"Mommy, I gotta go potty!"

So, a friend of mine shared this hilarious tale about her 5-year-old daughter who has a knack for marking her territory at every single restaurant they visit. And we're not talking a simple pit stop—nope, it's always a #2 situation. The last time, the food had just hit the table when her daughter made the grand announcement. I chuckled at the tale, but oh boy, I've been in those sigh-inducing scenarios myself whenever the kiddos are in tow.

Ah, parenthood—a rollercoaster of highs and lows. But nothing quite makes a mom's heart skip a beat like being in public by yourself with your kids and hearing, "Mommy, I gotta go potty!"

Over the years, I've mastered the art of the preemptive strike, asking my now 5-year-old to hit the bathroom before we leave home, and again upon arrival at the restaurant. (Spoiler alert: My friend did ask her daughter to go before they left their house!)

When the food's there and you're ready to chow down, the last thing you want is a bathroom break announcement. Cue the frantic waving at the restaurant staff to say, "Hold the fort! We'll be back!" Meanwhile, I'm paranoid someone will tamper with my food while I'm gone—it's a conspiracy, I tell you! So, my meal is already ruined before we even leave the table.

Handling one kid is doable, but throw in a toddler, and it's a germophobic nightmare. My little guy is like a tiny explorer. If you hear a woman in the bathroom stalls beginning to raise her voice with phrases like, "Don't touch that!", "Get your hands off the floor!", and "Can you stand still for 10 seconds?!"—yep, that's a mom wrangling her kiddos.

Heaven help us if that family stall is occupied when we charge into the bathroom too. Because there's NO WAY all three of us are squeezing into a tiny stall. It's one of those dreaded scenarios, hoping my girl can hold it and I'm not about to have another situation on my hands (she likes to wait until the last second when she's on the verge of exploding to tell me these things).

And since I'm not winning any culinary awards, we hit up restaurants 2-3 times a week and my husband cannot always go with us. Most times, we breeze through meals, but when there's a full moon, all bets are off.

And it's not like I can just send the 5-year-old into the public bathroom solo—she needs help getting on the throne, and I CANNOT handle the thought of her touching anything in there. I have to be there to put down the paper on the throne and then lift her on to it.

Have I mentioned my germophobia?!

So, it's a family affair whenever nature calls in public. As a parent, you gotta know two things when you enter a place—the location of the bathrooms and the exits. I always scope it out.

Last weekend, we were clothes shopping, and out of nowhere, my daughter declares the need for a bathroom break. I forgot this store has its bathroom at the front, and we were in the back. Cue the mad dash across the store.

And just when we were out in the store shopping again, my daughter announces she wasn't finished. So, back we hustled. Luckily, it was just us two. If the 1-year-old was along for the ride, it would have been a full-blown "I want to crawl out of my skin" moment. It's like he's never seen a floor before and must touch it every time we're in a public bathroom.

Also, have you ever watched a 5-year-old wash their hands? They turn on the faucet, soap up, rinse, and then touch that faucet again with clean hands to turn it off. At home, I can deal. In public? Paper towels, please! And if it's a hand dryer-only bathroom, elbows to the rescue!

Now, let's not even start on the baby changing table for the 1-year-old. A travel changing mat is a lifesaver. But, again, he wants to touch everything. We wash, sanitize, and I pretend we're not about to be overrun by a germ apocalypse.

If you're wondering, "Why does this lady take her kids out if she's so germophobic?" Fair question. My answer is simple: I survived the 80s and early 90s with those gas station cotton towel dispensers. If I made it through that, my kids will be fine. But I still worry!

So, for all you brave parents venturing out with young ones, be prepared and always know where the bathrooms are!

--Amber