Once upon a time, I had two children. They loved each other. Maybe because they were 3 1/2 years apart in age and different genders they got along for many years.
Awww, those were the days.
Then, my older child, a boy, entered 4th grade. Suddenly, his little sister was “lame”. This coincided with my daughter’s uncanny ability to push EVERY SINGLE ONE of her big brother’s buttons.
The fighting — over the world’s most stupid stuff — began.
All of this is to give you some context for Saturday morning. I was ready to take Sydney, 6, to an American Girl Tea Party sponsored by our Parks & Rec department. She now has two American Girl dolls and was excited to take them both to the party, where there would be finger sandwiches, drinks, crafts, and hair styling.
Tonight we’re going to party like it’s 1999…
Half an hour before the big event, though, we could only find one of her dolls. It was Caroline Abbott, the newest recruit who arrived in December.
But, Sparkle? Sparkle the first American Girl doll to arrive in our house back in December ’11? Sparkle, the doll I feel that Sydney bestowed with a stripper name? Sparkle, the doll that made me crazy looking for an ice skating outfit last year? Where was Sparkle?
Sydney and I went on the hunt. Her big brother, Will, joined in to help.
Sparkle was not in the basement.
Not in Sydney’s room.
Not in the family room.
SPARKLE?
Back we went.
Nope, not in the basement.
Not in Sydney’s room.
Not in the family room.
Now I was getting upset and dirty from all that hunting. So was Sydney. Think, think! Sparkle had been to both a play date and a Squirt hockey game recently. Could she have been {gasp} LEFT BEHIND?
Back to the basement.
Back to Sydney’s room.
Back to the family room.
ACK!
Finally, Dad joined the fray.
“Will,” Dad said with authority to our son. “DO YOU KNOW WHERE SPARKLE IS?”
Silence.
“Will!”
“She’s in my closet,” he replied calmly. “I was getting Sydney back.”
You mean I’ve been all over the house for thirty minutes pulling my hair out and the American Girl doll is hidden in your closet? Couldn’t you have let us know, oooooohhhhh, 5 minutes into this vision quest?!
And you were getting Sydney back? Back for what?
Some story about something silly.
Brothers! And Sisters!
Grrrrr!!!!
Sparkle emerged unscathed and she joined Caroline and Sydney at a lovely tea party.
Now I spend my days waiting for my kindergartner to execute her plan of revenge. Stay tuned.
How are the siblings getting along in your house?
Sounds exactly like my house!! My daughter, 9, lives to torment her brother, 5. And vice versa. She used to LOVE him! She prayed over his crib at night!! Now they fight all the time. And the know exactly which buttons to push. She is sneaky, but I don’t think she’d have the idea to hide a toy to get back at him. I’ll keep ya posted!
Rabia @ TheLiebers recently posted…Four Day Weekend Recap
I know I’m not alone! Funny how they just fight and push each other’s buttons over stupid stuff!
Katy @ Experienced Bad Mom recently posted…A Brother, a Sister, and an American Girl Doll
It must be a gender neutral need for 4th graders to torment their siblings. Older, younger, doesn’t seem to matter. My dear daughter, who just turned 10 is well practiced at the art of annoyance.
So glad Sparkle was found in time to go to the tea party. Does she have a middle name by chance? Our American girl dolls here do… but that’s another story. 🙂
Linda Kinsman recently posted…Advertising with Signazon Review
I’ll have to ask if Sparkle has a middle name! And I’m going to have to hear your story one day.
It’s so funny when your kids do it.
We had a banker in K.C. named Sparkle. If that helps.
When the girls were 3, one got a stuffed dog for Christmas. Since they had a stuff lamb who was called, “Lamby Love”, my very verbal child named the dog, Doggy Doo. She never changed it.
Maggie S. recently posted…Do You Mind If I Pass?
Sparkle, Lamby Love and Doggy Doo sound like they would have a good time together in Vegas!
My girls are only 16 months apart and still little enough, but I am sue a day is going to come when stuff like this will start and I am dreading it. Very happy to follow you back on Twitter and thank you for finding me 🙂
Yes, the siblings have only started bugging each other over the silliest things recently. And I don’t think it will stop ever! Thanks for coming by and glad to follow you, too!
My kids are the SAME age, but it’s my daughter who is the one who thinks her brother is ANNOYING all the TIME!!!! I totally get where you are at, my friend!!! Let the combat be fought on the battleground of sibling rivalry!!! It’s a bloody mess these days!!! (sigh)
Chris Carter recently posted…“My Awesome World”
two of my kids never got along. It’s so frustrating! As adults, they still are not close. They are just wired so differently. I fought w/ my sister when we were young, but now we’re close, so I’m hoping that changes for my two…in their 50’s!
Mare recently posted…Notes from Rehab Room #100
I’m hoping we can reach the peace. I don’t know if it’s a tween thing, or the age and gender difference thing is finally catching up, but my son doesn’t want much to do with his little sis these days. And she really ADORES him.