The Child Containment Field

Apparently there is a drought in Alabama, but it's rained everyday since we've been here.  So either our magical Colorado drought prevention presence has turned the tables, or these folks really have no idea that rain 3 times a week is not a drought!  Rain once in 3 months...now that's a drought.  So of course the umbrella is always in the car I'm NOT driving.  The kids don't mind the rain at all, it's like an outdoor shower.  Which leads me to the question I've been asking more than anything else since moving here... "Kai, where are your clothes?!"  

In Colorado we had acreage and tons of privacy.  The kids didn't always have bathing suits on in their pool and Kai loves to "water the grass", which was a great potty training technique.  The privacy quotient in an Alabama trailer park is, well, zero.  Luckily we only have neighbors to one side, and he's been gone a lot.  The neighbor behind us met the kids today as they were doing that 'teamwork thing' to try and break into her trailer.  Unfortunately, we have set our children up to accept our mini-nudist mentality and so ripping all their clothes off in any public place is not cause for alarm.  Even in a suburban mini-mall where Kai was naked trying to pee into a fountain in front of 50 people (that was in Colorado, and thanks to my cousin Eric for the "Kelly, Kai's naked" warning! Disaster averted). 

We've already had a discussion with Kai's school (it's been less than a week!) about his trouble keeping his clothes and shoes on.  Which, if I wasn't talking to school people I'd be laughing hysterically, but BECAUSE it is school people (who hold the key to whether or not social services visits us), I have to hold my laughter.  Barely.  But it's getting a little old now that I've had to do 'Kai clothes scavenger hunt' everyday, and force him to assist.  That assistance involves me asking, "Kai, where are your clothes?" and him replying, "They're lost".  Today, he did have a legitimate reason for talking his pants off, he went down the slide and hit a puddle at the bottom.  OK, no problem.  But at least keep the undies on!  Geez!

In order to decrease any 'Kai the Flasher' exposure our neighbors might experience, we endeavored to put up a fence.  Thanks to our new buddy Rich (bringer of the cupcakes), we inherited about 30' of blaze orange temporary fencing.  Add posts, and child containment is possible.  Today, while the children were napping and blissfully unaware of our conspiracy to kill their freedom, we placed the fence.  It looks like a construction cordon or police investigation perimeter.  I don't care, the psychological effect of the barrier (because it's really just plastic) is monumental!  Ayla did discover how to get out the sides pretty quickly, but generally she stayed in afterward.  The boys just accepted their imprisonment by focusing on spinning bike tires, and Kai 'watered the grass'.  At least it was our grass, and not the neighbors.