Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Potty Training

I thought I'd share a little bit of my journal entry from yesterday.

Oh the joys of potty training.   I had to run grocery shopping with the boys today.  Before we left I had Eric go potty because we wouldn't be able to while we were out then had him put on his underwear with a pull up over top.  We got to Smiths and I decided to not bring Luke's car seat into the store because he was wide awake and that bulky thing takes up too much room ( I promise that little detail is important to the story).  So I loaded both boys into one of those shopping carts with the car in front, you know, those huge trains that are impossible to maneuver but the only carts that you can actually load more than one kid into.  We are doing pretty great going through the grocery store and when we get to the back Eric says "they don't have a potty here".  I asked him if he needed to go potty and he says yes so I start looking around for a restroom.  Luckily smiths does have public restrooms in the front of the store, unlike the grocery store I went to as a kid where you had to go into the storeroom and up some rickety wooden stairs to the employee restroom.  We get to the restroom and I realize that I can’t leave Luke out in the cart nor can I set him on the nasty bathroom floor while I help Eric on the toilet, so I have to maneuver that huge monstrosity into the tiny bathroom.  Of course it is even too big for the handicap stall, not like it could make that sharp of a turn into the stall anyways.  So I leave the cart in the middle of the bathroom and run Eric to a stall. He sees the toilet and freezes.  I assure him that I will hold onto him and convince him to try to use it.  All the while I have the door to the stall semi-open so I can check on Luke.  I sit Eric down on the toilet and am in front of him because, you know, those stalls have so much room to move to the side. Luke is starting to get fussy because he can't see us so I'm a little distracted trying to keep a hold of Eric and call out to Luke that he's okay when Eric starts to do his business.  Well, public women's toilet seats are a little funny.  The seat doesn't actually go all the way around so there's this nice open spot at the front of the seat.  Not really a problem for little girls, but for little boys…..well that's a different story.  Next thing I know, I start feeling my pant leg get wet and notice that it's all over the floor.  Luke is screaming by this point and suddenly all the women in the store decide that nature is calling just at that moment.  So there I am, pee all over my pant leg, trying to wipe it off the floor with toilet paper, and a screaming baby that I am panicking is going to be kidnapped by one of the nice ladies talking to him in the bathroom stall (and of course, the suburban of grocery carts is blocking the way into the bathroom so all the women are having to shimmy around it).  And after all that work to get to the grocery store, do you think I'm actually going to just leave my full cart of groceries and go home.  Heavens no. I still h At least the guy in the soda pop aisle (cause you know I wasn't leaving there without my diet coke) got enough of a kick out of me telling Eric we don't spit on people that I'm sure he didn’t even notice my pants. Needless to say, all grocery trips will be done after Brian gets home from work now.

 

4 comments:

Joni said...

Thank you for that morning chuckle! It gets easier. I promise.

Unknown said...

LOL! So glad you wrote it down, it's def one for the memory books! Lexi still has to go to the bathroom at every store we go to even tho she went at home--it must be an anxiety issue either that or she likes to see the nasty potty's!

Seth and Julie said...

I have definitely been there! I hate to laugh but it is funny in a pulling your hair out way, right? Have you been in any bathrooms where they have the little seat with a seatbelt to put a baby in? Those are fantastic and more bathrooms need to have them so that we don't have to leave them in the cart and pull the cart in the bathroom with us, or hand the baby to an older sibling, which I have done, or have to sit down and use the bathroom with a child on your lap, which I have also done. Potty training is not the most fun part of parenting but it sure does turn out some funny stories for future generations to enjoy.

Stephanie • My Orange Chair said...

Ha!! You're a great mom. Potty training boys sounds like an adventure.