Hayley loved the Nutcracker on Friday. She was a little nervous about riding the bus and being away from school but our neighbor was a chaperone and she was familiar with 2 of the other moms going so when she knew they would be there she was more comfortable. The rest of the day was so full and exciting that she had a monster of a meltdown in the evening when she was getting ready for movie night at her school. I was so mad at the time but looking back it was kind of ridiculously funny. This is how the fight went.

"Hayley, we have to leave, RIGHT NOW. If you are not ready in 2 seconds, you will not go."
"Fine! Well, I hope you don't like kisses because you are NEVER getting one from me AGAIN!"
"That makes me sad"
"GOOD! IT SHOULD!"

This went on for quite some time and I had an no idea how to handle it. The responsible part of me was saying I needed to be a consistent mother and follow through on consequences and have her stay home. But the inner 6 year old part of me was saying that sometimes even though you try really hard not to lose control, it happens and you say things you don't mean and feel really bad. And movie night at school is important when you are 6 and all your friends are going. So, I caved and let her go. I prefaced it by saying that what she did was NOT okay but I was proud that she tries her best to always be good and helpful and we all make mistakes once in a while so it's good to give second chances. She responded that she didn't "get that" but, okay. I learned my lesson that too much fun in one day CAN be a bad thing.

The worst part of the fight is that I was so preoccupied with Hayley's behavior that I wasn't paying attention to much else as we walked into school for movie night. Once the situation was calmer and I had her settled in her spot for the movie, I assessed the other kids and realized that:
1.Julia had no shoes on (it was about 40 degrees outside)
2. Ace did have shoes on, they were size 10 purple Dora boots.
3. I had really bad garlic breath from dinner
4. My hair was up in a side ponytail with 3 or 4 Christmas barrettes holding up my bangs, thanks to my hairstyling session with Julia.
5. My outfit was cotton pajama pants with snowmen and candy canes, a half zip fleece with a milk stain on my right boob, and high heeled black boots.

Seriously, it was bad. One mom stopped me in the doorway and gave me a hug. I hope she didn't notice the garlic breath but sadly, I'm sure she did.

Some other tidbits from our weekend:

*We had another visit with Julia's least favorite person of the month, Santa. We were having a fun visit to the fire station enjoying some yummy treats and climbing on the trucks when he had to show up and ruin it. Julia immediately started packing her cookies and punch cup away and putting her coat on. She really isn't scared of him so much as she doesn't appreciate the fact that he keeps showing up and invading her "comfort bubble" as Andy calls it. It doesn't make sense to her that all of a sudden this strange looking man keeps coming around and we try and convince her to take candy from him and sit on his lap. Frankly I'm surprised the other kids have never had a similar reaction.

*Julia's favorite "person" of the month is most definitely Elmo (which makes me even more confident that the Elmo Live was a worthwhile investment for Christmas). She answers every question with "Elmo"

Julia, what do you want to do?
Elmo.

Julia, who is your best friend?
Elmo

Julia, whats your favorite show?
Elmo

Julia, what is the best part of the day?
Elmo.

Julia, what do you want for dinner?
Pasta.....

With Elmo.