We actually have no clue. And there are two of them.

Both my husband and I are only children. When you are a child, being an only is super cool. All the presents are for you and you get to make up all the rules. However, beyond the fact that this experience has made me a pretty weird adult, it becomes less and less fun every year to have no siblings. It also makes it really hard at times to parent two kids with no actual experience.

Merry Christmas!  She will get in all your stuff but you'll be a better person for it.

A few weeks ago we were out buying shoes for our oldest (for the THIRD time this season because gym shoes do not fit the same as other shoes and also because shoes can feel fine on your feet one day and then become instruments of torture the next.) Our little one started crying because she was not getting shoes, so I said she could pick out a pair of socks. Cut to the big one crying because she was not getting socks. Cut to me yelling about being thankful for what we have and children who never get new socks and shoes. You know how this ends.

Today we repeated the scene, except with a scuba mask and Mini MixieQs. I need to get a handle on this before it comes time to get one of them a car.

One of my favorite quotes.  It is lost on children.

They are three years and two months apart. They need different things, but they want the same things and are both old enough to sense sibling injustice from afar. I absolutely do not want to be buying two things when we only need one. I also really want to teach our kids that they should not be comparing what they get to anyone else. On the other hand, I'm trying really hard not to give the little one a complex because she only gets her sister's used stuff.

This is only our newest in a long list of the two-child struggles. One has a playdate and usually ends up with a third wheel. The older one has to do assigned reading and the younger one asks to play on her iPad. Do I equally balance after school activities, or is it ok for one kid to do three things while the other only does one?

A great response to children's concept of "fairness."  Also lost on them.

It shouldn't be about "fairness," but it often is. I see that it's hard to like your sister when you feel like she's always getting the better deal, more attention, less expectations, more freedom, etc. I look at my girls and I envy the built-in friend. I want to parent to support and grow that relationship. A very wise friend once told me, "Don't worry, when they're teenagers they'll bond over hating you." I guess there's always that to look forward to.

Don't worry, we got them both ice cream.