I'm still learning

how to be a step parent and I don't know if I'll ever learn enough. This Saturday was a definite roller coaster ride. B. was good, then she was an argumentative, spoiled brat, then back to being perfectly sweet. During days like that, I don't know what to do. Her behavior annoys the crap out of me but we never really seem to correct it, and since I'm only the Stepdad, I don't know if we are supposed to try to correct her behavior or if I'm just over reacting to it.

I've noticed that I am an easy target when B. is cranky. Even when she's in an excellent mood (which is most of the time, I must admit), it is the norm for her to disagree with anything I say as a given. However, when she's feeling cranky, god help me. I could say the sky is blue and she'd say I was wrong. It get's frustrating. And it seem's to be getting more common, as in every day.

I knew we were going to have problems when she spent the night at her cousin's house. They are a year apart and when they hang out a long time, they both lose their minds. So, I expected the crankiness. We ate lunch and went to the Tallahassee Natural Museum , which is a favorite of ours. It's more or less a small zoo, with a lot of native animals and usually one exhibit of some exotic animal. This time it was servals, an wild cat. Barely into the nature trail, where you see blad eagles, red wolves, foxes, bears, deer, skunks and alligators, it started to rain. We were all soaked by the time we got back to the gift shop, where B. took about an hour and a half to find five dollars worth of souvenirs. Well, ok, I'm kidding about the amount of time. A little.

Next on our list was Books-A-Million. We split up and I went and looked at different stuff while they went to find books for B. to use her $25 gift card. Then we went to Super Walmart and did some shopping. This was easier said than done. This is where B. decided she had to ask for every single thing she could see. This is also where she decided to not listen and not pay attention to where she was going. Did I mention we were in a Super Walmart, where there are tons of people wandering around not paying attention to where they are going?

Somehow we made it out of there without any major damage and in retrospect, I guess the day was not nearly as annoying as I thought it was. I guess Stepdads can have a cranky day every once in a while, eh?  ¶ 11:00 AM