Beer Bottles and Babies

I have the luck (insert massive sarcassam here) of living in a college town. Which in and of itself wouldn't be so intolerable, if I didn't live blocks from Campus (Seriously, I can see the football stadium from my porch).

And since I live in a college town, near campus, law dictates that my neigboors to the north,south east and west be none other then...college kids. Drunk college kids. Drunk college kids who like to party. Everynight. Drunk college kids who scream for their runaway dogs at 4 am (you can read that story here).

Last school year, it wasn't too bad. The only drunks I had to deal with were the guys whose dog ran away. They had parties, but only on the weekends and not anywhere near what happened last night. Granted, their cars blocked our driveways on numerous occasions. But at least they kept their parties and drunkeness indoors. And off my property. (Insert a yelling Mr. Nevercracker from Monster house here...get.off.my.LAWN!!!)

Noah, my 2 month old son, has been fussy lately. Well, that is putting it mildly. Let's just say he is making sure no one in the tri-county area is getting any sleep,unless his needs have been met. Have you ever tried to please a 2 month old. You can't. Ever.

Last night was a particularly rough night. We had spent the afternoon wandering a local carnival with my brother and his girlfriend. Schlepping the kids from one ride to another. A good time was definately had. However, I think the sheer massiveness of the carnival and the noise and the people and the smells just caused poor Noah's sensory system to go into overload. Once we were home he cried and screamed until his little face turned a pecuilar shade of red. All nigh. For hours. Before falling asleep in my arms while the adult people played Mario Party on the Wii.

By 10pm my guests had dispersed, the baby was snuggled in his swing, blissfully sleeping. I sunk into bed, hoping to grab a little bit of sleep before the baby woke to be changed and fed.

Crash!

"Did you hear that?" my husband asked

"Yeah, what the heck was it"

The baby is begining to stir at this point

"The girls in the townhome next to us and the guys in the one across the driveway are throwing beer bottles at eachothers houses"

"What? Should I call the police?"

I am looking out the window at this time and my eyes are greeted by no fewer then 15 college kids roaming between the houses, and throwing beer cans and bottles at their houses. Thinking of the fact that my car is parked in the driveway and the fact that any broken glass would end up embedded in my car tires or worse my child's feet, I called the non-emergency number for our local police.

Now, I am not one to run and call the police at the first sign of drunken debuachery. But this happens. All the time. They are loud. They park 2-3 deep in the common drive, making it impossible to get out. They run between the townhomes yelling and screaming at all hours of the night. I bit my tounge, but last night was just going to far.

By this time, they had gotten louder as their "game" continued. Noah is awake. Again. You wake the baby and you have hell to pay, thats all I am saying.

The police arrive, the neighboors pretend they aren't home. Luckily our law enforcement aren't that stupid and wait for someone to come out. I am watching in the windows, talking to my sister in law on the phone, waiting...I wanna see someone get arrested.

No one gets arrested. The cops leave. The drunken party ensues. Until 3am. During which no fewer then 20 drunk college kids come and go. Noisily, I might add.

The baby starts fussing.

Again.

And, like many nights before this,

I am kept awake by a fussy baby and the coming and goings of the neighboors.

And, like many nights before this,

My husband sleeps...blissfully unaware that as he snoozes I am wondering how much it would cost to hire a hit man....

A Minor Rant: It is 4 am, Do You Know Where Your Dog is?

Well, apparently my slightly obnoxious and overly intoxicated college-aged neighbor does not.


Since 3am this morning, I have been awake. The sound of my neighbor's flip flops scuffling on the sidewalk is what woke me. (I was *trying* to sleep with the window open). My dogs began barking..again. Contemplating rolling over and nudging my husband to go deal with them, I heard it.

My drunk neighbor standing in the driveway between my townhouse and theirs, yelling. Curious, and slightly annoyed that this is the reason that I am awake before the birds, I look out the window to see what is going on.

My neighbor is standing there, yelling for his dog to "Please come back, this isn't funny anymore" and that he was getting "very worried"

Now, I am just as much a dog lover as the next, heck I have 3 labs myself, so my heart went out to him....for a minute.

At 3 am, if your dog ran off, what would you be doing? Standing in the driveway begging with it to please come home or get in your car and look?

My dogs have run off before. They figured out if they jump up and hit the garage door opener on the wall in the garage that the magical gate will open and they will be free. It has happened once or twice, with one time landing them a free ride in a cop car.

I chuckle which finally wakes up my husband who grumbles "what the heck?" I tell him the story adding that if I were their dog I would run off too...

I feel bad for the dog. We live right by train tracks, and while my dogs have had the sense to stay off them, who knows how smart this dog is and as much as I despise my neighbors, I wouldn't want the dog hurt.

As for my neighbor....well his well-being may not be so certain after tonight.

I wonder if being pregnant, having 3 kids already, and lack of sleep is a probable cause to hit someone.

I bet there isn't a jury in the Tri-State Area that would convict me. :)