Right now we have opened canned dog food hidden in our closet. The monkey likes to feed the dogs until they eat everything in their bowl. But our oldest dog, Bella isn’t very hungry lately. She just wants to sleep. So that the monkey doesn’t force feed Bella, then we hide the food. We will wait until she’s awake and offer her food again.

I have saltine crackers hidden in the garage. The monkey loves thee crackers. But if you have ever eaten them, you’d know they make a lot of mess. He leaves crumbs all over the house. So now I only let him eat them outside when he’s on his swing. Cleaning up is just too much work.

I have his clothes hidden in my closet. I have small containers where I will put his clothes after it’s washed. Lately the monkey loves to change clothes ALL the time. He will change outfits every half hour. I used to let him do it since I can see him on video and I know he is fine. Plus, he lets me work so it’s a win win. But then I noticed I wasn’t sure what is clean and what isn’t. I wasn’t sure if I should fold it back or wash it again. And once he had every piece of clothing on the floor of his bedroom, I realized a Plan B was needed. Hide the clothes. His drawers are mostly empty.

He loves to go on car rides. He will get our car keys and patiently wait. A few weeks ago I was working and he was patiently waiting. But my meeting took longer than expected. After I was done, I went to get the keys and I couldn’t find them. We don’t have spares. We have looked everywhere but they are still lost. I received a few quotes to get another key that will be programed to our vehicle, the cheapest is $150! So our car is parked in the front of our home and has not been moved for a while. The plan is to keep looking. So now, our keys are hiding in the back of the fridge, where the monkey cannot reach. That’s the new spot. So when people visit our home, first thing we need to make sure is that keys are hidden.

I know the unique ways of our household may be weird to most outsiders. But the way I see it is like this: He feeds his doggies because he wants to make sure they are healthy. He eats crackers because he’s a growing kid. He changes clothes because he knows what he wants. He can’t communicate like the rest of us so he improvises by getting car keys. That’s his way of asking for rides.

It’s all in how you like at things.