and then I shoved my 3 yr. old into the concrete...

Sounds pretty bad, huh.  Here is the story of today's bumbling accident:

On the way home from somewhere else, we needed to stop by the grocery store and Rite Aid - which happen to be located in the same center.  So I put Ami (in her carseat) into our snap n' go and we walked to the pharmacy. Therefore, we still had the stroller at the grocery store - and you should have seen us,\ with Hope pushing the stroller as I pushed the cart and Ami screaming because she was tired and a little hungry and Maddie screaming because she is three and hadn't had her nap yet.  I'm sure everyone in the store felt very sorry for me at the moment - but I was doing fine, until...

We leave the store, park the cart, and go to get the car.  Maddie is holding onto the stroller handle beside me because we are about to cross the street and I push the stroller over the curb not noticing that I chose the exact spot where the drain into the gutter is.  Suddenly one wheel of the stroller is caught in the opening and I feel myself and the stroller going over into the road and taking Maddie with us.  Without even thinking, I react.  And with a massive pump of adrenaline, I push Maddie off of the stroller to stop the momentum, keep her out of the road and to allow me to regain my balance - which luckily I do.  I then get the wheel out of the gutter and get us all back safely on the sidewalk so that I can pick up my screaming 3 yr. old who now has a bloody elbow from hitting the pavement.  And the baby of course is screaming along as I try to reassure Maddie - who is shocked that Mommy just shoved her into the concrete - that I really didn't mean to hurt her, but was trying to protect all of us from breaking our necks and getting run over by cars because actually I love her so very much - so you see, it's because I love you that I gave you a bloody elbow (thankfully not a bloody nose) and...oh well, let's just get the heck out of here! 

My saving grace is that by now I'm experienced enough with the whole mommy thing to know one very key fact: this will all be over soon.  "In twenty minutes," I tell myself, "Maddie will be napping, the baby will eat and sleep, and peace will ensue once again."  Thankfully, it was true.

Comments

[kim]

Ugh! Guess I saw you before all this, huh? Anyway, hope your Maddie forgot all about the fall and had a good rest of the day. It was great running into you... and the girls just loved Ami!

[Leigh Ann]

That's wonderful that in the end you knew everything would be okay. I call that "mother's experience" and faith! I think it's great how you handled it I would've done the same thing! So congrats to you for being a wonderful, protective mom!

[Kate Coveny Hood]

Just realized that I never commented on this. I loved hearing the more detailed version in person at the pool the other day. Poor little Maddie! Thank goodness they get over things quickly.