Vigilante married to an Outlaw

So Fernando's car desperately needed his rear brakes serviced. He has been very interested in diy projects like changing the oil and flushing his transmission fluid. The other day he even installed my air filter for $15 compared to the price Honda was charging of $60. (I didn't pay Fernando to change it. . .that was just the price of the filter.) We have both decided to force yes force our children to take some automotive class so they don't spend their life getting over charged for things that are easy ie putting in an air filter.
After some calls, he just decided to let 'professionals' handle the whole brake situation. Fernando is in the middle of doing an ER rotation down in Fairfax VA and didn't want to waste his time. A certain store seemed to offer the best bang for its buck. To preserve its character I will only refer to it as the P store that ends in "epBoys". Coupon in tow, we drop the car off and Fernando heads to Virginia in my car. Good thing for nice weather so we didn't have to be stuck inside all day. Fernando's car was finished later that day, but the ER shift didn't get finished in time. No biggie, the website said the store hours Mon-Fri are 7am-9pm. The next morning we drag the family to P store at 7:20 am and find it all locked up. Fernando has an hour and a half to get to Virginia in time (yeah right. . .even in good traffic that would be a miracle.) He starts knocking on all the windows to get someone's attention. Meanwhile, I start up his car that is sitting unlocked in the parking lot. Good thing the shop was concerned about keeping our car safe. Fernando finally reappears with a look of bewilderment on his face and tells me to take the kids home.
Later I get the update from Fernando. It seems like P store doesn't like people banging on their windows. Some sort of interaction occurred with Fernando and the store people and they threatened to call the police on him. Fernando will have to fill in the rest of the details because well they are still a little hazy to me. With all that said, it's good that we went home. I think my mother bear instincts would have made the situation all the worse. Besides, can you really be upset with this
handsome face?

Vigilante of the Playground

There was a distinct feeling of change in the air. Spring was riding in on the near horizon and many dormant hopes for . . . .oh what I am trying to say is that it was a whopping 60 degree Monday which meant short sleeved shirts and ice cream on the front porch. More importantly, our unfrozen limbs had the chance to go to some new parks in our neighborhood. Tiago and Mia pushed their vehicle of choice (a lawnmower and stroller that somehow makes Mom carrying either of them the rest of the way undesirable). We found the first new park amazing and free of any kids. Out of curiosity, we walked the half block to the other new park to find swarms of kids and for good reason. Aside from the new factor, there were rock climbing walls, interesting slides, and a giant "spiderweb" as Mia called it. Unfortunately, there was a group of 6 teenage boys atop this intricate climbing contraption. At first I thought I would do as all the other mothers were doing, ignore them. Then I realized something. . .they can sit and talk their filth anywhere, my kids and all these other kids have a right to play on the playground without being afraid to go on some toy. Encouraged by the clearly posted signs stating that the playgrounds are for use of children age 12 and UNDER, I called over to inquire about their presence on the playground. After finding out that they weren't there with anyone, simply said "Well, you will have to leave." Some of the moms looked around uncomfortably and pretended that I hadn't just disrupted the status quo. As you could have guessed a few boys made some smart comments and one even encouraged the group to leave. I gave them some time and they didn't budge. Well, not to go into the whole I said they said routine, it finally boiled down to me directly by the "spiderweb" reminding them how to read signs and letting them know that the next step was calling the police. The ring leader felt just as livid as I and pointed out that his mother had paid the same HOA fee as everyone else and thereby had the right to be there. I should state here that all the other 6 mothers around the playground with cell phones were still unwilling to stand up for their kids or the chance for them to have a safe environment for their kids to play. Though I was cell phoneless and blocks from home, I knew that my best bet was an empty threat. We walked to the other park in hopes to scare them off. Sure enough, when we returned the boys had left and we had fun again. (note to reader: you will probably notice the different attire the kids are wearing in the two pictures. Since I was busy policing on Monday, I didn't get many playground pictures. Luckily the weather was still nice enough to play outside today affording us of a few pictures to show the "spiderweb".)