DB2 Pushes Our Buttons

Check out this retro alarm system on this old school wallpaper. No way this thing still works, right?

Isaac, our dear Danger Baby 2.0 (hence DB2), is a big time button pusher. As I am the fourth child of five, I can safely predict that his button pushing days are far from over, though his motivation and delivery may change.

If DB2 suddenly perks up and makes a beeline across the room, you can be sure he's spotted an iPhone and is on his way to push its button for a little chat with Siri.

Similarly, DB2 can spot a functioning remote control anytime, anywhere. Think you can fool him with an old VCR remote? Think again. Think you can hide one from him? He can find a remote control hidden in a jacket pocket under a couch cushion on a different floor of the house. I kid you not! Well not really. But he finds them.

Dishwasher? Full or not full, soap or no soap, this kid doesn't discriminate. Button pushed, dishes clean... or are they?

But Ike really knocked one out of the park last Tuesday evening. I tutored until about 5:30, but we had $30 worth of expiring Snuffy's gift cards to use, so we were determined to bundle the kids up for some stellar burgers and malts. It took waaaaay too long, but we were finally ready. 

The big kids were waiting by the door to the garage. I was heading downstairs to meet them. Rick was holding Isaac and heading down the stairs behind me. On the wall of our garage entry stairwell is this "amazing" wallpaper, and the off-white old school alarm system pictured above. To our knowledge, it hadn't ever been used by our house's previous owners, and it was not functional.

To our knowledge.

Of course, as DB2 made his way downstairs in Rick's arms, he leaned over and pushed a button. There was a beep. And then a little word showed up on the screen:

Armed.

Rick, ever optimistic, attempted to disarm the alarm. Obviously if alarm systems could be disarmed without knowing a code, they wouldn't be very useful. But he tried anyway, to no avail.

We were chuckling a little, because what were the odds DB2 would hit just the right button on his first try? Then, Tucker cracked open the door to the garage, and the system erupted in a crazy loud alarm both upstairs and down!

Maisy was terrified. Tucker was frozen. Rick and I were pushing more buttons, as if that would help. Isaac was taking mental notes. 

The alarm wailed on.

Maisy started to cry. Tucker put his hands over his ears. Isaac continued to take note.

It took a useless phone call (me) to the company on the alarm box, and some work in the fuse box (Rick), as well as a text to the previous owners (who had never used it), but we got the alarm to stop.

In the end, we laughed our way out the door to Snuffy's with the knowledge that we own a highly effective localized alarm system should we choose to use it. 

And an equally effective little button pusher we call DB2.

That's A+ Parenting (Last Week).