Well behaved women rarely make history...

I have a confession to make.  My name is Nikki and my daughter behaves badly in public.  Oh, and I don't always handle it well. 

We have had several decent outings lately so I got a little too brave!

Tonight we went to a school board meeting where Noah was being recognized as part of the championship football team.  In what can only be described as a moment of delirium, I had the silly idea that we could bring AnnaLauren along.  The recognitions lasted about 45 minutes.  AnnaLauren's good behavior lasted about 5 minutes.  So, as the school board did things like recognize the Teacher of the Year and a child who won the National Punt, Pass and Kick Contest, my child twisted, spun, ran around, cried, went potty, looked outside, fussed at her dad and made me ashamed.  And, instead of becoming Super Mom and handling the situation, I floundered.  I begged, I pleaded, I took her to the restroom and popped her bottom (yep, I am an occasional spanker), and lastly watched her walk around and around a basketball goal.  I refused to leave because I really wanted to see Noah recognized.  But, it was definitely not one of my best parenting moments.

AnnaLauren is my "Spirited Child" - my MIL actually bought me a book with that title and it really does descibe AnnaLauren.  She is loud, rambunctious and the center of attention.  In the moment, when she is acting like a wild thing, I want to melt into the floor.  But later on, like now, I realize that even though I don't have a Super Mom cape, I'm a pretty darn good mom.  And even though AnnaLauren is not always well behaved, she lives with such joy that she makes everyone around her smile.  And for me, that is enough.