It's Not Easy Being Twins

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


Lillian and Addison Banks were 10 year old twins. They where always fighting but, they did love each other. "Mom, can we go to the mall?" asked Lillian.

"Sorry, Lillian. Addison asked me if we can go to Taco Bell, Payless, Nordstorms, and Macy's. replied Mommy.

"But mom, all of those stores can be found in the mall. Why can't we just go to the mall?" begged Lillian.

"You can't because I already asked!" stated Addison

"Addison, you always get what you want, It's not fair. I never get anything!" complained Lillian.

Later that day... 

"What do you girls want for dinner?" asked Mommy.

"Can we have bagels, please mom?" asked Addison hopefully.

"No mom, Can we have macaroni?" asked Lillian 

"Why don't we get a pizza? suggested mommy

"I guess that will be good.I do love pizza." agreed Addison

"I love pizza too."  stated Lillian

"Great! We'll order a pizza." said Mom

After dinner, they decided to go to the park.

"I'll race you to the top of the monkey bars!" blurted out Addison

"Okay, but be ready to lose!" advised Lillian. 

When they got to the top, they started to fight about who really got to the top first. "I got to the top first." said Addison.

"No I did!" argued Lillian. Lillian lightly pushed Addison. Addison lightly pushed Lillian back. Lillian did it again but a little harder this time. Addison did the same. Once again, Lillian pushed Addison, She only meant to push Addison a tiny bit harder, but she accidentally pushed too hard. Addison went flying off the monkey bars.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" yelled Addison in pain. Lillian came running down the monkey bars. Mommy came running from the bench she was sitting on.

Mommy picked up Addison and carried her into the car. They went right to the hospital to make sure that Addison did not  have any broken bones.

"You have a broken arm." said the doctor.

The doctor put  gave Addison's arm in a cast. Then, they went home.

"I'm so so sorry I did't know that would happen." said Lillian sadly.

"It is okay. I know you did't mean it." replied Addison.

"From now on, I will be way more careful and nice to you." said Lillian.

"I will too." agreed Addison

"I'm glad to see you girls getting along." said Mommy.

From then on, Lillian and Addison kept their promise. They where both nicer to each other and more careful of each other. But, they were still twins, so they sometimes still did fight, but not nearly as much as they did before.

Older

Brandi Whalen was the little sister. Brooke was the big sister. Brandi hated being the the little sister. She couldn't wait to be older. She wanted to do the things that Brooke did. She wanted to have the things that Brooke had. She wanted to go the places that Brooke went.

Brooke had her own phone. She talked on it at all hours of the day and night. When she was wasn't talking on her phone she would be texting, playing games or watching YouTube on it. Brandi wanted a phone. "Can I have a phone?" she asked Mommy and Daddy.

"When your older." they replied.

Brandi sighed. "When will I be older?" she wondered unhappily.

Brooke got to wear makeup. Brandi wanted to wear make up. She couldn't wait to have colorful eyes and lips and rosy looking checks. She wanted to paint her nails pretty colors too. Brooke looked so pretty with all her make up on. Brandi wanted to look pretty too."Can I wear makeup?" she asked Mommy eagerly.

"When you're older." replied Mommy.

Brandi sighed. "When will I be older?" she wondered unhappily.

Brooke had a driver's license. She had a little red used car that she drove around in with all her friends. They went shopping. They went to to the beach. They went to the movies. Brandi wanted to go too. "Can you take me shopping?" she asked Brooke hopefully

"Forget it, squirt." replied Brooke frowning,

"Can you take me to the beach?" inquired Brandi wishfully.

"No way, kiddo." replied Brooke shaking her head.

"Can you take me to the movies?" begged Brandi.

Brooke didn't reply. She just gave Brandi an angry glare. It was a glare that told Brandi there was no way that Brooke was going to take Brandi anywhere, and she better just leave Brooke alone.

"When can I get a car?" Brandi asked Daddy.

Daddy laughed at Brandi's eagerness. "You don't even have a driver's license." he reminded her.

"When can I get a driver's license?" asked Brandi eagerly.

"When you're older." replied Daddy.

Brandi frowned. "When am I going to be older?" she wondered miserably.

The next week, Brooke got grounded for coming in late, and she wasn't allowed to use her phone. She  had an allergic reaction to some make-up she'd been wearing and she developed an angry pink rash on her face. She didn't have time to drive in her car with her friends because she was too busy running errands for Mom and Dad. She was miserable. "What are you looking at?" she glared angrily when she saw caught Brooke giving her a pitying look. "Just wait until you're older."

"That's okay," replied Brandi. "I'm good." and she suddenly found she wasn't in a hurry to be older at all.

A Surprise for Sammi

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

Sammi Hannigan was not an ordinary 10 year old. She was special. Unlike most kids her age, she would do anything to accomplish a goal. More then anything she wanted a kitten and a puppy. Unlike most kids, she was saving up her allowance money.

"SURPRISE." yelled Mommy and Daddy as Sammi walked downstairs. "Happy birthday!"  cried Mommy.

"Thanks mommy." replied Sammi.

"Ready for your presents?" asked Mommy

"Okay." agreed Sammi. As Sammi opened the present, she wondered what it could be. Maybe, it was  the stuffed cheetah she looked at  at Target or the clothes she liked at Kohl.  Maybe it was even the hamster she looked at when they were at Petco. The box had holes. Sammi thought it was broken. When Sammi opened the box, something jumped out. It was too fast to see what it was. It startled her so much that she jumped, but she quickly realized what her present was. It was a tiny calico cat with orange spots and a tiny pomeranian puppy. "I will name my cat Callie and my puppy Missy." said Sammi. Time went by so fast that Sammi didn't even realize it was time for bed.

"Time for bed Sammi." reminded Mom. That night, Sammi saw a giant shadow coming closer and closer to her. Then, the shadow jumped up on her. It was just Callie and Missy. The next morning, Sammi was having a play date with her best friend, Lizzie. Sammi opened the door to leave.

"Wait! I forgot my pictures of Callie and Missy. I want to show them to Lizzie." Sammi declared. She ran upstairs to get them, but she didn't realize that she forgot to close the front door. Before she got back, when no one was looking, Missy ran out.

"Are you ready, Sammi?" Mommy asked.

"Yes" replied Sammi. When Sammi got home, she was ready to feed Callie and Missy. She went to her room where she last saw them. Callie was sitting on her bed,but Missy was gone "Mommy I can't find Missy!"

"Don't worry. I"ll help you look." offered Mommy.

"Thanks Mommy." Sammi answered They looked everywhere in the house. By the time they were done,  it was Sammi's bedtime.

"Time for bed." Mommy said.

"But we have not found Missy yet!" exclaimed Sammi,

"We will look outside the house tomorrow. "promised Mommy.

"Fine"  agreed Sammi. That night neither Sammi nor Callie could sleep. They both missed Missy so much. 

"Wake up, Sammi." whispered Mommy.

"Is it time to look for Missy?" Sammi asked hopefully.

"Not yet. First it's time for breakfast".

"Okay." Sammi said disappointedly. That was not like Sammi. Sammi loved breakfast. It was her favorite meal.

"Don't forget to feed  Callie, Sammi"  reminded Mommy.

"I won't." Sammi  said. She didn't even touch her breakfast.  Callie didn't touch her food ether. Finally, it was time to look for Missy. They did not have much luck with that. 

Days went by with no sign of Missy anywhere. Sammi and Callie just lay in bed all day doing nothing. They were too sad to do anything else. 

One day, Daddy was going to work. "Goodbye Sammi." he told her.

"Bye, Daddy."  Sammi replied.

Later that day, when Daddy got home, he called. "Sammi! I have surprise for you!"

Sammi started to come down the staircase. The second she saw, Daddy had Missy, she and Callie both ran down the rest of the way .

"Where did you find her?"  Sammi asked

"On my way home from work." answered Daddy.

"She must have ran out when I went to get the pictures" said Sammi. "From now on, I will never leave the door open or at least I'll try not to."  Sammi said with a smile.

photo credits

photo credit 1: Calico Kitten approx. 6 weeks via photopin (license)

photo credit 2:  Pomeranian via photopin (license)

I Can Do That!

Ayla Summers was five years old. Her little sister Airlea was just a baby. Ayla could do everything that Airlea could do and even more. So why was everybody so endlessly fascinated by what Airlea could do? Ayla just couldn't understand it.

"Look!" declared Mommy excitedly. "Airlea is smiling."

Ayla frowned. 'You call that a smile?' thought Ayla. "I can smile!" she said out loud displaying a wide toothy grin. Nobody noticed. They were too busy fussing over Airlea.

Just then, Grandma arrived. Airlea just barely moved her hand a little bit. "Oh, Airlea!" gushed Grandma happily. "Are you waving at me?"

Ayla shook her head sadly. 'You can call that a wave?' she thought. "I can wave!" she said out loud. She raised her hand high in the air and waved vigorously.  Nobody paid attention. They were too busy fussing over Airlea.

They went in the house. Mommy had made lunch. Everyone sat down at the table to eat and Mommy passed out the plates full of food. Airlea started babbling something in her baby language.

"Airlea!." Daddy exclaimed enthusiastically. "Are you talking to us?"

Ayla rolled her eyes. 'Those aren't even words.' she thought. "I can talk!" she said. "My name is Ayla Summers. I am five years old. ..."  Ayla went on and on talking. Nobody noticed. They were too busy fussing over Airlea. So Ayla talked more and got louder.

Finally. she got so loud that they had to notice. Mom turned and looked at Ayla. Ayla smiled proudly and continued talking, but Mommy frowned. "Ayla," she scolded. "Stop talking so much and eat your lunch before it gets cold."

Ayla shrank down in her chair. Suddenly, she didn't feel much like talking. She didn't feel much like eating either. She didn't feel much like doing anything.

"What's the matter?" Grandma asked Ayla worriedly. "I thought grilled cheese was your favorite." she said pointing to the uneaten sandwich on Ayla's plate

Ayla just shrugged, but didn't say anything. She stared at her plate but didn't make a move to eat. She just looked  over at Airlea. Mommy and Daddy were still fussing over her.

"Airlea," trilled Mommy in a singsong voice. "Are you eating?"

Ayla kicked her chair and frowned. " I can eat!" she said, but she didn't take a bite of her sandwich or even pick it up. She was too sad to eat. She just wanted someone to notice her.

"Ayla," replied Grandma with a smile and a laugh. "Why, of course, you can eat!" Ayla looked up at Grandma surprised that someone had finally noticed her. She just stared but didn't say anything.

"Of course, you can eat." Grandma repeated. "Where do you think Airlea learned it from?" Ayla shrugged her shoulders to indicate she had no idea. "From you." replied Grandma. "From her big sister. Where do you think she learns how to do everything she knows how to do?"

"From me?" asked Ayla uncertainly.

"That's right! exclaimed Grandma nodding. "She learns everything from her big sister."

"She does?" asked Ayla.

Grandma nodded again. "Of course, she does."

"I must be a good big sister." stated Ayla with a mixture of pride and surprise.

"You must be," agreed Grandma.

Suddenly, Ayla felt  much better. She happily hugged Grandma tightly. "I love you." she whispered. That was something Airlea couldn't do Ayla realized. Airlea couldn't say "I love you." 'Maybe, someday, I'll teach her that too thought.' Ayla. She smiled at her little sister. Then, she picked up her sandwich and began to eat her lunch.

Jackie and the Jack-O-Lantern

Today's post is not only for my daughter but by my daughter


Jackie was a 6 year old little girl. She was excited because it was almost Halloween.  She was going to make a Jack-O- Lantern later that day. 

"Good morning!" declared Mommy as she woke up Jackie.

"Can I make my Jack- O-Lantern now?!" shouted Jackie excitedly.

"Not yet Jackie maybe after breakfast." answered Mommy.

"Okay mommy. replied Jackie sadly." Jackie gulped down her food as fast she could without choking on it. "I'm done eating. Now, can I carve my pumpkin?" asked Jackie hopefully.

"Wait until I finish eating. While you wait, you can draw what you want on your pumpkin on a paper. That way when I am ready to carve it for you I know what to make on it." suggested Mommy.

"Okay mommy." Jackie shrugged sadly. It only took mommy a couple more minutes to finish eating but to Jackie it seemed like hours.

"Okay, Jackie, I'm ready to carve your pumpkin." said Mommy

"Finally!" replied Jackie happily. She made a happy pumpkin not a scary pumpkin. When mommy finished the pumpkin, Jackie looked at it like something was wrong. Mommy was worried  that she had done the carving wrong.

"Is something wrong with the pumpkin? Did I not carve it the way you wanted it, Jackie?" Mommy asked worriedly.

"No, mommy,  it is not that. You carved it just the way I wanted it. The carving looks perfect. I can just tell that something is missing. It still needs something." Jackie said

"Do you know what it needs?" asked mommy

"Not yet mommy." answered Jackie "Wait!,  I got it!" she said excitedly as she ran up to her room. She came back with her butterfly costume from her very first Halloween. She had  kept it all these years. She ran to the kitchen where mommy was sitting with the pumpkin. She put the costume on the pumpkin. "It is still missing something."  she said disappointedly. Jackie ran back  up to her room and came back with a princess crown. She put the crown on the pumpkin. "Perfect." she said.

"How cute!"  You and your pumpkin are both being butterfly princesses." replied Mommy.

"Next year, we can be brides!" Jackie declared enthusiastically, "and, the year after that we can be angels, and the next year we can be 50s girls and the year after that ...

Mommy laughed as Jackie continued to eagerly plan future Halloweens.

Chandler's Tale

This is a tale, new to the world, and I can tell you for sure, it's unlike anything you've ever heard. For this tale, is about Chandler, who has witnessed the world in a way very different than you.

Thud! I landed gracefully on a soft beige couch. It was my favorite place to sit because the sun hit me in all the right places. "No, no," my sister, Laurie exclaimed, "I need to sit there. You sit on the floor."

She was much bigger than me and scooted me right out of my spot. I growled. I didn't push her off the couch. But I didn't feel like fighting so I trudged off to the kitchen.

Once there, I caught a whiff of something delicious and jumped up to see what it was, but of course I was too small. I usually was. If only I was bigger. "Oh well," I thought, heading over to my little bowl.

It didn't look very appetizing but it was better than nothing so I dug in. Halfway through, I realized I should save some for later since I usually got hungry in the afternoon, so I drank some water and headed for the dining room to take a nap.

When I woke up again, it seemed much later and nobody seemed to be around. "Perfect," I thought.

That meant that, for once, I could take a bath without someone barging in. It was so embarrassing the way they would come in while I was cleaning myself and talk about how adorable it was.

Then, they would just kiss me and move on. It had always bothered me that I had so much more hair than them. They all felt so smooth.

Although, it was nice that they loved me even though I was different. My family was great that way. The only thing I didn't like was that it seemed as if none of them understood me.

Well, that and the fact that they were always picking me up, or hugging me tightly so I could barely breathe. The worst were the kisses. I hated the kisses.

Didn't they realize that I was a guy and I needed my space? I had a reputation to keep.

But, all of that was nothing compared to the good parts of my family. They fed me, and gave me shelter, and toys. But most importantly they loved me through thick and thin. No matter how much trouble I caused.

Anyway, after I finished my bath I decided to explore. I always enjoyed an adventure. As I walked past the things that I saw everyday, something new caught my eye.

Where the closed screen door usually was, there was an open clearing. Behind it, a small creature hopped around.

It was like nothing I'd ever seen before. I needed to get closer.

I took a quick look around the house to make sure no one was watching, and then dashed outside after the small thing.

I chased it around and around until finally it was out of sight. "Well," I thought, "Time to go back home."

Looking around, I realized that I didn't know where that was. I was lost, and extremely scared. I missed my mother. I missed my father. I even missed Laurie, although I was still annoyed about the couch.(Older sisters could be very bossy and controlling.)

I heard a noise and jumped into the air. Then, I took off running. Past bushes, past houses, past trees. I needed to get home.

Suddenly, I heard a voice booming, "Chandler! Chandler, where are you?"

It was my father! I rushed toward him and he scooped me into his arms. Mom and Laurie were right behind him.

They carried me home, the whole way talking about how worried they had been.

I hadn't meant to worry them. I was just trying to explore. But they seemed happy just to have me back.

"Chandler, please don't run off again like that," mom exclaimed.

"Yeah, we don't know what we'd do without our favorite little kitten," Laurie added.

Oh yeah, did I mention I'm a cat?

Mom, dad, and Laurie all hugged and kissed me over and over, but this time I didn't mind.

I guess my life was pretty great. Maybe I didn't have to leave the house to find adventure.

For now, I was good right where I was.

Meow!

Cats for Chloe

Today's story is by Mom and Aurella


Chloe Naylor had one wish. She wished that she would someday get a cat. One day, her Mom came in to her room. "Chloe," she said. "Your Dad and I have been thinking, and we decided that you can get a cat."

"Really, mom!" exclaimed Chloe excitedly. She couldn't believe it was really true.

Mom nodded. "Tomorrow, when Dad gets home from work, we will go to the pet shelter." her Mom said as she walked out of Chloe's room.

Chloe was so happy and excited she could hardly get through the day. She kept looking at the clock and the day dragged on really slowly, That night, Chloe even went to bed without an argument.  She hardly slept though.

The next day, she could barely get through the school day. When she got home, she did her homework. Then, she still had two hours and forty five minutes until her Dad got home from work. She did not know what to do with herself. She kept looking at the clock and wishing the time to go by faster.

Finally, it was time. The minute she heard Dad's car pull into the driveway, she ran outside. "Let's go! Let's go!" she screamed happily. She hurried into the car and put on her seat belt. "Hurry up, Mom!" she shouted as Mom came slowly out the door. Dad laughed at Chloe's eagerness.

The drive to the shelter was only about a half hour. It seemed like hours to Chloe, Finally, they were there. She eagerly jumped out of the car and hurried inside. Mom and Dad could barely keep up with her.

When she was taken into the room with the cats for adoption, she walked back and forth for a few minutes. At last, she saw a cat sitting with her kittens. They were so cute! Chloe went over to them. "Aw!" she gushed. "I want these."

Dad shook his head. "Remember, we said you can get only one cat."

Chloe frowned. She really wished she could get them all. She decided to get the littlest one. She felt like it needed her the most. It was a girl kitten. All six kittens were girls. "I'm going to call her Whiskers." decided Chloe.

Mom and Dad filled out the adoption paperwork, On the way home, they stopped and got food and all the cat supplies they would need.

Mom and Dad were surprised at what a good job Chloe did of taking care of Whiskers. Ever morning, she fed the little kitten. At least twice a day, she scooped the litter box. She gave Whiskers lots of love and attention. She bought cat toys with her allowance money each week. She even helped Dad change the litter.

After a few months, Mom and Dad told Chloe they had a big surprise for her. Chloe couldn't imagine what it was, Her eyes opened wide with excitement.

Then, Chloe realized Whiskers was missing. Whiskers had been by her side a minute ago.

"Let's go in the basement." suggested Mom. "That's where the surprise is waiting."

"But, what about Whiskers? I can't find her."  asked Chloe worriedly looking around.

"I think I have an idea where Whiskers is." Dad assured her. "Just come with us." They led her into the basement.

When they got down to the bottom of the basement steps, there was Whiskers happily sitting with her mother and her five kitty sisters. "What are they doing here?" asked Chloe in confusion."

"We are so proud of the way you have been taking care of Whiskers that we decided to adopt the whole family." Mom and Dad explained.

Chloe's whole face lit up. "Really?" she asked. It seemed like a dream.

Mom and Dad nodded. "Really." they replied.

Chloe jumped up and hugged them both excitedly. "Thank you! Thank you!" she exclaimed. It was the best day ever.


photo credits:
photo credit:1 Buster, 2001 via photopin (license)
photo credit:2 pétrouchka & raskolnikov via photopin (license)