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5.26.2010

Good News! I Wasn't Killed in my Sleep Last Night!

This is the text I sent my husband this morning. He was out of town for a few days and we had had an"incident" the night before.

I don't know about you, but I'm always uneasy sleeping in my house overnight without The Big Guy. I complain about snoring but truth be told, it makes me feel safe to know that my husband will jump up at the slightest noise as soon as I pound him awake, to save us. Now usually he's saving us from a balloon that floated past the security sensor or a chipmunk in the attic, but still...

So, last night we all scrambled upstairs at 9 pm (we all get spooked when daddy's gone) and set the alarm. The kids went to sleep and I retired to my new redecorated bedroom to watch TV and play Scrabble on Nintendo Ds (hey, don't judge, it's my only vice!). I got sleepy around 10:30 and drifted off to sleep....cue sleepy sounds...

All of a sudden I felt like the world was coming to an end as I realized the security alarm was going off! If you don't have a security alarm, the volume is comparable to an indoor McDonald's playland during a 5 year old's birthday party while the Blue Angels are doing flyover maneuvers. Loud and terrifying with flashing lights!

I leaped out of bed (if The Big Guy was home I would have waited quietly under the covers quivering in fear) to turn it off. I could hear a child whimpering in the bedroom and I knew I had to turn that alarm off!

Okay, here is when the shift happened; I'm usually terrified that there is an intruder in the house when the alarm goes off in the night, but this night I leaped straight into the face of danger for my kids. I didn't care WHAT was in that house I had to stop that noise! It was scaring my kids! I couldn't get my fingers to work! I was shaking, I was sweating, I punched the number again and again and the alarm wouldn't deactivate!

I was standing there punching the numbers with my back to the stairs the killer would climb to come KILL us and I couldn't get that damn alarm off! Must. Stop. Noise. Just as I begin to imagine my kids scarred for life from the sheer terror of this moment, the alarm turns off. One crying child barrels out of the room and the other two sleep on, peacefully. What the heck? I almost died out here and you're SLEEPING?

Turns out, the "killer" was a rubber band that was stuck in my "door mantle" that decided to become unstuck at 12:09 this night falling directly in front of the security sensor. (If you are wondering "How did a rubber band get into that garland?" Then you obviously don't have boys). See that little sensor there on the left?



That has to be a one in a million...I'm pretty lucky, huh?
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26 comments:

  1. Ok, little bit hilarious, but then again, it wasn't me! I am EXACTLY the same way when my hubby is gone!!!!

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  2. Hey, rubber bands can be deadly! ;-)

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  3. HAHAHAHAH! I love that story & can SOOO relate. Our smoke alarm goes off from time to time (something in the garage) and the ear piercing sound nearly gives me a heart attack. Do I think about smoke? fire? no. I just want to stop the SOUND! lol

    I also hate it when the hubs is out. my 17 yr old won't sleep with me anymore. It's sad when they treat you like a child. :)

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  4. I want to laugh but at the same time I know how you feel. I do not sleep well at all when my husband is out of town, I am listening to every noise and the house seems to make lots when his snoring is not covering them up.

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  5. awesome!
    i once had the smoke alarm batteries go out when my hubby was out of town.
    what i said under my breath while replacing them cannot be printed.

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  6. Oh my gosh! I'm glad it was just a rubber band. I suppose we should send $$ for therapy though. Huh?! ;) It is amazing what we will do when we have no choice. Believe me, I know. It sure doesn't make for fun though. Does it?

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  7. Too funny! Of course it was something like a rubber band! When faced with danger we do jump to protect our babies no matter what! What a good Mom, now go and take some Xanax!

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  8. Oh my gosh---I so feel the same way when Jim is on shift! It never fails that those are the only 24 hrs when police walk by our house with guns drawn or cruse slowly by like they're looking for someone! (and seriously, we live in a Tiny sleepy old town!). I'm impressed that you went to bed! I usually stay up until I can barely drag myself upstairs :)

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  9. Truly my heart was pounding reading this! I hate it when the hubby is gone and any odd noise? Sets me over the edge during the night!
    Good for you! And thank goodness you were saved from the rubberband intruder. They hurt. Especially in the hands of boys.;)(its darts at our house that would be in odd places, and foil balls, and... well yah.)

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  10. I love your heroism. My husband works at night...he is a police officer. So I am used to being at home at night with out him. I get paranoid and think of escape strategies...thankfully I have never I had to use them. One thing I would suggest for future nights when the hubs is gone. Sleep with your cell phone and car keys next to your bed. That way if you need to make a quick escape you have the tools you need. I am glad all turned out well and you didn't die in your sleep;)

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  11. You know the old saying "a fly on the wall" yeah...I would love to have been that fly and been treated to the show ;-)

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  12. I have one of those corner motion activators...we use it when we go out of town...the pets, you know!

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  13. I, too, have a HORRIBLE time sleeping when the hubs is out of town. I toss and turn all night long. I can't imagine being awoke by the screaming of an alarm... scary!

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  14. We don't have an alarm but once we had a scary incident. I woke up to evil-sounding man's laugh blarring through the baby monitor. Since my husband was the only man in the house and he was right beside me in the bed snoring, I thought some man was in my baby's room. My heart stopped beating, really a heart attack. I wake up hubby and we boldly investigated...The batteries were going out in this Elmo jack-in-the-box toy. Elmo sounded completely evil...e-vell.

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  15. the first year with the twins I was 5 nights a week alone with them. hubby was working nights and so I was laying awake feeling uneasy.
    between playing milk bar every 2-3 hours I was afraid of something happening and old me not able to safe both children, the dog and the cat.
    So I can understand and at the same time I can laugh about it.

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  16. Oh my heart would have pounded out of my chest!! kinda funny of all things a little rubber band set it off. Hopefully you all sleep well tonight.
    Mandee

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  17. That is a really sensitive security system! I think it's a good thing. :) Glad you are okay and not a victim of a home invasion or something....

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  18. I know you were scared to death but that story is hilarious. Where are they when you need them?
    Hope that doesn't happen to you again.

    Ginger

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  19. HA! Funny now but I bet that was pretty scary! I hate sleeping alone without hubby too. It's just the sense of security we get with them. Thanks for the laughs

    Dorcas

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  20. I must say when my husband is gone thing like this always happen to. It funny now but I know that night you were crazy scared...

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  21. Well, GLAD it was only a RUBBER BAND! Must tell you that our alarm is hooked into our local POLICE....they usually arrive within a few minutes....not sure how I would tell them is was a rubber band!

    Glad you are OK!!!!

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  22. OMGosh... could totally relate to everything in here.....

    So sorry.... so glad you lived. I'm totally giggling cuz seriously... I thought crap like that only happened at our house!

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  23. That's crazy! I hate when David is gone...I pretty much leave the tv and half the lights on in the house...and most of the time I convince Lil D to sleep in my bed so he is right next to me...I get crazy freaked out.

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  24. So glad you survived!! :) My husband is the same way - he even has a 'weapon' at the ready near the bed wherever we sleep - either a tool of some sort - hammer or some other heavy duty item like a bat or maglight Isn't it crazy that kids can sleep through that? I've heard of studies that they sleep through fire larms too - now there are alarms being marketed that project a parents recorded voice which their more likely to be woken from.

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  25. You are so funny! I must be on the opposite end of the spectrum. The alarm people are making easy money here...we never turn it on! (SHhhhh).

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  26. That is why I don't set my alarm at night when I'm alone. Because I guess I'd rather be killed in my sleep than wake up to the terror of an alarm going off and I'm all alone!

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