My Day As a Solo Parent at Disneyland

I do have to tell y'all one fun story from our trip that deserves its own post. It involves my taking the kids to Disneyland, one little girl, and an un-awesome day of unexpected changes (ha ha...you'll get the pun later):

We planned on making our final trip to Disneyland on Thursday morning. As it turned out, Max was sick that morning so I packed the kids in the car and headed off. I got off at Harbor Blvd., ready to turn in the direction of the big Disney parking garage when a little light went off in my head: the tickets are in Max's wallet. Arrrrgggh!!!!! I called Max and sure enough, he confirmed that his wallet was there in our villa with our precious tickets sitting inside. I pulled a U-turn at the next light and back to Newport we went. An hour, 2 naps, several snacks, and a whole lot of frustration later, we pulled into the parking garage.

Finally there, I discovered that during our 90-minute drive, Claire had filled her pants. After changing her messiness, we hopped on the tram to the park. It was nearly lunchtime so before having any real fun, the kids and I settled in at an open dining area and ate our picnic lunch. We then went on a ride or two and then I discovered that Claire had wet through a bit (not even 2 hours since her last change). I got her cleaned up again and on we went. I wasn't too keen on having further diaper problems so I made sure to change her again a while later. Not too long after that stop, we were with Max's brother and his wife and decided to split up so we older folk could go on some big rides. They went to go on Matterhorn together and I took all four kids to go the Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters. I parked the stroller and as I picked up Claire, I was horrified to see that she had apparently been keeping the Pacific Ocean in her bladder...she was SOAKED through like I had never seen before. She was wet to the top of her pants (front and back) and down to her mid-thigh and her stroller was obviously damp. Awesome! So I informed the excited, ride-ready children that we had to head to Toon Town so that we could buy her new pants and get her cleaned up. Lucky them. Thanks to browsing a store prior to purchasing a hoodie for Claire 2 nights before, I knew exactly which pants I wanted and where they were. We were out of the store, pants and plastic bag in hand, and in the women's restroom as quick as three little sets of legs could allow. Once I had her on the changing table, I was tickled to find that in the few minutes since I had discovered her little liquid problem, Claire had managed to sweeten the deal and had pooped as well. Praise the heavens above, Max's brother and his wife returned from their ride just as I started cleaning Claire up so I didn't have to manage 3 boys in a women's restroom at the same time. Getting her pants off was a chore (she cried as I tried to peel the denim away) but once she was wiped down, cleaned up, and in a fresh diaper and pants, she was much happier and we were back on our way.

The rest of the day went fine. This included me working the system a bit. Using the stroller pass system, I went on Space Mountain and Matterhorn by myself in about 20 minutes flat. The kids and went and got the great fried chicken for dinner that evening (though Claire fell asleep in her stroller as we got our food). The chicken was as tasty as ever. Unfortunately, the single piece of chocolate cake that Hudson and I shared there (if a total of 2 bites can be consituted as sharing) left something to be desired. It is quite possibly the nastiest chocolate dessert I've ever had. And I wasted $4.99 on it. The powder for instant chocolate pudding or petrified Hershey's kisses would have been better. So our day ended on that note.

Oh - and you can bet I checked Claire's diaper every few minutes and changed her as we got in the car. I still don't know what her deal was...too much apple juice? No clue.

In retrospect, here’s what I’ve learned from my single parent experience (and I had help part of the time!):

• Don’t leave the house unless you’re sure you have your a) tickets and b) sanity.
• When we go to Disneyland in June, my girl will either very well potty-trained or I'm going to be prepared with 2-3 pairs of pants in her diaper bag and check her diaper every 10 minutes.
• No matter how much you’re craving something that resembles it, do NOT get the awesome looking layered chocolate cake.
• Don't go without some form of additional adult help...had Max's brother and his wife not been there, I might have lost what was left of the sanity I took with me.

The End