Stuff to stash

I have finally figured out that there are just certain things you need to stash more or less all over your house. You know, at least on each floor, or at least in each bathroom. And now that I've purchased yet another flashlight for the junk drawer in the kitchen, I think we're finally good to go. Of course, keeping William away from said certain things? Not so easy. He can find a way to get to almost anything he really really wants. However, like a good Boy Scout, I believe in Being Prepared.

For the record, those items are:

1. Flashlights. The power blinked a few times last night, and David made me go fetch the flashlight out of his nightstand drawer so we wouldn't be stuck downstairs in the total dark. The flashlight that used to be my flashlight that stayed in my nighstand drawer, that is, until he walked off with it, thereby necessitating a trip to Target to buy another one for me. Just so you know, that's happened more than once. More than twice. There are MIA flashlights all over the house; they're just invisible. But at least we have them in the most important places in the house now: the kitchen and our bedroom. And I have one stashed in the guest room, too. (Don't tell David.)

2. Band-Aids. William has discovered Band-Aids. Last weekend, he begged for an Elmo bandage, even though he didn't have a cut or scrape that needed one. So I stuck one on his belly. But I forgot to tell Aaron and Diane, who were babysitting him that evening, that he wasn't really injured and not to panic. Aaron said they eventually figured it out. We have about forty boxes of Band-Aids in our house now, including three boxes of Elmo Band-Aids. Unfortunately, William knows where they all are.

3. Phillips head screwdriver. I don't even know why I ever bothered putting them back in the toolbox in the utility room. I finally just left one in William's room (safely out of his reach, of course). I mean, that %&@* crib aquarium needs a new set of batteries every other week, it seems, and I was forever having to search for the elusive PhD screwdriver. Screw this, I said, (har har), I'm just going to put one in William's top dresser drawer.

4. Scissors. We now have three pairs of scissors in the office because I kept losing them and buying new ones. But hey, now we'll never lack for scissors. I think there are also three sets in the kitchen junk drawer. I once got up in the middle of the night and moved all the scissors in the office to a top shelf because I dreamed about William getting to them. David woke up and asked me where I had gone, and it just seemed too silly to tell him the truth.

5. Tape. Let me ask you. When was the last time you taped pieces of a paper piano back into a book? If you don't remember or your answer was "never," you have never been the parent of a toddler. William loves lift-the-flap books with a zeal usually only seen in new missionaries, but he sometimes loves them a little too much. I have a whole set of Spot books sitting on my dresser, all of which need a little TLC: tape and loving care. Is it bad if I've ever seriously considered throwing a book away because I'm so darned tired of taping it back together?

6. Tylenol and/or ibuprofen. David once had a patient whose parents didn't have any children's medicines in their house. Man, I can't even imagine. I think I have children's Tylenol stashed in every single bag that William owns, not to mention his bathroom and his diaper changing station. And the kitchen medicine cabinet. And at Diane and Aaron's house. It kills me to have to take it out whenever I send him and his choo-choo-train bag to school every Friday. What if I forget to put it back in and we need it??? Oh, yeah, right: buy some more. I sometimes forget we're not in the desert with our one lone grocery store anymore. Which reminds me. I bet some of that children's Tylenol is about to expire...must add to shopping list...

7. Raisins. Okay, I only actually keep raisins in the kitchen pantry. But I thought they were worth adding to my list because I also stash them in my purse, the diaper bag, other bags, the car and so on. I'm feeling a little antsy because I don't think David has any raisins in his car right now. Hopefully he at least has a flashlight...and some ibuprofen.