hospitals, police stations and the big apple

On Christmas Eve (afternoon) after a long day out and about at playgroup, followed by lunch out with everyone (who would have thought I would want to eat after pigging out so much on Xmas day! lol) we got home, and I had just changed into room wear, with a nice pair of thick socks, put on the kettle and poured myself a cuppa, when I was coming down the three stairs between the kitchen and living room, and slipped and fell with a wham right on my lower right side/back, then my butt. There was tea all up the wall, and floor, and I was in a bit of pain. And I could feel a sense of dread wash across me....so I sat on the sofa for a while to recover and finished off whatever tea was left in the cup, while googling "falls at 22weeks pg". Most of them suggested calling the docs at least, so I rang up the clinic and they said they would recommend I come in for a check - I had 30mins to get there before closing, so rushed K out of the door to the clinic. Got there in time, had a quick one-over by the docs, ultrasound - baby all well and kicking as genki as usual, so relief there. Was glad I went to get checked tho, for my own peace of mind, otherwise I would have been worried about it until my next check up!!!

Xmas day I then ended up at the police station, as had to renew my drivers license, and only had until today (28th) so figured best not to leave it till the very last day. So we went on the 2nd last day! lol. They are now doing IC card licenses, so I didn't even get my new license on the spot - I have to go back in FEBRUARY (!!!) to pick it up.

Boxing Day we headed in to the big smoke of Tokes. J is being MC at a friend's wedding 二次会 so he was meeting with them at the restaurant for a 打ち合わせ. They invited me to come along too to have dinner after the meeting. We arrived about 4pm, K fell asleep on the train getting there, so was still asleep when we arrived. I walked around the shops (really just restaurants) and then sat down at Maccas with a hot apple pie and cuppa for a while. Then went off to check out the bookstore before we could meet up with them for dinner. They had Christmas Illumination at the building, which was quite nice, but there was soooooo many blue led lights, that my eyes actually started to チカチカする after a little bit! Got home near 10pm.


Day after Boxing Day - I think hitting the big apple got to us, and we all slept it. I even managed to sleep in until 10am!!! Yep, when K woke up (around 9am!), J took her downstairs for breakky which was nice. We walked down the road for Ramen for lunch, then it was just a quiet day at home, rearranging the upstairs bedrooms so that the bunk beds could fit in. We did up our Nengajo in the evening.

Today - dropped off some shirts at dry cleaning and got some more nengajo post cards for the ones we stuffed up yesterday (lol) then the bunk beds arrived, so we set up one in the "kids" room, and one in our room. Tried to get K to nap, but it was already nearly 3pm, so we just read Dora then came downstairs to take R for a big walk. Am hoping that K will crash tonight relatively early now. J is at a work do, his last day of work for the year before NY break. So K and I will eat turkey soup leftovers (again!!) and then try out her new bed! She seemed pretty excited about it, and even though we don't have a super cute sheet and doona set for her yet, so liked the one I did have with ants and 4 leaf clovers on it! The main thing was she wanted the pink blanket, so that might just be enough to keep her in her own bed!

Should be going away to the PIL for NY, either leaving tomorrow or Wed (I am pushing for Wed since J seems to want to stay for 5 (FIVE!!!) days. I think I need one more day of sanity at home to prepare for THAT one.

sleep, soba, shopping, sleep, sushi and sleep again

Long Day.
Got a not so early morning phone call from FIL (at 9:45am) suggesting that we do the shopping for K's Xmas present today (rather than Wed when they come over for Xmas lunch). I agreed it would be a good idea, but would have to wake J and ask him first too. (Yes, *some* people get sleepins, it seems....) An altercation later (apparently *I* didn't want to go today so was making things difficult by not writing down the address in Japanese for the Toys'R'Us store close to PIL house, sigh) and we left to pick PIL up(an hour away), drop by a soba joint for lunch, swing by Toys'R'Us (along with every other Tom, Dick and Hanako) to get a suitable present for K from PIL (anpanman kids computer thingy - I suggested a cash register and also a dolls house, but since they didn't make the grade this time, we will save them for her birthday in April), drive back via a home centre as K had fallen asleep in the car, keep going to the popular sushi joint where we lined up for about 45mins, maybe longer, IN THE COLD to get a seat for 3- (there are 5 of us!!) then when a seat for 2 came available, PIL went there to eat, so we didn't even end up sitting together for dinner that THEY paid for, before heading back to PIL house for cake (I refrained, gotta pretend to be doing something to slow down the weight gain for next docs check) and then getting home just after 9pm, and K asking J to put her to bed. Where he still is, obviously sound asleep too. again.

Long Day.

***********

I have wrapped most of the presents tonight now - cleverly using a mix of wrapping paper, butcher's paper and チラシ (as I have a slight eco streak in me, and figure K is only gonna rip the paper to pieces anyway, not like in our house in Aus where everyone has to open the presents carefully as the wrapping paper gets recycled for about 10years in a row.)

I am the master wrapper, btw. The (self-appointed) "official" wrapper-up-er-er in the household in Oz, and have been for a few years now. Usually up late on Xmas eve wrapping, so am giving myself a pat on the back for having things wrapped a week before Xmas! The tree is starting to look good with all the presents underneath it. Actually, the tree is starting to be dwarfed by all the presents underneath it (we so should have bought the next size up, lol
(yikes! on it's side AGAIN - it was the right way round in my photo album on the comp....although the original photo was たて. who knows?! not me thats for sure)
I decided to hang the Xmas cards ON the tree this year too, since we don't have enough to string along the wall, but too many to just sit on the shelves behind the tree. And that santa figure at the front is also a hand-me-down(?) from MIL tonight. I remembered that we have some small Xmas decorations in a box in the loft, so am gonna get J to bring that down tomorrow, and might even add more stuff to our Xmas "corner".

Oh, and this is the cute bowl K's pudding came in tonight, together with a nice little candle holder MIL gave us as we were leaving. cute, hey!

the week before Xmas

I haven't been blogging much, as I seem to find myself out and about the last few days/weeks running all sorts of errands, doctors visits, shopping expeditions, christmas parties.....I guess it is just silly season business.

Have got a few things under the Christmas tree - all for K of course. Another package arrived today with stuff from my brother. I think she will really enjoy Xmas this year! I have a turkey we are gonna roast up on Wednesday 23rd when PIL come over for our Xmas celebration. Still have to decide what else to put on. Am kinda excited - first Xmas in new house and all that jazz.

Anyway, the week in review:

* Mon - already I can't remember! Oh, hang on - I....nope, no idea. Ah, ok just checked out my 家計棒 and saw I bought stuff at Ito Yokado, so remembered we went down to the bank to pay a tax bill (ugh!and it took forever. had to pay at bank since it was overdue, oops!) then got some stuff for the pot luck party on Tuesday. Afternoon a write off with naps. Also was my nephew's bday last week, so finally got to skype him, which ended in an hour long chat to my sister, also a half hour skype to mum so absoulutey nothing else done in the afternoon!!

* Tues - had a Xmas party at our old playgroup. It is a fair way away, so we didn't get back until after 3pm, and K was still sound asleep in the car until after 4pm!

* Wed - had apt in the morning at ob-gyn (will post about TJ-baby's progress in a separate post I think) then we drove to shopping centre at the next train station area, to see if I could get a Xmas present for my friend at home....no luck. But I still managed to buy up heaps - I am so in a shopping spending mood at the moment. yikes. So much for our budget AGAIN this month, lol. Also wanted to check out what kinda toys are around for K for Xmas - so that when PIL come over next week for Xmas lunch, I have an idea of what to tell them to get (We are going shopping together to get K a present that day too)
Came home to have lunch, but then realised I still had heaps of Xmas cards to post, and really had to get present for friend, so skipped K's nap and we kept shopping by car again in the afternoon. She was a trooper, out all day with no nap. Found something somewhat suitable for friend, so posted off cards and presents in afternoon.

* Thurs - ended up taking K down to peds as she came out with a rash on Wed night all of a sudden. It looked like someone had slapped her face, and it had been attacked by a hoard of mozzies to boot. When we hopped in the bath, it came out all over her back, and she spent most of the night scratching in bed. It had gone by the morning, but we went anyway, the doctor said it was 蕁麻疹(hives), gave us some syrup to try to prevent it coming out again (for a week at least) and cream to stop the itching. After docs, had to ems a package to J's host family in the US with rice crackers, dried squid, character candy stockings for the kids....we always leave it to the last minute, hope it arrives. Then stopped off at the shops AGAIN this time to get some fleecy lined wind proof pants for me (for night time walks with R) in Mens XL!! and some pants for around the house for J (in Mens M!!!- something wrong with this picture, right, lol!)

* Fri - finally a day at home! Spent morning cleaning, and actually feel like I accomplished something. Amazing how much you can get done in a morning. We usually use the mornings to go out, so that we can be home for K's nap, but the afternoons go so quick, and if I end up napping too (being all worn out from the morning activities, preggo excuse that I am using a lot lately) then NOTHING gets done. Since it was nice weather, we got 3 loads of washing done, plants got watered (they were almost on their last legs - my thumb is anything but green!), bathroom got the full treatment, upstairs got aired out all morning and then refreshed with incense burning now, made a batch of cookies, cleaned out the kitchen and rubbish bin. Still have a pile of stuff to do this afternoon, but am taking a peanut butter s/w break now with K while watching Ii tomo.
back again....
After lunch I did a quick vacuum, put K down for a nap and decided that my aching back and I needed more "down time" so put the kettle on, and settled in to watch "Gary Unmarried" with a cuppa and a biccie or four. I am watching the pilot episode, as all my fav shows are on holidays over Xmas, so no newbies online to see. And already it is nearly time for K to wake up again....too fast for my liking.

On another note, it seems that whenever we go out by car to the shops, it seems to take up a whole day each time. Or maybe I just really haven't been out "shopping" for so long,I forgot how tiring it is walking around shops and shopping centres. Until recently, our shopping has really been in and out of the grocery store as fast as we can type stuff. I guess it is a good thing to see that K has got to the stage where we CAN go out for a morning of shopping without it being a disaster (unless of course Daddy comes, in which case K seems to turn into devil child - I guess she is just playing J and me off against each other, but still, doesn't make for happy mummy or happy families. lol)

triple yuck

I may have just had one of the most disgusting experiences in my life. It involved me, a very hot summer's day, an atm (those ones in a little room of their own, near the train station etc) and having to transfer money for a payment into a random account somewhere.

O
M
G


I take enough time checking and re-checking when it is an account I always transfer payments into (did I mention I am a worry-wart), but put a totally new, one-off payment transfer in my hands, and I could be in the trenches for a while.

By the time I transferred my lifesavings into an offshore account today (or payed the bill) I was literally dripping from every part of my body. Why do those stupid atm rooms not have any air-con or even just an air ventilation system? And the 2inch by 2inch hand towel I was carrying in my bag did nothing rectify the situation.

Wow. It really gave me a new insight into "sweaty brows".

I am so not into summer.

another day....

another easter egg hunt!

Thursday's playgroup - Easter Picnic.
Fantastic weather - at least 23deg.
Great choice of picnic site - park by the bay, 開放感* to the max
Easter Eggs galore - 94 plastic eggs, and 7 kids!! (seriously, eggs galore! was expecting more kids)
Entertainment - watching 7 kids scramble on the grass gathering 94 eggs and putting them into their "heartfully made"** milk carton easter baskets.

Happy Easter

Hot Glitters


* is that a real word?
** now, I made that word up. I think. Or it might be Japlish.

Pancake Tuesday (+1)

This morning I realised that yesterday was Shrove Tuesday - I always seem to miss Easter relatated stuff in Japan... but, I figured we were close enough - only out by one day- so I made up a quick batch of pikelets (from pancake mix) and K and I had a lovely pikelet and jam morning tea to celebrate the start of lent.

Then I went out and bought a block of ghana chocolate - so I guess I won't be giving up chocolate for lent, haha.

Oh, and today is Ash Wednesday, but since we live in Japan, I am guessing we won't see people walking around with ash dots on their forehead, like we used to all day after Ash Wednesday mass.

And I guess while I am at it, I should make a note here that Easter Sunday is 12th April. Better remember that one.

where is pumpkin〓〓

I got some "trick-or-treats" (I guess that is what I can call them?) for Halloween from a friend. We don't do Halloween in Aus, so I never really get into it, but this year K has 2 parties at playgroup for Halloween - she is going as a black cat to both (one was on Sunday, next one is this Thursday) I am going as cat woman, minus the black leather body suit, of course.

Anyway, my friend came over with these american candies for Halloween, and they are DISGUSTING....

DISGUSTINGLY addictive, that is.
They are called "Candy Corn", and all I can equivalate them to is "Jersey Caramels" from home. They taste really plastic-y but my goodness, I still managed to gobble them up! There were even some Hershey's kisses in Candy Corn flavour, which were so sickning they were delish.

My face has even broken out, like a teenager!