Dirty Consequences

Okay, so this morning I had one of those moments that every mom dad dreads.  I was out running errands with my children.  They each had a bag of Cheerios and things were going well--no crying, no whining, no fighting, not even much talking.  Suddenly Abel announced that he needed to go potty.  It was at that moment, as I surveyed our surroundings only to find us in the heart of a residential area with no public restrooms in sight, that I realized Abel had dressed himself this morning.  This wouldn't have been a problem if I had remembered to put a diaper--or at least training pants--on him before we left home.  Slightly worried about the possible consequences of my forgetfulness, I told Abel to hold it until we could get to a bathroom.  He agreed that he would do that, and I kept driving down the bathroom-less street.

Fast forward about sixty seconds.  "Mommy, me not need go potty more."  "What, did you potty in your pants?"  "Yeah, me not need go potty more."  "Are you serious?!"  "Yeah.  Me wet."

Upon confirming the truth of his confession, I pulled the car over to strip him in hopes of salvaging the car seat.  Too late.  So, reloading his bare butt into the soaked car seat, we headed home for a new pair of pants, some super absorbent cloths... oh, and training pants.  I just needed a quick fix so I could make my last stop with a fully clothed, dry child.

We pulled into our garage, and I sent half-naked Abel inside to finish pottying while I attempted to soak up the mess in his car seat.  Just then, from across the van, I heard a familiar grunting.  I looked up to see the blank stare on Amariah's face as she loaded her diaper.  (Yes, I had remembered to diaper her... thank goodness.)  I believe I uttered the words, "Oh.  Great."  About then Abel hollered for help with his new pants, so I stepped inside to finish dressing him.  Having remedied his situation (well, except for the telling stench filling the van), I reloaded him and headed out for my last errand:  the grocery store.

Has anybody noticed that I forgot something again?  I didn't until I started to unload Amariah in the Hy-Vee parking lot and was hit in the face with another stench.  All I can say is, I hope no one else in the store caught wind of my forgetfulness....