The ER and a Cute Video Alert!

Sorry to have left ya hanging! I had a bit of a relapse yesterday with my sore throat and achey self. I spent most of Wednesday on the couch or the floor with a clingy and crabby Li'l Empress in my lap. We were both a bit crabby and by the end of the day, I was actually looking forward to the run to the grocery store for a moment alone. While I was driving there, I was vividly remembered feeling just like that when the older two boys were little. The Boss would get home and I'd head to the library for some time alone before heading home to help with bedtime. I guess in all the excitement of bringing home baby #5, I kinda forgot those harder times. Those days when you just want to have five minutes alone with no one pulling at your leg or crying for your arms. This week has been a strong reminder of those days, in many ways. It's also made me excessively grateful for my older kids and the help they offer when they return from school.

So anyway, back to our crazy weekend. I know the suspense has been killing you. All three of you.

I stayed home from church Sunday morning, with a fever and that awful sore throat. LadyBug stayed most of the morning to help me. The Boss checked in (our church meets only 3 minutes from the house) and picked up the casserole for our fellowship luncheon. By then, LadyBug was ready to head out and Li'l Empress was ready for a nap. With the quiet house, I crashed on the couch and watched an old 80's movie. I can't even remember which one, I was so out of it.

Later, after everyone returned home and settled in for the afternoon, I headed up for a nap. Around 5:15 when I was halfway down the stairs, I heard a tremendous crash and total chaos. Li'l Empress was screaming. BBE and LadyBug were crying. The Boss was panicking and calling for ice. Now, when The Boss panics, I know something is wrong. He never panics and we all count on him for his steady hand and cool head. So I took a look at Li'l Empress and panicked. And gagged. And cried and had my own little freak-out session.

Seems Li'l Empress (who has been walking for about 2 weeks, mostly from person to person) got super confident and was walking alone again. Only this time, she was shaking her head from side to side and giggling while she walked. She made herself dizzy and pitched head first into the edge of the coffee table. At this point, I must say that the ironic thing of all this is that our coffee table is an older hand-me-down and has no sharp corners or outer edges. Except for the apron trim that goes around the underside. That's the edge she hit. We couldn't replicate that one-in-a-million angle if we tried. When The Boss picked her up and turned her over, he found the BIGGEST. UGLIEST. goose-egg either of us had ever seen before. And with 3 older boys, we've seen ugly goose-eggs. This thing was pure white and had a huge dent in the middle of it. It was nasty enough to throw us into a panic. It was pure adrenaline rush that carried us to the ER.

Half-way there, I realized that I hadn't showered or brushed my teeth or my hair since Saturday. I was, after all, sick. And once the adrenaline settled, feeling sicker all the while. I'm sure the other patients in the waiting room were wondering which of us was the patient. By the second hour of our time there, she was perky, talking, and trying to walk all over . Mommy was slumped in a chair holding her head!

This picture is at the 2 hour mark,
waiting for the "Fast Track"
office to call us in.

Three hours, several nurses and a doctor later, we were released. No x-rays, CAT scans, MRI's or stitches - thank you, LORD! Armed with a little re-education about the warning signs of concussion and proper wound care, we dragged our weary selves home. It seemed utterly ridiculous that it was only 8:30 - it felt like midnight. The little ones had been such great sports the whole wait at the hospital but the anxiety was wearing on them and they dragged themselves off to bed. The older boys had been at youth group during the whole fiasco and were anxiously waiting for us to walk in for the full report. Li'l Empress got lots of lovin' and sympathy from her big brothers!

So, she's fine now. She survived her first ER visit. She's sporting some lovely colors on her forehead and they are settling down between her eyes now too. The swelling has gone down and we're looking at corner covers and edge protectors on-line. Maybe some heavy-duty batting and bubble-wrap for those extra energetic moments!

Oh, the joy of her first
Dora band-aid. Ha.

And just so I don't leave you on a down-turn, here's a video of her walking on Saturday night. She's trying out her new "squeaky shoes" that we purchased for her in China. They finally fit and she had a ball in them!

Now you know why we're praying for boring, dull, plodding weeks. We need them. There's so much more going on here than I can even blog about, but trust me when I say that boring would be so welcome right about now.

I know, how cute is that?!