"Where's Milton?" The Mateo asked me this morning as we lay in bed trying to sleep despite three children pounding our backs, tickling our feet and asking for breakfast.

"What do you mean, 'where's Milton'?" I asked.

Everyday The Mateo asks me where his wallet, his cell phone and his keys are. He asks for the phone number of his best friend.  I remind him of birthdays, anniversaries, appointments.

He seriously needs like a little alarm clock strapped to his body with flashing lights and a news ticker: Go to the dentist, NOW!

Because after this morning, I am so done being his brain.

Milton, it turns out, was left outside yesterday evening around 5pm when everyone finished riding bikes. The Mateo & James sat down to play a computer game. Jude & Jewel went to watch a video. I was in bed having succombed to pregnancy exhaustion.

Milton, the poor little guy, sat leashed in the front yard for hours. Everyone assumed everyone else had taken him in, that he was asleep somewhere in the house.

This morning when I dashed out to the front yard, there was his leash, still attached to a pole. But no Milton!

I burst into tears.

We immediately got into our cars and began searching the neighborhood, the nearby streets, left notice at the nearby Starbucks, phoned the pound. I couldn't imagine my poor little Miltonovich hoveling in a bush somewhere at 2am!!!

And then, brokenhearted, we returned home to find Milton in the kitchen!

Baffled, I went into the front gate to see if there was any way he could have jumped over it. My neighbor flagged me down. She had taken him off the leash and kept him with her all night. She had tried bringing him over twice but we didn't hear her at the door because our doorbell is broken!

Needless to say, we were all immensely relieved. I owe my neighbor a big THANK YOU gift.

What do you think...flowers or homemade chocolate chip cookies?