Wasp stings and tobacco?

Today was yet another gorgeous fall day so E and I decided to visit the Meijer Gardens after preschool. It is positively one of my favorite places in Grand Rapids. We were enjoying our time in the children's garden until Erick ran over to me holding his hand and informed me that he had been stung by a wasp, his bottom lip quivering ever so slightly. Poor little guy. He is one tough little kid though and didn't even shed a tear.

The nice staff at the gardens sent us on our way with some kind of alcohol swab to draw out the stinger and an ice pack for the swelling. One of the ladies on staff informed me that her Grandmother used to use tobacco to draw out stingers. However, since I was fresh out of tobacco we went with the medical supplies they had. After that I had this funny image of myself wiping chewing tobacco all over E's hand. Sounds clean. Later in the day I learned from Michael and Erick's pediatrician that the kind of wasp he was stung by generally doesn't lose it's stinger anyway so the whole tobacco thing would have just been for naught.

Side note: This home remedy reminded me of how my Grandma taught us to put vinegar on mosquito bites, which makes for a funny smelling memory. I think toothpaste works too? Or is that just to polish silver jewelry? Which it does by the way.

The highlight from our trip was seeing a pumpkin that weighed over 1,000 pounds. Seriously, it was crazy. Of course I was without my camera and the farmers who owned the pumpkins were due to pick them up later in the day or I would have taken the boys back another day for a picture. Perhaps next year.