Carjacking

I'm house-sitting for my neighbor while she is in Chicago for her father's funeral. I take Gavin over there with me to bring in the mail, let the dogs out, feed the dogs, clean the pool, and to do some house cleaning. Gavin LOVES to help and it is something me and my boy can do together. My neighbor had to leave in quite a rush and since she had company for two whole weeks prior to her father's death, she left her house in quite a disarray. I figure the least I can do is make sure she comes home to a tidy house with a fridg stocked full of beer and wine. What are neighbors for, eh?

If there is anyone who is more in love with matchbox cars than my own son, it is my neighbor's son. The kid has about 15 million mathcbox cars. They are everywhere. I try not to wear my shoes in other people's homes but in the case of my neighbor, it could potentially be a liability to not weat shoes in her house.

Have you ever stepped on a matchbox car with your barefeet? Yowza!!!

Every time I take Gavin over to my neighbor's house with me, he ends up leaving with a fistfull of matchbox cars. He makes a quick getaway and tries not to draw attention to the fact that he is all hunkered over grasping his beloved matchbox cars in both hands and holding them close to his chest so not to let them slip. Way to be icognito, Gav. I barely noticed the fact you were bent all the way over at the waist carrying ten more toys home than the ZERO toys you came over there with.

I let the carjackings slide because I'm a lazy parent and allowing him to come home with the stolen goods beats the hour long tantrum that would ensue if I tried to take them away and/or playing with him outside for an hour in the 100 degree heat to distract him from the matchbox cars.

As usual, taking what I believed to be the easy road has turned out to be the more bumpiest most out of the way road. Parenting shortcuts are NEVER shortcuts. When will I learn?????? I am left with the task of figuring out which of the 15 million matchbox cars in my own home belong to my neighbor and how I can return them without the Gavinator going absolutely crazy. I know my neighbor wouldn't mind but I would hate for my neighbor's kid to come home and live out "Gone in 60 Seconds- Mathcbox Edition".