Well ... most of Valerie's close friends still have one or two toddlers at home ... No Problem! Spencer has a TV and VCR in his room, and lots of legos, etc. The kids can all play there .. Did I mention, about 8 or so toddlers?... Anyway - first obstacle... the sandbox - oh, I mean litterbox! So, we moved that in the the little closed foyer/vestibule area by the front door. Next obstacle, the front door - being German, no handle ... just push to open! Not a good combo for toddlers and a busy street right out the front door. So, lock the front door from inside- no problem. Then, the foyer seems like a good place to play. Afterall, the litterbox is now there .. and there are tennis rackets, etc. No problem, just put the bench in front of the glass door and no kids can go in there... Okay.. oh, yeah... the back doors to the patio are easy to open and escape from .. Just put the roladins (I'm sure I spelled that wrong- basically metal shades on the outside of windows and door that come all the way down and close completely) down ... There. Okay, movie on the downstairs TV for littler ones... movie in Spencer's room for those a little bigger... Oh, and here is the potty at the end of the hall if anyone needs it ....
Did I mention the lovely locks and keys for German inside doors? They really are kinda cool looking... When we first moved in, none of the bathroom doors had keys to them... In fact, only Darren's office door, the master bedroom door, and one other door that we had taken down had keys ... Well, that is just not very functional for a family of 5 sharing a bathroom to shower in .. So, I just switched the locks of the door we weren't using .. WhaLa! Bathroom door with a key ....
What do these innocent looking items have in common? (excuse the sideways picture, I thought I fixed it ..) Well, that is the key to the bathroom door, the airfreshner for the bathroom, and the soap for the bathroom. All sitting on the stand by the bathroom window (hence, lacey curtains behind them) ... innocent enough... Well ... so are toddlers ....So, the party is going along just fine ... Everyone enjoyed lunch...no screaming, fighting, or disasters ... It's almost time to cut the cake ... I think I will go upstairs and see how the group in Spencer's room is doing ... Hmm... the bathroom door is locked... knock, knock - no answer... continue on to Spencer's room - all looks good there... back to the bathroom door... knock, knock... (giggles) ... hmmm.... let's look through the key hole...
Here's the key hole ... if you look carefully, you can see the tile wall of the bathroom, and just make out a little of the window frame with lace curtains ... OR ... if you were me... you would have seen a little boy with a cowboy gun, and a little girl (pump, pump) washing hands! I swear I just saw their moms downstairs .... Sure enough, that is where the moms were ... So, up the stairs they come with me, to try and coax the kids to either turn the key, or take it out and slide it under the door ... Lots of, "turn the key", "it's time for cake, don't you want some?", "take the key out and give it to mommy" ... and Lots of, (pump, pump)(giggle, giggle)... I have to admit here, that the giggles were not just from the other side of the door. Now that my kids are older, I find these situations kinda funny. After at least an hour (probably only 5 minutes), I had the outside of the lock off and was able to push the key through with a screw driver. The little culprits passed the key under the door, and began to wimper. I think they realized that the gig was up, and they were about to pay the piper. Anyway .... We got the door open... to a wave of STRONG air freshner, and soapy key and hands. But ... that was all the damage done!! No soap in anyone's eyes, nothing flushed in the toilet, no drawers gone through and dumped, no chemicals opened, no bath tub or sink with running water... We were blessed, indeed... and, I got my giggles in for the day! Gotta love other people's toddlers!!
Here's the key hole ... if you look carefully, you can see the tile wall of the bathroom, and just make out a little of the window frame with lace curtains ... OR ... if you were me... you would have seen a little boy with a cowboy gun, and a little girl (pump, pump) washing hands! I swear I just saw their moms downstairs .... Sure enough, that is where the moms were ... So, up the stairs they come with me, to try and coax the kids to either turn the key, or take it out and slide it under the door ... Lots of, "turn the key", "it's time for cake, don't you want some?", "take the key out and give it to mommy" ... and Lots of, (pump, pump)(giggle, giggle)... I have to admit here, that the giggles were not just from the other side of the door. Now that my kids are older, I find these situations kinda funny. After at least an hour (probably only 5 minutes), I had the outside of the lock off and was able to push the key through with a screw driver. The little culprits passed the key under the door, and began to wimper. I think they realized that the gig was up, and they were about to pay the piper. Anyway .... We got the door open... to a wave of STRONG air freshner, and soapy key and hands. But ... that was all the damage done!! No soap in anyone's eyes, nothing flushed in the toilet, no drawers gone through and dumped, no chemicals opened, no bath tub or sink with running water... We were blessed, indeed... and, I got my giggles in for the day! Gotta love other people's toddlers!!
