Monday, July 28, 2008

Lessons learned!

I paid Mapco $48 to fill up my gas tank.

Then I deposited the world's worst potty emergency--carefully bagged with pants and socks--in the outside trash can.

I think we broke even on that deal.

34 comments:

martha said...

Meredith, you feisty little thing! I think I notice a renewed sense of spunk in you recently. And I LIKE IT!

Anonymous said...

Oh! How funny!

Meredith said...

I feel better. I suspect I have gestational diabetes, and today I been eating like a diabetic should eat until I get my test done.

Already I can see such a big difference in energy level/irritation, just from cutting out white flour and sugar.

Anna said...

*groan* Those potty emergencies...
I hope you don't have gestational diabetes, but either way, I'm glad you're feeling better. If you do, such is life, anyway.

Anonymous said...

lol! lol! I've done that before! There are simply times where it is best to leave the outfit behind and cut your losses.

Glad to hear you are feeling better and possibly have a reason for the tiredness.

An Adventurer in the World said...

So glad you've identified the source of your blues.

FUNNY post! We did the same thing once with a big bad throw-up at midnight on the Mass. turnpike. Not just kids' clothing, but our laptop was in the line of fire, the case reeked beyond recovery. ugh!

deb meyers

momof3girls said...

Been there, done that!

I have an award to share with you (maybe it'll make you feel better!):
http://simplesouthernpleasures.blogspot.com/2008/07/brilliant-blog-award.html

Tammy

Heather Anne said...

This post brings back such odoriferous memories Meredith - we always carried along extra clothing, and an extra car seat cover when the children were little. We still carry extra clothing and a clean up bag just in case. I think we only threw out one outfit just because it couldn't possibly be saved - but I pitied the garbage collector and triple wrapped the whole hot mess in grocery bags. We never again allowed excessive cherry consumption before a long trip - as you say, lesson learned!

I am so glad you are feeling better! Our suspicions are usually right when it comes to our own bodies, but I hope for your sake it isn't so - simply because of the long term issues involved.

Gestational diabetes isn't great fun, but it is very controllable - and isn't it a blessing that you know all about the diabetic diet because of your husband? You won't have to visit the nutritionist and pay to learn what you already know!

Shannon said...

I had GD with Brenna and you're right diet will make an enormous difference in how you feel. I was lucky enough to be able to keep it very well controlled through diet, but I still wound up with a nine pound baby! How big might she have been!?!
I thought I was being so wasteful the first time I threw away clothes because of one of *those* kinds of incindents, but my word! What else can you do!

Elise said...

I always have random trash bags hanging off the cabinet doors, usually with dirty diapers or papers. My husband will just take them out with the trash. Well, this one particular bag had a soiled outfit and monogrammed blanket that was a gift for when Fisher blew out his diaper. Guess where it is now? Oops...
Elise
Sure miss that beautiful blanket.

Mrs. Darling said...

Yep Id say you got even! LOl

ancient one said...

That is so funny to me! Wonder what I can think of to pay back for the high cost of gas... legally that is? LOL

I have an award for you at:

http://everlastingmercy.blogspot.com/2008/07/sharing-love.html

Come see..

Anonymous said...

Meredith, I hope you are feeling better now.

LOL for the potty emergency. We all have had that happen at one time or another.

God bless.

Anonymous said...

Speaking of filling up cars - are you still a one-car family or did you manage to have the Volvo repaired? If you have only one car now, how is it working out so far?

Heather said...

Been there! How's baby number two coming?

letterstoelijah said...

LOL - been there.. done that!

Anonymous said...

I used to carry extra clothes and one of my proudest mommy moments was seeing a little boy wet his pants at the Science Center and the look on his mama's face as she held her newborn baby in her arms. You could see it had taken every ounce of energy to go on an outing and she didn't have any extras with her.

I walked up and handed her a diaper, and a set of (thrift store/very cheap) little boys' clothes.

Her look of gratitude is enough to last me the rest of my life.

Anonymous said...

I would say it was an even "trade" but only if it was sent to the CEO of the big oil company.

I do understand. We all have a story we could tell about having to leave a whole outfit in the trash.

Glad you are a little better. Please take care of yourself. Gestational diabetes is dangerous. You are in my prayers. Roxie

Quirky Cottage Owners said...

Hubs and I backpacked to an overnight campsite with our six month old daughter. We were prepared to carry all trash back out we us including diapers, however, she surprised us with such a package that I ended up burying the diaper, plastic pants and the sleeper because I could not bear to carry back down. The entire time I was digging the hole I was praying to God to forgive me for this transgression. I'm sure that if we were to go back up there now, 30 years later, that that pair of plastic pants are still there. Ugh.
Rita

Jennifer said...

I have thrown away many pairs of underwear over the years, so I know what you mean. It is always funny looking back on the things we do as parents.

Anonymous said...

This exact thing happened to me and DD in a department store. I had to ask a lady in the bathroom to go buy me a pair of toddler pants, because it was January and I had no change of clothes for her (dumb!). The lady wouldn't even take any money for the pants.

Debbi said...

Oh My Gosh.....How appropriate. Funny Funny.
Debbi from Missouri

Amy R. said...

LOL! Too funny! I always throw away my car trash bags at gas stations. I try to use the time waiting for the gas to pump efficiently. :)

Anonymous said...

I had to throw an entire car seat in the Chic-Fil-A dumpster about 3 months ago. 16 month old threw up, it was a river of puke...and we were on the way to church-45 minutes from home. Aaaaccccckkkk!!
I got the biggest laugh out of the folks in the drive-thru...wonder what they were thinking when they saw me hoist that seat over my head and chuck it in??!!LOL!
Anyway, all that to say, you gotta know when to walk away. And the clothes he was wearing-all in a plastic bag, tied shut and placed in the trash can.
Dawn in SC

Tubo Family said...

Been there! I bet you're glad you paid frugal prices for those items.

Glad to hear you are feeling better. Even if you are too borderline for test results to show GD, sounds like a good idea to keep eating what makes you feel good. My test results were always normal but I felt so much better in preg when I kept away from refined flour & sugar and ate lots of protein & fruits & veggies--especially watermelon, it's a natural dieuretic (sic).

Daiquiri said...

HA! You have a gift for saying so very much in just a few words :)

On our way back home from a recent camping trip, we stopped for Oreo McFlurries. My Clara was, evidently, a bit queasy from the ride...but that didn't stop her from chowing on that McFlurry! Back up it came...oreo chunks still in tact and all. And you wanna hear the grossest part? It was STILL COLD. We made a "deposit" in the nearest gas station's garbage can too;)

Oh my. So sorry for sharing such grossness on your sweet blog. Seriously. Sorry!

Thanks for the laugh today. Glad you're feeling better. When are you getting tested for GD? Looking forward to an update on that one.

www.5minutesforspecialneeds.com said...

Ah....potty emergencies. Ours come in the form of Parker's exploded ostomy bags.

But the sentiment is still the same...lol!

hugs

Hyperactive Lu said...

Oh goodness! Sounds all too familiar! How funny!

Anonymous said...

I have oh so been there done that...with the potty emergencies. I remember feeling so bad about it at the time...young mom and all. Now I just giggle when passing the Rockaway Mall!

Mama said...

Oh, my goodness. Let me stop giggling long enough to say, "Great post! So witty!"

Mary said...

The potty emergency brought back a memory. Hubby did that with a pair of 2 y/o's pjs once. Sometimes you just have to let it go. ;)

Meredith said...

I'm glad I'm not the only one to throw away clothes like that! And yes, it made me feel so much better to know I only paid $1 for them in the first place.

Re the Volvo, I'll have to ask my husband exactly what the problem was. NO ONE could get it to replicate, and we had many switches and relays replaced.

Then one day it stopped when the mechanic was driving it, and he was able to diagnose the problem based on a particular SMELL.

Very odd--expensive--but we should still have several thousand miles left of driving on that car, especially now that my husband can continue his 3 mile commute to work!

Anonymous said...

How is that an even trade? The person who has to empty the trash, which has a poopy diaper and clothes, is just a person making near to maybe slightly more minimum wage, and pays the same price in gas you do...

And all the people who pump their gas after you, who're also paying as much as you, now have to pump their gas with the odor of your child's soiled clothes and diaper in the air... Which on a hot summer day isn't pleasant.

I've got 4 kids, ages 5 to 3 months, and we've had our fair share of accidents, but I've never dumped their poopy, soiled, diapers or clothes in an outdoor, open air, highly traveled/used, and public trash can. It's inappropriate, and not to mention, not a trash can designed to be loaded with human waste. I think it's right up there with visiting friends/relatives with children in diapers, and throwing away soiled diapers in the kitchen trash. It's unhygienic and not very considerate of the noses of those who come behind you.

Meredith said...

Gwen,

The soiled clothes were an emergency. There is NO WAY I could have driven home 10 miles on the interstate, pregnant, with that smell in the car. This was the station wagon, so it had no trunk.

I scrounged a plastic bag, wrapped everything tightly, sealed it as best I could, and then put it in the bottom of the outdoor trash can.

It was the best I could do.

If the gas station did not want people to put trash in those cans, they would not put them there. I am paying the gas station for gas and the trash can is part of the service it offers in return.

I doubt very much that either an attendant or another customer could smell it at the bottom of the can.

I did not do it to "get back" at the gas station for gas prices. What I meant by even trade was that I would have been willing to pay almost anything to have that smell out of my car--even the cost of the gas.