I knew it was going to be a bad day when I glanced at the microwave clock this A.M. and realized I was already running behind by 10 minutes. It didn't help when I woke up my younger daughter (almost 3yo) who said "Mommy ... I peed. You change me?"

Crap.

It was then that I remembered I had not made her go potty before bed last night. Stupid me. I know better.

I can't really complain about Lauren -- accidents with this child have been few and very far between. She potty trained herself before she was 2 years old. You hear of mother's bragging about their kids potty training themselves and you think "they are SOOO lying." At least, that's what I told all my friends when the subject came up. Then, lo and behold, Lauren comes along & proves me wrong. She was staying dry for hours at a time when she was 18 mos. old. She was wearing underpants (reliably) two weeks before her 2nd birthday. And, I can count on one hand how many accidents she's ever had since then. Most (if not all) of them have happened at night.

So, back to this morning....

It's 7:04 a.m. I'm supposed to be at work at 7:30 a.m. and I've got a sopping wet kid laying in a sopping wet bed sobbing. Ugh!

I stripped the bed & the kid, gave them both a quick clean-up with a soapy washcloth. The kids, the wet bedding and I were in the car en route to Grandma's by 7:12 a.m.

Now, here's the best thing about having a mother who watches my kids -- I dropped the semi-clean kid and the wet bedding off at my mother's and she's going to wash them both.

God, I am so lucky to have her.

Someday I hope to return the favor and clean up my grandaughter's mess so that my dear daughter can get to work on time (OK, OK.... 15 minutes late).

Note to Mommies with kids moving into big-kid beds: As soon as you buy them a new mattess and box springs, go to Wal-Mart or Kmart (or wherever) and buy a couple of waterproof matress covers. Trust me, it's the smartest investment you can make. Two words: Flu season. You don't want to clean THAT out of a mattress -- frankly, I don't even know how you would.