My mom and I were looking for something to do the other day before we went to lead the Teen Challenge choir, so after dinner, we headed to At Home. If you don’t know what At Home is, it is a home decor store that sells things like lamps, rugs, furniture, art, shelves, pillows, bedding, storage, and more. It was my first time at At Home since Archer’s passing.
What does a home decor store have to do with him? This is where one of the funniest moments while being his mom occurred.
In December 2021, Theo and I decided that we wanted to replace the carpet in our basement with hardwood floors. Theo did our nursery, so it was a project we knew we could do ourselves. Theo ripped up all the old carpet, I painted the basement, and then he started to lay the new flooring.
Once he finished installing the flooring, we felt we needed some area rugs to help warm up the space. I had gotten a coupon for At Home for my birthday in January 2022, and so we finally decided that it was time to look for the perfect rug.
Theo, Archer, and I arrived at At Home. We pushed Archer around the store in his stroller, looked at all the merchandise, and ended in the rug section. We took our time walking up and down each aisle. Archer must have thought we took too long, and he started to get fussy.
I checked his diaper, and he was wet. I told Theo that I would take Archer to the bathroom, and he could keep looking.
I put on Archer’s diaper bag backpack, picked Archer up from his stroller, and started looking for the bathroom.
Archer became a little fussier, and I became a little more lost. I could NOT find the bathroom anywhere. So instead of hunting for the bathroom, I started hunting for an employee to ask. I couldn’t find anyone anywhere.
As I walked up towards the registers to ask someone, I tried to console my fussy boy by quietly singing to him. Finally, I found someone! They pointed me in the right direction, and off we went.
When I got to the bathrooms, I chose to use the one-person family bathroom. I opened the door, and it was a mess! The handicap railing had been pulled off the wall, there were no paper towels, and it was out of toilet paper. (Trust me, this is all important to the story).
I get the changing table pulled down and take a wipe to it before laying Archer down. When I pull off his pants, I see a little blue line on his diaper. (This indicates that it is wet). I proceed to take off his diaper and throw it in the trash next to me. What happens next?
Archer starts to pee…
I quickly get a diaper over him to try and absorb some of the mess, but he still gets his clothes wet, now lying in a small puddle. I pull off his wet clothes and start wiping him down with baby wipes. Pick him up, wipe off the changing table, and lay him back down. Then I go to change the wet diaper again, drop the dirty diaper in the trash, and pick up a clean diaper; what happens next?
Archer pees…again!
I wasn’t quick enough this time with another diaper to help catch and absorb. Another small puddle forms.
I pull more baby wipes out to try and wipe him off. Then pick him up and pull wipes out to try and clean up all the mess on the changing table. And I will tell you, a baby wipe doesn’t do a great job of absorbing because it’s already a wet cloth. But I had nothing else to use in this bathroom. No paper towel. No toilet paper.
After finally getting everything cleaned up, I get a diaper on Archer. I reach into the diaper bag and pull out a fresh t-shirt onesie and sweater. I dig further into the bag, hunting for pants. I am checking every pocket and pulling things out of the bag…
NO PANTS!
I looked at him, half chuckling, and said, “I’m so sorry.” He gave me his famous smile, which made me feel like he was saying, “It’s okay, mama. It’s my fault I peed on myself.” I grabbed our things and headed back to Theo in the rug department.
Chuckling, I told Theo this whole story and proceeded to show him our pantsless baby. He said, “oh well,” and laughed. (We had a blanket with us and one of those cacoons that go over the car seat – he had plenty to keep him warm). We picked out our rug and headed home.
There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that Theo and I care about Archer. We just believed in being people who go with the flow and try not ever to get too stressed about the little things, which is why I think we could easily laugh about the mess and no pants situation.
Going to At Home with my mom brought me back to that day. That day filled with one of the funniest memories of our little guy. I never want to forget it, which is why I want to share it with the world.

I hope you laughed along with me because I know Archer would have laughed about the story as he grew up. He had a sense of humor, even as an infant.

Here is my unsolicited advice: Laugh at yourselves; Laugh with your children; Cherish ALL the small, crazy moments – you may never get them again.