K's kindergarten finished for summer on Friday. He has just over 5 weeks off, and the first few days back will only be half days. We don't have any big plans; no overseas trips this year! On the other hand, we have surprisingly few completely free days. K will still have swimming class most Mondays, and I'll have a class each Tuesday morning and Thursday afternoon. The Wednesday morning mother-and-toddler group will meet twice in August and I've still got 2 more weeks of classes at university too, so that's the next two Fridays taken up. T will go to nursery then as usual, and K will go back to kindergarten! They offer 9-6 childcare in the holidays, at the princely sum of 800 yen a day.
Despite all that, I'm determined to do some special holiday things. K will spend 2 separate days at day camps run by the English pre-school he went to last year. We're planning a little overnight trip to Tottori city in August, and tomorrow we're going to go to the small amusement park in Hiruzen. I'm hoping we'll get some beach days too, and time to do some projects at home. Lately, since the summer heated up, T has been having a nap each afternoon. With a bit of luck this will continue, giving K some time to play without infant interference...
I've got a couple of little challenges set up for K too. He eats well, in quantity and variety, but he is such a slow eater, especially at dinner time. I've made a little arrow to Blu-tak to the clock to show when dinner time ends (40 minutes after we start). If he finishs his meal within that time, he can add a sticker to a special summer holiday calendar I prepared and if he gets enough stickers he can get a present. I know, it's pure bribery, but it's working well so far :-)
I'm also keen for him to get some writing practice in. Now that he's at kindergarten every day, and not going to the English pre-school at all, K rarely writes anything. I'm hoping to fit in a few minutes of writing every day throughout the holidays, whether it's a workbook (he loves those), a postcard to Gran and Grandad, my shopping list or a little holiday diary I made for him (inspired by this one).
I love the things that small children write in their diaries. Yesterday's journal read 'I did go to the airport. The pilots waved to me.' Today's said 'I did go to by singing grasshoppers.' Then he dictated 'I went with Daddy to clean the shrine. I went to a show for schoolchildren. I liked the oni. Hide and Keiko came here.'
And of course we phoned, and later Skyped, my Dad to say Happy Birthday. Happy Birthday Dad!
Showing posts with label everyday stuff. Show all posts
Showing posts with label everyday stuff. Show all posts
Sunday, 22 July 2012
Thursday, 5 January 2012
Happy New Year!
Hello there, remember me?
Yes, I am still here, even though I haven't actually been here for a month... Sorry. Is it too late to say Merry Christmas?
Somehow, December turned out to be quite a busy month. Funny that. There was a lot of festive fun which I wanted to share with you, but I just never quite got around to it. This week I will try to post a few Christmas photos, but please don't hold me to it.
At the best of times I find New Year in Japan to be a bit depressing. It's supposed to be the biggest holiday of the year, but nothing happens. There's nothing to look forward to or really enjoy for me. This year was far from the best. Since H's grandfather passed away last year, we didn't send or receive New Year cards, one of the few points of interest of the season. And then, at the end of the year, both H and I got sick. Luckily the boys were basically OK, so we sent K over to stay at H's parents for a couple of days so that we only had to muster enough energy between us to tend to one little boy.
Luckily all of that has passed now, and I feel much happier now that Normal Scheduling has been resumed.
Yes, I am still here, even though I haven't actually been here for a month... Sorry. Is it too late to say Merry Christmas?
Somehow, December turned out to be quite a busy month. Funny that. There was a lot of festive fun which I wanted to share with you, but I just never quite got around to it. This week I will try to post a few Christmas photos, but please don't hold me to it.
At the best of times I find New Year in Japan to be a bit depressing. It's supposed to be the biggest holiday of the year, but nothing happens. There's nothing to look forward to or really enjoy for me. This year was far from the best. Since H's grandfather passed away last year, we didn't send or receive New Year cards, one of the few points of interest of the season. And then, at the end of the year, both H and I got sick. Luckily the boys were basically OK, so we sent K over to stay at H's parents for a couple of days so that we only had to muster enough energy between us to tend to one little boy.
Luckily all of that has passed now, and I feel much happier now that Normal Scheduling has been resumed.
Sunday, 4 December 2011
A message from K
Lately, K is really into writing. The other day he announced that he wanted to write a message, and sat himself down with paper and pencil. Here's what he wrote:
Can you make any sense of it? Here's the most pertinent information one more time, with mirror letters reversed:
a ms f Keita
on Dsembr 26 Keita is pr ....consut
evrbod cum
Or, in non-text message style:
A message from Keita
On December 26th Keita is planning a concert
Everybody come
This was the first that I had heard of such an event, but he has been telling everyone he meets about it, with great seriousness. I asked him if he was going to sing but apparently no, it'll just be instruments. When I asked him what instruments he was going to play, he looked as me as if I were a fool and replied 'The ones we have'. So that'll be concerto for xylophone, tambourine and whistle then. That afternoon K started to spontaneously tidy up the living room, putting away all the toys and forbidding T to touch them. Why? In preparation for everyone coming over for the concert on the 26th of course. In the end I managed to persuade him that it might be a bit mean to not let T play with any toys at all until then, and that perhaps it'd be better to tidy up again nearer the time.
Today's advent calendar activity was 'Write a letter to Father Christmas'. I explained to K the idea of telling Father Christmas what you'd like as a present for Christmas, and he announced that he wanted... instruments, because he needs them for his concert and getting them for Christmas would be just in time for the 26th. I started to wonder if I could get a nice little toy piano or guitar but, in his actual letter to Father Christmas, we discover that he wants a horn... K also told H that he needs to translate his message into Japanese, so that he can invite people who don't speak English.
So, concert at our place on the 26th it is! Evbod cum!
Monday, 7 November 2011
A busy week
*** Now with photos! ***
Last week I had no classes at all and there was a public holiday but despite that (because of that?), it was A Very Busy Week. Everything of note was photographically documented of course, and I had great intentions of writing in detail about each event. But a whole week has now passed and my complete failure to write about our summer in the UK is haunting me, so here's the brief version.
Last Sunday was the annual festival at the kominkan, our local parish hall equivalent. There were displays of bonsai and matched vegetables, handicrafts and photography, children's calligraphy and paintings. We watched the children's paper aeroplane contest, had some free food and tea and biscuits, won a mini Christmas tree and a box of tissues and had our photos printed onto comical postcards by the Computing for Seniors club. Truly something for everyone! K had a sit in a fire engine and then we came home again, in time for a visit from Yukari and her daughter Yurara, featuring more tea and biscuits and a couple of rounds of Greedy Gorilla.
On Monday K went to school and, for once, I had nothing scheduled while he was out. Somehow though, just looking after T took up most of the day and before I knew it it was time to collect him again. The token non-busy day.
Tuesday started with a walk to the (regular, Japanese) kindergarten to enroll K for next year. Can you believe a year has passed since I was last wondering whether to enroll him or not? The international preschool has been just what we needed this past year but I think that K is ready for kindergarten now; he's keen to go to school for more than two days a week and he's interested in speaking Japanese now too. So we wandered over, signed him up and then played in the playground for a while. In the afternoon H came home early and we all bid a fond farewell to our old car.
After more than 12 years of loyal service, the Pajero Io has gone... And after all that, Vivian came to visit!
Wednesday was another school day since it was their Sports Day. We all met at the park and the children enjoyed various races and games while we Mums photographed madly ;-) It was pretty laid back, not like the Japanese-style Sports Days which are rehearsed to within an inch of their lives and unfold with military precision. K took part in an obstacle race, a running race and a sack race. Oh, and I did that last one too... Then it was time for packed lunches followed by playing in the playground until the Mums had had enough.
We got back in time for Visit From Vivian Part 2 (this time with Noboru too), since K complained that she didn't stay long enough to play with him the day before. In other words, more Greedy Gorilla.
Thursday was Culture Day, a public holiday. We didn't do anything particularly cultural, but we did take K to the local shrine for his 7-5-3 ceremony. It's traditional to take children to be blessed at the ages 3, 5 and 7, usually around the middle of November. We looked into renting a kimono for K for the day but were quoted 30,000 yen! Photographers will let you use one for free if you're having portraits taken afterwards but that can get very expensive too, so in the end we went to Jusco and went the 'modern' (ie practical and cheap) route, buying a suit set for 7,000 yen. As well as a jacket and short trousers it also included a shirt and tie and even braces!
So after our visit to the shrine we went out for lunch (conveyor-belt sushi, K's choice) with H's parents and then it was time to go and pick up the new car! It was the first time I've had a *new* new car and it was all very exciting. We took it for a little spin up to Sakaiminato and had dinner out too.
On Friday I took the boys into town for a 'mini-concert' for preschoolers, which K enjoyed a lot. We joined some other Mums and kids for lunch afterwards and then hit the supermarket.
Saturday brought the end of the lovely weather we'd been having; it's been rainy ever since. In the morning we all went to the library for the annual giving-away-of-old-books free-for-all. We came home with bags and bags of books: picture books, travel guides, craft and sewing books, a few English language novels, some history books and more. There was also story-telling and colouring for the children and bag-making from old book covers. After that it was lunch out and a bit of shopping before coming home to a visit from Hide.
Which brings us round to Sunday. There aren't many places around here to take children to play when the weather's bad. In fact, we could only think of one, so we went there - the Children's Culture Centre. They have a little planetarium so H and K went there first, and then we all watched a little puppet show for a while before heading off for all-you-can-eat pizza. Later in the day I helped out at a Hallowe'en party for a few hours while H had the unenviable task of staying at home with The Boys Who Want Mummy. Still, no-one was screaming when I came home...
Wow, did you really read all that? To think, this was the abridged version!
Tuesday, 11 October 2011
Health and Sports Day
Yesterday was Health and Sports Day, a national holiday in Japan. It was created to commemorate the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and is now held on the second Monday in October each year. There are always lots of sports and physical-activity oriented events, including school sports days, and yesterday morning K and H went to a city-organised event for children aged 3 to 6.
Various activities were set up in the city gym and the children and their parents, in groups, spent 10 minutes on each thing, with lots of adult volunteers there to help hold little hands...
The little boy getting onto the balance beam behind K is Rensei, who was there with his daddy Tomonori, one of H's old school friends. I met Tomonori independently, before I was going out with H, and I later (independently) met Ritsuko, who went on to become his wife. Rensei is just 3 months older than K and now we each have a second little boy, only 2 months apart! There seems to be a certain amount of fate in the 2 families' relationship; maybe we were all destined to be friends...
Anyway, back to the gym...
There was trampolining, rolling on mats and skipping; hula hoops, hopscotch and action songs; various jumping, balancing and ball games...
...and finally, tug-of-war. No sports day in Japan is complete without this one!
Well done boys, you worked hard!
Various activities were set up in the city gym and the children and their parents, in groups, spent 10 minutes on each thing, with lots of adult volunteers there to help hold little hands...
The little boy getting onto the balance beam behind K is Rensei, who was there with his daddy Tomonori, one of H's old school friends. I met Tomonori independently, before I was going out with H, and I later (independently) met Ritsuko, who went on to become his wife. Rensei is just 3 months older than K and now we each have a second little boy, only 2 months apart! There seems to be a certain amount of fate in the 2 families' relationship; maybe we were all destined to be friends...
Anyway, back to the gym...
There was trampolining, rolling on mats and skipping; hula hoops, hopscotch and action songs; various jumping, balancing and ball games...
...and finally, tug-of-war. No sports day in Japan is complete without this one!
Well done boys, you worked hard!
H and K left home at about 8.30 and went for sushi afterwards, getting back here just after 1 o'clock. I stayed home with T and was paralysed with indecision about what to do with the free time! First I took T out into the garden and did some weeding for a while. Then he fell asleep (while I was preparing his morning food...) so I snuck upstairs and tided up my little room (it always seems overly grand to call it an 'office' or 'studio'). There was even time to sit in the engawa with a cup of tea and a magazine before he woke up again. Overall it was both a relaxing and productive morning, my favourite combination.
It did set me thinking though... What did I do with my time when K was a little baby? Unlike now, I didn't have a blog, Facebook account or online shop (recently restocked!), I was only teaching one class a week (admittedly, only 2 at the moment now) and, oh, I didn't have a 3 year old running around, demanding attention and waking up sleeping babies... And yet somehow I felt busy then too. I suppose it's that old thing of work expanding to fit the time available...
Saturday, 1 October 2011
September scenes
September has been and gone and, with it, the last of H's paternity leave. He will be back at work as usual again on Monday. Where has all the time gone?
We've had a few days out, and birthday dinners for Vivian and Shuko. We paid a little visit to English School, had Lisa come visit us one day, met Chieko for lunch and Miki for dinner while she was here from Vietnam. K has been back at preschool as usual and I have been teaching 2 classes a week. Generally though we have been at home this month and there has been a lot of this...
...and even more of this...
The weather has been a big factor in what we've been doing. At the beginning of the month it was still far too hot and humid to do anything - well, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. After that a couple of typhoons brought strong winds and torrential rain, but nowadays the temperature is generally in the mid-20s and the humidity is low. At night-time you can even enjoy feeling a bit chilly from time to time!
We've had a few days out, and birthday dinners for Vivian and Shuko. We paid a little visit to English School, had Lisa come visit us one day, met Chieko for lunch and Miki for dinner while she was here from Vietnam. K has been back at preschool as usual and I have been teaching 2 classes a week. Generally though we have been at home this month and there has been a lot of this...
...and even more of this...
The weather has been a big factor in what we've been doing. At the beginning of the month it was still far too hot and humid to do anything - well, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. After that a couple of typhoons brought strong winds and torrential rain, but nowadays the temperature is generally in the mid-20s and the humidity is low. At night-time you can even enjoy feeling a bit chilly from time to time!
T turned 6 months old last week and is enjoying his first experiences of solid food. He's now up to two meals a day and eats anything we offer him, in large amounts and with gusto. He can now roll right over; I never seem to see him actually moving from place to place, yet he can magically cover quite a bit of ground when no-one is looking.
I had high hopes of doing a lot of Sorting Out in the house this month while H was here. Are you surprised to hear that very little progress has been made? I have gone through a couple of cupboards properly but, in general, I've simply made matters worse by starting lots of jobs but, in the words of a well-known plumber, not finishing anything. Oh well.
On the other hand, progress has been made on Project New Car. I think that tomorrow we may actually sign on the dotted line!
I had high hopes of doing a lot of Sorting Out in the house this month while H was here. Are you surprised to hear that very little progress has been made? I have gone through a couple of cupboards properly but, in general, I've simply made matters worse by starting lots of jobs but, in the words of a well-known plumber, not finishing anything. Oh well.
On the other hand, progress has been made on Project New Car. I think that tomorrow we may actually sign on the dotted line!
And so to bed...
Sunday, 11 September 2011
Getting back into the old routines...
After more than a week back here, I think that we've finally got settled in again. Mind you, we're not really back into the old routines because H is still on leave until the end of the month and, oh yes, we've got a second child to look after now!
People who were here all summer tell me that it was particularly hot this year and that the weather at the moment is much cooler, but I'm not convinced. To me, it's a question of comparing 'extremely hot' and merely 'very, very hot'; I can't see that today's temperature of 32 degrees, with high humidity, can be any great improvement. When I leave our air-conditioned living room to go out into the corridor, it feels like walking into a greenhouse...
Broken nights and extreme climate notwithstanding, we've done quite a lot over the last week I think. K went to school on Tuesday and Thursday and I taught one class on each of those days too. We visited H's grandmother (his grandfather passed away while we were gone), took T for his BCG vaccination and a rather belated 3 month check-up, visited several car showrooms, took the boys to the play centre, popped into English School, broke out the paddling pool, ate out a lot and even made the tiniest start on Clearing Out Cupboards...
The next big challenge is to rustle up enough energy to tackle the thousands of photos from the UK. Wish me luck!
People who were here all summer tell me that it was particularly hot this year and that the weather at the moment is much cooler, but I'm not convinced. To me, it's a question of comparing 'extremely hot' and merely 'very, very hot'; I can't see that today's temperature of 32 degrees, with high humidity, can be any great improvement. When I leave our air-conditioned living room to go out into the corridor, it feels like walking into a greenhouse...
Broken nights and extreme climate notwithstanding, we've done quite a lot over the last week I think. K went to school on Tuesday and Thursday and I taught one class on each of those days too. We visited H's grandmother (his grandfather passed away while we were gone), took T for his BCG vaccination and a rather belated 3 month check-up, visited several car showrooms, took the boys to the play centre, popped into English School, broke out the paddling pool, ate out a lot and even made the tiniest start on Clearing Out Cupboards...
The next big challenge is to rustle up enough energy to tackle the thousands of photos from the UK. Wish me luck!
Thursday, 26 May 2011
Paternity Leave - Week 2
So, what did we do with ourselves last week? I know, it's already Thursday of this week, but I'm doing my best...
We went to an amusement park! It was the first time K had been to anything like that. The place is pretty small and doesn't have many big, scary rides, so it's perfect for K and for his scaredy-cat parents too! Going on a weekday in May was great. It was warm and sunny, and there were hardly any other people there; a few other families with small children, who we'd see at all the same rides, and a couple of busloads of retired people there to see the rhododendrons in flower. There weren't even many people working there. Each person was operating a couple of rides and would come running over when they saw you heading towards one and start it up for you. Apart from the Big Wheel, there was never anyone else on any of the rides at the same time as us! K especially enjoyed 'driving' Thomas the Tank Engine, riding a horse on the carousel and spinning round in the tea-cups (that was my favourite too...).
We went to the farm park in Mount Daisen that we've been to a couple of times before. K was a bit more wary of the animals this time, but I think he enjoyed watching them even though he didn't want to touch them very much. In the dog enclosure he insisted that I stroke various dogs, while he just observed... We had a picnic lunch while we were there, and the playground went down well too.
We spent time with friends. On Saturday we had lunch in Matsue with Scott and Carmella, and on Sunday Jason and the girls and Lisa came over for lunch. Plan A was to have a barbecue but the weather looked bad so we scrapped that idea. Of course it stayed dry all day... K really enjoyed playing with Hana and Rika, especially running around in the garden and picking flowers (weeds actually...) and strawberries. Yeah for the fence! We also visited H's aunt and uncle who live conveniently near the amusement park.
I did some sewing, but no crocheting... As well as the scary baby toy, I made a pair of shorts for K, which can be glimpsed in the photos of him playing in the garden I posted yesterday. If I get time I'll show them to you a bit better later on.
H did some painting. Yeah! The fence is all finished now, and looking good.
And that's about all I can remember... I really ought to start writing this week's report, ready to post on Monday, while I still remember it...
We went to an amusement park! It was the first time K had been to anything like that. The place is pretty small and doesn't have many big, scary rides, so it's perfect for K and for his scaredy-cat parents too! Going on a weekday in May was great. It was warm and sunny, and there were hardly any other people there; a few other families with small children, who we'd see at all the same rides, and a couple of busloads of retired people there to see the rhododendrons in flower. There weren't even many people working there. Each person was operating a couple of rides and would come running over when they saw you heading towards one and start it up for you. Apart from the Big Wheel, there was never anyone else on any of the rides at the same time as us! K especially enjoyed 'driving' Thomas the Tank Engine, riding a horse on the carousel and spinning round in the tea-cups (that was my favourite too...).
We went to the farm park in Mount Daisen that we've been to a couple of times before. K was a bit more wary of the animals this time, but I think he enjoyed watching them even though he didn't want to touch them very much. In the dog enclosure he insisted that I stroke various dogs, while he just observed... We had a picnic lunch while we were there, and the playground went down well too.
We spent time with friends. On Saturday we had lunch in Matsue with Scott and Carmella, and on Sunday Jason and the girls and Lisa came over for lunch. Plan A was to have a barbecue but the weather looked bad so we scrapped that idea. Of course it stayed dry all day... K really enjoyed playing with Hana and Rika, especially running around in the garden and picking flowers (weeds actually...) and strawberries. Yeah for the fence! We also visited H's aunt and uncle who live conveniently near the amusement park.
I did some sewing, but no crocheting... As well as the scary baby toy, I made a pair of shorts for K, which can be glimpsed in the photos of him playing in the garden I posted yesterday. If I get time I'll show them to you a bit better later on.
H did some painting. Yeah! The fence is all finished now, and looking good.
And that's about all I can remember... I really ought to start writing this week's report, ready to post on Monday, while I still remember it...
Wednesday, 18 May 2011
Paternity Leave - Week 1
H has officially been on paternity leave since last Monday, even though he was home most of the previous week too due to public holidays. I want to keep some kind of record of what we do with this special time, both to remind me in the future and to encourage me to use it wisely by putting it up for public scrutiny! So what did we do in Week 1?
We celebrated H's birthday. K and I made a card and baked a cheesecake on Monday and then we had a little tea party after K's pre-school on Tuesday. K insisted on candles and 'switching off the lights', even though it was the middle of the afternoon and there weren't any lights on in the first place... In the evening we headed to H's favourite restaurant but it was closed. After finding several other closed restaurants, I remembered a place I'd been to twice before and liked but since forgotten about, and things all worked out beautifully in the end.
We got rained on a lot, and sunburnt. After record-breaking downpours from Tuesday to Thursday, the sun came out at the end of the week and the weather is finally more seasonal.
We sorted K's toys, books and clothes. While he was at school on Tuesday and Thursday I went through his things, getting rid of (or storing for T) old and small things, reorganising what was left and sorting out the Secret Supply of toys and books that we have in stock for him.
We had some days out. We visited H's grandfather in hospital, had a couple of picnics, felt ill at the sloping 'Mystery House' at Ryokusui-ko (well, I did, H and K enjoyed it) and had a guided tour of a new museum in Yodoe with Vivian and Masaki.
Apart from all that, we went to the play centre one morning, had a few meals out, and got K out of nappies! There have been one or two little accidents but, overall, he's 'a big boy now'...
(Sorry, no photos to accompany this list of antics. It's taken me 3 days to write this, we'd be here till Christmas if I took the time to sort out photos too...)
We celebrated H's birthday. K and I made a card and baked a cheesecake on Monday and then we had a little tea party after K's pre-school on Tuesday. K insisted on candles and 'switching off the lights', even though it was the middle of the afternoon and there weren't any lights on in the first place... In the evening we headed to H's favourite restaurant but it was closed. After finding several other closed restaurants, I remembered a place I'd been to twice before and liked but since forgotten about, and things all worked out beautifully in the end.
We got rained on a lot, and sunburnt. After record-breaking downpours from Tuesday to Thursday, the sun came out at the end of the week and the weather is finally more seasonal.
We sorted K's toys, books and clothes. While he was at school on Tuesday and Thursday I went through his things, getting rid of (or storing for T) old and small things, reorganising what was left and sorting out the Secret Supply of toys and books that we have in stock for him.
We had some days out. We visited H's grandfather in hospital, had a couple of picnics, felt ill at the sloping 'Mystery House' at Ryokusui-ko (well, I did, H and K enjoyed it) and had a guided tour of a new museum in Yodoe with Vivian and Masaki.
Apart from all that, we went to the play centre one morning, had a few meals out, and got K out of nappies! There have been one or two little accidents but, overall, he's 'a big boy now'...
(Sorry, no photos to accompany this list of antics. It's taken me 3 days to write this, we'd be here till Christmas if I took the time to sort out photos too...)
Wednesday, 11 May 2011
Golden Weeks
Last week was Golden Week, a string of 4 public holidays in the space of a week. It's my favourite holiday time in Japan because of the weather; usually warm, sunny and great for being outside, unlike hot-and-humid summer holidays or cold-and-snowy winter ones.
This year though, we didn't really do much. We met up with several friends - a barbecue in the park one day with Cian, Yoshi and gang, visited the Oyamas in their 'new' house (which was finished at least a year ago but it was the first time we got around to going there) and met up with the Kuchitas yesterday for lunch at a new child-friendly restaurant. H has spent 3 days out in the garden staining the fence (nearly finished now!), and we had the one month ceremony and photo shoot for T. Actually, when I write it all down, it seems like quite a lot!
Anyway, I don't mind if we didn't do that much, because we will have lots more days like that this year. H is taking extended paternity leave, a very unusual thing among employed Japanese men! The rules at his office have changed since K was born; previously, a man could only take extended paternity leave if his partner was working, but now anyone can take up to a year off even if their partner is at home. I think that many men are still put off by the idea that they will be inconveniencing their colleagues and may be considered lazy (not to mention the substantial drop in pay, gulp), but H's boss reassured him that he is entitled to take this leave and he should go ahead and do it. H works hard but he also always takes all his holiday each year and generally comes home on time; definitely a work-to-live rather than live-to-work kind of guy!
So, as of Monday, H is on paternity leave and, throwing in summer holiday and annual leave too, he'll be off until the end of September! One of the reasons he's doing it (apart from the simple fact that he can) is so that we can all take a long trip to the UK together. When K was a few months old I took him to the UK for 2 months in the summer but there's no way I could manage the trip with K and T without another adult. It's the only time that H will be able to make a long trip, probably until he retires!
We've got T's British birth certificate, his passport should be ready next week and the plane tickets have been bought. We leave here on May 31st (in 3 weeks time!) and come back again on August 31st, making the most of that 3 month ticket... So if you are in the UK and would like to meet up over the summer, let me know! I'm now, very slowly, getting in touch with friends and trying to organise some get-togethers. I know that, unless I take action, even 3 whole months in the UK could easily pass in a blur of lounging on the sofa eating salt and vinegar crisps and watching The Weakest Link...
This year though, we didn't really do much. We met up with several friends - a barbecue in the park one day with Cian, Yoshi and gang, visited the Oyamas in their 'new' house (which was finished at least a year ago but it was the first time we got around to going there) and met up with the Kuchitas yesterday for lunch at a new child-friendly restaurant. H has spent 3 days out in the garden staining the fence (nearly finished now!), and we had the one month ceremony and photo shoot for T. Actually, when I write it all down, it seems like quite a lot!
Anyway, I don't mind if we didn't do that much, because we will have lots more days like that this year. H is taking extended paternity leave, a very unusual thing among employed Japanese men! The rules at his office have changed since K was born; previously, a man could only take extended paternity leave if his partner was working, but now anyone can take up to a year off even if their partner is at home. I think that many men are still put off by the idea that they will be inconveniencing their colleagues and may be considered lazy (not to mention the substantial drop in pay, gulp), but H's boss reassured him that he is entitled to take this leave and he should go ahead and do it. H works hard but he also always takes all his holiday each year and generally comes home on time; definitely a work-to-live rather than live-to-work kind of guy!
So, as of Monday, H is on paternity leave and, throwing in summer holiday and annual leave too, he'll be off until the end of September! One of the reasons he's doing it (apart from the simple fact that he can) is so that we can all take a long trip to the UK together. When K was a few months old I took him to the UK for 2 months in the summer but there's no way I could manage the trip with K and T without another adult. It's the only time that H will be able to make a long trip, probably until he retires!
We've got T's British birth certificate, his passport should be ready next week and the plane tickets have been bought. We leave here on May 31st (in 3 weeks time!) and come back again on August 31st, making the most of that 3 month ticket... So if you are in the UK and would like to meet up over the summer, let me know! I'm now, very slowly, getting in touch with friends and trying to organise some get-togethers. I know that, unless I take action, even 3 whole months in the UK could easily pass in a blur of lounging on the sofa eating salt and vinegar crisps and watching The Weakest Link...
Thursday, 24 March 2011
What we've been up to lately
March was supposed to be the time for Doing Lots Of Things but, between bad weather and my bad back/hips, not that much was achieved. We have done a few fun things over the last few weeks though, so here's my report...
attempting to pick up H's parents' cat...
- K and I went to a classical music concert, his first! It was a performance by the Kansai Philharmonic, designed for small children; the poster said 'It's OK if they cry!'. The music was great of course, and they also spent time introducing the different instruments and letting volunteers conduct. A lot of the children did get fidgety, or fall asleep (it was nearly 2 hours long including the intermission), but K was great and seemed interested during the whole thing. The concert ended with a rousing performance of 'Land of Hope and Glory' which was really quite moving, especially when K turned to me part way through and said 'I like this song'.
- All 3 of us went to the City Art Museum the following day (it was clearly The Monkey Household Week of Culture) to see a display of artwork from the children's books Lisa and Gaspard, and Penelope. K didn't really know the characters very well, but he enjoyed looking at the picture books on display... and then had a total meltdown in the foyer, but the less said about that, the better.
K wishes you all a Happy St Patrick's Day!
... and then each child was awarded a medal for their particular strong point. In the little ones class, children were praised for being able to say their name and age well in English, for always tidying up well, and so on. And K's award-winning talent? 'He has the loudest voice in the class'. Hmmm...
And of course, there have been various preparations for the baby, and for Mum and Dad coming. I think now, we're pretty much as ready as we ever will be...
Sunday, 6 March 2011
Ups and Downs
It's been quite a good week for Getting Things Done, but with a few annoyances thrown in too. Nothing too bad though, don't worry :-)
Ups (featuring way too many italics)
Ups (featuring way too many italics)
- All 3 of us went to the dentist for a check-up on Monday (first time for K) and no-one needed any work done. Yes, even me!
- On Tuesday I made an impromptu stop at the fabric shop and found some knit fabric on sale. Despite Japan being heaven for super-cute quilting-weight printed cotton, I rarely see material suitable for clothing. And here I found pre-cut pieces (160cm square or bigger) for 300 yen each. I bought 4. No idea what I'm going to do with them, but...
- I managed to find the time to decorate a couple of T-shirts for K's birthday (which was yesterday; more on that another day...)
- As today was the first Sunday in almost 2 months when I didn't have to get up before 7am to go to work, I put in a Lie-In Request. H got up with K at 7.45, and I went back to sleep until I woke up again naturally - at 11.50! Eek. Thanks H :-)
Downs
- Lower-back pain, which seems to now have transformed into somewhere-inside-my-left-hip pain. I know that I've been really lucky to get this far through 2 pregnancies with no back pain, but that is little comfort when putting any weight on my left leg hurts so much. I'm glad that it held off until I'd finished work, but so much for March being the month of doing enjoyable things. Instead I'm just trying to avoid anything that involves getting off the sofa. Sympathetic advice from the doctor at my check-up on Wednesday? 'It'll get better when you give birth'. Right. Thanks.
- At the shopping centre the other day, a little girl (but not that little, maybe around 6) pointed me out to her mother as 'strange'. As in 'Look at that funny woman Mummy'. Is it cos I is white? Or because I appear to have a watermelon stuffed up my jumper? Or because I was hobbling along like someone expecting a telegram from the Queen? Maybe a combination of all 3...
Tuesday, 1 March 2011
A day in the life
Warning - this probably won't be very interesting for most of you. It's really just for me to look back on in the future, when I wonder what I did with all that spare time I must have had when I only had one little monkey to take care of. So here's a snapshot of how K and I spend our days...
Although K sleeps in his own bed in his own room now, he has developed the habit of coming into our bed sometime in the early hours and (usually...) going back to sleep again. He likes to snuggle up close to me, which is lovely most of the time but has resulted in me almost falling out of bed once or twice. You see that tiny space between K and the edge of the bed? That's where I had been sleeping...
Also, he always brings his bedtime stories from the previous night with him. After being hit, poked and prodded by various giant hardbacks, we've now imposed a rule under which bedtime books must be small and paper-backed...
No-one in the monkey household is a particularly early riser, and K usually prompts me ('Wake up Mummy. Get up') to get up at about 7.30. If I suggest that he tell Daddy to wake up he points out, 'No, Daddy is sleeping'. Yes. Quite.
How quickly things proceed after that depends on what day of the week it is. Mondays have no particular schedule, so by the time we've gotten up, dressed, breakfasted and generally ready for the day, it's usually about 10am.
Then K and I are likely to go to the play centre if there's nothing pressing to do, often making a stop at the Post Office on the way. Home again for lunch at about 12.30, and then an afternoon of lesson-planning, shopping and odd jobs around the house that didn't get done over the weekend.
Tuesdays and Thursdays are school days for K, so we change up a couple of gears, leaving home at 9am, with lunch packed for K too.
On Tuesdays I drop K off and then go to a student's house for a private lesson from 9.30 to 10.30 before whizzing back to the community centre for a class from 11 to 12. By the time I come home again, have lunch and clear up after the morning whirlwind, it's pretty much time to go and collect K again at 2.15. On Thursday mornings I'm free so I've been scheduling doctor's appointments for then, and going to maternity yoga on the non-doctor days. After lunch in town I have a class from 2.15 to 3.15 and then collect K at 3.30.
Until recently, Wednesday was university day. I left home at 7.20 and had classes all morning, getting back home again at around 2pm. H leaves home at 8 each day, so his mum came over each week to look after K until I got home again. Meanwhile, Fridays are pretty low-key. I have a private student who comes here each week at 10 (actually 2 women who take alternate weeks) so as long as we're reasonably presentable by then there is no great rush.
What do we do in the afternoons? I'm not really sure, but the time soon seems to slip away. Of course there's often shopping or other errands to run in town, which take twice as long with K in tow. If H is working late we sometimes drive into town in the afternoon and leave the car for him, getting the bus back. K loves taking the bus, but wants to press the button at every stop... If we're just at home we might do a bit of drawing or painting or the like, or if K is playing happily by himself I admit to sneaking off to other rooms to try to Get Something Useful Done.
By about 5.30 we're starting to think about what we're going to have for dinner. K often watches a DVD (Maisy still reigning supreme) while I cook, or he stands on a chair at the kitchen counter and watches. H gets home at about 6 and we aim to eat at about 6.30, though K usually doesn't finish till close to 7.30. Time for a quick play, then it's into the bath for the boys while I have a nice little sit down.
H generally takes care of the bath/pyjamas/teeth routine, and then I take K upstairs at about 8.30 with a couple of (small, soft) books, read to him and tuck him in for the night. Until recently he was happily going to sleep alone, but lately he wants me to lie down with him for a little while ('No, a big while'), which is not really such a hardship. He still goes to sleep by himself though, usually still clutching the book he was 'reading'...
Although K sleeps in his own bed in his own room now, he has developed the habit of coming into our bed sometime in the early hours and (usually...) going back to sleep again. He likes to snuggle up close to me, which is lovely most of the time but has resulted in me almost falling out of bed once or twice. You see that tiny space between K and the edge of the bed? That's where I had been sleeping...
Also, he always brings his bedtime stories from the previous night with him. After being hit, poked and prodded by various giant hardbacks, we've now imposed a rule under which bedtime books must be small and paper-backed...
No-one in the monkey household is a particularly early riser, and K usually prompts me ('Wake up Mummy. Get up') to get up at about 7.30. If I suggest that he tell Daddy to wake up he points out, 'No, Daddy is sleeping'. Yes. Quite.
How quickly things proceed after that depends on what day of the week it is. Mondays have no particular schedule, so by the time we've gotten up, dressed, breakfasted and generally ready for the day, it's usually about 10am.
Then K and I are likely to go to the play centre if there's nothing pressing to do, often making a stop at the Post Office on the way. Home again for lunch at about 12.30, and then an afternoon of lesson-planning, shopping and odd jobs around the house that didn't get done over the weekend.
Tuesdays and Thursdays are school days for K, so we change up a couple of gears, leaving home at 9am, with lunch packed for K too.
On Tuesdays I drop K off and then go to a student's house for a private lesson from 9.30 to 10.30 before whizzing back to the community centre for a class from 11 to 12. By the time I come home again, have lunch and clear up after the morning whirlwind, it's pretty much time to go and collect K again at 2.15. On Thursday mornings I'm free so I've been scheduling doctor's appointments for then, and going to maternity yoga on the non-doctor days. After lunch in town I have a class from 2.15 to 3.15 and then collect K at 3.30.
Until recently, Wednesday was university day. I left home at 7.20 and had classes all morning, getting back home again at around 2pm. H leaves home at 8 each day, so his mum came over each week to look after K until I got home again. Meanwhile, Fridays are pretty low-key. I have a private student who comes here each week at 10 (actually 2 women who take alternate weeks) so as long as we're reasonably presentable by then there is no great rush.
What do we do in the afternoons? I'm not really sure, but the time soon seems to slip away. Of course there's often shopping or other errands to run in town, which take twice as long with K in tow. If H is working late we sometimes drive into town in the afternoon and leave the car for him, getting the bus back. K loves taking the bus, but wants to press the button at every stop... If we're just at home we might do a bit of drawing or painting or the like, or if K is playing happily by himself I admit to sneaking off to other rooms to try to Get Something Useful Done.
By about 5.30 we're starting to think about what we're going to have for dinner. K often watches a DVD (Maisy still reigning supreme) while I cook, or he stands on a chair at the kitchen counter and watches. H gets home at about 6 and we aim to eat at about 6.30, though K usually doesn't finish till close to 7.30. Time for a quick play, then it's into the bath for the boys while I have a nice little sit down.
H generally takes care of the bath/pyjamas/teeth routine, and then I take K upstairs at about 8.30 with a couple of (small, soft) books, read to him and tuck him in for the night. Until recently he was happily going to sleep alone, but lately he wants me to lie down with him for a little while ('No, a big while'), which is not really such a hardship. He still goes to sleep by himself though, usually still clutching the book he was 'reading'...
I'm usually free from about 9, and have great plans for what I'll do with the time. All too often though, it just disappears in chatting with H and watching TV. Oh, and in writing ridiculously long blog posts that will bore my poor readers (few, but very valued) to tears...
Monday, 21 February 2011
One month to go!
Can you believe that I only have another month until my due date? Where have the last 8+ months gone? This pregnancy seem to have just flown by. I suppose it's a common refrain from women having a second or subsequent child - the older kid(s) keep you so busy that you don't have time to focus on the new arrival. Still, I do feel a bit sorry for him (I did tell you it was a 'him', right?), neglected before he's even been born...
Touch wood, this pregnancy has gone very smoothly so far. Very little morning sickness and no real problems with backache or other common pregnancy ailments. Compared to when I was expecting K, I have been having less leg cramps at night but more heartburn, but really I'm feeling fine. I have to remember not to eat or drink anything after about 9pm though, or I can't lie down in bed without feeling sick...
My doctor here is very big on walking, and recommends a brisk, daily, 60 minute walk throughout pregnancy, or at least in the final month. When I was expecting K, I was out there in all weathers, clocking up some major mileage. It's surprising how far you can get in an hour at a good pace; I remember meeting a friend in the centre of town on a snowy February day and giving him a real shock when I told him I'd walked there. Of course this time, I haven't walked a step, apart from 15 minutes to the nearest station to go to work on Sundays. On the other hand, the other big thing at the doctor here is weight gain. They are Very Strict and declare that no-one should gain more than 10 kg. The first time around I was very careful with my diet, walked my socks off and was constantly nagged by the midwives, finally reaching D-Day just the right side of the magical 10 kg. This time I've just carried on as normal, with no special attention to diet or exercise, and heard something from the doctor last week that I never thought I would hear - 'No problem at all with weight gain'. Wow. It rivals the other 'Never to be heard from a doctor' quote of a month or so ago - 'It's definitely a boy, no mistake'.
With just a month to go, I suppose I should be starting to prepare for this little one's arrival... A couple of weeks ago I did manage to go to one ante-natal class, for women at at least 30 weeks, where the midwife said she assumed we'd all packed our hospital bags, and got everything set up for the baby. I struggled not to laugh out loud. I've tended to think 'oh, we've got everything we need already', but I suppose I should dig out K's old baby clothes and wash them. And it occurred to me that we don't have anywhere to put things for the new baby, so we did go out and buy a chest of drawers on Saturday. That's a good start, right?
In theory I should have a little more time soon (assuming the baby doesn't come too early of course...), as I'm finishing work this week. University classes have already finished for this academic year and I handed in all the final paperwork last week. The 2 group classes that I run will meet with me for the last time this week and then Vivian will take over from March for 6 months. My little side-job of kids interviews has been wearing me out recently (yesterday I interviewed about 140 children, with 30 minutes for lunch and no other break), but there's only one more to go. I do have a couple of private students that I'll keep meeting with until I go into hospital, but that's just sitting around and chatting really. Oh, and I'm still working on those transcriptions too...
If I do find some time I'd like to fit in some walking, and Making Stuff! The baby blanket I'm crocheting (you know, the one I bought wool for extra early so as to have plenty of time to complete it) is far, far behind schedule. I'd like to sew a couple of things for the baby too (plus it's K's birthday soon and I'd like to make something for him...), but we'll see. Must write more blog posts too! Actually, I blame Lisa for my lack of free time, for lending me lots of good books at New Year's...
Touch wood, this pregnancy has gone very smoothly so far. Very little morning sickness and no real problems with backache or other common pregnancy ailments. Compared to when I was expecting K, I have been having less leg cramps at night but more heartburn, but really I'm feeling fine. I have to remember not to eat or drink anything after about 9pm though, or I can't lie down in bed without feeling sick...
My doctor here is very big on walking, and recommends a brisk, daily, 60 minute walk throughout pregnancy, or at least in the final month. When I was expecting K, I was out there in all weathers, clocking up some major mileage. It's surprising how far you can get in an hour at a good pace; I remember meeting a friend in the centre of town on a snowy February day and giving him a real shock when I told him I'd walked there. Of course this time, I haven't walked a step, apart from 15 minutes to the nearest station to go to work on Sundays. On the other hand, the other big thing at the doctor here is weight gain. They are Very Strict and declare that no-one should gain more than 10 kg. The first time around I was very careful with my diet, walked my socks off and was constantly nagged by the midwives, finally reaching D-Day just the right side of the magical 10 kg. This time I've just carried on as normal, with no special attention to diet or exercise, and heard something from the doctor last week that I never thought I would hear - 'No problem at all with weight gain'. Wow. It rivals the other 'Never to be heard from a doctor' quote of a month or so ago - 'It's definitely a boy, no mistake'.
With just a month to go, I suppose I should be starting to prepare for this little one's arrival... A couple of weeks ago I did manage to go to one ante-natal class, for women at at least 30 weeks, where the midwife said she assumed we'd all packed our hospital bags, and got everything set up for the baby. I struggled not to laugh out loud. I've tended to think 'oh, we've got everything we need already', but I suppose I should dig out K's old baby clothes and wash them. And it occurred to me that we don't have anywhere to put things for the new baby, so we did go out and buy a chest of drawers on Saturday. That's a good start, right?
In theory I should have a little more time soon (assuming the baby doesn't come too early of course...), as I'm finishing work this week. University classes have already finished for this academic year and I handed in all the final paperwork last week. The 2 group classes that I run will meet with me for the last time this week and then Vivian will take over from March for 6 months. My little side-job of kids interviews has been wearing me out recently (yesterday I interviewed about 140 children, with 30 minutes for lunch and no other break), but there's only one more to go. I do have a couple of private students that I'll keep meeting with until I go into hospital, but that's just sitting around and chatting really. Oh, and I'm still working on those transcriptions too...
If I do find some time I'd like to fit in some walking, and Making Stuff! The baby blanket I'm crocheting (you know, the one I bought wool for extra early so as to have plenty of time to complete it) is far, far behind schedule. I'd like to sew a couple of things for the baby too (plus it's K's birthday soon and I'd like to make something for him...), but we'll see. Must write more blog posts too! Actually, I blame Lisa for my lack of free time, for lending me lots of good books at New Year's...
Friday, 21 January 2011
Busy days...
After all the inactivity of the New Year, things seem to be going non-stop now (as you can see by the lack of recent blog posts...). K is back at pre-school and H and I are back to work as usual. Actually, I'm working more than usual. I'm doing some work for a friend's research, transcribing interviews with Asian EFL students. I can only do it when I have some peace and quiet, which translates to 'when K is asleep'. Unfortunately that is also prime blog/crochet/laze in front of the TV time, but I can't do it all at once...
I'm also doing kids' interview tests for ECC again this year. Starting last week, I'll be spending every Sunday in January and February (and a couple of Saturdays) doing English speaking tests with kids ranging in age from 3 to 15, generally about 100 a day! They can be quite enjoyable really, but there is a lot of travelling involved. Last week I 'only' had to go to Matsue and Izumo, leaving home by 6.30am on both Saturday and Sunday. This Sunday is a 'late' start, leaving home just after 7, but the following week I'm supposed to be getting the 6:01 train from the main-line station. Unfortunately there are no trains or buses to get me to the station at that time in the morning, and I can't see H being terribly enthusiastic about getting up to take me. Seriously considering going the day before and staying overnight...
Oh yeah, and being 31 weeks pregnant, that can be a job in itself sometimes! H took the day off to take care of K on Wednesday while I was working, and then took him out in the afternoon so I had a couple of hours all to myself at home, a very rare event. I didn't know what to do: transcriptions? blog? lesson plans? TV and crochet? In the end, I fell asleep on the sofa...
I'm also doing kids' interview tests for ECC again this year. Starting last week, I'll be spending every Sunday in January and February (and a couple of Saturdays) doing English speaking tests with kids ranging in age from 3 to 15, generally about 100 a day! They can be quite enjoyable really, but there is a lot of travelling involved. Last week I 'only' had to go to Matsue and Izumo, leaving home by 6.30am on both Saturday and Sunday. This Sunday is a 'late' start, leaving home just after 7, but the following week I'm supposed to be getting the 6:01 train from the main-line station. Unfortunately there are no trains or buses to get me to the station at that time in the morning, and I can't see H being terribly enthusiastic about getting up to take me. Seriously considering going the day before and staying overnight...
Oh yeah, and being 31 weeks pregnant, that can be a job in itself sometimes! H took the day off to take care of K on Wednesday while I was working, and then took him out in the afternoon so I had a couple of hours all to myself at home, a very rare event. I didn't know what to do: transcriptions? blog? lesson plans? TV and crochet? In the end, I fell asleep on the sofa...
Saturday, 29 May 2010
Still here!
Once again I have got out of the blogging routine.
The main reason this week was my not feeling at all well since The Air Show Drenching. I had a strange collection of symptoms including high temperature, fainting, sore throat, and aching neck but as of yesterday I am officially Better. The weather mirrored how I felt - the grey, wet weather continued from Sunday to Thursday, but today we have been back to sunny blue skies.
On Tuesday and Wednesday this week K went to nursery for the day. I was working as usual on Tuesday but, for once, had nothing on in the afternoon and I was running a teacher-training workshop on Wednesday with, again, nothing planned for the afternoon. I'd been looking forward to those afternoons for ages, with ideas of clothes shopping, relaxing at cafes and catching up on odds and ends at home running through my head. Instead I spent them congratulating myself on surviving the morning and lying on the sofa watching TV. It was good that I had that free time to rest, but it was still rather disappointing to spend it that way...
The previous week wasn't much better for Getting Things Done. K didn't nap at all on any of the days that we were at home alone together, or even stay in his cot for more than 5 minutes before escaping out and reappearing downstairs. He also figured out how to unlock the safety gate at the living room door, so I was spending most of my time chasing after him all over the house, trying to prevent him getting his little hands on things he shouldn't...
Now, however, we have a new fence to keep K out of harm's way (although the napping hasn't improved much) and I'm feeling fine again, so it's time to Do Stuff!
The main reason this week was my not feeling at all well since The Air Show Drenching. I had a strange collection of symptoms including high temperature, fainting, sore throat, and aching neck but as of yesterday I am officially Better. The weather mirrored how I felt - the grey, wet weather continued from Sunday to Thursday, but today we have been back to sunny blue skies.
On Tuesday and Wednesday this week K went to nursery for the day. I was working as usual on Tuesday but, for once, had nothing on in the afternoon and I was running a teacher-training workshop on Wednesday with, again, nothing planned for the afternoon. I'd been looking forward to those afternoons for ages, with ideas of clothes shopping, relaxing at cafes and catching up on odds and ends at home running through my head. Instead I spent them congratulating myself on surviving the morning and lying on the sofa watching TV. It was good that I had that free time to rest, but it was still rather disappointing to spend it that way...
The previous week wasn't much better for Getting Things Done. K didn't nap at all on any of the days that we were at home alone together, or even stay in his cot for more than 5 minutes before escaping out and reappearing downstairs. He also figured out how to unlock the safety gate at the living room door, so I was spending most of my time chasing after him all over the house, trying to prevent him getting his little hands on things he shouldn't...
Now, however, we have a new fence to keep K out of harm's way (although the napping hasn't improved much) and I'm feeling fine again, so it's time to Do Stuff!
Friday, 16 April 2010
What we've been up to lately
Not blogging, obviously! I'm not quite sure where the last week has gone...
The new school year starts in April in Japan, so I started classes at university again last week. Apart from that there have been no major changes around here but somehow the time has just slipped away. Here are a few of the things we've been doing...
Dinner with Nicole and her dad last week produced this picture that I really like...
Last weekend I met Lisa for lunch and then we went on to a flute concert that one of my students was taking part in. The whole orchestra was made up of flutes, including the very cool-looking bass and contra-bass flutes. No photos though, sorry :-)
We've been trying a few crafty things lately, including pasting...
The new school year starts in April in Japan, so I started classes at university again last week. Apart from that there have been no major changes around here but somehow the time has just slipped away. Here are a few of the things we've been doing...
A barbecue with Vivian and friends, the first one of the season. Eek, that was almost 2 weeks ago now! If the weather is OK we might have one here on Sunday.
I finished off my pincushion for the swap, and sent it off with a few other little goodies. There will be pictures later but not until it has been received. I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise!
K's love for Bob the Builder continues, and has now extended into colouring:
H has been busy in the garden, raking all the dead grass out of the lawn. Hopefully it'll soon green up now...
K and I have been investigating all the slides in the area and this one, next to the City Office, wins first prize:
Dinner with Nicole and her dad last week produced this picture that I really like...
Last weekend I met Lisa for lunch and then we went on to a flute concert that one of my students was taking part in. The whole orchestra was made up of flutes, including the very cool-looking bass and contra-bass flutes. No photos though, sorry :-)
Meanwhile, back to K!
We've been trying a few crafty things lately, including pasting...
... and playing with rather sticky playdough.
Nicole finished packing up her house on Wednesday and came here to stay with us until her flight home next Tuesday. We had lunch out together when she arrived and it's been nice to relax and chat with her over the last couple of days.
Oh, and we've been planning holidays too! K and I will be spending the whole of August in the UK and H will be coming for about 10 days in the middle of the month. H will go with us as far as Tokyo when we leave and then he's planning a few days in Bangkok to visit an old friend. He hasn't had a Proper Holiday (not including the UK) for ages, so I'm really glad he's going to do that.
Otherwise most of my time this week has been spent fretting about an upcoming interview for local TV, and picking up Lego.
Monday, 8 February 2010
What we've been up to lately...
Not a lot really.
January seemed to pass by in a haze of cold weather, dentist visits, stomach flu and working on weekends. There was a lot of Doing The Minimum and very little socialising, yoga or making stuff. Blah.
But February will be different! Last week I made a start on a lovely fluffy sock monkey for a friend's baby due in March, visited the English School boys one afternoon and took K to both the play centre and the mother and toddler group. H took a day off on Friday and we went off to Misasa for a little overnight trip (more on that later) and then last night I went along to a little party for people who helped out at Tondosan.
Today we made it to the play centre in the morning and K is now actually napping! Hurrah! All in all a good start to the month.
January seemed to pass by in a haze of cold weather, dentist visits, stomach flu and working on weekends. There was a lot of Doing The Minimum and very little socialising, yoga or making stuff. Blah.
But February will be different! Last week I made a start on a lovely fluffy sock monkey for a friend's baby due in March, visited the English School boys one afternoon and took K to both the play centre and the mother and toddler group. H took a day off on Friday and we went off to Misasa for a little overnight trip (more on that later) and then last night I went along to a little party for people who helped out at Tondosan.
Today we made it to the play centre in the morning and K is now actually napping! Hurrah! All in all a good start to the month.
Tuesday, 26 January 2010
This and that
Firstly, the Internet crisis has been averted, and the shop is open for business as usual.
Secondly, I had a tooth out at the dentist today. I had a reprieve last week when I wasn't well, but today there was no escape. It wasn't actually too bad; at least, not until the anaesthetic wore off...
What with all that snow and cold weather we had, followed by the dreaded lurgy, there's been a lot of hanging around at home going on here lately, so last weekend we tried to get out and about a bit. There was a brief trip to the park (until the cold drove us indoors), a visit to Jusco shopping centre (which was actually a lot more fun that you might imagine, mainly because we had plenty of time and nothing we had to buy) and lots of meals out. Even a visit to the Mitsubishi dealership turned out to be rather fun as they had a nice little play corner which K and I had all to ourselves.
We also went to the photographers and had some pictures taken of K, as H had got some discount coupons. In the past I've resisted the costumes they have there for the little ones, arguing that I want photos that realistically capture K as he is now, including what he usually wears. But this time, well, why not? So we've got some lovely little cowboy pictures coming our way soon...
The weekend finished with an impromptu visit from Tim and Zach and some kite-flying in the back garden. K enjoyed watching the kites, until one crashed down quite near him that is...
Secondly, I had a tooth out at the dentist today. I had a reprieve last week when I wasn't well, but today there was no escape. It wasn't actually too bad; at least, not until the anaesthetic wore off...
What with all that snow and cold weather we had, followed by the dreaded lurgy, there's been a lot of hanging around at home going on here lately, so last weekend we tried to get out and about a bit. There was a brief trip to the park (until the cold drove us indoors), a visit to Jusco shopping centre (which was actually a lot more fun that you might imagine, mainly because we had plenty of time and nothing we had to buy) and lots of meals out. Even a visit to the Mitsubishi dealership turned out to be rather fun as they had a nice little play corner which K and I had all to ourselves.
We also went to the photographers and had some pictures taken of K, as H had got some discount coupons. In the past I've resisted the costumes they have there for the little ones, arguing that I want photos that realistically capture K as he is now, including what he usually wears. But this time, well, why not? So we've got some lovely little cowboy pictures coming our way soon...
The weekend finished with an impromptu visit from Tim and Zach and some kite-flying in the back garden. K enjoyed watching the kites, until one crashed down quite near him that is...
And these pictures? Taken a couple of weeks ago when out for a walk with Daddy. Just thought you might like them :-)
Tuesday, 12 January 2010
A long weekend
After the holidays it's hard to go back to work but workers in Japan were rewarded for completing their first full week of the year, as yesterday was a public holiday! It was Coming of Age Day, where all the young people who turned 20 in the past year celebrated becoming an adult in the eyes of the law. All around Japan 20 year-olds dressed up in kimonos or suits and attended ceremonies held at town halls. Actually a lot of places, including here, did it the week before instead, so that all the young people who have left their home towns for work or study could take part in the ceremony while they were at home for the New Year holidays.
We headed out to the electrical store on Saturday morning and H bought a laptop. I wonder what it says about us, that we were able to go down to having only one car quite easily, but that we now feel the need to have 2 computers? Now that I'm using the Internet more, with my blog and shop, H has a rival for evening computer time and decided we needed another one. He started preparing the ground a while ago by beginning to refer to the existing computer as 'Diane's', thus ensuring that the nice new one will be 'his'....
Sunday's main event was a trip to the cinema for H and I - yes, sticking to my New Year Resolution! H's mum came over and looked after K while we had a quick brunch out and then saw Avatar. I did enjoy it (even only in 2D), but at the same time it was rather depressing as what happens in that film, despite being complete science fiction, is really very comparable to what goes on in our own world.
Yesterday I was involved in a local festival (more on that in another post) and then I went out for dinner in Matsue, leaving the boys at home. There were several people I hadn't seen since before K was born, including the guest of honour who had just returned from almost 5 years in Thailand and is now off to live in Toyama. Hello and goodbye again! I also chatted with a lovely lady who is taking care of her 3 year old grand-daughter full-time while her daughter is away at university. As well as playing mum to that little one, she often helps out with her other daughter's children who live nearby - 4 of them, the oldest one still only 7 years old! Suddenly I feel less guilty about the one-work-day-a-week and occasional-trip-to-the-cinema babysitting demands I make on my mother-in-law...
We headed out to the electrical store on Saturday morning and H bought a laptop. I wonder what it says about us, that we were able to go down to having only one car quite easily, but that we now feel the need to have 2 computers? Now that I'm using the Internet more, with my blog and shop, H has a rival for evening computer time and decided we needed another one. He started preparing the ground a while ago by beginning to refer to the existing computer as 'Diane's', thus ensuring that the nice new one will be 'his'....
Sunday's main event was a trip to the cinema for H and I - yes, sticking to my New Year Resolution! H's mum came over and looked after K while we had a quick brunch out and then saw Avatar. I did enjoy it (even only in 2D), but at the same time it was rather depressing as what happens in that film, despite being complete science fiction, is really very comparable to what goes on in our own world.
Yesterday I was involved in a local festival (more on that in another post) and then I went out for dinner in Matsue, leaving the boys at home. There were several people I hadn't seen since before K was born, including the guest of honour who had just returned from almost 5 years in Thailand and is now off to live in Toyama. Hello and goodbye again! I also chatted with a lovely lady who is taking care of her 3 year old grand-daughter full-time while her daughter is away at university. As well as playing mum to that little one, she often helps out with her other daughter's children who live nearby - 4 of them, the oldest one still only 7 years old! Suddenly I feel less guilty about the one-work-day-a-week and occasional-trip-to-the-cinema babysitting demands I make on my mother-in-law...
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