Hidey Hole

This is my 15 year old, Hannah.  You know, the grouch? 

One need only read some of my other posts to understand what a miserably unhappy individual this beautiful young woman can sometimes transform into.  She only likes to participate in three activities:

1. Hang out with friends
2. Avoid her family at all costs
3. If forced to hang with family, stay inside her room alone

She spends so much time in her room that I have begun to call it the "Hidey Hole."  Look at this place.  It is decorated in a Strawberry Shortcake theme and I think that Hannah still likes her.  Hannah's appreciation of fun loving and upbeat Strawberry Shortcake makes no sense to me given her emotional state.  I keep expecting her to ask to have the Hidey Hole painted black so that her angry soul will feel more at peace there.  I'm always telling Hannah to come out of the Hidey Hole, clean the Hidey Hole, or go back INTO the Hidey Hole if she is getting on my last good nerve.  I'm trying to train Hannah regarding the respectful treatment of others, but so far, I have failed miserably.  I have finally decided that she is her own person and that I should embrace her differences, but when she decides to be a snarling, angry, hot mess, she is pretty tough to take.  I probably only have myself to blame since I told Jared the other day that I have five bitches in training.  Kayley and Hannah (the two oldest) said, "You're the Queen Bitch mom!"  I'm not sure I have that title in the bag yet because Hannah is giving me a run for my money!

Hannah is at her grouchy best when she is forced to spend quality time with the family.  She goes nuclear if that quality time involves exercise.  I don't understand this particular behavior because she has gone out for track every year since 7th grade!  Nevertheless, despite my complete understanding of the exercise quirk, I took my chances anyway and hauled the kids to hike Cress Creek on Sunday.  This is such an easy hike that the sign outside the entrance point calls it a Nature Trail rather than a hike.  It is even handicap accessible for the first several hundred feet!  All five of the "bitches in training" whined and complained as if we had been walking for hours.  Hannah wanted to stop and turn back about halfway through and I threatened to take her IPod for 2 weeks if she didn't finish the hike with me.  My punishment for my insolence?  Angry glares directed at my back and Hannah trailing behind me by about 6 feet to show how unhappy she was with the whole ordeal.  I tried to take a pic of her death stare because it is art in motion.  Hannah got wise and showed me this instead:

Undeterred, I waited until she turned around, but only got a side view:

She then stomped off onto a completely different trail to avoid me altogether.  I tried to document how lovely the hike was to prove that I am not an abusive or unfeeling mother.  Unfortunately for my lover, he left his sunglasses in the car on a very sunny day so I got the squints in my selfie:

That's the South Fork of the Snake River BTW.  I love living in Idaho.  It's such a beautiful state that I want the girls to appreciate it but they just refuse to put up with my outings!  Thankfully, the hike was only about a mile long and Hannah, acting like a horse headed for home, caught up to the others and hightailed it back to the van:

I asked Jared why he made all these babies.  I have always liked him and love to be wherever he is.  Why did he create five kids that spend all their time complaining about everything we do together and trying to get away from us?  As usual, he had no reasonable explanation or excuse for his behavior and tried to make it sound like we had decided on making our children together... AS IF buddy!  It ended up working out because everyone stopped whining when the exercise stopped and Hannah ran to the Hidey Hole as soon as we landed back at our pad - peace and quiet at last!  At least I only have to put up with 14 more years of this baby raising nonsense.  Then I can spend all my time with the only person that DOESN'T ever try to get away from me!  This guy:

Gosh he's delicious.  No wonder he was able to trick me into birthing so many babies for him!