Well, will somebody please slap me the next time I get a bright idea? Here's a little taste of what I get for thinking when unsupervised.
- Put on coats, hats and mittens to go from house to van.
- Take off coats, hats and mittens to put kids in car seats; freeze my *ahem* - and a few fingers - off in the process.
- Write grocery list while sitting in Starbucks drive-thru.
- Arrive at shops, put coats, hats and mittens back on babies for trek from parking lot to indoors.
- Go inside, remove coats, hats and mittens. Stow them on the bottom rack of the cart (y'know, where we used to ride when we were kids) so babies can't throw items overboard.
- Pay for grocery order; take up space in Purgatory (foyer between store and doors) to once again apply coats, hats and mittens for the trip back to the van.
- Take off coats, hats and mittens to put babies back in car seats. Sweet fancy Moses, y'all.
- Plan ahead for parking at mall because I have to go potty. Really really bad.
- Arrive at mall.
- Sit in van and try to pinpoint the moment I went completely wacko.
- Reapply coats, hats and mittens for jaunt from van to Macy's door (uber close to the public restrooms) which wound up being LOCKED!!!
- Walk (dance) around outside of mall until I stumble across an open point of entry.
- Power walk to the loo. The big stall is out of order; leave stroller outside sardine-can-sized stall and listen to Mary-Beth scream while I do my bidness.
- Get to Bath & Body Works (after putting Mary-Beth back in the stroller... again) only to find they no longer carry what I'm after.
- Leisurely stroll back to van. Exit mall via the Macy's door that is now unlocked, after putting on coats, hats and mittens. Macy's Purgatory is much warmer than Wal-Mart's, in case you're wondering.
- Remove coats, hats and mittens for proper installation of babies in car seats.
- Arrive home exhausted, but a little wiser. Take babies out of car seats, put coats, hats and mittens back on for trip from driveway to kitchen door.
- Once inside, remove coats, hats and mittens. Shove them in the closet with a growl. Kick shoes off and leave them where they land all day long.
- Start The Sandlot for Jonah. Ponder alcoholism... briefly... but settle for hot chocolate.
Important Note - Why take the coats off?
Outerwear can compress in an accident leaving dangerous slack in the car seat's harness. Slack could cause baby to be ejected from the car seat.
To see if what you have on your baby is too bulky, put baby in the seat in her outerwear. Adjust/fasten the harness snugly. Take baby out without loosening the harness, remove the outerwear and put her back in. There should not be any slack in the harness webbing. If there is, then there is too much clothing between baby and the harness, and you must remove the outerwear for the harness to do its job.
See CPSafety Online and the Carseat Bulletin Board at Parents Place for more information about car seat safety, the importance of extended rear facing, and other child safety restraint facts.
