what i learned in church today: nothing.

to the sweet lady who runs the church nursery:

today when we walked into church (20 minutes late- eek) you greeted us with a smile.
if only you knew what was coming, you would've slammed the door in our faces.


kate's dad and i have always stayed in the nursery with her- switching off at the halfway point.
i know you probably always thought this was because we were overprotective parents.
but it's really not like that.
we would be more than happy to drop her off with you and joyfully skip off to sunday school.
two hours sans toddler?
i'll take it!
i love my kid, but bring on the adult time please.

the reason we stay is because of kate's gag reflex.
when she cries for longer than a few minutes she gags and throws up.
and we know when we leave her she will cry.
it's a given.

but she's done so well at the babysitter's lately we thought we'd give the whole separation thing another shot.
i really thought she would be ok with you.
she likes you and didn't fight too much when i handed her to you.
i quickly exited the nursery and hunkered down in the hall to listen for a minute or two.

and there i stood listening to her cry,
waiting for the retching noise but i never heard it.
after two minutes she quieted down and i thought
"VICTORY!"

and then your nursery helper opened the door and said,
"she threw up"

and there my sweet child sat on your lap with tears streaming down her cheeks and vomit on her dress.
i quickly rushed to your side to help clean up.
as i reached for my wipes i saw that it wasn't just her dress that was yucked on.
the chair, the floor and your skirt were all victims.

i was mortified.
it's one thing to be the mom of'the toy-stealer' but quite another to be the mom of 'the vomiter'.
i couldn't get out of there fast enough.
(4 hours of sleep and stressful situations are not a good combination for me)
i apologized profusely and you were so sweet.
you told me not to worry about it.

but i can't stop worrying about it.
if some rugrat had barfed on my skirt i would be ticked.
jank thinks we should get you a gift card so you can replace the skirt and i agree.
you deserve more than an apology.

so again, i'm so deeply sorry my kid has no ability to control her gagging.
our plan is to stay with her in the nursery from now on so this horrific scene isn't repeated.
it seems the only option for now.
maybe in a few months we will revisit the idea of leaving her with you
maybe.



ps. i really wish i had taken a pic of kate leaving church (10 minutes after getting there). she had on a black shirt, a diaper and mary janes. it was awesome.


.