The K Man Turns Two - K Fest 2013

The K Man is two years old! Cannot believe it. I will start with his first birthday celebration. On the 27th of April, we did a family day in Odaiba with our Australian friends. They have two boys, one of which is only 2 days older than the K Man, and the other who is a dear friend of Miss M's. We decided rather than a big party we would do a family fun day with them. We were going to go out of the city, but the moms realized we needed to buy birthday gifts for the babies, so we went to Odaiba with museums, a beach, ice cream cake and Toys R Us! It was such a fun day and the kids were exhausted when they got home which meant an early bed time for all of us. We always have so much fun with our Australian friends. It is so nice when the kids can get along so well and the adults can actually have a conversation and relax without feeling like you are breaking up fights all the time. Here are some pictures of our day at Odaiba.

We have a Cul-de-sac

So, we live in a building with 50 floors. You can imagine that there are a lot of people in our building. One of the things I have missed most about not living in America right now is our cul-de-sac. We had a fabulous little cul-de-sac in a quaint little neighborhood with a Kroger and Chinese take-out within a five minute walk. We loved the privacy of our street and the seclusion it provided, the fabulous neighbors who looked after your home when you were out of town, and the safety it provided as our kids would grow up and play outside. I have complained a lot during our time in Tokyo of missing a neighborhood, a back yard, a place where I can just let the kids run with good neighbors to look after them. Well, funny thing, I have those things right here in Tokyo. They do not look the same as they would in the US. But, my backyard, well, it is the nikai (2nd floor) park right behind our building. I do not have to even go on a main road to get to two different playgrounds, full of swings, slides, and a great open space to kick a ball or play baseball. And neighbors, well, over the course of the last year, I have made some fabulous neighbors. Last year when we started yochien, we met a little boy who had just moved to Tokyo from Hokkaido. He and Miss M hit it off in school and we learned that he lives right above us on the 49th floor. Over the course of the past year, we have started playing more with him even though Miss M is no longer in yochien. It has turned into a weekly Tuesday late afternoon play date with typically four families, 3 of which live in our building. There are four moms drinking tea and 10 kids running around every Tuesday afternoon at 4909 Harumi View Tower. It is so fun to watch the kids play together. Miss M speaks Japanese with them and the moms and I speak a mix of English and Japanese. The K Man is the baby of the group but he LOVES hanging out with the big boys. A few weeks ago we invited all of the families including husbands over for a little party. We still had the Super Bowl DVRed on our Sling box so we told them they could watch American football. We all made appetizers and snacks and ordered pizza. It was crazy...18 people in our tiny apartment...kids jumping on beds...but boy was it fun. And after I cleaned up and plopped myself on the couch in sheer exhaustion, I looked at the hubs and said, "we have a cul-de-sac, the Japanese version of a cul-de-sac." I believe we are meant to live in community. And I am learning that community comes in different shapes and forms. Our cul-de-sac in Tokyo looks a lot different than our cul-de-sac looked like in the United States. But it is still a cul-de-sac, our Japanese cul-de-sac, with a backyard park and neighbors who take care of you and look after your family.

Scrapbook Day April 2013

Scrapbook day fell on a Saturday this month. It was a very fun day for me. I started it with a friends baby shower at the Disneyland Hotel. It was so nice to have some fellowship with girlfriends. We leisurely enjoyed lunch for 3 hours! When I got home, the hubs took the kids to the park. I picked up a bit and then enjoyed reading in the stillness of our home for about 40 minutes, a very rare occasion for me. We finished the night with feeding the kids, Indian take out and watching the movie Argo when the kids went to bed. Intense movie. I highly recommend it. I love Saturdays where we just enjoy one another and not have too many plans.

Shari Fest 2013

Once again, Shari fest came and went and I became another year older or wiser, whichever you choose to believe. I think it is older because I do not feel very wise, but oh well. I had a great birthday week full of special celebrations all throughout. On my actual birthday we had our sitter so I could go to leadership with BSF. Afterwards I met a friend for a pedicure. I had not had one since I was back in the US for Christmas, so I was a bit overdue. The hubs had to work late on my actual birthday, so Miss M helped me make a Minnie cake and the kids sang to me. It had to be the sweetest moment of the week - so so precious. I will never forget it. On Wednesday we celebrated with daddy - well, he was home before bedtime so I could open my gift. Miss M was so excited to give me the gift. She went on a special date with daddy to shop for it and when she came home from the date she said, "We got you a present but I am not telling you what it is." She kept to her word and did not tell me what the gift was but she nearly tore it open for me on Wednesday night. And I was thrilled with the gift - the hubs got me my big fancy bag that I have longed for since we moved to Tokyo. He claims my taste has gone up since we moved here. I blame him. :) On Thursday I joined some friends to celebrate mutual family birthdays. Miss M enjoyed decorating another cake and gave the blue fish some pink fins. On Saturday night after my birthday we went out with our Australian friends for sushi at a place called "Shari." We did not know this, but "Shari" means sushi rice in Japanese. The restaurant was fabulous - it felt like we were eating in Soho in New York City. They were playing American music in the background and served California Rolls and Spider Rolls. My favorite dish we ordered was the Russian Roulette of sushi - four pieces of tuna sushi with one having LOADS of wasabi. My husband was the lucky one and got the wasabi. Overall, it was a fabulous birthday week. I could not be more blessed.

Easter 2013

We had a fabulous Easter weekend. Miss M and I colored eggs on Good Friday. On Saturday we hosted an Easter dinner with two other families from our church. It was freezing, but we still went outside to do our Easter egg hunt. We also made an Easter craft and enjoyed some yummy food. Sunday we spent at church with a wonderful Easter worship service, seeing 2 high school girls get baptized and watching several people join the church. We are blessed to have found a wonderful church home in Tokyo.

Hanami

The cherry blossoms have bloomed a bit early this year and we have enjoyed them at multiple places - the 100 yen park, our local neighborhood park, and a park out at Oji station. I wish everyone could experience Tokyo during the Hanami season. Words cannot describe how beautiful the sakura trees are. Not only is the city beautiful, but there is a lighter feel in the air while the cherry blossoms are in bloom. You see business men enjoying a coffee or beer outside during the workday. People seem to be a bit happier, a bit lighter in their feet, during the hanami season. And then, once the blooms fall from the tree, the city goes back to its normal, fast paced, 80 hour work weeks. You truly have to experience it to know what I am talking about. Although it only lasts a few weeks, I enjoy the season of hanami. Here are pictures of how we enjoyed hanami this year.