Neighbors

Isn't it funny how neighbors are a lot like family members.  You don't get to pick them, it's all chance who you end up with.  You live by them for years and years just dealing with whatever crap or pleasantries they dish out.  Well, I've been in a little bit of a funk the last hour or so over some of our neighbor issues today.
1. The neighbor up the street, who has 2 very obnoxious dogs who constantly get out and come and do their business in our yard, just threatened Charity for the 3rd time about her dog barking while he's on his leash.  Saying that if he does that again they will call animal control.  I'm really annoyed for two reasons.  One, where does he get off talking to my child like that??  You can't threaten a child!  Shouldn't even be talking to her without her parents there.  And two, since when was a barking dog a reason to call animal control.  Yeah, if he was out there 24/7 barking the night and morning away, I could understand, but Buddy is an inside dog.  He goes out for walks, to poop and pee, and the occasional hour or so in the afternoon when everyone's too busy to walk him and he needs some fresh air!  He barks for a total of 20 minutes at most!  Simply because I can't stand the barking!!! So it really shouldn't be an issue to anyone else.  I'm frustrated.  Nate's going to have to go talk to them for me.

2. The little kids (Luke, Noah and Erika) went over to Lorna's today with their friend Kambree, and picked pears and then threw them.  This is not something my kids would normally do so I'm forced to assume that they got the idea from Kambree.  Whom I'm already sick of this week and she's only been back to her Dad's for one day.  Seriously, that's a problem, we have the whole weekend with her now!  We even had a long break, so I've got to hurry and change my attitude.  But I'm a little ticked off because Don went out and yelled at the kids (not that part) and when he asked who was doing it, my kids all confessed and Kambree insisted that she wasn't the one doing it.  So my kids got a lecture and she got to relax.  I'm annoyed with people reprimanding my kids without me.  When they got home, we had a LOOOOONG talk about the fruit trees, about people's yards, and other people's things, and then Noah, Luke and I went over and apologized formally to Lorna.  I'm all about making it right, but I want to do it my way and not have everyone else doing the disciplining.  It just irks me!  Lorna was of course very sweet, she was proud of the boys for apologizing and just reminded them that there are two rules in her yard, no playing in the garden and no touching the fruit trees.  She's the sweetest lady on the planet, I knew things would be okay.

3.  The other issue I have is silly, and not because of bad neighbors, but just that I get tired of the in and out of the house business with the friends, and the coming and going and the sales and the open windows where we're throwing things out to the front yard, and back and forth from house to house to the point that I don't even know where everyone is anymore.  That whole scene just wears me out.  It's relaly not a bad thing.  I'm really so grateful my kids HAVE friends, and that there are kids to play with around here.  It's actually a huge blessing in a lot of ways, I just wish it could be more organized play.  It wears me out and I feel like I'm so distracted by all the requests to do something else, that I can't focus and get anything done in my house!  It's just crazy.  I need to get used to it.

There.  It does feel better to get that off my chest.  Now I'm wondering what my big problem was.  We do have so many good neighbors, I should really focus on that.  There are just the few that I could do without.  Including the guy across the street who can't keep his opinions about how many kids we have to himself.  But that's a whole different issue.  Anyway.  All is well.