when we have company.

i thought id add a little tidbit of "fun" from a few of the past weekends. i wrote a whole post on discipline back late last summer - and for the most part, it holds 99% true now. but, kids change. and kids also change in different situations.

that brings us to aidan. when company is here. ::twitch::

my fabulous friend pam came into town a few wkends ago. i was so excited to show off my adorable, well-behaved children. bc, for the most part, thats what they are. all 3 are great at the store, they walk nicely in parking lots, i could take them all to a sit down restaurant by myself and be totally fine (ok, unless one has to use the bathroom - then its gets a bit tricky). but these are not the things i had to deal with when pam was here... ohhhh no.

i had to deal with attitude. aidan wanted to show pam who rules the roost. or, let me rephrase - who aidan THINKS rules the roost. most of the wkend, she looked like this:


now. let me give examples. she straight up would talk back, ignore me, do exactly the opposite of what i asked, try to go out to the backyard after i said no (which was solved quickly thanks to a nice top flip lock), and even tried to kick me. wtf. but the funny part of that was that our friend catherine was here too and just laughed at her and said "nope. not impressed." bc she knows what aidan was trying to do.

disclaimer: and i want to say -- its not with any company, yeah yeah her age def makes for a kid who wants to show off. we had a friend come over the other day and over and over, aidan would try to get him to watch her "tricks". like "hey! hey! watch me! i can do a somersault!!" or "look!! i put a hat on the dog!!" which is fine -- bc that is 4.5, but thats not the same as out of towners who they dont know or dont see often.

but at night time, when id lay with her in bed, she was my sweet angel again. we'd talk about how she acted was ridic and blah blah blah, then we'd hug and kiss goodnight and that'd be over. by sunday, i cried to my mom telling her how aidan had never acted like the devil incarnate that she had acted like those few days.

then, within mins of dropping off pam at the airport, sound asleep in the car, aidan was back to this:


ahhhh a nice week with my sweet 4.5 year old back. cuddling, crafts, running errands, and being friends.

til we had more company ::twitch:: EJ's fam came into town for reese's bday party (yay! so much fun btw!) and it started all over. but, i had luckily taken a few things from the wkend before, to heart. and learned a few ideas.

1. i had to take her from the situation completely for her to even realize i existed again. id carry her to the other room, talk to her there, and then she'd realize "oh. mom's talking." as opposed to before when she'd look at me and go back to "impressing" guests. this helped focus and relax her.

2. keep the schedule the same. wake up, nap, bed routine --- everything the same. dont skip baths and expect bed just as easy. dont think you cant read a book or lay in her bed for a few mins bc you have guests. just keep it the same.

3. know that its going to end soon lol i was much more "fine. whatevs." the 2nd wkend bc, well, i knew itd be over and aidan would be back to my little sweet girl.

i only write this post to say "we've all been there!!" we've all been embarrassed by the actions of our kids - that kid thats screaming at dinner in the middle of a crowded restaurant, the mom that is chasing her kid in the parking lot, the kid at playgroup that comes up and hit his mom out of no where - the rest of us aren't (usually) judging you... i usually want to laugh and tell a worse story or at least give you a high 5 and say "kids are great, huh?" because, well, they are -- most of the time.


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