Wednesday, November 28, 2007

"Poison Control, how can I help you?"

I sat with my coffee yesterday morning and made a Monday - Friday calendar that lays out what chores I would need to complete each day so my house does not ALWAYS look like it threw up on itself. It is on my fridge as a reminder and I jumped out of the gates running this morning after getting the older kids to school and taking the baby to Nana's.
My house is not one of those houses you see on the news. No bags of garbage, no piles of stuff taller than me. I am just tired of wading through a high tide of legos, hot wheels, Thomas trains while searching through dirty plates and bowls of squishy cereal for the ringing phone that always seems to hide beneath the muck. I am nauseated by the amount of dust that lays in a blanket over my entertainment center and the many case-less DVDs, box-less movies and hidden food wrappers.
Really. It's not that bad but I tend to write more than I clean lately and with a VERY anal husband, it makes me feel bad that he works so hard to allow me to stay home and I can't even keep the house clean. 3 kids and almost 3,000 square feet is just ridiculously out of control sometimes!
So, today I planned to vacuum and dust and if time allowed I was going to start a project as I have declared Wednesday 'Project Day.' I vacuumed while the baby was at Nana's and when he came home I popped in his favorite movie -Stuart Little 2 - 5 minutes later, I called POISON CONTROL!

While I was getting rid of that petrified layer of dust with my spackling knife, my Stuart Little fan decided this product (although put on the counter, where I thought it was out of his reach - with NO lid on) looked a little like lemonade. When I turned around, his little mouth was hiding the opening of the spout. I didn't know if he had kicked his head back and gotten a mouthful or if this glimpse was the first touch...I SCREAMED, "NOOOOOO!"

I grabbed the bottle and looked at the label: KEEP AWAY FROM CHILDREN. FATAL IF SWALLOWED. ALWAYS REPLACE LID WHEN NOT IN USE.

Now, you must know, the spout on this bottle is sort of like a red wine vinegar spout, only one drop comes out at a time - you have to shake it to get a significant amount of fluid out.

Hello, Poison Control (1-800-222-1222) this is Mimi.

Mimi, the nurse I spoke to, asked if he coughed at all after I took it away from him. "Sob, sob, sob, snort - NO - sob, sob." She then told me that they have to put that on the bottle but the actual danger isn't in the swallowing but in actually breathing the liquid into the lungs. This will cause chemical pneumonia which is fatal b/c there is no way to clean the lungs of the oily substance. She said protocol is to call back in 1 hour, then 6 hours, then 24 hours. She reassured me that since he did not sputter and cough - there was most likely nothing to worry about.

He is fine. And he continued his rampage through my house while I tried to finish my dusting.

Mimi told me to give him some yogurt to keep the inside of his mouth from getting irritated from the oil...he thought he needed to make a 2-year old statement instead.

Oh, sorry, NOW he's done making his statement. The chicken nuggets is his piece de resistence.

Soon after this yogurt incident, a friend stopped by (Hi, Janet) and as we chatted just inside the front door, the baby ran past and into the office. A mere 3 seconds later, Janet says, "Ummm, do you want him to be doing that?" I glance in the office thinking, "What is he drinking, now?' only to find him standing on my swivel chair aiming the Febreze at my open laptop. All of this ridiculous chaos for this...

...a dusted, organized entertainment center. Why do I even try? UGH!

As if a subliminal reminder, I found my dust cloth under this book. Really. If you should read this book, you probably don't have the time to.

28 comments:

ACB said...

OMG!!! So glad the baby's ok!! I have the poison control magnet on my fridge and it is the only one that has lasted 5 years! And yes I've called before too but I'm too ashamed to say what my baby put in his mouth lol BTW that's too much house to clean...your hubby needs a second job so you can get a maid LMAO Take care and hope things calm down a bit!

I am Heather...creator of all things crafty! said...

Oh good, I don't feel so bad. Yesterday my 3 yr old pulled my laptop off the kitchen table and took a chunk out of the flooring in the kitchen in the process and proceeded to drag it across the floor face down while open approx. 25 feet where I found it at the entrance to my bedroom. Then, last night he threw his Lightening McQueen paddle ball paddle at Daddy's 42 inch plasma t.v. that's mounted on our wall in the living room. Needless to say. Paddle became the "spankin paddle" after those two incidents. Oh, I almost forgot he dipped all his macaroni noodles into his cup of water making it macaroni and cheese soup. Disgusting!

I am Heather...creator of all things crafty! said...

So far in his 3 short years here on earth I've only had to call Poison control once when took a swig of his sunscreen lotion. At least his esophagus was protected by the suns harmful rays....

Kathy said...

Wow! What an emotional day. After all is said and done, you wonder why a little dust bothers anyone? The constant struggle of a stay at home mom...keeping house, keeping kids, keeping sanity; I hear you!

Becky said...

Your life sounds so remarkably like mine, I'm beginning to wonder if you're a long lost twin...except that you have a waaaay better smile and look great in trendy glasses!

I was glad when we moved a little over a year ago, because now I have a new home phone number from which to make my calls. The old one had quite a 'record'...an undetermined amount of Listerine mouthwash, an undetermined amount of the blue kitty litter granules (tidy cat, I think)-from the bucket it came in, not the litter box-goo-gone, tilex, and some vegetable wash he found in the produce section of the grocery store...need I say more? Those Poison Control people probably roll their eyes when they saw our number, "Oh, it's HER again...doesn't she watch her kids?!"

Jillybean said...

Once my son poured himself a big tall glass of rubbing alcohol. He thought it was water. His breath did smell like the alcohol, so I assume he drank some. I called poision control, and they asked my favorite question (the same one they asked when he ate the Desitin) "How much did he drink?" to which I answered, "Um, I don't know, I wasn't there. If I had been there, I wouldn't have let him drink it"
Duh!
I totally relate to you on the house situation.
Your house sounds very similar to mine, except I have 4 kids. Why do they think their backpacks belong on the floor just inside the kitchen door? What is the deal with their shoes? One day I counted 7 pairs of kids shoes in the family room. They also leave little sock trails throughout the house. Maybe it's kind of like Handsel and Gretel leaving a trail of breadcrumbs to find their way home. The socks will guide them through all the toys and shoes and books and school papers and coats and candy wrappers and empty popcorn bowls...........

Dawn-Enigma Artist said...

Great news that the little one is okay!

I was fortunate enough not to have to call poison control for my daughter.

I was so anal or obsessive about "everything" the only thing she ever got a hold of was a bar of soap that I was threatening to wash her mouth out with...

she was standing on a chair at the kitchen sink, she grabbed it from my hand, took a bite, and chewed it defiantly.

She was three!

(I did have to call when our Dobie got into mouse poison...he would have had to eat 150 squares or more)

Do you have "look under the couch" on your list?

It always amazed me how many bowls, forks, glasses, she had stashed under there!

Kellan said...

I'm so glad he was okay - but this was a well written post on how it really is, pictures and all!

Tracy Rambles On And On said...

I'm so glad that he's ok. I'm always terrified of this happening with Peter.
I too felt bad that the hubby came home to a messy house every day after working eight hours. I did what any sahm of three would do. I hired a cleaning lady! Think about it!

Unknown said...

Mental note to self after reading this post - never believe that something is out of reach.

I would have been sobbing on the phone, too! I'm glad he's okay!

Heidi Jo Comes said...

so um, he's a mellow one huh?

because he is okay...that makes me laugh. haven't we all been those situations? mine hasn't come from injesting harmful toxins (none that i know of anyway), but in the form of head trauma's looking like purple easter eggs on the noogin.

good grief- this is why a nightly glass of wine is OKAY:0)

SubWife said...

Happy that the little one is fine. And thank you for yet another reason to postpone cleaning.

Lizzy in the Burbs said...

Glad to hear that everything turned out okay, that is a very scary feeling. I caught my youngest drinking a bottle of purfume when he was two. I had no idea how much he had ingested, but his breath smelled like alcohol, so called poison control. They told me to try and keep him awake for several hours and give him milk to drink. The operator also told me he could act "drunk" for awhile. (kind of amusing now, not so funny then) :)

Anonymous said...

Oh my goodness, I can SO relate. My then 2.5 year old daughter took a bottle of Resolve and sprayed it into her mouth and said she drank water. It was very scary!
So glad he was OK and back to getting into things quickly. I think it happens to all of us moms, some just choose not to talk about it.

P.S. I showed my 4 year old your mystery picture last night and she said "Carrots". I should have posted her answer and she could have been the correct guesser! Not sure how she got that from the pic, but she did!

Anonymous said...

Hey, I'm new here, been trying to catch up on some stuff, I can relate to today's post.
Makes me wonder why we try to keep house or cook, my 4 year old had to be rushed to the E.R. 3 days ago. I was making homeade applesauce and sent her with her older brother to his room so they would be out of mine and my older 2 kids hair...the older ones were helping me. My 2 little ones decided to try flying off the top bunk bed onto a pile of pillows on the floor. My 4 year old hit her head off the wood frame from the bottom bunk and wouldn't stop crying. Gives you a sick feeling when you are afraid they may be hurt or in your case poisoned. Such a relief when you find out they'll be alright.

Just-Me-Jen said...

Wow, rough day! I'm glad the little guy is okay - that's very scary.
Would it help if I say the entertainment center looks lovely? ;-)

Pam said...

Oh My! What a day! I am so sorry you were put through the ringer today! Some days it does just seem that everything is working against us. I am so glad that the little guy is okay though. It is so hard to clean and have kids. If it is any consolation- your entertainment center looks very organized and dust free ;)

Valarie said...

That is so scary. I got goosebumps reading about it!
I was outside doing some yard work once and my 3 year old was over playing in the neighbor's garage with her little friend. I heard my neighbor start yelling for me and ran over and she said she thought my daughter had just drank some gasoline out of their not-quite-empty, UNcapped gas can. I paniced!! I called poison control and had to take her into the hospital. It was so scary. She was fine. We still aren't sure if she actually drank any.
I am glad your little guy is ok.

Anonymous said...

oh wow. i am so glad your little one is okay. i would have freaked my own freak if my joe had done that. he did eat a bunch of tums once when he was 18 months and i had to call PC. glad all is well with your child.

Thanks for stopping by my blog! :)

Nature Girl said...

Oh man! What a day you've had! I'm glad everything turned out in the end and that your little one isn't sick. That can be so scary! Thanks for the visit!
Stacie

Anonymous said...

What a day! I can totally relate with a crazy two-soon to be-three year old running around the place. I have been decluttering around here, and it is a challenge to get it done before everything gets put back out again.

I am so glad your little one is okay!

Anonymous said...

So glad all is okay - nice to meet you and I live your layout ... hahah
Thanks for stopping by my site too!

Janet Oberholtzer said...

Hi Michelle,
Thrilled to have my name on your famous blog :)
For your sake (and his:) I hope his nap was long.

Great post ...
Janet

Michelle Kemper Brownlow said...

:)
Less than an HOUR!
UGH!!!!
"Famous blog" hahahaha you are funny!

Brandize said...

Great story. I've been there! We to have the poison control number on the fridge. Called it several times myself.

Any oil is very dangerous for kids to be in contact with (breathing in). Keep that BABY OIL up!

Anonymous said...

So scary!!!
Now you have to decide: is cleaning worth it?
I vote NO. Now to convince our husbands... ;)

Anonymous said...

Glad he's okay!

And see? cleaning is over rated...heee!!!

Shellie said...

Isn't that an oxymoron to simplify your life with kids? Shouldn't you ditch the kids if you want to simplify your life? But a simple life is highly overrated, I will keep my kids and my complicated life, thank you. Oh, and poison control. I think they knew me on a first name basis when Gigio was littler. When they would ask me to spell his name, I would say, H-O-U-D-I-N-I.