Always Be Prepared.

I learned this the hard way yesterday.
That seems to be how I learn in general, though.

Tuesday mornings, I join a group of moms at church for a Bible study and some hang-out time. Okay, most of the time it's hang-out time... we're all just a tad too excited to talk (uninterrupted) to other adults. But we're getting better about the Bible study part. Thankfully we have a seasoned mom who gives a lesson in the beginning anyway. That was our justification yesterday. :)

Anyway, while I'm in my group, Noah goes to a preschool type class. They sing songs, play, have snacks, go on the playground, etc. And he's with other toddlers his age, which is great. And lately, he's been aMAZing about not getting upset when I drop him off. Now he just about climbs over the gate to get in and play.
About 10 minutes into our class, the women's Bible study coordinator peaks in and asks for me. Once I snuck out to the hallway, she proceeded to tell me that Noah had a little "accident" and wet all down the front of his pants.
Okay, let me stop here.

We're not potty-training. At all.
I was thinking about introducing it this weekend, actually, but I'm in no huge rush. While I'm sure his teachers/babysitters would be slightly relieved not to have to change his diapers anymore, I'm also not convinced he's ready. So yeah. No potty-training related accidents. In fact, because of his size, he wears a size 6 diaper. Have you SEEN a size 6 diaper?? They're huge!
So I run down to the classroom to see the poor teacher finishing up his diaper change. I think they thought I dropped him off with a wet diaper, because even they thought there can't be any way he leaked through that in one go! I could see their surprise/relief (oh, she didn't save it for us to change after all!) when I assured them he was totally dry when I got him out of the car.

Here's the problem...
I thought we were way passed the stage where I needed to pack a change of clothes for my baby. So I ran out to my car, searching under seats, the trunk, anywhere for some extra pants. And wouldn't you know it, I was actually on top of cleaning the car out for once. Figures.

So I ran back up to his classroom (in heels, no less... I'd rationalized that I'd be sitting most of the time. Lesson in preparedness #2) and told them I'd just take him home. I wasn't going to make him stay in pee soaked clothes for two hours. I left feeling all dejected and annoyed. We live a good 30 minutes from the church, so it's not like those 10 minutes were worth the trip. I hated using up all that gas for nothing.
Then suddenly, I decided the devil was not going to get the best my day. So I got us all loaded up in the car and headed straight for the closest Target (incidentally, the same one my husband works at!). I ran and got the very last pair of 5T $5 jeans (seriously, that's the normal price... get them. They're great quality too.... oh, you weren't shocked at the price?? OH, the SIZE. Yes, my 2 yr old wears a 5T in most pants... we just have to roll the bottoms up).

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So I rushed and got him in the new pants, then rushed back to church, rushed (emphasizing, in heels again...) back up to his classroom praying they hadn't gone out to the playground yet, and dropped him off. He was thoroughly confused. He looked up at me and said, "bye bye" (as in, "I thought we were leaving?"). Poor kid; I messed up his routine.
After totally breaking a sweat during all of this, I finally made it back to my class with an hour to spare.


So moral of the story.
Your kid is never too old to pack an extra change of clothes.
And to also ALWAYS be at least 10 minutes away from a Target.
Because you never know.