*pensive*

If walking away from people with swine-like behavior and losing non-rewarding dead-end job brings such relief as it did in the past year, if a change to get away from the town to a deeply loved city is rare, precious and vital gulp of fresh air - patience has long ceased to be a virtue in my life.
Speaking about spooky things on Halloween - it is scary where your endless patience may take you.

And just in the blink of an eye -

the oldest of my Chills, the smart, handsome, funny and amazing Arthur has turned 5 this week.
I find this still hard to believe, I am sure so does he :)

Meanwhile, as one of the Birthday gifts I booked a pony ride for both him and Adrian - since he is so much into his "Horsie"cartoon now...
When we arrived at the stables everything was going well, but when it was time to get on the pony, he got all tight and scared all out of sudden. I was able to persuade him to get in the saddle, and as I had to walk by him, holding my both hands at him at all times - I started to walk by. As we were through the first circle, Arthur suddenly asked me:
 - Mom, WHEN my horsie starts to run will you be able to run fast enough to catch up with him?

It took all my strength not to laugh. Had to explain to him "his horsie" is not going to run, gallop or jump as he saw them do in the cartoon and that I'm not running along at the speed of the horsie either.
Riding in circles at a calm pace - was all that was going to happen tonight.
Having heard this, Arthur sat tall, relaxed his legs a little and started to look like his normal self: like a blood prince on a casual walk through his land.
It's amazing how his brain works.

After my blood donation with Bonfils

 I was offered to choose whatever I wanted from a bunch of giveaways: chap sticks, grocery bags, mints, pens... I took a couple of chap sticks and a couple of hand sanitizers- something we use a lot anyway, brought home and put on kitchen counter.

Arthur was the first to spy the loot:
- what's this? Chap stick, right? You have 2 chap sticks here, you know... why do you need 2?

Once he made a poker face and left, along came Adrian, noticing hand sanitizers:

- Is this to kill bacteria? Where did you get it? Why did you bring 2? It's just you - you only need one for yourself!

Next time I glance at the counter in about 15 minutes - it is perfectly empty. Both chap sticks and sanitizers are gone.

C - Collectivization.

Talking to Chills in the car on the way home about how their day went.

Arthur:

 - ...and when we went outside to the playground I caught a lady bug right away. And of course I gave it to Anna, but first I told her" You have to say "please"". So she said "please" and I then gave it to her...
 - Erm... It's good that you gave her the lady bug, I'm sure she appreciated it. And it's good that you remind other kids that it's good to be polite. Do you always say "please" when asking for something?
- Yes!
- What about you, Adrian?
- NO!
- You do not say "please"?!
- NO!
 - Well, what if you need to ask someone for something? Don't you say "please"?
 - I just say: "Do you want to give it to me? YES OR NO?!" - and they give it to me.

Seriously, a three-year-old mobster. I should try his approach though some time, just as soon as I can frown my brows as impressive as he does.

I've gone through some enourmous shopping in July.

Birthday presents, kindergarten supplies, shoes and clothes (the clothes were actually ordered when in London to have them delivered closer to our arrival date - perfect for those who like things happen quickly...), household items and of course stocking up the fridge with fresh food, including 3 types of cheeses to go with Von Zobel's fresh garden grown tomatoes. Damn it, I miss all-recyclable UK packaging! And damn in again, the household management does not become much easier: just as you figure out the schedule and amounts of groceries to buy, you five year old starts to have breakfast as big as yours!

And just as we got back to the base the life took off up the curve like nothing happened. First week at work - Audit fieldwork at a Client's, first Monday back in town - Von Zobel's client's corporate event to attend as if there was no jetlag. First Saturday back - PT session to attend, with stronger calfs though, and a friend's Birthday party to go to. It always felt surreal to me - how easy it is to drop out of day to day life, with your agenda full or places to be upon your return, and then just to come back and take over with your to-do list, like nothing happened. You show up for an event, party or corporate meeting - everything looks the same, meanwhile you've lived a short life and are not the same on that event.

I'm obviously missing this weekend's Gup test due to my vacation and US Open Championship, so time to improve training for September.
Chill Sr's Kindergarten begins in a month. It feels like it's time to book the next vacation now.  Say, Mexico, January :)
This July marks 10 years in CO. On we go.

The Universe made me a little gift for the end of Tax season this year

and among all the flat options  throughout London I was looking through the one that jumped out at me was a 2 floor flat with "master bedroom" separated; with washer and dryer right next to Belsize park area, between 2 subway stations, close to Haverstock Hill road with all the grocery shops, bakeries and restaurants. A small grocery shop is a minute away from us, so I get there almost every day for food supplies, water and snacks, and -oh, my Buddha, what amazing olives, charcuterie and duck liver pate I get from just this ordinary small shop.
The area is quiet, the rent is absolutely modest given the prices in this neighborhood. Definitely, this little flat in a quite court was saved specifically for us.

Kids can finally watch Peppa Pig in... her native habitat and I swear, they can eat a whole pack of strawberries, grapes or donut peaches while watching it.

The closest pub, Washington is 2 minutes away and Von Zobel enjoys it on his nights out, since in the days of FIFA World Cup in the evening the entire London is out in pubs and on the streets (those who would not fit the pubs) and it looks like it is fun for him to dive into the pub-and-football culture especially now.

My nights out generally include jogging to and in the Belsize Park, exploring the neighborhood, and trying to breath in as much London air as I can while still here. And the view from the top of the hill obliges to pull yourself together, admire what you have and what's still to come, and make some strong, meaningful promise to yourself.
I made a couple.

Brighton looks small half the life down the road.

I remember it greener, cleaner and more spacious sixteen (bloody hell!) years ago.
Chinchillas and Von Zobel love it though: colourful pebbles, sea gulls, Peppa Pig and Bus kids machine rides, ice-cream and... a great playground! After exploring the town we spent probably 2 hours at the playground and pool area.

Travelling anywhere in the UK with kids is great, provided you have enough water, sunblock and there's food and ice-cream within walking distance. Great public transportation helps - Chills fell in love into the real trains and the tube! Oyster card makes it convenient to get on board and visit all major sights.

Also, I did not expect to run into so many great playgrounds across London. Most of them have water, sand, company of local kids - so it's really hard to persuade Chills to walk away even when they're all soaking wet and barely stand on their feet.

And what sense of joy I get from reading on the fruit and vegetable package that it's fully recyclable:  Both the cardboard box and the wrapping film! Almost everything is recyclable and can be dropped off in recycling bins on major street - so you don't have to feel like a pig traveling with a large family... You can get pretty much anywhere with a stroller (theoretically though; the crowds in the center were still an issue...). Streets are neat and clean and I can not imagine what it takes to keep such a diverse, busy megapolis clean, safe and well organized.

I can't believe I was just recently planning to book a trip this year- for the upcoming 2019; and even sooner than that - here I am, along with boys who love their summer vacation! So good to be home; it had to be done years ago...

This city is shiny, dazzling, inspiring, breathtaking.
It whirls you, pushes you up, carries you away and throws you into the depth and  thickness of parks, flowers, joggers, double-deckers, crowds, business suites, pubs, black Range Rovers, play-grounds, red brick, heat coming up from the pavement, corner stores, bikes, glass skyscrapers, dogs, strollers, ice-cream stands and meaty leaf ivy sprouts across brick fences.

Home at last.

Chill Jr's party was a blast.

Loud, noisy, yummy as usual, with a bunch of friends, screaming and craziness. I can't stop appreciating and admiring all the parents of Chill's friends who showed up on weekend morning for his party! In all the excitement I nearly forgot to hand over party favours to all those who came.


Meanwhile, Chill Jr is 3. Talks like a pro, knows numbers in 3 languages, and - technically - speaks some basic Spanish, can ride his tricycle with Mom-powered-support, draws, loves and is good at  - putting together construction sets, building houses and vehicles, sings a lot, very in-tune and obviously has a great musical ear, eats well and nearly everything (but would not eat something he can't really understand the contents and making of - sausage or cutlets, for instance, - while chicken drumsticks or steak would disappear from his plate in no time!), books and his "Squirrels" - Ikea mice. Smiley, sociable, great dancer and a lover of new shoes and nice clothes. Binge watched Peppa Pig cartoon for almost 6 months now. Becomes more interested in running and taekwondo (kicking, actually) so... might become my sports buddy in a dozen of years!

Stoped by Walmart to get duplicate keys to the condo

- as there're a number of interested potential tenants - some time during the "lunch break" (Ha!).
The first store associate I bumped into, who wanted to actually walk with me to the right isle was Brazilian, but not only Brazilian but also a soccer lover and a teacher.
For some reason his accent sounded Hungarian to me, and right from the start I told him I was Russian by origin...
...For the next 15 minutes we got carried away by the discussion of the FIFA World Cup, of how he is jealous of the friends who went to Russia to see it, and how he would love to go if he could but the prices seem unreasonable, and how it could have been a great chance for Russia to make a leap forward but for the corruption throughout the government, and how Brazil is actually worse, and that  - no, Russia is actually worse since unlike Brazil, no Russian president was jailed for corruption recently... well, ever!, and how - no, Brazil it's still the worst I'm telling you!
By this time my set of duplicate keys was ready. We parted quite content with the conversation and each other :)

The countdown to the Grand Vacance of the summer is officially less than a month. Can still hardly believe the location I was able to find, our planned sites to visit and the warm dry weather. Hard to believe all the circumstances are so favourable, - probably because if was the right time to come back. Finally.


Reality meanwhile brings down to Earth: the experience workpapers have been signed and now the Application has to be finalized and pushed through before we leave. I'm missing the Green Belt testing this Summer(also due to classes cancelled because of US Open Championship and Hangmadang in Colorado Springs)  - but whatever - I'll catch up in September.
The most intense things to complete before leaving for the Old World are finding tenants for the condo, completing Arthur's Kindergarten enrollment, holding Adrian's 3rd Brithday party and finalizing all the open status projects at work. That's not to count all the shopping to do for the trip, all tickets to be bough, all preparations to be made.... which will be eventually done timely and easily, of course, as usual. Still though...

One great and relaxing week.

Started studying new forms in do-jang. It's getting serious, but it's fun and I like how it all starts to come together and make sense now.

Tried myself in the role of bourgeoisie and had our house professionally cleaned. Working the numbers from the invoice backwards, it took 2 people almost 5 hours to do deep cleaning. (does it mean my efficiency is double that of an average person?). Parallel to this ordered groceries in and - it makes such a big difference when after a hard day at work and a long stop at daycare for Chills you come back to a clean house - and the food is there! Looks like I'm in a desperate need of a ... wife!

Had a good review at work and received some unexpectedly great feedback and right on the spot comments. Seeing the firm partners have same work values and priorities is always a good sign.

And the library suddenly has all the books I need, and it has finally become nice and warm out. Good weather is one of the major time savers for me, so hurray!

Power corrupts. Power over your own body corrupts absolutely.

Now an orange belt.

April 17.

We were sitting at a bar. Nearly empty  - after all it was still during normal office hours. Top floor. From my bar stool I could see the solar panels right outside the patio. "That's our neighboring  business's, - said the bartender. And  added how they had to strictly ban smoking on the patio so the cigarette buds do not fall on the panels and do not accidentally damage them".

A wall of liquor bottles, top to bottom. And beer taps, mainly microbrewery left to right. Once upon a time I worked in a place with bottles on the shelf, left wall to right. Now I am here after work, and after a period of a hard work, and after all the work I've done I'm trying to put my thoughts together and think clearly and I feel like I'm in a fish tank, and everything around is surreal.

Gusty wind was throwing around newspapers, plastic bags, debris - looking especially  cute  with the French-style light jazz playing in the bar. Here the wind is dancing with the traffic light trying to knock down the pole, and here - no, it can't! And now a tree branch is lifted up in the air, and now - it just missed somebody's car! Hell, I barely had been blown off my feet while walking a block away from my car!

- ... So we decided you all could take the rest of the week off! - I've heard our Audit Partner's voice. I mean I had been hearing her well all that time, but at that moment I thought I did not.
I asked her twice to make sure it was not a joke and neither a mistake.
I asked if everyone in both offices will take 3 days off.
I asked if no one will for sure show up and that there would be no objections from the firm partners.
I finally realized that there's no mistake and no small print, and 2 other partners just confirmed it, and.... by the end of the week I will have my life and myself in better shape. For sure.
And then there was a little bit more oxygen in my fish tank.
And between the blood orange IPA and driving to daycare, I realized that this must be the most basic, practical example of happiness for me - complete freedom, with no strings attached.

 - Let's throw in sick kids 2 weeks apart, - said the Universe. - and see how she does now!

She did well. Working from home with a sick kid (or both!)  - who are miserable and constantly need attention, and catching up at night - now I've tried nearly everything in combining career with motherhood.

 - Let's throw in some more tax return and some more Audit work - said the Universe. - and let's see how she does.

She did well. :) hours are accumulating - that's what I'm most happy with.

On the other hand - there's a trivial to-do list that gets copied from other week to the next in my agenda for over a month now. The first week after April 17 will be hectic and insane.

Yellow.

Even in times when all energy seems to be drained by all first-priority commitments and not really replenished due to little sleep and unfortunate changes in my diet - there seems to be a hidden reserve that helps me stay active when I need it most. Yep, after this tax season I'll probably drop dead and remain a disoriented zombie for the next couple of months, but right now - on a typical working Saturday I nailed all urgent stuff in the office for a couple of hours, changed on the way to Dojang, at 11 was in Dojang revising poomsae, basic motion and stepping and stretching, had an engaging and tiring but fun test, and by 1pm left Dojang with a yellow belt, two halves of a broken board and a medal for perfect attendance (which goes to Belking for without him watching the kids there would have been no attendance at all). Then go back to the office and work for another couple of hours before returning home for a shift of being a caring, fun and patient Mom.

Breaking the board, actually was the only completely nerve-wrecking moment on the test. Seeing an inch-thick board suddenly made me think of the busy season at work, having little kids, playing the piano and another 1/2 dozen reasons I could not afford to have my palm broken :) Funny to remember just 10 minutes later when the board has already been hamer-fisted into 2 pieces and my palm had no bruise or scratch...

Re: the FAQ "I don't know how you go through tax season with two little children!"

I don't know either. Just walking out of study room at 0.30am to go take a shower (not to bother Von Zobel later) and to get back to tax returns - and realizing that you still have slow-cooked chicken in Insta-pot and a pot of boiled potatoes to be mashed - waiting for you on the kitchen counter top.
'Cause work needs to be done, but kiddos need lunch to be cooked and packed for next day too :)

*Work-life balance notes*

Kids are super exited to come with me to the office on Saturday. They pick and put on their best clothes. They dress up in 3 minutes. Arthur helps Adrian to dress. Adrian wears jeans (not some day-care-pants) and insists on a belt (!).
In his big boy voice Arthur asks for a snack:
- Can he take some goldfish with us? We'll get hungry while you are working.
-Sure, grab a handful for each of you, please.

Later in the office, I indeed find in their backpack 2 carefully closed containers with just a handful of goldfish crackers. Apart from the crackers, out of their back pack came: 2 whole apples, 2 whole pears, 2 bananas, 2 mandarins, 2 personally packed servings of humus, 2 sticks of mozzarella string cheese, 2 small... cheese pancakes (syrniki) and a handful of dried mango.

I honestly expected to finally roll out a cooler with beverages out of the backpack. But no, there were some paper towels packed at the bottom.

- That's our picknick! - smiled Arthur.

31

I remember thinking a year ago that I came to 30 years with almost as much as most people achieve in their entire lifetime, and if I die right now - oh, well - it was a good life overall, and I wouldn't feel too bad.

Fast-forward a year to today... There's no way my life can stop right now :) I have new goals, new values, new circumstances, new knowledge about people around that I can't ignore anymore, new horizons to get to... And I back to the battle-mood of striving to get there before I run out of time...

What do accountants do for their pre-tax season party?

They go shoot each other as teams in Dart Warz. :) A few takeaways from tonight:

1. It's always the quiet ones.
2. An average CPA can probably be an aggressive hitman.
3. Never wear a sweater to a dart shooting again.
4. Regular workouts help.
5. But I think shooting practice was on my RealPlans list for this year, so I should get to it.
6. Check the emergency kits in both cars to make sure they are stocked up with enough allergy relief remedy for any impromptu beer after-party at a house with cats.

What a life changer  it is to work out of office close to home! Literally - 5 minutes away from Chinchillas's daycare! 4 days out of 6 I will be going to the office nearby, for the next 6 month at least - that's so many hours saved on commute given it takes around 1.5 hrs a day to drive to Lakewood in traffic!

On the other hand, I am glad I took the chance of going through entire Shakespeare works last year, when I had it. I just got my Odyssey CDs from the Library, and I'm at end of Disc 1 out of... 12 and it's hard to tell how I'm going to cope with it listening just 2 days a week. And then, there's also Iliad to cover this year...

Back from first resort family vacation.

Classic vacation with 2 toddlers full of digging holes in sand and building sand castles, putting on layers of sunblock morning and evening, running to and from waves, finding shells, watching pelicans, ships and boats,  and admiring a few local cute animals who were all, for simplicity, called "squirrels".

Good preparation helped a lot. We brought just enough clothes to survive a week, having had 1 laundry done mid-way (Arthur got sick just before leaving and was periodically throwing up over me on the way to Cancun. He woke up perfectly healthy the first morning in Mexico though). Chills loved their new sandals with lights, swimming trunks, hats and UV-protecting T-shirts (ordered in bright Orange, which worked out great to spot one of our kiddos at a distance). Arthur's responsibility was to carry in his toddle backpack their beach bucket, spades and cups, a boat, a submarine and 2 cars. Yep, we brought our own stuff, and that was one of the best decisions for everything was durable, used on a daily basis and could be conveniently put into the bucket and carried around.

Food deserved a separate compliment, for Chills could always find something to enjoy. Even for the kids that eat literally anything- the variety was ample. For the first 2 nights, they asked pasta for Dinner- of course, something that's not often offered to them at home :) On the third night they asked for ribs and more interesting yummy things with their pasta and the pasta remained almost untouched :) But all the time through the vacation they enjoyed ribs, meat, soups, veggies and fresh fruit to the extent that I was beginning to worry coming back to simple home menu will be hard for them. Fresh watermelon, passion fruit and "pink" ice-cream were daily must-haves. And a sudden discovery as food that they can eat non-stop was... red caviar. Even though for neither of them this was the first time they tried it - but they both must have the "red caviar savoring" gene as on those few nights the buffet served caviar - they would literally eat as much there was in front of them. And if they were in the middle of a desert when I finally made it to the caviar and brought some to the table - they would stop in the middle of their ice-creams, grabbed soup spoons and quickly attack my plate. And once there was no caviar left they would return to their ice-cream as if nothing happened.

Another thing I was happy they enjoyed was mini-disco after dinner. Their social life definitely started early - they loved to be dressed up in their cute evening shirts and look sharp,  loved to be part of the action on stage and especially loved getting candy treats after the dance. Only apparently they decided not to repeat the movements they were shown, and do their own dance instead - something less energy consuming and making them look cool and mysterious.

Now that this first trip is done, it will only get easier. Next step is to renew Arthur's passport this summer or sooner, and then - to decide if we can attempt trips to Canada and Spain by the end of this year.

I completed my first scuba dive in 5 years.

Since 2012 I was in a constant pregnancy-breastfeeding-pregnancy-breastfeeding mode, and then Chills were too little, and now, years down the road, I managed to schedule a dive and what's more important - during Chills' day nap time. Priceless.

Surprisingly enough, not all the skills were lost. Actually, none of the skills were gone but a good chunk of the vocabulary was. I could do the basic exercise, assemble my scuba set, but a regulator... what the heck is a regulator?! Oh, that stuff that was in my mouth for the past 45 minutes? Oh, thaaaat regulator!..

 So, my wetsuit soaked the water of the Caribbean once again and later, on the boat back to the shore, I noted the dive did not trigger my asphyxiphobia and muscle memory serves me well. Indeed, when I was last diving I might have been thinking that was the most insane thing I had ever done. Did I have a clue that I would soon have 2 kids back-to-back, pass CPA exams, switch from Global Mobility to PA, become a columnist on time management and efficiency, start learning martial arts and would go through a good dozen of other life-changing revelations? Every experience changes me. I am a different person from the one I was 6 months ago, let alone 6 years. And yet - here I am, my wetsuit, aviator sunglasses, salty breeze and sun in the face, wide grin and salt in the hair... That indescribable state of being - not "me" but still me...