Fun fact: my pre-covid wardrobe is still complete enough to not shop for anything this year, even given multiple family trips, regular hikes and workouts and business travel. Only... the business casual and dress code section seems to need a lot of dusting

... on the other hand some boys come home from summer camp wearing their favorite pair or shoes like this. 

Observation: all that space in our traveling suitcases that diapers used to take (and long time ago this could be diapers of different size) is now taken by clothes that increased in size. Toys get smaller, but books and workbooks get bigger. And as Arthur is now asking for mask and snorkel too, I think we're done with replacements and will just bring 2 large suitcases to our trip this time (mommy's scuba wetsuit and snorkel needs to go somewhere too!..).

Adrian, meanwhile is wondering "If Mommy is going to scuba dive, and Daddy is going to scuba dive, and Arthur is going to snorkel - will I stay by the sea all by myself?!". Not because he is scared of course, but because he is genuinely upset not to have a special water activity besides building sandcastles.

Our Taekwondo Grandmaster tells us that competing with others is the best way to disregard physical pain, inconvenience, fear and push yourself to better results.

I feel like that's exactly what my boys have in mind when running door to door in our community in their Halloween costumes, with their pumpkin cauldrons. Also, since Arthur's school had a "Truck or Treat" event this year with teachers and parents handing out treats and gifts from the back of decorated SUVs and Trucks - Arthur takes this as a perfect opportunity to show off and be original:

- Truck or Treat!
- Oooh, I love your costumes! - another neighbor says as she moves the bowl of candy closer to them.
- Thank you! - yells Adrian so that parents know for sure they did say thank you, and gallops on to the next house, through the ice, through the mud, getting snow in his trainers.

- We'll get more candy than anyone else!
- Yes, we'll get soooo much candy!
- Truck or Treeat!

Faster, and faster, door to door in chaotic order. Only teens seem to be having more fruitful raids on candy bowls. Dogs back off from the door. Neighbors get educated on the costume being "T-Rex", not just a "dinosaur". In one house, the parents are kindly offered liquor shots "to keep us going"...

- Trrrunk or Treat!

The street is now completely dark and empty. Adrian decides it's time to go home and probably make Dad wear pants with bigger pockets next year. Arthur wants to do just a few more houses. No, he is not cold, in fact he is very-very hot, never mind his shivering chin and sniffing,please-please just a few more houses:

-Dddrunk or treat!

A quiet Mermaid walks on the other side of the street with her dad. As we pass them, Arthur makes a sudden loud observation into the darkness:
- I got more candy thank aaaanyone else!
The Mermaid makes a step closer to her dad and starts to walk faster.

We've got a couple of pounds of candy now, hidden in my personal Narnia and not claimed. Yet. I sincerely hope the competition stops here and there will be no attempts to EAT more candy than anyone else.

Found Arthur's certificate confirming he ate a real fried bug:
- Mom, I ate a bug today!
- You mean, like a gummy worm?
- No, a real one! But it was cooked!

For those parents who don't believe it:

 

 

 

Meanwhile, Adrian's daycare report for a group of 4 and 5 year olds are more dramatic: "Our students were having a debate on whether or not Jupiter has volcanoes". Asked Adrian where he stands in the debate, he was sure it's Saturn that has volcanoes. Hmm...

Arthur brought a stuffed toy monkey from school last Friday. Bobo the Monkey is supposed to live with us for a week, participate in daily activities with us and we are supposed to take pictures of his(hers?) Adventures and add them to Bobo's journal with descriptions. Sometime long this week I am running around taking pictures of a communal clss monkey in a helmet on a bicycle, gardening and baking muffins. Good apple pie monkey he was.

Some time parallel to this I am looking for Arthur's pictures of last year for his poster board. Basketball, microscopes, parrots and rock climbing, trip to London. Then Adrian participates by gluing pictures and adding colour to the poster, and Arthur makes drawing of him skiing , making snowmen and swimming. I bet that was the most creative poster in his class :)

Sometime parallel to this I am shuffling around work files, doing research and trying to fit in an internal presentation which would be quite an easy one otherwise,  had it not involved trying to match my schedule with someone with a packed schedule too and 8 hours ahead of me, while...

...while there's an armed woman in town threatening to schools. The FBI are looking for her,  the schools are closed, both chinchillas are hanging out in the backyard.
The daily calls and emails are diluted with running to the backyard to mediate, comfort and pick up pieces of broken glass. The corporate demo gets pushed back to next day.
The Easter trip packing has not even started yet.

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!

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!

 - 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.

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.

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.

Friday night, around 9.15pm. Putting Arthur to bed.

- Mom, we forgot our Human Body outside! We need to bring it in!
- ???
- Mom, we left our HUMAN BODY at the lawn! Outside! Somebody may take it!
- Erm… Uh… What?! What body?!
- The HUMAN BODY we put at the lawn today!!!
- Sunshine… it’s not a Human Body, just a skeleton. It’s for Halloween. It’s supposed to stay there for now.
- Yeah! So when a bad person comes to our house, he sees the HUMAN BODY, gets scared and runs away!
- Yep. That’ll work too.

I seriously can’t wait for Arthur’s English vocabulary to catch up. Can’t wait for him to start sharing his wisdom with kids and teachers at Kindergarten:

- Um… Arthur was telling me you put a HUMAN BODY at the lawn by your house?... To scare away bad people?...
- Yeah, our home security provider raised our fee again, so we just thought: oh, screw this!...

Early Monday evening of a long 4-day weekend. Swimming pool.

I'm chasing Arthur in the water trying to bring him from the shallow part to the deep one and hold him while he tries to remember some swimming techniques. He is absolutely reluctant to move to the deeper end:
- Not going there! I don't want to! Nooo!


***efilymkcuf*** Taking a deep breath, holding him tight, and supporting by tummy and under arms so he feels comfortable enough to agree to move to a deeper side. After a few minutes of getting used to sailing on Mommy a new quest begins: Mommy wants to try swimming in a floating vest, and Arthur is not keep on transitioning to it yet. I mean, if Mom wants - she can try to float on her own (if she can buckle it, hahahaha), and yes, I know my cousin floats just fine, but I'm not interested; and you keep saying it's easy and safe, but still not interested, and I see my little brother is trying to jump into the pool at 4ft on his own, but no, I'm not afraid just reasonably cautious. Reasonable cautiousness has been the basis for babies' survival for centuries, everybody knows that. Even when a baby is well in his three...


Leaving Arthur alone and supporting him for as long as it takes - yields first results: Arthur realizes the vest is not made of lead and water is quite safe and starts moving his arms and legs, pushing himself towards the side of the pool. Now it's important not to hold excitement and pride within and keep telling him what a smart and amazing kid he is. And as he keeps on hearing being praised, his kicking and scooping become stronger and more confident, his face becomes more relaxed and brights up and as he reaches the side of the pool he exclaims:


- I swam! I swam on my own.
- You did indeed! You did such an amazing job! See, you were afraid at first, but then you pushed yourself, and did your best, and stayed focused - and swam on your own! If you are brave, persistent and strong - you can do anything you want and you can learn to do anything you want!


Happy. Exited. Proud of himself:
- I want to swim again!


And we swim again to the middle of the pool, and then back to the side. And again. And he is happy for climbing this mountain, and I am happy for him, and the sun shines and the wind gets  stronger, and he is shivering , and it's almost 6 and time to leave.


-Sweetie, let's go.
- I don't want to leave!
- It's time to go!
- I want to swim!
- You're shivering, wet, cold and your lips are turning blue.
- No! I want to swim more!!!


***efilymkcuf***

Making a packing list for 3 week trip for each member of the family is a no-bullshit skill.

Especially when 2 lists are for super-active toddlers, when your views on husband's wardrobe for those 3 weeks typically differs from his view, and when there's a wedding to attend in the middle of the trip.

Other no-bullshit skills include buying all the necessary stuff for the trip some time in tiny time slots between work and picking up Chill Sr from Kindergarten  and while running other errands on weekend. That includes picking presents for the hosts.

Packing the entire family, with all those 4 sheets of paper put side by side, while kids are running around trying to do their own packing and replace neatly packed clothes and shoes with toys in every suitcase - is a must-learn know how if you ever want to have more than 1 kids and to sacrifice your lifestyle in progress :)

Nevertheless: for all the airfare worth, we now have:
 3 full size suitcases, fully packed (20kg +), with vaccum packing bags used for kids warm clothes (jackets, vests and sweaters) wrapped around a large tequila bottle and kids shoes (including rain boots),
1 sports backpack for toys and change of clothes for boys, diapers and wipes + a laptop and ipad;
1 sports backpack for electronics and misc. things for the trip (meds, travel pillows), + professional camera+ laptop+ipad + printouts with itineraries, copies of passports etc.
1 large kids backpack for snacks (gets lighter as we eat :)  )
1 toddler mini-backpack for WIPES: heavy duty, kids, facial - wipes.
5 mice by the name of Squirrel were strategically diffused between suitcases and backpacks.


On a side note - the durability of my suitcase is amazing. There're scratches, holes at the bottom, the small "legs" fell off a while ago, however it never felt apart and the zippers still do not jam. Only the names of the places it has been taken to, written inside with nail polish - peel, as does Oscar Wilde's quote in the middle :)  It will celebrate its 15 year birthday this summer - never lost, never stolen.

I sometimes feel like I start to behave like a typical "Russian mother" walking around the community and neighbourhood

constantly yelling out remarks to her kids.
-Arthur, don't walk out on your own!
- Adrian, don't go there alone!
- Arthur, STOP!!! And look to your left and right to see if a car is coming!
- Adrian, please keep walking! DON"T STOP in the middle of the road!
- Arthur, no, you can't pee at their lawn!
- Adrian, don't run into the puddle! You're not wearing your rain boots, remember! Don't slap the puddle with your bare hands please!
-Arthur, please don't harass the worm! No, he doesn't like it!
- Hey! You both! Stop throwing stones into the sewer!
-Arthur, please look straight ahead! You're going to run somebody over on your tricycle!




And it goes on, and on and on. Yes, I only raise my voice when my kids are at a distance - so they can- physically- hear me better. And yes, I have the luxury of not screaming my head off for soiled clothes, or for my kids for actually walking, running or... biking away at their own pace and not walking next to me the whole time, or for actually walking in the after rain mud. I spare my voice for special moments only :)


But I still don't see how it's possible to be the only mother who.... wait, I don't see any other mothers out for a walk with toddlers. Actually, I don't see any toddlers either. It's not typical working hours... where are all the kids thought? Hmmm, maybe that's why....

We've survived this winter!

The trees are finally blooming, it's finally warm enough for shorts. Chinchilla Sr is mastering his new bike (with 2 assistance wheels) and is doing pretty damn good! Chinchilla Jr is mastering his big brother's scooter; at one point he just stepped on it, pushed himself off with his right foot and went out of the garage straight downhill on his own, while I was sprinting to catch him before he would reach the road, my hair turning gray and trying to understand if this is indeed the right kids I'm chasing: he looks like Chill Jr, but it can't be him! He's not even 2 yet!!








All in all I love how these 2 little brothers are getting along. How they comfort each other, and hug each other, and see each other to bed. And their meaningful, serious conversations are priceless! Of course, when they are in a middle of a fantastic dialog I have no pen and paper close at hand, and every time I start video recording - they become aware of me and stop whatever they are doing.








Despite busy schedule I got done with UNV proof-reading project in a good timing. Interestingly enough, one can tell exactly by looking at a translated text where a part was translated by a different person: the style varies, the choice of words varies, the number of typos or missing articles or prepositions varies... And still it's fun to realize that while you can offer a different version of translation in some cases, in others - you wouldn't have thought about word(s) that fit so well!




Two more weeks to Tax Season's finish line. With the 60 hour work weeks and family and home demanding all the time outside work - I now have about 3 weeks worth of unfinished business I will need to take care of in a prompt manner after April 18th, so I can move on with life :) I feel like for any idea I take through to the end I have 2 more which, at the moment they occur I feel are so great, I have to put at the bottom of 2018 list (yep, 2018). And by the time I get to it (maybe sooner than 2018) I will be out of resources, angry, sleep deprived, wondering why I even wanted it at the first place, but being too proud and stubborn to give it up now.

Life is trully amazing

when, as you're rolling around the carpet in tears, miserable and whining, your son comes to you and hugs you. And then strokes your hair and tells you that everything will be Ok.
And the other son just learned to kiss you on the cheek, and that makes you smile and brings you back to life.

Another milestone is their progress in dialogues they now have. For example, as Arthur is putting together blocks with pictures and Adrian is putting in pieces in the clock shape sorter Arthur can ask:


- Can I help?
- No.
-No?
- No, I'll do it myself!

I feel like I'll be taking more and more notes of their little talks soon :)