It Only Takes 20 Seconds... The Importance of Childproofing Furniture

We're starting our weekend with a guest post by TMD reader Janna and her amazing reminder of the importance of childproofing your home.
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Overall, I think I'm a pretty conscientious mom. I slice grapes in half. I'd slice up hot dogs too, if I let my kids eat them. All of the sharp knives are in a cabinet on a shelf above my head so no little hands can get one. Medication in cabinet with knives. Really good child safe locks on cabinet under sink, which only has some not-so-toxic cleaners in them. Toxic stuff in garage on highest shelf near ceiling.

No matter how well you think you've childproofed your home, there can always be something you didn't think of. The past 2 days we have had a guy installing wood flooring in 2 rooms that had carpet. All of our furniture in those rooms was moved to other areas so he had empty rooms. Tonight we started moving things back. We moved our chest of drawers back into our bedroom. It's huge. One narrow and two wide drawers wide by 5 drawers tall. We took out all of the drawers to move it because it is just so heavy. My husband put the drawers back in, and we all left the room.

Back in the living room, we were reminding Zach to start practicing his piano lesson. It helps if we listen to what he plays and encourage him. Suddenly we heard a very loud crash in the other room. We jumped up and RAN in there to find the huge chest of drawers flat on its drawer fronts. Lane was running around the room. When he saw us, he started pointing and LAUGHING. We were so relieved that he was still alive and appeared to be completely untouched.

Words can seriously not describe how I feel. I couldn't stop the tears for at least an hour after this incident. Every single other tall piece of furniture was secured to the wall with screws near the top prior to this happening. This one wasn't. I asked him if he was okay first (he was). Then I asked if he had climbed it. He said, "No, I pulled out all of the drawers."

The weight of all of the open drawers made it fall over. It could have killed him. Or we could have spent his 3rd birthday on Saturday visiting him in the PICU at the Children's Hospital.

Anyone with tall shelves or dressers or chests or file cabinets that are not secured to the wall, please take time to buy some heavy strapping and screws and secure your furniture. Even if you don't have young children, your grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or friend's kids who visit could do this at your house.

It only took him about 20 seconds out of our sight to open all of the drawers and cause the chest to topple. It did damage 3 of the drawers - not that I cared. 2 are cracked and one has a large piece broken off. I'll glue it back together, and when I see it, I will remember with gratitude how very blessed I am. Ditto for when I see the tiny dent in my brand new wood floor that I could care less about. All I care about is that my adorable little boy isn't broken or bruised or DEAD! And since we moved his bedroom upstairs with all the shuffling of furniture, I put screws in the tracks of the upstairs windows so he can't open the windows more than a couple of inches.

There is just something about 2nd born kids. After your first one, you think you have it all figured out, but then the second comes along and teaches you that really you haven't seen anything yet.

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WOW - Janna, we are all SO glad that everything is okay, and that Lane didn't get hurt! What a miracle! Thanks so much for sharing your frightening story with us!

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Kerching! Waiting for the Golden Jackpot...

We're starting our weekend with a guest post by TMD reader Cathy, who blogs about her life with her three adventurous young boys at The Camera Chronicles.

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Little girls (I'm convinced) equal at least some quiet time, pretty dresses and bows in hair and pleasant shopping trips...but little boys are a whole different story. I think I'm qualified to make the above general statement (even though I don't own any little girls).

When you have a baby boy, one thing is almost guaranteed - I say 'almost' because I'm sure there is an exception to the rule - somewhere...although my husband maintains that the smiling, placid children on cereal boxes do not exist...

Where was I? Oh yes, the one thing that is guaranteed...actually there are two. The first is that you will lose your mind. The second is that you will end up in the emergency department of your local hospital with a situation you just can't explain. And I'm not including fevers and normal illnesses here...I'm talking silly, bizarre, stupid accidents.

Thomas had us at the hospital a few years back with a fractured toe and we still don't know if the story we gave was the correct one...it was a guess put together via circumstantial evidence. Now it is Daniel's turn. The possibility of ending up in emergency with Daniel is a daily occurrence...sometimes I don't know how he escapes serious injury with the things he gets up to. We are always holding our breath, gasping in horror and/or screaming in alarm.

Maybe I am getting used to it because I hardly reacted when a frantic Thomas and a crying Daniel came storming up to me a couple of days ago saying Daniel had money in his tummy. To tell you the truth I was skeptical. Even after they had repeated the story a few times, I wondered if it had all been made up...part of their usual imaginary play? How could a kid swallow a coin whilst standing? Lying down I could understand...a coin could slip down the throat...but standing? Wouldn't there have to be some deliberate swallowing motion? What kid would purposely swallow money?! Actually, it wasn't out of the realm of possibility for Daniel... *
I was just going to wait and see if the coin - which they told me was a "yellow" one (a gold $1 or $2 coin) - came out the other end. However, my mum insisted we ring the local doctor and she in turn advised us to go to the hospital for x-rays.

And sure enough - Bingo! There is the $2 coin (Daniel had surprisingly picked it out of a line up prior to the x-ray) lodged somewhere (I'm not good with anatomy) and making its way down!

Solution: We have to wait a couple of days and make sure it has come out. How do we make sure (without having to go back for another x-ray)? Well, you guessed it - we have to sift through poo!

I did send out this job ad to certain family members:

Poo sifter required. No experience necessary. Must be thorough. Payment? The joy of knowing you have helped out your little nephew/cousin.

Surprisingly, there were no takers... and when some poo was actually delivered for examination yesterday, nobody could stomach the thought of sifting through it...except me of course! Another job they don't tell you about when you're pregnant/deliver your baby...

So with great intestinal fortitude, I sliced up the poo with a plastic knife. Thomas and Daniel hovered over me with great anticipation...but no jackpot :(

We now sit and wait for the golden poo to arrive...I shall keep you posted :)

* For the record, it was an accident...sort of. Daniel put the coin in his mouth. Thomas attempted to 'save' him and take it out. In the struggle that followed, the coin slipped down Daniel's throat.

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Haha, that is so gross!! I hope the golden poo arrived quickly for you, Cathy!

Be sure to visit Cathy's blog at

www.ChroniclesCamera.blogspot.com

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Calm Amidst the Chaos

We're starting our weekend with a guest post by TMD reader Sam and her amazing story of the first time she had all 5 of her children (all ages 3 and under) on her own.

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It’s been over a year, but I just love this story! This happened just after our second set of twins were born. At this time our son was 3, our older girls were 2 ½ and our babies were just a few days old.

Today was my first experience taking care of all 5 children at the same time. It was perfectly planned, should have been a smooth hour.

Anthony and his mom, Sherry, were taking a trip to the grocery store. We had to start defrosting a turkey for Christmas dinner, so tonight was the night. Rourke, Lydia & Francesca were in bed for about an hour and should have fallen asleep by the time they left.

Zinnia & Esther were due to eat...in fact, right before Anthony & Sherry left, Anthony informed me that if I didn't hurry up, "Esther is going to eat Zinnia's face off." Twins are so used to being really close to each other, it is comforting for them to sleep right next to each other. If you've never seen it, you should really come by and take a look, it is incredibly precious! However, there are some hazards like getting your face eaten off by a hungry, rooting sister!

So, I averted the crises, Zinnia indeed still has her face, and began to feed the babies. Shortly after I sat down, I saw a shadow outside the door. Someone was not in their bed fast asleep. It was not Anthony & Sherry, the garage door had closed and not reopened, Lydia & Frannie's door never opened, it had to be big brother, Rourke. Apparently his blanket had gotten twisted up and the little guy needed some help to get covered up.

Zinnia & Esther had just begun to eat, so getting up was not an option. I asked Rourke to stay with me. Also, just moments before I had called my mom and was chatting with her. Phone went to speaker so Rourke could say "hi" to Manga (Frannie's version of Grandma when she was first learning to talk and it stuck with my mom) while my mom & I finished our conversation.

Ladies & Gentleman, I was feeling good, what a great multi-tasker I am!

Rourke, Lydia & Francesca are over all doing great with Zinnia & Esther's arrival home. However, they are young children and some reaction is to be expected. Lydia's reaction has been delaying sleep for water, a Kleenex, unsnapping her zipper cover on her footie pjs, asking for her baby that is right next to her head, etc. We have been trying to give her grace and meet her needs tenderly, but firmly explaining that she needs to just get to sleep, her water is right there and she already has 30 Kleenexes in her bed.

Well, tonight she began to cry again, just after I was feeling so great about multi-tasking, I decided I could not multi-task this one, so I thought, "She's fine, she'll just have to cry until I can get up."

Well, she cried for about 15 minutes, I began to suspect that something may really be wrong and I was at a good stopping point with Zinnia & Esther. Rourke was happily talking to my dad at this point.

I went into Lydia & Frannie's room to discover one very distraught little girl. Whose face was covered in blood! Well, my puffed up pride was soon shrunk down a bit, this little girl had the worst bloody nose I have seen. Her hands, face, and pillow were covered.

I did not know if the culprit was a finger or a bonk from her headboard shelf, so I quickly turned on the light to discover indeed a finger up the nose was to blame.

Rourke had run in at this point and was quite concerned for Lydia. Frannie was woken up by my light flicking and I was feeling quite bad for ignoring Lydia's cries for so long.

Okay, now I had 5 awake children in my sole care! I knew Zinnia & Esther wouldn't last long, so I had to be quick. Lydia was melting down and the babies were beginning to make the case that they were still hungry.

I calmed Lydia as much as I could and began to wash her hands...a full scale bath would have been most appropriate, but there was no time for that. Certainly not at 8:30 at night with 4 other children! So, a sponge bath would have to do. As I began to make progress at Lydia's hands, Zinnia & Esther began to make progress at convincing me that they were hungry. Rourke & Frannie were practically crawling into the crib they were so concerned about this unmet need.

A wise mom who too has a large sum of little ones told me once that when I get overwhelmed, to first meet the needs of the youngest and work your way up.

So, a half cleaned up, mostly still bloody Lydia, Rourke & Francesca got to watch a movie at nearly 9pm! I sat down to finish feeding Zinnia & Esther while the other three enjoyed their Steve Green. The babies ate like champs and I got them settled and laid down for bed (or for a few hours anyway). I also had a chance to call my mom back to tell her it was just a bloody nose that I quickly hung up Rourke's conversation with my dad. Nothing to worry about.

Now, I cleaned up Lydia and just as I was finishing, Anthony & Sherry arrived. Sherry took Rourke to bed and Frannie & Lydia camped out on Frannie's bed while Lydia's stained sheets were removed from the bed and clean ones put back on. Anthony finished tucking in the girls and all was well... even my soul!

This situation to a sleepy new mommy would send most of us into an emotional disaster. However, it was different tonight. I was calm, even giggling about the circumstances. Here I am, my first hour "on my own" and Murphy's law was really clear! At other times, this moment would have been a catalyst for anger or fear of "how am I going to do this?" But tonight, it just wasn't so. I was really peaceful. My religious beliefs filled my heart and mind with peace to cope and I was smiling and laughing; completely at a place of peace!

So many people have flat out asked and many more alluded to the question of, "how are you going to do it?" I pray that I will do it just like tonight.

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Wow, that was quite an experience... and I thought my two kids were a handful! So glad you were able to handle the moment peacefully, Sam! Thank you for sharing your story with us!

You can find Sam's blog at

www.spendandbespent.blogspot.com

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Color the Comics

Hurray, its the weekend! We're starting ours out with a guest post by TMD reader Shelly and her brilliant, 'green' coloring idea!

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I'm a cheap... err.. I mean thrifty momma, and I strive to be a "green" momma. So, when this little gem struck me in the head, it was like lightening. Everytime I venture to the store, the four year old in tow wants a new coloring book. At first, I thought this was cute. Now, I think its expensive and wasteful. Why did I not realize I get a coloring book delivered to my house everyday? DUH!

Now the possibilities are rolling around in my head. I can't wait to save up a few pages and cover the table with them at parties and such.

So easy!

xoxo,

Shelly

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Okay, that's just plain genius! Thanks Shelly!

You can find Shelly's blog at

www.shellystout.blogspot.com

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Sometimes They Just Amaze Me!

We're starting our weekend with a huge WELCOME to Sasha, who is our very first TMD guest poster! Thanks, Sasha for sharing your story with us!

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Usually, when they THINK I'm not paying attention... Like now, I am making dinner & blogging while my children play nicely together!

Ok, I guess I should back up a little...we (as in me & my 2 toddlers) just went to Wal-Mart *aka our home away from home* I swear I go there like 3 times a week! I think it has a lot to do with the fact that no matter how perfect I think my shopping list is I ALWAYS forget something, usually something crucial to making dinner THAT night! Its a curse! We went to Wally World to get crackers, among other things, for the chili I am currently eating (due to the fact that I started this blog like an hour ago but have been distracted a few times since then so now I am eating & blogging! What an amazing multi-tasker I am) *pats self on back*

Back to my cute children story... While at Wal-Mart I found some Christmas gift cards in my purse, (YES CHRISTMAS, I lost them in my purse) So I decided to get the kids something with their money. I got Johnnie an AQUA DOODLE & a shape sorting ball & I got Julie a toddler laptop. I got home & was starting dinner, here's where the toys come in (= they stay busy while mommy makes dinner! YAY!) Johnnie was getting increasingly irritated with his shape sorting ball & was on the verge of throwing the ball or crying OR BOTH and here comes Julie, she sits down and (with more patience then any 2 year old should rightfully have) proceeds to explain to Johnnie how to match the shapes to the holes!

Julie: "See brother, match the green square to the green square hole."

Johnnie: "Green square."
He puts it in the right hole.

Julie:" GOOD JOB BROTHER I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT! Now try this one." She hands him the red circle. "No, wait, turn it, turn it, match it up here, YAY! you did it!"

THAT would be them amazing me! Julie is so patient when him & he is so eager to learn from her! It is soooo sweet!


I must be doing SOMETHING right!


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Awwwww! That is adorable! Thank you Sasha for sharing your story with us!

You can find Sasha's blog at
http://chaos-is-super-swell.blogspot.com



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Happy Weekend!