Mom Learns A New Lesson!

Well the days of summer are winding down, and boy am I thankful school is starting soon. The other day I learned a new lesson from my son, Cedric. We have been spending a lot more time outside with all this beautiful weather, kids playing in the water while I tackle yard work. We had blackberry vines taking over the fig trees, so I was cleaning them out. Of course fresh sweet blackberries are a yummy treat for kiddos who play hard. Cedric and Alyssa both also liked eating the figs.

Well this last Monday my learning curve was increased. I was weeding one of the raised garden beds, Alyssa was playing in the kiddy pool and Cedric was watering Papa's (their great-grandfather) iris and calla lily barrels. All of a sudden Cedric starts sputtering, gagging and coughing. I get up to go to him as he was coming over to me. His eyes are red, he was rubbing his tummy and stomping his feet. I get him to sit down, just as this is going on my girlfriend arrives from out of town and she goes and gets Fred (my hubby) for me. I try to give him water after looking in his mouth to make sure something isn't caught in his throat. All looks clear but Cedric is definitely in some kind of pain. Fred gets out to the backyard, sits with Cedric and I go over to the barrels. My worst fears were answered, Cedric had been eating either an iris root or a calla lily root. I go get the phone to call our doctor, thankfully my girlfriend gets on the computer to look up info on the plants. How I wish it had been the iris root that would have been fine but after talking to the nurse describing his behavior and talking to Poison Control we figure out it was the calla lily root. Sadly they are poisonous, well Cedric was in for a night of severe tummy and throat pain. Poor little guy vomited so many times that night. Ever try to keep an Angel calm while they are in severe distress and you of course can't calm him with any meds?

Looking back I realise it was probably a bad idea to feed the kiddos blackberries and figs right from the vine and tree. Cedric was thinking "hey there is stuff to eat out here maybe I can have this too." I never stopped and thought. Another thing I never thought about was if any of the plants in our backyard were poisonous to kiddos. Come to find out a plant I thought I was just really sensitive to is also extremely poisonous to kids, the naked lady flower. Needless to say I have a bit of cleaning up to do in the backyard! Cedric is doing great after his night of yucko.

Angel Proofing

Well life with an Angel is always exciting! Especially when my learning curve is extended!

Cedric's room has always been a safe room. We have no toys out where he can get to them, they are nestled in his closet. The biggest reason for this is, he would never sleep. He does have a television and that is secured on the wall about 5 feet in the air, with his light aquarium. All cords have to be run to his closet otherwise he would engage in electricity experiments. The window coverings are very well secured with a 1 by 2 over the top because traditional rods he has been able to pull down. My Cedric is quite the Hercules! We also gate his room to prevent midnight snacking or wandering opportunities.

But this last week we had a new challenge. Cedric has had a cal king bed for a few years now. Our reasoning, with the times we might need to sleep with him, we needed to be comfy too! For a kiddo not quite 4 feet tall and only 45 pounds he is a bed hog! (His Dad would say those are my genetics!) So much to our surprise to find our lil man pushing his bed across the floor! Yep you read that right, he has been wedging himself between the wall and the bed and then pushing it towards the door. Can anyone say trying to escape! Actually I think it is deep sensory seeking behavior...but that is an idea for another day. So the question is how to secure a cal king bed to the floor. Luckily we tore up the carpet a long time ago and have the old hardwood exposed. So Hubby and I talked on how we could accomplish this, there were several answers, many including large pieces of wood, studs and lag bolts. Until we remembered we have hardwood floors and some old 2 by 4's out in the garage. Yep we screwed 4 inch screws through the 2 by 4's directly into the floor, butted up to the bed! The working theory is that Cedric should not be able to lift the bed over the "bumps". So far so good!