Mischief Maker

I have SO many other things to catch up on, but this is one that can't wait. I know I'll be laughing about it someday. Actually, I'm laughing a little bit about it right now. But I sure wasn't earlier.

This morning I decided to brave our zero degree frigidly cold temperatures and go to the moms of preschoolers group that I attend. I actually debated going or not for awhile, but I decided I really wanted to get out and have some adult conversation. I just started babysitting on Thursdays again (last semester I only did 3 days a week), but I wasn't worried about it. I've taken extra kids before. S0 I bundled up the kids and got Kaya into her carseat all cozy and warm (and weighing about 45 extra pounds with all the layers). I managed to get them all out to the car although I had to make 3 trips to do it. The only issue I had on the way there was that Lilly (the extra kid) will not wear a hat or gloves. I tried getting her to wear some of our stuff since she didn't even make it to my house with her own today. But she wouldn't have any of it. So of course, partway there, she realized that her hands were really painfully cold and started screaming. Luckily as I was unloading them in the parking lot, another mom pulled in and offered to help me lug everyone inside. Crisis over.

I had a lovely meeting chatting with other moms about mom things and then it was time to go home. We ended early today because it's a half day of school for our older kids. So I managed to get everyone loaded back up and we pulled into our driveway at 11:10 a.m. exactly 30 min. before the rest of the kids would get out of school. Kalen had told me that he would be home to go and pick them up so that I wouldn't have to bring the little kids back out in the cold. Thank goodness for that. I unloaded Spencer and Lilly and told them to start walking toward the house while I got Kaya and the diaper bag. I made it to the back door before the kids so I unlocked the house, set a sleeping Kaya and the bag down on the floor, and set my keys on the bar (that part is important). Then I went back outside. Spencer was just coming up the back steps so I helped him the rest of the way in and then went back out to get Lilly who had wandered back to the garage. I picked her up, turned around and then realized what was about to happen. Picture in slow motion: Spencer giggles, the door creaks as it is closing, I realize what it about to happen and yell "NOOOO, SPENNNNCERRR!", then I hear a deafening CLICK of the dead bolt turning, and Spencer's muffled but delighted laughter from behind the door. Remember I had left my keys inside. Remember that it was about zero degrees outside and that Lilly will not wear a hat and gloves. I very calmly said "Spencer, I need you to help Mommy get inside. Can you please turn the lock back the other way?" He said: "This way?" I said: "Yes." He tried. I said: "Try it the other way." He tried. "I can't Mommy." By now, Lilly is starting to scream again from the cold. I'm starting to panic at the thought that my 3 year old is locked in the house with the baby. I think I've mentioned before that we don't even have a cell phone so I couldn't call Kalen and tell him to come home a little earlier.

So I ended up putting Lilly back into the van, where it was at least a tiny bit warmer. Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention that as we were leaving MOPS I realized that Lilly had a stinky diaper, but I knew we were coming straight home, so I decided to wait and do it then. So, yeah, she was freezing and rotting and screaming at the top of her lungs!

I went back to the door where Spencer was beginning to seem mildly concerned and I tried to get him to unlock the door again. It was the same scene as before. The lock would not budge. And then it suddenly ocurred to Spencer that if I was outside, who was going to make his lunch? And then he started screaming. I was begging him not to cry because I didn't want Kaya to wake up. Finally I told him to go in and turn on the TV and watch a show while he waited for me to get in. That seemed to do the trick. So then I just had to deal with Lilly. The minutes ticked by like hours and the car cooled off extremely rapidly as we waited for Kalen to get home. Finally I was starting to wonder if he'd forgotten because it was time to go and get the kids from school and he wasn't there yet. I remembered that I had seen the answering maching light flashing and wondered if he had actually called to tell me he wasn't going to make it home in time and so I was trying to figure out how I was supposed to go and get the kids carrying a screaming, freezing, smelly toddler and leaving behind my 3 year old with his baby sister, when Kalen finally pulled into the driveway. I have never been so overjoyed to see him or his keys as at that moment. We got the door unlocked and Lilly inside. She immediately calmed down and went to play happily. I found Kaya just waking up at that exact moment. And Spencer had indeed gone and turned on the TV. He had stripped off his coat and gloves, sweatshirt, and socks and was lying on the couch under a cozy blanket almost as if to mock me and my frostbite. Little stinker! We had a long talk. And he promised that he will never touch the deadbolt again. Yeah...I doubt that highly. So I promised myself that I will never set my keys down if I have to go back outside again. Now, if you will excuse me, I must go and bury myself under a quilt to try to defrost my frozen limbs.