any suggestions?

SIMWPFWTMTOHH

(Slightly Insomniac Married White Pregnant Female
With Too Much Time On Her Hands)

seeks the following:

a cool toilet mat set for downstairs toilet, and funky bathroom mat set for upstairs bathroom and toilet (all in one). No Hello Kitty or Disney, flowers, pastels or shades of brown, thanks.

maternity clothes (mainly tops) that don't look like potato sacks.Oh, and don't cost a fortune. No tunics, no tartan, and no browns.

kitchen storage unit/cabinet/bench top. White, 120cm wide, 47cm~50cm depth.

don't even get me started on finding a bed frame.......

Any suggestions on where to look are welcome. Shimachu, Rooms Taishodo, Homes, Ikea, Nissen and Nitori are just not showing me the goods.

We spent the WHOLE day at home centres trying to find a kitchen cabinet that would fit in the space beside the fridge. As it is where the power point is, it needs to house all the kitchen electric goods, like the microwave-oven, rice cooker (should have one of those pull out shelves for this), and coffee machine, etc, so it needs to be at least 47cm in depth, so the oven doesn't hang off the edge! All the ones we saw were either the right colour, but wrong width, or the right colour, right width, but wrong depth, or the right colour, right width, right depth, but no pull out slidey shelf for rice cooker to sit on. Aaaarrrggghhh. Is going custom made really out of our budget??? lol.

In the end, we came home with impulse buy cushions and a throw rug for the lounge - 7000yen spent only so we would save 260yen on parking and get an hour free for having bought something, lol! At least it was a quick and painless decision, unlike the epics we are having trying to decide on furniture (and bathroom mats). Maybe sometimes it is better just to rip the bandaid off in one quick yank and get it over and done with.

As for maternity clothes, I somehow managed to get away without buying much when pregnant with K, basically because the only time I went out of the house was to take R for walks, so didn't worry too much about how I looked. This time I have playgroups and playdates to think about, so would like to get a few items to tide me over. I bought some jeans back in Oz, and have some other pants from last time, but am in dire need of tops - I seem to be exploding at an exponential rate this pregnancy, and all normal tops are being stretched to breaking point already. Also some comfy around the house trackie pants that don't cut into my bump would be nice! I have been looking at US sites, but few of them post international...and even if they do, the shipping costs are pretty high - I don't know if I can justify paying so much for shipping such cheap clothes, that I will only wear for a few months anyway!?!? Maybe if money wasn't a consideration, but hey, we just put ourselves into 35years of loan repayment hell, who am I kidding, money is so not growing on trees in this neighbourhood!

So the search continues - slowly but surely we will get the house in order. I am just getting really sick of furniture hunting and home centres about now. And despite coming home absolutely slaughtered from a whole day of being on my feet, yet again I find myself up after midnight, with a headache, and unable to think about sleep....... and the skating is on in the background.

I may be up for a while longer yet.

what a floosie

am quite pissed off today. Spent the morning ringing around doctors (for kiddies and preggo people) trying to find somewhere that offers the influenza shots. apparently I am too late, and every where is FULLY BOOKED. It would have been nice of the clinic I am going to (and paid my deposit too, to make sure I can give birth there) to tell me when I asked about piggy flu vaccinations to have told me that I could have booked the seasonal flu shot then. Or even if they had some information about it around the clinic. But I swear there was no info anywhere. The lady behind the desk only said that I should ring up to find out when piggy flu is being offered. So I waited until now, and of course they still don't even know when they are going to start those vaccinations. So I rang the 耳鼻科 down the road (the one I made an appointment at when K shoved two rubber bands, the small ones we use as hair bands, up her nose while having a good pick on Tuesday. I cancelled the appt in the end as J managed to get her to blow her nose enough to bring the bright pink and bright yellow hair bands down her nasal cavity far enough to grab them with the tweezers). They are taking bookings, but for 2 weeks in advance, on an automated telephone number. When I rang this morning about 9:20am (after having spoken to the lady on the regular phone number first) bookings were already full for two weeks from today. Bugger. I am gonna have to get in before 9am by the looks of it. So I tried the big general hospital up the road too - all the vaccinations for kids are finished already. I asked the lady what the hell I am supposed to do - I have tried several doctors and they are all saying the same thing - she put me through to a doctor or nurse who told me that to "limit outings to short periods of time, use a kid's facemask, avoid mixing with other kids" yaddih-yaddih-yaddah. I meant where the hell can I get the vaccination? I was almost gonna start on a rant "what, so just because we recently moved and I have no idea where the f*")Dng hospitals are around here, and because I don't know the whole procedure for booking 50months in advance for the vaccinations, do we have to miss out and now all die from bloody influenza???" But I bit my tongue.

What I don't understand is how the vaccines have all "run out" already. We are talking about seasonal flu shots here! Another bad for me for not being on top of it, right?!?

Big Sigh, end rant.
I guess we just try again tomorrow to book for 2 weeks in advance. Or keep going further afield to try find some place that will inject us!!

bread and water

I don't think I have ever had so much trouble finding a bread shop as I have around here.

No, wait.

I have found SEVERAL bread shops, all literally within 5 mins walk (different directions, though, of course!) I just cannot for the life of me work out how to get bread from them!!!!

It really all started with J's comment that he wanted to try the butter her brought back from France with a baguette or french stick. I almost bought one yesterday at the bakery in Ito-yokado, but they were 320yen, which I figured would be over the top for a probably dissapointing bread. So I thought of the other shops around:

"Baby Leaf", heading towards the next train station, seems to have erradic opening hours. I still can't work out when they are open. Yesterday as driving past on way home from the supermarket (in the pouring rain) I saw them open so dropped in, at about 11:38am, thinking I could pick something up for lunch. There was about 4 different types of bread available. ONLY. Bought a tuna roll for me (it was yummy, haven't had one for ages) and a custard bread for K, in the shape of a rabbit, which obviously went down well! I asked if they make french sticks, and they said they would be ready after 12noon. So I made a point to go there today, only to find the store closed. Doh!

So I headed instead to "Forest" the bread shop at the bottom of the hill, near the primary school, which was recommended by our neighbour, who was kind enough to let me know that they are closed Sun and Mon. They also don't open until, well, not sure when, but it is definately after 10am as I have been past several times and never seen it open. i thought I would take a chance, and was pleasantly surprised to find it open (and a 6-7space car park facility there!!) So I was obviously excited when I walked in the door.....but was quickly brought down with a thud - there was about 3 different types of bread left (all the others had sold out already!! wtf?? at noon??) Bought a curry-pan for myself as was starving by this time and needed something, and a plain custard bread for K, as well as a mini-sausage in a roll bread for K. I asked them if they make french bread (I am craving it something crazy!!) and they said "yes! at 1pm on Saturday." Once a freakin' week????????? You have got to be kidding me?

On the way home, I detoured via "Rascal" the bread shop on the main road heading towards Gyomu Supa and Sotetsu Rosen supermarkets. There was no where to park, and it was the first time I had seen it open, and, well, it didn't look that inviting (read: clean)

I was almost going to try the other bread shop I tried last week (can't remember the name), which is down past the 100yen Lawson, but decided it was time to give up for today.

How hard is it to get bread? Obviously very high on the too-hard-for-me scale at the moment.

I soooooooo can't wait till I get my home breadmaker!

diamonds are a girl's best friend...

especially when they *do* show up!
I found the missing diamond ring last night. yay. It was not where I thought I saw it last, which now gives me hope for finding the 母子手帳. It was in the same drawer, but not in my jewellery case, but put away safely in it's own jewellery box. I have put my engagement ring now into it's original box, waiting to take it back to the place we had it made so they can fix the claw. I feel better it being off my finger in case the stone comes loose, and I also feel secure in the fact that I will not lose the engagement ring asI have now blogged about where I put it, lol.

Today is another day of rain, rain, rain. 100% chance of rain today - they were right! I was hoping to go down to the main station area and get some library books, halloween related stuff from 100yen shop and do some grocery shopping for dinner tonight, but will not be venturing out in this rain. So will probably have to drive down to a supermarket. Since J brought back the French butter, he tried it out on toast this morning, but said he couldn't taste much difference, and needs to try it on a french stick or baguette, so I am going to get one for tonight. Which means dinner will be something that goes with bread....hmmmm. Still thinking what to do there.

As for the bringing in of cheese, butter and salami....well, it was all very low tech. J bought it at the supermarket just before he was heading to the airport, and put it in those silver coolers-type bags but with no dry ice or anything, just as is, as he put it into his suitcase. Not the best way to transport cool items, I would say, but hey. Lulu, I have no suggestions on what to do for sausages, as you don't want it to stand out that you have them and get them taken off you, right? My parents once brought over prawns - frozen, and put in one of those foam eskies with dry ice in it, sealed and then put inside another foam esky and again sealed with tape and I think wrapped in plastic (flash-backs to "Northern Exposure", hehe) too. But this was obviously questioned when coming through quarantine, but could get through as it was not a prohibited item. Do let me know if your mum does manage to smuggle sausages in to you - it would be a big coup for Aussies all over Japan, lol.

贅沢

J got back this morning from his business trip to France with:














All I can say is YUM. These macaroons are like nothing I have ever tasted - to say the ones I have tried here pale in comparison is an understatement.

He also brought back some cheese, salamis, butter and Belgium chocolates.
I can't work out if I am in heaven, or hell!?!? (As I can't eat half of it, and *shouldn't* eat the other half, at least not all at once, hehe)

the biggest loser

It continues.

After the recent debacle of losing my sunglasses before the move (which I never found again, even after searching through all the boxes once we got into the new house - I ended up buying a new pair in Oz) I have somehow managed to lose the following all within the last 1-2 weeks:

K's 母子手帳.

I am sure this puts me at the forefront for the "worst mother in the world (or at least Japan)" award. I realised that I had lost it after I was down at city hall getting the new 母子手帳 for tj-baby, and I mentioned that we had just moved, and the lovely lady there (not being facetious, she was actually really helpful) told me I should get K up to date with her city-offered immunisations, as the schedules might be different from town to town, so I should bring her 拇指手帳 in next time too. So I came home and searched the house high and low, but cannot find it anywhere. Which is strange, because I actually vividly remember it being in a wine box (used as decorative storage item) in the living room. But now, I wonder if, in all my wisdom, I moved it from there to the famous "somewhere safer" which of course I cannot think where that might be. *sigh*

a diamond ring.

*Gasp*

Talking to some people the other day about engagement rings etc, and one lady said that she lost the stone out of her ring. Which made me look closely at my ring, and realise that one of the clasps is all skew-whiffed and out of place, so I thought I should put my engagement ring in to be fixed. And as I quite like having a ring on that finger, I thought I would fish out the three-stone ring that J got me once as a present.....but it was not to be found in my jewelery box. Again, I distinctly remember looking through said jewelery box about a week or 2 ago, after getting back from Oz as I was going to change the ring on my right hand from gold ruby ring I bought myself in Sri Lanka, to either the sapphire ring I bought myself in Hawaii, or the diamond ring J got for me, but decided in the end that the ruby ring fits my fingers best, so left it as is.
When I went searching for the diamond ring tonight, though, of course it is NOWHWERE to be seen. What the hell could I have done with it???

FWIW, the battery charger that I thought I had lost before going to Oz, well, J found that in his unpacking. So maybe there is still hope for me and the　母子手帳 and diamond ring yet. I really hope so.

the last few days

Had a really fantastic day on Tuesday when a friend from when we were on high school exchange in Nagasaki came to visit. She is now living in NY and back visiting for a week (for a friend's wedding). It was about a year and a half ago when we caught up on her last trip back to Japan (for Nooh's wedding!!)Last time we went out to Shimokitazawa and found a quaint little "wa" place. This time she was kind enough to come ALL the way out to visit us on the other side on town to where she is staying and be the 2nd visitor in our new house!!!!

K was excited to see her, and kept on saying that she was going to say "hello" and "nice to meet you" when she arrived, but went a bit shy when friend actually turned up. But this was overcome with some play time with R and K and a tennis ball on the balcony. From then on she was over excited about it all, playing up a bit during lunch (not eating properly etc) and just trying to show off for the rest of the day!!

It was soooo great catch up - I can't believe that we have known each other for 15years, and have always managed to catch up every couple of years whenever we are in the same city: after exchange when back in Bris, when I used to come to Tokes for JET conferences, and now again while she is visiting Japan!! Looking forward to the next catch up - it might have to be in NY (if only I could swing *THAT* one, lol).......But it was cool this time, because it was the first time I have been able to have her over to my house (apart from parents house in Bris). I stayed with her once when I came to Tokyo one time for a Jamiroquai concert, but this was her first time ever to see my place. I am kinda happy that we now have a place that we can entertain people in (if they are willing to travel all the way to get to us, lol!!)

K missed her nap on Tuesday as she was having such a good time, so she had a mini-melt down at about 7:30pm, and then was sound asleep at 8pm Tuesday night, and didn't wake up until 8am Wed morning. She can do ok without her nap it is really only the last 10-15mins, usually after 7pm when she starts to really lose it, however, it again cemented in my mind that she still needs her naps during the day to keep us all sane at night! I am happy for her to be awake until 9pm or so at night anyway, as it gives her time with J after he gets home from work, and there are no melt-downs as she is not overtired.

Then, after our fabulous day on Tuesday, for some reason things have gone downhill yesterday and today (warning - venting starts here!!) : I am feeling pretty crappy and everything (and I mean *everything*) is pissing me off, little things like:

Waking up (again)dry reaching into the toilet bowl.

Can't find a bloody Mizuho bank (or even atm) anywhere near here, or the ones that are around don't have a carpark and are too far to walk to. Ended up finding an atm near playgroup, but think I may have to change banks or something....

the fact that K won't keep her arms in the childseat seat belt in the car. I yelled at her in the car when out and about on Wed - forgetting that I had the windows down, and some old fart outside on the other side of the road gave me a filthy look. aaaarrrgggh

I have been having almost constant headaches for 2days now.

and I am super bloated and just general icky feeling, including some lower abdominal pain.

I am not concentrating on things at all- driving at the moment is not a good thing as I find myself not paying enough attention.....

My computer is giving me the shits at the moment - keeps on playing up, freezing, doing funky things. I haven't been on facebook for a while as the inbox there freezes and doesn't open for me half the time.

last night I opened the door to the "pantry" (old cupboard we are using in makeshift time until we get new cupboards in the kitchen, probably after the fridge arrives this weekend) and not one, not two but three freakin' tins of random tinned food jumped out at me, and of course, made these big nasty holes in the floor - freakin' tateuri and their cheap-shit lino floors that can't stand up to anything. There are holes and scratches all over the place, which I then get into trouble from J from because I am not careful enough, and it is not normal to drop so much stuff. My mum always did say I was like a bull in a china shop, though.....

oh, and bloody Japanese TV is really giving pissing me off. What was the point of getting a fantsy pants 46inch TV, when there is nothing but mind-numbing crap to watch?

Not a good 2 days overall, but just because of the little things pissing me off. I guess I am tired and worn out (from what I don't know, as I don't do much except sit around thinking about how tired I am, lol), as K and I both went down for a 3 (THREE!!) hour nap yesterday afternoon, and a 2 hour nap this afternoon when we got back from playgroup.

Hoping that I can get over it soon though. I don't like feeling bleugh and crabby all the time. And cracking up at K and her antics only tends to make my head hurt even more. sigh.

blogging instead of sleeping

Thanks for all the comments!!

My baby bulge started around week dot - seriously I feel like I have been "showing" since the start. I could so be putting up bump photos already! The ultrasounds have been the crappy ones that are hard to decipher in picture form. Hard enough to decipher on screen. Which might be good in the end though as I don't intend to find out the sex of tj-baby (didn't for K either- until the doctor came in to deliver K, as in "ganbatte, last push now" and told me that I was "pushing for a little girl" aarrgggh!).

The cravings for salty foods continues- so maybe tj-baby is a boy?? Although I remember sending salt and vinegar pringles to Gaijin Wife when she was preggars with Marina, so I am not sure if the old wive's tale holds true....or *was* that when she was preggars with Shou? hmmmmmm.

I have been trying to limit the AMOUNT of food I have been eating though, and have also taken on eating a bowl of salad before the meal (or instead if it works!!) as I have been feeling so bloated otherwise. Of course, I have only been doing this for 2 days, and have now run out of lettuce so I don't know if it will continue or not.....And I am sure that midnight snacks of boiled eggs (salted, of course) don't help. I am surprised I haven't put on 10kg already!!

I guess it will be nice again being pregnant over the winter - K was due mid April but came early at week 38, on April 2nd. I think the estimate for tj-baby is a bit early so am actually expecting it to arrive early May. It will be a good time of year, though.

Now if only this new sofa wasn't so damn comfy and I could get my barge-arse off of it and get to bed- 1am is way past bedtime, I am sure.

time for a new blog ticker

insomnia - can't get to bed before 1am, even then am not able to sleep

headachy, especially at night time

gassy, IYKWIM.

absolutely worn out after simply walking up a set of stairs

needing to nap in the afternoon (I kinda like this part)

the first thing I hug in the morning is the toilet bowl (I thought this had passed already, but it is back this week)

not being able to watch Grey's Anatomy without ending up choked up and teary eyed (bloody hormones don't mix with Season 6!)

feeling constantly bloated, but yet still wanting to eat, and actually eating it ALL especially the ↓

instantaneous and urgent cravings for: senbei, potato chips, (salty) nuts, fizzy drinks and hard boiled eggs (wtf??!)

yep



12weeks and 4days.

EDD: April 27th, 2010!

All going well so far, baby has healthy heartbeat, and even did a little stretch during the ultrasound at my check-up today, just to show that he/she is genki. Too cute. Still not too convinced on the EDD, though - my personal estimate was around May 12th-14th, and the estimate we got last time was for May 7th, so it is coming forward each time. And the doc said "big baby" so I am wondering how accurate it all is.....I think they said K was big during pregnancy, but ended up born at 2464g at week 38...hmmmm.

Anyway, am very excited about it all, and intrigued at how different this pregnancy is panning out to when I was pregnant with K - the cravings are a totally new thing for me. I never even knew that you could have cravings this early in pregnancy! It seems odd to be feeling queasy at the *thought* of food, but then stuffing it into your mouth (as I have been doing) and feeling good while doing it. I am sooooo gonna put on a pile of weight this time round (gah!).

So I guess the next thing to do is put up a new ticker - will get on to that tomorrow. Really should get to bed now, before 1am hits and I turn into a pumpkin - or I EAT one, lol.

sofa, so good

What a lovely Sunday morning, that I have spent inside on the (NEW!) sofa, veging out after a 5am wake up call. J left again this morning for another business trip - he was home 2nights 1day, lol.

But it was an eventful day yesterday - he suggested we head off furniture shopping again. I have to admit that I was SOOOOO over Ikea and didn't want to go, but there was a rug there that he liked, and wanted to buy, as well as some more bits and pieces, so we went along. Turned out to be the right decision, as we came back with a great sofa, at a great bargain! It was reduced in price as it was the last in the range. Oh, and probably because of the colour - it is turquoise blue!!!!!!!! Sooooooo not what we were thinking of at ALL, but suprisingly, when I saw it out of the corner of my eye in the store, I thought it looked cool, and so did J. Now having it in the living room, I think it looks really good - a definate "feature". And I think it compliments the rug that we had in mind too, and goes with the black/brown tv and display cabinets. So all is good.

Getting it home was a bit of a nightmare though - it comes in 2 pieces, and while one fit in the back of the van, one had to be thrown onto the roof-racks - we got it up there, only to realise that the car wouldn't be able to get out of the carpark, so had to get it down again, drive the car around to the loading bay outside and throw it up again! In front of everyone eating their Ikea hot dogs! I am sure it was a great spectacle to watch.

Got the smaller part of the lounge upstairs somehow, but the bigger part was not gonna fit up the stairs, so J had the bright idea of us lifting it up the slope at the side of the house, which is like a super steep grassy slope, and in through the living room window. I was shit-scared of doing this, as I had vision of me letting go and J tumbling to the ground only to be squashed by a big turquoise lounge suite. Anyway, as luck would have it, the house next door has been sold, and there were workmen in there yesterday (landscaping the back yard, making a wood deck, by the looks of it) and when they saw us about to pull the lounge off the roof, they kindly offered to help lift it up! Sure saved me! So now I am comfortably sitting/lying on lounge (it is a corner sofa).

Also got a new fridge last night - it will arrive probably next Saturday. Again, I think we got a pretty good bargain. It is a 475L fridge (compared to our current "bar fridge" at a measly 183L). I am *so* excited to have a fridge so large. It was the largest fridge that we could fit up the stairs (it is one of the narrow makes). Anything bigger and it would have to be lifted up over the balcony, at an extra 30,000yen or more.

Once the fridge comes, we will have more of an idea of how much extra space we have in the kitchen to put some sort of crockery cabinet and one of those Japanese space saving cabinets with the sliding bench for the microwave oven/coffee maker/ blender and whatever other electrical appliances there are.

It is kinda amazing how quickly you can fill a whole house, lol!