Final Vacation Post

So, I highlighted the big things with vacation - a day with an old friend and breakfast with Minnie and Mickey. But I am sure you are thinking, "didn't you do more than that?" Honestly, no. Kan and I are not "tourist" vacationers. We do not feel the need to see every cool thing in the city or place we go. We simply go to relax, and eat, and relax some more. So, since I had been to Hawaii before (for SG's wedding) and already saw Pearl Harbor and Diamondhead and Wakiki with all of it's craziness, we did not do any other sightseeing except to see what the beach and pool had to offer. My parents took a day and drove to the North Shore and they also saw some of the Eastern part of the island after we left, but with two kids who are not super crazy about car seats, we decided to save that for another time. This is why we will not vacation in Europe any time soon - we will save it for when our kids are older and enjoy sightseeing - because we really do not have the energy or interest to tour with two small children. We did go to a luau one night, which was fun and we saw a beautiful sunset that evening. But other than that, we did not do much. So, this concludes our vacation in a nutshell - lots of grandparent time, lots of beach time, lots of pool time, lots of great food (I had fish tacos twice in one week!), and lots of reading The Hunger Games after putting the kiddos to bed (my mom brought me the books...I am on the third one now...my book review will be another post). It was a great vacation, but sadly only a few weeks later and I have lost my tan. :)

Breakfast With Mickey and Minnie

On Friday, our last day of vacation, we went to the Disney Resort (which was about a 2 minute walk from us) and had breakfast with the characters. We so lucked out with getting reservations. When we checked earlier in the week, they told us they were booked solid all week, but we could come over and meet characters as they were around the resort for photos at random times during the day. So on Wednesday we went up to get our picture with Minnie Mouse. While waiting, we decided to see if they had any cancellations for the breakfast. Fortunately, they did! So we got in on Friday morning to eat with the characters. This was definitely a big hit for Miyako-chan. To say she loved it is an understatement. She says it was her favorite part of vacation!

With the reservation, you got a family photo with Mickey himself. Of course, you had to pay a gazillion dollars for a copy, but did we do it? Yes...well, Grandma did it. :) After our photo with Mickey we were directed to our seats. Minnie Mouse and Goofy came around to the table several times throughout our meal. Miyako had so much fun, and even the K Man was not scared of the characters. In fact, the K Man took advantage of photo happy mama and as I was snapping away with the camera of Miyako and Goofy, the K Man reached over to my plate and stuffed a breakfast potato in his mouth. As Goofy went to talk to the K Man, I noticed his cheeks were a bit full and realized it was from a potato. The boy does not turn away food, at all. We decided now that he is on full solids (yes, at 10.5 months he will have nothing to do with baby food) that we need a 401K for his food plan.

There is not much more to say about breakfast with the characters. It was Miyako's dream come true, which you can see in the pictures, and isn't that what Disney is all about? In addition we got to see Donald on our way out of the hotel and feed some of the large fish they had. Miyako kept asking where Daisy was and I told her she was out surfing. Then she asked if they would be on our flight home. She thought they all lived in Tokyo and came to Hawaii for vacation just like us. I explained to her that they had their own Disney airplane but they would be back in Tokyo the next time we go to Tokyo Disney. "But Mama, who flies their plane? Do they fly Delta?" No honey, they have their own Disney pilot and their own airline. To say we have entered the "question" phase of development is a slight understatement.

Back to the breakfast, I will say the Disney hotel was pretty amazing. They did not cut any costs for sure. But in my opinion, it was a bit too busy for a beach vacation. I was glad we could walk to it and enjoy the amenities of it, but I am also glad we stayed at a different hotel that was a bit quieter and not so busy with non-stop music and a theme park pool. I am looking forward to doing a dinner or breakfast with the characters here at Tokyo Disney. We are thinking of spending a night in one of the hotels and doing dinner with the characters and then the park on the next day for a special occasion. More vacation posts to come...

Scrapbook Day - March 12, 2012

So to say I am behind on the blog is a big understatement, but I have an excuse. We were in Hawaii!! We left on Friday March 9th and returned to Tokyo Sunday March 18th, and we met my parents there for a wonderful vacation. To say we needed to get out of Japan is another understatement. I was so ready to get out of Tokyo and to be on US soil was a huge encouragement to me. We skipped town for the year mark of the earthquake/tsunami and I thought I would not think about it, but it was constantly on my mind on March 11th. I will save that for another post. I do not know where to begin with our Hawaii trip, so I thought I would start with the scrapbook day we had on vacation.

March 12th fell on a Monday during vacation and we drove to the North Shore to see my old college friend from San Diego Summer Project with Campus Crusade (1997). Now let me tell you about my friend, who we will call Surfer Girl (SG for short). When I met SG back in 1997, we were roommates at our summer project, and boy were we opposites. SG is short, petite, with long bleach blonde hair (still is - and beautiful both inside and out). She is originally from Florida, a Gator fan (another big difference between us), and has been surfing most of her life. But, the one thing we have in common is what makes our friendship stand the test of time...we love the same Jesus. We hit it off immediately in San Diego, got jobs together (our jobs were to sell ice cream or tourist junk at the local board walk - BEST SUMMER JOB EVER!), and had a ball that summer together. At night we would go to the beach and lay down, look at the stars, and listen to our favorite praise song over and over and over. She introduced me to fish tacos and even got me on a surfboard. SG made my summer project. Her friendship is so precious to me. When we left summer project, we did get to see each other that fall. I went to Gainesville for a football game in the Swamp. We rarely emailed or called each other. Instead, we wrote letters. Remember those? Where you have to put a stamp on an envelop and actually mail it? We wrote lots of letters, always leaving a question at the end of it for the other person to answer and a verse to encourage the other person. We both graduated from college, and I went overseas and she became a stewardess and traveled the world. And we kept writing letters. But then she moved to Hawaii, to surf, and she met a boy, and I got a call... (I knew it had to be important because we never called and always said we would only call if it was really important)..."Shari, do you want to come to Hawaii? I am getting married!! Bring Kan with you." Kan and I were dating at the time she got engaged, but we were on our sabbatical at the time she got married, so I flew to Hawaii by myself and washed away my sorrows of the break up with gorgeous beaches and a fabulous wedding. That was the last time I saw her...8 1/2 years ago. She could not make our wedding, I think because she was getting ready to have one of her four children, but we still kept in touch through these years. Now, we have stopped writing letters and do more sporadic emails or facebook messages, but we always stay connected. And now, it is scrapbook day, and I am at her house! Love it!!

The drive up to the North Shore was BEAUTIFUL! The beaches in Hawaii are simply gorgeous. Kan and I have been blessed to travel and see lots of the world, and we both agreed Hawaii is one of the most beautiful places we have been. SG and her family took us to a local beach and the waves were pretty high. The North Shore is the surfing capital of Hawaii and winter is prime time for surfers to flock there and catch the big waves. We got to watch people surf and I saw a whale!! Very very cool.

After about 2 hours after the beach, kiddos were cranky and it was time to head to SG's house for a cookout! We had grilled burgers and dogs with corn on the cob and ice cream sandwiches for dessert. Can we say HELLO AMERICA?! They asked what we were craving and we said "grilled burgers and dogs!" We also got a pie from Ted's bakery, famous in the North Shore, that we took back to the condo. If you are ever in the area, I highly recommend their pies!

As we drove up to SG's house, Miss M saw the trampoline, two swing sets and T-ball set and said, "Mama, look at their park. Do we have to pay 100 yen to get in?" This made Kan and I laugh on the outside, and cry on the inside, as we thought about how much our little girl just does not have in terms of yard and space. She LOVED their "park" and played outside for hours. As we drove away we had to remind ourselves that Miss M gets lots of other cool experiences that other kids do not get, like museums, bullet trains, really cool parks, and vacations in Hawaii that are fairly close, but still...she thought a typical backyard was a park. :) Our kids played so well together (SG's youngest is one week older than the K Man and about half the K Man's size; Miss M is in between her two middle kids and in addition SG has a 6 year old boy)and our husbands got along well. It was such a sweet reunion. SG brought her kids to our hotel on Friday, the day before we left, and we enjoyed the pool together and more hanging out. We literally picked up right where we left off. SG, if you are reading this, please know it was so so wonderful to see you and meet your family. I cannot believe how far we have come since we first met that summer between our sophomore and junior years of college. I am grateful for CCC (now known as CRU) and summer projects bringing together such sweet and lasting friendships. I know if it is another 8 years before we see each other again, it will be just as sweet and we will pick up again where we left off, but I pray our next reunion is before 8 years! I love you friend.

The K Man...is he really 10 months old?

Is this sweet boy really 10 months old already? Where, where does the time go? He is expanding his food intake. I love when they eat whatever you give them and do not complain if it is green. Last night he ate salmon, spinach and broccoli (and he did not need cheese on it like a little 3 year old who lives in our home) and LOVED it. You would have thought I had given him his first birthday cake. He loves tofu, rice crackers (naturally), bananas, bread, and just about anything I offer him. I have been so nervous to offer him food that is not pureed, but he is ready so I am trying to do it more and more. He is so happy. He is just now starting to crawl, but not even on all fours...he does the army crawl, and he can go pretty fast. Little Miss M does not like it because that means he can get to her stuff quickly. Some days she loves him...other days, well, she just does not love him that much. But that is okay. I loved watching him play with the football tonight...we have high hopes little guy! My only complaint with the little man is his night time sleep. Now some of you may be reading this and be like "Shari, stop complaining...my baby is up 3/4 times a night." But he has been through this phase where he is waking up in the middle of the night and will not go back to sleep. And he wakes up early, around 6/6:30 (I think he should sleep 7 to 7, like M does...sleeps 12 hours straight and has been since about 6 months old). I admit, some nights I am so tired I just nurse him and hope he will go back to sleep. Other nights, I move him to the hallway so he does not wake up Sister (they always start the night in the same bedroom) and let him cry it out. Problem is, my personal morning time is being severely interrupted and this is what bothers me most! I used to get up at 5:30, exercise, shower, and enjoy a cup of tea with my Bible before Miyako got up. But with my inconsistent sleep patterns lately, or with a little guy in the hallway who I do not want to wake up, I find myself sleeping until the K Man wakes up, which means no exercise, a very fast shower, and no tea and Bible time to start my day...which makes for a really cranky mama some days. So, K Man, if you are listening, please baby...sleep those solid 12 hours for mama so I can start exercising consistently and have a bit of mama time before the house gets going. And big boy, you need the 12 hours...I know you do...and I know you are big enough to not need a little snack at 2AM. But I still love you...even at 2AM.

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."

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.