I bumped into another mom yesterday whom I hadn’t seen for quite a while. Our now 9- year old sons were friends a couple of years ago, when they were in the same class, which meant that she and I were the hosts of several playdates.

One thing that I always remember about her is that she is very much into being a full-time mom, driving her kids around like a chicken without a head, throwing great at-home birthday parties, practically camping out on the baseball field during baseball season…you get the picture.

When our boys were buddies and I was first inside her house, I instantly loved her taste and decorating style. I asked about a couple of unique paintings hanging on the walls. She had a story for each of them and seemed to be a bit of a connoisseur of art. When she gave me the house tour, we went down to the finished basement last, where she explained that this was the place for her children’s artwork (in other words, it wasn’t worthy of the main floor). She had some of her boys’ paintings and drawings framed, hanging on the basement walls.

While it was nice to see her boys’ work hanging on the walls, I thought it was interesting that someone so “kid-centric” had none of her kids’ art on the main floor. I thought about a relative of mine whose kitchen was plastered with kids’ drawings from the time they could scribble with a crayon. That, of course, was to the other extreme.

That same relative referred to her house as being her children’s house as much as it was her and her husband’s house.

Then, there’s a neighbor of mine who has taught her children that their house belongs to the parents; the children simply live there until they are old enough to have homes of their own. This is a very clear way of showing that Mom and Dad make up the rules—they’re in charge.

I think my husband and I fall somewhere between these two “types” of parents. I love to hang up my boys’ artwork in the kitchen, yet I have my own sense of decorating and would never plaster kids’ artwork all over the walls, as my relative did. I look forward to displaying that wonderful “first art” made by our 8 month old, when he’s big enough to color.

Our house belongs to all of us. Mom and Dad make up the rules, but we aren’t too strict. When I cook dinner, sometimes the kids get what they get and sometimes I’ll give them a choice, if it’s a laid back kind of night when I haven’t planned a big meal. They can decorate their rooms pretty much as they like, as long as they’re not destructive in any way. (I get to do whatever I like in baby’s room, since he doesn’t know the difference!).

How do you handle the decision-making in your house? Will you or do you ban children’s artwork from certain rooms or the nicely decorated first floor?

When we decided to build our house in a new neighborhood, I was naturally excited. I was thrilled to bust out of our two-bedroom townhouse and finally have some space. It was fun to pick out bathroom tile, cabinets and countertops. It was great to finally have a backyard for the kids.

But there’s a lot more to living in a neighborhood than I’d realized. I loved the idea of living someplace with built-in friends for our kids, and for me, too. Neighborhoods are random, though. You never know who might be living next door or across the street.

Like most people in neighborhoods, we’ve had our differences with other people who happen to live on our block. Sometimes our kids get along with the other kids and sometimes they don’t. Sometimes our parenting style clashes with those of other parents, and at times I have been insulted and kept my distance from one particular mom down the street.

As our kids get older, they require less interference, but when we first moved in almost seven years ago, there were days when I asked myself why I’d chosen to live in a neighborhood instead of on a secluded acre somewhere. I am, by nature, a private person but didn’t consider this much before moving into our current home.

The mom down the street frequently reprimanded my children when they were younger. I certainly try to teach my kids right from wrong and everyday courtesy and kindness. But there were certainly times when they misbehaved and I’d expect another parent to intervene at such times. This woman, however, took it on herself to apply her quirky rules to my children. The example that I will always remember is when she told my boys not to wear their baseball caps sideways because this, in her view, made them act rough and talk slang. A cap causing a child to change his behavior was way over the top for me. What right did she have telling my kids what and what not to wear?

I’ll likely be dealing with more of these neighborhood “issues” as our baby gets older and starts to interact with other kids on the block. Our older boys still have disagreements with the neighborhood kids but tend to pick and choose who they spend their time with more carefully.

I don’t think I’m the only one who has found that being plopped in a neighborhood with a random sampling of people certainly has its pros and cons. If we ever move again, I think I’d like a bit more seclusion and privacy. I won’t miss the doorbell ringing at inopportune times. Instead, the kids can invite friends over so we’ll know when to expect them.

Actress Anne Dudek and her husband, painter Matthew Heller recently welcomed their first child. The baby was born on December 14 and weighed in at 7 lbs 7 oz. The couple named their new son Akiva. New dad Heller said by email to an online magazine, “He is happy and healthy. As for me, I now have a never ending smile!”

Dudek has been quite the busy actress, having had recurring roles in three hit series, House, Big Love and most recently Mad Men. Her fans may also remember her from guest appearances in How I Met Your Mother, Desperate Housewives, Charmed and Six Feet Under.

Like so many other performers, Dudek started out on the stage. In fact, while she was still in theater school she won the role of Iphigenia in The Iphigenia Cycle. She also won a Connecticut Critics Circle Award for her work in The Glass Menagerie.

It seems that Dudek may have given little Akiva a headstart in the business before he was even born. According to Internet reports, he made guest appearances courtesy of mom’s tummy of course, in House, Big Love and Mad Men.

In the hit series, House, Dudek played Amber Volakis, who was one of ten doctors vying for a position under Dr. House. Most recently she has been seen in the award winning Mad Men which chronicles the lives of people working at a successful ad agency.

Just in case you’re wondering about the name Akiva means, which is of Hebrew origin. It means “protect” or “shelter”. A particularly appropriate name if you’re thinking of more babies for him to protect don’t you think? It is also sometimes used for a girl’s name.

Congratulations to Anne Dudek and Matthew Heller on their newborn. We can see many more smiles in the new dad’s future.