Day to Day Life

Not much has been going on in the Kawashima household lately...just living the day to day life. Like most of you, our family is coming down with colds and illnesses. Thankfully, so far, I have stayed away from it, but I do have a touch of a sore throat tonight. I hope it is nothing to be concerned about. Kan has been fighting a cough and cold, and had a touch of the flu this week with a fever on Wednesday. However, due to the work load here, he could not really take off so he just pressed on. I noticed last weekend Miyako had a slight cold but her spirits were up so I was not too concerned. I gave her some children's cold medicine, but it did not seem to get any better. Today, since Kan was home, we took her to a local pediatrician as her cough was getting worse and deeper in her chest. I felt like I was in the 1970's when I walked in the office. It brought back memories from my time in Belarus and going to the doctor - only then I felt like I took a time warp to the 1940's. I know people here go to the doctor all the time and I am sure it is fine, but it just was not the same as my pediatrician back home and I was really missing that office today! The doctor said Miyako had a slight temperature and the cough was deep in her chest so he told us to keep her inside for three days, to pick up an antibiotic, and to not give her a bath for three days. We are not sure why we are not supposed to give her a bath. I have never heard of that and plan to give her a bath tomorrow. If any of you are medical professionals and have a clue as to why he would have told us this, I would really appreciate it.

After seeing the doctor, we went to the pharmacist, or "medicine man" as Miyako called it. I was expecting to get a bottle of the pink stuff that taste like bubble gum and go home. Instead we got a powder substance you mix with water and spoon feed to your child. Miyako took it well from the "medicine man" and enjoyed her Hello Kitty stickers after wards. However, at home we had a harder time getting her to take it. With the promise of more strawberries and some apple juice (a treat at our house as I typically only give her water or milk) we finally got her to take it.

The whole experience was interesting for me. I had contemplated waiting until Monday and taking her to our regular more Western like doctor (he speaks fluent English and went to undergrad and medical school in the US), but the office is far from
us and in my belly state I did not want to fight trains and lack of elevators when I could walk five minutes to a doctor today with Kan and have him translate for me. I wonder though if Dr. Joe would have given us the pink stuff. :) The office we went to today was very very tiny. The waiting room felt like a sauna as the heat was on full blast and y'all, it is not that cold here. It is cold, but not cold enough to turn your heat on to sauna like temperatures. Rather than having a nurse take your child's temperature when you are called back, you take the temperature upon checking in while you sit in the waiting room. Well, anyone sitting in this room would have run a fever, so I was not surprised when Miyako had a slight temperature. However, she still had a small one at home so I guess it was not all from the sauna like waiting room. There was only one room in the back, for the doctor and patient. We saw him for about ten minutes and left. He wants to see us again on Tuesday to make sure the antibiotics are working. I am glad I went today with Kan to get her something, and I hope it works soon. Thankfully she is in very good spirits. If it were not for her deep cough you would not really know she is sick.

Baby K is moving a lot and getting BIG! We are 12 weeks away from D-day so your prayers are appreciated. Lots to do in a little bit of time and not a whole lot of energy from mama to get it done. Miyako is growing up so much. She is like a little girl. She talks all of the time and has learned how to drink out of a regular cup thanks to snack time at BSF. I guess she got tired of being the only child with a sippie cup and last week they told me she is using the regular paper cups they use at snack time. We tried it tonight at home and I posted a few pictures of it for you. I still have her use a sippie cup most of the time, especially with milk, but she enjoys getting to drink out of a regular cup too. You can also check out her new booster seat. We are debating when to watch the Super Bowl. Kan is considering taking off a half day so we can watch it live or wait until Monday night. I am not a huge fan of Green Bay but would rather see them over the Steelers any day. So, go PACKERS. And, I am thrilled the Black Eyed Peas are the half-time entertainment!

Kan and I enjoyed a rare evening out last night. Our friends are moving to London and had a farewell dinner party. We were blessed with other friends willing to sit at our house and watch a movie while Miyako slept so we did not have to hire a sitter. We went to a French restaurant called Epices Kaneko in Nishi-Azabu near Roppongi Hills. It was fabulous. It was a small restaurant and looked like someone's house from the outside. Inside you walked up these steep stairs to the one room of the restaurant that was designed like a warehouse type atmosphere. We were the only people in the restaurant, and Kan said he felt like he was in the mafia. :) The food was excellent as was the company. We both ordered a wagyu beef steak that was delicious. The restaurant is owned by a Japanese couple and they were the only people working as well. It was a fun night and we really enjoyed ourselves.

Like I said, not a lot going on here...just the day to day life with a dinner and doctor adventure along the way. I hope everyone is doing well and staying warm!