Welcome to the neighborhood
On Friday afternoon I took both kids over to the new house thinking M was there building his to do list. We arrived in the driveway only to discover that he had gone around the block the other way and headed home. We only had one key at that point, so I had no way of getting into the house, and I had made the unfortunate mistake of unstrapping the kids from the car seats and allowing them to ring the door bell and run around to the back door to see if we could find Daddy.
After it became clear that he was not in fact there, I tried to pack everyone back up to head home and get the key and some lunch. Both kids rebelled, and insisted that they wanted lunch RIGHT NOW at the NEW HOUSE. NOW. Crying, screaming, and much hysteria ensued from my overtired and emotionally drained children. In the middle of A throwing herself onto the front stoop in a serious snit and C screaming at me that he hated me, a man appeared from the house to the right of us.
"Please be the landscaper or housepainter coming to offer up his services" I silently prayed. "Please, please don't be the new neighbor."
"Hi! Are you the new owner?" he asked with hand extended.
"Yes..." I cautiously replied while keeping an eye on A, trying to will her to stand up and look cute.
"I'm CP! Nice to meet you! Do you need any, uh, help?"
"No, no, we're just fine. My daughter has decided she doesn't want to climb into her car seat."
"Ah. I, see. I guess with the police and all you can't just put her in the back anymore huh?"
"Ummm, yeah. We're a pretty big seat belt family." A picked this moment to begin wailing even more hysterically, and C began chiming in from the back seat as well.
"Right. Anyway, just wanted to say hi...what did you say your name was?"
"Oh, sorry....Chichimama....so nice to meet you." I watched as he headed back across the lawn to report the details of the encounter to his wife and college-age looking daughter.
"I wonder how long it will take for them to report us to CPS?" I wondered under my breath. "At least the kids were losing it because I was trying to get them into car seats...right?"
