Well I survived. Molli had her sleepover on Friday night for her birthday. This is the first time that we have done a "friend" party for any of our kids. Usually, it's just a family bash. But Molli asked and we I conceded. Matt was not so sure. I told her she could invite three girls, making it four total including her. Well as we were sitting home one evening, a few days before the party, the phone rang. It was Maria!!! She was calling to ask if she was invited to Molli's party!!!! At first I was appalled...who calls and invites themselves to someone else's party???? Matt and I had a very long talk about whether or not she should be allowed to come. Did I really want the girl who dictates Molli's school life in my house overnight???? After some honest discussion and seeking some wisdom from the older and wiser parents, we decided that Molli could invite Maria to her party. After all, what a perfect opportunity it would be for me to witness her behavior up close and maybe get a better sense of why Molli worships the ground she walks on.

So Friday night arrives, the three girls are happily opening presents and eating cake. I thought I was being oh so crafty by getting plain raw wood frames, taking a pic of all four girls, having them printed out and letting them paint the frames and then take the pic home as their "party gift". They all thought that was pretty cool. I was keeping a close eye (and ear) on Maria and her interaction with the girls. She's clearly the ring leader, all the girls defer to her. She almost reminded me of an 8 year old version of the chick from "Mean Girls". SERIOUSLY! So after all the festivities, they headed up to Molli's room. I sat at the computer and eavesdropped. All of a sudden, all the girls were crying. I went running up the stairs to see what was wrong. They told me that Maria had started the crying by talking about her Grandma dying and that they were all crying about a grandparent that they had lost. WHAT??!?!?!?!?!? Apparently the girl who cried the most was the best....holy cow. Then there was the inevitable, "She doesn't want to play that!" "She said mean things to me!" UGH I will certainly reconsider before doing it again. I cannot believe the amount of girl CRAP that was flying in this house. AND THEY ARE ONLY 8!!! I'm never going to survive.....