Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Sickos, Sickos and More Sickos...

I have been MIA lately and it is because we have been sick, for a week, and it is driving me CRAZY! A week ago Monday little M came down with a fever and I thought to myself "oh no, here we go," but on Tuesday she was her perky self and I thought "YAY!" Then on Wednesday, Mama started to feel a bit achy and a slight sore throat. I bought some OJ and started drinking vitamin C out the ying yang only to wake up Thursday morning barely able to move. Thankfully it was Thursday, Nena, and she saved the day. She even stayed an extra hour as I needed one more nap to get through the evening of single parenting. Nena took one look at me and said "Mam, you must get tested for flu." And I thought to myself "I can barely walk to the bathroom much less travel one hour for a flu test in the cold wet miserable weather." That is when my Dutch friend, Ms. E, comes to the rescue and translates for me at the little clinic next to our building. I did not even have to go outside. I got my flu test and it came back negative. The doctor gave me medicine and I thought I am well on my way to full recovery.

Somehow I survive getting dinner and the kids to bed on Thursday and find myself Friday even worse than Thursday. I really could not get out of bed and I could not talk. I had no idea how I was going to do my job. Nena could not save the day because she works for another family on Fridays. But my friend from BSF could. She came over at noon and stayed until 8 when Kan got home and could help me get the kids to bed. Now at this point the K Man was starting to have a bad runny nose and a slight fever. I thought he was teething but was not sure. We were in for a fun weekend, huh?

Saturday morning, I am not getting any better y'all. And it is killing me! I cannot do anything. It is so humbling and so frustrating at the same time. The K Man is getting worse, so we drag our family back to the clinic downstairs. Again, I come up with a negative flu test, but the K Man...he is positive for the flu. Poor guy. So the doctor gives all of us medicine. He wanted to help prevent it in Miyako and Kan and he wanted the K Man and I to get better. We push through Saturday.

I wake up Sunday expecting some relief and not finding much. I can actually move around on Sunday, enough to hang laundry and do dishes. But my throat feels like it is on fire. Then, Miyako starts screaming - "My ear hurts, my ear hurts." Could it get worse? Kan takes her to the local ER and she gets 2 days worth of ear medicine, which means I have to take her back to the clinic downstairs on Tuesday to get 3 more days worth of ear medicine. After five days I have to take her to an ENT to make sure her infection is clear. Thankfully we found out through so many visits to the clinic that they have an English speaking nurse (YAY!) but she is leaving on March 31st (BOO!).

A week has passed and we are all on the upswing. The K Man is slowly back to his smiley chipper self. I feel physically fine but still have a slight cough and sore throat. M does not complain of anything. And papa, he did not get any of it, but he may come home tonight with something considering he has been out all day in the cold, wet snow. I know...it snowed today in Tokyo. M desperately wanted to go play in it and build a snow man but I simply could not risk taking the K Man out in it and having a relapse. We have to be better for our flight to paradise on March 9th as we head to Hawaii!

So, this is where I have been...locked up in the apartment, quarantined, begging God to relieve us of these illnesses before we vacation. I feel like the little engine that could telling myself, "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can."

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Valentine's Day 2012





Does it seem like holidays such as Valentine's Day, Christmas, birthdays is more about the kids than husband and wife or is it just me? That is okay with me because I LOVE our kids and I love seeing the sheer excitement, especially for Miyako, over holidays. She knew it was Valentine's Day but she had no idea what it was really. She just likes to celebrate and hopes for any opportunity to get presents of any kind. On Monday we did some Valentine crafts with her best friend. I found these cookies shaped like hearts at the 100 yen shop and a chocolate crayon you could decorate it with, so I bought one for each little girl and they decorated it for their daddies. They had so much fun. We also made heart foam finger puppets my mom had sent from the US. And we watched a new Charlie Brown Valentine video from Grandma as well. I am sure you are not surprised by that.

The K Man wore his "1st Valentine's Day" shirt and sure made his mama smile a lot through the day. Daddy actually got home at 7:45, just in time to help with the bedtime routine, and see the kiddos briefly. He came bearing stickers for Miyako and flowers for Mama. Overall it was a nice day. We were able to get the kids in bed by 8:30 and actually talk for a bit before work interrupted again. I am not sad about that though. I do not need a special holiday to feel loved by my husband. It comes all year round in the little things, or the big things...like our recent family portraits that he agreed to have taken and spend money on.

My photographer had our proofs and a fabulous video made and ready on Valentine's Day. I seriously watched the video about 15 times yesterday and cried each time. I was crying when watching it with Miyako and she said, "Mama, why are you crying?" I told her sometimes Mama cries because she is happy and seeing our sweet little family having so much fun and sharing so much love makes me happy. Not sure if she understood but man...it was a great Valentine's Day gift from our photographer. There really is nothing else more beautiful - saving those moments and capturing them because they go too quickly. It is definitely where I would rather spend my money - much better than a large Louis Vuitton bag, though I will not complain if Santa delivers me that. :)

Happy Valentine's Day, a wee bit late.

Scrapbook Day - February 12, 2012







Yes, I am behind...again. I really have no excuse except laziness and watching re-runs of Modern Family Seasons 1 and 2 that the hubby downloaded. Anyone else out there in cyberspace a fan of Modern Family? It is hilarious!! You may watch it and question my humor. I was skeptical at first, but man, funny. I think all of the characters are so hilarious in their own quirky way that I cannot even choose a favorite, although if I had to, it would probably be Cam.

So, now onto more important things, like the scrapbook day. It was Sunday this month. I LOVE Sundays and loathe them all at the same time. You see, our church does not meet until 3, which is perfect for my laid back (not lazy, laid back) husband who had a hard time getting to our 11:00AM service back in Lexington before 11:30. We completely relax on Sunday mornings and rarely make plans for before church. On this particular problem I made one plan...a run with my new friend/running partner.

Can we get an Amen for running partners?! I had several fabulous running partners back in Lexington. We were animals - running at 5:30 AM several days a week and it was sheer therapy. It was fun to see who had their music up the loudest on their I-pod. I miss those girls and our free therapy sessions. What is said on the road, stays on the road. So, you can imagine how thrilled I was to meet a new running partner at BSF this fall. We were in small group together but now she is on leadership team serving in Miyako's class! We will call her Ms. L. Ms. L is great. We had lunch with her and her husband last week (this is where the photo came from) and Miyako is absolutely crazy about her. She is training for the Great Wall marathon and had to do a long run Sunday. She ran to my place, I joined her for about 5 miles, and then she ran home (for a total of 14! Go Ms. L!!). The best part about this run is that we did not have to do it at 5AM. We did it while the K Man napped and daddy played with Miyako so it was nice to not only run, but do it on a good nights sleep. We also had a fun Skype session with Nana on Sunday morning. Before we knew it, it was time to head to church...church, dinner, baths, kids in bed, and more Modern Family. It was a great day!

Now, you may be wondering, why do you loathe Sundays? Well, isn't it obvious? The weekend is over...back to reality...Boo.

I forgot to take a picture of the kids on this day, but I did include the one with my new running partner that was a recent pic. Also, K Man under the bed...that is where I found him Monday, the 13th, when I left him in the room to play with a few toys. I walked in and did not see him where I left him. I looked under the bed and found that sweet boy. He cannot exactly crawl, but he moves and scoots on his belly. I had to include this other fun picture of him from tonight, February 15th. His leg came out of his pj pant and I did not put it back correctly before putting him in the exersaucer. I thought this picture gives you quite a good look of his chubby little legs. Seriously, is he not the cutest chunkopotamus you have ever seen? Love him. And you may be wondering what Miyako is doing in her princess castle and why it is sideways rather than vertical. Well, she likes to turn it sideways and call it her airplane. Inside is her swimming suit (a pink and purple frilly tu-tu type skirt), a purse, and about 3 heart shaped balloons that are somehow still in tact and have been for about a month. She is the pilot and as she sits back and flies the plane, she is acting like Snoopy in "It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" video when he acts like a WWII pilot and sits on top of his house. Love her.