Ringmaster

I am the ringmaster of my very own 3-ring circus. Three all-star acts in my humble home.

Introducing . . . .

Janie-- The death-defying FIRE EATER

Roxy-- The fearless HIGH WIRE ACROBAT

and Veronica-- The lion-hearted SWORD SWALLOWER

I remember thinking at this time LAST YEAR that THIS YEAR, life would be so much easier. And it is. But it isn't. Because instead of wrangling a toddler and the constant care of twinfants, I now have 3 mobile kiddos who seem to be simultaneously trying to do themselves in.

Janie's historic obsession with ingesting poisonous substances has already been well-documented.
Not documented as thoroughly is Roxy's penchant for climbing. And climbing. And climbing. Upstairs, downstairs, coffee tables, counters, chairs and pool ledges. Yesterday, I heard a "THUMP", but it wasn't followed by any crying, so I let it go for a moment. Then I heard Veronica start screaming. I found Roxy in my bathtub, with V throwing a fit that she wasn't included. What you need to know, is that to get INTO my bathtub, you have to go up a step, climb over a 2 foot raised platform, and then over the lip of the bathtub (that sits on top of the tile). And there aren't a lot of handholds. But Rox managed to get herself inside. She doesn't walk yet, but it hasn't curbed her vertical skills at all.

And then there is Veronica, who not only rivals her sisters in dangerous living, but has pretty much surpassed them. She is the only one that has been rushed to the ER (twice) in her life. The latest was last week.
V puts everything she finds in her mouth. Last Tuesday night, she had 2 serious choking fits; so much so that I had to give her back thrusts. They say as long as they're gagging or choking, that they're working on clearing their airway, so I just watched her closely the rest of the evening and she seemed fine. The next morning at breakfast, she had another choking fit while trying to eat a blueberry. And then another while eating a piece of sandwich at lunch. All 4 of these choking incidents were the very scary kind. I took her to the InstaCare after the last one; they sent me to the ER. Docs found a thin, foil sticker stuck down her throat; it was moving around (with breathing, and probably even more when she attempted eating solid foods) and partially obstructing her airway. I saw V playing with some stickers that Jane had stuck on a kitchen cabinet on Tuesday afternoon; so that must have been when the sticker was swallowed. Ronnie, Ronnie, Ronnie!! Stop scaring me like that. I think of myself putting her down for naps and bedtime with that sticker in her throat and it makes me sick inside. The ER doc didn't do much to sooth my nerves about the incident, because as soon as he was able to visualize the sticker, he sent an EMT to be by her side "in case she crashed". And said EMT told me "keep her as still as possible". (as opposed to just going about normal business like I had been the past 24 hours??) Uggh. But all's well that ends well; sticker was removed and V was fine.

So that's my death-defying trio. Don't even get me started on my experience (solo) taking them all out to the pool yesterday. My nerves can't take it.