The Crayon Wars – His and Hers TSA Compliant Carry Ons

When we became pregnant, we had no idea what we were in for. When we found out it would be fraternal twins, we had no idea what we were in for. When the twins emerged as adorable, towheaded darlings, we had no idea what we were in for.

Perhaps you’re seeing a theme emerging.

I don’t know where Tom and Tabitha got it from. Their father and I are easygoing, Beta-type people. We’re not high-powered anything, and we like a quiet, calm life. The twins … are different. Competitive with each other, high-spirited, loud, and creative. The house is a never-ending stage where the twins put on plays, perform magic shows, and wear costumes. Bugs and other creatures are brought in from the yard on a regular basis, and there is always something the twins believe to be ‘music’ in the air as they attack various instruments with energy if no skill.

And then there is the endless squabbling over crayons.

Both Tom and Tabitha like to draw, and they compete for the admiration of their parents and teachers all the time, seeking to top each other. They’re both very particular about their crayons, as a result – each of them has a large curated collection of crayons, with certain colors inexplicably considered rare and thus prized. And at least once a week there is a knock-down, all-out fight over a disputed crayon or even a whole set. We tried marking the crayon boxes with initials, but the crayons still became muddled and fights broke out. Growing tired of acting as Mediator three times a day, I went out and found the perfect solution: His and Hers TSA-compliant carry on clear bags.

These sturdy plastic bags – hilariously marked HIS and HERS so there’s no chance of a mistake – aren’t meant to hold crayons, I suppose, but the great thing about clear bags from The Clear Bag store is that their descriptions on the site are really just advisories. They can all be used in any number of ways, and once you start thinking about how a clear bag can be used you get a lot of ideas. These were stuffed with crayons – under the watchful eyes of each Twin, of course, to guarantee no malfeasance – and we haven’t have a single argument since. Each Twin can see at a glance which collection is theirs, and that none of the colors have been disturbed or removed, without even having to open the bags up!

Am I a parenting genius? I won’t argue.

Of course, this hasn’t stopped the Twins from trying to sing louder than the other, from secreting fauna from the yard in their dresser drawers, or spending hours inventing complicated games and then spending hours arguing over the rules – although their father solved that one by insisting he couldn’t render a decision until the rules were written down in a bound book, which led to almost three days of peace while the Twins worked on the project.