Adventures in Parenting

Well let's just say after this night my parenting skills were put to the test.

The evening started out just like any other typical night at our house. Arden and I were outside enjoying the weather and had gone for a short walk up the street. When we came back Arden asked me if I would read her a book.

I told her that I would and for her to run inside and get a book. I was sitting on the step waiting for her to come back out. She ran inside (She runs everywhere. It's the only speed she knows) and came back with a book but instead of pushing the door open she reached up and locked the deadbolt to the storm door.

I couldn't believe it. I jumped up and was thinking she just didn't lock the door. But she did! I was trying not to look panicked because I didn't want Arden to panic. Now she was getting frustrated because she could not get outside.

I tried to get her to unlock the deadbolt but she does not know how to turn the knob horizontally She just kept getting frustrated.

So what do you think she does. She decides she's had enough of this and heads upstairs. Upstairs! Where I can't see her or know what she's doing. Oh great! I think this is going to get interesting.

Dave was at work. Of course he is...it would be one of the nights that he is scheduled to work late. Plus all of the phone are inside because we were just going to sit outside and read for a few minutes. So I have no way of getting in touch with him.

Luckily my neighbor Karen is out in her yard. I yell over to her that I need some help. She comes over and I explain the problem. She tells me to hold on and that she will go and get her husband and a cell phone for me.

As she's gone and Arden is upstairs. I am going through possible ways to get back into the house. with as little damage to the house as possible. There's the back door, the screen door, the kitchen window, there's taking the front storm door out of the frame and that's was about all of the options that I could think of at that time. The most obvious one was Arden agreeing to unlock the door.

During this time Arden had ventured back down stairs and wanted to come outside. I tried explaining to her that she would have to unlock the door but trying to reason with a 23 month old is a little hard to do.

By this time Karen arrived with her husband Rodney and Arden decided that she didn't want to have anything else to do with us and headed back upstairs. I yelled through the door for her to come back and her response was "NOOOOOOOOOOOO".

I know have Dave on the phone and he's asking me not to break any windows until he gets home. Him and Rodney start talking and try to come up with a game plan to get into the house.

At this time Rodney tried to take the door off of the frame but that's not going to work and of course wouldn't you know it Arden starts coming back down the stairs and sees Rodney standing beside me and starts crying and heads back up the stairs. I immediate start to explain how she knows Rodney and it works and she comes back down.

At this time Karen is talking to Arden and Arden comes over to talk to her through the window. At this point Rodney finds a weak spot in the lock of our sliding glass door. He's on the phone talking to Dave about it and Dave gives him to go ahead.

So Arden has now decided this is a game and is running back and forth between the two doors talking to us. As Rodney is working on the door Alex our 13 year old neighbor comes by and starts talking to Arden and this is a great distraction.

Alex asks Arden if she has any animals. Arden proceeds to go and bring her stuffed animals over to the door and shows them off to Alex. It is a great distraction.

Overhead I notice that the wind has picked up and that the skies are dark and all of a sudden I hear thunder. Rodney is working hard and finally as the lighting comes into view Rodney has the door open.

We all head inside and Arden welcomes us in and starts showing everyone around. You would have never known she was locked in the house she was happy doing her own thing.

Literally as soon as we walk inside the skies open up and the rain starts pouring down. Dave then pulls into the drive and as soon as it stops raining he heads over to Lowes to find something to fix the lock on the back door.

I am glad to say Arden thinks it was all a game and that we already had talked to our contractor to replace our kitchen doors this weekend when they are here working on our support beam. I am also thankful that I have helpful neighbors who are willing to help.