My big Easter celebration this year is that I've managed to sneak in one more year of matchy-matchy clothes for the kids! Yes, I am THAT mom. Normally, I try to let the kids wear whatever they like, as long as it's appropriate. Between school and sport uniforms, they really don't get that many opportunities to express themselves via their wardrobe. All I ask for is for nice, matching holiday photos, and a trip or two to church looking like a coordinated family that likes each other. Two to four days, depending how the schedule works out, out of 365 doesn't seem like a lot to ask. Unless it's my kids who you're asking.

I do feel a little bit sorry for the boys. Since E came along, she's been the one who sets the tone for the holiday theme. Initially, it was because, let's face it, girls are just so much more fun to dress than boys. Now it's because, well, let's face it, she's the boss.I think I've mentioned E's penchant for bling and wild animal prints before. Normally when we shop for her clothes, if I hate it, it's a guarantee that she will love it. So holiday dress shopping can be quite an expedition. Our compromise is that she can be as blingy as she wants if she abandons the animal prints. At Christmas time, this usually isn't a problem, since sequins and glitter are part of the season. Easter is a little bit more subdued, and I was anticipating a bit of a struggle finding something we could both be happy about this year.Luckily for me, lace is in! Lace might be the answer to both of our prayers. It's usually monochromatic and old-fashioned enough for me, but busy and intricate enough for E. Sometimes it's even a little glittery or embedded with rhinestones! Her Easter dress this year is a lacy white confection with small daisies, complete with fluttery petals, embroidered all over the skirt. The first time I saw it, it reminded me of those tissue flowers people used to make to decorate wedding cars. Once she put it on, and fluffed out a little, I had to admit, it was pretty cute. It was also hard to deny her the thrill of a spinny skirt with the added bonus of fluttery daisies that sprang into action the minute she twirled.I was able to find a light blue headband with matching fluttery daisies on it to complete her ensemble, and then I meandered over to the boys' section to find coordinating shirts for the boys. I quickly found blue striped polo shirts that exactly matched the blue stripe of the headband and I knew I had a winning combination. However, just to be safe, in case this was the year that the 9- and 10-year-old refused to leave the house looking like twins, I picked up another set of shirts with a slightly different striped pattern, so that they could be different, but still coordinated.It seemed like I had a pretty foolproof plan, especially when we got home and both boys saw the original striped shirts and agreed to wear them. I washed the other set of shirts and threw them in the drawer, sure that they'd be for some kind of spring school activity along the way.A few weeks later, the kids had spring pictures at school. Knowing we'd be having our official Easter pictures done at a later date, I let them pick what they wanted to wear and also what backgrounds they wanted. Since the boys are in different schools, and pictures were on different days, I didn't notice, and more importantly, neither did they, that they both chose to wear the exact same shirt and picked the exact same background. When the pictures came in, I was so excited to see that I had a set of "twinsie" pictures. They were somewhat less enthusiastic about it.Apparently, the boys don't like being reminded how similar they can be. Being only 18 months apart, neither of them really has any recollection of life without the other one. The slight age difference also means that every other year, they usually end up getting bracketed together for whatever sport they're playing. With only one grade between them, teachers don't really have time to forget A before G comes along, so they're frequently getting confused for each other.This past year is the first time they've been at separate schools, and when we considered making a change for G in the middle of the year, both brothers begged us not to make the change for the simple reason that for the first time ever, they were both at a school where the other brother had no reputation of the other to contend with.I get their quest for independence, but I also know how similar they are and how they look to each other for support whether they know it or not. If I ever start to doubt that, I will always have their matchy-matchy spring pictures from 2017 to remind me that they're more alike than they'll ever admit.Liz Pinkey is a contributing writer to the Times News. Her column appears weekly in our Saturday feature section.