The Padded Room

It's been five weeks of sick kids. Five loooooong, agonizing, painful weeks where I did seemingly nothing but wipe noses, suck snot, hold Ella, go to the doctor, clean up puke, wash sheets, administer medicine, hold Ella, clean up puke, wash blankets, go to the doctor, give more medicine, wipe tears, hold Ella, clean the toilet, disinfect the house, hold Ella, wake up 20 times a night, give hugs, rub backs, hold Ella..

And today I find myself in a padded room.

No, I was not admitted to the psychiatric ward. Although I think I came close.. I almost lost it somewhere during week 5. Or maybe I did.. No, the padded room is my creation entirely for Ella. (Although there is a chance it could come in handy for me if another single person wakes me up this week puking/coughing/or fine.. in general just wakes me up this week...)

For months I've been conflicted on how to answer the questions "Can Ella walk?" I always answer with a hesitant "No, not yet," but the truth is, yes, actually she can walk. I've seen it. What Ella can't do is fall. Or, I guess she can't fall the right way (aka: without a concussion or needing stitches) So she doesn't. Walk that is. If she weren't so darn afraid of falling, or knew how to catch herself at least, I just know she would be able to take off. And my tired back so desperately needs her to take off.

So this week, now that we are finally healthy, we are working on falling. Not walking.. but falling. And where better to fall than a padded room?

We set up a ring of pillows/bean bags/blankets/whateverwecouldfind around the coffee table for Ella to fall on to. 

(For the first time I was thankful that JJ agreed to let the boys keep the old stained, ripped up cushions from our old couches after they were in hysterics for hours upon learning the tragedy that we were getting rid of them..)

Then I set her loose.

She was pretty proud of herself.

And seemed to enjoy it.

But was thankful when it was time for a well-deserved break

and ready for a nap.

But Charlie was especially thankful when Ella was done so he could use the pillows for their one true purpose..

*Note: There were not the pictures I wanted to use for this post, but the awesome pics I took previously were on a SD card that decided to fail me this morning.. So I had to settle. Of course I wasn't all that happy with the first set of pictures either, but once they were lost, locked away forever on that little square of plastic they suddenly took on the role of 'most prized and perfect, irreplaceable photos ever taken'. Sigh.. And yes, in case you're wondering I am raiding the kids' Easter candy right now. And why yes.. it is making me feel better.