When disaster strikes

I've learned a lesson in vigilance this week.

On Monday I left Livia alone in the living room for a few minutes while I moved the laundry from the washer to the dryer. I can't count how many times I've done that before, and every other time I've returned to find her sitting in exactly the same place I left her, playing with her toys. This time, however, Livia took the opportunity to...explore...a little bit.

She rolled all the way into the kitchen and pulled over the bag of trash I had been about to take out. So when I came back from changing the laundry, I found her lying on the floor, wallowing in garbage! Aggh!

I cleaned Livia up first, and then turned my attention to the disgustingness that was my kitchen floor. This was when I realized that the trash she had been exploring included egg shells and raw meat packaging. Holy gross!!

Then, yesterday, she was playing on the living room floor and suddenly started coughing. Obviously, she had found something off the floor and tried to swallow it. I did a finger sweep but didn't feel anything. She was crying and coughing now, so I grabbed a flashlight and peered into her mouth. What did I find? A pine needle, sticking up out of her throat. I didn't know what else to do, so despite her sputtering and gagging I just reached right back there and plucked it out. I could swear she gave an almost audible sigh of relief. As did I.

Apparently, I can never let her out of my sight ever again.