Holidays,  Marriage Confessions

Food, Fireworks, and Burnt Fingers

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The 4th of July at our house this year was pretty low key. We were in our pajamas until about 2:00 when we decided it was time to get our acts together and do something patriotic and American.

So, we went to Home Depot.

Remind me to tell you later – when I’ve stopped twitching with anger – about how I believe choosing paint is a leading cause of divorce in this country. Or, at least in my house.

After our little outing, we came home and hung out in the kitchen while Chris made a big pot of chili.

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Bean and Gracie were super excited about the 4th of July.

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Well, Bean was. Gracie was more concerned about where her Kitty Kitty had run off to.

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Bean’s excitement wasn’t just about the holiday, though. What he was really excited about were the fireworks Chris brought home.

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He tried explaining to Gracie about how much fun we were getting ready to have, but she didn’t seem to get it.

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So, we put Gracie down for her late afternoon nap and, as the sun began to set, Bean, Chris, and I headed out to the driveway to play with fireworks. We didn’t get REAL fireworks (don’t tell Bean…). We got a pack of things that sparkled and smoked and popped. “Dingy fireworks,” as Chris said. But they were the perfect size for Bean Man.

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Mostly, they just whizzed and smoked and sparkled. Bean loved it all!

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Then came the sparklers, and all hell broke loose. It started out pretty innocently. Chris lit the sparkler and then handed it to Bean. He thought it was pretty cool. He walked verrrrry slowwwwly with it and made big circles in the air, just like Chris showed him.

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And then when the sparkler died out, Chris took the stick from Bean and set it on the ground while he got the next firework ready. But Bean decided that he wasn’t quite done with the sparkler and before we could stop him, he picked up the very hot sparkler by the very hot end.

So, the Boo Boo Bee made her appearance on the 4th of July.

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Bean was a champ. He sat with his fingers on his ice cold Boo Boo Bee and insisted that we finish the fireworks before we went inside to treat his mortal wound.  I don’t think Chris had ever been prouder.

“Way to take it like a man, Bean,” he said.

And then we set off more dinky, manly fireworks.  After our grand finale (oooohhhh…aaaahhhhh….), we took Bean inside and tended to his wound with Neosporin and Woody and Buzz Lightyear Band Aids.

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Thankfully, we were able to save the finger.

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I felt bad at first. What kind of parent lets their two-year-old play with fireworks?!?! And I still kind of wonder about our judgment on that one. But, I felt a lot LESS bad when Bean held his fingers up to me and said, “COOL, MOM!”

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Hope your 4th was safer and full of more responsible parenting decisions than ours!

32 Comments

  • ann

    Glad Bean is OK.
    Also, Paint Colors? And Home Depot? I hate shopping for paint! We once fought about what color white to paint a room, for more than a week. Really? Over white paint? Sad, but true!
    Good Luck!

  • Kate

    Katie, Katie, Katie……do NOT spend a minute more fretting over “the fireworks incident”. We’ve all had it happen to our kids (which we truly have, and to those that say “not my kid” I say BIG LIARS). Consider it a successful teaching moment….he didn’t grab another one, right? LOVE the BooBoo Bee….sure beats the ice pack that came with my Pyrex hot/cold baking dish I’ve used for the last xx years 🙂 Thanks for sharing your holiday with us!!

  • Casey

    You know what I say to Bean’s firework incident? Yay for battle scars! I LOVE the photos of him holding the sparkler… he looks so big & proud!

    We have a boo boo turtle just like your bee… LOVE it!

  • Danielle

    Had the same thing happen with one of my little men a year or two back. Except he grabbed it while it was still going…I felt like the worst parent in the world. He survived and is now really careful with sparklers.

  • Waiting for Bulgaria

    Awww. Poor Bean. Burns hurt, but don’t feel bad. Sounds like something that would happen to us. I’ll tell you some time about when my husband was letting my son “play” in the empty bathtub He was running back and forth as fast as he could. Wow honey! Really? Anyway, it ended in a big ole busted lip.

  • Jen @ Caved In

    For the paint question, try shopping for paint with your designer hubby who is arguing with the salesperson at lowe’s over the name of the colors. “That’s not REALLY eggplant”. shoot me, please. Bean looks pretty proud of his war wound. Better for getting the ladies.

    And I wish our neighbors were like you. They shot off fireworks until 3am this morning. Never have I wanted to go purchase a gun as much as I did at 1:30am. They’re just lucky our teething 6 month old didn’t wake up. I’d probably be in jail this morning if that was the case.

  • Erin

    Don’t worry about it! My 4 year old niece burned my dogs behind with a sparkler last night. I’m at the vet and hoping he doesn’t report us for dog abuse! You would think with 6 adults(3 of which weren’t drinking) that wouldn’t of happened,! Oh well! Luckly I think we’ll all live!

  • Jenna

    If the downfall of your marriage was paint shopping at Home Depot, ours could have been renting movies together at Blockbuster. On a brighter note, I always thought if we made it through that, we can make it through anything!?!

  • Mindee@ourfrontdoor

    Of all the things we set off on the Fourth (and you should really come visit, Chris would be in heaven) sparklers freak me out the most. Holding a flaming stick right in front of your face just seems wrong.

  • Kristin

    I don’t think it was a bad choice to let Bean play with the sparkler. He looks proud and sounds like he really enjoyed it. He didn’t seem to care, so it sounds like you’re no worse for the wear! Glad you had a relaxing day!

  • Natalie @ Queen of Whirled

    Home decorating in general might be the leading cause of divorce. It’s pretty much the only thing my guy and I argue about…He always lets me win (begrudgingly) and then I feel guilty…but not guilty enough to live with ugly decor choices. =P

  • Tressa

    I LOVE the picture of Bean holding his sparkler, his chin up, so matter of factly!!!! He’s proud. Battle wounds make him look tough Mom! Good luck with the paint colors, I have no advice to share. I picked, with no arguments, even the black and orange Harley Davidson office!! It has black carpet with a Harley bar & shield in the middle of the floor!! Looks pretty awesome, IF your a Harley person 😉

  • Megan

    I can’t get over how gosh darn adorable your kids are! I was also allowed to play with fireworks/sparklers as a child and endured my fair share of “mortal wounds”…I turned out just fine though 🙂 And in hindsight, a few burned fingers are worth the great family memories. Props to Bean for “taking it like a man!” 😉

  • Angella

    Awww Bean is looking so cute in these pictures!!. My hubby just lets me pick the paint colours now 😉 too many arguments otherwise.

  • Michelle @ Mambo Gook

    Aw I use to love those little dinky fireworks when I was little!! And as far as the paint…bf and I are currently fighting about whether to paint or not. Moving into a new place and I HATE blank bare walls, but he’s a much more simple man and doesn’t see the point. Oy Vey.

  • cathy

    we have been married 27 years and finally about 10 years ago decided to always hire someone to help us pick paint colors. It was one of the BEST decisions we ever made.

  • Paige

    I have read for almost a year but never comment **Shame on me**
    But I loved this! If I were two I would much rather burn my hand while playing with fireworks with my Dad, than have to sit back and watch any day!

  • Susan

    If that makes you a terrible parent, my parents must have been monsters… or I was a really quick, sneaky, daredevil child. 🙂 Fighting w/ my older brother I ended up with rug burn under my armpit from a blanket; once put my hand on the hot kitchen stove (ouch); once touched the hot wood stove (also ouch); and several broken bones from clumsiness. I think I was 3 the first time I broke a bone. I fully take the blame for all of these things – just not the things i blamed on my older brother. 😉 I think my parents just about had a heart attack the first time they had to take me to the emergency room. They eventually learned that if it could be fixed by a band-aid it wasn’t that big of a deal. 🙂 I’m in my 30’s now, and think back on all of my escapades as a child and smile. It builds character.

  • Lori @ I Can Grow People

    Poor burnt Bean! And as far as paint colors are concerned, it causes tension in my house too. It takes a lot of convincing on my part to make my husband realize that my choice is always better 😉 I haven’t had to pull out the BFA or the resume to back up my claims just yet!

  • Julie S.

    My husband told me over the weekend that they NEVER were allowed to have sparklers! We could have them as soon as we could grasp something! I am glad Bean is ok- and for what it’s worth, I would have totally let Brayden have them, too.

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