Oops, I Did It Again

In an unconscious effort to treat my children equally, I accidentally locked Max in the car, with it running. Oops.

Luckily, for me, this was not as traumatic, or dramatic, a mishap as it was three years ago when I did the same thing to Ainsley. (You can relive that glorious day at http://3goingon13.blogspot.com/2010/04/my-first-mommy-911-call.html)

The weirdest part of the whole event is that Max

& I were in the exact same spot where I locked Ainsley in the car - my photographer's house.

So yes, my photographer thinks I'm certifiably crazy & now I'm extra careful on that street.

After such a harrowing event with Ainsley, one may assume I would take precautions to avoid such situation again.

Well, normally I roll my window down if I leave the kids in the car for a second, but that day, I used my automatic starter & forgot about the whole "anti-theft" aspect of it, where doors just lock randomly on their own free will. Whoops.

Lucky for me, Brad's step-mom came to my rescue with an extra set of keys in record time.

She thinks I need to ditch any kind of technology associated with locking/unlocking a car and just use a key. She's probably right.

Brad was not exactly pleased to hear that I did this, yet again, & didn't even see the humor in the fact that I locked Max in the car at the same spot.

He was also less than excited to celebrate the fact that the fire department & local news crews didn't show up this time.

For Brad, locking our kids in the car goes on the long list of "Things Emily Doesn't Pay Attention To," along with backing into our basketball goal, hitting the house while pulling into the garage (it was more of a soft scrape-no damage done), not following recipes closely, ummm, I think I'll stop.

But look at the picture above. Does that look like a traumatized baby? No, he was fine. He chewed his shoe for 20 minutes & watched cars drive by.

If anything, I think my husband should commend me for providing our son with survival skills. Now we know that he can survive being locked in an air conditioned car for about 30 minutes. Now he has a skill.

Little Brother Abuse-Part I

This is "Part I" because surely there is more abuse in store for Little Brother Max. While I like to think Ainsley means well 95% of the time, I, too, was a big sister & know exactly what she's got planned for her little brother.

Here she is, caught in the act:

"WHAT are you doing do your brother????"

"I'm putting a box on his head."

"Yes, I can see that," I reply. "Why are you putting a box on his head? Stop that right now, Ainsley."

"No, Mommy, we are playing a game. He likes it. He likes it when I put this on his head, he does!"

(Yes, I was culpable-I had to take a picture so he did have it on his head a little bit longer, but I don't think any permanent damage was done.)

The worst part about Little Brother Abuse is that Ainsley may be right - I think Max does like it.

Exhibit 1: Last week I heard wild laughter in the back of the car. "What is so funny?" I asked.

"We're playing a game," Ainsley replied.

"What game?" I asked.

"The 'Let's Hurt Each Other Game!'" she replied. I turned around to see them hitting each other with a pirate telescope, which they thought was hilarious.

Exhibit 2: Max in a Princess Dress - loving every minute. I need not say more.

A Playdate with the Bug Man

Oh, to be three.

Every day Brad & I laugh at something that comes out of Ainsley's mouth...here are a few of the funniest ones.

***

While driving past a water tower:

"Mommy, is that Pisa?"

"Pisa? Like the Leaning Tower of Pisa?"

"Yes."

"Who taught you about the Leaning Tower of Pisa?" I ask.

"God. God taught me."

Oh. God taught her. I should have known. He teaches Art History on Tuesdays at her Preschool.

***

"Mommy, can I have a playdate?"

"No, sweetie, we're waiting for the bug man to come over and spray for ants."

"Well, can I have a playdate with the bug man then?"

***

Ainsley's thoughts on our handyman after he fixed an electrical problem:

"Mommy, Mr. Joe is a hero."

***

"Mommy, I made this drawing for Max. He can do whatever he wants with it. He can crumple it up, or rip it up, or eat it if he wants to."