I just think I know what I'm doing...!

My girls love each other.  I'm pretty sure they would be lost without each other.  We live out here on our acreage without neighbor friends to play with.  They have each other....that's IT!  Oh, and one baby brother.  But these days he is wrecking havoc on their playtime.  Barbie clothes, American girl dolls, hair/beauty salon products...you name it, he can try to eat it, throw it, or smash it.  Not exactly their idea of a perfect playmate.

Most of the time, they argue.  Yes, you read that right.  Most of the time, they argue.  We have just hit the stage (I'm going to call it a "stage" so I can view it in a better light!) where each of them takes major exception to anything the other does, says, imagines, begins to say, etc.  You get the picture.  When all is going well - it's fabulous.  Brings a tear to my eye...my sweet little girls.  When all is not well - it's not fabulous.  Brings a different tear to my eye.  Their dad and I are trying to help them, as gracefully as we can, navigate through these sisterly arguments and encourage kindness.  But at times, I slam on the brakes, yell, "WAIT JUST A MINUTE" and give them a good ole time out!  That's exactly what was going on in the car on the way home from school last week.  We have exactly 21 minutes to spend in the car together every afternoon on our drive home.  Those 21 minutes usually set the tone for the remainder of the evening.  I had just bought - out of the kindness of my heart, given how much Valentines candy is still in this house - them each some candy after school....Kate, Reece's peanut butter cups and Claire, milk duds.  The arguments started almost immediately upon getting into the car and lasted almost the entire drive.  It was, simply, about how many milk duds Claire should give Kate in order to make up for one Reece's that Kate may or may not share.  She will let her know when she knows how many milk duds she will get.  The negotiations were heated, to say the least (over candy?!?!?) and I had had my fill when we hit the top of our driveway - after about 20 minutes!  Our drive is exactly 1/4 of a mile long.  I said, "Out!  Now!  Both of you...you can walk from here!  I have listened to the arguing all the way home.  I'm tired of it, Will is tired of listening to you guys.  Just get out and walk home!!"

Shrills of excitement immediately from the back seat....Claire:  "YEA!!!  Come on Kate, let's go - how fun!"  Kate: "Yeah - let's go!"  Claire (here's the kicker):  "And I"ll even share all my milk duds with you!"  They happily exited the car and happily walked the rest of the way.  Hmmmm. 

Not exactly what I was going for (punishment!), but the end result was what I was looking for.  I defintely don't always know what I'm doing.  I just try my best and pray alot!  They never cease to amaze me, surprise me or delight me.  Here are a few pics of the "long walk home".