Two doors down

The Boy has become friends with R, a boy who lives two doors down from us. I'm glad to see this happen, mostly because I grew up in a neighborhood where there were lots of kids to play with, which we did everyday.

R's mom has been a SAHM since he was born. She once told me that since R is not in daycare, and since she is not a morning person, they stay up until 11:00 or so at night and don't get up until mid morning. R is 3.5 years old.

Since I am not a SAHM, I assume she and her husband would realize that is not the way at our house. They have been over a lot this summer, and always at 8:30 I tell The Boy it's time to get ready for bed.

Last night The Boy asked if R could come over to play. After dinner we walked down to get him and brought him back to our house. It was around 7:00. His mom offered to come and get him in 15 minutes. I said I thought they could play for an hour or so. I have been hoping that since it's getting dark earlier, I could get The Boy into bed earlier.

They didn't leave until 9:45, even after I said it was way past bedtime. Dad came to get him and just didn't leave.

My mom suggested that from now on I need to go get him and then say I will bring him home in an hour. Smart lady, that one. No wonder she survived raising four kids.

Regarding the birthday gift dilemma below? Of course I would not attend without a gift - I was planning to put a small amount of money in a card since I have no real idea what the girl likes. However, we aren't able to attend, and it's legit. Joel is having late hockey practices, most of the time getting home after 7:00, and darn it all - we have to feed the kid.