"Get out of the refrigerator."

This is one of the originals, hand written on a piece of paper hanging on the fridge. At the time, about 6 years ago, it was such a strange thing for me to have said, but now, after 2 more kids, it's old news. In fact, I said it just a couple of days ago to my youngest. We were in the kitchen and my oldest (the one who started this whole 'i can't believe i just said that to my kid' journey) said, "Mom, look." So I did and saw my little guy fully inside. Nowadays, we have one of those side-by-side deals that is taller than our other fridge so he was actually using the shelves as steps and he was almost to the top, with one hand outstretched toward the juice and the other holding on for dear life, when I casually said those words to him. He reluctantly conceded, stepped out and said simply, with a hint of whine, "But I want some juuuice." Now I praise my kids' independence and their sometimes overzealous attempts at it but I also want to teach them that it's okay to ask for help. There's a tiny tightrope that parents are constantly walking so when you hear one say something that sounds totally outrageous, go ahead and chuckle with them - I'm sure it makes sense on some level. Now, if I can just find that list that I started all those years ago....it's probably filed somewhere in a 'safe' spot....