This is 3-years-old

Old lady to my mom:  "Are they coming from dance class?"
My mom: "Oh no, they always dress like this."
Old lady to her friends:  "Those twins always dress like that, can you believe it?!"

If you have a preschool-age girl, than I'm sure this has happened to you too.  What a difference a generation makes.  I know that I never had a store-bought costume (the horror!). Were there even such things as Disney Princess costumes?  Disney quite possibly owns my children, since I recently witnessed Sophie and Sienna mesmerized by a classmate in a Little Mermaid costume, who they now refer to as Ariel.   They seem to love all things feminine, which made me a little worried until another mom explained that she was going to let her daughter dress as girly as she wanted since she's probably only a few years away from a goth phase.

So here's what three-years-old looks like for us: 

Sienna(l) and Sophie dressed up on a typical afternoon.

Sophie on a pony, with a stranger, and being very brave.

Temper, temper.......

Yes, certain people seem to be getting even more bothered about NOTHING, while other little people are losing their fears and becoming quite brave.

The costumes haven't stopped, and wearing summer clothes and inappropriate footwear seems to be an obsession. 

Since my twins are in preschool, I've gotten to see them separate from each other a bit.  They play with different children, at different things in school.  However, Sienna is still Sophie's defender, and when Sienna does something to get in trouble, her sister seems to try and smooth it over.  They still seem to switch personalities with each other almost instantaneously, which is clearly a twin-thing.

They're learning to do real puzzles and will sit for nearly an hour doing crafts with me.  They love books, especially fairy tales, and want to hear us tell stories for hours on end.  They finally enjoy taking baths, and had their first real sleepover at their grandparents without a bit of crying.  I believe the key to a successful overnight is Disney Princess suitcases on wheels.  They practiced for weeks prior to the actual overnight.

Despite the warnings that age three is worse than two,  I've seen some improvement.

Sanity

How do you stay sane?  Is it going to the gym?  Yoga?  Music?  Maybe it's having a nanny, or having a real job?  Therapy?  Since I don't work (or shall I say, I don't work outside the home), and I don't really have hobbies, I blog.  It's a little creative, and makes me feel like I'm producing something besides babies and meals.  Of course, I'm mostly posting about babies or meals, but that's what I'm living, and putting it into perspective might be keeping me sane.

I'm a stay at home mom, which has its ups and down as I'm sure being a working mom does. In either case I'm sure you never truly feel like you're doing the right thing for your children, career, and marriage, but I don't believe in over analyzing such things.

Sometimes I feel like my head is spinning so fast that it actually might come whizzing right off my neck. That's when I feel like I'm getting nutty. Being a mother is sometimes a monotonous series of preparing meals and snacks, cleaning up those meals and snacks, laundry, housekeeping, and refereeing. Frankly it's the refereeing and whining that really gets to me, I rather enjoy the cooking and cleaning. If you think about it too much it could drive you nuts. Fortunately, it's also filled with endearing baby kisses and cuddles, otherwise I'm certain no one would do it.

Some may think my posts are trivial or silly, but then it's not really for them is it?  It's for my sanity.  How is everyone else not losing it?

Try this: Chicken Souvlaki with Cilantro

(image from foodies-magazine.com)

This is a hit in my house, and seems to get better each time I make it.  We love cilantro and just received a few bunches from my Aunt Susie, so I think it's time again for this dish.  I found the recipe in a spring edition of House Beautiful.

Sarah Raven's Chicken Souvlaki with Cilantro

Serves 8

Ingredients:

6 chicken breasts - cut into cubes
8 warmed pita breads

Marinade:
Small bunch of mint chopped
3 garlic cloves finely chopped
1 red chili finely chopped
Juice + zest of 1 lemon
1 TBS crushed coriander
1 tsp turmeric
1 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup olive oil
salt + pepper

Combine and toss with chicken, cover, refrigerate overnight

Dressing
In food processor combine the following:
Large bunch cilantro, chopped
1 cup plain yogurt
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
2 TBS olive oil
Salt

Skewer chicken and grill until cooked

Serve with extra cilantro + dressing in warm Pita

Hooray for preschool!

There were once two little girls who rarely left their mom and dad's sides.  Their parents worried that the little girls might have a hard time adjusting to school since they'd never stayed with anyone other than family.  Then one day their mother took them to preschool, and without tears they stayed, played with other children (only occasionally maiming them), and were filled with glee.

The first day of preschool.

The fairy tale ending is true, but the road to get there was a little more complicated.  Sophie and Sienna have come a long way!  They're three-years-old and are behaving like big girls.  Their behavior began changing rapidly about three weeks before their actual birthday.  They became more independent from their mom and started playing together for extended periods of time without a referee (me).  Re-enacting stories and movies makes up most of the play, along with playing house, dress-up, singing and dancing, painting, and playing with Barbies (some new and lots of hand me downs).  The week of their birthday the girls even agreed to two unaccompanied play dates at neighbors houses.  I knew we were heading in a positive direction.

Before the independent playing began, I'd had my doubts how they would handle school.  When we chose a preschool, we carefully made sure to seek out one that would ease them into separating from us (home visits from their teacher before school started and a modified first two weeks made a big difference).  We found one of the few co-ops in our area and it was a perfect fit for the girls.  Hooray for them!  They're already acting more mature and learning a lot (about playing).  Hooray for me!  I have some new found freedom.

Sudbury Cooperative Preschool is located in Sudbury, MA.