We have a "family" much like your neighbors near us. The "adults" regularly drive home drunk and plow down people's fences and occasionally take an animal with them. They recently got 2 pit bulls that were allowed to roam free and were not friendly to say the least. One day my son and I were going out to the chicken pen when we heard a lot of racket and what I thought was dogs (we don't have any). When we arrived at the pen what was in there but the 2 pit bulls trying quite hard to get through that fence at us. Called the police department who said we could shoot them or they would send a deputy out to shoot them. The dogs are no longer...but neither are my 30 chickens - which means no meat or eggs and having to start over with chicks. It has been a long 3 months as we continue to wait for our chickens to grow to production size. These same people have two boys who live to terrorize animals and people alike. They would let out our rare breed hogs when we were not home ( we now have padlocks on EVERY pen) and because of it and the evidence on game cameras catching them in the act the boys have been arrested for trespassing, vandalizem and other things. They are always back in a few days torturing everyone within walking distance. Nothing you can do really but keep a close eye out and keep in touch with your local law enforcement. I know it seems harsh to have "kids" picked up by the police, but one of two things are guaranteed to happen 1) they will learn their lesson and never mess with you again or 2) you will have a clear and legal history of their activities if and when their "pranks" escalate. We are hoping the family near us will eventually give up and move away. The last police officer that came out said the oldest boy is almost 16 and will probably end up in juvenile hall shortly for some other offenses he has committed. Ours is a situation where I wish these boys would be taken away from their horrible living conditions or that someone will go ahead and lock them up to prevent what they will eventually do. All this to say those boys started with paint guns and now some genius bought them a pellet gun. Nip it in the bud before it gets worse. Call the police and let it be known that you will call every time. Post no trespassing signs and the most important part is that you have signs that say "violators will be prosecuted" In our county a warning ticket can be given if you don't have that special phrase - if you do - automatic arrest. I sound like a crazy, but your property and animals are an investment of time, care, and money. No one should take that away from you and get away with it.

Hey Kat, just got home today and reading up on old posts. They play bass drum (son) and trumpet (dd). We saw Ted as he marched by, missed Al but they all look alike. Very cool! I will post more later with pics. Thanks for remembering, even if you did root for TCU, lol!

Mom2emall, I'm not sure where you are from. I don't consider Mexico to be crime and gang ridden and never thought of me saying "Little Mexico" means those things. I simply meant that it is a community of Mexicans. I didn't really say anything in the beginning about the quality of schools I chose between and the quality of houses I chose between, I was referring to the neighborhood and ratio of white to brown. And, this was because there were insinuations made of quality of people/friends. My point was that I don't judge people like that. I love the Mexican culture. I want my daughter to be exposed to people with disabilities, and in lower income brackets, and who speak different languages. I think it's healthier than plopping down in a white bread neighborhood next to Susie and Timmy and their 2.2 kids. Because around here, you either choose to be segregated and live with "your kind" or you move into the mainstream. And the mainstream is Mexican. This house is actually in a less posh part of town and smaller than others I looked at. But I considered community, the long driveway so she can play safely, the proximity to parks and downtown, and a plethora of other issues besides the school, which was also a consideration. However, in my case the school was not "crap" so I didn't have to pass up on any house. Just because the students are ESL does not mean the school caters to them at the expense of the other students. They are in integration classrooms. But a lot of the students who are not ESL have parents who are. Instead of making assumptions why didn't you ask me how they handle the communication disparity? The policy in California is to teach ESL students in seperate classrooms both in Spanish and in English so the Mexican students don't fall behind in their work, while learning a new language. They are mainstreamed pretty quickly. This is while the English speaking students continue on their main track. I too, looked into my daughters school very carefully. AS I said, the teachers are higher qualified than the state average. I spoke with people whose children had attended the school, not just looked at numbers on a page. The parents all rated the school very highly, despite the low test scores, which are a direct result of having so many ESL children in the classrooms. There are quite a few GATE scholors coming out of that school. Test scores do not give an accurate reading of the overall environment of the school. And the way teachers are "teaching to the test" these days does not give me much esteem for test scores. I personally never tested well, but I graduated college summa cum laude and no, it was not in underwater left handed basket weaving. I think in every neighborhood you will have kids not being cared for appropriately. My point was at what point do you start calling CPS? On every little kid who is unsupervised? Just how do you define "high class"? Is it the size of your house? The type of car you drive? The neighborhood you live in? I consider class to be an attitude rather than a commodity, and I find it very disturbing to consider people either of very good quality, ie "high class" or poor quality. I would rather my daughter see how people live than get bourgeois ideas from classists. I think that we have come to a "let's agree to disagree" point. You make snap judgements that I find offensive, and obviously you can't understand why I would want to live the way I do. Yes, I have a pair of drunks in front of me. I did not interview my neighbors before I bought my house. Did you? I also have three neighbors I feel comfortable leaving my daughter with, which is priceless. My question was whether or not I should let her play with the neighbor boy. I brought the town, etc. into play because I was explaining that isn't how I operate. I have different ideals and morals. You don't think he would be an appropriate friend. You censor your children's playmates more than I do. As long as the child is not destructive or dangerous or mean, I let her play with any child she comes in contact with. I give my child the opportunity to learn to make friends with everyone.

It reminded me of Katrina when many people were brought to Houston. If they didn't move you, I don't know who would. There were so many volunteered to help that the Red Cross had to send them home. Clothes were piled up so fast that many had to be boxed up and saved for other needs in the future. While helping these people, I had a couple stopped me and thank me for smiling. I was puzzled. They further explained that for days, their world was surrounded by glooming sights. It was even on people faces. A simple smile to them was hope. Seriously, I never thought of that way before. I made a point to smile all day long. I tell you, my mouth was almost stuck at that position.