Locked In... and Out

I've locked my keys in the car before. When we lived in our apartment, I had to borrow the neighbors phone twice in one month to call Amazing Man because I had locked myself out. One rainy day I made a quick stop at the post office- got two kids out of the van, shut the door and walked around to get the other boy out and realized the keys were still in there, and the three year old was still buckled into his car seat. That time I had to call the police for help.

Today, we were all enjoying snack time on the front porch. D toddled inside, slamming the front door behind her. Because she is currently fascinated with closing and opening doors, my response was not very quick. What I did not realize was that in her effort to open it again, she fiddled with the lock, and succeeded in locking herself alone inside the house!

I sent J around back to check the back door. The door itself was closed, but not latched all the way (it was a beautiful day, and I had opened it in the morning to let in the lovely fresh air... however, earlier in the day she had shoved that door most of the way shut, too). We recently put in a new screen door that has a simple hook and eye lock on it. L is fascinated with that, and despite my instructions not to lock it, she had.

The boys and I practiced our problem solving skills. Windows? Open a few inches, but safety locked. Dad? We could go to the neighbors house and call him to come home and unlock the door(he was helping a friend with some roofing, but not far from home). How about unscrewing the screen door? Could work- but we will have to find a screw driver. Amazing man had a project lying out on the driveway, and- yes!- just the right screw driver was there. (Even at times I can be thankful for unfinished projects that are not put away!) We were able to unscrew the screen door and unlatch the lock, push open the back door, and get in.

Hooray! After all that, I was ready to call it a day. Glad my house is secure, but it kind of defeats the purpose if I'm not secured inside!