And the Winner of the Very Embarrassed Neighbor Award Goes to...

me. :(

Earlier this afternoon, I had three neighbor kids (two brothers and another neighbor girl, all a few years older) knock on the door asking to play with my kids. I was just putting shoes on Audrey and Nathan to take them in the backyard, so I said they could join us.

I asked them if their mommy and daddy knew where they were, but I'm not sure they understood me or just ignored me. They played over on the swingset and I was clearing out more rocks and weeds in the garden patch for a good 45 minutes.

Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw one of the neighbor boys go over and open the side gate (that leads to the driveway and the front yard) and I knew The Boy would not be too far behind, so I ran over there to prevent him from getting any further.

I was met by several cars going up and down the street, a crying mom, and a highway patrolman. Half the neighborhood was out looking for these kids. Apparently these kids hadn't told anyone where they were going. Both moms told me I wasn't at fault, but I certainly feel otherwise.

Ugh, my stomach is all in knots now. I've never had kids come over to play like this before, but in hindsight, I definitely should have called their parents to give them a heads-up.

So here's my little PSA: if your kids go outside to play, make sure you know where they're going!

(Those little pay-as-you-go kids phones are a pretty good idea, me thinks...)