Making the Best of a Bad Day

I got a dreaded call from Gateway this morning around 11:00--it's the worst feeling when I look at my phone and see that number come up! Emily had fallen at the small table where the kids eat lunch in her classroom, and had cut her lip. I think between the blood and the crying, they weren't sure how bad it was, so it sounded awful when they told me. I packed up and left the office immediately--on the way, I called Emily's doctor to see if I could get her in quickly. They made an appointment for her at 11:45--they're close to Gateway, so I thought they could at least assess and tell us if we needed to go to the hospital or the dentist if her teeth were damaged.

Then I called Mick, and it just happened that he was headed to a job in the same area as Gateway, so he changed course and headed over to see her. I talked to him when he got there and he said Emily seemed fine. I could hear her over the phone, and it definitely sounded like things were okay--still, I was almost there by then, so I wanted to go ahead and take her to see the doctor.

It turns out that she actually bit all the way through her bottom lip when she fell! The doctor said it will heal on its own without stitches since it isn't a gaping hole, and her teeth weren't damaged, so she was very lucky. She has a swollen lip and about a half-inch cut below her bottom lip.

I decided to just work from home the rest of the day, and I brought Emily home with me for the afternoon.

The morning started out hot and humid, but by this afternoon, it was beautiful outside, so we took out some sidewalk chalk and headed to the back patio. I had bought some popsicles on the way home, thinking they might help numb her lip a little if it was really sore. I thought they were way too big for her, but she grabbed that popsicle stick and went to town!

Disclaimer: these pictures get progressively worse!

I know, it looks like I'm a terribly neglectful mother, and like Emily is a little dirt dobber! By the time this picture was taken, she had taken her shoes off, dumped out the dogs' water bowl and played in it, gotten chalk all over her, and then dripped strawberry popsicle on every inch of exposed skin. I thought she deserved to be grubby and have a good time after the rough morning she had.

After Daddy got home and died laughing, we brought her in, stripped her down, and washed her off in the kitchen sink :).