Look What I Found!

In the mornings after my walk I take a shower, frequently Jack gets in with me and takes his own 'fun' bath when we're all done washing up.  I had stepped away for a little bit, within ear shot.  I could here him playing, laughing and having a grand old time.  I went to check on him with my own eyes and this is what I found.  He loves his blanket so much!  He calls it his wee-wee.

Notice all of the water he splashed out?  It forces me to wash my bathroom rug regularly, so it's not all that bad.  He put his towel on the floor and it was soaked as well.  Sometimes I think that it's his mission in life to give me more work.  Howie and Erin were NOT like this at all when they were 2.  But of course I think I laugh a lot more now than I ever have.  It's just so cute when he does it with his contagious smile and all.

Growing Up

I was in the bathroom tonight cleaning up the water on the floor from Jack's bath.  It was Howie's turn to get in the shower and he was just standing there in the bathroom not doing anything.  I told him to go ahead and get undressed and in the shower.  "What are you waiting for?" I asked.  He politely asked me to leave so that he could get in the shower.  This was a first for me. I knew this day was coming soon, but I didn't expect it tonight.  Of course I respected Howie's privacy and I quickly left the room for him to undress in private.  He's growing up!  

Clean Home

After the movers left at about 2pm, Howard and I set  to work vacuuming, wiping down, and tidying up.  It's  amazing and quite disgusting how much dust and debris can accumulate behind furniture.  All of the furniture here will not be going with us.  The couch is ours that we're selling and everything else is government issue, including our beds upstairs.  Right now I'm VERY grateful for the furniture we have.  It's nice to have something to sit on!  We moved our couch so it faces the computer so that we can watch movies, since our TV is gone.

Howie and our neighbor Isaiah playing the DS together. Notice my very empty kitchen behind them?  I was thrilled today when they told me that they would take whatever food was in a container (most of my food was!)  I was so afraid that we'd have to give it all away when we move.  Some movers take your food and some don't.  I got really lucky today.  They also took my canned goods.

Our baby/toddler area.  These items will be going in our express shipment in a couple weeks.

Erin was so happy when she got home from school today.  She said she was happy that all of her toys were gone and that she could play in her empty closet (almost anyway).  She swings on the bars.  FYI - The homes are build differently here.  Everything is very sturdy and built to withstand a typhoon.  I'm more worried that she'll get hurt than break the house.

This is all that is left in the bedrooms, our beds.  We also have a couple gov't dressers that we share.

Moving Day

The movers showed up at 8am exactly and went right to work.  They were very quick and efficient.

This was my living area at about 10am.

Our soon to be very empty backyard.

Howard upstairs monitoring their progress.  

He's in grubby clothes because he was responsible for disassembling the outside play equipment. In all the movers were wonderful!  I was very nervous because we have a few irreplaceable furniture items from the Orient and I didn't want them broke.  I'm pretty confident that I'll see everything in one piece.  It's such a relief that today is nearing an end and that my house is back in order (just with a lot less stuff).

Potty Training Update

This is how Jack has spent the past couple days...bare bottom.  Less laundry for me.  I just have to clean up the floor when he misses.  Overall, he peed in the potty more than a diaper yesterday.

Potty Training

So Jack has decided to take it upon himself to potty train.  I was going to start this summer, AFTER the move. Three days ago he started telling me every time he went pee in his diaper, then he would take it off and throw it away (all by himself).  Since we're trying to get everything organized for the move, we were cleaning out the hall closet and pulled out the potty chair.  We stuck it in the bathroom to get it out of the way, but we didn't tell Jack about it.  We weren't even thinking about getting Jack to go in it.  Honestly...I think diapers are easier, ESPECIALLY on an airplane!  So yesterday he started taking his diaper off before he peed in it and he went potty in the potty chair, 4 times I think (he would go in there without me knowing sometimes).  Of course I changed a few dirty diapers yesterday, but I think we might be on to something here.  This morning after I got him dressed, he stripped down (diaper still dry).  We'll see how the next few days go.

Reality Check

So the movers called this morning.  They are coming tomorrow afternoon to look over our stuff to see how much we have.  I think it hit home today that our stuff is getting packed up on FRIDAY!!! Crazy!!!  It's starting to really sink in that we're moving soon.  Erin was 20 months when we moved here and Howie was 3.  Wish me luck over the next few days getting everything ready.

Cinnamon Roll Enrichment Activity

On Thursday I hosted an Enrichment activity in my home.  I was able to teach the ladies how to make cinnamon rolls.  Here is the recipe for everyone to enjoy. 

Click here to see a picture.

 

Tina's  Cinnamon Rolls

This is my own recipe that I made by modifying 2 other recipes that were given to me years ago.  Thank you Becky Stutzman and MaryAnn Phipps for the inspiration!

Ingredients

6 cups flour, divided

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp. salt

2 pkg active dry yeast 

12oz can evaporated milk

1/2 cup water

1/2 butter

1 egg

Pre-heat oven to 375 F. In small saucepan heat water, milk, and butter until warm.  In a large bowl combine 2 cups flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Pour liquids and egg into the flour mixture, mix well.  Add 3 more cups of flour, mixing until doughy.  Knead in 1 cup of flour (or more if needed, but not too much) on pastry mat.  Stick into large greased bowl, cover loosely and let rise in warm place for 1 hour.  Punch down and knead dough until the air bubbles are out.  Roll out into a large rectangle and spread on filling.

Filling ideas (use more or less to taste)

1/2 cup butter

3 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup cinnamon and sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar 

Roll it up, cut, and stick into a greased pan. (This generally fills my 9x13 and 8x8 pans.) Cover, let rise 30-45 minutes. Bake for about 20 minutes or until edges are barely light brown.  Top with your favorite frosting

Cream Cheese Frosting

6oz cream cheese

1/2 cup butter

1 tsp vanilla

Blend until smooth.  

These are best eaten warm with a tall glass of milk.  Also, they will be stale in 2 days, so eat up!

Where's the Milk?

Howard was snuggled up to Luke tonight while we watched a movie.  Luke was asleep most of the time, but when he woke up he went looking for food.

He tried for quite a while 

He even got a little upset 

Notice the wet spot on Howard's "breast"? 

Shuri Castle

Howard took the day off on Friday and the kids had a half day at school, so we ventured out to Shuri Castle.  The kids had already been there with some friends, but it was a first for Howard and I.  It reminded me a lot of the temples Howard and I saw in Kyoto, Japan on our trip last year.  It was nice to go, but is was crumby that it rained ALL day on Friday.  We didn't know if we'd ever get the chance again, so we just went in the rain.  Everyone stayed cheerful and had a nice time (until the car ride home...more about that in a minute).

Look at the root system, INCREDIBLE!  I love the unique vegetation here in Okinawa.

A soggy view of Shuri Castle.  Click here for more info about it.

Howard had to watch his head through a few doorways.

Interesting staircase, VERY steep.  We couldn't go up it, but I still thought it was pretty cool.

A model in the visitor center of Shuri Castle.

About the car ride home.  We hit traffic really bad and the 45 minute trip took about 1 1/2 hours.  Luke cried for about 1 hour of driving and among the 3 older kids we had someone pee their pants and another one vomit in the car.  I'm not naming names so not to embarrass anyone.  

Luke-2 Month Stats

Luke had his 2 month well baby check-up on Friday.  He is...

9 pounds 14 ounces

21 3/4 inches

15 inch head circumference

Overall he's in the 10th percentile for everything, so he's very proportionate.  He's my little shrimp though.  Howie was 21 inches long when he was born and Howard was a whopping 

10 lbs 10oz and 22 inches long when he was born!!

Lucas Dillon Parkes' Blessing

Happy Easter! 

Today was a special day for our family, we blessed Lucas at church.  He cried during most of it, but it wasn't too bad (not the horrible scream that comes out sometimes, just a medium unhappy cry).  I could still hear the blessing, and he calmed down as soon as Howard was finished.  I really like the outfit that I was able to get for him.  This evening he had a HUGE blowout in his white pants, but I worked quickly to get all the poo out.  It's still white after a good rinse, stain stick, bleach, and detergent!  Luke even got an emergency bath in the kitchen sink.

He's our stoic one, this was about the most happy he was all day.  

Luke & Mommy

 I had to hold down his hands, he kept covering his face. I also think my smile looks fake. Ever since my last surgery I have to be careful not to smile too big, otherwise my smile would be overwhelming.  I'm still working on getting it just right.  

Here's another interesting piece of info - I wore this dress when Howie and Jack had their blessings as well.  Yeah yeah, I know I need to get a new dress, it's getting rather old.  BUT it's a great nursing dress and it seems like it's the only thing that fits well after my kids are born. I do have other dresses, just none that I can currently wear.  I'm actually looking forward to the day when this dress is too big for me and I can donate it!  

Some more thoughts that I just wanted to share...

I had a very interesting talk with my sister today about being a mother and being honest with yourself and others.  I wanted to take the time to be honest with everyone (not that I lied in the first place, I'm just laying everything out on the table right now).  Weight loss is not easy for me.  I have to work REALLY hard and keep at it. I am the type of person that would rather post the most flattering photo of myself or nothing at all.  So when most people see me in pictures, they generally only see the "thin Tina".  I'm not naturally thin, in fact I think I'm the opposite.  I love food so much and I would rather sit around the house and read a book than exercise.  BUT I know that's not the way it should be.  I have to eat right and exercise daily to stay fit.  Since we're in the military, we've moved around and I have many friends all over the world.  Some have only known me as "thin Tina", and others have only known the "heavy Tina".  Either way, I'm old enough now that I can accept the way my body is after I have a baby (for a little while anyway...I do expect to loose the baby weight!) But I know it takes time.  It took me 9 months to gain the weight, and it will take about 9 to loose it.  

Saturday

On Saturday our family checked 2 more items off of our "places to see before we leave Okinawa" list.  First thing in the morning we ventured up north to the aquarium.  At the entrance there is a really fun play area for the children.  Normally when we come it's always too hot to play or we're too tired, but not this time. The weather was absolutely PERFECT!!  The kids had a blast playing...the pictures speak for themselves.

After playing for about 30 minutes we went into the aquarium and got to look at all kinds of fish.  We've been here a few times before, so there was nothing new for us to see, but still fun nonetheless.  At about 2:30pm we headed over to the Nago Pineapple Park.  It's one of our favorite places to go (we LOVE pineapple!) and we never miss the chance.  Once we were done there it was time to go home.  The kids were being SO good all day, I decided to stop by a furniture store that we had not been to yet.  It was a really cool store, but VERY expensive.  I'll wait a month and get what I need in  the states for a fraction of the cost, thank you very much!  

I don't have pictures of inside the aquarium or the pineapple park because the battery died in the camera while the kids were playing at the park.  Oh well.

Inside Play Park

Today was a rainy day, perfect for a trip to Monakids Jungle.  Our family calls it the "inside play park", but I can't remember why we named it that.  Howie and Erin were really young when we moved here, so it was probably something they came up with years ago.  This place is great.  You pay your entrance fee for 3 hours and the kids can just play, play, play.  I took a book and sat on the sidelines with Luke while Howie, Erin, and Jack had a grand old time.

The ball pit is a favorite, too bad they don't have these in the States anymore.

Erin

Howie

Here's a view of part of the play area.  Overall it has a roller slide, ball pits, rope walls, tight rope, zip line, mirror tunnels, tubes, soft rollers, and more that I can't quite think of right now.

On the way home we saw this Pikachu car on highway 58.  It even has ears that stick out from the top.  We've seen some crazy looking cars in Okinawa over the years.

I was lucky enough to have the car today.  In fact, I'll have it all week.  Howard got his first speeding ticket in about 7 years and he lost his licence for 7 days.  For those of you not familiar with the military, when you get a ticket on base they make up whatever punishment they want to give you.  On Kadena AB, they take away your licence for varying amounts of time depending on the severity of the infraction. Luckily we don't have to pay any fines.  I think the biggest deterrent for speeding would be the inconvenience of not having a licence.  At least it's only 7 days.  We've known some people who have lost their licence for 6-12 months!

Mihama American Village

Howard was working 12 hr shifts last week and so when he came home early Monday afternoon, we jumped at the chance to get some sightseeing checked off our list of "things we need to do before we leave"

The kids have been begging us forever to ride the ferris wheel.  It has been a a few years since the last time we went.  Maybe not the clearest view, but still pretty.  It was an overcast day.

Enjoying the ride!

Lit up at night.

There's a fun arcade/kiddie ride area near the entrance to the ferris wheel.  We gave each of the children 500 yen (about $5) to do with it what they pleased.  Jack LOVED the choo-choo train.  He went on it twice.

Here is a classic example of the poor translation that Americans have to put up with.   In case you can't read the picture, this is what it says...

"For customers with tickets, please it to the staff outside."

"Handling with cash. Please use the ticket vending machine for the ticket."

Just Not My Cup of Tea

This is one of the photos of Luke when he was 4 weeks old.  He was NOT a happy camper. Just wanted to share with everyone and also to give some free advertising to the photographer who took these.  For those of you on Okinawa, she is probably the most reasonably priced photographers and will bend over backwards to make it an enjoyable experience.  Click here if you want more info about her.

How I spend My Day

So this is the baby sling that I'm borrowing.  This is how I spend my days now.  There's a lot less crying and everyone is happier.  Luke gets cuddle time (all the time like he wants) and I have 2 free hands.  It's the best of both worlds. 

Here's my cutie pie as snug as a bug asleep. 

Shopping & Cleaning

While the boys were at day camp, I was home with the 3 little ones all day.  When Howard came home, I was ready for a break so I had some girl time with Erin. We went shopping and bought these...

...and these.  I've had my eye on this plate set for about a year now.  These are sushi plates, I bought a set of 4 for us.  I also bought 8 large square dinner plates to match.  Now that we are moving soon it's time to get everything that's on my "list".

Today (Saturday) I used the pressure washer that we checked out from self-help to clean our sidewalks.  Yuck!  I had Luke strapped to me in a baby sling (thanks Kara for letting me borrow it...it's a life saver!!) most of the day so that I could get my work done.  

FYI - Our sidewalks were this dirty when we moved here, but the new policy on base is that residents have to clean it before they move out.  This is probably 10 years of grime. GROSS!!!

Growing Up

Howard and Howie spent Friday and Saturday at the Cub Scouts Day Camp.  they did a lot of fun and exciting things and Howie learned a lot of new skills.

Good form, check out the serious face.

Howie brought home the paper he shot at, it was FULL of holes.  He did REALLY well for a first timer.  He's growing up so fast!

Gotta see this movie!!!

Howard and I just watched Seven Pounds.  It was one of the most moving films that I have ever seen.  I don't want to give anything away, but you have to see it.    

My Favorite

This is how I found Jack last night.  I think this might be my favorite sleeping position that I've found him in yet.  He's even on his tip toes.

I finally caught Luke smiling.  He just started really doing it this week, but it's still pretty infrequent and short lived.

About 5 minutes later....acting like his usual self.  

Today was one of those really hard days where it's very difficult to get anything done.  As you can tell by my fridge this morning...

...I really had to go to the store.  I was able to get that done thankfully, but not much else.  Howard has been working late all week, so I haven't had as much help as I'm used to.  I don't know how I'll manage this summer when he's gone.  We'll have lots of easy dinners and I'll make the kids wear sandals so I won't have to fold socks (I HATE folding socks!). 

 Oh yeah..it's the start of spring break. 

I get to sleep in!