Merry Christmas Eve

The highlight of our morning was playing at the park with our friends Kathleen, Sydney and Julia.

Then Sydney and I put together a gingerbread house from a kit (that Mommy never got around to opening last year) and decorated some last-minute cookies for Santa. Needless to say, we didn't eat the gingerbread house. But I hope the icing was still good, since Sydney ate her weight's worth.

Can you guess which side of the house is Sydney's brainchild and which is mine?

Then we wrapped up (heh) the evening with our friends the Ahlgrims and the Millers for dinner. We brought this delicious and traditional Japanese Christmas cake from our local bakery. Maybe next year Sydney and I will be ready to attempt this. Well, we'll have to since we won't be in Japan anymore.

Only a Japanese Bowl Could Have Such Serendipidous Foresight

Our Japanese neighbors the Takahashis had a baby about four months ago, so one month ago I finally brought them a big gift bag full of things: namely two soft blankets, several onesies and about four (I told them they were used) American freecycled baby toys that friends didn't need anymore and I thought they'd enjoy.


Yesterday, in true Japanese fashion, they rang the door bell bearing reciprocal Christmas gifts for my girls. These cute Christmas washcloths rolled to look like lollipops, two little gift bags full of fancy chocolates, and these cute bowls.


The bowl on the right is my favorite, even though its accurate prediction hits a little too close to home this season, our last Christmas in Japan: "The house is filled with piles of boxes in preparation for moving." Nothing like a Japanese bowl to tell it like it will be. I only hope it survives the move this summer, because it sure does sum up the life I have to look forward to in the Navy and I would like to keep it among our worldly possessions.

Merry Christmas to Me

I went to my second Yamato shrine sale today with the mentality of someone packing out next week--even though I'm not. After three short hours of perusing the treasures (or one person's trash), I came around a bend to see before me a fabulous tea tansu. It's a small two-piece stacking chest traditionally used to house prized tea cups and all things used in the preparation of Japanese green tea. Of course, I plan to put my tea cups in there--along with all the Japanese pottery I've collected, plates, bowls, sake sets, etc. They usually have asymmetrical shelves and sliding glass doors, as does this one. But this one is unique with two little silk prints (of a drum and a person) on two of the small cabinet doors. It's a little rough around the edges, but that's my kind of furniture. And nothing an obi-turned-table-runner can't cover up on top...


Don't forget to notice the fabric in each photo. With obi and kimono priced at 3 for $10, the crafty (novice) sewer in me had to stock up on these.

I also bought this interesting square spindle to use as a shelf for my sake set from Nikko. I figured I can place it on a table top or hang it on a wall.

These little leaf plates make me happy. Darlene agreed they are adorable, and was pretty sure I needed a few more little plates. And what the heck, another bowl.

Happy Holidays Indeed!

It's Christmas, Sydney's Merry! And although she couldn't say it (only "Happy Holidays,") you can see the sheer merriment in her holiday preschool class performance of Jingle Bells.

Ichi, Ni, Santa

Sydney has had the pleasure of taking not one, but three (san) photos with Santa this season. It's nice that I can say it's a "pleasure" now. It took her three years, but she finally doesn't cry. Of course, she also finally gets that he'll bring her the toys she wants: a train (the power of my suggestion) and a pretty dress (her idea).

Sydney's first encounter with Santa this season was when we happened on Santa at the Navy Exchange and they printed out the photo on a demo printer. (Brian didn't want me to force Miranda to sit with Santa, so it was just Sydney. She smiled. But she wasn't wearing anything special.)

Then this is the second photo op, when Santa visited her preschool. Although she ran up to him and told him what she wanted, you'll notice she's not quite smiling...

...at least until she sees her sister screaming when placed on Santa's lap, at which point a sly little smirk slowly spreads across her face. Or maybe she was just happy Santa gave her that candy cane she's gripping for dear life.

Then the girls saw Santa again at the USNH children's Christmas party yesterday, in full (Christmas) dress. Sydney's much more amenable to Santa by now (her third and, I promise, final photo op this year). But despite the fact that I tried to get Miranda to warm up to Santa by taking her to see him twice, Miranda's even less amenable to Santa this time, as you can see.

Perhaps the third time she would've smiled, too. Either that or Santa would've dropped her.

But I suppose it's more of a family tradition not to smile at this age (I realize this also explains where Miranda got all her hair):

Sydney (13 months)
December 2006

Laura (4 years) and Diane (13 months),

December 1975

Jingle Bells

Mitchy smells.
Sydney peed her pants.
Miranda fell,
Diane's hearing bells,
and Brian ran away! Hey!

I spontaneously penned this little ditty during our normal bedtime routine about a week ago. (Think "wrestling alligators into 'jamasons.'") It explains mostly what I've been up to better than anything else could. Well, maybe this undecorated Christmas tree is also representative of what I haven't been doing. Of course, you know bedtime routine isn't the best (positive) reflection of my day, since by then, I usually feel like "decking the halls" in a different way.


But I settle for some Christmas crafting in some of my childfree time, so don't worry, I haven't lost my Christmas spirit! Here's a lined--and zippered--pencil case I made as my first ever sewing project (outside of home ec class, that is). Good thing it came out okay, since it's for Sydney's preschool teacher. (Their class mascot is a frog.) Now I just have two more to make for the teacher's assistants, right after I finish decorating the tree.


But my second ever sewing project (well, I started it first, but finished it second) is sure to be my favorite of all time--a hanging Christmas decoration, two "reindeers" (as Sydney says) made of Sydney and Miranda's handprints and footprints. And Sydney even helped, saying "Let's do crafts!" every day until we were done. I know the bedtime routines won't always be so challenging, but I'll always have my cute reindeers for decking the halls and reminding me of my most precious gifts.

Miranda's First Haircut

This photo doesn't do it justice, but Miranda had a mullet by some people's standards. So, I couldn't put it off any longer, I had to trim my baby's long locks. We trimmed at least 3 inches just off the back, cutting away the last of the dark ends and evening it up with the sides. All the while with her cheek pressed against me. Needless to say, I had to attempt to straighten the ends myself when I got home. But it's all better now!

Quality (Perfection) Versus Quantity

The other day I was shopping at the Navy Exchange on base. Surprisingly, the cashier was a Japanese man who had a cheery disposition and great customer service. (It was a surprise that he had great custumer service in the NEX, not that he was Japanese.)

Towards the end of our brief encounter, I expressed my appreciation with an emphatic "arigato gozaimasu," (thank you very much) in Japanese.

The cashier, looking pleasantly surprised, asked in English, "Ohhh! Do you speak Japanese?"

Quickly, I laughed slightly, shook my head almost apologetically, as I blurted out in English, "Ohhh, nooo! I only know a few words."

Then he said, "Oh, really?! You have perfect pronunciation!"

Not wanting to ruin the moment, I beamed, and said, "Really?! Thank you!" in English...and consciously forced myself not to say it again in Japanese. I'm almost certain he misheard me, but I didn't want to confirm it one way or the other. Nevertheless, it made my day to think I might have mastered at least one phrase of Japanese perfectly. And it's only taken me 2 1/2 years.

I never knew my general "quality versus quantity" philosphy would apply to foreign language, but it seems it unwittingly has. That's what I tell myself anyway, so I don't feel bad I haven't taken the time to learn more. But I still maintain that "arigato gozaimasu" and "gomen nasai" (I'm sorry) will get you very far in Japan. Then if you have perfect pronunciation like me, just interject with a quick "wakarimasen" (I don't understand) to head off any further conversation, i.e., awkward misunderstandings and wasted breath.

Come to think of it, I've been having to do this more and more.

Hello Again!

It's been a month since my last blog entry! We've been very busy. If anyone's still out there, I'll be catching you up this week. Keep scrolling...I've got about 10 posts in the works.

Shichi-Go-San (Seven-Five-Three) Festival


Shichi-Go-San is a festival for children, which occurs on November 15th. This festival (though it's not a national holiday) is significant because odd numbers are considered lucky numbers in Japan. Girls of age three and seven and boys of age three and five are celebrated on Shichi-go-san. On November 15 or the closest weekend, the children visit a Shinto shrine dressed up in kimono to pray for the child's good health and growth. Long candies in bags that are decorated with turtles and cranes are given to the children. The candy, the crane, and the turtle, all symbolize longevity.


But as my Japanese friends tell me, most Japanese families are not very religious and therefore, instead of praying at Shinto shrines, they dress up their girls in kimono and take pictures (either at a shrine or in a photo studio). So, lacking both the proper kimono and Shinto faith, we skipped the shrine. But we were especially lucky to have an opportunity to take photos wearing kimono this weekend at a Yokosuka Cultural Exchange Festival. Don't remind me how far from "3" I am this year, I just couldn't resist playing dress-up with Sydney to celebrate her 3 years!

My Bicycle Built for Three


I recently tried out my bike with its newest (third) seat for Miranda. She and I rode to base to pick up Sydney from preschool. We got quite a few strange looks, which is what made me think maybe we were blog worthy. Japanese ladies often have two or even three kids on one of their bikes. But they're much less colorful.

Miranda's 1st Birthday!



"Look how long my hair is! And I'm just one."

"Yay! Aunt Laura's here to celebrate my first birthday!"

"What's happening? Why are they singing to me?"

"I really like this cake. Especially the frosting. It's got a nice mouthfeel."

"But enough with the photos!"

"Finally...Sydney let me play with my toys!"

"Miranda and Mommy!"

Aunt Laura's Visit
(and our overnight trip to the Izu Peninsula)

We had a great time while Laura visited us in Japan for a second time. Sydney ingratiated herself with Aunt Laura by thumping downstairs and barging into the living room at 6:30am every day of the week she was sleeping on the pull-out couch. And most days weren't complete until Sydney hosted a tea party in Aunt Laura's honor.

We also whisked Aunt Laura away with us to explore the Izu Peninsula overnight. We took a Superview express train from Yokohama and, with the help of my Japanese friends, sat in the first seat of the first car so we could have the "Super-est" view.

Of course this was the first time Aunt Laura had met Miranda, who celebrated her first birthday while Laura was visiting.

The ryokan (Japanese inn) that we stayed in had great hot spring baths (onsen), which were separated by gender. The English version of the "how to bathe" manual stated "red" curtains are the baths for men, "blue" for women. Ahhh, not sooo--come to find out. All three of us, on three separate occasions seemed to pervertedly sneak peaks of the wrong gender before concluding the English manual must be reversed. But the real question is this: who's the joke on?

All bets were off when we saw these green and purple curtains leading to the men and women's outdoor

rooftop onsen. Sydney and I picked purple, one of her favorites, and hoped for the best.

We were alone at first, but later discreetly confirmed we had chosen correctly.

We also reserved the special green tea bath, made with matcha (ceremonial powdered green tea) grown on the grounds of the ryokan. Antioxidant properties of the matcha are supposed to be fabulous for the skin and body. First we toasted as we drank some chilled matcha. Then we took turns bathing in a warm vat of it. We both just turned another year older; we'll try anything.

We ate like Japanese emperors with an elaborate course of crab shabu shabu and many different little dishes including pickles, tofu, miso soup, rice, and two different kinds of fish--one of which was a fried, clearly identifiable fish. When it was delivered to the table, Sydney noticed it was a fish, saying, "Don't eat it Daddy, don't eat it!" But after much coaxing from Brian, she tried a little taste of it and thought it was pretty good. But to this day, she won't admit she ate some fish!

The next morning was Miranda's first birthday (more on that in the next post)! After our third and very last night ever sleeping on futon, we had our first traditional Japanese-style breakfast, which included rice, a very softboiled egg, miso soup, fish, pickles, and very silver tiny fish with daikon radish (the only dish I couldn't muster the gumption to try).

Then we set off for a little hike of the Kawazu Nanadaru or Seven Waterfalls area near the ryokan before heading home. It was a whirlwind little vacation, with two kids, a lot of work and only one night, but we're glad we saw another piece of Japan.

There's No Such Thing as A Free Flight

Don't let anyone tell you that a military "mac" flight is free. (And don't let this sweet face fool you either.) Take it from me, you will pay a price. It may not be dollars, per se--more like your sanity, if you're like me anyway, traveling with two small children. But even if you're not like me, the minimum price you will likely pay is convenience.

We got to Okinawa and back eventually without life-threatening incident, so I can't complain too much. We had a very typical "mac" experience. Nevertheless, it was quite a difficult experience for me, mostly in getting home. And I grossly underestimated the amount of people who would be trying to get off the island of Okinawa on any given weekday.

I tried to catch a flight home the same day Brian left on his commercial flight (he was down there for work), but the girls and I were "3" of about 30 people in line for 6 seats to Atsugi base (where my car was).

So, we missed that flight and paid $40 in taxi fare to and from the military lodge--only to find Sydney had left my video mp3 player in the taxi, which was playing Dora as a bribe. In all my juggling, most times we arrived somewhere I considered myself lucky if I ended up with both kids and both bags, since I was continually trying to leave my suitcase behind. But luckily, after many phone calls and the help of the hotel staff, and because we are in the honorable country of Japan, the driver returned my mp3 player to the lodge.

Rather than risk repeating this scenario again for another small flight to Atsugi, I decided to try to get on the Patriot Express flight from Okinawa to Yokota, which leaves every Thursday. Well, you can imagine my horror upon arrival when I found that there was no shuttle to Atsugi that day, since the Yokota terminal staff had told me over the phone that whenever there's a Patriot Express flight arrival, there is a shuttle bus to Atsugi. They neglected to say it's only when that flight is from Seattle. And more importantly, I neglected to ask three military people for the best two out of three answers...the real lesson learned is this.

So, after a brief meltdown and with the help of some strangers, we took a 2.5 hour, $200 dollar taxi ride from Yokota base to Atsugi base, during which I navigated with a simple FFSC map in English and hand motions for the driver who spoke absolutely no English. (That poor taxi driver accepted my tip even though there's no tipping in Japan!) We were finally reunited with our Prairie Joy to make the 1-hour drive home.

I remember hearing myself say that day, "I'll never do this again," right after which I grabbed the November schedule of flights leaving from Yokota and stuffed it into my bag. Apparently my subconscious thought I didn't have enough to carry already.

Three weeks have passed and I just came across the flight schedule again. Korea, Singapore, Guam. Crazy how my sentiment has morphed into: "I'll never do this again by myself with the kids." That's my loophole for going to Korea by myself with friends for some shopping one of these weekends. Or maybe, if you catch me on a good day, I might even say, "I'll never do this again without Brian." That way we could go to Singapore or Guam for one last family vacation before we leave Japan. Ever the idealist.

So, maybe just one more mac.

If only the taxi driver could have returned my sanity with my mp3 player.

Okinawa in October

Sydney, Miranda and I recently met up with Brian in Okinawa for a mini-vacation after he finished up two weeks of working at the hospital down there. It was a fabulous time to visit Okinawa. The weather was perfectly warm without humidity. The beaches were empty because it was "off season." My only weather-related complaint is that I couldn't find a shovel and pail to save my life since the PX employee imformed me these items are "seasonal." At which point my first thought was, "Isn't it always warm in Okinawa?"

We got down to Okinawa a tad earlier than desired (thanks to the inconvenient "mac" flight schedule, more on that in a later post), so I had plenty of time to explore some things with the girls while Brian was working. And Sydney had plenty of time to accidentally lock herself in the bedroom of the BACHELOR Officers' Quarters (BOQ), which nearly got us kicked out. (I tried getting her to unlock the door and failed, so called the Japanese manager, who was more concerned about the fact that no children are allowed in the BOQ than he was that neither of the master keys seemed to open the door. After much deliberation about what to do, I tried one more time to get Sydney to open the door and voila! She listened to me and let herself out, solving only one of our problems.)

But from then on, it was mostly fun. I took Sydney to the "pirate ship park" and beach on her birthday. The girls and I also took a ride together in a ferris wheel for the first time. And we took our fairy princess and fluffy duck trick-or-treating for Halloween on the base.

Then when Brian was free, we drove up the western coast of Okinawa to Okuma, where there's an Air Force recreation center on a tiny peninsula. We stayed in one of the cabanas that overlook the beach and we enjoyed several activities including the buggy bike, go-carts, trampoline jumping (with a harness), a glass-bottom boat ride, and the beach, of course.

We also visited the second largest aquarium in the world, Churaumi aquarium. It was really fascinating and we most enjoyed the huge whale sharks and the dolphin show.

Now we can check Okinawa off our list of places to see. It was our last big trip within Japan, which is probably good since traveling is increasingly difficult with two children. But it is a little sad too, that we've really entered our final stretch.