April 2006 Old Blog Posts
April 25
Cough, cough, cough.
Here's what my night sounded like (instead of the peaceful chirping of crickets...or God knows whatever lives in the jungle outside my door):
cough, cough, cough. pause. pause. cough, cough, cough. pause. pause. COUGH, cough, COUGH. pause. pause.
I could go on, but I think you all get the drift. A mother on the playground yesterday mentioned allergies again. If this cold (or whatever it is) isn't gone very soon, I'll have to take him in. The fact that Annika hasn't gotten yet seems to point to the fact that Joe has something that isn't a virus. Are allergies hereditary? I'm only allergic to pet dander and saliva, but I think Hans is allergic to that and more, and I know that Grandma Donna's got some good ones, too.
Anyway, at least Josiah's in a much, much better mood and is eating. Thank God I don't have to put up with crabby and coughing! I'm still not sleeping very much, really I'm not sure how I'm staying upright, but Josiah is sleeping later. I instituted a "zero tolerance" program for getting out of bed before 6:30 a.m. If he gets up at 4:30, that's fine, but he has to be quiet and play in his room. Actually, he seems to understand and it's working out pretty well.
Here's what the cough sounds like now:
coughcough. longer pause. coughcough. longer pause.
Maybe he's getting better.
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April 23
Sunday Mornin', Rain is Fallin'
Or rather, rain is about to start fallin'. (Looks outside). No, it has officially started raining now. Just a nice little spring sprinkle, nothing serious. Hopefully it won't last more than a couple of hours because...at long last, we got a good night's SLEEP!! And now I feel a bit more energetic and ready to load up the kids and the big rig and find something interesting to do.
For those of you whose shoulders I didn't cry on this week: we had a wretched, wretched week. Josiah had a low-grade fever for days that turned him into a crabby, clingy, whiny, crying mess. He hates taking medicine, so getting any acetiminophin or cough medicine into him was like competing in calf-roping at the rodeo! That's exactly what I pictured every time I had to wrestle him down and pin him into place with my knee. Maybe I should invest in a short length of rope like the cowboys carry...
We were supposed to go to Tokyo on Wednesday for a modeling audition for both Josiah and Annika. While I wasn't exactly excited about having to drag them up there, I put a lot of time and effort into planning a route that would mean less work for me. Mariska would drive us to the station in Zushi, then we'd ride the train to a handicap-accessible station in Tokyo, then take a taxi to the site of the audition. No stair climbing. But alas, it wasn't meant to be. While Annika was her normal smiling, cooing and lovely self, Josiah was still sick and super-grumpy. I mean it, those of you who know Josiah as a cheerful and happy little boy would have been shocked. I decided to cancel our audition. I could see that despite pumping him full of meds, he was not going to "turn it on" for the camera.
As for the sleeping situation, it has been wretched this week. For starters, I have a hard time sleeping when there's no adult male in the house. It's why I got a dog when I lived alone (and almost got a bigger one after Gen thought she detected ghost babies in my house). I just have a hugely overactive imagination. We are very, very safe here at Ikego. Japan is safe, period, and we've got gate guards and a big fence surrounding us. I'm not really afraid of humans. More of supernatural things. I always think of "The Grudge" right before I drift off and keep imagining that I'm going to wake up with that creepy dead Japanese boy staring at me from the side of the bed. "Meeeeooooooooowwwww...." I know. It's pretty dumb, but it will keep me awake.
Add to that the fact that I have an infant in the house. She's doing great, sleeping 5-6 hours from 8-1:00 or 2:00, then another feeding at 4:30-5:00. But that still means getting up, dragging myself in there and ministering to her for at least half an hour, then getting back into bed. Sometimes it take a bit to drift off. Then, Josiah is sick so he's up at least a couple of times a night, hacking like he's going to throw up. Of course, the times that he and Annika are up are never concurrent. I swear they have a plan. An evil plan...
Plus, poor Josiah fell out of bed twice this week. Both times at exactly 11:30. It was strange the way I woke up seconds before it happened, because I heard him hit the floor both times. I guess my "mom antennae" went up as he inched closer and closer to the edge of the bed. I wish they'd go up when he's sneaked into our bathroom and is flushing stuff down the toilet...
Add to all of this the fact that I'm here with them alone. I have a growing respect for parents who have to raise children on their on their own. I had a crutch, in the form of the daycare center, but I'm not certain Josiah's going to be spending much time down there. They are getting a little frustrated by the fact that he spends 90% of his time with them crying. He disrupts everyone's naps. He refuses to be without his blanket, which apparently violates the daycare's rules. I'm not supposed to bring the blanket again, which will definitely lead to even more crying...I feel bad for him, but then again, it's irritating. What am I supposed to do with him when I need to go get groceries or run errands? I guess I'll have to start taking both of them everywhere. Thank God for the big rig. We'll just have to start shopping like Europeans...enough groceries for one or two days.
Well, it could always be worse. I could have the amazing yakking child on my hands (aka: Lily). She gets herself worked up crying and just throws up. I guess she threw up three or four times on Friday, so needless to say, Mariska was having a very frustrating day, too! We all had dinner at her place last night. Two glasses of wine made me forget all about creepy Japanese boys. They do say that a glass of wine before bed is healthy, right? Maybe I should stock up!
One week down. Many, many more to go.
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April 19
I Got My CREDIT!!
Yay!! I got my credit from the good folks at Baby Universe! I am in shock because I expected that it would take many, many phone calls and letters and possibly a visit to my local legal office. I received a very blunt e-mail about two days ago saying that they apologized that the stroller never made it and would be issuing me a credit, but not to respond to that e-mail because they wouldn't READ it (yes, they put that in caps) if I did. It was a half-reassuring, half-pissy e-mail.
I just love how, though I managed to be very pleasant with them throughout this ordeal, they acted like I had a lot of nerve to question their business practices and call repeatedly to inquire where my $250 stroller was. Wow, the nerve of the American consumer!
Mom, Dad. I'm really glad that neither of you were forced to write to Norm Coleman on my behalf!
Actually, this whole experience has opened my eyes to doing business and especially online business. Please, if you're going to purchase something from an online merchant, even an online merchant through a company like eBay, check with the Better Business Bureau. If I had done that before trying to get this stroller, I would have discovered that Baby Universe had an unsatisfactory rating with the BBB. In fact, after filing my complaint with the BBB, I received a nice but discouraging letter from them stating that they would attempt to recover my money from Baby Universe, but that they doubted it would work because BU already has an unsatisfactory rating with them and has no reason to try to impress the BBB. Thank God they were wrong about the credit!
Hope you all learned something today! I've got to go figure out what to spend my credit on :) I'm also trying to decide if I should take Crabby Joe and Annika up to Tokyo for a modeling audition. I've got the whole trip planned out for the greatest amount of ease. Mariska will drive us to the station, thus eliminating the mile plus walk to the station. We will ride to Shimbashi, a station that I was assured by the JR English Helpline has NO stairs, then I will take a taxi to the meeting place in Ginza. I don't know why the Combi folks pick one of the worst stations for us all to meet at for auditions--it's always the same place, near the Kabuki theater. It's an old station and there are about three very narrow flights of stairs up to street level. You'd think since everyone coming to these auditions has a stroller, they would pick somewhere a little more convenient to mommies.
More news from Nippon later.
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April 16
Easter
Happy Easter! We just finished up our first egg hunt and glorious Easter basket reveal. I hid the eggs for Josiah...kept it pretty simple this year. Most of them were in plain sight, only a couple were hidden in drawers. I figure that next year we can step it up a notch and hide the majority of them in more obscure locations. He was excited to find jellybean-filled eggs all over the living room. It was comical watching him try to keep picking all of them up...(note to self: next year have a basket just for Easter egg retrieval, completely separate from glorious, gift-filled Easter basket).
Lest you all think we stuffed him full of cane sugar this morning, I did put some educational items into his basket. An Elmo book (Elmo is a recent passion), a book about colors (we're very close to a breakthrough on colors), a book about farm animals (he's got them down, along with sounds), and a book/CD set for use in the car. And of course, we offered the requisite Thomas stuff: a new engine (Edward, the nicest engine of them all), and a new Thomas DVD. And a little candy, which I plan to carefully ration out. He's not pretty coming off of a sugar high.
Easter used to be a pretty big deal in the Kuehl household. Well, I should say, at Grandma and Grandpa T.'s house. Right, like Jan would have let us dye eggs in her house (thank God for G&G T or we never would have been exposed to things like Play-Doh). Church on Easter is definitely my favorite service aside from Christmas. The best hymns. Everyone officially shedding the dull woolens of winter for cottony pastels. As little girls, Gen and I had hats, and if I remember correctly, white gloves at times. Easter was a very big deal if you were a little girl who loved frilly dresses!
Then we'd all go home and have a big dinner. Ham, I'm sure. Probably potato salad--had to get rid of all of those eggs somehow! We would have hunted eggs first thing when we woke up, early, early in the morning. I remember of course, the year that Dad made me a little cradle for my bear and laid a trail of eggs that led me to it. It's probably one of those memories that are more served by pictures than true memory--I suppose I was about four because I seem to remember that Genevieve was there. I remember getting little Easter gifts from Avon--one year, little yellow chick earrings, another year, a cool bracelet that you could open and there was an ink pen inside (!)...well, it was exciting to me at the time. It smelled like strawberries and who would expect a bracelet to also be an inkpen?
I feel a little bad that I didn't make an Easter basket for Annika, but I don't think she would have appreciated it anyway. We've been a little lax in celebrating holidays with Josiah, but we're trying to remedy that now that he's getting a little older and able to appreciate our efforts. It's hard without family around to uphold traditions and solidify the experience, make it something truly special. Hans and I have made a pact that at the very least, we will make the utmost effort to go home to Minnesota for Christmas from now on.
Oh, and Easter always seemed to be the day that spring truly arrived in Minnesota. I'm sure there were some gray and rainy Easters, but for the most part, I remember it being the day when the tricky winter was finally behind us. I hope that's true in Minnesota today! Happy Easter!
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April 09
The Big Rig
So, Chapter IV in the double stroller saga: I ended up cancelling my order with the fine folks at Baby Universe, because they told me that they were waiting for the stroller to be shipped from the manufacturer and that it would ship late next week (around the 14th). Add two weeks for delivery and that would have meant another month of waiting for the cursed thing! I ordered it on March 2nd with the understanding it was coming priority; no one said anything about a delay.
So I cancelled my order and drove to Yokohama with the kids, bought the double stroller that has been at Toys R Us all along, brought it home, assembled it in 15 minutes flat, and an hour later we were taking our first stroll in it. It definitely handles differently than a single. I told Hans that the difference between it and our little Maclaren is like piloting a C-130 vs. a hang-glider. BUT I am not complaining, nor will I. I am just so happy to have a double stroller. The kids are comfortable in it and I no longer have to act like a camel.
Of course, the next day, I had an e-mail from Baby Universe stating that they couldn't cancel my order because it had been shipped. Sensing yet another lie, I called my manager-contact there, who said that it hadn't shipped (and gave me several bullcrap reasons why) and said that I could cancel it. Then she changed her mind and said she'd better check to see if it had actually shipped. It had, then it hadn't, then it had, finally she just cancelled the order. The people there are very confused. Not entirely rude, but very confused. I managed to keep my temper throughout this ordeal, which I am sure is not over as I am expecting a credit from them. I'm quite sure that I'll have to call to speak to someone about getting my credit. I never got an apology from anyone for the inconvenience or the confusion. Very, very disappointing and annoying. I contacted the Better Business Bureau, then found out through them that Baby Universe has an "unsatisfactory" rating with the BBB due to unresolved conflicts. Lesson learned. Check on online companies before ordering from them. And make sure anyone you know who needs baby goods DOES NOT order from Baby Universe.
I am putting in some new pictures of the big rig. I took a couple of shots today on our latest trek through Zushi. I just shake my head in awe sometimes at the lengths the Japanese go to to make sure every little thing is tidy and beautiful--notice the picture of the metal birds on the path barricade. Unbelievable. And this was on an unremarkable path, nothing especially special, just a paved path along a little stream.
There are some new photos of Annika--just in time for Easter, our little bunny. Isn't she sweet? I have to admit that it's a lot more fun getting her dressed every day than it was for Josiah. I can tell that I'm going to have problems keeping the clothing spending under control for Annika. Every little ruffled, flowered, pink thing is just too adorable! Her eight week check up is on Tuesday, so I'll have some new weights and lengths on her mid-week. I can't believe that she's almost two months old already...time goes by too quickly.
Josiah got his birthday presents a little early this year due to the fact that Hans is going to be gone on Joe's actual birthday. There are some pictures of him with his "mini-Thomas" train set. These are tiny little 1" long plastic Thomas trains. They hurt like hell to step on, let me tell you! He also got a new "Down by the Docks" track set for use with his regular trains. It's pretty cool--it's got a playmat, a barge, a crane, elevated track risers, another bridge and a conductor. Hans put it together for him last night and the track actually survived until after 9:00 this morning. Usually, it's destroyed within ten minutes of assembly!
Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying spring!
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April 04
A Trek in Zushi
No double stroller yet...I ordered it on March 1st. I called customer service on March 21st and was told that it would arrive here either "that week or next". No stroller. I checked my order status online (something that I admittedly should have done earlier), and it said "waiting to ship". Hmmm. I called the company this morning at 4:00 a.m. and was told that they really weren't sure if it had shipped or not and would actually have to contact Combi to find out, as it was shipping directly from the manufacturer. Hmmmm. So, my question is--what information was the customer service person looking at on the 21st I wonder? GOD. So irritating. All I want is the truth. I ended up talking to a manager who sounded friendly and much more competent than any of the CS people I've spoken to.
Not much has been going on. I'm thinking of the double stroller with longing today after another walk that ended with a very irritated, Baby Bjorn-ed infant. Annika really doesn't like the pack, and I don't blame her. Until she's old enough to face out, it has to be uncomfortable to be toted around with her face smashed into my chest. She went all the way from our house to the local Daiei today without a hitch, but after we did our shopping, she started crying so much that I had to take her out, boot Josiah out of the stroller, recline the stroller back completely, and put her in there. Josiah ended up either walking, being carried or sitting on the handlebar of the stroller.
Ohhh, if only I had the double stroller. Both of my children would be able to ride in comfort. And I wouldn't feel like a pack animal!
We are all doing pretty good. We're going to be losing my husband soon. I think we have a couple more weekends and then we basically won't see him again until October, except for a meager couple of days. This should be interesting as it's the first time that we have been separated for an extended period of time. We're trying to rush around and get Josiah's birthday presents taken care of (Thomas' Down by the Docks Playset) and a few last minute odds and ends. As all of you know by now, the kids and I should be home sometime in July, God willing. We will be sorely missing Hans, though. I think I miss him already. I feel like I'm kind of going through the stages of grief! I can't complain too much though--I married a Navy man and I knew what I was getting myself into. I always tell Hans that it (the Navy) sounded "so glamourous" before we got married. Uh yeah, right. I got educated pretty quickly on that one!!
Anyway...enough about our quiet lives here in Zushi. The cherry blossoms are out, as are many, many other blossoms that I couldn't identify. It was in the 60s today, so we had very nice weather for our trek. It's about two miles down to the local Daiei. I wanted to get some produce since the produce at the commissary sucks. The Japanese produce is SO much better--it's really incredible and fairly inexpensive. You should see the asparagus that I got...88 yen a bunch and thin as pencils...delicious! And don't get me started on the strawberries. Yeah, you don't see bruised apples or cruddy produce at the Japanese store. They even individually wrap a lot of their apples in thin styrofoam sleeves!
I sound like Jackson and Sookie. Sheesh. But anyway. Enjoy the pictures and Happy Spring!
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Cough, cough, cough.
Here's what my night sounded like (instead of the peaceful chirping of crickets...or God knows whatever lives in the jungle outside my door):
cough, cough, cough. pause. pause. cough, cough, cough. pause. pause. COUGH, cough, COUGH. pause. pause.
I could go on, but I think you all get the drift. A mother on the playground yesterday mentioned allergies again. If this cold (or whatever it is) isn't gone very soon, I'll have to take him in. The fact that Annika hasn't gotten yet seems to point to the fact that Joe has something that isn't a virus. Are allergies hereditary? I'm only allergic to pet dander and saliva, but I think Hans is allergic to that and more, and I know that Grandma Donna's got some good ones, too.
Anyway, at least Josiah's in a much, much better mood and is eating. Thank God I don't have to put up with crabby and coughing! I'm still not sleeping very much, really I'm not sure how I'm staying upright, but Josiah is sleeping later. I instituted a "zero tolerance" program for getting out of bed before 6:30 a.m. If he gets up at 4:30, that's fine, but he has to be quiet and play in his room. Actually, he seems to understand and it's working out pretty well.
Here's what the cough sounds like now:
coughcough. longer pause. coughcough. longer pause.
Maybe he's getting better.
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April 23
Sunday Mornin', Rain is Fallin'
Or rather, rain is about to start fallin'. (Looks outside). No, it has officially started raining now. Just a nice little spring sprinkle, nothing serious. Hopefully it won't last more than a couple of hours because...at long last, we got a good night's SLEEP!! And now I feel a bit more energetic and ready to load up the kids and the big rig and find something interesting to do.
For those of you whose shoulders I didn't cry on this week: we had a wretched, wretched week. Josiah had a low-grade fever for days that turned him into a crabby, clingy, whiny, crying mess. He hates taking medicine, so getting any acetiminophin or cough medicine into him was like competing in calf-roping at the rodeo! That's exactly what I pictured every time I had to wrestle him down and pin him into place with my knee. Maybe I should invest in a short length of rope like the cowboys carry...
We were supposed to go to Tokyo on Wednesday for a modeling audition for both Josiah and Annika. While I wasn't exactly excited about having to drag them up there, I put a lot of time and effort into planning a route that would mean less work for me. Mariska would drive us to the station in Zushi, then we'd ride the train to a handicap-accessible station in Tokyo, then take a taxi to the site of the audition. No stair climbing. But alas, it wasn't meant to be. While Annika was her normal smiling, cooing and lovely self, Josiah was still sick and super-grumpy. I mean it, those of you who know Josiah as a cheerful and happy little boy would have been shocked. I decided to cancel our audition. I could see that despite pumping him full of meds, he was not going to "turn it on" for the camera.
As for the sleeping situation, it has been wretched this week. For starters, I have a hard time sleeping when there's no adult male in the house. It's why I got a dog when I lived alone (and almost got a bigger one after Gen thought she detected ghost babies in my house). I just have a hugely overactive imagination. We are very, very safe here at Ikego. Japan is safe, period, and we've got gate guards and a big fence surrounding us. I'm not really afraid of humans. More of supernatural things. I always think of "The Grudge" right before I drift off and keep imagining that I'm going to wake up with that creepy dead Japanese boy staring at me from the side of the bed. "Meeeeooooooooowwwww...." I know. It's pretty dumb, but it will keep me awake.
Add to that the fact that I have an infant in the house. She's doing great, sleeping 5-6 hours from 8-1:00 or 2:00, then another feeding at 4:30-5:00. But that still means getting up, dragging myself in there and ministering to her for at least half an hour, then getting back into bed. Sometimes it take a bit to drift off. Then, Josiah is sick so he's up at least a couple of times a night, hacking like he's going to throw up. Of course, the times that he and Annika are up are never concurrent. I swear they have a plan. An evil plan...
Plus, poor Josiah fell out of bed twice this week. Both times at exactly 11:30. It was strange the way I woke up seconds before it happened, because I heard him hit the floor both times. I guess my "mom antennae" went up as he inched closer and closer to the edge of the bed. I wish they'd go up when he's sneaked into our bathroom and is flushing stuff down the toilet...
Add to all of this the fact that I'm here with them alone. I have a growing respect for parents who have to raise children on their on their own. I had a crutch, in the form of the daycare center, but I'm not certain Josiah's going to be spending much time down there. They are getting a little frustrated by the fact that he spends 90% of his time with them crying. He disrupts everyone's naps. He refuses to be without his blanket, which apparently violates the daycare's rules. I'm not supposed to bring the blanket again, which will definitely lead to even more crying...I feel bad for him, but then again, it's irritating. What am I supposed to do with him when I need to go get groceries or run errands? I guess I'll have to start taking both of them everywhere. Thank God for the big rig. We'll just have to start shopping like Europeans...enough groceries for one or two days.
Well, it could always be worse. I could have the amazing yakking child on my hands (aka: Lily). She gets herself worked up crying and just throws up. I guess she threw up three or four times on Friday, so needless to say, Mariska was having a very frustrating day, too! We all had dinner at her place last night. Two glasses of wine made me forget all about creepy Japanese boys. They do say that a glass of wine before bed is healthy, right? Maybe I should stock up!
One week down. Many, many more to go.
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April 19
I Got My CREDIT!!
Yay!! I got my credit from the good folks at Baby Universe! I am in shock because I expected that it would take many, many phone calls and letters and possibly a visit to my local legal office. I received a very blunt e-mail about two days ago saying that they apologized that the stroller never made it and would be issuing me a credit, but not to respond to that e-mail because they wouldn't READ it (yes, they put that in caps) if I did. It was a half-reassuring, half-pissy e-mail.
I just love how, though I managed to be very pleasant with them throughout this ordeal, they acted like I had a lot of nerve to question their business practices and call repeatedly to inquire where my $250 stroller was. Wow, the nerve of the American consumer!
Mom, Dad. I'm really glad that neither of you were forced to write to Norm Coleman on my behalf!
Actually, this whole experience has opened my eyes to doing business and especially online business. Please, if you're going to purchase something from an online merchant, even an online merchant through a company like eBay, check with the Better Business Bureau. If I had done that before trying to get this stroller, I would have discovered that Baby Universe had an unsatisfactory rating with the BBB. In fact, after filing my complaint with the BBB, I received a nice but discouraging letter from them stating that they would attempt to recover my money from Baby Universe, but that they doubted it would work because BU already has an unsatisfactory rating with them and has no reason to try to impress the BBB. Thank God they were wrong about the credit!
Hope you all learned something today! I've got to go figure out what to spend my credit on :) I'm also trying to decide if I should take Crabby Joe and Annika up to Tokyo for a modeling audition. I've got the whole trip planned out for the greatest amount of ease. Mariska will drive us to the station, thus eliminating the mile plus walk to the station. We will ride to Shimbashi, a station that I was assured by the JR English Helpline has NO stairs, then I will take a taxi to the meeting place in Ginza. I don't know why the Combi folks pick one of the worst stations for us all to meet at for auditions--it's always the same place, near the Kabuki theater. It's an old station and there are about three very narrow flights of stairs up to street level. You'd think since everyone coming to these auditions has a stroller, they would pick somewhere a little more convenient to mommies.
More news from Nippon later.
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April 16
Easter
Happy Easter! We just finished up our first egg hunt and glorious Easter basket reveal. I hid the eggs for Josiah...kept it pretty simple this year. Most of them were in plain sight, only a couple were hidden in drawers. I figure that next year we can step it up a notch and hide the majority of them in more obscure locations. He was excited to find jellybean-filled eggs all over the living room. It was comical watching him try to keep picking all of them up...(note to self: next year have a basket just for Easter egg retrieval, completely separate from glorious, gift-filled Easter basket).
Lest you all think we stuffed him full of cane sugar this morning, I did put some educational items into his basket. An Elmo book (Elmo is a recent passion), a book about colors (we're very close to a breakthrough on colors), a book about farm animals (he's got them down, along with sounds), and a book/CD set for use in the car. And of course, we offered the requisite Thomas stuff: a new engine (Edward, the nicest engine of them all), and a new Thomas DVD. And a little candy, which I plan to carefully ration out. He's not pretty coming off of a sugar high.
Easter used to be a pretty big deal in the Kuehl household. Well, I should say, at Grandma and Grandpa T.'s house. Right, like Jan would have let us dye eggs in her house (thank God for G&G T or we never would have been exposed to things like Play-Doh). Church on Easter is definitely my favorite service aside from Christmas. The best hymns. Everyone officially shedding the dull woolens of winter for cottony pastels. As little girls, Gen and I had hats, and if I remember correctly, white gloves at times. Easter was a very big deal if you were a little girl who loved frilly dresses!
Then we'd all go home and have a big dinner. Ham, I'm sure. Probably potato salad--had to get rid of all of those eggs somehow! We would have hunted eggs first thing when we woke up, early, early in the morning. I remember of course, the year that Dad made me a little cradle for my bear and laid a trail of eggs that led me to it. It's probably one of those memories that are more served by pictures than true memory--I suppose I was about four because I seem to remember that Genevieve was there. I remember getting little Easter gifts from Avon--one year, little yellow chick earrings, another year, a cool bracelet that you could open and there was an ink pen inside (!)...well, it was exciting to me at the time. It smelled like strawberries and who would expect a bracelet to also be an inkpen?
I feel a little bad that I didn't make an Easter basket for Annika, but I don't think she would have appreciated it anyway. We've been a little lax in celebrating holidays with Josiah, but we're trying to remedy that now that he's getting a little older and able to appreciate our efforts. It's hard without family around to uphold traditions and solidify the experience, make it something truly special. Hans and I have made a pact that at the very least, we will make the utmost effort to go home to Minnesota for Christmas from now on.
Oh, and Easter always seemed to be the day that spring truly arrived in Minnesota. I'm sure there were some gray and rainy Easters, but for the most part, I remember it being the day when the tricky winter was finally behind us. I hope that's true in Minnesota today! Happy Easter!
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April 09
The Big Rig
So, Chapter IV in the double stroller saga: I ended up cancelling my order with the fine folks at Baby Universe, because they told me that they were waiting for the stroller to be shipped from the manufacturer and that it would ship late next week (around the 14th). Add two weeks for delivery and that would have meant another month of waiting for the cursed thing! I ordered it on March 2nd with the understanding it was coming priority; no one said anything about a delay.
So I cancelled my order and drove to Yokohama with the kids, bought the double stroller that has been at Toys R Us all along, brought it home, assembled it in 15 minutes flat, and an hour later we were taking our first stroll in it. It definitely handles differently than a single. I told Hans that the difference between it and our little Maclaren is like piloting a C-130 vs. a hang-glider. BUT I am not complaining, nor will I. I am just so happy to have a double stroller. The kids are comfortable in it and I no longer have to act like a camel.
Of course, the next day, I had an e-mail from Baby Universe stating that they couldn't cancel my order because it had been shipped. Sensing yet another lie, I called my manager-contact there, who said that it hadn't shipped (and gave me several bullcrap reasons why) and said that I could cancel it. Then she changed her mind and said she'd better check to see if it had actually shipped. It had, then it hadn't, then it had, finally she just cancelled the order. The people there are very confused. Not entirely rude, but very confused. I managed to keep my temper throughout this ordeal, which I am sure is not over as I am expecting a credit from them. I'm quite sure that I'll have to call to speak to someone about getting my credit. I never got an apology from anyone for the inconvenience or the confusion. Very, very disappointing and annoying. I contacted the Better Business Bureau, then found out through them that Baby Universe has an "unsatisfactory" rating with the BBB due to unresolved conflicts. Lesson learned. Check on online companies before ordering from them. And make sure anyone you know who needs baby goods DOES NOT order from Baby Universe.
I am putting in some new pictures of the big rig. I took a couple of shots today on our latest trek through Zushi. I just shake my head in awe sometimes at the lengths the Japanese go to to make sure every little thing is tidy and beautiful--notice the picture of the metal birds on the path barricade. Unbelievable. And this was on an unremarkable path, nothing especially special, just a paved path along a little stream.
There are some new photos of Annika--just in time for Easter, our little bunny. Isn't she sweet? I have to admit that it's a lot more fun getting her dressed every day than it was for Josiah. I can tell that I'm going to have problems keeping the clothing spending under control for Annika. Every little ruffled, flowered, pink thing is just too adorable! Her eight week check up is on Tuesday, so I'll have some new weights and lengths on her mid-week. I can't believe that she's almost two months old already...time goes by too quickly.
Josiah got his birthday presents a little early this year due to the fact that Hans is going to be gone on Joe's actual birthday. There are some pictures of him with his "mini-Thomas" train set. These are tiny little 1" long plastic Thomas trains. They hurt like hell to step on, let me tell you! He also got a new "Down by the Docks" track set for use with his regular trains. It's pretty cool--it's got a playmat, a barge, a crane, elevated track risers, another bridge and a conductor. Hans put it together for him last night and the track actually survived until after 9:00 this morning. Usually, it's destroyed within ten minutes of assembly!
Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying spring!
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April 04
A Trek in Zushi
No double stroller yet...I ordered it on March 1st. I called customer service on March 21st and was told that it would arrive here either "that week or next". No stroller. I checked my order status online (something that I admittedly should have done earlier), and it said "waiting to ship". Hmmm. I called the company this morning at 4:00 a.m. and was told that they really weren't sure if it had shipped or not and would actually have to contact Combi to find out, as it was shipping directly from the manufacturer. Hmmmm. So, my question is--what information was the customer service person looking at on the 21st I wonder? GOD. So irritating. All I want is the truth. I ended up talking to a manager who sounded friendly and much more competent than any of the CS people I've spoken to.
Not much has been going on. I'm thinking of the double stroller with longing today after another walk that ended with a very irritated, Baby Bjorn-ed infant. Annika really doesn't like the pack, and I don't blame her. Until she's old enough to face out, it has to be uncomfortable to be toted around with her face smashed into my chest. She went all the way from our house to the local Daiei today without a hitch, but after we did our shopping, she started crying so much that I had to take her out, boot Josiah out of the stroller, recline the stroller back completely, and put her in there. Josiah ended up either walking, being carried or sitting on the handlebar of the stroller.
Ohhh, if only I had the double stroller. Both of my children would be able to ride in comfort. And I wouldn't feel like a pack animal!
We are all doing pretty good. We're going to be losing my husband soon. I think we have a couple more weekends and then we basically won't see him again until October, except for a meager couple of days. This should be interesting as it's the first time that we have been separated for an extended period of time. We're trying to rush around and get Josiah's birthday presents taken care of (Thomas' Down by the Docks Playset) and a few last minute odds and ends. As all of you know by now, the kids and I should be home sometime in July, God willing. We will be sorely missing Hans, though. I think I miss him already. I feel like I'm kind of going through the stages of grief! I can't complain too much though--I married a Navy man and I knew what I was getting myself into. I always tell Hans that it (the Navy) sounded "so glamourous" before we got married. Uh yeah, right. I got educated pretty quickly on that one!!
Anyway...enough about our quiet lives here in Zushi. The cherry blossoms are out, as are many, many other blossoms that I couldn't identify. It was in the 60s today, so we had very nice weather for our trek. It's about two miles down to the local Daiei. I wanted to get some produce since the produce at the commissary sucks. The Japanese produce is SO much better--it's really incredible and fairly inexpensive. You should see the asparagus that I got...88 yen a bunch and thin as pencils...delicious! And don't get me started on the strawberries. Yeah, you don't see bruised apples or cruddy produce at the Japanese store. They even individually wrap a lot of their apples in thin styrofoam sleeves!
I sound like Jackson and Sookie. Sheesh. But anyway. Enjoy the pictures and Happy Spring!
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