Another Day with Boys

This story was just too funny hilarious shocking scary that I had to share.

I took the boys to Target this afternoon to look for some things for our upcoming vacation in a few weeks (hooray!) The boys were great in the stroller, munching on Goldfish and sipping apple juice long enough for me to get what I need and get home. We stopped for gas on the way back, so I kept passing back Goldfish in their open hands to keep them settled. Another minute and we'll be home.

Just as I was about to turn onto our street, I heard Jack cough. Like the kind of cough he does right before he throws up. Oh, no. Not in the car seat. Not now. I reached my hand back just in time to get the first load out of his mouth. I emptied it in the plastic bag next to me and almost made it in time for the second launch. Empty. Reload. Poor baby emptied his tummy three times with just about everything he had consumed today. Yuck. Yuck. Yuck. Not only is the smell in the air, it's all over his body, his seat and my hands. Guess he had one too many Goldfish.

I had one of those 'where do I even start' moments before reaching for some napkins and cleaning what I could off my hands. When I pulled into the driveway, I went for Jack first and wiped what gobs away that I could just so I could unbuckle him. Yuck. Yuck. Yuck. The clothes had to go. I stripped him down to a diaper while Benjamin watched with wide eyes. The humidity was climbing, raising the temperature in the van quickly; I had to act faster. I left everything in the van and took my diaper baby to the other door to get his clean brother. And we walked into the cool apartment.

I immediately called my husband. What should I do? Should I go down to the car and try to clean it all out? Gosh, I don't want that smell to seap into the seat! But what would I do with the boys? Should I just wait three hours until he got home? Thankfully, he could think clearly. "Put the boys in the play pen and go downstairs to see if you can get the seat out. Then you can clean it upstairs and keep an eye on the boys." Okay. Sounds like a plan. I can do that.

I put them in their own play pens, side by side, and went back down to the van. My goal was to bring the seat upstairs. But never having done it before (I know, I know, it was always my husband's thing,) I wasn't sure if I'd be successful. So I struggled for less than a minute before I realized that I'd just have to wait until he came home. I wiped up any chunks I could and went back upstairs. I called him on the way to give him an update.

I was still on the phone when I walked back into the house. "Ohmygosh," I said, looking at the play pens. I scared Andy, not having any idea what I was looking at. Both boys were in the same play pen. In the one I put Benjamin in. Could Jack have crawled over? It didn't even seem possible. "They're in the same play pen! I could have sworn I put them in separate ones..." Andy laughed when he realized what had happened. Somehow, Jonathan had managed to climb over the railing of his play pen and into his brother's, which was separated by a six-inch gap. Ohmygosh. Ohmygosh. They love to climb, but I promise, they have NEVER done anything CLOSE to that!

I started going nuts, wondering what would have happened if he hadn't made that little jump. Gosh, I don't even want to think about that. And I might not have even heard him for at least a minute... aye. I can't even think about that.

But I had to take a picture (or two) if not just to reassure myself that I wasn't making this up!

Jack is standing on a toy in Ben's play pen, though I assure you, there weren't any toys big enough to stand on in his play pen.

It only took another moment for him to test out his new skill in going back to his original play pen. Poor Ben had to wait for mommy to finish taking the pictures before I could get him out.

And he's almost in!

They're even better climbers than I had thought! I guess the play pens aren't a safe option for us anymore. I have found my life as a mother of two little boys to be in a constant state of transition... moving out the swings, moving in the Bumbos... taking out the Bumbos and replacing them with the highchairs... turning the couch around to keep them from climbing and emptying the books from the bookshelf so they can. Ah, the joy of boys :)