Thursday, November 09, 2006

Living on the Edge

So yesterday was a day of living dangerously for my 2 yr old.

The first story is about the potty. She spends a lot of time in there. I can sit here at the computer and have a direct view into the bathroom, so I don't have to be in there the whole time, but I can go help when needed. So she runs in here, crying and saying something unintelligible. I finally figure out she is saying something about there being a red light on the wall.

Apparently while she was going potty she was fiddling with the knob on the bathroom wall heater. We never use our wall heaters because we have central heat/air, but we have not removed all the heaters. So I taught both of them early on, Don't touch, Danger, the whole bit. Told them what they were and why we don't touch them.

So anyway, she is sitting on the potty about 6 inches from the heater, and turns that baby on full blast. By the time I got in the bathroom, it was glowing red-hot. No wonder she was scared. Not to mention the wonderful smell of burning dust. I called both children in there, and asked who did it. No one, of course. Eventually the 2 yr old told the truth.

So thank God she didn't put her hand on it. I know lots of people have heaters like this in their homes and children learn to leave them alone. I also know it is a risk having them in every room, not being used. I also like the idea of having them as a back up in case something happens to our heat/air unit in the middle of winter (ok, I know it doesn't really get that cold here in Kentucky...)

So I felt good. No one got hurt. I handled it pretty well. I didn't lose my temper. And then, of course, I get back on the computer. Sometime later, I get up to check on the girls, make lunch, something (that part totally slips my mind). I walk around the corner of the hallway, and there sits my 2 yr old sitting in my bedroom doorway, happily playing with my pincushion. Thank God all my pins are the kind with little round white heads. The 5 yr old was sitting nearby watching. This alarms me more than the bathroom wall heater. She had a lap full of pins and was happily pulling them out. Thank God she wasn't eating them.

This time I stayed calm for a little while, while I was putting the pins back. I kind of had a hard time getting her to sit still, so I could find all the pins. Some were in her clothes and some were on the floor. I let the girls feel how sharp they were. Of course my two yr old, who was probably sitting there for 10-15 minutes completely still before I got there would not sit still for me so I could put the pins away.

I guess I should say that my girls usually are very good and don't get into things. They don't usually write on walls, rip books, climb cabinets, or anything like that. They don't get my lipstick and paint themselves red. They don't find the scissors and cut each other's hair.

Usually. So 2 in one day threw me off a little. But now my radar is up. I should have seen the warning signs. A few months ago I found a carefully drawn zig zag line drawn in ink on the wall behind my husband's chair, about the height of my five year. There was one more wiggly line above that, about the height my 2 yr old would be if she were standing on the chair and leaning over the back to write on the wall. (it is still there if you want to come and see it). I also found a couple of days ago, a carefully colored red crayon picture(or should I say scribble) on the side of the TV set, also by the 2 yr old.

Oh, well, kids are going to be kids. After my heart started beating again, after the pincushion incident, I think we did something really calm, all together.

9 comments:

Motherkitty said...

Curiosity -- ah, what a wonderful thing. Mothers usually live through incidents like these. I know I did.

I say, time to disconnect those little heaters. As far as the writing on the wall, Mr. Clean puts out a really good product called an Eraser that will get rid of all kinds of scribbles such as these.

Kids, they do and say the darnest things. Can't wait to see them.

Anonymous said...

Hey, it does too get that cold in Ky! Our furnace went out last winter and it took 2 days to get it fixed, and by the time it was turned back on it got down to 39 degrees in the house!

Kids will be kids. Every time I start to trust my boys again they'll do something like that, just to keep my on my toes.

I second the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser nomination. That thing is awesome. When someone (I can't imagine who) colored on my living room wall with a sharpie marker, it took the marks right off. And when someone else (again, I can't imagine who) colored a giant rainbow (about 4 feet across) on the kitchen floor with crayon and marker, it took the marks off immediately.

tomlaureld@yahoo.com said...

Children will be children. A good education will teach a child good things. I think you have taught them well because your child did come to you for help when something did not look right. We want more of that type of education. Take care and have a great day.....
My Mozilla Browser has a spelling checker built in so if I make a spelling mistake it underlines (RED) it here as I type this.

Kate said...

Who Knew!! That you almost have to be a Detective living with 2-5 year olds!!!Finding out who did what can take a bit of detective work!!Let me just say this........it will be a trait that will stay with you for many years and come in handy when they hit their teen years!!

Sandy Hatcher-Wallace said...

Hi KittenYarn...It's very good that your 2 year old came and got you after she had turned on the heater. She knew that it was hot and dangerous and also knew not to touch it.

I'm sure that you will probably have more days like these and lets hope that they all turn out as uneventful as this one, where no one was hurt or stuck by a straight pin.

I still have half of a needle stuck in my foot from my younger days. It always excites radiologists when they see the eye of a needle and want to do a second x-ray and I tell them that they don't have to because it has been there for over 50+ years now.

You have such sweet little girls and I hope that they always come to you for help when they feel something is dangerous.

You are going to have to get those eyes behind your head in focus especially when #3 comes along, hehehe.

LZ Blogger said...

Kids can always get a parent's heart beating a little faster. Our youngest son used to love biting GLASS glasses... talk about excitement. We finally had to go to plastic! ~ jb///

Lisa-Anne said...

Ali, one of mine once bit a small glass christmas ornament, she thought it was candy! the other one of mine found the pancake mix, and I found him and the entire living room, furniture and all covered in it... his only word? Snow!! Snow!! lol, poor kid never saw snow till he was 8 and a half, no wonder he was confused! :)
*hugs*
LA

Leish said...

Pins? yikes...I'm glad she's okay! I have crayon on my coffee table...I'll have to try the Magic Eraser.

Franny said...

They find new and exciting ways to almost maim/kill themselves every day! And that's what makes being a mom SO MUCH FUN!!!

My youngest was rifling through the kitchen drawers one day and found a STAPLEGUN...and was holding it to his MOUTH...luckily my oldest ratted him out, because I was unaware that he had climbed that high. Anyhow, I bought my oldest son a new computer game for being my little "inside man"/rat!