Dh and I had a good talk on the way home from my sis' last night. Our girls are acting out and it's not all their fault. Sooo, here's some things we need to work on:

 

Acting out Triggers for the girls that we need to work on eliminating:

-lack of sleep (in bed by 8 though they can read if they had a nap during the day, etc.)

-too much sugar (sort through our cupboards and get rid of the junk!!!)

-not enough positive attention (keeping computer off when they are awake during the week and limit the time on week-ends, t.v. time mostly at night (for dh and I), focus on THEM not us when we're out. Yes, we're visiting with friends but that doesn't mean we can expect the girls to just do their own thing and be ok with it. They still need us to pay attention to them)

-bored (make sure we give them things to do, also tied in with attention... play games WITH them)

-parents who are tired and lacking patience (make sure WE get enough sleep and we're eating well)

-lack of structure, routines (make sure we limit our visiting nights, or are junk food binges so that they are treats rather than things that happen often and cause too many issues.)

-pent up anger (work on keeping our anger at bay, redirecting them so that their anger dissapates)