I know, I know. You aren’t supposed to compare your kids. But show me a parent who hasn’t marveled at just how incredibly different siblings can be. I see it with my brothers and I, with my nieces and nephews, and with my own boys. It always amazes me that two kids who came from the exact same parents can be so different.

There’s obviously the physical difference. Jack has my dark, thick hair and dark eyes, while Henry is his dad’s blond, blue-eyed doppelganger. But there is so much…

Jack has become interested in money. We’ve taken him with us to the bank, where we’ve dumped the contents of the change jar into the machine and turned in the receipt for cash. He got a little plastic change purse from some event somewhere, and Doug and I have been giving him spare change to keep in it. Over the weekend, as we were waiting in line at The Container Store, he spotted the green…

The holiday is over. The decorations are starting to come down. We’ve found storage for way too many new toys and sorted through the old ones to donate. This weekend I’ll be cleaning out the refrigerator and pantry, and the diet has begun.

Christmas was good. This was the first year we’ve stayed home, and…

Most nights we come home and the boys are starving, so they'll eat whatever I put in front of them. Tonight was not one of those nights for Jack. Doug made a cheesy chicken and noodle casserole, which I think the boys have had before. Jack immediately starting whining that he didn't like it and that he wanted something else. Well, this short-order cook has had enough. I've fallen into the trap of making something separate for the boys. Tonight, he was eating what the rest of us…