Opposites Attract

Posted on August 27, 2012 by melissa.scholes.young

I’ve always believed that Sissy and Piper hold secret meetings to determine who likes what to ensure that they never agree. This is especially true when it comes to food. Sissy love pears. Piper hates them. Piper loves cucumbers. Sissy prefers salad. Piper won’t eat lettuce. She’ll eat her weight in grapes, though. Grapes make Sissy gag. It goes on and on. They’re both pretty good eaters, but they just won’t eat the same things. Ever.

Tonight at dinner Piper asked for some plain bread. Sissy wanted hers, of course, with butter. Piper couldn’t think of anything else to complain about so she said, “I hate the crust.”

“Crust?” Sissy asked, “The crust is the best part!”

“I like the insides.”

“I only like the outside, really.”

“Fine,” I said, peeling apart the bread and dividing up the pieces. “Satisfied?”

They seemed to be. I was more than annoyed, but at least there wouldn’t be wasted bread.

“Mmm,” Piper said, yumming up the sourdough center, “this bread is warm. Just like Mommy.”

You Can Eat Crackers in My Bed Anytime…Except if You’re Naked

Posted on August 21, 2012 by melissa.scholes.young

It’s come to this. I thought Piper’s nudity problem was adorable. It saves me a lot of laundry. Not everyone in our house has been enjoying her exhibitionist ways, though. This morning, Sissy posted these new rules. Note the specificity of #1:

No Naked Bottoms! That changes everything. I do appreciate the exception that Sissy has made for changing. It’s very reasonable to expect a naked bottom or two during dressing. Do try to keep those nude parts off the furniture and floor. For obvious reasons. The tone is appropriate but firm. I’m definitely going to follow these rules. I want to avoid the consequence of rule #5 for sure. No one likes a “cranky Isabelle.”

Now we’ll just need to teach Piper to read cursive soon.

Simple Love

Posted on May 1, 2012 by melissa.scholes.young

We found a new park last weekend at Langley by the CIA building. It was designed to be completely handicap accessible, which really means it’s safe for a helicopter parent like me. See how close everything is to the spongy ground? It’s perfect. No death plunges or scraped knees for my daredevils.

It had an awesome carousel, too. A carousel is normally a huge hit with the Piper, but she declared that she’d only ride the horses that did not go up and down.

“The upping and the downing scares me,” Piper decided.

Her Sissy spent a few rounds scouting out which horses were stationary and which moved up and down the pole as they circled. A Sissy will do that for you.

And then she’ll climb on the nearest horse, even if it’s kind of plain, just so she’s close in case the Piper needs her. That’s love. It’s that simple.

The Sound of Silence

Posted on March 25, 2012 by melissa.scholes.young

Remember when I said we were big gamers? I failed to mention our favorite, the quiet game. I think you know how this goes. Everyone is supposed to be quiet and the first one to make a noise, loses the quiet game. Your job as a sibling is to poke, prod, and tease until you can get a giggle or squeak to escape from your sister’s mouth. Then you win.

It’s probably not shocking that Piper isn’t very good at the quiet game. She spent the first two years of her life mostly silent, but she’s been making up for it ever since. I’m so used to the constant Piper banter, that it’s become the background soundtrack of my day. Strangers stop me at the grocery store, “Wow. She sure talks a lot, doesn’t she?” I hadn’t noticed. Silence would be more alarming than a chattering Piper.

Snow Falling from Sissy

Posted on February 21, 2012 by melissa.scholes.young

Sissy was in charge today. It was a holiday from school, so my partner and I split teams. I had to teach, so he worked from home. Piper and Sissy came up with their own idea of fun. It’s called an agenda:

Be still my Virgo heart. Look at that tight scheduling. Makes this neurotic mama proud. See, fun can be organized? Who needs spontaneity? Mixing up your chores with puzzles is a win-win. How else are you supposed to remember to pick up after playing daycare unless you include “pickup” as part of the activity? I think Sissy may have already discovered the intoxicating pen stroke of crossing off a task from your to-do list.

When I came home from work, I was met with a full report. The siblings got along swimmingly. Apparently, only squabbles occur when the parental units are present. We’re clearly the problem. Piper’s assessment was bit more postmodern.

“I like it when Sissy reads better.”

“How come, Piper?”

“When Daddy reads it sound like thunder. Mommy uses a mouse dream voice and everything always turns out okay.”

“And Sissy?”

“When Sissy reads it’s like snow falling.”

For the Love of Sissy

Posted on February 12, 2012 by melissa.scholes.young

Gratitude is a funny thing. It creeps up on you. It can make you weepy.

Tonight at dinner we were imagining what we’d do if no one told us what to do anymore. If you could plan one whole day without responsibilities, how would you spend it? We’ve been having authority problems, you see. It was just a question to start a conversation. I said I’d write more, sleep more, and probably never cook again. My partner wants to go to guitar stores and be that guy who plays every single guitar and never buys a thing. Sissy wants more time to read and to go to Ikea twice a day for more organizational supplies. I tell you, we dream big around here. Piper’s answer? “I’d just want to be with my Sissy. That’s all.”