The Moral of this Story is Listen to Your {Step}Mother

Isn’t that the moral of MOST of my stories?

Last night we took the kids to the Halloween Festival at the elementary school. My mother has created an amazing collection of Peter Pan-themed costumes for them this year. Levi is Captain Hook, Gabby is Tinkerbelle and all the big kids are pirates. (Bill is Peter Pan, but he refused to wear tights to school because the “lights would be on inside” and I am Wendy, but my blue nightie is a tiny bit risquee for school…)

Anyway, Levi announced after putting on his full costume, that he had to wear his black dress shoes…from last year. “These,” he declared, “are my pirate shoes.”

I wasn’t aware that pirates wore penny loafers, but I am also not one to argue with a four year old.

Except…I am.

I informed Levi that those shoes were too small for him to wear to the event, but he insisted that he couldn’t be a pirate without them. After a while, it was clear that it was the too-small pirate shoes or a full-blown melt down, so we gave in. (Don’t judge me. You’re not here. ) We let him wear the tiny shiny shoes with his costume.

When we arrived at the event, he promptly sat down, removed the shoes and informed us that they were too small. “Why you let me wear those?” he asked.

He spent the rest of the event barefoot and hitched a ride home on Daddy’s shoulders.

When a candy-filled event ends at 8:30pm, you can be sure the bedtime routine isn’t going to run smoothly, and it didn’t. Around 9:30, Levi was bouncing around on the top bunk, jumping up and down despite his father’s demands that he lay down.

And then he fell. Hard.

Bill scooped up the crying toddler and I googled “how to tell if your kid has a concussion.” Levi drooped listlessly on Bill’s shoulder and cried the most pitiful cry while I started my triage.

Symptoms your child might have a concussion

Vomiting – Levi, do you feel sick? No.
Changes in behavior, including irritability or fussiness – Well, he just hit his head – wouldn’t that make YOU fussy?
Changes in physical coordination, including stumbling or clumsiness – We set him on his feet, and he wasn’t any more clumsy than usual – of course, this IS the kid who just fell off the bed…
Vision or eye disturbances, including pupils that are bigger than normal (dilated pupils) or pupils of unequal sizes – Levi! Look at my eyes! No…my eyes…No look here. Okay yes, right there! Okay, they look…what are they supposed to look like?
Blood or fluid discharge from the nose or ears – Nope, no blood.
Large head bumps or bruises on areas other than the forehead– Nope, no bumps.

A loss of consciousness lasting more than a minute – Nope, no loss of consciousness.
Amnesia about the event – Levi, what happened? I fell out of bed. Why? Because I’s messing around.
Pain – Levi, does your head hurt? No. Does your face hurt? No. Does anything hurt? Yes. What hurts?

At this point, he climbed down off of Bill’s lap, turned his little foot around and pointed to a blister – “Dody,” he said seriously. “Member those shoes you made me wear? THIS hurts.”

Okay, you're fine. Go to bed.