Best invention ever!

This, my friends, is probably the best invention ever. Okay, well, maybe not really ever, because the laptop, phone, steam mop, Dyson, etc, are all fantastic inventions that I'm grateful for every day. But at this point in my life, and with the son I was blessed to give birth to, it definitely qualifies. Big time!

In the past few weeks, Asher's become quite the little escape artist. Any chance he got, he'd run out the door to see if the neighborhood kids could play. I literally couldn't let him leave my sight for even 1 second, or he'd be out the door so fast it would make my head spin. I always keep the door locked, even when we're home, but he's tall enough to reach the dead bolt, so it really does no good. It got so bad that I'd have to take him with me if I needed to use the bathroom really quickly, fold a load of laundry, change a diaper, etc.

We didn't realize how big of a problem it was until last Friday. I'd put the kids down for naps and was folding laundry in my room, which is on the same level and is just down the hall. My doorbell rings, and it's my neighbor......bringing Asher home! Not only had I not heard him sneaking out of his room (which is practically impossible in and of itself), but I hadn't heard him unlock the front door or even open it! I was totally panicked and kept thinking how grateful I was that Asher went next door instead of just wandering off.

So it was then that we realized we had to get another lock on that door, and fast! The problem is that our molding around the door is kind of tiered (you can sort of see it in the picture), so we couldn't screw anything into the molding. Luckily our neighbor already had one of these locks on one of his doors, so we quickly found a solution that works perfectly.

Derk installed it that night. The next morning, Asher tried to sneak out again. When he got stopped by the wonderful, fantastic, amazing lock, he threw his hands up in the air and said (okay, yelled), "I CAN'T OPEN THE STINKING DOOR!!!!!!" Derk about died laughing. It was so hysterical that we couldn't even tell him we didn't appreciate the way he'd said that -- it was just too funny!

That's not the end of this story, though. This boy was so bound and determined to get out that he totally outsmarted his Mommy. I'd gone upstairs to enjoy my newly found freedom and fold another load of laundry when I heard the garage door opening. I went downstairs, assuming Derk was home early, only to find that Asher had gone through the door in the kitchen that connects into the garage, and then he opened the garage door to go around to the neighbor's house that way! Talk about sneaky!

Yes, we bought a second lock! :)

So a huge thank you to whoever the genius was that designed these locks. Because of you, my son is now confined to the house when I want him to be.