The "Get Along" shirt

The day after Easter was a rough one for 2 certain little girls. My anxiety was high and patience low due to the state of our house after the "Indoor Flood of 2016". But even without that...the girls were in rare form. Constant fighting and at each other's throats non stop. It had been going on for a while, but had only escalated. One picks, and the other tattles. Then someone cries. And the scenario plays out over and over and over. Their roles in the situation change from time to time. But it goes on until one parent or the other reaches a breaking point. And mine was reached. They came in whining and tattling... and I lost it. I told them to go upstairs and play TOGETHER until further notice. And I didn't want to hear a word from them. I am pretty sure if I had been a cartoon, there would have been smoke coming from my nose and ears.
Josh came in, asked what was going on, and I very calmly (or not- whatever) told him the events that had been transpiring. And then it happened......
He called them downstairs, where I felt certain that they were about to get a good ole fashioned butt whopping. But he had a much better plan. And the "Get Along Shirt" was invented.
I stepped around the corner to see this...

You can't see it, but there was LOTS of crying going on. Macie was laughing at first. But she quickly realized that it wasn't as funny as she thought.
It was at this point that I realized that the Get Along shirt was not ONLY for punishment for the kids. It was stress relief for their Mama as well! It was one of those magical parenting moments where you have to walk away because you are laughing SO HARD that you have tears and can barely breath....at your children's expense. Parenting at it's finest people.
They were then sent up stairs to play. At one point I heard Macie giggle again (probably in an attempt to aggravate her sister since that is her main purpose in life most days), and Brenna decided to come down stairs. But when you are wearing the Get Along shirt, much like the three legged race, you must tell your partner every step you plan to take in order to avoid dragging a limp body along behind you. Well- Brenna didn't do that, and Macie was victim to the stairs. The good news is that she was attached to Brenna, so she didn't go too far and was able to recover.
After Josh and I finished laughing, he called them to the stairs to take a picture. Don't be fooled- what appears to be a smile on Brenna's face was actually tears and PLEADING for her father to not take their picture! But since we are already up for Parents of the Year, the following pictures did happen, and were possibly even posted on Facebook. Because when you are killing it in the parenting experience- you must share your success.

Yep- this is real life. It isn't always pretty. It's sometimes beyond stressful. But it's a life I wouldn't change for anything! And there is ALWAYS something to smile about.