2 Extra Cranky Kids...TO GO, Please !!

Why haven't there been any advances in technology to decipher a baby’s cry? It’s all a guessing game even when it’s baby #2. Up until yesterday, I used to tell people that my baby is not fussy at all as long as he is fed and changed but that all changed overnight (literally !). He had been cranky since yesterday afternoon and I thought surely he would sleep through the night because he didn’t sleep much during the day. How could I have been ever SO wrong ?!? Wouldn’t it be just nice for babies to lay around and just let us know ever so gently that they are hungry or their diaper needs changing? But of course NOT ! That would just make this mom a little sane, wouldn’t it? And that can’t be !

It was raining in the night and my toddler got scared and he walked into my room carrying ALL of his stuffed animals at 3 AM. I don’t know how he opened the doors carrying all these toys. So, there I am lying in bed and trying not to fall out of bed with a toddler, infant and 4 stuffed animals (An octopus, a frog, a penguin and a car) – and I don’t have a king size bed either (I really wished I had one though).




So, I’m “trying” to sleep and WHAM ! I just got kicked in my tummy by my infant and I see that he is lying perpendicular to the bed. So, I slide him back in position and close my eyes again. Not too long after I hear the little one crying and what do I see? My toddler is now perpendicular to the bed and is comfortably using my infant as an ottoman !! AGAIN, I try to sleep after repositioning the kids. But of course that didn’t last long. I hear a whiny ‘mama’ call from my toddler for some water – at first I thought I was dreaming, but then I realized that in order to dream, you actually have to sleep :-\

Hiss....hiss....my snake encounter!

Though it was a bit hot, what a beautiful today was. The kids and I were at the library for a children’s program and when we got back……THERE IT WAS……. slither……slither….hiss…hiss…. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't think, I couldn't believe my eyes! There were two black snakes charging toward my car door at the same time as I opened it to get out. My OH My!!! I freaked out! I froze for one whole millisecond. I knew that I had to do something quick because my two precious little ones were in the back seat. I closed the door as fast as I could and locked it (as if the snake would climb up my car door and open it) but I felt safe knowing that the door was locked. I sat in the car on our driveway and watched the two snakes. I was, to say the least, petrified. Then, one of the snakes moved and I jumped in my car but tried not to scream so that my toddler won’t get scared. I covered my mouth and let out a big whisper scream. I, then, called my dear husband – oh wait! He is 700 miles away – but still I called him (he IS a talented guy BUT could he scare away the snake over the phone? That’s the million dollar question!). As I talked to him, I got the courage to start the car (ya I know, I’m a wussy). Do these snakes think that they scare me and I’m too afraid to walk that LONG walk to the front door? YEP and I slowly backed out of my driveway.

So, now I’m parked on the street and have kept my eyes on the one snake who has decided to take a nap on MY driveway. I wanted to cry and scream and say WHY ME??? Why does a person who is scared of spiders have to face two very long black snakes inches away? Am I a walking Murphy’s Law? And how do I break that… do I keep walking and if so, for how long? I was only half thinking and that’s not a good thing when you are driving. Thank goodness I live in a ‘quiet and safe’ neighborhood. I was scrambling to figure out what to do and I thought this is an emergency (at least for me, it was) and called 9-1-1. The dispatcher ‘tried’ to calm me and told me that the snake must have been out since it’s a hot day and that it will just go on its way.

How long must I wait for his highness to wake up from his nap? Then, I see it slithering away towards my backyard (I think!). I took my eyes off the snake for a second to attend to my baby and then it was GONE! Though I was ecstatic to see it gone, now my worry was, could it be somewhere in my front yard. So, I decided to call one of my neighbors and have him come out and do an inspection before I walked that ever so long walk to the front door. It seems like I spend an eternity in the car but it was only for 10 or 15 minutes.

Will I ever feel 'safe' again in this neighborhood? Will I let my son out to play in the yard? Will I rush and put the house up for sale before my husband gets back in town? Ha ha ! Okay, so I won’t do any of that but I have put myself under house arrest for today and will be a little cautious when we are outside. What an adventure today was for this supermom !