lily saves the day!!!

when i got to chumash park in AG on thursday, i was lucky to get a parking spot. the whole lot was full, and the park was teeming with preschool spring breakers. after 2 fun filled hours with my good friend Shelley and her boys, we were ready to hit the road. since ol EV truly has forsaken me, and likely will be in the shop for the next "two weeks", i've been destined to drive a mid size semi-luxury sedan. going from my spacious EV to this seemingly miniature car has been an adjustment, but i'm thankful nonetheless to my gracious in-laws for leaving us with their beloved nissan maxima. however, my pride is tested daily, as i pull into CCG, or UMCC and i see stares of pity... "poor lily and oz, their mom doesn't have a lexus or volvo SUV, this economy must be really doin some damage for the rodgers family." not that my eurovan is in any league with those luxury SUV's and minivans, but at least i got the uniqueness factor- i think i almost leave them speechless... anyhow i digress.


as we gathered up our stuff to leave and loaded into our little baby car, oz immediately began obsessing on shelley's car, and was desperately wanting to watch her 'big tires' leave. he wouldn't let me buckle him in till she pulled away, and since he was tired and hungry, i thought i'd let him win this one. here's the scene- i'm sitting in the passenger seat, oz is climbing in and out of his carseat behind me to get a good view of shelley's suburban, lily is next to him all buckled in. oz keeps opening and closing the door, so i decide to lock the doors so he'll chill out. finally shelley pulls out and i hop out of the passenger seat to buckle oz in behind me. however, as soon as i hop up, the door closes behind me, and i'm stuck on the other side of the window looking at my kids all locked in.



i actually don't panic immediately.



i look around and there is literally no one in sight. my phone and the keys are locked in the car. although the wind is cold outside, its pretty warm in the car. there are no houses or business close enough that i could walk to without the car and my kids being out of sight. i realize my only hope is in lily to get us out of this.

now if your toddler is anything like mine, she'll ask me where one of her doll's is and if i tell her its over in the corner, she'll wander the whole house before she finds it. the kid doesn't understand directions so well. add this on top of the fact that she's never locked or unlocked these doors, this car is entirely unfamiliar to her. in addition, she's buckled in her 5 point harness, and only a handful of times have i seen her unbuckle herself. with all the windows rolled up i begin to yell instructions to her. she seems pretty uninterested in helping, obviously not realizing the severity of the situation, i don't want to worry her, but she def is needing some motivation. she tries to reach the handle but is restrained by the carseat. i walk her through unbuckling the latch to free her arms, she methodically does it. she then reaches over to the handle and tries to open it. no luck. i try and explain that she needs to jiggle the lock, to just try to move it back and forth. she finally gets it, and lo and behold, the door releases.



its a miracle!



i open the door and say, "lily, you did it! you saved the day!" she's beaming with pride. i'm overcome with thankfulness and relief. needless to say, she was rewarded with endless praise, and of course ice cream.