Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Burglary

I think if the people who stole from us last night could see this face, they would feel really bad.

Well, maybe not. But I'd like to think that to make myself feel better.

Seriously though, who has the nerve to let themselves into the fence gate in our back yard, open the side door to the garage (it's an old garage, and no, the door had no lock - just a pull handle to open/close the door), somehow climb over our cars or open the main garage door, get around the stroller in the way, and steal two nice mountain bikes and a road bike?

The weird thing about it - they also pulled our lawnmower out of the shed next to the garage and dragged it across the lawn over to the fence. But they didn't steal that. And last night the doorbell rang at 7:45 p.m. as we were putting Eli to bed, but no one was at either door when I opened them. I thought it was strange at the time, but had no idea this would happen.

Seriously, this post would be even more angry if I wasn't looking at cute pictures of Eli from today. But I'm trying to take it in stride - they didn't steal our cars or our nice stroller, didn't break into our house, didn't vandalize the garage or yard, didn't steal Eli's Kettler bike or the lawnmower...

But I am irritated and feel a little violated. We're getting the locks changed tomorrow. And putting a new doorknob and lock on the garage. Tonight there were kids setting off fireworks and homeade bottle pop bombs in the alley, so I called the police. Gotta love two police visits in one day. I don't really want to be known as the neighbor who calls the cops on every dumb thing, but this is all too recent to ignore it.

I swear our neighborhood is nice.

21 comments:

Marci said...

Random info for you:
One of my old roommates is pregnant for the first time so she's been emailing a lot of questions and had me thinking about things I couldn't live without with a baby and I thought of one for you today. Do you guys have an exersaucer? I didn't have one with Ella and never felt like she "needed" it, although I wanted one. With Addie though I felt it was a necessity - especially with all our wood floors (which it looks like you also have a lot of). I used it ALL the time when I was doing things in the kitchen and Ella liked "helping" her play in it to. I won't offer anymore unsolicited advice though :-)!

The Yosts said...

Ah stinky! So sorry you had your bikes stolen.

Sarah S said...

We borrowed a friend's exersaucer, and Eli liked it for a few months, but I was glad that I borrowed rather than buying it, because it wasn't the type of thing that he could stay in for long periods of time. I'm sure we'll borrow it again w/ the next baby (but I'm happy to have one less bulky thing to store).

The one thing we didn't have, that I wished I had, was a baby swing... so I'm hoping I can borrow someone's this time around now that we have more space for it.

Marci said...

I didn't even read your post before, just added that comment. That's scary about the burglary and a bummer about the bikes, but at least it wasn't any worse. Neither of our girls liked our swing...these picky kids :-)!

Cami Severson said...

Oh Sarah! I am so sorry! I hate being burglarized. It makes you feel violated and less trusting. Two things you never want to feel. The fact that they were so gutsy as to come into your property when you were home and awake, is beyond amazing. I can't believe it. I am sorry, that really sucks.

RP said...

I'm glad you guys are ok! What a scary thing!

We have a swing you can borrow...it would get more use than just sitting in storage!

Sarah Beck said...

I would feel violated too! When we lived in Nebraska, someone stole our bikes out of our garage too, and it was a safe neighbourhood!

Laura said...

What a bummer! If it makes you feel any better, we don't own bikes, so we're a "bikeless" family too. It's a really strange thing to not own a bike here with all the bike trails and lanes everywhere!

Kell's Belles said...

I'm so sorry, Sarah! That's awful! I'm glad you're getting new locks AND that they didn't take anything else. AND that you have such a cute little boy to take your mind off of it :)

Jodie, Stefan and Natalia said...

That really stinks! Good thing you guys were safe and they didn't take anything else. I just don't get stealing-- to think you somehow have a right to some else's things! I like the description of theft in "The Kite Runner"-- he relates most of the big crimes/sins to theft....

Rachel said...

Those are darling pictures of Eli! He is such a cute boy.

So sorry about the burglary. Glad you are all safe, though. Does Homeowner's Insurance cover something like that?

Mrs. Dub said...

To quote a stupid bumper sticker: "Mean people suck." Sorry for your loss. Good thing you do live in a nice neighborhood and have three tough boys to protect you.

Amber said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Amber said...

K, that totally bites! How do thieves sleep at night? I'm glad you are taking it in stride.

Sarah S said...

Homeowner's insurance does cover it, but we have a high deductible, so I don't think it's worth putting a claim in for this. I think we'll end up getting Ben a Wal-Mart bike for the time being so he can get to the train station and back a little faster (as he was doing before the theft).

We're bummed though. And tonight Ben's at book group and I'm home alone, tired and half paranoid that someone's in my back yard again. Lovely.

Unknown said...

You are very brave, Sarah! and what a pain it is to have something broken into... bleh.

Amber Snow said...

Yikes! Glad you guys are safe though. I HATE dishonest people! Sooooo frustrating :(

Heather said...

Where's your guard skunk when you need him?

Laura said...

So sorry to hear about the burglary - especially scary when you were home! A similar thing happened to Chris and Pam. They'd left their garage door open for a few minutes in the middle of the day and their nice road bike got stolen. Seriously in ten minutes or less. People know what they can steal quickly and sell easily without getting caught.

Katie said...

I'm so sorry you're bikes were stolen. Remember when our van got stolen our first year in Chicago? I felt so violated, and they we're even on our property, so I can totally imagine feeling nervous at home right now. I felt so scared every time I entered our parking garage, particularly after dark, and I guess I learned to be cautious, but it's still no fun and an awful thing to be a victim of a crime.

Hope everything else stays happily at your home!!

Kerstin said...

I am so sorry to hear. There is something that feels so creepy about someone going through your stuff without you knowing. I am glad you are all safe.