Ahh, Valentines' Day. All hearts and flowers and candy, right?

Oh come on, people, you know me better than that!

Ok, it started out pretty well. Mr. T bought me roses. Very nice. I had an appointment to meet a friend for lunch at the mall. Also nice. Plus, due to a scheduling mix-up, I had to bring the babies with me. Hmmmm, nice, but with the potential of being not nice.

Off the three of us go to the mall. As I put the kids in the stroller, I catch of whiff of something very familiar...My dear Pumpkin was ready for a change. No sweat! After I received a call from my friend saying she would be late, I knew the timing was just right. I would get my girl changed without skipping a beat. I walked through the department store children's area, glancing quickly at the cute clothes on clearance. And for a moment I thought about stopping to buy something. Nah, I thought, maybe some other time. (Oh, Irony...wicked, wicked Irony)

We got to the changing area, an open room with a sink, and I sang a little song while setting up the changing pad and lifting up my girl. When I unbuttoned her, I saw it...the most terrible, foulest poonami of a blowout. I stood there with my mouth agape, absolutely speechless. Pumpkin giggled. I will spare you the details but to say it was probably the some of the foulest stuff I've ever seen. It was almost overwhelming and everywhere. And all while she was wearing the white pants she was wearing that was a sweet gift from her grandparents. Classic...

I got on my cell phone to call my friend, "Umm, are you close? Ok, good. We have a situation. I need you to come directly to the changing room in Belk's. I'm gonna need a little help here."

So while I gave my sweet little munchkin an impromptu bath in the department store sink (baby wipes were simply no match for the mess) my friends shopped for a complete outfit. (Extra points to her because the outfit even matched Pumpkin's shoes that were still unscathed from the disaster. Did I mentione we were also at the mall for her wedding dress?) See, this is why I try to remain social and spent time with my friends. You just never know when you'll need some help with a naked, dirty baby.

Evening was slightly better. Hubby and I got a babysitter and had dinner and a movie. After our first choice being sold out, we decided to watch Coraline. Great movie and I highly recommend it. However, we were amazed by the fact the family behind us chose to bring their very young toddler to the film. No surprisingly, the kid freaked out. Poor thing was just sobbing his eyes out.. begging his mommy to help him. And the mom just kept telling him to shush. I wanted to just turn around and say, "DUH! He's scared and tired! Take that poor baby to bed!!"

Luckily, another woman beat me to it.

I am not a big fan of babies at movies. Maybe a fun matinee would be okay...with a bunch of other kids..for a classic film event that everyone has seen before so you know what to expect. Not a spooky stop-animation flick from the people that brought you A Nightmare Before Christmas. Movies are dark places and very loud. Not to mention it was well after 8:00 pm on Valentines' Day. If you want a nice family evening, go to a family friendly place. Because, with kids, you have to plan for the worst case scenario. I failed to plan for my mall trip and I was caught with a dirty baby and no change of clothes. The difference is, I changed my plans to make sure the kids were cared for. Movie Mom tried her best to convince her kid to calm down so she could continue her movie experience.

The good part is we finally got to come home and enjoy a nice glass of wine. Finally, a nice and relaxing grown-up moment...before we both started to doze off.

Happy Valentines' Day everyone! I hope it was fun of joy for all of you and your families!