If I drank, this is one of the mornings where I'd pour myself a stiff one

It started out as one of those days when I felt like Supermom. It's Jude's first day at Yahoo! and I had grand plans for how Sophie and I were going to spend the day while Daddy's at work- I bought some organic blueberries and made whole wheat toast for breakfast; we had a playdate at a nearby park with the Santa Clara mommy group for after her morning nap; and later in the afternoon, I thought it'll be nice to check out the Sunnyvale Public Library that's supposed to have a really good children's section.

Well so much for Supermom- lo and behold, after chomping down 3 blueberries, Sophie started scratching the back of her neck and before I knew it, she was breaking out in hives again! I had looked up blueberries last night to see if it was an allergenic food and apparently, it isn't because it's technically not a real berry like raspberries or strawberries but more like cranberries and grapes. Well, whatever kind of berry it is, it's the kind Sophie's allergic to. I swipe her out of her high chair and run to see if we had any Benadryl with us but between the whole massive recall situation and us moving, we didn't. *drats* And so I bundled her into the car and drove to the nearest Walgreens to get a bottle. Sophie was fine through it all- jabbering and singing away as always and not really showing any other symptoms except the hives and scratching. So there I was, driving into the Walgreens plaza, feeling like a bad enough Mom already, when as I took Sophie out of the car seat and locked all the doors (our rental car does not have automatic doors), what do I do to make an already dramatic morning even more epically tragic? Lock my keys inside of course. After I had dutifully checked that I locked all the doors before walking away. So there I am, carrying my hivey daughter who's still in her PJs, wallet and cellphone in hand (thank god!), standing in the middle of Santa Clara, thousands of miles away from home and her pediatrician, and locked out of our rental car. Yes, go ahead, Mom of the Year Award, yup, that's me.

And you think that's the end, think again. I buy her bottle of Benadryl, feed her a dose, and then proceed to call AAA for roadside assistance. And what do I find out? That only Jude's name is on the membership and that unless he's with me, they won't come out to help us. I thought I was going to lose it... I was barely hanging it in there and basically told Mr John Doe on the phone that he needed to help us because this was as near to an emergency as could be without having to call 911. I didn't want to call Jude to worry him on his first day and just wanted to get Sophie home, plain and simple. I think the panic and anxiety in my voice was palpable over the phone and Mr John Doe very nicely acquiesced and made a one-time exception. Through this all, I couldn't have been more proud of Sophie- I can't imagine that have blotchy hives all over your face and neck could have been very comfortable but she was calm and could be, smiling at everyone at Walgreens, didn't fuss while her mom was having a meltdown, and patiently waited while the AAA truck came to save the day.

The punkin's in bed and sleeping soundly now and her hives seem to have faded so all is good. I still feel like a horrible mother though and on days like this, I wonder why anyone would think it was a good idea for me to have children... Lessons learned today: 1) When in doubt, don't feed your child blueberries; 2) Always have your cellphone with you; 3) Buy a car that you actually need keys to lock; and 4) If you keep your daughter in her PJs while you're having a near nervous breakdown, people are more likely to be sympathetic and help you (thank you Marge, the nice lady at Walgreens for being so sweet and kind about us hanging out in there waiting for AAA!)