Casualties

My cake platter:

My favorite turquoise lamp:

The base was made from wood I had spray painted, yet they still managed to break it. 

Sunshine's Head:

These are all the latest casualties of my kids and their shenanigans. 

Sometimes I wonder if I am doing something wrong when it comes to parenting. My kids are... well, they're.... hyper? I don't know if that's the right word. Energetic. Incapable of sitting for a sustained period of time. Spirited. Basically, they are Chernobyl... all of that energy can be very dangerous when not properly contained. And much like the Ukrainian government, I don't always know how to properly contain it.

Hence the concussion Sunshine sustained on Tuesday. She was leaping from the ottoman to the couch (a feat she does about 350 times per day- and I'm not speaking in hyperbole when I say that), she missed... and "Smack!" One semi-conscious kid, two freaked out parents plus a trip to the Hospital made for quite the adventure.

When the doctor finally saw her she was acting perfectly happy, trying to scale the hospital furniture and such... oh, Sunshine.

She was back in the saddle the next day, attempting the same leap. 

I wonder about those families I see at church and out in public, with the calm, soft-spoken children. Are they also calm, soft-spoken, relaxed parents? I'm not. I'm loud and neurotic. Cameron says I only have one volume and I'm pretty sure I passed that trait on to the kids. Do those calm-looking kids treat the couch like a trampoline? Do they get into fist-fights with their siblings and  draw in lipstick all over the mirror? Do they rub diaper rash cream all over the couch right after their mom cleans the cushion covers? Do they climb to the tallest point they can reach and then jump off? Do those families spend more in doctor co-pays than they do on food some months? 

I guess what I'm really wondering is, am I doing it all wrong? Does anyone else have a child who seems fearless? Any tips for surviving?

This could totally happen at my house: