Saturday, March 17, 2012

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! 

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

You Do What You Do When You Got What You Got!

So my family has a saying, "You do what you do when you got what you got."  The founder of the statement is up for debate (my brother-in-law Shannon and my Mother both claim it's origin).  Wherever it came from, I recommend that every mother have it in her mental "saying box."  It comes in handy on a daily basis.
When a visitor comes and asks for a Kleenex and your child runs and gets Toilet Paper -You do what you do when you got what you got (Kleenex is highly over-rated).

When you can't make it to the family function hours away because the thought of a car ride about kills you - You do what you do when you got what you got

When Dinner consists of opening cans after a busy day - You do what you do when you got what you got

When you take Chips Ahoy to the Ward Function and eat everybody else's food - You do what you do when you got what you got

Say it with me -You do what you do when you got what you got - These 11 words can cure any guilt that you may have at the thought of the MILES and MILES that separate you and Martha Stewart. 


Today I had the PERFECT "do what you do when you got what you got" moment.  I would love to share at the risk of being ridiculed by my 5 "mostly Martha" sisters. 

This week is Dress up week for Ally and Sam.  That is fine, but I just have one question - what happened to Crazy Hair Day, Pajama Day, Wear Blue Day?  This year we had "Dress in your favorite Decade Day" (I have been trying to explain what a decade is to my kids for 3 days now), "Dress as your favorite Book Character Day" and "Dress as a Historical Figure Day."  Are you serious, I have a hard time finding the blue outfit. 

Today just happened to be the Historical Figure day - instead of panicking or taking a trip to St. George, or staying up all night sewing, I said to myself, "Well, You do what you do when you got what you got."  So I went to Ally's closet, and found a cowboy hat.  The rest of the outfit fell into place and she is Annie Oakley - Yes, I am perfectly aware that some consider Annie Oakley to be fictional - so today we are representing the historical fiction part of society.



Sam's closet was lacking in props, UNTIL I found the dog and monkey leash that I use when I am alone with all 5 children and all of the old people stare and consider calling child services.  (I am just saying, a leashed child is better than a lost child). 


So What do I do?  I GOOGLE.  "Famous zoologists" to be exact.  Today Sam is dressed as Elie Metchnikoff.  Yes, I am aware that he is Russian, I am aware that Sam cannot pronounce his name, nor does he even know what a zoologist is.  But he was thrilled to have a mustache for a day, and hey, You do what you do when you got what you got!