A few weeks after we moved in, the doorbell rang.  I went to the door and found two lovely boys standing sweetly in front of me.  "Can Racecar come out to play?"  (I so badly want to use real names, but Brian vetoed it…sorry!)  "Well, um…nnnnot, right now." I answered nervously.  This had never happened to me, I have never had kids come over to ask if my kids could come out to play.

I asked what their names were and how old they were, the bigger of the two spoke for both of them.  "I’m Fred and I’m 10 and this is Barney and he’s 7."

"Oh, well.  Um….Racecar is four and how do you even know who Racecar is?" I asked.

"We met him in your backyard yesterday."  Which happened to be the same day I left Brian in charge of the kids outside while I worked inside and then I looked outside and saw my kids coming out of someone else’s back door.  It was very "twilight zone," really.   (side note: do not leave your kids with my husband.  side note to side note:  I’m totally kidding, he watches other kids a thousand times better than he watches our own.  The first side note is just for me.)

Anyway, back to the story.  (by the way, this is how I tell stories in real life, I interrupt myself and every story has seventeen side stories and before ten hours is up, I never even finish one story.)

(just ask my sisters.)

(and Brian.)

(except I never really talk to Brian because when he gets home I am typically comatose.)

ANYWAY.

I shoo’d the boys away and shut the door and called Brian and told him how cute and crazy it was that these boys came over and asked for Racecar. 

And then the next week they came back.

"how old are you boys again?"  Ten and seven, they replied.

"You do know Racecar is four, right?" 

"Yeah, can he come out and play?" 

"Well, yes, but only in the backyard, our backyard, he’s to young to run around the the neighborhood."

So, I asked Racecar if we wanted to go outside and play and he said yes.

And off they went.

For five minutes.

Then they came back again the next week.

"Can Racecar come out and play?"

"You do know he’s four, right?"

"He is?  What grade is he in."  He asked as if this was brand new information.

"Well, no grade really, just preschool."

"How old is she?"  He asked while pointing at Ariel.  "She’s five and she goes to your school, she’s in kindergarten."

"Awesome, does she ride the bus?"

"No."

"OH MAN, SHE SHOULD RIDE THE BUS IT’S SOOOOOOOOO MUCH FUN, IT’S THE BEST, WE LOVE THE BUS, WE CAN’T WAIT FOR IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  EVERY SINGLE DAY!!!"

And then Ariel started to cry because she doesn’t ride the bus.

So, Racecar goes outside and playS and I’m in the living room and Brian’s in the office and I hear Racecar come in and say "yeah, we’ve got Guitar Hero and Mario Brothers and Wii Fit….."

I stood up…."um, what you are boys doing?"

"We are playing Wii."

"Well, unless there is a Wii in the backyard, then we are not playing Wii.  Racecar, if you want to play Wii, come inside and say good bye to your friends."

"Bye Friends," he said, without hesitation. (his devotion to Wii is deep, friends.  Real deep.)

Twenty minutes later.

Someone knocks on my patio door.  Shockingly, it’s these boys.

"Can Racecar come out to play?"

"Yes.  But he’s four."

"He is?  Is Racecar playing Wii?"

"Yes."

Racecar comes to the door.  "Hey Racecar, what are you playing?"

"Um, Guitar Hero, I want to rock and roll all night."

"Can we come in and play, we’ve never played Wii?"  They asked me sweetly.

"No."

Twenty minutes later, the boys return.

"Can Racecar come out to play."

"No, he has homework."

"But he’s only four, how can he have homework?  Can we come in and play Wii?"

Oy.

"I need lots and lots of drinks."

(I said that, not the kids.)