Blame It On The Frosting

Today after church, we went into the basement for social hour, as we do every Sunday. All the children play off to the side with whatever they find while the adults tend to be at the other end of the gathering room, eating and chatting.

I knew the wee ones were tired -- especially since they'd spent so much time with Grandma and Grandpa the past couple days (yep, Grandma and Grandpa who don't believe that sleep is important). I didn't realize quite how tired until I heard Mister Man crying because some little boy pinched him hard on the leg.

I told Mister Man to tell the boy not to pinch him and just move on. He did, but he was still a little snuffly. A little bit later, I happened to be looking up at him when I saw him wipe out. I strolled over to him, knowing that he'd probably be somewhat upset, as he's a bit of a delicate flower.

He was screaming. In fact, he was starting to throw up. Not a good sign, and I quickened my pace to him. He couldn't calm down, so Daddy took him outside with a cup in case he really started throwing up. Mommy doesn't do puke.

When he fell, there were no other kids near him. He didn't trip over anything. He wasn't turning or looking another way, he simply tripped over his own feet, from what I could see. Yep, that's my husband's child alright!

He finally calmed down, but his arm was still sore. My husband brushed it off, but I asked him if it just hurt or if it hurt when he moved his arm. Yeah, you guessed his answer, didn't you?

Bummer is that my parents were taking the wee ones to go see Peter Pan this afternoon and had already bought tickets. If his arm were broken, a couple of hours really won't make a difference. As long as I get him to the ER in a reasonable amount of time, no harm done. I asked him what he wanted to do, and he decided to suck it up and go see Peter Pan. Shocking, I know.

On the way to the car, his arm started hurting more, and he changed his mind. You know that's not good. I couldn't see any swelling, and it wasn't bruised, so I asked him again. And he changed his mind and decided to go to Peter Pan. So he went to Peter Pan.

And I just got back from three hours in the ER to find out that Mister Man has a broken growth plate in his elbow. We don't know what stage it is (apparently there are four?), but I have to call an orthopedist tomorrow to try to get an appointment to see him.

It was so sad when the X-ray techs had him turn his arm various ways and straighten it for the X-rays. It really hurt him, but you could see how brave he was trying to be. Completely heartbreaking... until he asked me why we had aprons on. And why they were heavy. And why X-rays couldn't penetrate lead. That's when I knew he was feeling at least a little back to normal.

Swimming is out for awhile, as is bike riding, etc. I think that's the part that he's most bummed about, and I can't blame him. He's going to school tomorrow, and he's going to start writing with his left hand. My husband and I always hoped that he'd be a lefty (we both are, as is Little Miss), and we may now get our wish. Be careful what you wish for!

Oh, and as we were walking out of the hospital, Mister Man turned to me and said, I guess I should have been a little more careful of that frosting from the St Patrick's Day cupcakes at church, huh, Mom? It was awfully slippery.

Oh. I guess he isn't that clumsy. He slid on frosting that some child had spilled in the food free area and hadn't cleaned up. I think I feel a little better!

The three visits to the ER for three different family members in just over three months? Not feeling so good about that, however.