I’m notorious for having to run back into the house to grab something after we’ve already all left and started getting loaded up. Four kids and all their stuff is a lot to keep track of and somehow I’m single-handedly responsible for all of it.
It gets even worse, though, when we have just returned from a trip and everything is all chaotic and nothing is where it belongs. Generally, my life is organized into easy to manage bags: the main diaper bag (which stays in my car), my cloth diaper bag, our water bottle bag, my purse and then all the other baby things like slings, carriers, car seats and buggies which I also keep in my car. But after a trip, whether flying or driving, many of these things end up out of the car and our first journey away from home after getting back from a trip looks something like this:
“Everyone, get your shoes on. Girls, brush your hair. Yes, you have to brush your hair. Because you look like you just got out of bed. I know you just woke up, but you need to brush your hair. Just do it!”
Meanwhile I collect and fill up everyone’s water bottles (5 for me so I can make enough milk to get Pipsqueak to sleep a reasonable amount of time at night).
Doodle starts screaming because he can’t get his car shoes on. “Mommy can’t help you with those shoes right now. Wear your Ninja Turtle sandals. I’m sorry I bought them too big, wear your Mickey Mouse sandals. Why do they hurt your feet? What about your brown shoes? What is wrong with the brown shoes? Just put on some shoes!”
I realize the baby hasn’t had a diaper change and in a cloth diapering world, that’s just asking for disaster so I change him real quick then do some mental math for how many changes I might need while we’re out and quickly fold up the flats for those and throw them with some covers in my bag.
“Let’s go.” I pick up the baby, the cloth diaper bag, the water bag and my purse. We all huddle by the garage door while I set the alarm and everyone shuffles out when I open the door.
Honeybun helps open Doodle’s car door and Sugarplum climbs in the other side. I go to put Pipsqueak in and realize his car seat is in the house. I run back in before the alarm finishes it’s countdown and I have to disarm and reset it.
I get back out and Doodle is still wandering around the garage. “Get in the car and do your arms so we can go, we’re going to be late!”
I buckle in Pipsqueak and go around to buckle Doodle. His hands are filthy from touching all over the car we just drove 2,000+ miles in the past week. I grab for the diaper bag to get a wipe only to realize hubby had taken it in the house with the rest of the luggage and bags from our roadtrip.
Crap. That means I have to do the whole alarm thing. I run back into the house and grab the diaper bag and notice my sling sitting nearby. Good thing, later crisis averted!
I reset the alarm and return to the car to chaos. The baby is crying because he hates his car seat. Doodle is singing at the top of his lungs and the girls are arguing because Honeybun has a book in the car but Sugarplum doesn’t because I made them take everything out of the car and Honeybun didn’t follow directions and driving 10 minutes to the doctor without a book would just be torture.
So back into the house I go and I grab the first five books I see because surely one of them will keep my dear little Sugarplum from losing her mind completely. And it’s a good thing I have 5 because now Doodle needs a book, too.
I hope in the driver’s seat, buckle my seatbelt, start the car and grab for my glasses. Crap, they’re in my other purse, the one I use for traveling that doesn’t have all the unnecessary nonsense of daily life in it.
Screw it, it’s only a 10 minute drive and I’ve already set, disarmed and reset the alarm about ten thousand times.
We drive off and Honeybun pipes up “oh no! I forgot my thank you note I made for the doctor for the toy he gave us last time.” Too bad, not gonna happen!
