indecent exposure...

We spent Easter weekend in Virginia. Most of Jamie's family (on his mom's side) live from Virginia down (and have the accent to prove it). While I dreaded packing up all things baby for a simple two night trip, what I was more concerned with was the drive itself. There's no telling what 4 to 5 hours of driving will do to a 19 month old. Luckily, Jamie's mom came along, and having Grammy in the back to entertain is as close to a portable DVD player that we were going to get.

A key part of long drives with kids? Dry butts. The child is smooshed into a 5 point harness. There isn't much room for air in that thing, so any moisture doesn't have many places to go. There's the potential for leakage (and hopefully it's just pee leakage...but that's a whole different story.) Keep a soft little butt stuck to a wet diaper, and you can be setting yourself up for a miserable, red toosh-ed passenger. In both directions, we ended up having to change her shorts because some tinkle made its way out. Thank goodness for the Piddle Pad I bought.

During our trip home, we made a stop at Wendy's for a super healthy wholesome fast food meal. (As an aside, should you ever be driving from Virginia to PA, make sure you avoid this Wendy's. The cashier must have had some sort of bug up her ass and the food tasted a bit like ass.) I decide this is a perfect opportunity for a diaper change, so I grab the changing pad and head to the restroom. Wouldn't you know, they didn't have one of those plastic changing tables that just about everywhere has nowadays? Well, little girl, I guess a change in the car is in order.

I drop down my incredibly agile front seat, unfold her waterproof (yet snazzy) changing pad, bust open the diaper, and whoa - there's a nice big load of poop in there. I get to work scrubbing this thing clean. Once I'm satisfied that she's ready to be repackaged, I turn around to grab the diaper from Jamie, turn back to the child, and witness my little girl peeing. The pee pools on the plastic and she's laying in a nice puddle. Lovely.

I yell for Jamie to grab her, so he scoops up the girl and stands her on the pavement. There she is, pink sneakers, purple shirt, and a bare, dripping hiney. Incredibly attractive. I pick up the pad, assuming that I can simply lift it, dump it, and start over. Of course, being the uncoordinated woman that I am, I manage to fling the stream of pee all over the front seat. (Wouldn't you know, this was also the time that we had planned for me to take over driving...figured.) Being without a towel, it was time to figure out exactly what to do next. All the while, Alexis is standing there, dressed in only sneakers and a t-shirt, oblivious to the fact that she's half naked in a public place.

While I continue to sop up the pee (using a handful of Wendy's napkins that Jamie's mom had grabbed for me) in an attempt to make sure that my own shorts don't end up looking like hers, Jamie and his mom drop down the hatch of my Element and use it as a makeshift changing table. No pad for comfort - simply bare, dirty plastic. She still doesn't seem to care or notice the situation. She's just hanging out, surely enjoying the nice warm breeze. Clean, dry, and redressed, we get her back into her carseat, ready to continue, and finish, our trip. I ended up needing to sit on my mother-in-law's sweatshirt to stay dry - a much appreciated donation.

In the end, you always need to be prepared when traveling with kids (whether it's a half hour or 4 hours). Extra set of clothes, more diapers than you'd think you'd need, a snack, etc. Now I've realized that it also includes keeping a towel as well as an extra changing pad ready in your car. In addition to being prepared? Be ready to be flexible. You never know when and where an impromptu brainstorming session will be warranted.