Usually when you think of a pair of undies in the back seat of a car it’s because there was some hanky-panky going on among people who were either too young, too drunk, or too cheap to get a hotel room — or they were just trying to rekindle that high-school feeling.

For parents, there is a different meaning.

A couple of years ago (before I was a mother) a friend of mine pulled up in her Caddy to pick up some of my friends and me for a lunch outing. I hopped in back, sliding down to the other end on the leather seat. I found something I didn’t expect; a pair of girls underwear lying, in all their glory, on the backseat.

My friend, the mother, was mortified — for a moment. Then, she brushed it away and said that her daughter had to do a quick change in the car on the way to after-school sports.

It’s the typical busy family syndrome.

Well, it’s happened to me.

Last night, I took my car up to the grocery store. As I leaned in to place the groceries in the back seat, I spotted a pair of tiny, blue, car underwear. How on earth did those get there? Too many reasons come to mind (we just returned from an out of town trip), but the truth is that I was mortified. Thank goodness I was alone.

The next time you’re considering using the backseat for anything other than a car ride, remember that it can lead to a different type of underwear lying around in the near future.

With toddlers, there are specific rules about bananas. Every parent needs to commit these rules to memory. I didn’t and have learned the hard way. Review the banana rules regularly — today I forgot one and paid for it with a screaming toddler in a public place.

Banana Rules For Toddlers

1. Never, ever break a banana in half. They can’t be put back together — no matter how hard you try or how hard the child wishes it.
2. Never, ever eat any piece of the banana. Even if your child is finished with said banana, don’t attempt to eat it. To be safe, don’t even lick, smell or touch it.
3. If a banana is too brown to eat don’t let your child see it. He will want to eat it anyway.
4. Be sure to pull all the pieces of skin off before you give the banana to the child. Be careful not to break the banana in the process. See rule number 1.
5. Don’t let the banana fall on the floor. The “5-second rule” doesn’t apply with bananas — they are sticky and you can’t recover them. If you have pets, don’t let pet near the banana on the floor. I repeat … at all costs, do not let the pet eat the banana.

Photo courtesy stockxchange.com 

Last night while listening to one of the digital music channels, my 2-year-old son looked intently at the photo of Bach being displayed on the screen:

“Is that Uncle Craig?” he asks.

Don’t worry dear brother. Upon returning from 4 days away from my son, I was showing him photos of my trip. When he saw this photo of me, his mother, the one who feeds and clothes him, he says:

“What’s her name?”

Summer is here. Time to slather on the cream. Personally, I hate putting sunscreen on, but it is something we must do. We should all be wearing a base coat of some kind of sunscreen on our faces. Many of today’s face lotions now contain SPF and even foundations have SPF in them.

KatieMagic writes a letter on her blog, “Dear SPF 15.”It shows a photo of her with sunburned shoulders. I guess SPF 15 didn’t cut it.

And, what about the kids? My son doesn’t like sunscreen and it’s usually a fight to put it on. The pool is the only weapon I have to get him to wear it. If he doesn’t put it on, he’s not allowed to go swimming. But, how do I get him to wear it just to play outside. I haven’t mastered that yet, but it’s next.

Related:

• How do you get your child to wear sunscreen? From Yahoo answers.
• Top 10 Sunblocks & Sunscreens from iVillage.com
• Top 9 Best Sunscreens from About.com
• Best Sunscreen for Kids from About.com
• What kind of sunscreen is best for toddlers? from Baby Center
• Sunscreen Q&A from American Academy of Pediatrics (includes information for infants)

My mother told me about a segment she saw on the “Today” show about a woman who potty trains children in one day. Called, “Booty Camp,” the woman teaches children to use the potty, within hours. What’s she trying to tell me?

I found the video from the show as well as an article on MSNBC.com. The article states,

An operator of a so-called “Booty Camp” in suburban Chicago has a claim that will astonish parents of droopy-diapered toddlers everywhere. Give her five hours, she says, and she’ll give you a potty-trained toddler.

Impossible? Not according to TODAY’s Al Roker, who offered an unsolicited testimonial. “I actually took my son to this, and it works,” he said. “One day.”

From watching the video (see below) I think one of the secrets is that she makes the children clean up their own pee and poop when they have an accident. She’s also got a few other tricks up her sleeve, like giving the kids sugary treats so they want to drink more and be more ready to have to actually use the potty during the training period.

What’s her number one rule for potty training?

“Never ask if they have to go,” she said.

Don’t get this Potty Whisperer confused with The Potty Whisperer at pottywhisperer.com. When I was looking for the report based on my mothers information, I did a Google search and found the second potty whisperer — this one considers “late starters” are 6 months - 24-months old! Big difference. I think I’ll stick with the one from the “Today” show.

Related:

• Potty Whisperer article on MSNBC.
• “Toilet Training In less Than a Day” book, as mentioned in the MSNBC article.