Bad parenting and stinky trash

Yesterday we decided to purchase some beach type shoes for the kids for our upcoming vacation. For this reason, The Man and I took the van to pick the kids up from their bus stops. Again I pulled up to Munchkin's stop and all the vans and SUVs lined the road. The bus pulled up and all the kids, including Munchkin, got off the bus and ran to their cars.

Again I pulled up to Bug's stop and all the vans and SUVs lined the road. The bus pulled up, all the parents jumped from their cars and walked up to the bus to collect their children. Bug got off of the bus last escorted by the bus attendant.

*sigh*

I got out of the van and met them half way.

"You're going to need to walk up to the bus and pick him up. Cars could hit him. Someone could turn that corner right there and hit him."

So, of course, I nodded and consented that from now on, I'll get out of the car and meet him at the bus. Even though I have another child in the car.

Then I considered telling her I have a handicapped child in the car... yeah...

Then I mentally smacked myself upside the head.

But what I really was thinking? Why are we BABYING our kids?! I would hope that Bug, at 8, would have enough good common sense to look to see if any cars are coming. I know I can't speak for other drivers but I would hope that anyone seeing a school bus letting kids off would obey the law and STOP. But I know people pass stopped school buses all the time. And I know that 8 year olds don't pay attention to traffic all the time. And I can see how the combination could be deadly.

So I'll get out of the van and walk up to the bus and baby my son. Hopefully he'll learn to cross a street by himself before he turns 30.

I get to wear my irresponsible bad mom badge again. Yay.

In odd news, last night when we returned home from a late Brownie meeting, we were greeted by our trash can sitting right next to our mailbox. Not the new trash can we just purchased to replace the trash cans that were stolen. Nope, one (not both) of the ones that were stolen was sitting there next to our mailbox.

And here's the kicker.

It still had our trash in it.

The Man said he feels like he needs to give his trash can a bath.

Any theories on that? Cause I'm plum out. The trash does not appear to be tampered with... but then again, who really knows? If someone was going for identity theft I'm sort of snickering at them for picking our trash. We don't ever throw that stuff away anyhow, so I doubt they would have gotten any information.