On Friday mornings, Hudson and I go to The Little Gym. Our wonderful babysitter comes over to keep Hayes, so I can take Hudson to his class and focus on him during that whole time. Because I had our babysitter at the house already, I decided to take advantage of having only one child in tow and head to Target and Publix to run my errands for our Halloween party.
I had a huge list of things I needed to pick up and because I was afraid of forgetting something, I went down every single aisle in the store, checking things off my list and filling my buggy. Hudson was having a great time and was actually being very patient. I got to the check out line and put everything on the belt. I went to get my credit card out of my wallet and … oh crap. My wallet wasn’t there. I couldn’t find it anywhere. And I knew exactly where it was.
My wallet was at my house, in my camera bag. I had driven all over town that morning without my wallet. Without my license.
The Target employee was very kind and understanding and after I apologized and my face turned beat red, she told me I could leave my buggy off to the side and come back to pay for everything. I don’t live far from Target so I knew it wouldn’t take that long to get back. But I was so upset. I got in the car and sent Nina a Hey Tell message and vented. Then I called TC and told him I was about to cry over this.
Why was I so upset?
Because I felt like I had no control. I had tried so hard to make it easy on myself by going to Target while our babysitter was keeping one child. I made sure I didn’t forget a single thing on my list. How often do I get to have a casual stroll through Target? It was all working out so great… and then I opened my purse and saw that I was missing the only thing I really needed in that moment.
This isn’t the first time something like this has happened. I got pulled over when Hudson was about a year old. I wasn’t speeding. But my plates were expired. How could I forget to put the new sticker on my license plate?
Or we leave the house for the whole day and I’ve gotten everything, but I forgot to put more diapers in the diaper bag and there’s not a store or a “spare diaper” anywhere in sight.
It’s “mommy brain” at its finest. For the first time in my life, I have missed doctor’s appointments by accident and find out the next day when the doctor’s office calls to ask if I would like to reschedule. (In my defense, our ENT has stopped calling to remind us.) I forget to write things down (can’t blame this on my Life Planner!) and just go on with my day not even realizing that I’ve missed an appointment. Forget about the fact that it will take me six months to get in for a rescheduled appointment.
I know it’s not worth getting worked up over. The most frustrating thing about mishaps, disorganization and feeling frazzled is that, usually, in my case, it leads to lost time. Wasted time. And at this point in my life, time is so very precious.
I only have so much time while my kids are this age. I only have so much time between Hayes’s feedings and naps to get things done. I only have so many minutes of time to myself where I can blog, respond to emails or read. I can’t get time back once its gone and I want to be so diligent and disciplined with the way I spend it.
I don’t want to be taking my sweet time browsing the aisles at Target and get to the front of the check out line only to find out that I have no way to pay.
Do you ever feel this way? Do you have a story?
I don’t have a “mommy brain” story but I do have a “bride brain” story. The Thursday before our wedding I had to do a quick Target trip and I ran in with only my wallet. My wallet which had a BOAT load of cash for tips and whatnot on the wedding day. I left my wallet in the cart at Target and drove all the way home and never realized until my mom needed a quarter to dry her clothes. Yep FOUR hours later I realized that my wallet was gone. I called in tears and some lovely Target employee had turned in my wallet to the service desk. I was so thankful.
You know it might not be us it might be Target:-)
Oh Erin, I am fairly new to your blog. But…. I wish I could give you a hug.
I have plenty of histories like that, and I am not a Mom yet. But I am starting to have the Mommy Brain on this 3rd pregnancy. I forget things, I write down wrong dates for my appointments and so on.
The worst one until now…. I was running late for a 8:30 am meeting and when I got to the clients site I saw that I forgot my laptop at home.
Note: I live in São Paulo, which has the 6th worst traffic in the world….
Luckly, my boss was with me and she had the presentation file with her. So, nothing major happened. Needless to say I was so embarrased. After all, I was always the person who others look to when they need some reference from something from the past, no matter if is work or life in general. SIGH!!!
You are not alone.
Enjoy those sweet boys of yours. They are precious!!!
Hey Erin,
I love reading your blog. I have been reading since you were pregnant with Hayes. I have never commented but I felt so strongly about your post I felt like I needed to. I just had my fourth baby in May he is 5 months old. I just wanted you to know that you are a normal mommy trying really hard to be there for your kids. I have been so absent minded since our first was born, so u can only imagine what its like now. But let me tell you-things will get better. You will adapt. I am still struggling with with my four, making sure everyone is happy, quality time with each child a nd so on. But for me two kids would be a piece of cake atthis point. This will be true for you too.It takes time. If you decide to have another baby trust me you will look back and think wow three is tough but two wass so easy. Itjust takes time. Dont be so hard on yourself. One thing I try really hard to do every morning is to make a list of what needs to be done today, not tomorrow, not next week just focus ontoday.No matter how small or insignificant it is put it on your list anyway.Always have your purse,keys,diaper, everyhing packed and sitting by the door.Stick a couple of diapers in a compartment in your vehicle. Do little things like this in your spare time not just when you are getting ready to leave the house.Sorry about my grammar, the site keeps freezing and I cant go back.
Thanks
Billie
Yes! I’ve done this exact thing at least three times! I was at Safeway once, put everything on the belt, only to find I forgot my wallet! And I did the same thing at Costco. It happens to everyone. I started keeping an emergency credit card hidden away in my car. Also, as I’m walking out the door, I try to always say to myself “wallet, wallet, wallet!” to remind myself to check.
Anyway, it happens to me all the time 😉 You are definitely not alone!
Oh yes, I have moments like this all the time! Yesterday, my 2 year old needed a haircut so I packed her and my five month old in the car and drove about 15 minutes to the mall. When I got there, I opened the trunk and realized I didn’t have our stroller. I set it out in the garage but never put it in the car. We had to turn around and come home. I also have incidents with my wallet. Twice I have put my wallet/purse on top of my car and then driven away.
I laugh only because I completely relate. I often feel forgetful, and I never used to forget stuff. When my son was around six months old I got pulled over in the parking lot pulling into work because my inspection and registration stickers were expired. I was mortified! I also got to a doctor’s appointment last year w/o my wallet. I happened to have my checkbook so I was able to pay, but I was so mad at myself. And I had the entire day off and planned on shopping, but w/o my license, credit cards, etc. it wasn’t happening. Don’t feel too bad. You’re not alone.
I have to add that twice I’ve gotten out of my car and started into a building only to realize that I’ve left my car running.
I have to add that twice I’ve gotten out of my car and started into a building only to realize that I’ve left my car running.
Hi Erin,
You are not alone!!! It happens alot to me and it drives me crazy. I try to be organized and sometimes things just slip through the cracks. I think I find that the timing issue is annoying too. It adds on to what you already have to do. With two little ones and a full-time job, I find my time is accounted for alot – especially during the week – so slip-ups just make it harder.
I missed a dentist appointment (the first appointment I have ever missed) last month. I was so embarrassed! Luckily they were really sweet about it but I still haven’t gotten over it!
i don’t have children but i work full time/go to law school and get so frustrated that despite my best efforts at being super laura, i forget to do things. i forget to bring my breakfast to work, i pack a bag for a weekend away and forget my glasses, or i forget to do something really important like making arrangements for frank when we are going out of town. we’re only human. i’m not perfect. i just have to keep telling myself that.
We do not use plastic in Ukraine (99.9% of the time)- everything is compromised. This is our second tour here, so you’d think I would have remembered, but it took a while to get used to cash only again. Also, stores use security guards and when we first arrived, they were pretty jittery when I’d walk in with my 3 kids, and they’d follow me around. All that to say, it put me on edge a little. One day as I checked out, my total came to more than the amount of cash I had on me (my cards were locked up in the safe at home). I asked if they could just deduct a couple of items- this sounds easier than it was because EVERYTHING is a process here. She had to hand write every.single.item I gave back which held everyone up and they’re notorious for having only one line open. My face just burned as I apologized (hoping my language was correct, too!). It’s happened one other time, too- argh! Now, after nearly 2 years, they love us and the guards will follow me around to ask where the kids are if I don’t have them. Be encouraged- you have a Target! 🙂
You’re so right that the worst part about doing stuff like that is the wasted time and energy to correct what you should have done right in the first place.
On a recent restaurant visit with hubby and baby, hubby went to give baby a bottle and ended up covered in breast milk 🙂 I forgot to put the “insides” into the Dr. Brown bottle and well, now we know, they leak VERY bad without those “insides”.
I don’t even have kids and I’ve forgotten my wallet! I left it in my gym bag once and couldn’t buy lunch. I felt like a total idiot. Don’t worry it happens to the best of us!
I think we are all forgetful at times and as women we put ourselves down because we want to be that woman who has it all together all the time! Trust me, I have been there. All we can do is our best and remind ourselves that even “mom’s” are allowed to make mistakes sometimes 🙂 Love reading your blog 🙂
Awww Erin! I’m so sorry! It is such an awful feeling when you do something like that! I am so glad the lady was nice about it! I definitely had my own version of this last year-and was horrified about who witnessed the whole thing! I was at Sur La Table and had a stash of stuff on sale from after Christmas. I went to pay, and of course, realized i didn’t have my wallet, etc. Well, there was a rather “famous” former member of Congress in line behind me and we got to chatting when I realized I couldn’t pay with a card and asked if they would take a check…he was sooo nice about it, but I was terrified! He even offered to pay for my stuff! They wouldn’t take my check because I didn’t have my ID. He tried to vouch for me, but didn’t work. So sweet of him, but I was so embarrassed!
Hey Erin, I have so many stories about this I could write a book. The latest story happened on Friday at my daughter’s Pre-K festival. I was so excited about this being the first big school function I would be able to attend with my daughter. My mom was keeping the other two little boys I have at home so I could enjoy this special time with my daughter. I stayed up super late the night before making personalized candy bags for her to hand out to her class. The next day I arrive at the party late might I add due to my 6 week post partum visit with my doctor running over. I just had a baby boy in September so my mommy brain is doing triple time!! Any who we enjoy the party and I get home and notice that the candy bags are in my backseat staring me in the face!! Oh well what can you do!! lol
My little sister likes to tell me that I used to have things together, until I had kids. So true.
Oh my gosh Erin….this reminds me of ME! The week before our wedding, I had to drive downtown before one of my classes to pick up our marriage license. I parked in a public garage, walked to get the license (taking 10 mins total), went back to the garage to pay for parking…realizing I forgot my wallet in my yoga bag. I panicked. Not only did I not have money to pay for that garage, but I didn’t have money to pay for the NEXT parking I would have for my graduate school class. God bless the parking man who let me go and said, “don’t worry about it.” I then had to drive 20 minutes away to get money from Andrew, drive to the church to drop off the license and drive to class and park. Realizing I forgot my homework at home.
It happens! And you know, it makes a great story, and these “Mommy moments” make us realize we ARENT super woman, no matter how hard we try! It’s God’s way of telling us…hey…slow down, take a deep breath and ask for help with our to-do list.
And look–your party was awesome!!!!! And your story got a blog post out of it too 😉 win-win!!!
This could and I’m sure will one day happen to me and I would react the same way. You are not alone!
When my oldest son was about 6 weeks old, I took him to work to show him off. When we left to go home, it was close to feeding time so I was in a hurry. Long story short, I locked him in the car!! Twenty nine years ago, I did not even have a cell phone to call my husband. So I ran into the building to call my husband, who thankfully was a couple of blocks away to come unlock the car.
Very similar story!! Except I had one baby (a little older than Hayes), and forgot my wallet after going out food shopping. And another big difference – I live 30 minutes from my food store. Talk about wasted time!! Luckily, I have a saint of a friend who lived closer, was off from work, and drove the money out to me. I always have to think – what DID i accomplish today? I forgot this major thing…but my child i healthy and well fed and smiling!
Yes! I feel like this ALL the time!! I swear that having a child has absolutely affected my memory. I have left my wallet in the diaper bag way too many times to count. I usually just carry the diaper bag on weekends, but then on Monday, forget to transfer my wallet back to my purse! And of course, I figure it out ONLY when I’m going to pay for something. I hate that feeling! I forget appointments, schedule things in the middle of naptime because I’m not thinking, make mistakes in recipes when I’m cooking or baking, etc. I think it’s just all part of mommyhood. There are just so many things going on that it’s hard to keep them straight, despite our best efforts.
I was in Target a couple of months ago and my credit card was declined. I was mortified – I always pay my bills in full and on time so I had NO clue why it wasn’t working. I turned beat red, got super angry and then just wanted to lose it right there at the register. Of course, I immediately ran to the car to call the cc company and it turns out that it was a problem on Target’s end, not mine. And I’m pretty sure that a few tears were shed.
I used to be able to remember things without even writing them down. The older I get the harder that is! I don’t even have little ones around the house. Don’t beat yourself up!
This started happening to me as soon as I got pregnant with Amelia and has only gotten worse. I’ve always been the Mom who leaves the house overly-prepared. Anything Amelia or I might want or need is in my bag or car – I’m lucky to leave the house with both of us fully clothed these days – let alone with a variety of snacks, milk cup, diapers, extra outfit, etc. I’ve arrived at church two Sundays in a row without my wallet and unable to write our tithe check…AND I drove without a license! I tell people I can do something and then realize later that I’ll be out of town or have a previous commitment – and it’s right there on my calendar. It’s always something. I’m truly scared what I will be like when I have two children. I’ll have very little “brain juice” left.
You are not alone, friend.
I feel this way all of the time! I’ve always been very organized and good at remembering things, but ever since I’ve had my son, I’ve become so forgetful!! I’ve totally been in the diaper situation before, so don’t feel badly! And feeling like you are about to cry over all of it is totally normal too. In fact I just said to my husband last night that I’m convinced as soon as you have a kid, your emotions are messed up for good! 🙂
I’ve done this cough, several, cough times at the grocery store…happens to everyone:)
I do this all the time. I feel like I’m the only one who does at times!!!! Recently I went to a conference with co-workers that required ticket for admittance…guess who forgot theirs? Yep, me! Luckily, my boss was able to get me in for the presentation.
Girl, I can’t even count on my two hands the number of times I’ve experienced “mommy brain”. I don’t think I’ve ever forgotten my wallet but I’ve taken my debit card out for online purchases & then forgot to put it back in my wallet. I’ve also been known to pay for things and go off and leave the sacks at the check out. I am also constantly putting things that belong in the cabinet in the fridge and vice versa.
I feel so disorganized lately and it drives me crazy!
This is basically my life. It’s amazing I don’t forget my kids somewhere.
I do stuff like this way too often. I have an iPhone, a planner and mommy brain. The first two are no match for the third. With an 18 week old, a full time job, a husband, house projects, the list goes on, who wouldn’t forget things? Before baby, I very rarely forgot anything and I was never late for anything. Now….I am late frequently and forget constantly. I beat myself up so badly because I had wasting time. There’s so little of it. I said all this to say you definitely aren’t alone.
I think every mom can identify with your story! You try so hard to be organized and get everything done as quickly as possible with minimal disruption to your schedule and your children and it’s so frustrating when it goes wrong.
I had a major mom fail just 3 days after Blaire was born. Our pediatrician’s office happens to be in walking distance of our house. For her first visit, I worked so hard to get us both dressed and ready to get to the doctor’s office on time. I was exhausted but still managed to get us both dressed, my hair done and make up on. We got there on time. I felt like Super Mom. Then the nurse asked me to take her clothes off and in just a dry diaper. Only her diaper wasn’t dry. She had wet it in the 2 second drive between our house and the pediatrician’s office. And I hadn’t packed any diapers. The nurse looked at me like I was a failure of a mom and my husband had to go home and get clean diapers. (Not sure why they don’t keep a few extra diapers around a pediatrician’s office but that’s another matter.) I went from feeling so confident to feeling like a crummy mom in 5 seconds flat. I’ve since learned to keep a very well stocked diaper bag but you can’t be perfect all the time. We’ll all fall short every once in a while. But we’re still great moms!
When my oldest was 5 weeks old I forgot tp pay the power bill and they turned our power off. EMBARRASSING! Just last week I was supposed to pick her up from school at 4:30; at 5:45 I came out of a meeting to find her roaming the halls! I had forgotten her! Fortunately, she is super smart, confident, and was sure I would return for her. She also saw my car in the parking lot; she just didnt know where I was. Oh, mommy brain!
When Caden was just a few days old, my mom and I took him to a check-up. When we got there, we couldn’t get his carseat out of the base from the backseat of my car. I started crying and then we started laughing and then, after we finally got the carseat out and were in the waiting room, we realized: Why didn’t we just take HIM out of the carseat and carry him in? And then we laughed some more.
It gets easier, as they get older and you don’t have so much “stuff” to carry around with you… although, I don’t think the mommybrain EVER goes away.
I’m enjoying reading everyone’s scatterbrained stories!
When our 5 month old was a newborn, I was filling my bathroom sink with water. I got distracted by something else, though, and came back several minutes later to find I was flooding my bathroom. The water was not only all over the floor, but all in the cabinets below the sink. All my plastic drawers under there were filled and all the items wet. I had to take everything out of my cabinets and dry every item off. Then I took all the towels I used and tossed them in the washer. Come to find out an expensive ear thermometer was somehow mixed up with all the towels, and it got washed right along with everything else. Good grief.
And my husband had a similar moment after he got back from France a few weeks ago and was jet-lagged. I came into the kitchen and there were tons of suds coming out of the dishwasher and spilling onto the kitchen floor. Being so tired, he had put liquid dish soap in the dishwasher instead of detergent. It took two more cycles to get rid of all the suds! That was the best laugh I’d had in a while!!
I know exactly what you mean. I actually was in Target and about to pay for some things and I couldn’t find my wallet. I went back to the car to look for it and my little two year old, Josiah, pointed out my wallet in the diaper bag. He was concerned I was so stressed out and he screamed, “There it is! Found it, Mommy!” I had it the entire time but my “Mommy brain” blinded me from it, I needed my two year old to point it out lol. Be encouraged, it happens to all of us. Thank you for posting what is on your heart because we are all going through the same thing. It is good to know that I’m not alone too. 🙂
One reason I started blogging was because I have a serious case of “Mommy Brain” and was so worried that if I didn’t document each day then I would forget so much of the wonderful things that we do!!! Case in point: I have gone to Redbox, and rented the same movie twice in the same week because I could not remember watching it…..um, I’ve done that like 2 times in the last month. The worst part is that I didn’t even realize it till a good 30 minutes into the movie. Well, my hubby must have “Daddy Brain” because it took him just as long to fugure it out. This incident comes on the heels of me going to the grocery store (with baby in tow), purchasing an entire bag of groceries, loading a very fussy Britton back into the car and driving towards home….with the grocery cart sitting in the parking lot full of my groceries!!! Got all the way home before I realized what I was missing, and was just too tired and frustrated to go back. I tearfully called the grocery store and they told me that they had found my cart and were holding it at the front of the store. Luckily, my hubby went back and picked up my poor forgotten groceries, but by then I was so done in that instead of cooking my planned coq au vin for dinner, we ate frozen pizza…yet again.
Don’t be so hard on yourself. I’m 51 with 2 grown kids. I’m successful supervisor at work and am really a good person. I’ve left wallets at home numerous times over the years, I’ve forgotten to pick up kids at school, I’ve missed appointments and just this week I forgot it was my turn to teach Sunday School at the nursing home! I left a dozen elderly people sitting around waiting. No one is perfect. Just take a deep breath, say a prayer and move on. Life is like that. 🙂
Oh girl, I did this at Wal-Mart a few months ago: a full hour spent at the store with my toddler and $200 of groceries, only to discover my wallet missing. I almost broke down in tears at the cashier. I called a sweet friend who lives nearby and she ran over and paid for my groceries, and I paid her back later. Now THAT is a friend! The sad part is that a few days later, I did the SAME THING at the grocery store! Twice in one week!!! (That time I just cut my losses and went home!) Mom brain is real, for sure 🙂
um, yeah… get this one. my in-laws wanted to fly in for my daughter’s birthday in january like they did last year. so i told my husband that was totally fine. they booked the tickets. three airline tickets. and only THEN, AFTER i got their confirmation email, did i even look at the calendar to see if anything was there. nothing much… except my husband and i will be out of town from friday night to sunday afternoon on a retreat with our youth group. BIG. OOPS. luckily, it works out – they’re really coming to see her, and not us, so they’re still going to come and stay with her while we’re gone. and we won’t have to juggle being youth leaders and wrangling a two year old for the weekend. but i felt SO bad!
this exact thing happened to me (big grocery trip, and no wallet)…except I had left the wallet in the diaper bag (where else!) 🙂 Wonder how much worse my ‘mommy brain’ will be with 3 vs. 2! eek!
I cannot tell you how many days I have like this.
And the stupid thing is we beat ourselves up for it !!!
I remember having a really bad day when it felt like everything was going against me. I was rushing around trying to get the house ready for my family who were coming over for a visit.
Ticking off things on my list. Rushing to get the groceries in, rushing to get the dinner ready.
Poor Ché was only a couple of weeks old at the time. And I was trying to fit all his needs into the schedule as well.
As I was rushing into the next room to make up the bed – with Ché in my arms. I almost ran into the door. I stopped and thought what am I doing !!!
It really doesn’t matter to your children the amount of effort you put into anything. All they need is for you to show up !
Nowadays, I just take a breath. I get as much done on my schedule as I can (remember) but the most important thing is that my son is having fun. That life is fun for him and he is happy. He does’nt need to be worried by mummy stressing out. – Life is too short !
Yep. Twice last week I made the same mistake. On Monday, I was sitting at my desk when a reminder for a doctor’s appointment popped up. I thought it was set for Tuesday. So I had 15 minutes to tear across town to get there. I vowed to check my calendar every morning. But not more than 3 days later, on Thursday, I had in my head that my kindergartener’s parent-teacher conference was at 1:20. Too bad it ended at 1:20. I was so upset with myself I was in tears. Luckily, my husband was there so I just called him and got to listen.
It can happen to the best of us! With so many things going on we are all bound to forget something! That is always one of my fears though!
I am def going to come back and read the comments on this one when i have time, but YES! I have many stories just like this- For instance, just this Monday, I FORGOT my 4 mo old’s check up. I am not sure what happened- checked my schedule the night before, got the diaper bag ready. that am, took my toddler to school, and on the way back wondered if I should go to the grocery store now or just before picking my toddler up. Decided to go home and enjoy a little time not having to do anything that morning for once. I was upstairs and just happened to hear the appt reminder on my phone ding downstairs. I checked it a few minutes later thinking I got a text. I freaked when I picked it up and saw that I forgot AND we only had 10 minutes to get there. we were 5 minutes late but only b/c I had just changed my baby and I was able to just pack him up and go fast. And its only about 15 min away. How could I do that?? obviously, I am still trying to get over it since I wrote you a book here!
I think that (like you said in another post) it is the devil trying to weaken our confidence as mothers. I always try to be the best mom I can, try to be prepared, make sure I have blankets diapers and extra clothes and pacis- and yet, I am often lacking one of them for some reason or other and then I just beat myself up over it and eventually I realize I need to get some perspective- and its ok not be perfect and not spend so much time kicking yourself.
All I have to say is…IF I HAD A NICKLE!!!! You don’t have time or room on here for all my stories. It has gotten worse with every child I’ve had. I have grown to accept that the preoccupation is part of the job.
Don’t feel bad or be hard on yourself. We all do it!
XO
We’ve all been there. I’ve been to the grocery store and thought I was so efficient only to find I had forgotten my wallet! I have to say the worst “mommy brain” moment was when my son was about 10. He was flying as an unaccompanied minor to visit his dad for the summer. We live in a rural area so the drive to the airport was almost an hour. The flight was scheduled to depart at 6:00am. I left the house at 4am and got to the airport at 5am. We walk up to the counter to check in and I have no purse. No ID, no credit card to pay the fee for an unaccompanied minor, NOTHING! I also realized I made an error on the reservation and instead of Fayetteville, AR he was almost on a flight to Fayetteville, NC. Needless to say, it was a total nightmare. The fact that I forgot my purse turned out to be a blessing in disguise because I might not have noticed the luggage tag with the wrong airport code.
Just remember that everything happens for a reason and one day you will look back and laugh!
BIG Hug!
It’s so nice to know I’m not the only one out there that has done these things a million times. We’re all in good company. 🙂 And it’s fun to hear other’s stories.
I have twins and I forget their names all the time. I forget my shopping list most of the time and sometimes I’ll call home to see if I can get the cat to read the list off to me. Oh, duh…the cat. She only reads Spanish.
Probably my most traumatizing “mommy-brain” moment was when the twins were about 3-4 weeks old. I’m sleep-deprived. I’m one step below zombie and one step above vegetable. I haven’t brushed my hair in 109 hours. I was breast-feeding, but because I produced milk like a cow (blegh), I would pump after feeding the girls to store in bags in the fridge so my husband could held me feed them during the night feedings. I’m sitting in my “pump chair”, reading a magazine…oh yes, I had perfected the art of pumping AND reading at the same time…and I’m just cruising along for like 15 minutes when I feel like my legs are extra warm. I look down. Hey, oh look, I didn’t attach any bags to the pumps and I’ve been pumping my own breast milk directly onto my blue jeans and into the chair for 15 minutes. I said a few words…I normally do not cuss…but it felt necessary at the time. I was devastated. I cried for about an hour.
So much fun to laugh about it now. Especially now that the girls are almost two. Sigh. There’s nothing like being a mom. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Ha! I’m not a mom yet and I’ve got the worst case of spaz brain ever. Mine usually involves grocery store and recipe incidents. I always forget to check the pantry before I go to the store and usually end up buying things we already have. Or I’ll go into the store specifically looking for something (sour cream) and end up with something else (cream cheese). Sadly that one has happened twice. Also, one time I promised my fiancé I would make his favorite meal that included hamburger meat. I accidentally thawed a package of sausage out instead. I was half way through the recipe before I realized it! Also, cinnamon and chili powder are not the same spice. At. All.
oh my gosh! i did/do things like this all the time! when i was pregnant with libbi and teaching at the time, i would literally forget the names of the kids in my class….and it was the end of the year! i would stare at their faces and just draw a blank and think, “i cannot think of your name to save my life right now.”
one time, i forgot to pay our water bill, which is SO unlike me. we live in a smaller town, so they called and told me i could just send it in late. no big deal. so i sent it in….but forgot to sign the check. so they called again and sent me back my check. i sent it again….but this time i accidentally sent them one of our car payments instead. i’m sure they thought i was crazy trying to get out of paying a $25 water bill – ha!
just recently i was hosting a shower and mailed out the invitations (or so i thought) but it turns out i forgot to put stamps on about half of them. since they were mixed in with the stamped envelopes, the post office picked them all up. they then proceeded to put a nice “NEEDS POSTAGE” stamp right in the middle of each envelope and return them to me. ugh. mommy brain is for real! 🙂
Perfect timing on this post!! I am on a business trip with my husband and forgot to pack any underwear, bras, contact solution, face cream, oh and I brought the wrong computer charger with me- and I work from home (or the hotel this weekend)! Awesome.
This happens to all of us! Our family was at Disney World a few months ago at a special character meal, when of course our little boy had a major poop. Went into the ladies’ room to change him (had the dirty diaper down and thrown out) and discovered I had no diapers. Thankfully a mom of a similar-aged child was in the bathroom and gave me one, or I’m not sure what I would have done! Sometimes you’re so focused on getting out the door that you can’t remember even the most obvious things.
I feel the same way! Until I got pregnant, I was probably one of the most crazy organized people that never ever ever ever ever forgot ANYTHING. I’ve never lost anything, missed anything. When I got pregnant I noticed the whole “pregnancy” brain kick in. I went to Stop & shop and didn’t bring my wallet. I came to work in 2 different shoes. I couldn’t find my keys on a daily basis. This frustrated me but I kept telling myself that it was temporary. I was wrong. Since Peanut is born, things are just getting worse! I miss appointments, forget birthdays, leave my keys in odd places, forget my phone, forget my wallet, forget to put in my contacts, forget to take out my contacts, forget … well… just about everything. My friends tell me that when you baby is born your brain makes room for the most important thing in your life and therefore other things get left by the wayside. Me? I find this to be one of the most frustrating things – I’ve definitely cried over it before 🙁
I did the same exact thing last year — got to the checkout at Target with my toddler and a buggy FULL of all sorts of party supplies, groceries, clothes, etc., and realized I didn’t have my wallet. The cashier had already rung up most of it by the time I realized I didn’t have my wallet, so they set it all aside for me, bagged and ready to go, so I could go home to get my wallet. Got all the way home, and couldn’t find my wallet ANYwhere. That’s when I finally realized it was in the bottom of my stroller which was in the back of my SUV…so it had been in my car all along. When I got back to Target, they ended up having to un-bag and re-scan everything. Gotta love that mommy brain!