So, the keys? The day after I had my car towed in to get my key programmed, Emma and my mom were going to cook some lasagna together. Emma has an apron that she wears when we're here, and the last time she had worn it was a few days earlier when they baked brownies together. My mom got the apron out of her closet and as she was tying it around Emma's neck, Emma reached into the pocket and pulled out my keys! My mom asked her how they got there, and she said matter-of-factly, "I just put them in there with my hand!"

Then, shortly after that, I was taking Noah to Target to pick up some stuff and I stopped to get gas on the way. I got out, just like I always do, and swiped my card then once the gas was pumping, I went to open my door and put my card back in my purse. The door was locked. All the doors were locked and I swear I didn't lock the car before I got out. My cell phone was also locked inside, so I ran inside QT to call the police, feeling very thankful that Noah was asleep and blissfully unaware that he was locked inside all alone. I called the police dept. and told them, then was transferred to the fire dept., so I relayed the story to them as well. I ran back outside to discover that poor sweet Noah had woken up and was screaming as if his little heart was breaking. It was awful. It really tears me up when babies cry, and he was right there, but I couldn't reach him and I felt so helpless. I stood there and cried while I waited for what seemed like forever (but was probably really only about three minutes) for help to arrive. The firetruck got there first and they opened the door in about two seconds. One of the firefighters commented on how red Noah was and suggested we call an ambulance to have him checked. I said I didn't think that was necessary, and he calmed down as soon as I picked him up. The cop who showed up also suggested an ambulance, but Noah seemed relaxed and was happily nursing so I said no. Like I wanted to make that ordeal any more stressful - no thanks.

That afternoon I was supposed to drive the kids and my brother down to Rolla to visit my aunt. Given the bad luck that was following me around, I was a little nervous about it. Thankfully, we went and made it back the next day all in one piece. I did actually hit a bird on the way home, which was sad, but more his bad luck than mine.

Oh, and since the locked car incident, I've had two people tell me that sometimes their cars lock on their own out of nowhere. That makes me feel a little bit better about the whole thing, and from now on I will never get out of my car without my keys!