Diary of a Bad Mommy (Volume 7)

My girls argue. A lot. Like, 472 times a day. Really. They also play-fight and wrestle a lot. I have told them time and time again, I will not referee any fights or arguments, real or pretend. I usually stick to it unless there is real violence or harsh language (you know..stupid, shut up, fart, etc)

The other night, they were wrestling and giggling. All was fun and games until Avery started to cry. I didn't even flinch. I said "I'm not getting in the middle of this. I told you not to play too rough." She kept crying.

Side note: Avery is tougher than a boot. She could seriously fall and skin her face on the sidewalk and jump up as if nothing happened. But if Reese so much as looks at her cross-eyed, she goes into full-blown hysterics, as if someone has just ripped her arm off. This is why I wasn't more affected by her tears. It's a 10-time-a-day occurrence.

I was insistent that I not be put in the middle of this. I told them they needed to take a break from each other and sit down for a bit. Avery finally stopped crying. She walked over to me to ask me a question and I noticed something funny on her face. It looked like chocolate. Only more of a rusty color. "Avery, what's on your face?" I ask. "I don't know, Mom...just nothing." She responds.

And then she turns her head. And this is what I see. (Warning...if you are squeamish, you may want to look away from the computer.)

I gasped. "OH MY GOD (they aren't allowed to say this, so it had great affect on Avery), YOU ARE BLEEDING!" So much for staying calm in a crisis. Avery starts to panic and cry again. She wants to see it, but can't, which makes her panic even more. I took a picture so she could see (not just to show you people) and that made it worse. It was a tragic scene, to be sure. And here I sat, all guilty and sheepish, because I hadn't responded when she cried earlier.

Apparently, Reese had been holding the phone in her hand while they were wrestling and accidentally hit Avery in the head. It was barely a nick, but man, those head injuries can bleed. When I finally convinced Avery to let me wash it all off, it wasn't even noticeable. I still feel guilty. But Avery LOVES to look at this picture and show it to all our friends. We look at it almost daily. It's her badge of honor. And yet another badge of poor mothering on my part.

P.S. Reese hit her head yesterday and asked me to take a picture of it so she could see. I could barely stop laughing long enough to take it. She was disappointed. She said "Momma, where's my boo-boo?" I love that kid.