying about the "teasing", but either way she is not being truthful. This compounding my anger and frustration over her not listening to me when I repeatedly warn her NOT to pick up Sabine. I am sure the most frequently used phrases in our house are:

• Settle down
• Eat your dinner
• Indoor voice, please!
• Put Sabine down

So, her punishment is that she will not have a long anticipated birthday party. She has been talking about her plans for a birthday party since her last birthday party, so she will feel this. She will have a cake, and presents from family, but there will be no friends, no party, no banner.

But I will give you all a sneak peek on Arabella and Sabine's Xmas presents -- the Jane Austen dress with a knitted bodice and sewn on fabric skirt. This is Sabine's, in purple. Arabella's will be in her favorite color, deep blue.