update for 1001 things in 101 days

Ok, so I now realise that writing a list of 101 things to do while I was pregnant and looking after only one kid was kinda silly ;) Not much progress all round, unfortunately, but hoping that I will be able to pick up my game in 2011 :)

And IF anyone is interested in a blow-by-blow account of my snail-like progress, I am randomly updating with details here. (more of a reference point for me)

So here goes:

KIDS AND FAMILY

1 . Make a baby album for K for the first 2 years of her life.
2 . Make a baby album for L for the first 2 years of their life.
3 . Update facebook photos of K once a month. (0/33)
4 . Take the k to the park at least once a week for 50 weeks (this is for her playtime, separate to just walking R) (0/50)
5 . Update facebook photos of L once a month.
6 . Take K out on a special date (one-on-one time) once a month after L born
7 . Go to an Aquarium
8 . Go to the zoo near playgroup
9 . Go to Zoorasia again
10 . Take K to a "carnival" (Dora the explorer reference there) or circus
11 . Ride on a ferris wheel with K



EXTRAVAGANCE

12 . Drink the bottle of French Champagne J brought back from France (perhaps to celebrate 5th marriage anniversary?)
13 . Drink the wine (Tempranillo) we brought back from Argentina
14 . Eat Peking duck at "8"
15 . Eat out at Bistro du Moulin, @ Kichijoji without the kid(s)
16 . Eat 焼肉　at "北京" again
17 . Get J to take me to 焼き鳥



JAPAN/TRAVEL

18 . Visit friends in Oita
19 . Visit 2 prefectures I haven't been to before. (0/2) (Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Toyama, Fukui, Mie, Shiga, Wakayama, Tottori, Shimane, Okayama, Yamaguchi, Tokushima, Kagawa or Ehime)
20 . Visit 5 shrines or temples I haven't been to before (esp in Kamakura). (0/5)
21 . Go ski/snowboarding at least once (assuming not pregnant during ski season)
22 . Travel to an overseas country (other than Australia) at least once (would love to go to Taiwan, or perhaps to California and tour the wineries (this is real a dream item! I know that chances are it won't come true, but I can always hope…) )

SOCIAL

23 . Host playdate/morning tea at home at least 12 times (2/12)
24 . Have J's 幼馴染 over at least once a year (0/3)
25 . Have J's friends(manatee) over at least once a year (0/3)
26 . Have J's parents over at least once every 4 months



HEALTH/FITNESS/HOBBIES

27 . Get back to pre-pregnancy weight (almost there -- 1~2kg to go)
28 . Be able to fit into my Helly Hansen bamboo pants again
29 . Follow a daily face firming ritual every day for 2 months in succession (0/2)
30 . Get a professional massage at least once.
31 . Get a professional pedicure at least once.
32 . Drink at least 1L of water every day for a month
33 . Drink at least 1.5L of water every day for a month
34 . Drink 2L of water every day for a month
35 . Swim once a week for 12weeks (1/12)
36 . Swim 1.5km in 30mins
37 . Run twice a week, for 12weeks (0/12)
38 . Run 3km ten times (0/10)
39 . Run 5km 5 times (0/5)
40 . Run 10km 2 times (0/2)
41 . Go cycling with J and kids (in bike seats)
42 . Go hiking (maybe Takao-san or around Kamakura) with kids
43 . Go to a tea ceremony (e.g. at a 祭り) 13/2/2010 at 地区センター
44 . Get regular dental checks, at least once a year (0/3)



DETOX

45 . Have a computer free day at least once a week for 12 weeks (0/12)
46 . Spend a week with no internet (skype an exception)
47 . Spend a week with no TV
48 . Go for a week without buying any chocolate/chips/junk food/dessert
49 . Go for 2 weeks in a row without buying any chocolate/chips/junk food/dessert(0/2)
50 . Go for a month without buying any chocolate/chips/junk food/dessert.




USING MY BRAIN

51 . Study Japanese for at least 30 minutes once a month (0/33)
52 . Read a novel in Japanese
53 . Sit JLPT or JETRO test
54 . Read 5 novels in English (2/5)



DURING PREGNANCY

55 . Do yoga dvd once a week (starting now)

MONEY AND SAVINGS

56 . Start Mon-Sun week budget and refresh self each Monday for 12 weeks in a row (0/12)
57 . Once completed above, continue with 家計簿 every month.
58 . Make a bank book in each child's name.
59 . Use this bank book to make an education fund, depositing at least 5,000 yen per child per month (adjust as budget allows).
60 . Save 10万円 in 500yen coins
61 . Go three whole months (not necessarily in succession) without buying any single clothing item for any member of the family (0/3)
62 . Get our weekly shopping (groceries only) down to 6000 yen (hahaha! Can only try I guess…)
63 . Be able to put away 5000yen a month to pay back money for the car.
64 . Be able to put at least 5000 yen away per month for a travel fund

EVENTS

65. Do 七五三 for K (2010, 2012)
66 . Get a professional family photo done
67 . Take a family Christmas photo (1/2)



AROUND THE HOUSE

68 . Start a herb garden.
69 . Grow a nice, grassy lawn
70 . Get rid of anything we don't use and is still unpacked after 6 months (by July 2010)
71 . Go through all clothes and donate to charity or recycle anything we don't need.


ORGANISING

72 . Organise the playroom so it's easy to clean and keep (relatively!) tidy.
73 . Do something about the 押し入れ in our bedroom.
74 . Follow weekly cleaning schedule for 4 weeks in a row (0/4)
75 . Follow weekly cleaning schedule for 3 months (0/3)



COOKING

76 . Learn to make 10 recipes by heart (1/10)
77 . Cook fish for dinner 2 times a week for 12 weeks (1/12)
78 . Attempt to make 漬物
79 . Make a pie crust that I am happy with!
80 . Make at least 15 recipes out of oven recipe book



BEING HANDY (I AM SO NOT HANDY, LOL!!)

81 . Sew ties in doona covers (so doonas don't slip about) (0/4)
82 . Take up pants that are too long
83 . Take up curtains / fix curtain with hole in it
84 . Learn how to sew something simple.
85 . Remake a piece of my clothing into something K can wear

PERSONAL

86 . Write a list of things I am grateful for once a month (0/33 ok, so cant count how many months that is already, but I am doing this every month)87 . Get a psychic reading
88 . Apply for permanent residency (putting docs in this Friday, wish me luck!!)
89 . Write a letter to Aunty E, Uncle M, and Uncle G at least 2 times a year
90 . Go to the hairdressers at least once a year
OTHER


91 . Finish South America traveblog
92 . Start making 年賀状 snd Christmas cards at the beginning of December every year (1/3).
93 . File all received 年賀状 by the end of January every year, updating addresses on computer list (0/3)
94 . Start writing Xmas cards at the beginning of December every year (0/3)
95 . Make a blog list of all the countries I have been to, and dates of travel (referring to passports and photos)
96 . Make a blog list of all mountains I have climbed in Japan
97 . Make a blog list of the places in Japan I have visited (use photos as reference)
98 . Import all photos from old computer to current computer, AND save on disks
99 . Save all digital photos on facebook or Picasa or similar on-line photo storage site
100 . Update how the list is going on my blog at least 6 times (1/6 )
101 . Donate 500 yen to charity for every unfinished task at the end of this challenge.

Happy New Year

New Year's Day 9pm : K wakes up in a sweat, eyes wide open, crying. She had gone to sleep with PILs as we were staying with them over the new year, but MIL had called out to say that K felt hot...too right - she was running a 39deg fever.

AAAArrrrrggggghhhhhh. Happy New Year.
And so it began.

K complained of a sore back of the neck, so I started to freak out that she had meningitis, but a bit of Internet searching (Dr Sears is my new best friend) and we decided it probably wasnt that, so we rode out the feverish night (with no meds cause didnt think to take bum bullets with us, bad mummy) with K seeing "obake" (ghosts) for about an hour as she wouldnt close her eyes to sleep. Lucky they were all friendly ghosts - she was describing them all to me. She was also doing a hysteric type of laugh. J thinks she was taken over by some spirit. Hmm. Anyway, she finally got to sleep and woke up the next morning unscathed and pretty much back to normal. Wonder what it was?? Perhaps she was just overtired from a BIG day of bike riding and a 3km walk in the afternoon?? who knows...

Jan 2nd. L starts to run a low fever, about 37.5. I figure it is teething related as he now has the white hard bit on his bottom gum. PM. L's fever peaks at around 39deg during the night. Of course, NO BUM BULLETS so poor boy has to suffer thru. I hook him up to booby-on-tap all night, as he doesnt sleep for more than 30mins. Want to keep his fluids up.

Jan 3rd. L wakes up still feverish, but after a morning nap, he is back to 37.5deg, so we figure he is all ok. Fever spikes again in evening, so come back home and take him to nighttime emergency centre, where they say he has adenovirus, which is basically a cold with sore throat caused by a virus, so no meds necessary. Characteristically, his fever will go up and down for about 5 days (ugh!) and may get a bit of diarhea. Still sleeping BAD, and now even snoring in his sleep as obviously finding it hard to breath right at night.

Jan 4. repeat of previous day.

Jan 5. morning same. By this stage I am about 5 days into sleep deprivation hell (lol) which is proven when I speak to mum on skype and she says my eyes look all glazed over ;(

By the afternoon L has returned to his usual genki self (the change amazing!!) but still a restless night sleeping

Jan 6th: FINALLY the regular peds are open for business after the new years break -- doc says he is over the worst of it, checks his chest but says it is ok, and the snoring is just part of it, nothing more sinister. Phew. Hopefully he will be back to normal by tomorrow.

I am SO over all this sickness. It has just been one thing after another since november - granted, only colds and tummy bugs etc, thankfully nothing more major for the kids(touch wood) but still, I have spent the last few months planning and cancelling catch-ups, morning teas, playdates..... I feel like I am starring in my own tv show, "The Canceler". Add to that my very long and recurring battle with plugged ducts (think we are over that finally) and cracked nipple (70% healed?? ) It seems everytime I am on the verge of being healed, L gets sick and goes into overdrive on the comfort nursing. :(

I had really hoped we could start the new year on a good note healthwise.

Right, L is still asleep after our morning peds visit(prob catching up on lack of sleep from last night) so I am gonna make myself a cuppa and sit back for a bit longer and bludge rejuvenate while K watches Tamagotchi.

In need of something to celebrate

So it seems I am finally out of my maternity jeans
Ok so instead I am wearing my "fat" jeans but surely that is better than nothing??
Couldn't have come at better time

sickly start to december

I had decided that December was going to be my month to "get over it all" and get back on track, you know, being the last month for the year and all, it's kinda my last chance ;)

but of course life gets in the way. As does the secret stash of chocolate, biscuits and even senbei!! Wow, talk about binge!

Monday K was a bit under the weather - sniffly, runny nose, start of a cough, lacking appetite. Then at about 7pm, her fever started going up and by 8pm it was over 38. At about 9pm it was at least 41.4degrees (she was resisting temperature taking at this stage, so hard to get an exact, but nevertheless it was HIGH!). Lucky we had a bum bullet in the fridge, but even that only brought her temp down to about 39degrees. I think she was hallucinating, as she was saying strange stuff (in Japanese) It was soooooo hard to watch her in pain like that too. But I give myself a little pat on the back for not suggesting an emergency trip to night time ER, but rather riding out the worst of it for about an hour until her temp was a bit lower and she was able to sleep. J slept in with her while L and I retreated to the other room, hoping to avoid any cross-contamination ;)

Tues woke up and K was pretty genki, but still stuffy and chesty cough,and J reckons he was had come down with a headache and sore throat so took a sicky. Worked out well, as it meant that I could go down to the docs with L to get his still black poop and my achy-breaky boobs looked at (even tho I had spent the night pumping, I was still in a bit of pain when he latches on) Nothing really they could do for me, and it turns out his poop was GREEN, so nothing to worry about there.

By Wed morning L was starting to get a bit coughy and congested, and running a mild fever, but we had to go to PILs house to pick up R and a box of mandarins (how random, I know!!). Actually, I only really went because I had to pick up one more photo or K and L I ordered for my parents for Xmas - i thought if I dont get it soon it wont make it there!

Last night L was pretty congested and rosey-cheeked, but luckily no sporting a high fever, so while it was a bit of an unsettled night, it wasn't too bad in the scheme of things. He is very clingy tho, so I am yet to get much of anything done, again. I guess luckily in one way as J has clients tonight he is going for dinner with, and tomorrow is the end of year work party so no real cooking needs to be done for the rest of the week ;)

drowning, not waving

Am having trouble getting things done.

The days just don't seem to be long enough, my concentration span seems to rival that of a gnat, and I feel as energetic as a sloth......

November has been somewhat draining. L is going through a clingy stage, K is regressing into baby-hood at the same time as going throug a very defiant stage!!! L's clinginess, I can deal with, I know it is just a phase, but it does make getting up and doing things around the house harder.... As for K, I feel sorry for her as she always gets the short straw, being the older kid, every stage she is going through, I am going through for the first time, and more often than not I don't know how to deal with it effectively so end up ballsing it up (my reaction to her behaviour). Recently bought the Dr Sears discipline book but only got half a dozen pages into it...must start reading that again.

And now I am battling through another cracked nipple (nearly made a trip to ER this morning when saw L's black poopy nappy, only to realise that it all came from me and my bleeding nipple! ouch!!) that comes after a few weeks of on-again-off-again blocked ducts (I blame Reese and his peanut butter cups, which I got as omiyage from a friend, - too good to stop at one!! lol)

Some other stuff going on....

But the main problem seems to be I can't get myself out of a "funk" that I have fallen into....I think I just need to re-energise and stop procrastinating (HA! I have a PhD in procrastination)

Of course it is not all gloom and doom... K's 7-5-3 was great, I was so proud of her and she looked so damn cute in the kimono at the shrine, and in the party dress at the photo studio. Had a nice weekend away for our 5th Wedding Anniversary up to Nagano, got to soak in some onsen, visit a farm, even do a spot of shopping at Karuizwa on the way home. Had my first Thanksgiving at a friend's house, and a lovely birthday weekend with K helping to make and decorate a cake for me!

Maybe I am waving and not drowning after all...

In a car park at a home centre again while kids sleep as J buys food for R and nail clippers as we forgot to cut kids nails and L is ripping me to bits at the moment ouch!!!
We are away this weekend on an "onsen ryoko" to celebrate (& co
commiserate?) our fifth wedding anniversary. Currently in Suwa heading for our hotel in Kurumayama. Is hotter than I expected (in the car at least)
Right off we go another 25kms - hope the kidsstay asleep a bit longer!!

Born Free winners are grinners

Thanks for the comments/messages and entries into the draw.

With my trusty assistant, K, we drew the winner out of the hat and the winners are:

Gaijin Wife for the twist n'pop straw (do you want to go pink or green?)

Nik in the guch for the training cup (in pink)

and Nooh for the bpa-free baby bottle! (sorry, no pic hehe)

Congratulations and hope you enjoy your Born Free products.

pulling up

about 2 days ago, L spent the entire day pulling up on me, my clothes, my hair trying to stand up.

today he spent the entire day pulling himself up to stand on everything else in his sight:
* the kotatsu table (not turned on yet, just used as a coffee table)
* R's cage
* a box (the he actually ended up on top of, tottering back and forth AND gnawed an edge off....hahah)

already つかまりだっち？ this kid will be mountain hiking by the time he is 1 (he really is his father's son, lol)!

so I guess it really is time to do a serious baby-proof of the house!!

gaining one

no, not me gaining a kilo a day (although it sure seems like it) this is about L and sleep!

I find it kind of odd that L has gone from 3 naps a day to.....4! He is GAINING A NAP!

He has started sleeping better at night, of course he still wakes up a couple of times to nurse, and I am ok with that...I learnt the hard way with K that stressing over sleep only made it worse for me. I logged her awake and sleep times, and put so much pressure of myself to have her sleeping that I am sure it rubbed off on her, haha!! Anyway, L goes down to bed about 8pm, and until even a week or two ago, was waking up several times from 8pm until about midnight when I went to sleep. i would pat and rub his back etc to get him back to sleep easily, but now it seems that he can do this himself (not pat his own back, but get back to sleep easily ;) The only problem is, that he does it by rolling over onto his tummy and sleeping there. Ok, so obviously it is the most comfortable position for him, as once he is on his tummy he doesn't wake again until 1 or 2am for a bit of a nurse, but I am in a dilema as to whether I should be turning him back onto his back or not. At 6months old, he can obviously hold his head up and roll over himself, but should I still be worried about SIDS? hmmm. And of course every time I roll him back onto his back, he wakes up (albeit briefly) but it disturbs his sleep.

Unfortunately, probably because of his better and continuous sleep at night, the other thing is he has taken to waking up at 6:20am. Like an alarm clock every morning (>.<) I HATE alarm clocks (lol) Lucky for him he is a happy person in the morning, all chatty and smiley and cute.

Then because of this early wake up, he is all tired again by 8am, and goes back for a nap then, on top of his regular three naps a day.

Have you ever heard of a baby that gains a nap??????? lol

wow!!! and Born Free giveaway

I know I have been AWOL for a fair bit, so I am not even sure if anyone is still out there, but if the words "giveaway!" don't get you back, then I am in trouble (lol).

I have lots of half written posts saved as drafts, and lots of things to write about, it is just that I can't seem to find the time/motivation to sit down with a cuppa and actually get a full post uploaded at the moment.....so rather than try to catch up, I am gonna jump right into my "wow" and "BORN FREE giveaway" stories.

WOW!!!!

All I can say is Baby Lead Weaning is pretty amazing!
We "started" the day before yesterday (Nov 9th), at dinner time with sweet potato.

I admit I was quite nervous about giving L such a big piece of food, and watched him like a hawk as he oh-so-happily munched away, but it was AMAZING to see that even when he got a big bit (or a small bit for that matter) that he couldn't swallow, he just managed to spit it back out. I took my lead from baby teething rusks and made the sweet potato into a similar shape so he could hold it.

It really looks like it might be easier than the whole pureed foods and trying to spoon feed ;)

Since we got back from Aus, we have been slowly introducing L to the world of food outside of mummy :D He has been so intently watching us eat and trying to grab things since before we even went to Aus, so I knew he was totally ready for it, just had to get MYSELF ready, lol.

He has already tried the teething rusks (commercial) a couple of times and manages to get a bit of food out of them, as well as all over his clothes of course.

Before we left for Aus, I was given the chance to sample some products from the Born Free range, to celebrate their foray into the Japanese market.I got a sample training cup for L, which I took to Aus with me, but actually held off using we got back and he was over the 6 month mark.

Since last week, I have been sitting him in the high chair while I am getting dinner ready or we are eating, and given him his yellow BORN FREE Training cup with some boiled water in it.

It didn't take him long (def. no longer than 10mins!!) to workout that there was something in there, and he has enjoyed chewing on the tip and getting a bit of a drink at the same time!! I really like the way the BORN FREE training cup doesn't leak when tipped upside down, yet it only takes a little squeeze or chew on the tip to get the contents out.

I also got to try out the BORN FREE Twist N'Pop Straw Cup for K, which has been so easy to use - on the plane, for outings, at bedtime. It is easy enough for her to open and close as she needs it, and when closed it really doesn't leak!! Also, the straw attachment at the top is strong enough that her chewing on it hasn't caused a problem ;)

Of course, it being pink and all, K just loves it too!! (I haven't got the heart to tell her that the writing on the cup doesn't say "Cool Big Sister" , like her favourite pink t-shirt she got after L was born......lol)



Both the training cup and the twist n'pop straw cup are really easy for the kids to hold, dishwasher safe and made of BPA-free plastic. While we didn't try out the bottles this time, I really like how the baby bottles are especially designed to allow for a steady flow of liquid only when your baby suckles to mimic breastfeeding.

Check out the entire range, which is now available in Japan too (Japanese language site here)!

soooooo, for the GIVEAWAY

Born Free have kindly offered products from their BPA-free range for a giveaway to readers within Japan:

BPA-free Plastic Bottle

Training Cup (Blue, Yellow, Green, Pink)

Twist N' Pop Straw Cup (Blue, Yellow, Green, Pink)


To be in the running, all you have to do is leave a comment or send me an email(to let me know you really are still out there, lol). Please include which of the products and what colour you would like to win. Competition closes Tues Nov 16th.

Hope to hear from you :D