Why Can't They Both Just Get Along?

As I write this, I can hear the hearty giggles of my five-year old coming from the bathroom where she and her older sister are taking a bath. But these joyful sounds are a far stretch from what was heard a mere five minutes ago.

I had barely started to tackle the mountain of dirty dishes in the kitchen when I heard the shrieks of "OOOOOWWWWWWWWW" coming from Bella during their bath. That has now officially become the most annoying sound in the world to me. I mean, my skin literally bristles. Not only is it because I know that Ari is an instigator, and has probably done something to hurt/annoy Bella, but I also know that Bella is a drama queen and wants Ari to get reprimanded for every little thing, so she blows the slightest occurrence - even the accidental ones, out of proportion.

I let the shriek slide. One minute later, I hear, "Stooooooooooopppp!!!!!!" Not once, but twice, coming from Bella. Faucet off. Marched into bathroom. "WHAT is going on in here? [Enter trivial sibling offense here.] "Ari, if you do one more thing to annoy your sister, she will leave and go take her own shower in the other bathroom and will never take a bath with you again!! Bella, if I hear you scream like that again, I will come in here and pull you out of the bath myself."

No sooner had I left the bathroom and turned on the kitchen faucet, I hear Ari scream, "MOOOOOOOOOM!" I ignored that while my skin crawled and my blood pressure slowly started to boil to the surface. "MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!" That was it. Threw pan in sink. Turnede off faucet. Marched back into bathroom. "WHAT did I just say?"
"Bella called me annoying," she said.
"I don't care!!!!!!" I screamed. (And for the record, I HATE using that phrase because I don't want them to use it, but when pushed to the brink of madness...)
"If I get called in here one more time for some trivial thing, you are both getting out and NO. MORE. BATHS!"

Yes. I literally threatened my kids with bad personal hygiene.

Joint baths have somewhat become nonexistent in the past year or so; Bella wants to take showers now that she's older. Tonight, however, I got Bella to agree to a bath with her little sister. "C'mon Bella, she really wants you to take a bath with her and you haven't done it in so long," I argued. "Besides, I don't want her to slip and fall standing in that bathtub. She begrudgingly agreed. And huffing and puffing back to my pile of dirty dishes, I begrudgingly regretted my persistence. 'Why can't they just get ALONG?'

Now the laughter floating out of that bathroom is like music to my ears...and my soul. They CAN get along when they want to; or when they are threatened with their own stinky selves.

-Cathy