The one with the lost ring...

Thursday night we had parmesan chicken. I have a great recipe which involves smearing the chicken with a mayo and parmesan cheese mixture. Claire was standing in her chair next to the counter with me, and when I was ready to begin the smearing, I took off my wedding rings and put them on the counter.

Once I was done with the chicken, I washed my hands, put the chicken in the oven, and started to unload the dishwasher. Claire was still at the counter, and I asked her to come down and help me with the silverware. As she was walking to the dishwasher, I heard her say, "I have a ring!" (She had been chattering the whole time I breaded the chicken but sometimes I tune her out so maybe she was talking about the ring before...but I didn't catch it.) I looked down and saw she had my wedding band on her finger! I quickly grabbed it away and looked for my engagement ring. She didn't have it, it wasn't on the counter, and all she would tell me is, "I dropped it." Oh. My. Goodness.

I went into panic mode and looked all over the floor around her chair at the counter. I glanced in the garbage can under the counter (which has a lid!), in the open craft bin somewhat close to her chair, in the mess of play food in the floor by her kitchen a few feet away. I didn't see the ring anywhere!

I got more intentional about my search, patting her down to see if it was in her clothes. Then I sent Claire to her room so I could concentrate on the search and try not to panic in front of her! I was on my belly on the floor with the flashlight looking under the refrigerator! Whew, what a mess was under there! I searched in the craft bin, in the junk cluttering the counter, in the dishwasher, in the play food. Nowhere!

Chris got home and I was a frenzied mess. I managed to get the green beans and noodles cooking, then Chris and I tackled the garbage. I got a clean bag and we removed items from the trash one by one, inspecting them for the glint of my missing diamonds! It was a nasty job, as there was some really gross stuff in the trash, but I knew it had to be done!

After we thoroughly washed our hands, Chris continued the search in places I had already looked, and I got dinner on the table, despite my shaking hands. I picked at my food, and once we called dinner done, Chris pulled out the refrigerator. I cleaned the floor underneath (another nasty job!) and the grate on the front. We found some missing toys and magnets, but no ring. As Chris cleared dinner from the table, I swept the dining room, hoping I would somehow sweep up my ring. No such luck. I cried and cried.

After dinner Chris played with the kids while I continued searching and cleaning, and crying. I went through the trash...again! I kept thinking, "Why didn't I put my rings in the container on the window sill like I always do? We'll never be able to afford a ring like that again, not to mention the sentimental value of the ring I've worn for nearly 8 years now." Sob sob sob...

Chris had the idea to ask the neighbor for a metal detector. We feared maybe Claire had swallowed the ring. She normally doesn't put stuff in her mouth, but a couple of days before Chris caught her with a (closed!) safety pin in her mouth. We didn't really think she could have swallowed the ring, but since it was nowhere to be found, we thought it was a possibility. The neighbor's friend down the street had a metal detector, and we brought it to the house to run over Claire. She thought it was quite hilarious, as did Aaron. We had to hold her off the floor, because apparently there is metal in the floor of our house that kept registering. The metal detector didn't beep at all over her whole body, so we gave the metal detector back and sent the kids to bed.

I went back to the kitchen, laid on my belly, searching all over. I decided to search the corners of the room again, and there, behind the china cabinet, clear across the room from the counter Claire had been at, my ring lay there on the floor. How it got that far across the room is anyone's guess, but I was beyond relieved to have found it. I bounded out the door to the neighbor's driveway, where they were still congregated outside working on a car, and showed them my sparkly, newly-found ring!

What a happy ending to a crazy night! These rings are not leaving my finger again for a very, very long time!!