I lost that A LONG TIME AGO!

Yes, those are two police cars, and Yes, that is the view from the front of my house.  And as they drove away, my friend (more like Emergency Life Vest) says to me...."Well Kathryn, at least all you lost today was $45 and YOUR PRIDE."  To which I said, "Well then, I only lost $45, because I lost my pride A LONG TIME AGO."

Let's start at the beginning. I have had an obsession with Cake Balls lately, and Daniel (my 1.5 year old) has had an obsession with opening the oven as I am cooking the cake balls...So there was a Carrot cake in the oven (it was going to make beautiful cake pops when combined with cream cheese frosting), I had 5 minutes before the buzzer rang to hang out the laundry.  On the way out I say, "Joseph, lock the door behind me so that Daniel doesn't come out."

Joseph dutifully locked the door....and seconds later I hear he and his brother (Gary) sneak out the laundry room door to go ride bikes.  At that moment panic set in...I already knew as I ran around checking each door, that we were locked out....And Daniel (the 1.5 year old with the oven obsession) is on the inside ALONE with a hot oven and a timer going off.

I grab the cell phone in my pocket and call Carol.  Within minutes the locksmith was called, and Carol (Emergency vest #1) and Ann Marie (Emergency vest #2) were at the house.  Carol had the duty of making sure Daniel stayed by the window and did not stray to the oven.  Meanwhile Ann Marie was trying to break into every door with all of her credit cards (apparently she has experience...and she is good) but don't worry, our perimeter is secure and each door is impenetrable. 

After 15 minutes and no locksmith, we call the non-emergency number to the police.  They send an officer right over.  I explain the situation and he says, "Well - I can get in, but I am going to have to break something."  AGHHHHHHHHHH!

Luckily at that moment the locksmith rounds the corner.  However, 20 minutes later it appears that not even the locksmith can open our doors.  During those 20 minutes one officer was with Carol talking to Daniel through the window, trying to get him to open the laundry room door.  The other officer was checking each window and trying his hand at Ann Marie's credit cards. 

Finally the policemen had formed a plan to break in with the least amount of damage.  While the locksmith informed us that he was just going to break one of the locks - which ended up being the least amount of damage. 

The door was OPEN.  I grabbed Daniel and the cake, and after almost an hour of trauma, we were all still alive (except for the cake).  The $45 to the locksmith was paid while the policemen were sounded their sirens for ALL of the neighborhood children (because ALL of the neighborhood was watching at this point). 

The policemen were AWESOME.  They were so kind and helpful.  They have experience in this kind of thing.  You see, the same two policemen were at Ann Marie's 2 weeks ago (?) because her daughter called 911.  Oh, and, they were at Carol's 2 weeks before that, because her daughter called 911.  But, they were GREAT to all of us and joked that they would see us soon.  I appreciated everything they said and did, but I hope I don't see them again at my house!