White Trash Security System

At five o'clock tonight I ordered my oldest two kids to their room for the remainder of the night.  I told them they could leave the room once every two hours for a bathroom and water break.  What did they do to earn such a punishment?  It doesn't matter, really.

So anyway, after dinner the kids had been in their room for about an hour and a half, and the hubs wanted me to go with him to the grocery store for a couple of items.  I told him I couldn't because I was monitoring the ongoing punishment of our hooligans.  He told me we would be quick - like a half hour - so I agreed.  (Our kids are old enough to be left home alone for a half hour, so don't flip out.  We took the younger ones with us.)

I know what you're thinking.  You're thinking that the second I left the house those two boys of mine were down the stairs and into the candy cupboard and raising all kinds of hell.

But they didn't.

How can I be so sure?  I'll tell you.  It's a trick I learned from my dad.

First, I gave my kids a phone and instructions that they were only allowed out of their room while I was gone if there was a fire or some other emergency.  I told them that if they opened the door, I would know it, and then they would not be allowed to go to the Harry Potter party at the library tomorrow.  (We're geeks, so that threat worked.)

Then I shut the door, took a piece of Scotch tape about two inches long, and made a small cut about halfway through the middle.  (You have to be careful here not to cut the piece of tape all the way in half.  Just a little slice will do.)

Then I put the first half of the tape on the door jamb and the other half of the piece of tape on the door itself.  The piece of tape is still intact, but that slice is right over where the door and the door jamb connect.

Wha-lah.  Done.

So when I got home a few minutes later, I went upstairs and checked the tape.  If the boys had opened the door, the tape would have torn right where I made the slice and I would have had two separate pieces of tape.  Like so:

As it was - I still had one piece of tape; not completely cut in two.

Guess we're going to the Harry Potter party tomorrow.  But I'm sure as heck not going to the movie until it's been out long enough that the hoards of  people who dress like wizards and clap at the end have already been there, done that.