Poison Control

Micah:  Want candy!
Me: No, you can't have any candy.  Go play in the toy room.
Micah:  Awwwwww

He wasn't happy with me but he did what I asked and went to go play (or so I assumed).  In the meantime, the older boys wanted to go to the shop where Joe was working.  I called Joe and stayed on the phone with him while the boys walked back to the shop.  When I was sure Joe had sight of Noah and Jonah, I hung up the phone and went in search of Micah.  I thought it strange that the door to the toy room was closed, and when I went to open it I could not.  Someone (Micah) had pushed the desk in front of the door blocking the entrance.  The boy's toy room is linked to their bedroom by an adjoining bathroom so I walked through their bedroom to enter the toy room another way.  As I got to the other door, I was greeted by Micah with a look of pure guilt all over his face.  I bent down to ask him about the door being blocked and I could smell grape candy very strong.

Me:  Have you been eating something?
Micah:  Yes
Me:  What did you eat?
Micah:  Candy
Me: Show me what you ate.

Micah leads me into the toy room and I see an empty box of Tylenol sitting in the corner.  It was the meltaways for children 6-12 and he had chewed through the paper backing to devour eight tablets.  I immediately picked up the phone and dialed poison control.  Having three boys, I sort of know the number by heart.

Poison Control:  This is Poison Control, how may I help you?
Me:  My two year old just ate half a box of Tylenol.
Poison Control:  'Mam what is your name, address, and telephone number?

Now I understand why they ask all of that stuff.  They need to know in case they have to send out an ambulance or in case we get disconnected...but I always feel like such a bad Mom as I am admitting who I am and what I have allowed my child to do.  I also wonder if they aren't secretly pulling up my file and saying, "Oh, it is her again!"

Anyway, turns out there is a rather large margin of error that is allowed when dosing out Tylenol and they told me that Micah was going to be just fine.  In the back of my mind I was sort of thinking that at least he (and we) would at least get a good night's sleep...but once again I was wrong.  Turns out that an overdose of Tylenol actually makes a two year old hyper.  He did not go to sleep until after midnight and was wide awake at six the next morning.

As for poison control, I am really glad they are there.  It saved me from a trip to the ER just to calm my nerves and assure me that my child was going to be fine.

We Are Having A Boy!

Boys are found everywhere -- on top of, underneath, inside of, climbing on, swinging from, running around or jumping to. Mothers love them, little girls hate them, older sisters and brothers tolerate them, adults ignore them and Heaven protects them. A boy is Truth with dirt on its face, Beauty with a cut on its finger, Wisdom with bubble gum in its hair and the Hope of the future with a frog in its pocket. ~Alan Marshall Beck


I'm happy to announce that we are having boy number four!  A more detailed post will follow when I get my thoughts in order...but for now I will just let you know that we are thrilled that God is blessing us with another little boy to call our own.

Sand Angels

We do not get much snow here in the south, so we make do with sand.  What kid does not like making angels in the sand while waiting on the fireworks show to start?

Airplanes & Boats

There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child.

There are seven million.

~Walt Streightiff~

Lands End 4th

As we are a pretty young family we do not have many traditions yet.  However, one tradition that we do have is July 4th at Lands End.  I have spent July 4th at Lands End for the past fifteen years and I hope we are able to be there with our little family for many years to come.

There truly is nothing like it.  We spend our long holiday laying in the sun, splashing in the surf, gathering candy at the parade, smelling the salt air, eating bushels of fresh seafood, porpoise viewing, watching sunsets over the water, enjoying fireworks across the ocean, scratching bug bites, taking long naps, gathering conch shells, spitting watermelon seeds, fighting over the last spoonful of Mom's macaroni salad, playing with fiddler crabs, burning food on the grill, taking moonlit walks on the beach, feeling the sea breeze, and sitting on the deck with family and friends.
Sure there is always fussing about the kids being too loud and juggling bathroom schedules with so many people in one house, but our Lands End 4th is still my favorite family tradition.  What is yours?