get me some chicken on a stick!

So I wasn't gonna let go of what may be my only chance to get to yakitori, so when we woke up Sun morning, I did a search of yakitori joints around....anyway, J suggests we go to the Fukui (pref) style of yakitori/kushiyaki place Akiyoshi. So we headed out in the freezing cold SNOWing even, for an early dinner (got there just after 4pm).

This place has really small skewers, so you can eat about 20 or 30 each. It was yummy, but I would have liked to have seen more choice on the menu, esp if you eat so many (we had to order the same dish a couple of times). Still with a beer and a chu-hai each it was a good night, worth all 7500yen it cost ;) Even if we did have to supplement with Maccas on the way home (K wanted chips, and an apple pie for dessert for me didn't go astray either!!)

SOOOOO this means I can cross off #17 of my 1001 things in 101 days now too, woo-hoo.

lucky for some?

So we are home again - got back last night, 12 hours after we left, hahaha!

Ah, I am still giggling whenever I think about it.

I can't work out if it beats the time J drove us all the way to his parent's besso (strategic departure of 10pm to take advantage of the cheap highway toll), only to park the car and realise that he forgot the key (they weren't there) and we drove all the way home TO PICK IT UP and go back again!! 4hours plus driving back and forth!

Or if it beats the time I booked my parents and me into a hotel that didn't exist (still unsure of the details of that one, as my Japanese was a bit rusty and I was only 17years old at the time ;)

Anyway, we can't work out if yesterday was actually a lucky day for us or not.

Unlucky stuff:
* Obviously, booking a hotel for the wrong night ranks pretty high here, although I don't know if "unlucky" is the right word to describe that (lol)

* As way of saying sorry for the royal stuff up, J actually decided to take me to yakitori for dinner!! This is a big thing, as he NEVER takes me to yakitori for some reason, (I wasn't even upset, wish he pull this card more often when I actually am pissed off at something he has done haha) and we found 2 yakitori places at Yugawara, on the way home. The first one was more like a snack in someone's house, so we decided to try the other, which we couldn't find for ages, as the map was not clear (when will you get the hint: STREET NAMES, please, Japan!) When we eventually did find it, I took the opportunity to change L's nappy in the car before we went in, and in the time I was doing that, a couple of people entered the yakitori joint in front of us, and took the last seat ;(
So we had dinner at COCOs.

* we got stuck in a bit of traffic coming back home, thanks to an accident.

The lucky stuff
* J DIDN'T get booked for crossing the orange line (changing lanes) on the highway near the exit. The police officer standing on the side of the road fully SAW him do it but LUCKILY the officers 50m up the road booking cars already had 3 cars at the side of the road they were booking, and there was no space for them to wave us in, so we escaped!

* J DIDN'T get charged a cancellation fee for the hotel for Sun (tonight's) booking ;)

* The blue smurfs won the soccer last night...hmph. Lucky for SOME I guess.

You'll like this

So we managed to get out of the house this morning right on 10am, and L fell asleep almost right away, sleeping until we got to hakone, so we stopped around noon for soba noodles then kept heading south on the Izu skyline for Ito, where the hotel is. Since we were running early, we played a bit at the much-no-Eki and tried all their free samples（＾∇＾）and even pushed K around on a kiddies dodgem-car type ride. And we ate 63yen cookie-crust choux creams, yum!!!
Got to the hotel in good time, and J went to check in, only to be told that his booking was for TOMORROW night!!!!!!!!!!!

They didn't have any cancellations for tonight so we are homeless for the night, lol!! But since K was soooooooooooopoooooooo looking forward to her onsen ryoko, I told J to take her into the onsen while I wait with L who is down for his afternoon nap. Shame, as the onsen here is a pool-onsen that you can all go in together. Oh well. J said he will bring us back again, when he can book it on the RIGHT NIGHT I hope

How funny

onsen-ryoko

"so do you wanna go on an onsen-ryoko this weekend?"

J thows this out to me literally just as I am getting the kids into bed last night, before he heads off to the gym. He wants to leave at 10am this morning. Ha! and he gives me confirmation that he booked a hotel last minute at 1am when he comes up to bed (and wakes me up to tell me this, yawn)

It is now just after 7am, I have had a cuppa, had a crap (well, L did on the loo again at least) and now K has just come down too, so I guess that means I can stop lazing around and start packing. I am SO BAD at packing - you know that saying about everything but the kitchen sink, well, I usually end up taking the sink and half the living room etc etc. So I *might* get a bit stressed with having to pack (even if only for overnight)with so little warning. Will try to be calm and keep it down to one bag only....with just 2 changes of clothes(never know when an explosion from top or bottom is gonna happen with kids, right), togs (as hotel has an onsen style pool, apparently) just a few toys...

9 months old and....

1. doing poopies on the toilet every morning for the last week or so.
We are usually the first ones up in the house, so when I go to the loo in the morning, I take L in with me. Sometime last week when I did this, I realised that he was starting to strain, so I whipped his nappy off and sat him on the loo and oula - poopy on the toilet! So now I have been keeping an eye on him and as soon as I see his straining face, we head to the toilet. Makes for a much easier clean-up ;)

2. eating like a trouper!
3 pieces of sushi rice at kaiten sushi on the weekend (as well as other stuff); 2 fish cakes and a half a bowl of rice at dinner last night!! I swear I can't fill him at the moment (HENCE #1 above, lol!) But it is nice to see him finally eating, as he really showed not that much interest until after new years.

3. walking in circles.
L seems to have the right foot step down pat...so much so that he can take 4 or 5 steps with his right foot only, which of course means he is doing a 360 on the spot! kinda cute ;)

4. weighing in at just under 8kg.
Since he started crawling, he seems to have slimmed down a bit, and no longer looks like the "big boy" that everyone was commenting on when they saw him.

5. he needs a haircut!
that fringe of his is too long, I know, I know, and I would just chop it myself but I want to make a calligraphy brush out of his downy hair, so am waiting to get to a hairdressers.....

6. babbling all the time.
The other day, I swear he turned to J when he got home and said "daddy" lol.

7. he has 2 teeth!
First one (bottom left) came in on Jan 7th, second one (bottom right) has made it's way through last week, Jan 18th.

8. he just adores his big sister!
She can make him laugh (and make him cry, lol) but he just watches her the whole time

9. he seems to be getting over his "stranger danger" phase.
Had some very tough stranger anxiety for a while there, but just the last week (after his 2nd tooth popped through) he seems to be more settled again, and happy to spend time away from his beloved mummy.

10. seriously, just as cute as a button ;)

a long weekend

like, really long.
K came down with a fever AGAIN. 39.6deg at it's height.
Took her to nighttime medical centre, and all they did apart from shove that super-long q-tip up her nose to check for influenza was give us some bum bullets to keep the temp down. So no idea what the phantom fever is all about.

She had a high fever on NY day (night) too, but it was gone by the next morning.

Although I would like to think this is a 24-hr one too, she has been feverish since Sat night. sigh.

Poor little pumpkin.

And she is so shitscared of doctors, that she won't tell me where, if anywhere, she is sore/hurting, in case we take her to the docs. Somehow managed to trick her into the docs room last night, but once her name was called she started yelling out "駄目といったでしょ!" ("I told you I don't wanna see the doctor") , screaming and thrashing, at least I could somehow hold her as L was waiting in the car with J.

Tomorrow morn is gonna be fun again when we hit the peds ;(

Why do these things always happen on weekends/holidays when the regular docs are not open???

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 ;)