Unwanted House Guest

We have an unwanted house guest. He showed up a couple of months ago, seemingly out of nowhere. He is sneaky, he fibs, he blames others, he take things, and he makes a mess. I have never seen this person before, but he is always around. He is the "Invisible Guy". My 4 year old introduced us. This was actually very polite of her. She was proud of herself for doing the introduction. She even showed me where in the room he was standing (kinda creepy).

So, most days, when something goes "wrong" or rules are not followed and I call my kids out on it, my 8 year old looks at me a little grin on her face, starts to bite her nails and goes slightly red in the cheeks. She can't get away with anything! I can read her like the back of my hand.

Now, this is a different story when it comes to my 4 year old. She doesn't look up (very clever with no eye contact), she keeps her voice steady and says "The invisible guy did it". That's it!! She laughs a small little sly laugh and continues on with her day. If I press her about the situation then I get the same answer over and over and over..."The invisible guy did it".

I am kinda stuck about how to get rid of this unwanted house guest. The other day, in front of my daughter, I started to pack some invisible suitcases. She asked what I was doing and I told her "The invisible guy has to go back to his own house now"....and what do I get....Nada...nothing...she ignores me. So I am thinking that she understands that I am kicking Mr. Invisible out...Oh how I was wrong.

Tonight when it was time to clean up the toys before bed, I said to my girls, "Clean up time. You made the mess, you clean the mess". My 8 year old rolls her eyes at me (which I must say she is slowly perfecting for when she reaches her teenage years), and slowly starts to help. My 4 year old looks at me all sneakily and tells me "I don't have to help. I didn't make the mess" and my response to her is "well, who played with the barbies then?"

"The Invisible Guy"!!!

ARRRGGG

...to be continued