Braiden is having a hard week. And by hard, I mean no little kid does well with a week like this.

Earlier this week was fine.. but when we drove the 4 1/2 hour drive home on Wed, it was pretty much the starting point of our chaos. The plan was to have Braiden take his nap in the car, but then our start time got pushed back, hour by hour. Finally we left around 5, and he did nap for about an hour.. but he was so crabby and hungry when we stopped. And then he was awake until we got home; at 9:30. (He usually goes to bed at 8). No night terrors, luckily.

Thursday we had dad home. We were slightly crabby, but overall alright most of the day. Took a normal nap, and then sent dad off to his sailing lesson. When I was making dinner, Braiden decided to pull a chair into the kitchen to help me; Before I realized what happened (and had a chance to move him), he had touched the burner I was cooking food on moments before. So we ran to the bathroom and let cold water run over the burn until Braiden stopped crying. Then we got out some acetaminophen and called the nurse line at the hospital. Luckily we didn't have to go into urgent care.. instead we are dealing with home care for a burn.

Today we were crabby, because we didn't sleep well last night due to having to give Braiden more acetaminophen every 4 hours. So this morning, we weren't exactly crabby, but we were pretty moody. It didn't help that I decided to take Braiden to the park for a picnic lunch and then forgot lunch at home on the counter.

Braiden actually took a nice long nap today, thank goodness. And we went to the park after he woke up again, so that he could play. Then, on the play ground Braiden slips at the top of the stairs and bumps his head on one of the metal railings. A new bruise. But he is perfectly capable of going up those stairs himself, and he has done it a million times. It could have happened to anyone.

That should be it, right? Enough injuries for the week. But no. I was putting dinner in the oven and I hear a crash. Braiden fell off a chair in the other room (why was he on this chair? He knows mom does not approve of him standing on chairs...), and now he has a blood blister on his lip.

>.<

Am I an incompetent mother? Should I be one of the many who hover so hard that my child doesn't get to experience and learn from things the way children should? Or am I just not paying as much attention as I should be? When did my child turn into a walking accident waiting to happen?

I hope tomorrow goes better. I hope Alex understands again when he comes home tonight why Braiden has another new injury.

Ugh.