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Wednesday, February 23, 2011

The Dangers of Distraction

I'm not talking about texting while driving.

I'm talking about Ellen saying, "Mom, can I have an egg?" and me saying "Yeah. Just a minute," and then forgetting about it until I smell smoke.

One of Adam's and Ellen's favorite snacks is an egg cooked in a bowl in the microwave. A few weeks ago I showed them how to do it themselves. They've gotten pretty good at cracking the eggs, but they've never done it without me there until today. Today Ellen put an egg in a melamine (non-microwaveable) bowl and cooked it until the egg and the bowl were both beginning to turn black.

We opened the windows and turned on fans and left on a walk for an hour, but now, more than 6 hours later, the kitchen still smells terrible. We've got the windows open again, so the house is freezing; meanwhile I'm really hoping the smell will just dissipate and we won't to have to call in the pros.

And it all could have easily been avoided with a few moments of my attention. Can I possibly not have learned by now that if your 3 year old mentions an activity involving a microwave, you go with her, NOW?  Oy vey.

Here's what a chemical information site says about melamine:
"The substance decomposes on heating or on burning producing toxic and irritating fumes including hydrogen cyanide, nitrogen oxides, and ammonia."
No wonder my eyes and throat are burning.

Oy vey.

5 comments:

Betsy said...

Oh my goodness, I am so sorry!

Jill Freestone said...

oh dear oh dear. the joys . . .

Heidi said...

Your children are delightful and terrifying. :) I hear vinegar can help with nasty smells.

Dan Bartholomew said...

Enough to drive one to Yiddish interjections. I trust "oy vey" is a kosher expression.

Powelson Family said...

i love your blog, and you!