Hi there.

Every once in a while I will be posting to a new category called Lessons I Have Learned. Pretty much you will only want to read these if a) you are a family member or b) you have small children. In the first case, you will naturally be interested, and in the second, perhaps you can find some tips to add to your ever growing pile of internet motherhood research. So here goes. First off, we have the problem of The Mall.

Beware of making a spur of the moment decision to go to the mall with three children under the age of five. First contemplate what they have eaten and drunk and when. Because even though you can command them all to pee in one trip before you leave, and then again when you get there, you have no control over The Other Bathroom Need. Add into the mix a newly potty trained two year old, with whom you Cannot Take Risks, and your fifteen month old with a bad rash requiring Immediate Dirty Diaper Attention, and you will have no less than five trips to the public restroom in two hours. This results in many logistical issues of navigating, apologizing, keeping snacks and hands off various dirty surfaces, etc., all of which generally Use Mommy's Brain Up. Not that this takes the fun out of the mall outing, I'm just warning you that you may be a little more tired than usual when you get home.

In case you're wondering, it does rain here a lot, so we like the mall. Especially the quarter rides.