Over this past weekend, I learned something. If you've read any of my blog, you'll probably be thinking, "Well, duh! It was bound to happen." But, for whatever reason, I didn't know it would happen. I was dumbfounded. And, I might have yelled at my child when it did happen.
The sound of a toilet flushing in my house is not an uncommon occurrence. However, when I hear it, I almost always cringe...What is my child flushing down the potty today? Please, oh, please. Let it be bodily functions.
Throughout the past year - as we've been potty training my 3-year-old - he has managed to flush dog food (the smell will make you nauseous), PB&Js (which will clog the toilet), My Little Pony figurines, toothbrushes, and more down the potty. I have become quite adept at getting the toilets in my house back into working order after these incidents. However, this weekend, something new happened.
My children love to fish. They've been several times with their dad and grandparents. They love everything about fishing: touching the worms, using their very own fishing poles (who doesn't like a Lightning McQueen or Princess fishing pole?), and the actual catching of fish. So, this weekend, my son decided that he was going to go "fishing" in the toilet.
It was early in the morning. We were still watching PBS Kids in bed. I didn't think too much of my son running to the potty - after all, I don't want to clean up what would happen if he didn't. But, then I heard the toilet flush once...no big deal. Then, twice...ok, what's going on? Then, a third time...I rushed to the potty.
There, before my very eyes, was my son using his father's cell phone charger as a fishing pole (the prong end was the "hook" end) in the potty. I might have shrieked a bit. I was definitely disgusted. The charger got pulled out of the potty, but unfortunately because it had been already flushed, the prong portion stayed well down in the pipes. I was only able to pull out the USB end of the charger - which was immediately tossed in the trash.
I got my son out of the potty. Grabbed a cleaning glove, and dove into the "fishing pond" to try and retrieve the pronged end. I couldn't reach it. I called a plumber...it was a weekend (with a holiday) so they wouldn't be able to come until Tuesday. My husband was out of town...I might have shrieked again. Once I had taken a deep breath and counted to four (thank you, Daniel Tiger) - multiple times - I discussed things with my son (notice, I did not make the nightly news programming).
Here's how the discussion went:
Then, I started praying.
The good news is that after my husband returned home, he was able to use a coat hanger to retrieve the remaining piece of the charger. Our potty is back to working order (for now).
The sound of a toilet flushing in my house is not an uncommon occurrence. However, when I hear it, I almost always cringe...What is my child flushing down the potty today? Please, oh, please. Let it be bodily functions.
Throughout the past year - as we've been potty training my 3-year-old - he has managed to flush dog food (the smell will make you nauseous), PB&Js (which will clog the toilet), My Little Pony figurines, toothbrushes, and more down the potty. I have become quite adept at getting the toilets in my house back into working order after these incidents. However, this weekend, something new happened.
My children love to fish. They've been several times with their dad and grandparents. They love everything about fishing: touching the worms, using their very own fishing poles (who doesn't like a Lightning McQueen or Princess fishing pole?), and the actual catching of fish. So, this weekend, my son decided that he was going to go "fishing" in the toilet.
It was early in the morning. We were still watching PBS Kids in bed. I didn't think too much of my son running to the potty - after all, I don't want to clean up what would happen if he didn't. But, then I heard the toilet flush once...no big deal. Then, twice...ok, what's going on? Then, a third time...I rushed to the potty.
There, before my very eyes, was my son using his father's cell phone charger as a fishing pole (the prong end was the "hook" end) in the potty. I might have shrieked a bit. I was definitely disgusted. The charger got pulled out of the potty, but unfortunately because it had been already flushed, the prong portion stayed well down in the pipes. I was only able to pull out the USB end of the charger - which was immediately tossed in the trash.
I got my son out of the potty. Grabbed a cleaning glove, and dove into the "fishing pond" to try and retrieve the pronged end. I couldn't reach it. I called a plumber...it was a weekend (with a holiday) so they wouldn't be able to come until Tuesday. My husband was out of town...I might have shrieked again. Once I had taken a deep breath and counted to four (thank you, Daniel Tiger) - multiple times - I discussed things with my son (notice, I did not make the nightly news programming).
Here's how the discussion went:
Me: Son, what were you doing in the potty?
Son: I was fishing, Mommy!!!
Me: Why were you fishing?
Son: So I could catch a fish!!
Me: Fish don't live in potties.
Son: But the water goes to the rivers.
Me: (Valid thought, Child) Why did you use Daddy's charger to fish?
Son: Because it was my fishing pole.
Me: A charger does not have a hook on it like a fishing pole.
Son: Oh.
Me: It also isn't long enough to get to the river.
Son: Oh. (Brain is definitely churning this over)
Me: Was this a good decision?
Son: No, it was not a good decision. Next time, I'll use my Lightning McQueen fishing pole.
Then, I started praying.
The good news is that after my husband returned home, he was able to use a coat hanger to retrieve the remaining piece of the charger. Our potty is back to working order (for now).
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