Thursday, September 4, 2008

Advice Needed!!!!

This post may seem a bit long winded, but I need to give you "history", so you can understand my frustration and hopefully have some words of advice......
There is a neighborhood kid (i will call him "C") who lives a few houses down from us and is pretty good friends with Ethan and sometimes Joseph (even though Joseph is younger than them , he still likes to keep up with and play with them). C is a nice enough boy, but is kind of nosy and bossy and ALOT rambunctious. There have been a few instances where he has been too rough and one of my kids have gotten hurt. He has broken and/or lost more than a few of the kid's toys and has flat out lied to me on two different occasions which resulted in my boys being put in a bad situation (most of you probably know that story already). Another thing that drives me crazy is that he gets to our house the minute we pull in the driveway (like he watches for us to get home); so I don't even have a second to get the kids settled, started on homework or anything. Not to mention, the dogs go NUTS when he comes around, so I then have to settle them down...all this while just getting home from work and trying to get dinner cooked and relax (arrrgghhh) Even when I have to send him home during dinner, he asks me "when can I come back, what time, how long?" to which I usually tell him that I will just send the boys down to get him,; yet he still comes back every few minutes, knocking on the door until the boys are done (again causing the dogs to go NUTS)!!! Sometimes he just makes me crazy and frustrated.... SOOOOO, yesterday he was over and they were all playing with Joseph's "Better Batter Baseball" which is a t-ball learning game/toy; and C didn't want to wait his turn for the bat, so he picked up a large stick and swung at the ball...... and hit Joseph right in the face; Joseph ended up with a big welt (see below), a bloody nose and a bloody lip:
When I went out to talk to him about it he says "my dad says I'm not allowed to play with Joseph because he is too little" to which I said "well, C, when you come to this house, Joseph is here because this is HIS house too, so if you "can't play with him, then don't come over here" (i explained that he and Ethan could play at his house, since they are the better of friends; but he can't come to our house, play on our playset, with our toys and completely exclude Joseph). Here's the thing, this is where I NEED ADVICE..... how do I handle this? How do I deal with him? He never takes responsibility for any of his actions (and I try to teach my kids to be accountable)...from the things he breaks to the injuries he causes; plus he's mouthy and not always truthful...... Do I not let him come play anymore? He is Ethan's age and they do play well together, but he doesn't mesh with ANYTHING else at our house. I feel bad for him sort of; his parents are alot older than me (he actually has an older brother who is MY age) and they let him do anything and get away with anything; so I think he is just aimless.....
ANY ADVICE will be soooooo appreciated!!! Anyone had a similiar situation?
On a happier note, some pictures of the kids:
Here is my sweet little Angie....remember the one who had a meltdown on Tuesday night. We had a much better evening last night; thanks to a good nap and a great dinner. She was so excited that I bought them "baby rootbeers"
Ethan reading his book; he is such a good reader.... when he gets started on a book, he can't put it down until it's done. This book (which incidently is way below his reading level...yes, I'm bragging) took him about 2 hours to read front to back.
CJ doing what he loves, what he is so passionate about..... his music!! He has such a gift (again- yes, I'm bragging); he can read the music, learn & play by ear and has started composing music. He plays trombone in the school band, but also plays clarinet (picture below), guitar and keyboard... I'm so proud of him!!
Thanks for letting me vent....and any advice will be MUCH appreciated!!!!!

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