I lost an appendage

I lost an appendage today. The cool weather has caused some chaos in my home as the boys (Doug and Nix) like to run wild outside while I have my morning coffee. I took my last sip, called the boys inside and snuggled with Bam, my youngest son, to wake him. My oldest gathered his things and we headed out the door to drop him off at school. I got back to the house, opened the garage door, and low and behold the boys are sitting IN the garage. How the hell did they open the door to get in there?

I shooed them back inside and proceeded to get dressed for work. Out of habit I leave my bedroom slider door open so the boys can do their morning business while I'm getting ready. Only this morning they decided to take off out of the back yard. There's a whole big enough on one side of the fence that they apparently squeezed through to escape. I had Bam inside and couldn't just take off on a chase so I yelled for them. Nothing. I yelled again threatening to leave the TV on day time soaps. Still nothing.

Damn dogs. I finished getting dressed, loaded the Jeep with Bam and all his goodies, and took a drive around the neighborhood to see if I could find them. Nothing. Cursing them under my breath and praying they were okay, I went by the house to see if they came back. Opening the garage I saw them sitting there, tongues hanging out, tails wagging--well, Nixon's tail at least. How the hell did they get back in?! Whatever, they were home and I had half a mind to lock them both in the pokey. That's the cage we had for Doug as a pup when he would try to eat his way out of the house. Now they use it as a safe haven from me when they do things like this morning.

Securing the two heathens inside-no, I didn't lock them up-I headed back out to get my day started. I dropped Bam off at his grandma's, stopped for gas, and reached for my cell phone to check messages. No phone. My hand searched every nook and cranny of my purse, Jeep, and pockets. No phone. I was already 7 minutes late and didn't have a valid excuse to run back home to get it. As soon as I reached my office, I called to check my messages, logged on to VZ to see if I had any texts, and called my husband to let him know I was without my convenient connection to life today. It's sad how easily I have become attached to such a small piece of technology. My hand is twitching and I keep looking in my purse thinking it's there, but other than that I'm coping.