What I Woke Up To This Morning, Part 2--It Got Worse

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

The dog was sleeping in our room, and he started barking to be let out. So, I let him out of the room. I lay back down in bed, and dozed for a few minutes. I heard the kids thumping a bit, so I nudged my husband to have him check on them. He got up, and discovered that they’d made a bit of another mess. Not a bad one this time, really. Just dry cat food, Cheerios, and some cans. No biggie, really.

Then I heard him utter words that will echo in my head for the rest of my natural life–“Honey, get up–I can’t find the kids.”

I flew out of bed, and I saw my husband going down into the basement. They’re not there. I checked their rooms again, and the bathroom. Not there. This is a very small house, so it only took a couple of seconds to determine that they were not inside the house.

I raced to the front door, threw it open, and saw them. Outside. My son in his jammies, my daughter in her jammies, coat, and shoes. Outside. In the snow. My son was sitting in the street, a few inches from the curb. My daughter was standing on the curb, making a snowball. I shrieked for my husband, and raced outside. Then I saw my neighbor from 2 doors down racing toward my son. He scooped him up just as I was getting there. I thanked him profusely, and took both kids back into the house.

My son was crying pretty hard–he was cold. I handed him off to my husband, and started for the bedroom to get his blanket. I didn’t quite make it. I sat down on a chair and started to cry. Hard. I have never been that terrified. My daughter asked why I was crying, and I couldn’t even talk. My husband explained it to her.

The kids are fine. My neighbor came back by a few minutes later, just to make sure that everything was okay. I told him everything was okay, and I was in far worse shape than they were. I thanked him profusely again.

As I shut the door, something hit me–I had gone outside to get the kids, and just had this conversation with my neighbor, wearing nothing but a tshirt and socks. I looked at my feet, and THAT was when they finally started to feel cold.

I guess that’s what that adrenaline thing is all about, eh?

2

{{{Persephone}}}

I’m glad things worked out for the best. Funny how you don’t notice things like freezing feet until everything is over! :slight_smile: I lost my nephew once when I was babysitting him, and I know THAT was the scariest thing in the world for me. (Especially the thought of trying to tell my brother I lost his 2 year old son. shudder Luckily, he’d just walked out in the garage, where I thought my 10 year old niece had been!) Just get those kids (and yourself) warm, and try to have a leisurely Sunday morning!

3

Oh god hon. That must have been terrifying. My heart stopped just reading it.

{{{{{Persephone}}}}

I remember once when I was about four, getting up during the night and not being to find them wandered outside (3am) and looked up and down the streets, walking four blocks to their friends house to see if they were there. Came accross Mum and Dad frantically looking for me on my way back. I still swear they weren’t there… pout

Not the same I know hon but thought i’d share from the other perspective.

4

baBump!!baBump!!baBumpbaBumpbabumpbabumpbabump…
[sub]…okay, I think my heart’s back to normal now…[/sub]

Glad everything’s okay.

5

I did something much worse when I was little.

When I was just able to walk I locked my mom into a room and went outside, while my mom was trapped.
She almost had a heartattack when she heared the front door slam and me laughing outside. I remember that I thought it was hilarious. I guess I let her out lateron… I think she promised chocolat… that always worked.
She had a hard time with me from the moment on I was able to walk cause she is paralized on one leg and I was faster than her. Poor mom. Must have been so scared.

dodgy

6

Persephone-

Honey! How terrifying!

I am so glad that everything worked out so well…it is amazing the things that kids think would be a good idea.

Try to have a more relaxing rest of the day!

((((((((Cristi))))))))

Much Love,

Cheri

7

I would say that rates as a really crappy way to get up on a Sunday Morning. At least all mine do is get in your face and smile.

8

How horrifying! Glad to hear all is well. The strange thing is, I’m really looking forward to having kids, cold feet and all! :slight_smile:

9

When she was 2, my daughter pulled a Houdini, also. I turned my back for 30 seconds, while my wife was in the laundry room. She unlocked the front door, and when we found her, she was a quarter-mile away, headed for the playground. Fast.

More grey hair.

I feel your terror, Persephone, but be cool - This is just the first big scare, and you seem to have handled it with grace. Consider it training for when they get their licenses. :wink:

10

The funny part is, just a couple of weeks ago, I was saying how glad I was that my daughter didn’t do this kind of thing. Guess I’ll stop saying that sort of thing from now on.

We’re going to get gates today. We were going to get them a couple of weeks ago, after the What I Woke Up To This Morning, Part 1, but finances didn’t allow for it. The money is still tight, but after this morning, the finances just don’t NOT allow for it. I’ll have to scrimp somewhere else. Probably get some eyehooks for the front door, too. Put those puppies WAAAAAAAY up high. I don’t care if I myself have to stand on a chair to reach them–as long as the kids can’t reach them until they need to because they’ve graduated and they’re moving out.

flyboy: Yes, having kids is terrifying. But it is supremely rewarding, too. For instance, just yesterday, my daughter (who is four), was an absolute angel. She cleaned the computer table by herself. Wiped it all off with baby wipes and everything. I praised her mightily, rewarded her with a peanut butter cup, and called my husband. He brought her home a little slide whistle, which she ended up sleeping with.

I think being such a good kid yesterday wore her out. :smiley:

11

My older brother was bad kid. Very hyper and he just would not obey anything. He would not stay in his crib once he could walk. So, for a while, my mom actually tied him to the bed whne she put him down. This actually worked for a week or so until he started figuring out how to undo the knots. One night my mom heard a pathetic little ‘help, help’ from our room and she came and found my brother hanging from one ankle over the side of the crib. (she only tied his feet) When she put him back down he pleaded [cute child voice]‘Please don’t tie me down any more mom’[/cute child voice]. “Well don’t get out of you bed any more.” ‘OK’ he agreed and he didn’t leave his crib to go outside or try to drive the car in the middle of the night after that ever again.

Of course he then turned his attention to me.

12

Persephone, I wasn’t trying to sound glib in my post, but I guess it came across that way anyhow. I am totally serious about wanting to have kids! What struck me in what you wrote was not the pain-in-the-ass aspect of childrearing, but the instant protectiveness of your children, the immediate sense of priority you must have felt jumping out of bed, and the (I assume) unspoken single-mindedness and team effort (for lack of a better term) with your SO in finding your kids… to me the whole thing sounds like more of a bonding thing than anything else. That’s what I’m looking forward to. Really. :smiley:

13

Oh Persephone! Are my kids secretly conspiring with your kids?

When the oldest BoyBun was 2 we lived in our own apartment, just the two of us. One night about four in the morning I woke up because someone was knocking at my bedroom window. “Yikes!”, I thought, what kind of sicko is outside my window?!

Upon yanking the miniblind cord, fully prepared to have to open up a can o’ Bunny whoop ass on someone, I discovered it was my Boybun, in his diaper, knocking to be let back in.

He’d unlocked the window, opened it and crawled out. But he couldn’t seem to get the window back up in order to come inside again. I have no idea how long he’d been out there.

This is why mothers get grey hair!

I’m glad your little ones are ok. {{Persephone}}

14

Ok…ThreeBunnyMom, Persephone and I must share kids…or at least their souls.

My second oldest son was completely wild as a little child. (He’s 14 and a complete couch potato now.) One day I had left my oldest boy in charge of him while I went next door to see my neighbor about something (probably borrow an onion, a thing I did on a regular basis)and when I came back: NO KIDS. I was only gone about 5 minutes. I called for Ben, the oldest, who was about 11 at the time. No answer. My heart began racing at Talladega clocked speed. I continued yelling for both of them, looking in every room, under beds, in closets, everywhere. I ran outside to hop in the car and burn the roads up to see where they’d gotten to and as I hit the porch I heard giggling. No kids in the shrubs, or under the house.

I finally heard a “Hey MOM!” and looked up. There both of them sat on top of the house. Our old house was really tall, too. I started raising six shades of holy Hell with Ben who said informed me he FOUND his little brother up there and had to come get him. Troy was laughing his head off and kept punching Ben to make him let go.

At this point, the world started spinning…

They both came down after they saw their mother was quickly turning into a basket case and I lectured Troy about the dangers of high places and all that stuff for about 30 minutes. Then his father came home and…well, we won’t even talk about that.

It didn’t really help though. From that point on, he always sneaked off to the roof when he wanted to be alone. I got kind of used to it. It only bothered me when he moved the trampoline under that area of the roof and started coming down from the roof that way.

But you can get used to anything, I reckon.

Glad your kidlets are ok…I DO understand your feelings. And even though I have been there, done that, and written the screenplay, I still have two little ones at home (as well as DemonTroy) and I am sure my days with these kinds of nightmares are far from over.

15

flyboy: Glib? I didn’t sense that at all. That’s why I told the story of how good my daughter was yesterday. To let you know that there are indeed high points to parenting. I didn’t want you to think that it’s all terrifying! Just mostly. :smiley:

Silky: I fully expect to find my children on the roof someday. I would not be surprised at all. Terrified and freaked like you were, yes, but not surprised. And at the rate they’re going, I expect it sometime this week. :eek:

[sub]Good Goddess, he used a trampoline to get down?[/sub]

16

Glad it didn’t end sadly, Persephone. And I’m glad you’re going to do something to help forestall any future forays such as this. I was going to recommend that you get a chain lock for all your outside doors and put them high up.

You may also want to change the locks to something a little more difficult for toddler fingers to manipulate. Or maybe even an alarm (expensive, I know, but I speak from experience when I say they really give you peace of mind). Remember, sometimes home security means more than just keeping the undesirable elements out. It can mean keeping loved ones secure inside.

Take care, sweetie. It won’t be like this forever. Someday you’ll look back on it and laugh.

17

O man, Perse, honey, I’m glad you’re all OK. What a terror!

18

Losing my son when he was little was probably my worst nightmare. The little bugger would never stay put very long. Half my photos of him show him from behind as he heads for parts unknown.

I’m so glad your kids are OK.

Geez. Scary.