I lost it...

"I lost it"


You will not believe how many times I have heard that from my sweet middle son.  He loses his pencils, he loses his lunch, he forgets his back pack, or forgets to change out of his indoor shoes to his winter boots...he just forgets and loses things.

Last Monday, he came home from school saying that he'd lost his snow pants.  I didn't freak out or anything, because every once and a while it happens...mittens, snow pants (which all look the same) will accidentally make it home to someone else's house, only to be returned the next day.  So I didn't really think much of it.

By Wednesday, they hadn't been found.  I was irritated, but know that the end of winter is near (and I also have his old pair here)...he was going to need a new set for next winter anyhow...so didn't really take it any further.

On Friday he comes home and there's the normal chaos and craziness that happens when the kids arrive - this day, it's amplified because "Uncle" was here.  We play, we eat dinner and then we need to take Uncle back home.  Isaac gets ready and he's wearing a winter vest with a hoodie under it.  He NEVER does this.

"Where's your jacket?"
He puts on his most winning grin, "Uh....I...uh....lost it?"
"What?  How did you lose your jacket??"
"I don't know, but I think it's on the hill at school."

I'm still at a loss as to how you lose your jacket in the dead of winter, but I digress.  We delay the trip to Uncle's place and drive the route the kids take to/from school.  We stop at the school (at the hill) we look in alley ways, we look on the road.  There is no sign of his jacket.

Yay.

All weekend, the weather has been great, so the missing jacket wasn't that big of a deal.  Yesterday, his job was to go to the school to search the lost and found for it (and hopefully the matching snow pants too!) -- It wasn't in the lost and found box.

Oy.

This morning I wake up and the weather is -10*C (that's 14*F for my American friends) and the forecast was that it was to get steadily colder all day long.  A vest over a hoodie will not do.

So, it's 8am, I'm scrambling up and down stairs looking in bins and boxes and hoping and praying that I can find a jacket.  Every year, I donate their old winter gear -- but I didn't remember doing it this year....the old jacket is nowhere to be found.  I have toddler whining because his Frosted Flakes are soggy, I have daughter whining because she doesn't know what to wear...and Isaac is trying to convince me that the vest will be okay.

I find an old jacket of mine.  He looks like he's playing dress-up.  He starts crying because he doesn't want to wear an "old lady" coat.  A light bulb goes off and I call my friend/daycare mom -- she's got a son the same age as Isaac.  I managed to catch her before she left and she shows up with 2 jackets.  Yay!

I forgot that her son is tiny!  The sleeves are short, the waist is short - but alas, it's a jacket.  Then he goes to put on his snow pants....and I do a double take, "Those aren't your snow pants!  Who's are they??"

He's got someone's size 12 snow pants.  He wears a size 8.  He's swimming in them!  I tell him to make sure they get back to the rightful owner and send him off -- my son -- pants 4 sizes too big, and a jacket 2 sizes too small.

We have another 1 1/2 hours until they come home.  What do you think are the chances that he'll come home with his own jacket??