So I have been co-hosting the Remember the Time Blog Hop with Emily of The Waiting for a few months now. I’d say it has really brought us closer…as close as two bloggers who live in different states and communicate mostly via Facebook messages can be. So basically, we’re like sisters. Down to the fact that one day in the comment section we are arranging marriages of our children (wait, that would be creepy for siblings to do), and the next we’re declaring jello wrestling death match fights over who gets to marry Rick Astley if anything happens to our husbands. So naturally, we chose SIBLING RIVALRY as this week’s theme for the Remember the Time Blog Hop. If you don’t have siblings, feel free to substitute cousins, friends, other family members, classmates, etc. We want you to make the prompts work for you. However, we would really love it if the overall theme of nostalgia remained, versus writing about something from your current life that might pertain. Otherwise, the cool 80’s sunglasses on our badge just seem ridiculous.
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If you ever want to really piss off sisters who are two and a half years apart, just dress them alike.
I have two siblings, a younger sister and a younger brother. But it was my sister who definitely played a role in most of my sibling rivalries growing up, probably because we were closer in age and the same sex. Therefore, we had infinitely more stupid things to fight over. My brother was mainly just the cute baby…until he outgrew both of us. Then he was just the tall goofball who could eat more cereal in one sitting than we thought was humanly possible. At worst, we were usually just ticked that he scarfed down all the Lucky Charms before we even got a bowl.
But my sister and I, we could fight about anything. The worst tantrums usually came when we inevitably ended up in the same outfit. As any mom of multiple little girls is wont to do, ours would often buy my sister and I matching clothes, or the same outfit in different colors. And since my little sister was almost as tall as me (then as tall, then taller), matching outfits increased the likelihood that we would be mistaken for twins. When one of those siblings is older than the other, and older by the enormous margin of two AND A HALF years, that mistake is basically like telling said older sibling she looks like she still wears diapers and eats strained peas, instead of like a mature pre-teen with such sophisticated tastes as Milli Vanilli and virgin strawberry daiquiris. Oh, and who has read Go Ask Alice and found it super deep.
It’s hard to say how many times my sister and I would come out of our respective rooms, ready to head somewhere, wearing virtually the same thing. Then the atomic bomb would drop.
“I WAS WEARING THIS FIRST!!!!!!!! I’M NOT GOING ANYWHERE DRESSED LIKE HER!!!!!”
Next began the showdown: who would cave and change their clothes? Looking back on it now, I feel thankful that I have one girl and one boy. That’s one rivalry I won’t have to sheriff. I also would like to take this opportunity to pass along my sincere apologies to my own mother. Our behavior was completely unjustifiable punishment for the simple crime of wanting your children to look like they walked straight out of the OshKosh B’gosh catalogue.
Throughout the years, my sister and I have randomly found ourselves unknowingly copying off of each other. We often order the same food at restaurants. We ended up with very similar curtains on the front windows of our houses, which also happen to be in the same neighborhood. We have the exact same minivan…in different colors. And last Christmas, we both showed up to my parents’ house dressed like this:
Obviously, this type of long-term conditioning can only be the fault of one person: our mother and her need to buy us matching outfits. Mom, I take back my apology. I hope you’re happy with the clones who once used to be two distinctly different daughters.
And for the record, I was wearing that sweater dress first.
(Non-related footnote: Don’t forget to check out the giveaway for the super cool “Memories with Santa” book! I will announce the winner next Tuesday.)
This post is part of the Remember the Time Blog Hop. You can join in, too!
1. Write your post. Remember, it can be ANYTHING about Sibling (or Cousin/Friend/Etc.) Rivalry! Just try to stick with the whole “back in the day” vibe ;D
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I always wanted a sister growing up, but got stuck with one younger brother and one older brother. Maybe it’s a good thing I never had a sister!
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Well, to be fair, there are WAY more amazing things about having a sister. But yes, you did dodge this bullet with having two brothers. I always thought it would be cool to have an older brother looking out for me. But I guess since I am the oldest, you always wonder if having another position in the family would be better.
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I always wondered what it would be like to be the youngest and not the middle child. Not that being the middle child was hard for me, because I was the only girl. But still you wonder.
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Oh my gosh. I have SO much material for this one. 🙂 My sister and I are 19 months apart, and we fought like crazy, but she is my best friend now! It was ALWAYS over clothes too.
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Yay!!!! Can’t wait to read it!
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Look at it this way…little sis looked up to you and wanted to do what you did..Haha…and you encouraged her early on. I think a lot of it is just in the blood. Anne and I still buy exactly the same cards for people, but of course I ALWAYS buy mine first 😉 We were even locked into a specific color of the same dress…me blue, her pink. Since I was the oldest, I should have had first choice, don’t ya think? We even had a few occasions where Ed had the matching boys outfit. Ewww! And I think I recall your two having matching outfits a Christmas or two 🙂 It’s a mother’s perrogative and you looked SO stinkn’ cute!! Great blog!
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Hey, I totally get the matching outfits thing now. G and M definitely had their fair share.
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You have a future rivalry coming your way if it’s not already hit – who looks youngest? My wife and her sister have a similar story as yours and my wife was always ‘the hot one’ and the hot one is always chosen as the youngest and it ticks off her little sister every time. I can recall many times when we were younger, (say in our early 30’s), where we’d go out someplace like a casino and she’d get carded and I would not – that sucked.
Now, onto your question posed to the audience, who’s wearing the sweater dress better? Here’s the response from a guy with a successful long term marriage – “say, are those nachos I see over there? I’ll be right back.”
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Wise, wise man. Well done. We haven’t quite reached that “who looks younger” point yet.
Also, when we chose this topic, I immediately knew you would have a wealth of stories to share this time around 🙂
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Funny stuff. My sister and I are 7 years apart – so no matching clothes as kids, but on occasion we will dress alike at holidays on purpose – just because it makes our 2 older sisters, brother and mom and dad roll their eyes when we show up in the same outfit. 🙂 We must enjoy it now because we never endured it as children!! (I dress my daughters similar, matching, more often then I should… but it’s just so fun!! – I do the same to my sons…. imagine what they will be telling their therapists in 30 years!)
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When it’s your turn to be the mom, it’s hard to resist the matching outfits. I’ve even done it with my two, and they aren’t even the same sex.
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Aww, I kinda love it that y’all are still same-same … neighborhood, curtains, minivan, etc! That’s adorable actually 🙂 Oh man, this RTT prompt is gonna stir up some stuffs!
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It’s gonna get juicy around here. And I’m glad you think it’s adorable. (I said that in my most monotone voice ever.)
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Thanks for the insights about what it was like having to dress like your sibling. Like sistersara, my sister and I are also seven years apart, but our mother was not the type who would ever dress us alike even if we were closer in age. Plus I was a miniature tyrant. I hated anything girly — the initial sign that I was born gay. I would have pitched a fit worthy of an entire crate of Excedrin. As for my sister, she was clearly straight, but somehow even with seven years between us and my endless soft butch antics (one of the best: wrapping my red housecoat around my neck, declaring I was Superman, then running across our room, taking a flying leap that cleared my bed and I landed on the crown of my head — knocking myself out cold) we got on very well. In fact, we still do. I am less of a leaping fool now.
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Ha! You banner photo on your blog would suggest otherwise about the leaping part 🙂 I also had a giggle over the fact that you were a miniature tyrant.
And for the record, any red coat begs to worn a Superman cape. That’s just knowing what’s up.
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Getting shot out of a canon over the Central Park Reservoir is much safer when confined to a blog banner.
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Thanks Sis……I think! While it was pretty annoying at times dressing alike, you do have to admit that we were pretty darn cute! I am fully guilty of dressing Molly and Kate alike and they just so happen to be 2 1/2 years apart! Guess I know what the future will look like for the two of them. And as for having the same stuff now, well I like to think of it more as both of us have awesome taste! And for the record…..I had my mini van first! 😉
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Yes, I know. I blame Kurt for the fact that we were late to the minivan game. Although I will point out I had been eyeing the Sienna long before you guys got one 😉 So I was uber jealous when you got my dream car first.
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Oh sisters. They are the worst! 😉 I loved having the little brother around to diffuse situations and while we fought A LOT we rarely wore the same clothing (thanksfully). And clearly you are both rocking that gray sweater dress!
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You can be honest. You think I look better in it. I won’t tell my sister.
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Awwwwww, Kels, you’re the sister I never had but always hoped I would find through the magic of the Internet. But just now, in reading your intro, it occurred to me that back when Ande’s Squatch was just borned, we *may* have made a verbal betrothal agreement that C and Squatch would end up together as adults. I am finding myself in the really awkward position of having to stop pawning my unsuspecting daughter off on eligible bachelors. But who knows? Maybe polygamy will be a-ok by then? Who says you can’t have it all?
Y’all had some fantastic sailor dresses. I can’t really blame your mom for dressing you up the same, especially if she needed you to swab the decks ;D
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I can’t really blame you. Squatch is pretty adorable. And closer to Cee’s age. And Ande would be pretty kick ass in-laws. If she ends up being into older men, just let me know. It’s always good to have a backup.
I also had a feeling your would have an appreciation for the sailor dresses, as I know you have this minor obsession with dressing Cee in all your old super adorable dresses of that same-ish era 🙂
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I’m pretty sure my sister and I had that same sailor dress. She and I are four and a half years apart, and for some reason, that made dressing alike okay. She and my brother are two years apart, and people often mistook them for twins (and thought she was a boy), so perhaps dressing like me was the lesser of two evils.
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(…and by “my brother” I mean “our brother.” He’s her brother, too.)
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Ha!! I can see how looking like you would be preferable 🙂
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My mom dressed me and my sister in matching outfits occasionally, even though we were 3 years apart… It seems like all of our childhood photos have us posed awkwardly in front of the fireplace with matching outfits – and we give my mom such a hard time about it now! I always thought she secretly wanted twins but apparently it was the thing to do!
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I think awkward fireplace photos are a rite of passage 🙂
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