I always have to tell her more than once.  Twice at least, but usually more.  Why?  Is she a child?  Does she have a learning disability?  Does she not understand what I am asking her to stop doing (or do)?  Does she maybe not speak my language?  Or maybe she thinks I am joking?  I am sure it's none of those reasons.  Mother just wants to do what mother wants to do, and screw anyone else.  I say to her politely "Stop messing with the front yard.  You have both side yards and the backyard to do things in leave the front to me.  Let me have my own space, please."  She argues with me, but relents.  But then the next day, she's out front with a shovel again.  So I say again, "I told you yesterday to leave the front yard alone.  Why do I have to tell you more than once?"  She gives me some silly answer, but I tell her to stop and she gets annoyed and tromps off with her shovel, back through the house to the back.  

But now, she's getting into my secret pantry.  See, I took our front hall closet and turned it into a secret pantry.  It took awhile, but she found out about it and at first, I wanted to put a lock on it.  My kids thought I was crazy, but now she's getting into it and taking food.  She had diabetes and I have to watch what she eats.  And that's where I store things that I control.  But now she's thinking she can have free reign over it.  And since I 100% know I cannot trust her to listen to me, I went out today to the hardware store and bought a padlock and a lock thingy to install on it.  I am not sure what they're called, so I will call it a lock thingy.  

Not only is it my secret pantry, it's where I store things she's not supposed to have.  She didn't even ask me if she could get into the pantry either, she asked my son while he was sleeping, and now thinks she can just go get what she likes out of it.  I am not even going to talk to her about it, since I have to lock it no matter what.  I'm just going to lock it up.  Now, I wish I could install a locking doorknob.  Which is something I bought to use on that door, but alas, the freaking doorknob is from 1973 and it's embedded into the door itself.  What the hell?  So now I have to put a padlock on it.  Great.  Now anyone that enters the house will see it.  Well, I bought a lock and the hardware to match the knob and they're both tiny and I am installing it right by the knob to make it blend in a little better.  This will be the interim lock until I can get the freaking doorknob removed and re-installed.  

I hate that I have to do these things, but hey, it gives me peace of mind to know that our shit is safe, and that she's not getting into things she's not supposed to have (and now, neither will my kids, which is nice side effect LOL).

I swear, this is harder (and more annoying) than being a parent.  I never had to lock shit up from my kids.  Ugh.