I mentioned [yesterday](http://www.momathome.com/viewfromhome/2005/09/catching_up_1.php) that Laini had a bit of a scary incident on Friday. She got off the wrong stop in our development and couldn’t find her way home. Her bus was early so I had no idea that she was lost and upset and wandering around the neighborhood until a neighbor brought her home. I don’t want to think about how that story could have ended. It gets me too upset.

We went outside and took note of what makes our block different. Not much. We moved when I was in Kindergarten and I remember how scary it was that first bus ride home. I was able to tell my street apart from the others because of the style & color of the houses on the corner. All the houses in our development look *exactly* alike. You have to look at which houses have certain decorations in the window, or which cars parked out front to tell the difference if you’re not studying street signs carefully. The bus loops around and doesn’t get to our corner in the same way we would drive. Eventually, she’ll learn the turns but we’re not there yet.

Over dinner tonight, Laini says “You know, if I had a Firefly phone and I got lost I could call you.” Eric and I looked at each other. She’s right. I said, “Laini, you may have sold us on it.”

The [Firefly](http://fireflymobile.com/) is a cell phone designed for children. It has two big buttons on the front. One to call Mom, the other to call Dad. No keypad. Parents enter phone numbers (I assume by using the big buttons as up/down keys) in a PIN protected address book and the phone will only make incoming and outgoing calls to those numbers. It comes with 30 minutes, additional minutes are refillable.

I think it’s a fabulous idea, (if a bit pricely at $99 per phone…of course we’ll get one for Emily too) and when we told Laini that we agreed with her suggestion you could just see the worry melt off her face. The incident on Friday spooked her big time (as it did me!). She only takes the bus home on Wednesday and Friday. Target sells the phone, so if I can help it, she’ll have it by Wednesday. We told both girls that the rule is that the phone must stay in their backpacks and they couldn’t use it except for emergencies. No casual “Hi Mom” calls from school.

Yes, I could buy the girls “regular” cell phones for a lot less money. But I don’t want to worry about who they’re calling or who is calling them. They’re only 7 & 9 years old! I’m paying extra for the simplicity. Hmmmm…[where have I heard that before?](http://www.apple.com)