Does anyone else find this to be frustrating?

[Pool Hall Ace]

One of my husband's clients is pissing and moaning about his hourly rate, or the number of hours he put in, so she's holding off on paying the bill. My husband had me do up a spreadsheet with the times he was at her house each day.

I could mail it to her, and I still may just do that, but I decided to give her a call to see if I could get an e-mail address from her so the spreadsheet can get there faster. After all, credit card bills are coming in, and I can't just not pay them.

So I dial the number I have for her. After 4 rings, the answering machine kicks in, and . . . uh oh. I am now listening to an incoherent message delivered by a balky, babbling toddler. I cannot make out anything the child is saying, so I wait patiently for a beep.

I realize that parents are crazy about their children and are convinced that they are the cutest things on earth, and I'm good with that, but does anyone else find this practice to be not the least bit charming? I now have no idea if I dialed the correct number. Since the child delivered the outgoing message, I wonder if it's also his/her job to retrieve and prioritize the messages.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

1. I've had friends who let their kids leave the message; but

they make sure the child speaks clearly into the phone, and uses plain English.