the complexities of social networks.

The law wives club is not the only elite social circle in our neighborhood, especially on a cool holiday afternoon. The two primary cliques that I have discovered (and named) are the princess club and the rubber clogs on plastic trikes.

Now the Princess Club is easy to distinguish. They are found primarily sporting plastic high heels and shiny pink and purple dresses. Most of their time is wisely spent discussing important matters and planning delicious tea parties on the lawn. Only sometimes do they lower themselves to ride their training wheels around the sidewalks and never with helmets (that would mess up their hair of course).

The Rubber Clogs on Plastic Trikes, on the other hand, live for training wheels. Helmets are an afterthought, as are other articles of clothing, and are worn only if insisted by their mothers. Their attention is fully focused on speed and rain puddles, the more the better. The little feet keep pedaling and the plastic wheels soar through the wonderful muddy water and often into the grass. Crashes are a part of life, of course; but these boys are not to0 proud to call for their mother in that event.

All this to say that we are slowly finding our place in this new neighborhood and enjoying the process of making new friends and getting to know the area. In fact, our friend-making abilities have been so skillful lately that we didn't have to eat in our own kitchen from Friday night to Monday morning.