Carter Strikes Again, Poison Control, and more…

Yes, I have been gone from the blogging world for about a month now. There has been so much going on at home, that I couldn’t justify taking time away from my family to sit down at my computer to write a post. I know my wonderful readers understand!

As many of you saw from a previous post, I went back to a part-time nursing job, and my training began last month. I am happy to say I survived two weeks of full-time classroom time, and I am near the end of my hospital training. *Survived* being the key word there. I thought that it would be an easy two weeks, simply sitting in a classroom. Wrong. I came home absolutely exhausted, from doing absolutely nothing but sitting and trying to stay awake. I could barely keep my eyes open at 7pm! On a normal day, I chase around 3 kids, and run a baby hair accessory business from home, yet I was pooped from sitting in a classroom. It did not make sense, but I am glad that part is over, and was thrilled to be out of the classroom and actually working as a nurse. I am very excited about my new job in a pediatric emergency room, and think that I am really going to enjoy maintaining my nursing skills with an occasional, flexible shift.

Okay, what I am really back to share about today is a funny story from our family vacation. I will tell more about our vacation later, but this story takes the cake. As many of you know, 3 year old Carter is quite mischievous. He has not been up to significant trouble lately, so a Carter story has been long overdue. Here is my little man, looking so innocent and sweet.

The problem began when he fell asleep for about 5 minutes, on the way home from an afternoon outing. Unfortunately, even the smallest power nap seems to ruin his normal 2 hour nap. I decided to try, and put him down for a nap anyway. He stayed quite, and I assumed that he had gone back to sleep. 45 minutes later, I hear him yell, “Mommy, I poopy.” I went in to change him (potty training adventures will start this week) and I found him covered in sunscreen. He was holding an empty tube of sunscreen stick, which previously was totally full. I asked him where it went, and he replied, “I ate it. It not taste good, but I ate it.” As you can see below, the stick was completely gone!

Just great…after more questions and searching, I determined that he consumed the majority of the sunstick, only sparing the amount that was smeared on his face and body like a greased watermelon. On the back of the tube it read, “If consumed, seek medical attention immediately, or call Poison Control.” This was a first in our family. I called Poison Control, who was very reassuring that this particular brand should be rather harmless, but may cause some nasty bodily functions as it works its way through the system.

As I looked around the room to see if he had found anything else to get into, I realized that my phone was accidentally left in the room with him, and it was also smeared in sunscreen. I was not too concerned. Since I have a 4 digit password, required to unlock all functions of the phone, I didn’t think he could have done much on my phone. Well, he never ceases to amaze me. Somehow the boy cracked the code!!! Yes, somehow he guessed and got lucky, and typed in the 4 digits to allow him total access to my phone functions.

For over thirty minutes, he had full freedom with my phone. He changed the background image (even I don’t know how to do that!), attempted to call 11 people, and successfully sent 5 nonsense, jibberish-filled text messages. Oh, and I just discovered today that he added several new contacts!

My favorite text is pictured below. He texted my friend Stephanie, and when she replied, he promptly texted her back again!

I am very thankful that no lasting harm was done through his ingestion.  It was a good reminder that even on vacation I cannot let my guard down and allow him access to items that are normally out of reach at home. At the same time, I am extremely concerned that his continual sneaky antics are only the beginning of many years of mischief…