So there I am

priding myself on not only getting from work to the nursery in 45 mins flat, but I even mention to one of the parents that the pickup seemed straightforwar and easy. It would seem that fate had other ideas.

My normal routine is to always put MLP into the car first. Yesterday the boy wanted to get in as he wanted to start using the shaker he had made. Thinking that I should not deny the boy time to admire his workmanship, I oblige. I secure him into his car seat, throw my bag into the seatwell in front of him, and throw the car keys into the drivers seat. I then turn round to unbuckle MLP from the pushchair. I realise there is trouble ahead when I hear the car being deadbolted from the inside.

There is a handy feature on the car that allows you to deadbolt all the doors, should you not be able to get to the deadbolt button on the on the drivers console, to deadbolt all the doors, all you have to do is press any door button twice. Which is exactly what the boy did. He smiled as I ran round the car rattling the door handles in vain. It took me a moment to steady myself and decide what to do. After all, I had one desperately hungry and crabby MLP to think of, then again, the boy was also hungry and would soon realise his predicament. My phone was in the car, as were the keys to the house and he car.

I decided that the best thing to do was to run upto the nursery garden, with MLP and pushchair and ask for a mobile phone. Having hurridley explained what the problem was, a phone emerged quick time. Called home. Engaged. (Ofcourse it would be!). My car alarm now starts blaring. Its so loud that I worry that the boy will go deaf inside the car.

By this time the nursery manager has come out to see what she can do to help. I ask her to do three things: ring hubby, ask him to try and find spare key, only spend five minutes looking, otherwise ring AA and tell them what has happened. And bring snacks. Lots of them, as kids are hungry.

I somehow run back to the car, carrying MLP and dragging pushchair behind me. There is a crowd of parents by the car, they are all very helpful not wanting to leave me there stranded with one kid on my hip, and one locked in the car. I try to give instructions to the boy to try and open the door, but I know its no use, he is strapped into the car seat and he would not be able to open the door. In the end, I tell him to shake his shaker for all its worth. I must have looked like a proper loon waving one arm about in the air, shouting to a car window.

Nursery manager arrives, she advises me that hubby is on the way with spare key. She has also bought sustinance in the shape of two cartons of milk and 3 clementines.
The boy up until then was calm and smiling. Upon seeing food, and finding he has a barrier of fiberglass and glass seperating from it, he gets a little upset. I cajole him back to smileyness by shouting loudly that the clementines have pips, yuk yuk, and pretend to spit on the ground. He is placated by this and eagerly gets back to his shaker.

By now, MLP is furious that I have been in possession of food and have not offered her some. Cue nursery manager and I manically peeling clementines and ripping them in half. Clementine juice everywhere. By this stage, I am bent over double from laughter. I could not hold it in. I had to put MLP into the pushchair as I was laughing so much I could not hold her. Nursery Manager asks if I am definately ok and not wanting to cry. I assure her that this type of mishap is typical in my life.

About 10 more minutes pass during which we peel more clementines, thank all the other parents, explain what has happened to the newcomers before hubby turns up with the keys.