The Rules of a Little Sister Visit

Ever have one of those weekends that you wish could go on forever but know it can't but still wish it could? I just had one of those.

It all began Friday evening with the arrival of my little sister or as my husband is now fondly referring to her- Hurricane Kristina.

Even Chloe is frightened.

Here is the thing about a little sister visit- it is unlike any other house guest you will ever have for some many reasons:

• Guest room: Sisters take the phrase "guest room" to imply this is an additional room to use for the weekend. They will put their stuff in there. Stuff in this case refers to five bags for two nights. Then they will also put their stuff in the living room and then also on the couch. They will take over the bathroom like it is their place too. They are not a guest and take offense at guest status. They also are not a roommate. There is only one phrase to describe them- 'little sister'

• Naps: If a little sister needs to take a nap, she looks at all the beds as an option. If she decides that the master bedroom is where she wants to take her nap, then that is where she is taking her nap. And when your husband comes home and asks why his sister-in-law is asleep in your room, you will change the subject promptly to sports, the Super Bowl, hockey, Congress...anything that comes to your mind. Whatever you do, do not answer the question because the problem is you saw nothing wrong with this until he brought it to your attention. This is a strike against you too, big sister.

• Food: You feed a little sister and then she is hungry again...and she will let you know because as her big sister, you are also the only person she breathes fire towards when she is hungry. You will need to feed her again. If you are a brother-in-law in this situation (not naming names), the proper response is not "hungry? I just spent $25 feeding you breakfast and you're hungry again?" Just find food and don't ask questions.

• Activity: Get some rest or don't the choice is up to you...but the choice of what you are going to do over the weekend is not yours anymore. It belongs to your little sister. 

Imagine the movie Mean Girls taking place for about 8 hours at a bar. This would probably be the cast.

• Husband Participation: The festivities do not end, they just change locations. Your husband will be required to be there by some unspoken sister rule. You aren't even sure what the rule is but you know it exists and unfortunately so does he..which is why he is in attendance. He can't fight it. He should know not to try. 

Little did he know when we got married that his sister-in-law would bring along an army of friends and an army of activities everywhere we went. 

 Thank you to my little sister, Hurricane Kristina, for a fun weekend visit. You are a mess and I love you for it.