HSM3+Shelby=Free Therapy for Raquel

Despite my INSANE work schedule (it's my BUSIEST time of year at work) I carved out a night to take Shelby to see High School Musical 3 and have a sleep over. I had to secure my status of "Cool-Aunt", which I thought I had done by taking her to see Beverly Hills Chihuahua. You have to keep your game on in matters such as these.

I learned a great deal about my dear little niece last night.

1- She chooses Chad over Troy. A respectable preference. Personally, if I were 14 again I would be one of the many Zac Efron followers - I was a bit of a sheep back then and if truth be told, my adult self thinks he's hot. It should bother me that he was born the year I graduated from High School but it doesn't

The 2nd thing I learned about Shelby is that Grumpy tired Shelby and Grumpy tired Aunt Raquel are NOT a good combination.

The 3rd and final realization of the sleep-over is simply that Shelby and I are the same person, in that, we have the same personality. In the past, I had teased her mother, (Michelle-my father's favorite child) that she and KJ, Shelby's older brother, had the same personality. When they would fight it was like they were fighting with themselves. From the outside looking in it was very entertaining to watch them circle round and round getting nowhere other than more and more frustrated with the other.

It was 10:00 PM in the WalMart (I hate WalMart after 8:00PM - I don't care what kind of nice neighborhood it is located in - All WalMarts change in to some sort of foreign country after the time of night that small children should be in bed) Anyway, there we were in the WalMart looking for a High School Musical Shirt in a size that would fit Shelby (I failed to mention that we had already been to Target immediately following the movie to buy the CD, make-up, mascara and a new Make-up case - oh, and another cute shirt - all for Shelby) All Shelby wanted was the HSM shirt and all I wanted was for her to be grateful for all that I had done/bought for her - we were going round and round - I am sure making quite a scene - then it hit me - I am having an argument with a mini-me.

People pay big money in therapy to have break throughs like that.

Needless to say, I had Shelby so mad at me and in tears numerous times before we got to my house. I even left her in the car in the garage when we got home - guilt took over when I realized that the garage light would eventually go out and she would be sitting in the dark crying by herself if I didn't ask her if she was going to come in and go to bed.

I think I patched things up, somewhat, when I printed and laminated her a copy of the picture I had taken of her with a life size cut out of Chad at the movie - and I let her sleep in her new HSM apparel - As if I would have had a chance to try and get her to take it off - Grumpy, tired, irrational Aunt Raquel, pre-breakthrough, would have had that argument.

The moral of the story is two fold - I still have no idea how to deal with my niece when she gets all feisty on me. We are both bossy and stubborn and the only thing that might give me any kind of an advantage is the fact that I have my drivers licence. Two, my status of "Cool-Aunt" is no longer secure - Tersta, Sarah, Cathryn and Nice are still in the running.

There is one more thing I learned, or re-learned I should say - I ADORE my niece. She is hysterical and loves all of the same pink-girly-sparkly things that I do. I really do love spending time with her - I just need to make sure that I am well rested.