Natasha is now hanging between the lovely age of 3.5 and 4, and her – what used to be – tantrums, have turned into these so-called pity parties. When she is extremely unhappy, she no longer screams & yells (as a 2 year old would), but she rather goes on & on about how upset she is. The pity party can last anywhere from one hour, but usually lasts the entire day! Sometimes more…

Several days ago she lost a little toy garbage truck at a local playground. She did not realize this until she got home (and neither did I), and then, boy, did I get to hear it. “I lost my garbage truck. I lost it. I lossssst it at the park! Some kid took it. Some kid took MY garbage truck! It’s MY garbage truck. I was going to sleeeep with it today. And I lost it. I lost it at the PARK and some kid took MY garbage truck!” … this is the short version. The long version lasts several hours.

She did this on several other incidents over the last few days. Sometimes it’s hard not to laugh because it makes you wish your own problems were as big as hers. But at the same time it’s a pity to see her so miserable and upset. Poor Tasha.

We attended Natasha’s Junior Kindergarten orientation session today and it was pretty fun for her (she said so herself!). The kids got to walk between 5 different craft stations and play with play dough, read a book, search for ABCs, do a craft with glue (she made a crown!), and play with some magnetic letters and numbers. Overall, she had a lot of fun but I think she was overwhelmed as well.

We also got some general information on what the kids should be dressed in, what kind of backpack to buy, what sort of snack to bring, etc etc. It’s going to be a huge huge change for all of us, and especially for Natasha, but I know she’ll adjust. Veronika had fun as well, but she was even more overwhelmed with all the noise.

Each kid got a canvas bag filled with craft supplies, and random information for the parents, so overall it was a fulfilling session… September will roll around before we know it.

For the past 3 days, Veronika has been using the potty and been diaper free during the day! This is very exciting for us because we’ve been changing diapers pretty much non-stop for the past 3 1/2 years and are excited to see an end in sight.

Potty training Natasha was HARD… I started at age 2 and got nowhere. I kept retrying, but in the end I learned that just because I was ready, did not mean that she was. And once I took it slowly, she potty trained over a 3-day period at 2 years and 9 months. It was a breeze once she was ready!

Veronika is a different story entirely. Veronika has been watching her sister use the potty for months & months now, and about three days ago, she started using it too. She’s only 2 years and a month. MUCH younger. She’s very excited about her new achievement, as is her proud older sister. She still has the occasional accident, but they’re becoming less frequent with each day. We’re REALLY hoping to be completely diaper-free soon and just use the occasional pull-up… that day shall come. My baby is growing up!

My girls love arts & crafts… anything, really: markers, crayons, paints, water-colors, play dough, and anything in between. It can get messy but it’s really worth it. And the best place to buy supplies is the dollar store, of course. They have such a huge selection for so cheap ($1-$1.50/item), and you can get so much without spending a fortune.

On my last trip I bought them each a little wooden box, acrylic paints, brushes, and a paint tray. They had a blast painting their little boxes and spent the entire afternoon playing with them once they dried.

And although the boxes were finished and left to dry, the girls were NOT done. They wanted to paint more. So we got out their tube-paints. These are amazing because the paint is inside the tube and only comes out if you squeeze, so the mess is limited!

I am both looking forward and dreading September because our daily routine will change so much. We’re preparing Natasha for Junior Kindergarten and her school orientation is actually next week! We’re all very excited about it and are going to attend together; Natasha is especially excited because she knows she’ll receive a bag full of crayons, play dough, magnetic letters & numbers, and other fun items.

Also, Veronika will begin her first sports class in September – gymnastics! She & Natasha will be attending at the same time, just in different groups. So that is something to look forward to. And today, I registered Natasha for a new dance school which is minutes from our home – it seems very sophisticated and I am excited for her. This dance class will be part acrobatics, part jazz, and part ballet and they’ll have a show where she’ll perform at year end (June). Natasha will probably continue swimming classes as well because she loves it so much!

So yeah… very busy upcoming September and onwards.

Veronika must have either been VERY tired today or went through a growth-spurt. She had a very typical Tuesday, and just like every week she spent the morning at the park with my mom while I took Natasha to gymnastics; very ordinary Tuesday. She then had lunch and napped in her playpen from 12pm-2pm… very typical 2-hour nap which she does every single day. I put her on the sofa to quietly watch some cartoons while her sister slept, but she just laid her head back and… crashed.

From 2pm until 3pm this is what I saw-

And when I checked on her at 3pm, I found this-

She finally woke up at 3:30pm, all confused about her whereabouts. She must have been REALLY tired today, my sweet little sleepy-bear.

The girls are loving – and I mean loving – this warm (but not hot) spring weather. Me, not so much – the spring allergies are getting to me and I keep trying new medications which seem to help some of the time, but not every day either; it can get miserable. But Natasha & Veronika could spend the entire day outside if that was an option! They love the grass, the squirrels, the trees, the dandelions, the birds… Veronika could do without the bugs but Natasha loves even the bugs – in fact, she loves them SO much that she happily squishes them with her shoe and then declares, “I died them!” Poor bugs.

I just finished reading the third and final book in Stieg Larsoon’s Millenim Trilogy and I have to say those books are incredible. They are very wordly, but also very rich and well written. The author is very intelligent and the books, starting with the first, are sooo addictive! I really want to watch the movie as well & see how it compares to the first book, maybe soon. Highly recommend them. The suspense will make you want to keep reading.

Today was a very relaxing day for us, and I spent it with my 3 favourite people! Matthew and the girls definitely made the day special for me – Matthew engaged the girls in 2+ hours of crafts this weekend (his own idea!) and together they made me an adorable Mother’s Day card. It meant so much to me that he put the effort and involved our girls – a lot more than expensive, store-bought gifts.

He also surprised me with flowers. Matthew is not  typically into buying flowers so these were special and I love how simple yet beautiful they are. He also made dinner! I have a great husband who gave me two beautiful daughters without whom I would’ve never been able to celebrate this Mother’s Day. I feel very blessed.

We’ve been trying to gently prepare Natasha for the start of school, since she’ll be starting JK in only four months. Ah, the school year is really creeping up on us!! We’ve been talking really positively to her about school and although I am not sure how much she understands, she’s been pretty excited about it. I think it will be a big change for all of us. Right now her mind is set on buying a Thomas backpack for school, so I am hoping to stir her away from that! But I think her Thomas obsession is not as strong as it once used to be.

She loves practicing letters & numbers though and asks for practice sheets all the time.

Veronika always feels a little excluded during Natasha’s “school time” she requests, so she gets printed coloring pages! And the girls both LOVE to paint!

It’s going to be very bittersweet to put Natasha on the yellow school bus every morning and let her be on her own for the entire morning. It will take a lot of getting used to for everyone.