May 2006 Old Blog Posts
May 26
Medium Rare
Sometimes, coming up with a clever title is hard work. Sometimes, it just comes to me in a dream. This is the best that I can do this week. There's just not a whole lot that's new and exciting here in Japan. Or rather, our little corner of Japan. I'm sure there are new and exciting things going on all over the rest of Japan.
We did have an audition this week, for Annika. Silly me, I thought that my two-year-old would behave for the 15 minutes that it takes to accomplish an audition. There's usually pictures, talent, swimsuit, then interview. Oh wait, I've been watching too much "Tiara Girls" on MTV! No, it's just pictures and an "interview", which usually consists of a panel of superior-looking Japanese advertising executives staring at your baby or child and talking very seriously to each other.
It's like a switch was thrown, on Josiah's second birthday. I can just picture it, kind of under his armpit: GOOD<>TWO YEAR OLD. It's like I have a completely different child on my hands all of a sudden. He's not bad (we discussed this in the last post), he's just two. OK, he's bad sometimes, but everyone is bad sometimes. Josiah really wasn't bad at the audition. He just had had enough of sitting in his stroller and wanted to run all over this posh advertising agency, while I ran after him, sweating out my shirt and getting red-faced from exertion and embarassment.
The Japanese people there seemed to find Josiah vaguely amusing as he ran around the tables where they were holding their informal meetings...the caucasian mommies there for the audition kept staring at me, all hot and embarassed and disheveled. No doubt they were wondering what could have possessed me to bring a toddler to such an event. A couple of them took pity on me and restrained Josiah while I did Annika's interview, but by then, it was too late. I was so mortified that I carried her in, hoisted her up for the Japanese execs to eyeball, stood with my eyes on the rug, burning up the entire time, then got the hell out of Dodge! Needless to say, the agency called the next day to tell me that Annika hadn't gotten the job. Methinks our modeling days are over. It's just too difficult to get them both up there and make Josiah behave. I feel a little sad, though, that Annika isn't going to get the same opportunities as Josiah. Well, maybe we'll try in the States.
Other than that, we haven't been up to too much this week. Just the usual: runs into town to pick up the mail and get groceries. We did drive into town yesterday and went to a new park onbase. Not a new park, just a park that was new to us. It is hidden back behind some townhomes, so we hadn't heard about until Mariska mentioned it. We also stopped yesterday and bought a grill. I've been wanting to get one forever and it finally became a necessity because I've volunteered to have a little barbeque at our place to celebrate Josiah and Brandon's birthdays. Our grill is pretty standard and was mid-priced. There were some pretty fancy grills there, with burners and cooking spaces that looked large enough to grill an entire hog...and a price tag to match. I know we'll get a lot of use out of our grill, but I didn't think it warranted spending $700.
That's the news for today. Enjoy the new pictures. Josiah found a new cubbyhole to hide out in. He gets a kick out of hiding in the cupboard, then I wander around and say "Where's Josiah?" in a plaintive voice, until he pops out.
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May 20
The Coloring Incident
OK, we just got back from a ship social event. It was for the Family Support Group, which means every spouse on the ship can attend. And their children. Usually, we have potluck and sit and yak for a couple of hours while the children run around.
I get there, I eat. Thankfully, there are plenty of women there with school-age children who want to hold Annika, so I passed her off and didn't see her again until it was time to leave (I never would have let Josiah out of my arms at her age--funny how that changes). Josiah was being a little crabby as he had just woken up from a nap and had been forced to comb his hair again, have his face washed, and (horror of all horrors) been forced to wear a new pair of sandals. He was so grumpy before we left the house that I asked him if I should just leave him home. He said "Yes!" I told him that we'll wait another year and see if he's ready. Hans insists that he was left home alone at age four. I'm just not certain that I believe that.
Anyway, he was not in the best of moods. The kids were all coloring at a separate table, so he went over there, got into the markers...and to make a long story short, he got some marker on another little girls' drawing. Shocking, I know, that a little kid loose with markers would get some marker somewhere besides his sheet! This little girl is about five, maybe six. Comes up to me with the sheet and informs me that Josiah has scribbled on her drawing...I'm not dramatizing when I say that Josiah's scribble was probably about the size of a quarter. Maybe.
I realize that when you're six, things are very dramatic, especially when you're a little girl. I still get pretty dramatic (obviously, since here I am obsessing about a six-year-old). But this little girl would not let it go. I apologized and told her that it was just an accident and removed Josiah from the scene. Then, she comes up and starts telling me that Josiah is "bad" and a "very bad little boy".
OK. I apologize again, trying hard not to get smart with her.
But, she still doesn't let it go. I walk off, and before I know it, Josiah is back over there again and she's giving him the what-for (though he hasn't done anything). She and her sister are being all dramatic like he's suddenly going to go CRAAAZZZZYYY and start wielding his marker of evil at them. I march up there, get in her space and tell her firmly to stop talking to him. And remove him again.
Unfortunately, her mother is not at the gathering, only someone babysitting her. Otherwise, I would have gone up, prostrated myself to the mother, apologized profusely for my two-year-old's little accident and suggested that maybe we could settle this out of court?
Why am I still obsessing about this? I am letting a six year old ruin my evening. I guess I'm worrying that it's only going to get worse, that I'm going to have to apologize for him more and more and that it's going to get harder and harder to bite my tongue when other kids pick on him. And secretly I'm thinking "Is he really bad? Maybe he is bad...". And if so, it's me making him that way.
I just wanted to meet her out on the playground. Grrrr. It's time to develop a thicker hide. I feel like I want to lock him up until he's 18. Please, mothers, tell me this is a normal feeling!
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May 19
Josiah's Birthday
Today was Josiah's second birthday. I woke up at 6:00 a.m. thinking that I would get him up at exactly 6:22 a.m. All of a sudden it dawned on me that he was born at 5:42 a.m. and that 6:22 p.m. was the time that I went into labor with Annika on February 15th. I didn't think I'd forget the details this soon.
It's hard to make the day special without Daddy here to help celebrate, and it's hard not having our families close by to spend birthdays with. Growing up, we usually had some sort of family gathering for a birthday. I had some pretty cool cakes at Grandma and Grandpa's: Holly Hobbie, Big Bird. Or just plain old-fashioned angelfood cake...Grandma's specialty. There were always candles and lots of food and cousins and other family around. I don't even remember presents...I just remember spending time with the people I loved best. Honest. Even when I was six.
It feels pretty lonely tonight.
But I did my best to make Josiah's day special. He had scrambled eggs and orange for breakfast, instead of the usual cup of cereal and milk. He got M&Ms at the doctor's office (everything checks out OK, one shot--he did well), then he and I went to McDonald's for Happy Meals. Just my boy and me...Annika spent the morning at Alexis'. Then, we swung back through Ikego, picked Annie up, and headed up to Yokohama to Toys 'R Us, where we purchased (hold your breath in suspense!) some trains and train accessories! Surprise, surprise. Oh, and Annie got a new rattle and ball, and more diapers.
I played with him a lot this afternoon and evening, patiently assembled his tiny Thomas trains, installed the new tunnel on his wooden tracks and hung up his new Thomas poster. I've given him lots of hugs and kisses and praise. I hope that makes up for the fact that I'm all he's got tonight. Well, me and Annie.
I hope that's enough.
Thanks for all the phone calls, cards and gifts. We will get to work on our proper thank you notes very, very soon!
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May 18
Random Thursday Thoughts
I've noticed a lot of my fellow bloggers doing "random thought" entries, so, being a slave of fashion, I decided to try it, too.
Here are my random thoughts today:
1) I just figured out yesterday that the refrain is "Wild, wild, wild" to the Quiet Riot song...c'mon, feel the noise! Wow. When was that piece of "music" released, 1986 and I'm just now getting it? My husband will tell you that I have a freakishly large capacity for remembering the lyrics to songs, but I've just discovered that if I actually shut up and listen to the song, I'll get the real lyrics and not just what I think I'm hearing. I shudder to think of how many popular songs I've sung within hearing of people and been way, way off on the lyrics. You don't even want to know what I thought the Quiet Riot people were singing.
2) I have to listen to crap like Quiet Riot because there is a grand total of one, ichi, uno, une station in this area that plays music in English. FM Yokohama. And the English music that they play is horrible, horrible stuff (see #1 random thought). It's Quiet Riot mixed with Bob Dylan, throw in a little Lionel Ritchie...it's a very wierd mix, but it's the only music that I can (a) understand the words too (somewhat, see also #1), and (b) is not shamisen music. Or worse, kabuki music--something like that, men singing through their noses in a very distinct style.
3) I love how the Japanese package up their trash. That's right, their trash. Here in "America" (aka Ikego), we just throw our recycling in one can and trash in the other and they pick is all up twice a week. Outside the gates, the Japanese bring their trash to little collection points. You should see it. Seriously, it's an art form the way they neatly stack and tie up their papers, magazines and other recycleables. About once a month, everyone puts orderly bundles of used clothing at the trash pickup place. I have no idea why. My mother's blood races in me, and it's all I can do not to dig in and see if I can find a treasure. But somehow, I refrain. I certainly want to preserve the image that all Americans are fabulously wealthy and don't need secondhand clothing, and they stack it up so neatly that I would rather not destroy it. Tuesday was the clothing bundle day in Zushi, so the truck was going around to the collection points and picking them up. And of course, the bundles are all neatly put into the back of the truck in an orderly fashion. I'm just tickled by the way they handle their trash...so neatly and tidily.
4) There are no trashcans in public areas. It isn't like the US where we have a trashcan every 10' (and people who somehow can't seem to get their trash into said trashcan despite their proliferation). When you are in a public area in Japan, say a train station, there is no trashcan. They just do not have them. Hans came up with a theory that they may have removed the trashcans in train and subway stations after they had sarin gas scares awhile back. It's something that has taken me awhile to get used to, though.
Anyway, that's what I'm thinking about today. I took the van in for an oil change and freon charge, and believe it or not, they actually had it all finished within an hour! Boy, was I surprised. I bought a portable DVD player on Wednesday, so we brought that along and Josiah sat for quite awhile watching "Thomas". I think that thing will be worth its weight in gold.
We have a lot of social events this weekend. We have a change of command coming up soon--which means that Hans' ship is getting a new captain. Duh, I guess that's pretty much inferred. Anyway, we have to welcome the new captain's wife this weekend and also have a potluck thing to welcome some of the new families who have arrived. The Navy is an everchanging place...but somehow, you always end up bumping into the same people wherever you go!
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May 13
Goodsearch.com
Before I forget again, many of you may have heard of the new search engine at http://www.goodsearch.com/. Whenever you use this search engine, you can choose a charity or organization that you support and a penny will be donated to the group. Doesn't seem like a whole lot, but it adds up fast, and the more people who know about it, the better it will work, so please check it out. If you need a charity to support, I donate all my search proceeds to Newborns in Need in Houston, MO.
Thanks and pass it along!
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Saipan
I know you were all just waiting on pins and needles to find out where the babies and I went! I gave it away to a few people. My Dad was stationed in Guam while he was in the Air Force, so I told my parents that it was "somewhere near where Dad was stationed". Of course, what are there? About 3,000,000 islands in the Pacific?!
And we got to go to Saipan! Wheee!
OK, it wasn't that bad. Obviously, Saipan's only form of revenue is tourism. The majority of the tourists are from Japan, Korea and Russia. The resorts and hotels on the island are very nice, but the rest of the island is not so pretty. Very run down and poor. It's kind of a strange juxtaposition to see all of the poor homes and shoddy businesses next door to the duty-free mall that houses Chanel, Burberry, Coach, Tiffany. The open areas of the island are very dense sort of jungle-scrubby, but the beaches are for the most part white sands and beautiful blue-green water.
Our hotel was the Pacific Islands Club on the southern end of the island (correct me if I'm wrong Kit, you know I'm bad with directions). The room was lovely and big (unlike Japanese hotel rooms) with a little balcony, but the best part was the pools. They had a kiddie pool, water slides, a lap pool, tubing, a wave machine for surfing. All of this in addition to other activities such as archery, tennis, mini golf, kayaking, windsurfing, snorkeling, etc., etc. Of course, Hans and I took one turn on the water slides and that was about it for us. All the rest of our time was spent in the bathtub-warm 1.5' waters of the kiddie pool with Josiah. Annika was slathered with sunscreen and spent her time lounging topless in her stroller in the shade.
Yes, I put on a swimsuit less than three months after having a baby. No, there aren't any pictures of me in said swimsuit. If Hans took one, I would have removed the memory card from the camera and eaten it. I feel pretty slender in normal everyday clothes, but not in a swimsuit. There's still some work to be done. But aren't I a strange woman, not happy with my body? So odd, I know!
Josiah had a wonderful time in the pool and playing with his daddy. It was beyond great to be able to see Hans...it helps immeasurably to be able to break up the deployment this way. And what a sweet husband--he sent me flowers for Mother's Day at the hotel! Unfortuanately, I had to leave them behind as I couldn't take them on the plane with me.
I know I'm jumping around here a bit. I'm a little tired this morning. Our flight got in last night just after 7:00 p.m. Then there's the wait for luggage, the diaper changes and potty breaks. I rode up with a friend and her two girls. She was an amazing help to me during the flights. There was another wife and her little girl on the plane home with us, so we managed to cram three adults, one infant in carseat, one toddler in carseat, and three little girls into the car. Two on their mommy's laps. Plus all luggage and three strollers. I'm going to miss my van, a little. It is nice to be able to put so much stuff into it!
Poor Josiah was a little airsick on the descent into Narita. Threw up all of his rice. There are some pictures from Saipan of him eating rice. I kid you not, he will eat two or three cups of rice per meal. Plain rice or fried rice. Whatever the quasi-friendly staff at NWA fed us on the way home, it was not good. Asian fare of some sort...I can't even describe. I think Steph said it smelled like cat food, and that's pretty much what it tasted like. It was some sort of chicken and fried egg on top of rice. The chicken tasted fishy...yuck. Asian people always have to ruin a perfectly good dish by putting scrambled egg in everything.
I say "quasi-friendly" staff at NWA...because maybe my husband is right: you either get super-great NWA flight staff, or you get super-average NWA staff. I can't say that it's Detroit folks over Minneapolis folks (I was desperately hoping for people from MSP). On our flight to Saipan, the attendants were amazing (and from Detroit). They held Annika for me so that I could take Josiah to the bathroom. But on the flight back to Japan, they just did their jobs and no more. Of course, I was mortified when Josiah threw up, but they didn't seem too shocked. I just washed him up with wipes and stuck him in a sweatshirt I had thankfully packed in my carryon.
Anyway, our little vacation in Saipan was wonderful. I haven't even gone into the historic sites that we visited. Saipan was the scene of a two-month battle at the end of WWII (June 1944, I think). There are some pictures of the cliffs called Suicide Cliff and Banzai Cliff where many (hundreds, thousands?? I don't really know) Japanese, Korean and Chamorro jumped to their deaths when it became apparent that the US was winning the island. The native people were told that we would kill all of them, that's why they jumped. And the Japanese, of course, would rather die than admit defeat. It was interesting, moreso for Hans than myself. My Grandpa was in Italy and North Africa during WWII, so I tend to forget the Pacific Theater entirely.
It was also fun speaking English to everyone, using strictly US currency and driving a newer model car on the right side of the road!!
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May 03
A Dry Spell for News
Hello...there hasn't been too much going on lately, so I haven't been blogging. What a word, blog. Now everyone is doing it. I spend a half hour every morning perusing everyone's blogs and trying to comment, because I appreciate it when people take time to comment on mine.
It's Wednesday morning, still not quite 7:00 a.m. Annika is carrying on quite the debate with herself and her reflection and toys in what I've dubbed her "habitat". She's happy because she just filled her diaper and was promptly changed and so has that out of the way for the day. What a nice baby, eh? A once-a-day diaper filler. Sometimes every other day. Her brother as well. Still, I feel sorry for the nice Japanese sanitation workers who come to pick up our trash twice a week. They must draw straws to see who will come down to 646D. I'm sure that if I happened to come out while they were taking the trash though, they would all bow at me and say "arigato" for allowing them the grand privilege of disposing of my reeking trash. It's just the way they are, God bless them.
Josiah is busy stacking blocks on the floor. He is over his cold/teething thing of the week before last and is back to his sunny self. He's done any number of amazing things of which I'll bore you with only two: he held Annika for the first time the other night. They were both freshly changed into PJs. Joe climbed up into the rocker for his story. I asked him "Do you want to hold Annika?" and he said "YES" (he's always very strident when answering in the affirmative). She's gotten old enough and strong enough so that her head isn't too flopsy, so I had him crook his arm and put her in the chair with him. They sat and listened to the entire story, both adding some comments from time to time. When it came time for me to take her back, he latched on to her in a manner that made her eyes bulge a little. He didn't want to give her up! I managed to pry her from him after another story. It was very sweet while it lasted. He also said "I love you" to me this weekend. Sniff. These are the moments that make the hard work of motherhood endurable...
The big bazaar was this weekend in Yokosuka. It's held in the spring and the fall, pretty much the premier social event of the season. They close a six-story parking garage, the vendors come in and set up, there's food and drink and merriment. I had to take both kids and the big rig, so I knew that it was going to be a challenge getting around. I never tire of playing "stroller chicken" with people. Just another item from Rachel's endless list of pet peeves: people who walk right in front of your stroller and swerve at the last minute while you, the driver of this 80 pound monstrosity, must decide which way will they go? Grrrrr. I know the childless people are saying "WE shouldn't have to move for a stroller..." OK, fine. I'll just hit you with it and then we'll see who's laughing. My stroller doesn't corner or make quick moves very well. Go ahead, take your chances. I always, always try to be very conscientious of where my stroller is and if I'm taking up space or inconveniencing anyone, because up until very recently, I was one of those people cursing people with strollers. Gee, it's funny how life changes!
Anyway, I made a plan. Right side vendors on the way up, left side vendors on the way down, pay and pick up purchases on each level, OUT. I managed to do the whole thing in just over an hour. It helped that I knew what I was looking for and that I could just pass by some of the vendors selling things like blankets with airbrushed tigers on them, or vendors selling tacky dragon things. I spent quite a bit, but got only a few things. A lovely reproduction woodblock print of Mt. Fuji, a porcelain lamp in the shape of a Japanese lantern, some platters and kokeshi dolls for Christmas and Annika. Done, out. I hate crowds. We managed not to hurt anyone with the stroller, though I was sorely tempted to nudge a couple of people. Does Graco sell cow-catchers?
It's like the people who park their shopping carts in the middle of the aisle at the grocery store and walk off. Then, they give you the evil eye when you have the audacity to move it for them...OK, I'm not even going to get started. I could start a whole new blog just dedicated to a daily pet peeve.
Not much else is new. We're taking a trip soon to meet Hans for a few days. Can I tell you where or when? No, of course not. That's strictly against the rules. After we get back, I will regale you with stories about our adventures and pictures, promise.
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Medium Rare
Sometimes, coming up with a clever title is hard work. Sometimes, it just comes to me in a dream. This is the best that I can do this week. There's just not a whole lot that's new and exciting here in Japan. Or rather, our little corner of Japan. I'm sure there are new and exciting things going on all over the rest of Japan.
We did have an audition this week, for Annika. Silly me, I thought that my two-year-old would behave for the 15 minutes that it takes to accomplish an audition. There's usually pictures, talent, swimsuit, then interview. Oh wait, I've been watching too much "Tiara Girls" on MTV! No, it's just pictures and an "interview", which usually consists of a panel of superior-looking Japanese advertising executives staring at your baby or child and talking very seriously to each other.
It's like a switch was thrown, on Josiah's second birthday. I can just picture it, kind of under his armpit: GOOD<>TWO YEAR OLD. It's like I have a completely different child on my hands all of a sudden. He's not bad (we discussed this in the last post), he's just two. OK, he's bad sometimes, but everyone is bad sometimes. Josiah really wasn't bad at the audition. He just had had enough of sitting in his stroller and wanted to run all over this posh advertising agency, while I ran after him, sweating out my shirt and getting red-faced from exertion and embarassment.
The Japanese people there seemed to find Josiah vaguely amusing as he ran around the tables where they were holding their informal meetings...the caucasian mommies there for the audition kept staring at me, all hot and embarassed and disheveled. No doubt they were wondering what could have possessed me to bring a toddler to such an event. A couple of them took pity on me and restrained Josiah while I did Annika's interview, but by then, it was too late. I was so mortified that I carried her in, hoisted her up for the Japanese execs to eyeball, stood with my eyes on the rug, burning up the entire time, then got the hell out of Dodge! Needless to say, the agency called the next day to tell me that Annika hadn't gotten the job. Methinks our modeling days are over. It's just too difficult to get them both up there and make Josiah behave. I feel a little sad, though, that Annika isn't going to get the same opportunities as Josiah. Well, maybe we'll try in the States.
Other than that, we haven't been up to too much this week. Just the usual: runs into town to pick up the mail and get groceries. We did drive into town yesterday and went to a new park onbase. Not a new park, just a park that was new to us. It is hidden back behind some townhomes, so we hadn't heard about until Mariska mentioned it. We also stopped yesterday and bought a grill. I've been wanting to get one forever and it finally became a necessity because I've volunteered to have a little barbeque at our place to celebrate Josiah and Brandon's birthdays. Our grill is pretty standard and was mid-priced. There were some pretty fancy grills there, with burners and cooking spaces that looked large enough to grill an entire hog...and a price tag to match. I know we'll get a lot of use out of our grill, but I didn't think it warranted spending $700.
That's the news for today. Enjoy the new pictures. Josiah found a new cubbyhole to hide out in. He gets a kick out of hiding in the cupboard, then I wander around and say "Where's Josiah?" in a plaintive voice, until he pops out.
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May 20
The Coloring Incident
OK, we just got back from a ship social event. It was for the Family Support Group, which means every spouse on the ship can attend. And their children. Usually, we have potluck and sit and yak for a couple of hours while the children run around.
I get there, I eat. Thankfully, there are plenty of women there with school-age children who want to hold Annika, so I passed her off and didn't see her again until it was time to leave (I never would have let Josiah out of my arms at her age--funny how that changes). Josiah was being a little crabby as he had just woken up from a nap and had been forced to comb his hair again, have his face washed, and (horror of all horrors) been forced to wear a new pair of sandals. He was so grumpy before we left the house that I asked him if I should just leave him home. He said "Yes!" I told him that we'll wait another year and see if he's ready. Hans insists that he was left home alone at age four. I'm just not certain that I believe that.
Anyway, he was not in the best of moods. The kids were all coloring at a separate table, so he went over there, got into the markers...and to make a long story short, he got some marker on another little girls' drawing. Shocking, I know, that a little kid loose with markers would get some marker somewhere besides his sheet! This little girl is about five, maybe six. Comes up to me with the sheet and informs me that Josiah has scribbled on her drawing...I'm not dramatizing when I say that Josiah's scribble was probably about the size of a quarter. Maybe.
I realize that when you're six, things are very dramatic, especially when you're a little girl. I still get pretty dramatic (obviously, since here I am obsessing about a six-year-old). But this little girl would not let it go. I apologized and told her that it was just an accident and removed Josiah from the scene. Then, she comes up and starts telling me that Josiah is "bad" and a "very bad little boy".
OK. I apologize again, trying hard not to get smart with her.
But, she still doesn't let it go. I walk off, and before I know it, Josiah is back over there again and she's giving him the what-for (though he hasn't done anything). She and her sister are being all dramatic like he's suddenly going to go CRAAAZZZZYYY and start wielding his marker of evil at them. I march up there, get in her space and tell her firmly to stop talking to him. And remove him again.
Unfortunately, her mother is not at the gathering, only someone babysitting her. Otherwise, I would have gone up, prostrated myself to the mother, apologized profusely for my two-year-old's little accident and suggested that maybe we could settle this out of court?
Why am I still obsessing about this? I am letting a six year old ruin my evening. I guess I'm worrying that it's only going to get worse, that I'm going to have to apologize for him more and more and that it's going to get harder and harder to bite my tongue when other kids pick on him. And secretly I'm thinking "Is he really bad? Maybe he is bad...". And if so, it's me making him that way.
I just wanted to meet her out on the playground. Grrrr. It's time to develop a thicker hide. I feel like I want to lock him up until he's 18. Please, mothers, tell me this is a normal feeling!
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May 19
Josiah's Birthday
Today was Josiah's second birthday. I woke up at 6:00 a.m. thinking that I would get him up at exactly 6:22 a.m. All of a sudden it dawned on me that he was born at 5:42 a.m. and that 6:22 p.m. was the time that I went into labor with Annika on February 15th. I didn't think I'd forget the details this soon.
It's hard to make the day special without Daddy here to help celebrate, and it's hard not having our families close by to spend birthdays with. Growing up, we usually had some sort of family gathering for a birthday. I had some pretty cool cakes at Grandma and Grandpa's: Holly Hobbie, Big Bird. Or just plain old-fashioned angelfood cake...Grandma's specialty. There were always candles and lots of food and cousins and other family around. I don't even remember presents...I just remember spending time with the people I loved best. Honest. Even when I was six.
It feels pretty lonely tonight.
But I did my best to make Josiah's day special. He had scrambled eggs and orange for breakfast, instead of the usual cup of cereal and milk. He got M&Ms at the doctor's office (everything checks out OK, one shot--he did well), then he and I went to McDonald's for Happy Meals. Just my boy and me...Annika spent the morning at Alexis'. Then, we swung back through Ikego, picked Annie up, and headed up to Yokohama to Toys 'R Us, where we purchased (hold your breath in suspense!) some trains and train accessories! Surprise, surprise. Oh, and Annie got a new rattle and ball, and more diapers.
I played with him a lot this afternoon and evening, patiently assembled his tiny Thomas trains, installed the new tunnel on his wooden tracks and hung up his new Thomas poster. I've given him lots of hugs and kisses and praise. I hope that makes up for the fact that I'm all he's got tonight. Well, me and Annie.
I hope that's enough.
Thanks for all the phone calls, cards and gifts. We will get to work on our proper thank you notes very, very soon!
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May 18
Random Thursday Thoughts
I've noticed a lot of my fellow bloggers doing "random thought" entries, so, being a slave of fashion, I decided to try it, too.
Here are my random thoughts today:
1) I just figured out yesterday that the refrain is "Wild, wild, wild" to the Quiet Riot song...c'mon, feel the noise! Wow. When was that piece of "music" released, 1986 and I'm just now getting it? My husband will tell you that I have a freakishly large capacity for remembering the lyrics to songs, but I've just discovered that if I actually shut up and listen to the song, I'll get the real lyrics and not just what I think I'm hearing. I shudder to think of how many popular songs I've sung within hearing of people and been way, way off on the lyrics. You don't even want to know what I thought the Quiet Riot people were singing.
2) I have to listen to crap like Quiet Riot because there is a grand total of one, ichi, uno, une station in this area that plays music in English. FM Yokohama. And the English music that they play is horrible, horrible stuff (see #1 random thought). It's Quiet Riot mixed with Bob Dylan, throw in a little Lionel Ritchie...it's a very wierd mix, but it's the only music that I can (a) understand the words too (somewhat, see also #1), and (b) is not shamisen music. Or worse, kabuki music--something like that, men singing through their noses in a very distinct style.
3) I love how the Japanese package up their trash. That's right, their trash. Here in "America" (aka Ikego), we just throw our recycling in one can and trash in the other and they pick is all up twice a week. Outside the gates, the Japanese bring their trash to little collection points. You should see it. Seriously, it's an art form the way they neatly stack and tie up their papers, magazines and other recycleables. About once a month, everyone puts orderly bundles of used clothing at the trash pickup place. I have no idea why. My mother's blood races in me, and it's all I can do not to dig in and see if I can find a treasure. But somehow, I refrain. I certainly want to preserve the image that all Americans are fabulously wealthy and don't need secondhand clothing, and they stack it up so neatly that I would rather not destroy it. Tuesday was the clothing bundle day in Zushi, so the truck was going around to the collection points and picking them up. And of course, the bundles are all neatly put into the back of the truck in an orderly fashion. I'm just tickled by the way they handle their trash...so neatly and tidily.
4) There are no trashcans in public areas. It isn't like the US where we have a trashcan every 10' (and people who somehow can't seem to get their trash into said trashcan despite their proliferation). When you are in a public area in Japan, say a train station, there is no trashcan. They just do not have them. Hans came up with a theory that they may have removed the trashcans in train and subway stations after they had sarin gas scares awhile back. It's something that has taken me awhile to get used to, though.
Anyway, that's what I'm thinking about today. I took the van in for an oil change and freon charge, and believe it or not, they actually had it all finished within an hour! Boy, was I surprised. I bought a portable DVD player on Wednesday, so we brought that along and Josiah sat for quite awhile watching "Thomas". I think that thing will be worth its weight in gold.
We have a lot of social events this weekend. We have a change of command coming up soon--which means that Hans' ship is getting a new captain. Duh, I guess that's pretty much inferred. Anyway, we have to welcome the new captain's wife this weekend and also have a potluck thing to welcome some of the new families who have arrived. The Navy is an everchanging place...but somehow, you always end up bumping into the same people wherever you go!
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May 13
Goodsearch.com
Before I forget again, many of you may have heard of the new search engine at http://www.goodsearch.com/. Whenever you use this search engine, you can choose a charity or organization that you support and a penny will be donated to the group. Doesn't seem like a whole lot, but it adds up fast, and the more people who know about it, the better it will work, so please check it out. If you need a charity to support, I donate all my search proceeds to Newborns in Need in Houston, MO.
Thanks and pass it along!
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Saipan
I know you were all just waiting on pins and needles to find out where the babies and I went! I gave it away to a few people. My Dad was stationed in Guam while he was in the Air Force, so I told my parents that it was "somewhere near where Dad was stationed". Of course, what are there? About 3,000,000 islands in the Pacific?!
And we got to go to Saipan! Wheee!
OK, it wasn't that bad. Obviously, Saipan's only form of revenue is tourism. The majority of the tourists are from Japan, Korea and Russia. The resorts and hotels on the island are very nice, but the rest of the island is not so pretty. Very run down and poor. It's kind of a strange juxtaposition to see all of the poor homes and shoddy businesses next door to the duty-free mall that houses Chanel, Burberry, Coach, Tiffany. The open areas of the island are very dense sort of jungle-scrubby, but the beaches are for the most part white sands and beautiful blue-green water.
Our hotel was the Pacific Islands Club on the southern end of the island (correct me if I'm wrong Kit, you know I'm bad with directions). The room was lovely and big (unlike Japanese hotel rooms) with a little balcony, but the best part was the pools. They had a kiddie pool, water slides, a lap pool, tubing, a wave machine for surfing. All of this in addition to other activities such as archery, tennis, mini golf, kayaking, windsurfing, snorkeling, etc., etc. Of course, Hans and I took one turn on the water slides and that was about it for us. All the rest of our time was spent in the bathtub-warm 1.5' waters of the kiddie pool with Josiah. Annika was slathered with sunscreen and spent her time lounging topless in her stroller in the shade.
Yes, I put on a swimsuit less than three months after having a baby. No, there aren't any pictures of me in said swimsuit. If Hans took one, I would have removed the memory card from the camera and eaten it. I feel pretty slender in normal everyday clothes, but not in a swimsuit. There's still some work to be done. But aren't I a strange woman, not happy with my body? So odd, I know!
Josiah had a wonderful time in the pool and playing with his daddy. It was beyond great to be able to see Hans...it helps immeasurably to be able to break up the deployment this way. And what a sweet husband--he sent me flowers for Mother's Day at the hotel! Unfortuanately, I had to leave them behind as I couldn't take them on the plane with me.
I know I'm jumping around here a bit. I'm a little tired this morning. Our flight got in last night just after 7:00 p.m. Then there's the wait for luggage, the diaper changes and potty breaks. I rode up with a friend and her two girls. She was an amazing help to me during the flights. There was another wife and her little girl on the plane home with us, so we managed to cram three adults, one infant in carseat, one toddler in carseat, and three little girls into the car. Two on their mommy's laps. Plus all luggage and three strollers. I'm going to miss my van, a little. It is nice to be able to put so much stuff into it!
Poor Josiah was a little airsick on the descent into Narita. Threw up all of his rice. There are some pictures from Saipan of him eating rice. I kid you not, he will eat two or three cups of rice per meal. Plain rice or fried rice. Whatever the quasi-friendly staff at NWA fed us on the way home, it was not good. Asian fare of some sort...I can't even describe. I think Steph said it smelled like cat food, and that's pretty much what it tasted like. It was some sort of chicken and fried egg on top of rice. The chicken tasted fishy...yuck. Asian people always have to ruin a perfectly good dish by putting scrambled egg in everything.
I say "quasi-friendly" staff at NWA...because maybe my husband is right: you either get super-great NWA flight staff, or you get super-average NWA staff. I can't say that it's Detroit folks over Minneapolis folks (I was desperately hoping for people from MSP). On our flight to Saipan, the attendants were amazing (and from Detroit). They held Annika for me so that I could take Josiah to the bathroom. But on the flight back to Japan, they just did their jobs and no more. Of course, I was mortified when Josiah threw up, but they didn't seem too shocked. I just washed him up with wipes and stuck him in a sweatshirt I had thankfully packed in my carryon.
Anyway, our little vacation in Saipan was wonderful. I haven't even gone into the historic sites that we visited. Saipan was the scene of a two-month battle at the end of WWII (June 1944, I think). There are some pictures of the cliffs called Suicide Cliff and Banzai Cliff where many (hundreds, thousands?? I don't really know) Japanese, Korean and Chamorro jumped to their deaths when it became apparent that the US was winning the island. The native people were told that we would kill all of them, that's why they jumped. And the Japanese, of course, would rather die than admit defeat. It was interesting, moreso for Hans than myself. My Grandpa was in Italy and North Africa during WWII, so I tend to forget the Pacific Theater entirely.
It was also fun speaking English to everyone, using strictly US currency and driving a newer model car on the right side of the road!!
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May 03
A Dry Spell for News
Hello...there hasn't been too much going on lately, so I haven't been blogging. What a word, blog. Now everyone is doing it. I spend a half hour every morning perusing everyone's blogs and trying to comment, because I appreciate it when people take time to comment on mine.
It's Wednesday morning, still not quite 7:00 a.m. Annika is carrying on quite the debate with herself and her reflection and toys in what I've dubbed her "habitat". She's happy because she just filled her diaper and was promptly changed and so has that out of the way for the day. What a nice baby, eh? A once-a-day diaper filler. Sometimes every other day. Her brother as well. Still, I feel sorry for the nice Japanese sanitation workers who come to pick up our trash twice a week. They must draw straws to see who will come down to 646D. I'm sure that if I happened to come out while they were taking the trash though, they would all bow at me and say "arigato" for allowing them the grand privilege of disposing of my reeking trash. It's just the way they are, God bless them.
Josiah is busy stacking blocks on the floor. He is over his cold/teething thing of the week before last and is back to his sunny self. He's done any number of amazing things of which I'll bore you with only two: he held Annika for the first time the other night. They were both freshly changed into PJs. Joe climbed up into the rocker for his story. I asked him "Do you want to hold Annika?" and he said "YES" (he's always very strident when answering in the affirmative). She's gotten old enough and strong enough so that her head isn't too flopsy, so I had him crook his arm and put her in the chair with him. They sat and listened to the entire story, both adding some comments from time to time. When it came time for me to take her back, he latched on to her in a manner that made her eyes bulge a little. He didn't want to give her up! I managed to pry her from him after another story. It was very sweet while it lasted. He also said "I love you" to me this weekend. Sniff. These are the moments that make the hard work of motherhood endurable...
The big bazaar was this weekend in Yokosuka. It's held in the spring and the fall, pretty much the premier social event of the season. They close a six-story parking garage, the vendors come in and set up, there's food and drink and merriment. I had to take both kids and the big rig, so I knew that it was going to be a challenge getting around. I never tire of playing "stroller chicken" with people. Just another item from Rachel's endless list of pet peeves: people who walk right in front of your stroller and swerve at the last minute while you, the driver of this 80 pound monstrosity, must decide which way will they go? Grrrrr. I know the childless people are saying "WE shouldn't have to move for a stroller..." OK, fine. I'll just hit you with it and then we'll see who's laughing. My stroller doesn't corner or make quick moves very well. Go ahead, take your chances. I always, always try to be very conscientious of where my stroller is and if I'm taking up space or inconveniencing anyone, because up until very recently, I was one of those people cursing people with strollers. Gee, it's funny how life changes!
Anyway, I made a plan. Right side vendors on the way up, left side vendors on the way down, pay and pick up purchases on each level, OUT. I managed to do the whole thing in just over an hour. It helped that I knew what I was looking for and that I could just pass by some of the vendors selling things like blankets with airbrushed tigers on them, or vendors selling tacky dragon things. I spent quite a bit, but got only a few things. A lovely reproduction woodblock print of Mt. Fuji, a porcelain lamp in the shape of a Japanese lantern, some platters and kokeshi dolls for Christmas and Annika. Done, out. I hate crowds. We managed not to hurt anyone with the stroller, though I was sorely tempted to nudge a couple of people. Does Graco sell cow-catchers?
It's like the people who park their shopping carts in the middle of the aisle at the grocery store and walk off. Then, they give you the evil eye when you have the audacity to move it for them...OK, I'm not even going to get started. I could start a whole new blog just dedicated to a daily pet peeve.
Not much else is new. We're taking a trip soon to meet Hans for a few days. Can I tell you where or when? No, of course not. That's strictly against the rules. After we get back, I will regale you with stories about our adventures and pictures, promise.
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