I'm scared of my shadow, but only at night.

This weekend was FANTASTIC. She performed her own "surgery" and the numbing agent seemed to work really well on the toe. We went out for pizza and then to "Get Smart" not as a reward, but because it was Friday. We wouldn't have been able to go though, if the toe hadn't been taken care of, not a reward, but a consequence.
Saturday we did a little shopping for me, and kinda chilled for the afternoon, before picking up her friend Meredith and driving to The Myrtles Plantation, which is one of the most haunted houses in the US. The kid adored the tour she can't stop talking about it, Meredith was a little indifferent. They kept snapping pictures hoping that one would have a ghost in it. I hung out at the bar while they went on the tour since I am a complete and total pansy about such things. The kid spent the night at Meredith's that night and I was convinced that it would be relaxing for me. No such luck I think I stayed in a half sleep/half awake mode all night waiting for the phone to ring that she needed something or was scared. No phone calls though, mission accomplished. As we walked over to Meredith's the kid informed me that she didn't like to run at night because her shadow scared her. ::bite tongue Mary-Tyler::
Sunday we met everyone at the pool at 10:30 and had the girls over for lunch around noon. They watched a movie till 3 when we sent Meredith home so we could get some chores done. The kid cried exhaustion and the Meredith card was played, "If you're too tired to vacuum you're too tired to have Meredith come over." It didn't stop the whining, but that's avoidable by going into another room. Eventually, after a few tears, she vacuumed the living room, kitchen, dining room and her room. She truly was exhausted and we knew it, but we also knew if she kept going she would crash that night. She laid down in our bed, WITHOUT arguing for 30 minutes until Meredith showed up.
I was concerned with her staying longer we wouldn't have leverage like we did with horse back riding camp, but there are so many other avenues and I feel we play the card fairly. No surprises, XY and Z need to get done before we can play, and we can't always play. Again consequences not punishment. That's not to say she hasn't been punished, the enormous "BURP" that came out at the dinner table at a restaurant on Saturday night called for a 5 minute time-out and a talk on how that can be better handled in the future.
She is in yoga tonight, and Tuesday and Thursday are private horse back riding lessons, care of our Aunt Ann. She's still not the most graceful on a horse, but her back is straight, and there is a smile, so those are just as important in my book.