Mother of the Year

The following events actually transpired:

Saturday was an exhausting day...As you remember, it started with the scout camp out. Randy didn't sleep much and he and Casey had quite the work-out hauling their gear on their backs through the snow.

They got back around noon and Randy got a call to help a lady around the corner with a leaky roof. Tyler had a birthday party at 3:45 (20 minutes away) and I still needed to buy the gift. I had a baby shower as well....at 3:00. I left for the store around 2:00 while Randy still worked on the neighbor's roof. I arrived home with the gift just in time for Randy to take Tyler to his party. Then I left for my shower with Hailey and Casey in charge at home.

When Randy returned, he went back over to the lady's house and finished what he was doing. He came home, took a shower, and left AGAIN to pick up Tyler. I came home around 5:45 and fed the kids so Randy and I could go on a date...tired, but a much needed date, nonetheless. Hailey headed to a Wii tournament at a friend's house and Randy brought Tyler home.

We loaded up the kids and headed straight to my sister's house so she could babysit. Randy and I had a nice time at dinner and we did a little shopping and looking for DVD players for our car. Around 10:15 PM, we arrived back at my sister's to pick up the kids. It took some effort to get them rounded up and in the car.

On the way home, we stopped by the grocery store so I could run in for a few things. We picked up Hailey from her friend's house and were finally on our way home. At this point, I'm not sure which of the kids are awake or asleep. I just know that we are all tired and happy to be headed home....

When we pull into the garage, Randy gets Emma and I unload the groceries. The kids pile out of the car and walk like zombies into the house. I put away groceries, and change Emma and put her down. Randy crashed on the bed fully dressed while I wrestled Nathan and put him in bed- kicking and screaming (how is it that he could be so tired and fight sleep that hard?) After the late-night workout, I went straight to bed as well- not even bothering to check on any of the other kids....see where the 'Mother of the Year' is coming into play?

Around 3:30 AM I hear a knock on the door- that in itself is unusual- I NEVER hear ANYTHING while I sleep...screaming kids, hungry babies, you name it, I sleep through it! I was a little freaked out thinking it is somebody with ill intentions. Or maybe it is just a prank, but I get up anyway. From just outside my bedroom door, I can see through the little window on the door. I see two heads in the dark and they do not belong to tall people; I am not sure what to do. I don't see any cars around. There is more knocking- this time much more persistent. Randy wakes up and asks if that was a knock. I tell him there are two kids on the porch and he tells me to wait there. He turns on a couple lights and opens the door.

There, standing on my front porch at 3:30 AM are two of my own children. Casey and Tyler. It is very surreal and I am really confused..."Huh? What are you guys doing outside? Why did you guys go outside in the middle of the night?"

Half asleep, they replied, "We were asleep in the car...and we just woke up. The garage was locked and we didn't know what to do, so we came to the front door."

How could I not know two of my kids were asleep in the car?! We apologized, they accepted, and headed downstairs to bed. Randy and I returned to our bed and busted up laughing. We will never live it down, I'm sure. They will probably need therapy for it. Their own parents forgot about them, and left them in the car in freezing temperatures.

"Mother of the Year"- for sure!