Don’t Eat the Berries

We had a little scare yesterday … the boys were playing hide-and-seek with Dixie and her older siblings, while I took the opportunity to have some adult conversation with Miss Shawn. Gabe waltzes up, complaining about the goop on his hands. Not long after freaking over the mystery pink coloration on his skin, we looked over and saw what seemed to be Zeke eating berries off of a weed.

Gabriel didn’t have any of the bright berry residue on his face, so I was pretty sure he didn’t consume any. However, Zeke had some on his mouth and lips, although we didn’t spot any remnants on his tongue or teeth.

Zeke looks for veggies (not pokeweed) @ Gramsey & Papa’s.

“Did you eat any berries?” I inquired. “Yes,” Zeke replied.

“How many?” I asked. “Two,” he said confidently.

Barely contained panic set in. I feverishly corralled the kids and got them across the street to our house to try to gain some perspective.

I thought the plant was called milkweed, but my quick Internet search proved otherwise. Stephen advised that I just call Poison Control to see what they had to say about the situation and its ambiguous details. After describing the plant, the agent said it sounded like pokeweed and asked me to verify that through an online search. Indeed, she was right.

Luckily, pokeweed tastes gnarly, so most kids don’t eat more than one or two, and it’s when someone eats more than six or so that it can be harmful. It’s not poisonous, but it can cause some nasty gastrointestinal issues, which have to be dealt with via home remedies. Needless to say, the boys are all fine, but are in dire need of some additional “don’t eat the berries, or anything else you find outside, unless Mommy says it’s okay” training.

Tough-guy Gabriel tries to lift the heavy bowl of produce.

The kids and I attended our second MOPS gathering on Tuesday. A MOPS veteran whose three kids are now teenagers spoke quite humorously about her motherhood experiences — from the first moments of being convinced she was the perfect mother, to the very-soon-thereafter stage of realizing that motherhood is anything but perfect, to all the chaos, doubt, frustration and perma-guilt that followed.

Her funny and poignant message struck home with me because I, like other moms, have such enormous responsibility, yet so often feel like I don’t have the time or ability to make it all happen in an efficient and healthy way for my family. Sure, I know intellectually that I can’t be Super Mom, but a mother’s heart is sometimes just irrationally heavy with a myriad of concerns.

A few things the speaker said that will hopefully help me get through those intermittent “heavy” moments:

  • Go for excellence in the household, not perfection. Leave the rest to God.
  • Don’t compare my weaknesses to someone else’s strengths.
  • Be gracious because, Lord knows, I’m going to need it.
  • And the best one … I’m not perfect, but I am the perfect mom for my kids!

Papa instructs the boys on proper veggie-picking techniques.

We’ve had one costume change since the last blog. Houston now wants to be a ghost, instead of a storm trooper. Since none of the boys’ costumes are that fancy or intricate (ghost, pumpkin and Vader, and we already have the mask for the latter), Jessie, the kids and I are going to homemake the get-ups, just like my mom and I did when I was a wee-bit gal. It’ll be a great seasonal craft for the 3 Amigos and a money-saver to boot.

This weekend will be first time ever that Gabriel and Zeke will be apart from one another for any significant amount of time (with the exception being Zeke’s surgery, when the twins were just 8 months old). We figured it was high time to give half of the double-trouble team some solo time away from his genetically identical cohort, big bro and the ‘rents.

So, Granny and Grumps are hosting one dude at their house for the entire weekend, while the other stays back at the homestead. Not sure how it’s all going to pan out, but regardless, I think it is a necessary step that each boy needs to make in order to grow into a healthy, well-balanced individual.

Houston proudly tosses a zucchini into the bowl.

And to determine who gets spoiled by Granny, I’m keeping score of every instance that Gabe and Zeke say, whine, scream or cry “no” to my requests. Each time one utters the two-letter word, he gets a “naughty mark.” And the person with the fewest marks wins some much-need “me” time in the mountains. At present, Zeke is in the lead for the dream vacation.

I’m still trudging away on catching up on photos, but you can enjoy a bunch of July memories (by clicking on the above pic) of the boys picking veggies with Gramsey and Papa.

2 thoughts on “Don’t Eat the Berries

  1. I just cna’t wait till tomorrow afternoon when I get a special “amigo” all to myself. Bring warm clothes cause Ray the Weathermand is saying we will have
    SNOW !!!! Can you believe it.

    Got some great new movies and going to buy more play dough!

    Love To All

    Granny

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