Our Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

The older two girls and I just came back from a trip into Pittsburgh and I'm due to write an update about that, but first I have to talk about this crazy day we've had.

First off, we are all okay. No one has been seriously hurt. But I couldn't tell you, with one disaster succeeding another today, how we've managed to stay whole.

The morning began badly; Abbie again woke up every few hours all night, eventually just refusing to go back to sleep around 6am. My state of mind was much like a fox caught in a trap -- you know, the ones who chew their own legs off to escape? Yeah, I wasn't doing so good. So Chris got up to let me sleep the last half-hour before we needed to get ready for school. Around 6:45, Claire woke up and promptly fell down the steps, doing some bizarre move that - according to Chris - resembled a cartwheel. She landed directly on top of Abbie.

Lots of crying, and a few years off the old heart for Chris, but in the end they were both okay. I got up and we took off for school. On the way, the girls and I stopped to pick up something at the grocery store and while we were in line Beth and Claire started climbing on the side of the cart. I told them to stop it repeatedly, but got distracted when it was time to pay. So, you guessed it, the cart came crashing over onto its side, pinning Beth under it. The scariest thing was that Abbie had been in the seat. I remember the whole thing as a hazy slow-mo, but I think that I managed to grab Abbie's jacket enough to keep her head from crashing onto the floor, plus I think Beth's poor little body cushioned the blow for the baby. The immediate aftermath, though, was pure chaos. Everyone was crying, including the checkout clerk. Abbie's nose was covered in snot as she screamed, and I didn't know which kid to comfort/check over/berate first.

I gathered them all together - Abbie still screaming - and headed for the parking lot, while several pairs of hostile eyes followed me out of the store. I am sure that there will be many dinner-table discussions tonight about that awful woman who had too many kids to handle. *Sigh*

Once safely back in our car, though, I was able to check Abbie out enough to feel fairly sure that she didn't have a concussion. Beth was just fine, beyond being frightened. And I doubt I'll have to remind any of them not to climb on the cart again.

So from Katie's school we proceeded with our usual routine, heading over to my gym. No sooner did we walk into the gym than Claire -- I don't even know how she did this -- closed her hand in the door. She's okay, though, despite that being her third trauma before 9am.

Oh, and Chris? When he woke up, for no reason that we can discern at all, his left eye had swollen to about twice its usual size. He looks a little bit like Rocky after the fight, without all the bruises.

I think we're just going to chill at home for the rest of this day. I just wish that I had a padded room.

Update:
It actually gets worse. Someone had to go out again today, to pick Katie up from school. On their way home, Chris and Katie were almost in an accident. They hit a slick part of the road, smacked off of the curb and made a complete donut, stopping just a foot or two from a (very big) ditch.

How many calamities can you dodge in one day? I don't want to test that quota.