Blink and You'll Miss It

Parent Bloggers Network is partnering with Windex this weekend to host a blog blast. Their question is, what is your best view?

I searched through my Shutterfly archives to find a shot to inspire this post. I went in looking for memories of white sand beaches or sun drenched afternoons jumping in our pool.

Instead I found myself moved by this shot capturing a moment of affection and complicity between Jack and Juliette. I feel as if they spend their days bickering about books and toys, but sweet moments like these are easy to overlook.

A view that warms my heart: two co-conspirators, giggling happily behind their couch fortress.

A Little Unorthodox Motivation Can't Hurt... Right?

Although Jack and Juliette can spend hours playing nicely together, giggling like lunatics whenever the other one says poop. But Jack also loves to harass his baby sister. He steals her lovey cloth from her crib and runs with it in his mouth, grabs toys out of her hands and runs off to hide them, or just piles on top of her.

He's like a puppy, being annoying for attention.

The other day his torture of choice was pinching. When I heard her crying, I grabbed Jack for a little talk.

"What were you doing to Juliette, Jack?"
"I was just giving her shots Mommy. Shots hurt."
"Well Jack, you're not a doctor so you can't give shots. If you want to be able to give people shots, you need to go to medical school."
"Oh. Ok. When can I go to medical school?"

They played nicely the rest of the day and I think I might have planted a seed.

Nothing like a little early motivation!

Why Do They Have to Fight?

I'm not sure exactly when it started to get bad, maybe it was a year ago, maybe it was two, but it wasn't always a war zone here. This past year has definitely been the worst though, driving us homebodies out on cold Saturday mornings, desperate to take on any activity to have a brief respite from the screaming, crying, pinching, kicking, biting, and hair pulling.

My kids fight. They fight over toys, over seats in the car, over plates, over my right hand, over who is the stupidest, the doodiest, the stinkiest. We'll be enjoying a rare afternoon of harmony when Bella will casually walk by Jack and kick him lightly in the leg, starting off the next battle.

The thing is, I know they love each other, fiercely. At school Bella protects Jack on the playground, holding his hand as they play chase with the other children. When we get to a party with a large group of unruly kids, she is thrilled to have Jack to lean on as they set out to explore.

I know that sibling rivalry is a natural phenomenon. I've read that it actually makes children better negotiators who are not afraid of conflict as they grow up. But I still struggle with seeing two people I love so much fight so violently with each other. I can't help but ask myself these questions over and over again:
- If they love each other, why do they need to fight?
- Is this just a phase, or will my house be a battlefield until they leave for college?
- What's going to happen when Baby Juliette gets in the mix - can it really get worse?

This week's Sunday Scribblings prompt is: Ask. Click through to see what others did with it!

Peace Offering

I grabbed my camera and captured a rare moment in the constant sibling warfare: a peace offering. Big brother took a break from biting, teasing, poking, licking, stealing, and just generally tormenting his baby sister to offer her the gift of a beautiful fall leaf. She was so little the previous autumn, every golden leaf was a wonder for her. He turned to me, delighted with her reaction and said, "See mommy, she really does love me. She smiled at me!" In a moment, I saw the possibility of a new family harmony, free of strife, and full brothers and sisters delighting in each other's company. Then the school bus arrived, big sister ran in, and the precarious new balance we had just discovered, disintegrated. But I was empowered with a new understanding of my son's desire for the love and admiration of his little sister, and that was enough to work with.

These photo thoughts were inspired by the Sunday Scribblings prompt: The Photograph.