JUST STAY CALM....

... is what the hubs said when I called to tell him we were locked out of our house today.

Nope.... I didn't realize the bottom lock was locked BEFORE I left home.

Nope.... don't have a house key on my key chain.  

Nope.... the spare key is not in the "spare key magnetic box" in the garage where it's kept for emergencies JUST like this one.

Nope.... the next door neighbor no longer has a key to our house.

Nope... the deck door is locked. 

NOPE... I won't stay calm because Ms. A needed her nap 15 minutes ago!

We ran through that list of Q&A.... before he revealed.... he didn't have a key EITHER.

NOBODY HAS KEYS.

LOCKED OUT.

You see - the girls and I were a bit cooped up this morning.

Another rainy day.

Kept home from preschool due to illness.

By about 11:30 I declared we needed a "ready made" lunch.

Really - an excuse to get out of the house for 30 minutes.

We piled in - WITHOUT coats or shoes and headed for the DQ.

A couple of kids meals later - we were back on our way home.

Because of the cold and rain - I went through the drive through and said we'd eat back at home.

Still - nice to get out of our environment for a little while.

Ms. A skipped her morning nap ... I was thinking we'd eat lunch early and get to napping early because no one slept great last night.

Upon arriving home - I jumped out of the truck to unload lunch before unbuckling the tribe.... 

But, low and behold the door into the house was locked.

I knew immediately we were in trouble.

I knew I didn't have a key and I also knew the spare wasn't where it's supposed to be.

Yes - I knew all this stuff and hadn't taken steps to fix those things.

Called the hubs hoping perhaps he'd taken care of getting a spare put somewhere else, but again - in the back of my mind I knew that wasn't the case.

I was picturing having to drive into Minneapolis to get the key from him.

And that is how our nap time would be spent today.

Little did I know - he doesn't have a key either.

WHO ARE WE anyway?

Clearly irresponsible people who will NOT be up for parents of the year.

I mean - no coats or shoes??

Really?

My one hope before calling the locksmith was to call our loyal babysitter (who is in high school) and see if I could get into her house to get a spare key I knew she had.

I text her and waited....

Yes, she is in school.

No, she should not be on her phone.

But, be sure I was praying that she was.

One minute later she responded.... not AT ALL shocked by my problem.

 She said she had our key with her at school on her key chain.

Talk about responsible!

She said she'd leave the key at the front office and I could come get it.

But - wait.... MY KIDS DON'T HAVE SHOES ON.... and it's POURING!

With every "begging" tone in my voice I asked her if she could meet me at the door instead.

She said she had like less than 5 minutes.

So - in the safest manner possible (while speeding) - I was off to her school.

And there she was with key in hand.... laughing her bum off.

I almost took her out with a hug I was so thankful.

The girls were very confused as to what was happening.... but finally with key in hand I explained.

"Girls, your mommy is very scatterbrained, sometimes.  I left the house with the door locked and no key to get back in.  We didn't have shoes or coats on and it's raining.  I hope you don't inherit my loose noodles".

What, mom?? 

Still very confused little girls and who could blame them.

I mean really - picture me dragging three kids (sans shoes! or coats!) into the local high school - mind you I did not shower this morning ... had grubby clothes on and my hair pulled back.  

Gross.

Our babysitter suggested I leave the girls for a minute in the truck to come in and get the key - to which I responded; with my luck a police officer would surely walk by and see them and come haul my sorry butt out of school and straight into jail.

Yes, that would be my luck because leaving kids unattended is quite illegal.

Not that I didn't think about doing it.

Trust me - I did.

SO -- we finally landed back at home, unlocked the door, ate our cold DQ kid's meals and melted ice cream cups and now my ladies are snoozing.

The ONE spare house key is downstairs on the counter top.

You would think I would have raced out to the garage and put it back where it belongs, but no I haven't done that yet.

I'll get to that soon I'm sure.

Really, I will.

With love,

Cuz I'm the mama!