Mommy Brain Strikes Again!

     So, I'm not a fan of using the excuse "Mommy Brain". You know, the typical response that flustered mothers give when they forget where they are, how they got there, or where their children have run off to. I figured it was just a lame justification for not being on top of things.
     Boy, was I wrong!
     You see, becoming a mother not only comes with pride, love, and adoration for the new child you have. It also brings some unexpected brain farts. Actually, make that a great number of brain farts. It's a cloudy stench that seems to fog your brain whenever children are around. Inevitably, I have become susceptible to Mommy Brain.
     I took my daughter shopping yesterday. Just for groceries, as I can't seem to find the energy or strength to do much more than that. After trying to fit everything in my cart, including the huge carseat that doesn't fit on top where the child normally perches, I was rushing to get to the checkout before my ice cream--Death by Chocolate for you ice cream fans--melted. With items nearly falling out, I quickly got into a checkout aisle, making sure I wasn't in the express lane. After finally unloading everything and also wondering why I could barely fit in the aisle, the cashier politely informs me that I am in the express lane.
     WHAT?
     I apologized profusely and luckily the cashier was a mother herself, understanding my plight and ringing my groceries through anyway. (Maybe my daughter's beautiful eyes captured her heart too!) Of course, the death stares from the customers behind me made me feel terribly stupid, especially when I thought for sure I was in the right aisle.
     Mommy Brain strikes again.
     I think Mommy Brain is a complex system where the mother has a million things on her mind, causing a lapse in judgement or understanding. But really, when one person alone has to think about where the keys to the car are, what foreign substance is on the child's face, how to manipulate a soother, credit card, and buggy all in one hand, and help a crying child, things tend to get a bit hectic!
     My sister in-law has three boys. I can recall one of her facebook status updates frantically questioning where she put the meat that she pulled out in the morning. I don't even remember where she found it later on, but I understand those feelings.
     I've checked a diaper bag twice before leaving the house to make sure I have everything. Receiving blankets, extra clothes, diapers, wipes, heavy blankets. Of course, at the first diaper change I realize that I have one extra diaper for the whole day. And I won't be home for at least another five hours. Seriously, I checked the darn diapers!
     Alas, I cannot escape the plight of the Mommy Brain. But like all mothers, I must push forward and find a way to cope. No extra diapers? Wrap your shirt around the baby's bum. Locked your keys in your car? Keep an extra car key in your purse. Forgot to wear a shirt to town? Rock the new style! Or attempt to make your child's onesie into a tube top. Flexibility and versatility are the simple cures to Mommy Brain.

   

     Now where did I leave my baby?