Too little, too big

Trista Qualley was too little. She was too little too stay up late. She was too little to hang out with her friends at the mall. She was too little to watch her baby sister, Tobi while Mommy cooked dinner.

"Please can I watch her for you?" Trista begged. "I'll take good care of her." she promised.

Mommy smiled at Trista. "I know you love your sister, but your just too little. Go and find Tanya".  Trista bit her lip and frowned Tanya was Trista's older sister. She was not too  little for anything.

Trista Qualley was too big. She was too big to stay home all day with Mommy instead of going to school. She was too big to be picked up and carried. She was too big to sleep in Mommy and Daddy's bed when she had a bad dream at night. "But Tobi gets to sleep with you." she pouted.

"Tobi is a baby." pointed out Mommy. "You're a big girl."

"A big girl maybe but not big enough. " She was always too big and too small. She was never the right size.

"When am I going to get bigger?" Trista asked. "When am I going to get older?" That wasn't really the answer she realized because Tanya was always going to be older than her and get to do things she couldn't.  She was never going to be smaller or younger than Tobi either because she couldn't grow backwards.

Trista sat on her bed feeling sorry for herself. After a while, Mommy came looking for her. "What's the matter?" Mommy asked when she saw Trista's pouty face.

"I'm never going to be big enough." whined Trista.

"Big enough for what?" asked Mommy.

"Big enough for anything!"

"Of course. You will. You'll grow." promised Mommy.

"But it won't matter because Tanya is always going to be bigger than me."

"Yes, but that doesn't mean that you're not special too." replied Mommy.

Trista rolled her eyes at Mom. "Of course, you have to say that your my Mommy."

Mommy smiled and hugged Trista. "I love you." she said, "Your my baby."

"I'm not your baby. " shouted Trista. "Tobi is your baby. She is little and cute. I'm not little, and I am not every going to be little again. I am not little. I am not big. I am not anything. " She buried her face in her pillow and cried. Nothing Mommy could do or say would comfort her.

"Mom!" Tanya called from downstairs. "The spaghetti is boiling over."

"I have to go sweetie." Mommy said to Trista, "but this conversation is not over."

Mommy got busy making dinner, and she didn't come back. Finally. Trista had enough of feeling sorry for herself for a while, and she went downstairs to see what was going on.

When she got downstairs Tobi was in her high chair. Mommy and Tanya were crawling around on the floor. "What's going on?" asked Trista. "Are you playing baby or something?"

Tanya looked up and glared at Trista. "Of course, not." she said angrily. "We're looking for Mom's wedding ring. She can't  find it."

"Can I help look?" asked Trista.

"Your too little." said Tanya.

Now, it was Mommy's turn to give Tanya a look. Then, Mommy smiled at Trista thankfully. "I would appreciate your help."  she said. Trista got down on the floor and started crawling around too.

After a few minutes, Tanya shouted. "I see something shiny behind the cabinet." They all went over to the cabinet and looked. Sure enough, it was Mommy's wedding ring. Mommy reached for it, but her hand was too big. "I'll get it, Mom." said Tanya.  She reached for it but her hand was too big too.

"I'll get it, Mommy." said Trista. Her hand was just the right size. She reached behind the cabinet, pulled out the ring and handed it to Mommy.

"Thank you, sweetie." Mommy said happily  as she quickly slipped the ring back on her finger.  She kissed Trista gratefully.

Trista smiled. Maybe, she wasn't always too big or too small after all. Maybe, sometimes, she was just right.

Camryn Can't Wait

 Today's story is a join effort by my daughter and I.


It was New Year's  Eve. Camryn Getz was so excited! This was going to be the first New Year's she got to stay up to and watch on TV as the New Year's ball dropped in Times Square. Her older brother and sister Connor and Camelia, who were twins, had been allowed to stay up and watch for several years already. Camryn was so jealous. Finally. it was her turn now.

At dinner time, on December 31, Camryn asked "Is it almost time for the New Year's ball to drop?"

Mommy laughed at Camryn's eagerness. "Not yet." she replied."Not for a few more hours."

Daddy lit in fire in the fireplace, and they all went into the living room. "Let's play a game." said Connor.
They all agreed and they played Monopoly. It took up a lot of time and for a while Camryn didn't think about New Year's Eve and the ball dropping at all.

When the game was over, Camryn asked hopefully. "Is it time for the ball to drop now?

Mommy shook her head. "Just be patient little one. It will be here before you know it." Camryn frowned unhappily. She hated waiting for things.

"I'm hungry." complained Connor as his stomach rumbled.

"Me too." replied Camelia and Camryn together.

"I'll make popcorn and we can watch something on TV." suggested Mommy. She went into the kitchen.
Camryn followed her.

"Can we watch the ball drop while we eat popcorn?" she asked.

"We told you it's not time yet, dummy." yelled Connor from the other room.

"Connor!" Mommy said sharply. "Don't you remember how eager you were the first time you got to see the ball drop on New Year's Eve? Give your sister a break."

"I'm sorry." said Connor in a voice that didn't seem sorry at all. 

Mom came back in the room and handed out the popcorn. They watched TV as they ate. When they were done, Mom made another batch.

After they finished the second batch, Camryn asked eagerly, "Is it time to watch the ball drop now?"

"Not yet, princess." said Daddy.

Camryn frowned. "It's never gonna get here." she groaned angrily.

"It will come." Daddy promised. "You just have to be patient."

They said around for a few minutes and Camryn was totally bored.

Suddenly, Camelia jumped out of her seat. "Let's have a dance party!" she suggested.They all agreed that was a great idea so Connor put on the stereo. They all started dancing.

After about a half hour, they were all tired out. They sat back down on the couch. Camryn rested her head in Mommy's lap. "Is it time now?" she asked again. Everyone shook their head no. " Camryn stuck out her lower lip and pouted disappointedly.

"What should we do now?" asked Mommy.

"Can Daddy tell us a story?"  asked Camryn.  Daddy agreed, and he began telling a story. Camryn closed her eyes just for a minute to rest as she listened to the story.

When, Daddy finished tellling the story. Connor looked at the clock. "It's five minutes to midnight!" he exclaimed happily. Camelia turned back on the TV.  Camryn was still lying on Mommy's lap and she didn't move.

"Camryn?" said Mommy. "Camryn it's time. The New Year's ball is about to drop."  There was no reaction from Camryn. Mommy looked down at her lap. Camryn's eyes were still closed, and she was fast asleep. 

Samara Gets Stage Fright

"I'm going to try out for the school play." Samara Kingsley announced excitedly one day at breakfast as she reached for a piece of toast.

"Good for you."  replied her mother smiling proudly at Samara and scooping some eggs on to her daughter's plate.

Her older brother, Charlie laughed as he buttered his own toast. "Your going to be in the school play?" he said. "You get nervous just talking to people on the phone." Charlie opened his mouth to say more but he quickly closed it again when he saw the angry look his mother was shooting him. She could not have been more angry if there were actual fire coming out of her mouth.

"We are all happy for you and we will all be rooting for you. Right, Charlie?" she said in a way that made it very clear that Charlie had better agree with her and show some support for his sister.

"Yeah, yeah." Charlie replied. He quickly gulped down his breakfast and hurried out of the room before his big mouth got him into more trouble.

Samara sat quietly in her chair. Maybe, Charlie was right and she shouldn't try out for the play. "Do you think I really have a chance to be in the play?" she asked her mother.

"Of course, you do, sweetie." Her mother assured her. "I'm so proud of you that you want to try-out." she added hugging Samara.

Samara beamed proudly and all her excitement returned. She couldn't wait for school and the auditions.

School dragged slowly. The auditions were after school. Samara sat nervously in the auditorium and waited for her turn to audition. She was a little bit nervous but once she started speaking she was okay. Afterwards, the drama teacher, Mrs. Drexel handed out the parts. Samara held her breathe until she heard Mrs. Drexel say "And playing the part of the handmaiden will be Samara Kingsley." Samara let out a huge happy sigh as a giant smile spread across her face. The handmaiden wasn't the lead but it was a nice sized part. The show was about a princess and the handmaiden was her faithful servant. Samara couldn't wait to go home and share her good news with her family.

"Oh, Samara, baby, that's wonderful!" exclaimed her mother excitedly crushing Samara in a huge hug when Samara told her that she had gotten in to the play.

Her father hugged her too. "We can't wait to come see you in the show." he said.

"Congrats, kid." added Charlie. He was still kind of surprised that Samara had not only actually gone through with the audition but had actually gotten a part in the show, but he was genuinely happy for his sister. Even though he teased her a lot, he was fond of her.

Rehearsals for the show started the next day. Rehearsals took place after school. Almost every day after school for the next two months, Samara had play rehearsal.

Finally, it was opening night. They had a quick light dinner and Mom got ready to drop Samara off at the school to ger ready. Mom would be coming back with Dad and Charlie later.  "Break a leg, sweetie." said Samara's father in the traditional theater expression of wishing good luck. He kissed her gently on the cheek.

"I'm proud of you, kid. " said Charlie. "I never really thought you'd actually audition, and now you are about to get up on that stage and perform in front of whole auditorium of people."

He meant it as a complement, but his words really got to Samara. She had never really thought about how big the auditorium was before and how many people it could hold. Now, she couldn't stop thinking about it. Her whole body instantly went numb and she felt as if she couldn't breathe.

"Come on, Samara." insisted her mother quickly ushering her to the door. "You'll be late." She hurried Samara into the car, and they headed for the school. Samara hoped she would feel better once she actually got there and started getting ready for the show.

By the time they arrived at the school and went inside, Samara still wasn't feeling any better.  In fact, she felt worse. She felt as though her whole body was frozen and she couldn't move. However, she somehow forced herself to get into her costume and get her stage make-up on. Then, she sat around nervously waiting for the show to start. While her cast mates buzzed around excitedly getting ready and waiting for the show to start,  Samara pasted a big fake smile on her face and tried to appear as happy as they were and not let anyone see how nervous she actually was.

Finally, it was show time. Samara somehow managed to make her way to her place on stage for the beginning of Act One. She could feel her heart beating so loudly in her chest that she was surprised nobody else could hear it. When  the show started and it came time for Samara's first line, she completely froze. The room went completely still and so quiet that you could have heard a pencil drop in a classroom all the way at the other end of the school. Samara swallowed hard, looked at the ground, and finally said her first line. She took a deep breathe. She forced herself to stopped thinking about the auditorium and all the people watching her. She became completely absorbed in the play and her character of the handmaiden. She hadn't completely lost her nervousness, but she managed to push through and get through the whole play.

After the show was over, Samara's family surrounded her. The gave her flowers and showered her with praise for her wonderful performance. "You looked so confident out there, baby." said her Dad. Samara smiled proudly. Maybe, she was an even better actress than she thought.

Rayna Rejects Reading

Today's Story is not only for my daughter but by my daughter.


Rayna Lewis absolutely positively hated books. She did not even like to be around books at all. Whenever she saw a book she would run away.

 "Mommy, do I have to learn to read?" she asked one day.

"Yes." replied her mother. "Sometime, you'll have to learn. I am sure you'll like it when you actually take a chance and try it."

"I won't like it ever." replied Rayna with a big frown.

The next day was going to be Rayna's 6th birthday. Rayna's Mom tucked her into bed. "Goodnight, Rayna." she said with a kiss on the cheek.

The next morning, Rayna woke up bright and early. "It's my birthday!" she said excitedly. She jumped out of bed, ran into her Mom and Dad's room and jumped up on their bed. "Mommy, Daddy, it's my birthday!" she shouted excitedly.

"Yes, honey and tomorrow you get to start kindergarten. Two exciting days in a row." said her Dad.

"Oh, Daddy! Don't ruin my birthday." she said angrily. She gave him an unhappy look. Then, she smiled again. "It's still my birthday!" she said extremely excited.

Her mother picked Rayna up and put her on her lap. Her Dad went to get her present. "Happy Birthday!" they said together as her Dad handed her wrapped gift.  She opened her gift excitedly. It was a bunch of books. She picked one up and stared at it. It was called Pat and Cat. She threw it on the floor. Then, she ran away crying. She went into her room and slammed the door.

Her parents went over. "Sweetie, please open the door." they begged knocking.

"Fine." she said through her tears. "The door is open."  They took her in their arms and hugged her. "Some day, you'll like reading and you'll appreciate your present." they said. She didn't think that would happen but she didn't say anything because she didn't want the rest of her birthday spoiled.

The rest of the day went by quickly. They ate pizza and had a big chocolate ice cream cake. Soon, it was Rayna's bedtime. Her parents both tucked and her in and kissed her goodnight. "Goodnight, sweetie. We love you." they said.

The next morning, Rayna's Mom woke her up. "It's time for school." she said.

Rayna was actually excited to go to school. She just didn't want to learn to read. "Can't you write me a note so I don't have to learn to read?" she begged.

"No, honey. I can't do that. Your going to have to learn to read." replied her mother.

"Okay, fine." Rayna said unhappily.

She went downstairs and had a quick breakfast and got ready for school. Her Mom drove her to school. They got out of the car and went to the door. Her mother took a quick picture of Rayna on her first day of school and gave her a quick kiss goodbye.

Rayna couldn't find her classroom at first. Then, she found a nice lady who helped her find it. Her classroom was labeled room Q.  Her teacher was Miss Brown

Miss Brown said "Welcome to Room Q. Today we are going to start learning to read." She took out some books and handed one to each student. The book was Pat and Cat. Rayna's mouth opened wide. Miss Brown read the book to the class as all the children followed along. It was a pretty easy book and there weren't too many words on the page. By the end of the day, each child had a chance to read a little bit of the book, and they each got one to take home to practice.

"I don't need one. I have it at home." said Rayna proudly. She couldn't wait to go home and read it to her Mom and Dad.

When Rayna's Mom picked her up from school and took her home, she ran to her room and got the book. She went to find her Mom and Dad. "Can I read this to you?" she asked.

Her Mom and Dad were both shocked. "Of course." they said with surprise. Rayna read the book. She did great. She got every single word right with only a little sounding out.

From that day on, Rayna loved reading. Every second of free time she had, she would read. It was hard to believe that Rayna had ever hated reading.

Arianna Awesome

             Today's Story is by Melia

                Arianna Anders thought she was the most amazing person ever. She would brag about everything. Her clothes, her grades, her accomplishments, etc. One day she came home from camp and declared, "Mom, my name is no longer Arianna Anders. From now on, call me Arianna Awesome."

                The next morning she woke up and decided she wanted to watch "Girl Meets World," but when she reached the living room her little sister, Shauna, was already watching, "Sesame Street." Arianna marched over and glared at Shauna, with her hands on her hips. "Give me the remote, Shauna. I want to watch my favorite show."

               Shauna looked up at her big sister and replied, "Ree, I'm watching my favorite show. You can watch when my episode ends."

               Arianna grabbed the remote out of Shauna's hand and yelled, "Well, you know what? I'm Arianna Awesome, and awesome people get what they want!"

                Shauna ran off crying. Later that day, Arianna heard her brother and sister, Michael and Sam who were twins, arguing in Sam's room. Arianna wandered in and asked, "What's the matter?"

               Her sister explained that there was only one cookie left and they didn't know who should get it. "I have a solution." Arianna grabbed the cookie and ran off.

               The twins ran after her. "Arianna, you can't just go stealing people's things." Michael complained.

              "I'm Arianna Awesome, and I can do whatever I want." was her retort.

                Sam rolled her eyes and said, "You are the most conceited person I have ever met." Michael nodded in agreement and the twins left.

              This went on for a couple more weeks until the first day of school. Arianna entered her new classroom for fifth grade. "Sophie!" Arianna screamed excitedly running towards her best friend.

                "Arianna, there's something I need to tell you. You've been a really bad friend to me, you're always bragging about yourself and saying you should get your way because you're awesome. So, until you can prove you've changed, I don't think we should be friends anymore." Sophie explained and she walked away.

                Arianna didn't want to lose her best friend, so she decided to try to become a better person. Saturday morning, she let Shauna watch "Sesame Street." She split her last cookie in half and gave 1 to Sam and one to Michael. The next Monday, Arianna approached her best friend and said, "Soph, I am so so sorry. I was a terrible friend, and sister, and everything. I can't promise I 'll never be a little conceited again, but I can promise to try.  I think for now, I'll just go back to being Arianna Anders."

The Great Teddy Bear Hunt

Kari Edmond sadly stood staring in her toy box. She looked once. She looked twice. She looked again, but she could not find what she was looking for. She threw all of the toys out of the box and continued looking, but still she could not find what she was looking for.

Mommy enter the room and eyed the huge mess. "What on earth are you doing?" she asked Kari.

"I'm looking for my teddy bears." explained Kari unhappily.  Kari had four teddy bears. Blueberry was a blue bear. Cherry was a red bear.  Blackberry was a black bear. Lemony was a yellow bear. They were her favorite toys.

"Where did you last see them? asked Mommy.

"I'm sure they were in my toy box." insisted Kari on the verge of tears.

"Don't worry we'll find them." Mommy assured her.

She and Mommy looked through Kari's whole room. Still, there was no sign of any of the bears.  They started looking through the rest of the house. They didn't find any sign of the teddy bears but they did find Kathy and Karl, Kari's older sister and brother. Karl was sitting at the kitchen table lingering over his homework. Kathy was in the living room watching TV. "Did either of you see Kari's teddy bears?" asked Mom. Karl shook his head. Kathy didn't even look up from the TV. "Well, why don't you two help her look while I start making dinner." suggested Mom.

"Sure." said Karl quickly slamming his textbook. He was up for anything that would keep him away from his homework.

Kathy still didn't even take her eyes off the television set. Mom went into the other room and turned off the TV. "I said  help your sister find her teddy bears." said Mom. Kathy scowled at her mother unhappily, but she got up to help her sister as she was told.

They looked all over the house, for over half an hour but there was no sign of any of the teddy bears. Kari collapsed on the living room couch on the verge of tears. Just then, the garage door opened and in walked Dad who had just come home from work. "What's the matter, pumpkin?" he asked when he saw Kari's sad face.

"She can't find her teddy bears." explained Karl. All Kari could do was nod miserably in agreement.  She was too sad to say anything.

"I thought I saw Bijou with something red in the backyard." said Daddy.

"Bijou!" exclaimed  Kari angrily. Bijou was their big white puppy. She was very fond of socks and she was always trying to bite Kari's stuffed animals. Kari ran out to the backyard followed by Daddy, Kathy and Karl.

They looked but at first they didn't see anything. Then, Daddy spied a flash of red under the swingset. He went over and reached down and picked up a red teddy bear. "Cherry!" exclaimed Kari reaching for the bear.

"What's this?" said Kathy as she saw something blue under the tree and scooped it up in her arms. It was a blue bear. "Blueberry!" exclaimed  Kari happily as Kathy handed it to her.

Daddy found a yellow bear on the lawn in front of Bijou's dog house.  He had barely picked it up when Kari grabbed it out of his arms. "Lemony!" she called excitedly.

They looked all over the yard but still they could not find the fourth bear. "Well at least you found three of them." said Dad trying unsuccessfully to cheer up Kari up.

Kari just gave him a look, and it was not a happy look. "You wouldn't say well at least I have two of my children, would you Dad?" she asked.

Karl couldn't help chuckling until Dad gave him a not very happy look, and he shut up.

Just then, Mom came out of the house. "Look what I found." she said. In her arms, she held Bijou hanging out of Bijou's mouth was a black bear.

"Bad, bad Bijou!" said Kari reaching for the bear. At first, the dog didn't want to give it up, but Daddy managed to pry it out of her mouth.

"Come on, Bijou." said Mommy taking the dog into the house. "We'll find you one of your own toys."

Kari hugged her teddy bears to her and went in the house too. Daddy, Kathy and Karl followed. They all went back to their respective activities while Kari went to put her bears away. When she came back, she sat down on the couch. Bijou climbed up next to her. "I hate you, Bijou, you bad bad dog!" said Kari. Bijou leaned over and licked Kari across the face. It tickled, and Kari couldn't help laughing. "Okay." she admitted. "I don't hate you but I am mad at you." Bijou licked her again. Kari sighed "Okay." she said. "I love you, but I am still mad at you!"

Alana is Awesome!

Alana Burgess had an older sister, Annie. Annie didn't like Alana going into her room. She didn't like Alana touching her things. Alana loved going in her sister's room, however. She loved looking at Annie's stuff. She went into Annie's room. She found Annie's phone on the floor near the bed. It must have dropped out of Annie's pocketbook. Annie never went anywhere without her phone.

Alana sat on the floor playing with the phone. She knew Annie would be mad if she found Alana with her phone, but Alana didn't care. She started playing with the ringtones. She recorded herself saying "Alana is awesome!" and then she set it as the phone's ringtone. She listened to it a few times and smiled. She wished Annie really always had to hear that whenever her phone rang.

Suddenly, Alana heard footsteps. She peaked out of the room and saw Annie on the stairs. There was no time to change the ringtone back. She quickly dropped the phone and hurried out of the room.


Just as Annie came into her room, she heard Alana's voice calling out "Alana is awesome! Alana is awesome!" and it just kept repeating. "Alana is awesome!"

"Ha Ha, very funny, Alana." called Annie, but she didn't really sound like she thought it was funny at all. She looked all over the room trying to find out where the voice was coming from. Finally, she realized it was coming from her phone, and then she got really angry.

As soon as she got off the phone, she rushed  into Alana's room. "How dare you touch my things!" she yelled angrily at Alana. "You know you're not supposed to go in my room." She shouted a bunch of other things too. "You change my ringtone back!" she said finally.

"Change it yourself." declared Alana.

Annie glared even angrier at her sister. Unlike most kids her age, Annie was not very good with phones. She knew how to talk on them. That's about it.

Alana shook her head. Right about now, she hated her sister, and she didn't want to do anything for her.

"Mom will make you!" said Annie. She went off down the hall to find Mom and tell her what had happened.

A few minutes later, Annie came back with Mom. "Please change the ringtone." said Mom. She said it very calmly, but Alana could tell from her expression that Mom was very serious.

"Okay." said Alana. She took the phone and left the room. Then, she came back and handed it to her sister.
Just as Annie took the phone back, it started ringing again. It didn't say "Alana is awesome" anymore. Now it said "Annie is awful!" "Annie is awful! Annie is awful !" it repeated over and over again.

"Alana!" yelled Mom and Annie at the same time.

"Well you didn't say I had to put it back to what it was." said Alana.