My Mother Bear Instinct

Okay. So, dude, I have to vent about my neighbors for a minute. They drive me crazy! Actually, the parents are really nice, but their kids are...interesting. There are three of them, and they remind me of those ragamuffin kids in that book, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. They play in our front yard, instead of their own, and they leave their toys all over our yard. They throw their trash in our yard. When they play with Dylan, they keep asking me for food and drinks. I won't let them inside, because they trash my house whenever they come in, and they beg for food. I always tell them to go to their own house to eat and drink (we can't afford to feed them, plus ourselves). They are filthy and their hair is never combed.

One of them in particular really gets under my skin. She is Dylan's age - her two siblings are aged six and seven. She has some kind of speech impediment - she talks as badly as Sadie, and she's almost five. I can't figure out if there is something wrong with her, mentally, as well. She seems normal, but she lacks some basic social knowledge. We have these huge windows at the front of our house, and you can stand on our front porch and look right in. Well, that's what she does. All the time. She'll stand there and stare inside, even if Dylan is at preschool and Sadie is napping. It's really quite creepy. One time, she and Dylan were playing outside, and it was time for dinner. So I went out and said, "Dylan, it's time to come in for dinner. Dylan will play with you another day, Ashlynn. See you later." And she wouldn't move. She's standing at the window, watching us while we are eating. So Ben bangs on the window to scare her off, and she jumps and runs away. You would think that would scare her off forever, but nope. She always comes back for more.

Another night, I called Dylan in for dinner, and she gave me the skankiest, meanest look, like, "How dare you take away my friend??" And I said, "See you later, Ashlynn. It's time for you to go home." And she didn't go home. She stared at me through our windows and screamed at me in her unintelligible jibber-jabber. So I go on the porch, and I say, "Ashlynn, you can't be screaming at me on my front porch. You need to go home now." She just stayed put and stared me down. So I said, "Okay, I'll go get your dad to come and get you." So I start walking next door, and she got scared and ran home. So I head back to my house, and she turns around at her front door and yells at me, "Stop FOLLOWING me!!" I'm like, dude, whatever. She still showed up the next day. Like I said. Always coming back for more.

So a couple of days ago, she REALLY ticked me off. It had rained earlier that day, and the kids were kind of pushing toy trucks around in this muddy area next to our house. I was fine with it. Kids get muddy sometimes. What I wasn't cool with was this - Ashlynn threw mud in Sadie's face, getting it all in her mouth. Sadie comes running into the house, screaming, and I had to sit and wipe out the inside of her mouth to get all the mud out. My mother bear instinct was awakened - I was really, really angry. So I march out and go, "Dylan, it's time to come in." And Dylan's like, "Why?" And I yelled, loudly enough for all three kids to hear, "Because we don't play with kids who throw mud at two-year-olds." So I bring Dylan in and slam the door. I had decided that was it - no more playing with the ragamuffins.

Well, last night, when I was at work, Ben let them play outside together. Duh. He knew what happened, but apparently it didn't bother him as much as it bothered me. So whatever. So Ben calls the kids in for dinner, and of course, Ashlynn stands at our front window, staring at my family while they're eating. And then she starts licking the window. So Ben, ever the P.R. expert, opens the door and yells, "Go lick your own damn windows, you freaking retard!!" So she ran away, but you can bet she'll be back today for more.

So here's my question - should I go talk to her parents about this? I just don't know how much more of this I can stand. I know I have to be careful, because they could be our neighbors forever. You never know. But I was thinking of just going over and asking to speak to the mom or dad in private, and telling them of some of these disturbing things, and asking them to keep a tighter watch on Ashlynn. What do you think?? Sorry about the long post. I'm just really frustrated.