Life is a Circus

Sometimes I think I live in circus. With five kids it's a constant juggling act.

And then of course there are the never-ending costume changes:

And Make-up. What circus would be complete without make-up? You'd think my girls trained at the best clown-school around.

Under this circus tent, we also have lots of high flying aerials and some tightrope walking. And let us not forget the time recently, we really could have used a safety net, when our daredevil dove headfirst from her crib landing her the ER with a grade 5 concussion.

I drive a clown-car and push clown-carts through the aisles of stores, always drawing attention.

And how is this for a side-show act: instead of swallowing fire, my daughter swallows hair-clips. Here's the proof:

This incident wasn't without fanfare. There was some chocking, some screaming, a frantic attempt at the Heimlich Maneuver by me, the ultimate passage of the barrette down the windpipe where it cleared the narrowest part of the respiratory tract and made it safely to the stomach. Then there was the inevitable trip to the Children's Hospital ER, where we were assured the barrette would pass.  And pass it did, all in one piece, paint color slightly altered from all the stomach acids working on it over the course of three days, but that's life under the Big Top.  In my days as a mom my little performers have swallowed a bottle cap, a penny, and even a quarter- they are really quite skilled.

And because I live in a circus, we found ourselves back in the Children's Hospital ER the very next night after Ella slipped on the wet tile at a pool party we were having for Cam's 9th birthday (yes his actual birthday was 6 months ago) and ended up with a concussion of her own.  She threw up all over me, the ringmaster, in the middle of the party, and on our way out of the party then ten more times before we even made it to the hospital.  They kept her for eight hours then finally released us around two in the morning.

Two nights in a row in the ER- there is never a dull moment in this circus and I am the juggler trying to keep all the balls up in the air. Sometimes I let a couple fall but I guess that's life in center ring under the Big Top!