Hunger has forced us out!

I've been avoiding grocery shopping, mainly because I am afraid of raw ingredients. You see my wife has a gift that she can just hear ingredients and taste the combinations in her mouth, without even tasting it. I know, perfect diet plan.

I don't have that gift. You could tell me that we are having creme Brule' topped with strawberries and chocolate, stuffed inside a turkey, and wrapped in bacon, I will be able to visualize the bacon, but nothing else. I do like food though. When I have tasted it, then I can remember if I liked it or not.

Today I had to put my talentless tongue to the test. I had to make dinner. Like I said, I have been avoiding grocery shopping but hunger finally drove us out. The last box of Mac and Cheese had been eaten and after I had a hardy meal of top ramen with scrambled eggs and soy sauce (don't mock it, it's good) the only thing left in our fridge was frozen broccoli, left over meatloaf, half a gallon of milk, and several heels of bread. Not much to go on.

So I did what I have seen my wife do multiple times. I went to the internet for a recipe, and I started browsing with words like "Too hard, Kids won't eat it, Not sure what that is" going through my head. I wanted to find something that you just had to put al the stuff into a bowl/cooker thing and put it in the oven. Most recipes asked me to sear things, or braise, or julieandrews stuff.

I so wish Bob Ross had made a cooking show. It would have been so simple and I would have felt like I too could make a happy little potato, or a giggling chicken cordon Bleu. Instead I have recipes and cooking shows that I don't want to watch, because I really don't like cooking shows. But I would watch Joy of Cooking with Bob Ross.

So I found a recipe that fit my criteria. It was easy (said ten minutes of prep, I took about 25....with the help of my wife). Then you just put it in the oven. We needed some ingredients though. So we headed off to Maceys where I hunted down the ingredients. I must say that it took me less time than I thought it would. We made it back to the house before dinner was supposed to be served.

One time when I was a kid my mom sent me, my brother Peter and my sister Stephanie to the store to get some whipping cream, or something. Stephanie dropped Peter and I off and just waited in the car for us to come out. 1.5 hours later we emerged, without whipping cream. We got sidetracked and started looking at model airplanes (Star Trek battleships) and then took about 5 minutes to locate whipping cream, which we couldn't. Apparently Stephanie had come looking for us several times, gone home thinking we might have walked, and come back. I guess the PA announcement helped us get back on track.

So you can see my hesitancy of wanting to go grocery shopping. Right now the food is cooking and I am awaiting the outcome. So far it doesn't smell rancid, but actually smells pretty good.

Here is the recipe I used and a link to the website I got it from.

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 lemons, 1 thinly sliced, 1 juiced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 pound trimmed green beans
• 8 small red potatoes, quartered
• 4 chicken breasts (bones left in, with skin, about 3 1/4 pounds)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450°F. Coat a large baking dish or cast-iron skillet with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Arrange the lemon slices in a single layer in the bottom of the dish or skillet.
2. In a large bowl, combine the remaining oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper; add the green beans and toss to coat. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, remove the green beans and arrange them on top of the lemon slices. Add the potatoes to the same olive-oil mixture and toss to coat. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, arrange the potatoes along the inside edge of the dish or skillet on top of the green beans. Place the chicken in the same bowl with the olive-oil mixture and coat thoroughly. Place the chicken, skin-side up, in the dish or skillet. Pour any of the remaining olive-oil mixture over the chicken.
3. Roast for 50 minutes. Remove the chicken from the dish or skillet. Place the beans and potatoes back in oven for 10 minutes more or until the potatoes are tender. Place a chicken breast on each of 4 serving plates; divide the green beans and potatoes equally. Serve warm.

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/pan-roasted-chicken-lemon-garlic-green-beans-10000000780291/index.html

This is what mine looked like before I put it in the oven.  Let's hope mine looks as good as it does on the website. Actually, who cares what it looks like, as long as it tastes good.
Actually who cares if it tastes good as long as the kids eat it, or something.

This is how the final dish turned out. There is chicken, potatoes, green beans and other stuff. It was good and Kara said that I should make it again. So it probably wasn't a complete bomb.

The Panic Room (bathroom)

Every so once in a while I need to escape, and that escape means a small 3 foot by 4 foot room known as the bathroom. I don't just abandon the children and head in there, I generally turn on a show and put away all sharp objects, and things that Mollie can get into (which is everything).

I have read some blogs where Moms escape into the bathroom and just sit there, and cry. I haven't cried... yet. It's not winter time so you never know.

Have you ever seen the show Panic Room? In this movie Jodie Foster's home is invaded by burglars who want to steal something in the panic room. The only problem is that Jodie Foster is in the panic room with her daughter who happens to be diabetic. She is constantly trying to keep people out of the panic room, but worried about stuff happening outside of the panic room. That's what bathroom time is like for me.

Today while using the panic room, Mollie was showing me her new lego creations by pushing them under the door, while I am just trying to get updates on the NBA playoffs (iPad).

Lukas generally leaves me alone.

Nikki is always asking me when I'm coming out. NEVER is what I tell her. Today was weird though. Here I am, getting ready for the day in the panic room, the door is closed, and I hear someone ask when I will be done. I start to respond, then think for a minute, "Who is this?"

It's Nikki's friend. What are you doing in my house? Why are you invading my panic room? My sanctuary? I generally like to know when a foreign entity enters my home.

A few weeks ago I was coming out of the shower and there's a knock at the door. I'm standing there in a towel, but Lukas runs and opens up the door and invites the person in. I have to run and stop the door from opening all the way and peek my head around the door. A very surprised BYU maintenance person (female) stares at me with wide eyes and says "I'm here to fix your shower?" Not now your aren't. Please come back later.

Since then I tell Lukas not to let anyone in whenever I am indisposed, like doing the laundry, checking on Nikki, or if I'm in the panic room.

What to get a man for Father's Day!

This is more for the benefit of my wife. Multiple times a year I am thrown into a panic. These times are designated by any occasion where I need to get a gift for my wife, or plan something. These days include Christmas, the anniversary, Valentines day, Mother's day, her Birthday, or the day after I do anything stupid. I don't like the pressure of having to buy something, I would much rather just get her something when I just want to do it, like a general "just because I love you day."

So I am assuming that some women out there are in a rut as far as what to get your man for father's day, here's a little advice. Toys.

Seriously, it sound stupid but we want toys. I'm not talking Ninja Turtles or Legos (although the Star Wars Legos are pretty awesome) we want something that we can play with. We don't want anything really practical. We want something that we can physically play with. Here are some of the categories.

1. Electronics: This is the easiest category. If it lights up, beeps, or moves mechanically, we want it. Phones, Tablets, TV's stuff like that is AWESOME!

2. Sports Equipment: This is a little more difficult because it takes a little more research. You actually have to listen to us talk about the other thing that we think about most, Sports. Sports equipment is like make-up for you women, we like to collect it. It doesn't matter if we don't use it everyday. We will also go in stages where we really like a sport for a phase, and then move on. Like when I was younger I LOVED golf. I still like golf but don't go hardly at all. Right now I LOVE cycling, and the more cycling gear I can get, the happier I am. There is no such thing as enough sports equipment.

3. Due to the family friendly nature of this blog I am not going to name the third category. Just know that we want it, we won't return it, and we will never say no to it (unless we are unconscious, drugged, or possessed by the devil).

4. Little additions to that hobby we love. I LOVE photography. Thats why I decided to do it for a career and I love getting photo gear. There are little things that we like, whether it's fly fishing, model building, sewing (there are some dudes who sew) and getting us stuff that supports that is like saying that you approve of our hobby. We like that.

5. Tickets: I know this isn't a toy, but it's close. When I say tickets though, it needs to be something that we want to go see. Sporting Events are probably the safest. Once again it's like you are approving of our sports addiction and giving us permission to watch it.

So here's your advice. Now if anyone out there can do the same, except on the female side, I would really appreciate it. Kara's birthday is coming up.

DADDY DOESN'T SHARE FOOD (Willingly)

I don't know why, but my kids have been dying to ride the campus bus. It doesn't really help that we live right next to it (it's a blessing really) and today we finally braved it. I didn't really have any idea when it came, where it took us, or anything like that. All I knew is that it was free and that it would take us in the general vicinity of the Wilkinson Center.

So today we had a few errands to run. I needed to return some library books for Kara, and also return some movie rentals to the Wilkinson center. But first I did something that I make fun of my mom for. I started out the day with "Alright kids we want to do some fun things today, but have to get a few things done first." I hated it when my mom said that. It usually meant that we had to deep clean the house before we could watch TV or anything. But I did it today, and Nikki finally has some summer chores. She has to clean her room and the family room, which may not sound like a lot, but that that is 1/3 of our apartment, so I figured its ok.

Anyway she got it done, and I also got my chores done (dishes, and showering, been neglecting that one for a day or so). As we headed out the children informed me that we just missed the bus and that it was all my fault (everything is my fault according to my children). And then like an Angel from heaven to completely confound the children, another bus arrived and I yell out "Nope, there it is, told you. That's why I came out right now." In reality it was just completely lucky timing.

We're on the bus and Lukas is looking around like he's on a ride at Disneyland. BTW, Nikki came along with a friend from the neighborhood, so they were in the back of the bus acting like they weren't associated with us. I guess I'm not cool anymore to my 6 year old. Mollie is sitting on my lap, and of course people are looking at her, because she's so cute, and probably because I dressed her and did her hair (I'm getting WAYYY better than I used to). Mollie on cue starts singing and acting out "The Wheels on the Bus." All of the verses. I don't even know all the verses (That's a lie, I've spent five years of my adult married life called to the nursery so I can probably sing more songs than you can even name).  People fall in love with her where ever she goes.

We stop at the Museum of Art and get out. We head to the library no problem, then to the bookstore, no problem, except for the thousands of EFY kids milling about, playing hackie sack, and flirting.  Just had to keep the kids close, but Nikki and her friend were walking around like they owned the place. I did not realize until this point that they had brought along our iPod touch and Nikki's mp3 player and were chatting on them like they were cell phones. Flash forward 12 years, and you will have the exact same scene. Scary.

Anyway, we hit the bookstore and return the items, no problem. Lunchtime. Even getting lunch was pretty easy. I picked up two little pizzas from Freschetta at the CougarEat along with some water cups. Nikki and her friend grab their water cups and head to fill them up, only to return with cups full of red Fanta. I then have to explain to Nikki that we didn't pay for that, that we can only get water.  They apologize and we open up the pizzas. Now I got a cheese pizza for the kids, and a Hawaiian pizza (my favorite) for me. Usually my kids don't want anything to do with my food. They think it's gross, but today, Nikki's friend reaches across the table and takes, not one, but TWO of my pieces of pizza.

DADDY DOESN'T SHARE FOOD!  Not really, I was just sad that I now had to satisfy my hunger with only two small pieces of pizza, and I almost didn't get that. After Nikki's friend inhaled her two pieces, she reached across for another, but, to her surprise, I was eating them both at the same time. I licked the one I wasn't actively eating so that she wouldn't take it. She then looked to Lukas and Mollie, who only had one piece. She asked Lukas for his piece, and Lukas, being a kind and gentle and very giving person responded "Sure!" But just before she could grab it, I stopped her and said "Lukas only has one piece of pizza and he needs to eat it." She then eyed Mollie's pizza. I didn't have to say a word because right on cue Mollie gives her a look that says "Touch my food and DIE!" Needless to say she backed off.

We eventually picked up some donuts and the kids were happy. Right now Lukas is sitting in his spiderman costume, watching mighty morphin power rangers, and chanting "The cougar bus is Awesome!"

First (Long) Day of Summer

Oh I had such great plans for today. It was the first day of summer, meaning that it's the first day of Nikki's summer break from school. Kara still had to go to school, but I thought it would be a great idea to take all the kids to the rec center to (wait for it) go swimming!
So here's how it all went down. Kara left for school and one of the first things I told the kids was "Ok before we can do anything, we need to get our chores done" and the kids, who have never done chores before, look at me like I'm crazy. But all they heard was that we get to do something fun and so instantly they are listening. Nikki's chores today, cleaning her room, and finding her swimsuit. She also helped dress Mollie. She got the first part of her chores done, but the second part, was quite the struggle.

This last week before I flew out for work we all went up to Salt Lake so that Kara could spend some time with her family while I was away. I had to pack the bag. This already is not a recipe for success.

Upon my first phone call home while away at work in Colorado, Kara informs me that I packed the bag wrong, and by wrong, she means that I only packed one pair of pajamas for each child. I was trying to save myself the agony of doing yet more laundry. When I was a kid, I had like two pairs of pajamas.  I wore one until it got dirty, and the other one until it got dirty, and by the time that happened, my other pair had been washed. Simple right. Lukas had wet the bed, and I had only packed one pair of pajamas.

Sorry I get sidetracked, and it's also 1 am while I am writing this. I want to do this while it is still somewhat fresh in my head. Nikki informed me that she probably left her swimsuit over at her cousin Ryan's house over the weekend. I had no idea this event had even transpired, so who was I to question. I found a replacement suit, something from last year. But here's the thing. Kids tend to grow, a bit, in a year.

Nikki tried to put it on, and it was a two piece (NOT a bikini) and for some strange reason she could not figure out how to put on the top. She kept yelling from her room in frustration. So what do I do?

Well first off, I'm a dad, so I am going to try and FIX the situation. Nikki is sitting there screaming on one side of the door in frustration, and I am on the other side trying to describe to her how to properly put on her bathing suit top (because I apparently know how it works). She cracks her door and thrusts the top to me and cries "I can't do it." So I try and fix it. I try and put it on her... without looking... because Nikki is at that stage where a dad shouldn't see her. So here's Nikki behind the door and I am reaching around behind the door to try and put her swimsuit top on her because she can't figure it out.

Then when that doesn't work, I try closing my eyes while I walk into her room. Bad idea. Nikki shut the door to keep me out and I ran right into it with my eyes closed.

I finally tell her to put on a T-shirt and I would show her how to put it on by using Mollie as a model. She instantly stops crying, and is obedient. I think she was more perplexed at the situation than anything else, thinking "How is this gonna work." So Nikki comes out, I grab Mollie, and put the swimsuit top on her over her BYU cheerleading outfit. Mollie just laughs and giggles while Nikki looks at me like I'm an idiot. In frustration I take the top off of Mollie and put it on Nikki over her T-shirt. I then proceed to take off her T-shirt through the swim top. At this point Nikki bursts into tears again, not at the action that I just performed, but in response to the fact that the swimsuit she is wearing is too short, shows her belly button, and is therefore, not modest.

At this point I am beyond frustration. I am about ready to launch into an argument about how it is modest, when I flash forward into the future, and see me having the same talk with Nikki, only the roles are reversed. I'm the one crying that it's not modest, and she's the one saying that the skimpy swimsuit she is wearing is perfectly Ok. SO, before I make a HUGE mistake, I just tell Nikki "You're right, we're going to Target right now and we are buying you a new swimsuit." She likes that idea. I think the idea of shopping to any of the females in our house is like some huge chill pill. Kara told me that when we just had Nikki and Kara just wanted to go relax somewhere, she'd go roam the clearance racks at Target. Nikki, being very similar to Kara, took that cue and ran with it. Everyone, and everything was ready in about five minutes. We went to target, bought her a suit, and were off to the rec center.

So in about 8 weeks, I am running in the Spudman Triathlon, and part of that race is a mile long swim. I haven't swam for over 6 weeks, and I need to swim desperately, plus after that last bit with Nikki, I needed some time alone. So I checked the kids into the Kids Club, and I went swimming. They give you a pager so they can page you if your kid is biting other children or eating glue or something. So I swim my laps, and as I exit the pool (after about 20 minutes or so) I see that the pager is going off. Crap, what did my kids do now. I towel off, put on a shirt, and on my way to the Kids club, get another page. At this point I'm scared it's something medical, like Lukas has broken a bone, or Mollie is Seizing, or Nikki has taken over the front office. I don't know. So I start jogging down and when I get there, I open the door, and I smell.... Mollie.

"She Pooped!" Of course she did. That's what she does, all the time. So I pick em up and pay for the whole hour of care, even though it was only 25 minutes, change Mollie's bum, get the kids all ready to swim (their reward for going to the kids club) and head to the pool. As we reach the pool, there is a big sign that says "Pool closed for swimming lessons." Wait, it was open swim when we went into the dressing room. What happened in the last 5 minutes?

I ask a lifeguard and they say all the pools are closed for swimming lessons. I'm looking directly at the zero depth pool with all the water toys and slides and stuff, and that is consequently, void of people. "Even this one?" I ask with a touch of "That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard" in my voice.

Yep, even that one. The pool is closed for approximately 1/2 hour.

So I have a great idea. Let's go buy some sunscreen at the front desk, then we can buy Lunch at the cafe (Our rec center is awesome by the way). So we head up to the front desk and I buy some sunscreen for four bucks that's about the same size as a stick of Chapstick. How am I supposed to cover my kids in this? And it's only SPF 30. My kids need like SPF Lead Suit to stop from being sunburned.
I count my losses (money) and head over to the cafe to buy the kids Lunch. At this point we still have 25 minutes till pool time. I look at the menu and ask the kids what they want. Pizza! "We don't have it" the cracking voice of the attendant replies. Nachos "Don't have it", Corndogs? Churros? Burritos? (all of which are listed on the menu. "Don't have it." Well what do you have? "Chocolate Milk and potato chips, and candy." Such Nutritious choices.

Lunch that day was potato chips, and chocolate milk. I'm an awesome dad.

At this point it's T-20 minutes until pool time. We head outside to the outdoor pool and snag a seat. I hand out the food and begin applying sunscreen to mollie. No sooner do I begin then I hear a cry of alarm from Lukas. I look over, and there is the chocolate milk, all over his chest, swimsuit, and running down his legs (I hope that was chocolate). I wipe him down and return to Mollie's sunblock application.
Then Lukas. For safety he puts down his chocolate milk at his feet while he is sun-blocked, but forgets it is there when I begin applying it to his face. Chocolate Milk down, spreading like.... well there's no analogy to fit this situation, spreading fast. I'm done.

Lukas miraculously gets his sunblock on, and I move on to Nikki. She's been great. She's an excellent helper and she even dressed Mollie that day. I did her hair though (no pics, trust me it looks good).
I am then in a predicament. I need sunblock now. I get all the areas that I can, but I ask Nikki to get my back. She just scrunches up her face and says "ewww dad, that's gross." Why thank you Nikki that makes me feel absolutely super. Nikki finally relents and does the quickest application ever, and one that used the least amount of contact ever. I now have a multicolored suntanned back.

The pool opens. Nikki runs, Lukas clings, Mollie runs to the chairs. It ends up being a fairly good day. Nikki goes down the big slide and almost drowns, has to have the life guard pull her out, but all in all a good day, but soon to be cut short. The lifeguard begins coming around to everyone and getting us out of the water, saying they have to check something, which every parent knows is code for POOP.

At this point it's 10 minutes to 2 pm and we have to pick up Kara at 3. I make an executive decision and start the clean-up process. Mollie is dressed. Accomplished but at great cost.

The entire time Mollie is desperately trying to get back into the water, so I have to hold on to a squirming Mollie while I am trying to tie Lukas's shoes, find my keys, phone and wallet, pack up the bag, and eventually move these kids.

Towards the end it looks like I made the right move because the lifeguard is coming around to everyone to inform them that the pool will be closed for about a half hour. I am pretty blunt so I just ask "What did you find?" and she calmly replies "Someone pooped in the pool." And then Nikki, whose curiosity has just been piqued, yells out "Who did it?" Thankfully the lifeguard doesn't answer, but Nikki will not be silenced. All the way out to car she is drilling me, "Who pooped in the pool dad, who?" I DON"T KNOW!

By this time we can't find the car, because I have forgotten where we parked, and Mollie has decided she wants to eat her lunch/chips. She soon gets frustrated by traditional methods of extracting chips from a bag, so she dumps them all out in the space between her and my chest, making a little snack table, where she proceeds to eat.

Car is found, kids in seats, it's now 2:20 pm. When does school start again?

Lukas enjoying "Lunch".

The three amigos.

Nikki's new swimsuit

Mollie working the camera.

Just treat me like a mom

I had a vague idea of what my wife would do while I was away at work. Mostly from the texts, blog posts and facebook updates I imagined that my wife's day consisted of taking the kids to various activities, clearance shopping at Target, and pinning things on Pinterest. Now that I am the one at home I realize that this job is not fully equipped with playdates, trips to the farm/children's museum/random fun place, and socializing activities. Mostly it's just me asking Lukas and Mollie what they want to do Today, and sometimes Lukas looks at me and says "What we try and do every day dad, try and take over the world!"

Well, we're working on that, but in the meantime, the social thing is a little bit of a difficult nut to crack.

Here is my first hindrance, I'm a dude. I am not saying that everyone around us is sexist and is avoiding me because I pee standing up, sing tenor, and do drywall in my spare time. No, not at all. I just think that the usual response from the Stay at Homes is that they think I am the student and my wife is off at the store or something and I am just there to make sure the kids don't do anything before my class starts.
This actually happens quite a bit, especially when we meet someone new. The men always ask me what I'm studying and then the women start inviting my wife to stuff. I need to start making up a fake major that sounds interesting, but something so far out there and weird that no one will be able to call my bluff or understand anything that I say when I talk about my "classes".

Second Hindrance (I like that word), we are pretty new. Some things are already established and we just have no idea about any of them. Like we just found out there's a google group for our complex and they have activities posted on there. Totally had no idea (also didn't know what a google group was). As we get more and more situated, this hindrance will hopefully be a thing of the past.

Third Hindrance, my kids are nuts, tend to scare other children, and have a habit of yelling obscenities. Not really, I just wanted to see if you were actually reading this. On to the Fourth.

Fourth Hindrance, this whole being a stay at home dad thing is filled with stuff that just isn't fun. Seriously, stuff like the dishes, the laundry, running errands, cleaning the house. There were two days where I just played with the kids and didn't do the dishes or clean the house. Yeah, we ran out of dishes and I ended up using paper plates that I found in one of our un-opened boxes. The hard thing about this, is that you can have a clean house, but you have to completely ignore your kids and let the television babysit them. Or you can have happy kids, and a house that looks like dad is the housekeeper (like Mine). Some days it takes me the whole morning to do the dishes, clean up the kids, pick up Mollie's poop, shower (only when necessary) before it's time to make Lunch and then put Mollie down for a nap.

Usually at this time Lukas looks at me and says "Dad let's watch a show and cuddle!" How do you say No to that? I'm sorry son but these dirty dishes are more important than spending quality time with you. Here, go play with this cat and cradle while I ignore you.

I usually don't mind this last part because I combine two things into one, sleeping and spending time with Lukas. Of course he doesn't know that I slept through twenty minutes of Spiderman, but we still had quality time.

So as you can see, there are a lot of reasons why we (I) am not invited to all the quetilliens (not the right spelling but a fancy word for party) and it's basically all my fault. But then again I will be busy studying for my exams so that I can get my degree in Klingon flight and weapons technology in the 18th century (that's my new "major") so I probably won't have any time for social things. But don't worry, my wife will be back at three after a seven hour trip to the grocery store (class).

Anyone want to go to the Dinosaur Museum?

Lukas knows how to work the camera

The casual barefoot, I'm relaxing on a slide pose.

Who Me? 

This one is entitled "Dad, take my picture......... Didja get it?  Lemme See."

The Mean Girl

So Girl world is so much more complex than boy world, even for a six year old. In boy world, if there is a problem, it's usually settled right then and there with a kick or a tackle, like today Lukas had a little spiff today with one of his friends, they hit and tackled, and were done. Now I am NOT advocating violence, just making an observation about boys and girls.

Now Nikki has been having problems with a girl in the neighborhood who likes to exclude her from EVERYTHING. It's not that they're just not friends but she will make a concerted effort to invite everyone to play, and make sure Nikki knows she is not invited. Nikki was playing with a friend and this girl came up and invited her friend to come and eat popsicles, then turned to Nikki and said "You can't come, we only have three popsicles."

It's not too big of a problem, because first off this girl is ten years old, and Nikki is only six so she won't be a problem normally, just every once in a while when she wants to be a pest. Then Nikki decided to take matters into her own hands. Here is the issue we discovered tonight.

Nikki had decided to hold a summer camp (without telling us). She had created invitations, set up times and dates, and delivered the invitations to two of her friends. Like I said we had no idea that this had happened until one of her friends showed up at the door asking for some clarification on where it was supposed to be held. Now I am not angry about this (well maybe a little but the next bit makes this first bit easier to swallow). What made me angry was the fact that the invitation told the invitees who not to invite, or even tell. Basically Nikki wrote on the invitation "Don't tell (Name of Mean girl) and (name of other girl)."

We sat her down and had a good talk with her, and will have another good talk with her tomorrow. We essentially told her that she just became the mean girl. What came as a relief is she instantly realized what she had done. The thing about Nikki is she (normally) is very sensitive to other people's feelings and is very inclusive. Here usual mantra is The More Friends, the Better!

You know that show from the 90's, Rugrats? There is a character called Angelica, and she is pretty much the mean, selfish, older sister and makes everyone's life miserable. Nikki knows how bad this little girl is, so whenever she is misbehaving, we say "Nikki you're acting just like Angelica" and she stops immediately what she is doing.

What I am trying to say (and probably doing a real bad job of it) is that Nikki made a bad choice, and she really wishes she could take it back. Kara and I just spent the last 20 minutes visiting the parents of the kids who received the invitations and trying to do some type of damage control.  On the plus side, Kara met a new friend!