This is not a name (Don Taunch), it’s a sentence. It’s something that I say to George all the time.
Actually – I don’t say “don taunch,” I say “don’t touch.” “Don taunch,” is just George’s pronunciation of the sentiment.
He has an odd little accent, that one… Another example would be how he says “it’s very hot.” It sounds like, “as berra haut.” He kind of reminds me of Frank (pronounced, “Frahnk” of course) from Father of the Bride.
“Don taunch” was a bit of a theme on Saturday.
At about 8 a.m. that morning, I was making eggs for Eleanor (the only Hood child who will eat more than three food items). I let the twins watch and they had little chairs pulled up so they could see. As soon as the eggs were done, Eleanor was at the table waiting to be served. But George stayed to watch me plate the eggs and put the pan in the sink. Or so I thought…
Apparently, he stuck around for other reasons. The minute I was more than two feet away from him putting the pan in the sink, he reached over to touch the burner.
I know – bad mommy – why was I letting him stand at the stove? The truth is, we let them do this all the time since our galley kitchen is about ten feet long (I’m not kidding) and the stove and the sink are separated by two feet of counter space (the ONLY counter space I might add…so the next time one of you wants to complain about how outdated your full sized kitchen is, you can just visualize me telling you to “suck it” – I’m sorry, I know that’s not nice – but I have my moments too).
ANYWAY – George burned his hand. Three first degree blisters to be exact. Here is a visual:
As it goes with most household injuries, this one happened on a weekend and the pediatrician’s office was closed. So I decided to take him to a nearby emergency care center. Overkill? Sure. Ridiculously expensive? Yes. But it was the only off hours care center that opened before 10 a.m.
Chris was out of town for work, but I knew I could leave Oliver and Eleanor with our wonderful neighbors (this is one of the biggest perks of townhouse living – it’s like living with family).
I also knew that Oliver would have a psychotic break if I left him behind.
So Eleanor stayed home while the boys and I set out for what I knew would probably be hours of sitting in chairs before a doctor could look at George’s hand say, “ouch, that must have hurt,” and then slap on a little cream.
And that’s pretty much what happened. Here is a pictoral (for once I had a camera – apparently the stars only align to make this happen when I’m three days past due for a hair wash OR in the ER):
Who ISN’T more brave when they have their blankie wrapped around their shoulders?
Oliver took the presence of the bed quite literally.
“Don taunch!”
Time passes quickly when you are playing with trains (not so much when you are watching people play with trains…)
Oh George…will your hair ever look normal again?
Just enough room for two.
All we need is a TV…and maybe some snacks.
Yeah – Oliver really liked that bed.
Look at that bandage! All for three little blisters… Don’t even ask me about the purple toothbrush. My kids are always clutching bizarre things like this.
Epilogue:
George played outside for hours without getting his bandage dirty. He’s a fussy little guy.
I took all three kids to Target later to pick up bandaids and Tylenol since we had NONE left in the house. I am one of the most ill prepared mothers you will ever meet. It isn’t at all unusual to see me rifling through the dirty laundry for a semi-clean pair of pants for one of my children on any given Monday morning.
The twins fell asleep in the car on the way home which meant that they actually took a nap (something that no longer happens since we got rid of their cribs).
Oliver and I used this nap time to run around on the front lawn in Kung Fu Panda underwear and try to elicit some interest in sidewalk chalk (that would be Oliver in the underwear and me making unsuccessful attempts at “normal” playtime activities).
I removed George’s bandage after dinner since it was a little damp, and we tried out some bandaids. He selected the Diego ones, and we had to sing the theme song for EACH bandaid application (“DiEEEEgo…DiEEEEgo…GO Diego GO!“) This also included the five bandaids that had nothing to do with his burns.
George pulled off the bandaids within five minutes and I gave him a long talk about being careful with the blisters. “DON TAUNCH!”
Hey Kate! I´m sorry George burned his hand… but what a great post! You crack me up! I´m also consoled by the fact that I´m not the only mother that is a disaster. I love your posts! Un beso-Jane
Poor little guy. I’m glad he’s OK. It’s amazing what can happen in just a second.
You’re a star for being so calm with three kids and a disaster.
Poor thing! George and Mama. It’s traumatic when these things happen. I’m glad he’s okay and that the burns weren’t worse.
Middle Boy was playing near a hot lawn mower when he was two and literally branded his forearm on the exhaust thingy. It was awful. I felt terrible.
You’re a good mom. :-)
Oh what a crap thing to happen. You are so not a terrible mother! I’m glad you took the camera with you – cute shots, all of them! Hope he’s feeling better this week. And hope you got some good wine/book/blogging time in the evenings when Chris was gone.
You totally made me laugh outloud when you mentioned Frank from Father of the Bride. I can just hear George saying his little phrases now.
Sorry he burned his hand. Same thing happened to Wyatt when he was 2… only it was on one of those caterer’s burner thingies. It totally traumatized me and I felt like a terrible mommy. Cute pictures.
We had the same fun last week! Conner (age 3) touched a griddle during while my husband was making pancakes. Oops. He spent that meal with his little hand in a cup of cold water. A little cream. A bandaid. All is well.
Sorry about your trauma. It’s always something, I guess. Glad George is all better.
Maybe now “don taunch” will translate to “don’t touch”!
Oh, poor George! He took it like a man though ;) Those are such cute pics of the boys playing together in the dr’s office!
My mother loves the story about the day I put my entire hand/palm down on the hot burner. I think I was around three.
PS. My galley kitchen is smaller than yours…I have around eight inches of counter space…maybe 12×8 or so!
Poor little guy, and he’s being so brave too. Why does this stuff never happen on a weekday when two parents are around?
Fire’s the theme of the day today – it’s bonfire night here in Israel and it’s only a matter of time before someone falls into a fire. I hate bonfire night.
Sorry about the burn and the trip to the ER. But it looks like the boys had a good time.
Ouchy! That makes my fingers hurt! I am so glad he was a brave boy!
OMG I cringed when I saw that picture – poor little critter! The first day I ever worked for the family I used to nanny for I was making them Mac & Cheese (which included heavy cream, as they were out of all milk – which I think beats having no bandaids or tylenol) and burnt my hand BADLY as I grabbed a pot off the stove which I promptly threw into their porcelin sink. I hope it taught the kids a Don Taunch lesson.
Is Chris back? Did he bring you a good Mother's Day gift after such a mother weekend?!
What a gem of a description! You will be so glad you took the time to write this and so will your kids!
Oh, what sweet faces! I cringed a little reading of George’s blisters. I remember placing my entire palm on a coil burner when I was a child and a sitter had removed a pan of hot chocolate. I was quite curious to see if the chocolate was, indeed, going to live up to the ‘hot’ status! That has always been my ‘go to’ story to warn my boys away from the stove still. So far, so good in that department because, seriously, from one ill prepared mother to the next, I’d probably have to coat their injury in vegetable oil and a towel and call it a day!
Poor babies (you and George)! You know he won’t leave the blisters alone.
Gremlin fell down the stairs at 2, ending up with stitches above his left eye. He wouldn’t leave a bandaid on it and used to *pull* at the actual stitches. We thought we were going to have to put a cone on him.
Oh no!! I’m glad he’s okay!! You make going to the hospital sound like fun. How do you do that??
I’m going to be that person and give you advice for future hand on stove incidents. Let his hand soak in cold water rather than run his hand under cold water. Only because if it’s a bad burn the running water will make it worse. I’m not saying you made it worse. You didn’t! It would have to be a larger burn for running water to make it worse. Don’t hate me for being that person. I won’t do it again. I’ve been around too many burn educational things, so I can’t help myself. ;)
Ouch! So glad George is okay. Loved the blow by blow pictures. Love it when this happens when the spouse is away.
For a second I was picturing YOU running around the lawn in character undies. Just for a second!
omg! The poor fella. He looks like he took it like a trooper!
We’ve spent MANY a day at the ER. IN fact, I’m sure I have an account there.
Poor baby! Hope he ok.
Yes we get frequent flyer miles at our ER too. Don Tauch reminds me of our Jake when he was about George’s age. He would say “open” like this; “awpone”. He sounded like a little Frenchmen. And to this day an banana is a “bee-nanna”.
Poor little monkey. Sounds like he was a superstar patient though. Hi from SITS!
my favorite part was ‘o george will your hair ever be the same again’…so cute though.
Poor little guy. I hope he is feeling better.
If it makes you feel any better, I am incredibly ill prepared too. I have been out and about with my diaper bag, which contained NO diapers. Sometimes I prepare sippy cups, and then promptly leave the house without them. And my favorite, I pack lunches without utensils. Have you ever tried to eat apple sauce with your fingers?
Looks like the ER was quite a party!
oh burns can be the worst, huh?!?
i’m so sorry that george burned his hand. plus, it’s so hard to see your child in pain!
way to hang in there and i bet that you were a rock star staying nice and calm :)
Oh no! YOW!
Yeah, this would totally happen at my house.
And I love how you describe the talking. Frank from Father of the Bride. I can totally hear it!
I’m so glad George is recovering well. I hope he remembers “verra haut” for the rest of his life. That did look like quite a party in the ER. Maybe hospital beds would be a solution to making the kids sleep in bed instead of on the floor.
nothing like little boys and their mischief to keep you on your toes. i had two older brothers who got into more trouble then my mother likes to recall. haha.
I am so disappointed that you were not running around in Kung Fu Panda undies. What a missed opportunity.
Glad his hand is OK.
You in the hospital reminds me of our experience in the finance office when we got our travel trailer this weekend–with a 4 year old and two 16 month olds. Cheerios are cute until they grind them into someone else’s carpet.
Let me list the injuries my children have gotten on my watch…trust me, you’ll feel MUCH better about yourself.
oh, poor little guy.
Hope he had a big piece of cake and is feeling all betta!
pve
Oh he looked like he was so brave!! I hate it when my kids get hurt, it hurts me almost as much as them!
Poor baby! I hate burn blisters—they hurt me more than probably the kids…
Glad he is better.