I was out with my mom today. My cell phone rang for the hundredth time. It was my ten year old. She was home with her sister and the sitter and she made Mac and Cheese, you know the kind in a cup? Add water and microwave. She ended up setting off the fire alarm. “How do I shut it off?” By the time I answered, my cell phone rang again. This time it was the alarm company. They said my fire alarm went off at my house and they sent the fire department because no one answered the phone when they called the house. My daughter was probably on the phone with me, I realize now, and she ignored call waiting. I said, “Please cancel the call, everything’s fine.” They asked my code word. I gave it. They said they’d try but unfortunately fire calls don’t usually get cancelled. My cell phone rang again. It was my fourteen year old. She said, “Mom, she is NEVER using the microwave again. There are five fire trucks outside the house.” I told her to send them away and apologize for the inconvenience. Later on, she said she makes the same Mac and Cheese all the time. I said, “You must have missed a step. That’s the only thing that could cause smoke enough to set off the alarm.” She thought a minute. “Oh! I know! I forgot to add water!”
Just another day in my house.
Carly Phillips would like to take 100% credit for all her stories but the truth is, Carly’s strength is writing family, emotion, funky elderly people and animals. She couldn’t plot her way out of a paper bag, which is why she smartly found her plotmonkey pals early on in her writing career. Thanks to their support, Carly is now a NYT Bestselling author of 23 plus novels. Because writing doesn’t keep her busy enough, Carly is also a wife, a mother of one preteen and one teenage daughter, the primary care giver of her soft coated Wheaten terrier and an expert carpool mom.
3 Seductions and a Wedding
Hot Number
Play With Me
Wild For Him
Subscribe to Posts 
Comment
Aye, yi, yi. Well, were the firemen cute at least? LOL. And how come your kids aren’t in school yet? I know some that went back at the beginning of August. It’s weird how everyone’s on different schedules.
Comment
Thank God my summer was relatively uneventful and our schools started back yesterday:party:
NC (where I am) passed a law that the schools can’t start back before 8/25, due to the tourism industry and the fact that hotel/restaurants couldn’t hire high school kids if they started back to school at the beginning of August. I love the time with my son (11) but I also love the day school starts back and I get a little piece of my life back.
Good luck to all the mom’s who still have the little darlings:happy2: at home.
Comment
At least everyone was OK – which is the important thing. But you would’ve thought they’d let you see the cute firemen! (I’d like to think they were cute).
Comment
I hope she remembers the water next time. :doh: You could consider it a test of your alarm company.
Comment
The kids here in Massachusetts start today in my neck of the woods. But I think all the neighboring cities start on diffrent days within the next two weeks.
Thank goodness there wasn’t a real fire at your house Carly. I am sure your daughter didn’t mean to cause so much chaos. But I bet she remembers the water next time. :wink:
Comment
Being that my husband’s best friend just lost everything in a fire on Friday (a lightning strike went through his roof and caught the house on fire…I told you all I lived in the lightning capital of North America!) I’m SOOOOO thankful it was just smoke. She must have been freaked out!
I do hope the firemen were cute!
Jodie, Florida just passed the same law for many of the same reasons. This coming summer is going to be a month longer than usual while we get caught up. My child will be doing camp…A LOT.
Comment
My kids went back to school yesterday. Yeah!
I now have both of my girls in high school. Where did the time/years go?
Comment
WOW!! What an eventful day. I am sure your daughter was so embarrassed. But, thank the good Lord, it was not an actual fire.
I sure do hope the firemen were handsome and understanding. My kids started school yesterday, and all I say is “WHEW!”
Comment
Oh goodness, I’m glad it wasn’t a fire. 5 fire trucks; they were prepared for anything and for Big; LOL.
Comment
Julie,
Don’t say that….. I love that the kids go back in August. It’s nice that they get out of school in the May. My son started Kindergarten so he’s school didn’t start until 8/7/2006 and gets out of school on 5/23/2006.
Today’s the day Julie!!!! I’m on my way to Borders to get my copy!!!
Comment
Thanks for the laugh!
Comment
And I thought I was having a bad day. :wallbash: Chin up Carly and just remember that laughter is the best medicine!! :happy2:
Comment
Carly – I can only imagine how horrified and embarassed she was. I am sure it created quite a stir in the neighbourhood. So glad that there was no real problem. And I bet she remembers water next time.
Comment
Here where I live in Ontario, kids don’t go back to school until the day after Labor Day. So my son will start college Sept 5.
Janelle when you figure out where the time goes, let me know.
Comment
I’m glad that it was nothing serious even though the fire trucks were called out. It is good to know that your alarm company reacts that quick.
I remember when I was young and everybody in all states started the day after Labor Day. Now schools start all different times and when I used to work at Wharton HS it was such a pain to get transcripts and records from the kids who didn’t start till late.
The time flies by so quick that it’s amazing to me. My first baby is now married and a teacher…I’m still not sure how she grew up and I didn’t grow old :happy2:
Comment
Oh, yikes, Karen! Scary–but funny too!
I have to say, your 14 year old’s reaction cracked me up. It was so like something my 15 year old would say about her younger sister!
Comment
Honestly, Les, that’s just it – it was funny – only b/c I KNEW everyone was safe and fine, but I posted it as a laugh. Apparently Jill Shalvis does it better than me when telling her home tales and making them humorous.
:happy2:
Comment
My kids are back in school and they are driving me completely crazy with the ATTITUDE they have brought home with them!!
Comment
I am with Ardie I thought I was having a bad day also:wallbash: first my extension cord I use for my hair dryer went up in smoke:hissyfit: good thing it was just the cord and not the hair dryer so I had to hunt down another extension cord to finish drying my hair.
Issues at work with my computer:wallbash:
Glad that everything worked out with your daughter WOW 5 fire trucks.
My son goes back to school Thursday. I live in Connecticut and the town we live in school starts Thursday. Some towns go back after Labor Day
Comment
Carly…I am so glad it wasn’t a real fire.
I just found out today (Tuesday afternoon) that there is an open house for my middle guy’s preschool on Thursday (last year the district’s preschool started in MID September, now he is starting on the 5th with the rest of the kids). I am so frustrated. I now have two open houses at the SAME time AND, hubby is out of town (babysitter flaked on me). GRRR. Good news, he starts on Tuesday with my oldest. Bad news, he doesn’t get to see the school again (he saw it last Spring).
I can’t believe I am going to have a 4 year old in school AND a first grader (kindergarten was tough enough on Mom). Fortunately, I still have #3 at home. Geez…I think I am going to have a cry, now…….it’s all down hill from here. :cry::cry::cry:
Comment
Aww, glad to hear that all was well, and that so sounds like the drama at my house over the summer! School started here on the 14th
This was a very long summer due to a move, and both hubby and I were extremely ready for school. (It seemed that while we worked, no matter how many times we stressed the house rules to our kids and the neighborhood kids, all of the above wound up at our house to entertain and eat, and in general, trash the place. Hence the joyous first day of school.):cheer:
Comment
School starts here the Wed after Labor Day. And then …
Comment
Carly,
But i know the Washington, DC schools start the day after labor day. Have a great night. Elisa
Im glad everyone is ok. I love those macroni and cheese cups for the microwave… it saves time for prep work plus i take them to work. School has started in Maryland already.
Comment
School started around my part in early August. It was really too soon for me.
They keep shuffling the schedule. They say they are trying to get it to be more like college semesters. You know, finals before Christmas break.
Carly the thought of your poor daughter doing that reminds me of my oldest daughter. :happy2::happy2:
Hey that little stunt might be used in one of your books sometime. Remember what is said about the truth being stranger than fiction.:doggie::doggie::doggie::doggie::doggie::doggie::doggie::doggie:
Comment
OMG my daughter did the exact same thing. She is nine and insists she can do everything on her own now. The worst thing was I was in the house when she did it. When smoke started pouring from the kitchen and the fire alarm went off we were all freaking. She didn’t know what she had done wrong and we just figured that she cooked it for too long. Until about a week later she did the same thing again. Luckily we caught it much sooner and realized she wasn’t putting any water in the little cup.
Too funny!
Comment
OHMIGAWD! Your daughter sounds like she is the soul mate to my son. He’s about to turn 12 in another couple months but when he was ten he started a fire in my microwave because he didn’t add water to his roman noodle soup. Needless to say no amount of cleaning helped the poor microwave and so we threw it out and bought another one. No fire trucks showed but I figure there will come a day when he will do it again…a girl can always hope.
LOL! We all have those parent days when you don’t know whether to strangle them 
or laugh yourself silly. :happy2: