Anybody but Mama

You see that little one not smiling. Not wearing a shirt. That's the one.

After this lovely family portrait, I twittered and checked my Facebook page while Lauren and Lin went upstairs. Lindsay can undress herself these days, so I asked Lauren to help her put on her pull up and her jammies and to call me when they had both done so and brushed teeth.

In the middle of an IM conversation with another Worst Mama, I heard, "Mama, come quick! Linds pooped on the potty!"

And she did. I finished cleaning her up and tucked her into bed. I retold the story via IM, "I wonder what Lauren said to make her use the potty," I wondered.

My husband had one of his rare working weekends. Although it's hard when he travels 3 of 5 days during the week, the sheer exhaustion of doing the single mom thing on the weekend is staggering. With everything going on, I needed a lot of help this weekend...and I have great friends.

Karen and Lars arrived on Saturday morning with coffee and cocoa to keep an eye on the girls while I was at class. When I came home from the lecture, Karen gave me the Mama briefing, which included, "Oh, and Lindsay pooped on the potty."

"Really? What did you say to her?"

"Well, Lauren had just used the potty and I asked Lin if she had to go also, and she did."

I puzzled over that. Karen and Lars had to run off to a hockey game and the girls and I were working the church bazaar, collecting and selling gently used toys for the thrift shop. About an hour in, Jessie arrived. Lindsay ran to her.

"Ewww, girlfriend, you are STINKY." She set her down. "Do you want me to change her?"

While balancing a big box of toys to sell and two little hands, I'd opted to leave the diaper bag in the car. "Um...I left the diaper in the car..."

"Oh, it's fine. I'll take her home with me," Jessie lives about a block from church. "Jack is having a playdate, so it'll just be one more."

Jessie returned with Lindsay about 2 hours later. "Oh, she used the potty at my house..." She said casually.

"Really?"

"Yep. She said, 'I have to make a pee-pee' and then did."

*sigh*