Oh, The Drama!

I had just settled the kids in bed and reclined on the couch to veg with Star Trek Enterprise when DS#3 called down the stairs to report that someone was locked in the kids bathroom. Oh, great. Dear Husband is out of town. I went upstairs fulling believing that Dear Daughter had somehow gotten out of bed and locked herself in the bathroom. (DD has had her doorknob taken off on the inside of her door to keep her from wandering around the house in the middle of the night). DD was not locked in the bathroom. The victim was Dear Son #2.

DS#2 is 10 and fully capable of getting himself out of the bathroom. For some reason the knob was turning but the bolt was not releasing. We called DH on the phone and he suggested to take off the door knob. We pulled out the tools and I passed my smallest flathead screwdriver under the door for DS#2 to use. He had a little difficulty getting the screws out of the handle but soon had the door knob off. It became apparent that this route wasn't working. I was feeling stupid and DS#2 was beginning to wonder if he was going to spend the night in the bathroom. It really wasn't too bad of an option. He had a source of water and a toilet. He could sleep in the bathtub. But the idea of us passing food under the door didn't appeal to him. So we called our home teacher.

Our home teacher is a young married, no kids. He came over quickly with his wife in tow and tools in hand. It turns out that I wasn't stupid, because he couldn't figure it out either. He worked with his tools for a while and then his wife pulled out a credit card. While he bragged on her breaking-and-entering-with-a-credit-card talents, she taught DS#2 the finer points of wielding a credit card for nefarious purposes. It didn't work but DS#2 gave it a good try. There was no option but to have our home teacher kick down the door. DS#3 was so excited to watch him do it, and wearing flip-flops, too! To DS#3 this was better than his favorite ninja animes. Luckily for us there was no damage to the frame or trim and very little damage to the door. The rest of the hardware fell apart and it was obvious that the door knob was broken. DD (whose bedroom door is right next to the bathroom) slept through it all.

DS#2 was grateful to get out at last and relieved that he wouldn't have to eat breakfast in the bathroom. We thanked our wonderful home teacher and his wife for coming at that late hour and walked them to the door. Tomorrow I will make a loaf of banana bread to take over as a thank you.

Oh, the drama of possible eternal incarceration, hardware puzzles, karate kicks, and having the hero save the day in the end. I think that DS#3 has not been so half well-entertained in a long time. He told me it was better than a movie.

Decisions, decisions......

We have narrowed down the house hunt to two choices. Do we pick the house we really like in the nice-but-not-favorite neighborhood with the big and fully fenced back yard? Or do we pick the house that is okay in the neighborhood we really like because we can finish the basement and sell it to build the house we really want later - that is if the real estate market cooperates which right now it doesn't look like it will. If the market cooperates we could stand to gain ALOT of equity in this house.

I don't think that the decision is important to our salvation. But it would be nice to have some heavenly direction. We will be fasting and praying about the decision in early April. We would be grateful for all prayers, vibes, and good thoughts sent in our behalf.

It looks like we will try to put up our house on the market in early April. I am decluttering and getting ready to paint over all of DD's Picasso moments (which happened the first month we moved in). I am tempted to limit the kids to one school outfit each (and pack the rest), one toy each (and pack the rest), and make them live in the back yard just so I can keep the house clean for potential buyers.

Now for the last decision: it has been recommended by DD's preschool teachers and therapist that we get a dog. Apparently a dog will keep DD from wandering away from home and can be trained to keep her safe. Makes me think of the dog Nana from Peter Pan. The dog will have to wait until we move. The kids are very excited about the whole idea as they have been begging for a dog for years.

I doubt the kids will let me name the dog Nana, dress her in a little white mob cap, and teach her how to serve hot chocolate.