Our old house was in a neighborhood full of a wide range of
people/families. Some older single people, some young families, some
families with older children. Even though we lived near a beautiful
pond, we didn't really see anyone outside in front often because we all
had our own fenced in yards. Everyone was friendly to each other and we
enjoyed living in our quiet neighborhood.
Fast forward to our new house. From the first day we pulled
up with the moving truck, there were kids everywhere. The whole street
is filled with young families with kids of all ages that are always
outside in front playing. We live in a hilly area that backs up to a
lake so the yards are smaller than our old neighborhood, we are lucky we have a corner lot so we have a ton more space. It's a nice change
and it will be great for our boys to have kids to play with as they grow
up.
We moved in on a Monday night and the following
Tuesday, the neighborhood had planned a block party. The family that
lived next door came over to drop off an invitation one afternoon as I
was getting the boys up from their naps and getting them ready to jump
in the car to go pick up Josh from work. I was just kneeling down to
change Eli's diaper when the doorbell rang. I'm not sure if I have
mentioned yet that we also have two small dogs. Both are very sweet but
also very protective. They bark at anything and everything: people,
leaves, bikes, animals. It drives me flippin' crazy.
After hearing the doorbell ring, the dogs went racing to
the door barking their heads off. Honestly, I had my hands full with
two cranky boys and two barking dogs so I figured I wouldn't answer the
door because it was likely a delivery service dropping off a package.
As I continued to change Eli's diaper, I realized that our new house has
decorative glass next to the door and they could see me sitting there. Not answering the door.
Awkward. So, I jumped up with Eli's onesie still unbuttoned figuring
that I could talk to her through the screen door.
So to review, I'm trying to talk to these poor people
with two dogs barking their heads off, a Caleb crying, an Eli with an
unbuttoned onesie, and oh yes, I was wandering around in a nursing tank
top and short shorts. As it turns out, all she was trying to do was
hand me a block party invitation. I attempted to open the door just a
little bit to grab it, and one of the dogs slipped past me and out of
the house. Completely out of character, he cornered the four year old girl against the porch barking like a ferocious beast. I went running
out of the house after him (with the baby with the unbuttoned onesie and
my short-shorts), the little girl is screaming, Caleb is screaming, it was A. MESS.
The dog gave up on the little girl, went racing down the driveway with
me running and yelling after him and finally ran back inside the house.
I apologized profusely and granted he's literally a 12 pound dog but still. She was scared and I felt terrible.
We certainly gave the neighbors a show. What a first impression that
was. Think we will be invited to any block parties in the future?
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