Even if you dated your spouse for a long time before you got married, there are still new things you learn once you’re married – about your spouse AND yourself. Most of these differences I discovered between Jeff and I led back to how we were raised. For example, I think its totally normal to eat “peanut butter bread” (bread with peanut butter on it) as a side to any pasta dish. That’s what we did in my family. (We are not Italian, in case that wasn’t obvious by the choice of peanut butter bread and not garlic bread).

One of the first “new things” I learned about Jeff was that he always wears socks in hotel rooms. Dingy hotels. Super nice hotels. It makes no difference. At home Jeff normally walks around barefoot. Despite my advice that the hotel floor probably gets cleaned more than our floors at home, Jeff insists on wearing socks at a hotel. I think its hilarious.

Last weekend we spent a night in Lake Geneva so Jeff could run the Gladiator Assault Challenge (you should read that with a low, growly, warrior voice). Jack and I went along so we could swim in the hotel pool. After dropping Jeff off at the race, a seven mile mud obstacle course on a ski slope, while it was 30 degrees and snowing – in April, Jack and I stopped at Target to pick up swim diapers because of course I forgot that the main purpose of our trip.

Trying to wrangle a bathing suit on Jack, alone, is quite a challenge, which left me wondering how our swim was going to go. But we persevered and soon found ourselves at the pool with the elderly swim aerobics class. They must have been very focused on their water fitness because few of them even looked twice at Jack, let alone waved or smiled. Didn’t they see how cute he was in his little swim trunks?

Jack had fun splashing around but we only lasted about twenty minutes before realizing Jack really needed a nap. I wrapped a towel around him and tried to balance him on a chair while wrapping a towel around me and then decided I would just drip dry because I didn’t want to drop Jack on the floor. Especially while people were watching.

Back at our room I realized I should have turned the heat up before we left for the pool. I laid Jack on a towel on the floor, took his swim trunks and diaper off quickly so I could put him in warm clothes and get him in bed. It sounds so easy when you write it down. After Jack rolled over in this process several times, I basically sat on him to try to keep him still. Even that didn’t work. The boy is very strong.

Finally his wet clothes and diaper are off. But before I can get a new diaper on him, he rolls over twice, gets up on his hands and knees, and pees. Like a dog (except he didn’t lift his leg). It happened so fast there was no stopping it. No attempt was made at catching the pee.

I managed to get a diaper and clothes on Jack and put him in bed. When telling our adventure to Jeff he said “That’s why I wear socks!” Maybe wearing socks in hotel rooms is a smart idea…

Jeff crawling through mud under barbed wire at the Tough Mudder last summer

I told Jeff I was blogging about this and asked if it was ok. His response: “Yes because not wearing socks in a hotel room is gross!” This coming from the same man who runs obstacle courses covered in mud while its freezing outside.