At least it didn't end with a trip to the emergency room...oh wait

Monkey and I are dog sitting.
We've been here two weeks already and have one more week to go.
This weekend we have two dogs.
One of these dogs is my friend's and the other belongs to her parents. We're staying at her parents house which is "next door" to hers. Next door in the country here means a five minute walk through the woods or a quick drive up one driveway and down the one next door.
When we're all at my friends house these dogs go out for hours on end. Hours! You put them outside and hours later realize, maybe someone should go down and let them in.
While everyone's been gone these same dogs will stay outside for 10 min. MAX.
It's fine, it doesn't really matter to me, it's just that the short stints outside result in a lot of pacing on the part of one of the dogs.

Today after I put monkey down for her nap I put the dogs outside. An hour later I realized I didn't hear any scratching or barking to come back in. once I leaned outside I could hear the dogs barking in the distance but no amount of yelling would bring them home. This of course got me worried (because that's what mom's do, on a practically professional level, as far as I can tell.) worried, not only because as I've already mentioned we're out in the country (in country where you can hear the wolves every night) but also because I could hear the plows going by every time I stuck my head out the door to call for the ever barking mutts.
I really don't want to be that dog sitter where you come home and there is no dog...
Barking....that can mean trouble right?
Can't leave the sleeping child...even to run next door and see if that's where the dogs are....
Shouldn't leave the child right?
Dogs? Other peoples dogs....
The kid will be fine...leave the kid?
Can't leave the kid...dogs are fine! Dogs must be fine!

Finally the kid wakes up (still talking about exactly what she was talking about right before she went to sleep, how do they do that?). Immediately we put on coats and boots and head out to the car to go check next door for the dogs....
We jump in the car and...Nothing!  You heard it nothing....the car won't start. It's an old car and finally I did it. I turned the headlights on for the drive home from church in the snow storm and when we got home I forgot to turn them off. No problem! we're parked right outside the garage with two other cars inside...one of them must have jumper cables.
Hmmm....no jumper cables....This calls for a more thorough appraisal of the garage and perhaps a plan B or at this rate C.
Are those children's snow shoes? right on top of Adult snowshoes?  Perfect, we'll walk next door and retrieve the dogs....wait, two children's snow shoes, on top of One adult snow shoe. Who has three snowshoes and how could this get worse? Ohh....I should not have even thought that.
Okay, we can't drive, we can't walk (monkey will never make it in all this snow), what can I do...It would be so helpful if there were jumper cables somewhere in this garage, jumper cables like those ones (back up a few steps) there they are! inside that box....jumper cables.

So...just a little recap here, I've got:
*One monkey screaming in the back of my car...the car that won't start
*Two missing dogs....but at least I can hear them barking (a positive I think...)
*Three snowshoes (I'm still a bit baffled by this one...three?? snowshoes?)
*Jumper cables and two cars...so things are looking up!

Ever since this one time in college when a friend used my car and my jumper cables to jump a strangers car I'm a bit of a nervous jumper. See the result in that incident was that the strangers car started but mine then would not. Something about reversed cables and...something...and a hundred or so dollars and an unexpected tow truck ride later we finally left New Hampshire...anyway I always just get a little nervous.
So I did the logical thing and called my dad....just to clarify that I was going to do it the right way.
Where did my dad answer from you might ask? Well you would if you were psychic and had any idea that my dad answered from the emergency room!

Yes the emergency room (could this afternoon get any better). He's been sick with a bronchial problem that's not getting better and a 2 1/2 hour wait at urgent care yesterday wasn't enough for him it turns out. Anyway as a daughter who always puts others first I viewed this call as a great distraction from the no doubt torturous wait my dad was enduring and went ahead and asked my jumper cable question.
In the middle of our conversation I dropped my phone in the snow and it then decided on it's own that I wanted to be talking to my dad on a head set. (God bless technology). quick end to that conversation.
And in the middle of all of this, two rambunctious dogs came racing up to the house...
"whatcha' doin? whatcha' doin? are we getting in the car? are we going somewhere?"
I was too excited they were back to even be annoyed at their stupid questions!

So one last recap, I've now got:
*A child screaming because she wants out of the car
*Two dogs racing about being all excited that we're going on an adventure
*Still got those three? snow shoes!
*A car that won't start...but also jumper cables and another car to start it with
*A father in the emergency room

When is my nap time?