Happy New Year

Last night for New Years Eve we had our neighbor, Rebekah, and her children over to play. We played hide-n-go-seek in the dark and then when the grown-ups tired out the kids continued to play in the back yard until about 10:30pm.  That's a HUGE treat because we're really strict when it comes to bedtime. 

It was pretty chilly last night.  I was so cold that I wore a long sleeve shirt, then a jacket, then one of Howard's hoodies over everything.  But I was also not running around getting warmed up like everyone else.  I was Erin's partner because she was too scared to hide in the dark by herself, but the rule was that I couldn't be tagged since I can't out run the kids right now.  Erin had to run to home base for me.

Best friends, Erin and Genna.  They love each other to pieces, but also fight like they're sisters.

We capped off the night by watching the second Narnia movie, Prince Caspian, and munching on brownies and other delicious junk food.  At midnight we had some sparkling cider to ring in the New Year.  After the neighbors went home Howie, Erin, and Jack had a slumber party in the living room.  Howard slept on the couch for a little while to make sure the kids were good, but I enjoyed the comforts of my own bed last night.  

Stall tactics

This is what Jack does when he doesn't want to eat dinner.

He hugs and kisses Howard or I and gets all lovey dovey to distract us.

It's hard not to give in.

Scared Out of My Mind!

This morning I gathered up all my strength to go grocery shopping with all the kids.  I don't mind going with the kids, I mind going 8 months pregnant!  I'm miserable right now, but we were running out of some basic staples we always have on hand.  Howard has been going for me lately, but he has to work late tonight and it just couldn't wait any longer.  As I pulled into my "expectant mother" parking space at the commissary I just sat in the car for a couple of minutes to gather my strength (literally) and then all of a sudden this crazy lunatic runs up to my drivers side window and pounds on it!  I nearly peed my pants (not really, but you get the point).  IT WAS HOWARD!!  What a dirty trick.  We had a good laugh afterwards, but he sure scared me pretty good.  He was there this morning shopping for work.  (They give him some money and a shopping list to stock the snack bar.)  So he did his shopping and I did mine all the while Jack was calling for "Da-Da" throughout the store.  Coincidentally we checked out at the same time, so the kids could give Daddy one more kiss and hug before we went our separate ways.  

A day on the town

Today we had a lot of errands to run so we spent the day out and about.  One of our stops was Comprehensive park.  Normally I take the kids to the park by myself when Howard is working.  It's soooo much better when he comes.   He was able to play with the kids and keep track of Jack while I enjoyed taking pictures and sat on the bench.

Look what Erin and Howie can do!

They had fun in this rope concoction while Howard pushed them.

This is a view of the Pacific ocean (our east coast) from the parking lot at the park.  Since we see the ocean every day, we take it for granted.  I'm sure we'll miss it when we're land locked in Oklahoma City.

Christmas Traditions

Merry Christmas!

For Howie's first Christmas we started a 3 gift limit and we're so glad we did!  Since Baby Jesus received 3 gifts, that's what we give our children.  The bigger our family gets, the more thankful we are that we started this tradition for ourselves.  Santa brings one additional gift and fills our stockings. They generally get 1 or 2 more from family, but it's definitely not overload on Christmas morning.

We try to keep things as calm as possible and stretch out the gift opening, so we start from the youngest and work our way up in age taking turns one at a time. It helps us enjoy it a little more. On Christmas Eve we laid some ground rules for the kids for Christmas morning. 1) We are not getting out of bed before 6:30am 2)We all go downstairs together as a family.  They did really good, except Howie came in at 5:30am and asked if it was time to wake up. "NO! Go back to bed!" was our reply.  Luckily he did and returned at 6:28am, we gave in and got up 2 minutes early.

Here's Erin showing off one of her presents.

Howie had been wanting a Razor Scooter for a very long time.

This was from Santa, what was he thinking?!  Actually this will be our sanity on our 12 hour flight back to the States, and our 3 days on the road getting to Oklahoma.  I'm actually kind of "anti-video game", but the peer pressure got the best of us (as well as the other reasons).

Howard and I don't have a 3 gift limit, we usually get our stockings filled and 1 or 2 presents.  Mine was the piano, or so I thought.  Santa put some pearls in my stocking!  I was really surprised!!  They are beautiful and I've wanted pearls for a few years now.  It was a pair of earrings,  a bracelet, and a necklace set.  I also received a small box of Godiva Chocolates and some perfume that I've also wanted for a few years.  I was really spoiled this Christmas!!!  Howard got his laptop and some accessories to go with it.  Santa also put a special Military coin in his stocking and some boy stuff (small tools). 

We spent the rest of the day playing with our toys, lounging around the house, and talking to family on the phone.  Another tradition we have that we started last year is that we eat our special dinner on Christmas Eve, and Christmas day we eat finger foods most of the day.  The past 2 years we've had shrimp, egg rolls, a fruit platter, a veggie tray, cream puffs,  and cheese & crackers.  Christmas evening we ventured off base and went out to our favorite sushi restaurant for dinner. Yes, I eat sushi while I'm pregnant, but so do the Japanese women.  It's amazing what you can do on your forth pregnancy :) !  Afterwards we drove around base and looked at Christmas lights, but it was a little disappointing this year.  There wasn't much to look at.  Oh well, there's always next year in the States.

Christmas Eve

I wanted to post a picture before Howard and I retire to bed this Christmas Eve, because in the morning there will be chaos and I won't be able to get it done.  The 3 gifts in the forefront are from Santa, as well as the stockings.  They're too heavy for their hooks, so Santa leaves them neatly on the floor.

We had a nice dinner tonight with our neighbors and a single airman.  Afterwards we watched "Joy to the World" which is about Christ's birth.  We had 6 kids in the house and it was pretty crazy, so we rushed through everything so we could get the kids in bed.  But right before bed we read the story of Christ's birth, sprinkled our reindeer food out on the grass, put out a plate of carrots for the reindeer, and of course put out some cookies and milk for Santa.

Last year Howard and I didn't get to bed until about midnight, so we're doing great.  It's not even 10pm yet and we're all done.  Yippie!

Howard's Talent

This year Howard and I volunteered to be on the decorations committee for his work Christmas party.  The theme was "The Roaring 20's".  Howard and I did not pick the theme, that's what work picked. (We were hoping for a Winter Wonderland.) Anyway...it turned into Howard and I being in charge and doing mostly everything ourselves.  A few other people helped, but essentially I was the brains and Howard made everything happen.  Howard worked so hard and did such a wonderful job of putting everything together, I'm so proud of him.  Since we were in charge of decorating, Howard spent the whole day running around tying up loose ends, while I directed all of the set-up volunteers as to what they needed to do before the party.  We were so busy that by the time the party started Howard and I were pooped.  So we forgot to take a bunch of pictures and only 1 turned out decent.  

2 days before the work Christmas party, doing some final touches on the bandstand he made.

Here's a shot of the bandstand Howard made.  It has 5 panels, 2 wrap around the table, but you can't see them.  The crates contain empty alcohol bottles.  Howard and a small crew of helpers made 18 crates, they were put around the room for our protest against Prohibition.  There was also a Model-T car, a beautiful mural backdrop, cute table decorations, a silent film playing on the TV screens, and tons of balloons everywhere.  I wish we could of had more pictures because it looked great, but the lighting was HORRIBLE!  

One big lesson we learned from this, if you want something done right you need to do it yourself.  Unfortunately we had a lot of people who volunteered to help on some of the larger projects, but at the last minute either flaked out or did a horrible job at their assignment.  I must add that we truly appreciated the volunteers who donated just 1-2 hours of their time on the day of the party.  They may not feel like they helped a lot, but it's because of their help that we were able to get everything set up in time.  

What happens when?

What happens when this cute little boy's daddy is napping, mommy is taking a shower, and his siblings are playing outside?

This!

He woke up from his nap while we were all busy and he quietly opened three presents. Howard found the mess and took care of discipline while I quickly hid the opened presents so that Howie and Erin wouldn't see them. Jack got a stern talking to and a time out (he cried the whole time so he understood what he did wrong). You should have seen the tears, you would have thought we beat him. Actually there was no yelling or spanking involved! I had to hold back my smile the whole time because I thought is was kind of cute.  I hope he's not scared to open presents on Christmas morning.

Can't forget Howie

Today was the kids last day of school before Christmas break.  Erin had a pajama party, drank hot cocoa, and watched the Polar Express.  Howie had a really nice party at the end of the day with his class also.  They decorated cookies, made a candy cane reindeer, made reindeer food, and of course made an ORNAMENT!  Because I gushed all about Erin's at home, I felt a little guilty today...so Howie's ornament made it on the tree also.  I think next year I will buy a small tree so the kids can decorate it however they want and put all of their homemade ornaments on THEIR tree.

Howard got off of work at noon today, so I was able to let Jack and Howard have some alone time at home while I surprised Erin and Howie at school.  I spent about an hour in each of their class rooms and it really made their day.  I wish I could go more often, but I hate getting sitters for Jack.  It seems like I have to so often as it is that I feel bad leaving him.  In all it was a great day!

P.S. Happy 20th Birthday Jody!  I love you!!!

Erin's Ornament

Yesterday Erin brought this "hand"made ornament home from school. I think this is one of the cutest ideas for an ornament craft project.  I almost cried when I read the poem.  I think it's the pregnancy hormones.  I'll be brutally honest...I hate homemade ornaments (unless they are made by Martha Stewart or someone equally talented).  I like my tree to match and this is the first ornament brought home from school that got on our tree.  Erin should also feel pretty special because it's the only blue ornament on our gold/burgundy colored tree.

Here's another shot of it, you can see a little more of her hand print.  This is what the poem says...

These aren't just 5 snowmen,

As anyone can see,

I have made them with my hand,

Which is a part of me.

Now each year when you trim your tree,

You'll look back and recall,

Christmas of 2008

When my hand was just this small!

Power Outage

This morning we had a power outage, so Jack and I headed outside for some fresh air.  We ate cookies, I ate my ice, Jack jumped on the trampoline, and colored in his book.  If you look closely at the open page on the book, it's colored in nicely...Howard did that.  Jack just colors (scribbles) over it.

Power outages are a frequent occurrence where we live.  It's not Okinawa, it's the base that has the messed up power lines.  We're used to it.  It's horrible in the summer because it's so hot, but in the winter the weather is so nice that it doesn't really matter.

Christmas Parties

Santa came all the way to Okinawa for a visit!

Here's Erin (with Howard and Jack) at one of the craft stations at the Children's Christmas Party.

Don't drop the ball of yarn.

On Saturday we went to the Children's Christmas Party for work.  The kids had a great time, but in my opinion we stayed way too long.  Howard likes to win prizes, so we had to stay the whole time, just in case one of the children's names were drawn from the raffle.  No one won a prize, but we came home with more than enough craft projects.  About half way through the party, I was too tired of standing and sitting around I went and layed down in the van. While resting I had plenty of time to notice how messy my van was, so when we got home Jack and Howard took a nap and Howie, Erin, and I cleaned the van.  Inside and out.  We did a wonderful job and the kids really helped out a lot.  Unfortunately shortly after we were done washing the outside of the van, the clouds rolled in unexpectedly and it rained most of the evening.  At least the inside stayed clean.

Saturday night we had our Branch Christmas party.  We had a potluck dinner and a talent show.  Erin sang, "Once There Was a Snowman", while I read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas.  It was a tiring day, but it made the kids happy.  

The Harlem Globetrotters

Tonight we went and saw the Harlem Globetrotters play (more like perform) against the "Washington Generals".  It was quite a funny show with many antics by the players.  There were not as many tricks as we originally thought that we would see, but it was funny nevertheless.  The "Generals" were a sorry bunch of players and were no match against the Globetrotters. It almost seemed like one big game of keep away!  Of course the whole game was a spoof, but we all enjoyed ourselves.  We had to remind the kids that this was not a normal basketball game.  We are very fortunate here because this was all free and we actually sat on the courtside.  We even had a Globetrotter go up to Howard and Jack and make funny faces at them.  Another time Howard almost got hit by the ball, but he blocked it in time.

At the beginning of the game, all of the team members showcased their talents.

Here's one of the opposing team members leaving the court after his uniform was "removed".

About halfway through the basketball game, the guys decided they wanted to play football.

This guy got caught with his pants down.  The kids thought this was the funniest part!

Here is #11, Sweet Pea, after he did a slam dunk.  Unfortunately he got stuck and his team mates had to take him down.

White Christmas Movie

White Christmas is my FAVORITE Christmas movie of all time and it just delights me that my children love it too!!!  They're watching it right now and even sing along to it.  It's too cute.

According to Erin...

Erin just told me that I look like a third grader, because I'm so short.  But she assured me that I'm really a grown-up.

I Want My Daddy

Just a few minutes ago I overheard Erin sobbing uncontrollably in her room (the kind that takes your breath away).  I wasn't sure what was wrong, but once I translated her words through all the crying she told me she wanted to go to work with Daddy.  Howard works in an office next to the aircraft hangers on the flightline.  No one has ever gone to work with Daddy, and I reminded her of  that.  We've seen his work a couple times on a Saturday, but unless I have an authorized escort (Howard) I can't even step foot on the flightline (the SP's are actually authorized to shoot me if they felt I was a threat!)  I don' t know where she got the idea that she could go with him to work?! 

 As a side note...the Army transferred quite a few Patriot Missiles here to Okinawa about 2 years ago and they took up residence right next to Howard's work.  He actually parks right next to the missiles for work (just outside one of the entrance gates to the flightline).  Whenever we drive that way it's weird to see them...they're HUGE! 

Baby Lucas

I realized that I haven't posted any ultrasound pictures of the baby.  These were done 2 months ago, but that's okay...better late than never!  He looks just like my other babies.  I love his little nose and lips.  

Our home teacher asked us recently if we were "sure" that it was a boy.  He said not all ultrasound pictures are accurate.  You be the judge!  

Looks like Lucas is pretty happy to have his picture taken if I don't say so myself!!!

Oh yeah...we are pretty sure that we're going to name him Lucas, but we'll call him Luke for short.  I honestly didn't think we would have any more boys after Jack and we ran out of boy names.  We've had to think this one over a lot more than the other names we've used.  If we ever have another girl, her name will definitely be Audrey.  

3rd trimester

28 weeks, 12 more to go (maybe less if I'm lucky).  I had Jack at 37 weeks, so that's what I'm praying for again.

Here I am in all of my pregnancy glory!  Ha Ha.  Honestly...I HATE being pregnant, but of course it's totally worth it because I get a perfect, cute, miraculous little bundle of joy in the end.  That's the ONLY reason why I keep having babies.  Here's how much I loathe pregnancy...I would rather give birth 10x over if I could avoid pregnancy.  I'm in constant pain and all this extra weight on a 5 foot frame really takes it's toll.  I'm truly grateful that I can bare my own children and it's so easy for me to get pregnant.  My heart goes out to those who are unable to have children biologically.

Current Stats...

Cravings - ICE, ICE, ICE!  I love it so much I just can't get enough of it!  Luckily there's no guilt involved if I over indulge, since there are no calories. :)

Weigh gain - Pathetic!  This is by far my fattest pregnancy with the most weight gain.  My Mid-Wife said it's because I'm getting older and my metabolism is slowing down.  I'm only 27!

Pain - Hips, legs, feet, back, ribs, varicose veins, and other unmentionable parts that the baby feels like kicking.

Thread

Yesterday I went to the local Japanese craft store to get some basic white thread.  I had to get 2 spools because I'm doing a special project for Howard's work Christmas party.  It cost me 1260 yen, which is about $12.60!!!  WOW!  I needed it right away, so that's why I didn't buy it Online.  CRAZY!

Turkey Tetrazzini

This was one of my favorite recipes growing up.  My Mom would make it after Thanksgiving to use up the extra turkey.  I make it periodically throughout the year, substituting chicken when I don't have leftover turkey.  I've made some modifications to it to suit our family, but I'll also give the original recipe just in case you want it also.

Tina's Version

2 cups cooked turkey or chicken, cut up

6 servings spaghetti, using a spaghetti dispenser (I think maybe 6 oz)

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

1 cup milk

1 small can mushrooms, drained

about 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (more or less to taste)

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (more or less to taste)

Cook spaghetti, drain.  Stir together remaining ingredients, except mozzarella cheese.  Fold in spaghetti noodles.  Put in greased 9x13 casserole dish.  Top with mozzarella cheese.  Bake uncovered 350 F until bubbly (about 30-40 minutes)

Original Recipe

4 oz spaghetti, broken into thirds

2 c. cooked turkey

1 c. shredded American cheese 

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 (4 oz) can mushrooms, drained

1/2 c. milk

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1/4 tsp salt

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese

Follow the same direction above, except put in 2 quart greased casserole dish.  Top with Parmesan cheese.  Bake 35-40 minutes @ 350F

Time to Decorate

Saturday was our cleaning/decorating day.  I did most of the cleaning while Howard and the kids put together the tree and hung the ornaments.  We prefer a live tree, but before we moved here we bought a small fake one based on the advice of others.  We're glad we did.  Last year there was a Christmas tree shortage and we knew many families that were not able to get a real or fake tree!  The artificial trees arrived AFTER Christmas!

Sunday morning before church in front of our pretty tree.  We had a small cabinet in this corner, but we moved it upstairs to make room.  We are out growing our house so fast, I can't wait to move.  We are a family of 6 (I'm counting the baby because we already have all of his stuff that's taking up space) living in a 950 sq ft house!  The bigger they get, the tighter it feels inside.

On a side note, the children had their Primary program today.  Howie was able to read his part all by himself and Erin had most of hers memorized.  They did really good, I'm so proud of them.  Erin was also part of a special musical number.  She was SO cute singing.

Culture Teaching

Friday we had a fun day hosting 3 Japanese girls in our home.  They really loved our children and played with them most of the day.  It felt like having 3 nannies!

On the slide with Jack.

My good friend and neighbor, Rebekah, also hosted students.  Here are some of her children and students with mine playing on our trampoline. 

We had an "American" day.  Shopping at the BX, Thanksgiving leftovers, Disney movie, and playing with the kids.  Laid back, but busy at the same time.

Black Friday

First off, Howard is so sweet.  He ventured out into the cold this morning at 2:30am to get in line at the BX.  He was hoping to be one of the first 100 customers to receive a free BX gift card, you'd think he would get one, but there were more then 100 people already there when he showed up.  It wasn't all in vein though.  He still had to get a special ticket to get his $350 laptop, which he was able to get.  Thank goodness!  He called me at 7:30am to tell me he was able to get the laptop and asked me if there was anything else we needed from the store, but there wasn't.  After he hung up the phone he went straight in line and didn't get home for another hour!!!  Crazy, but that's what you get when 22,000 people stationed on Kadena only have 1 store to go to. He also got an all-in-one printer for cheap.  Gotta love Black Friday!  I'm really excited to go next year when we have more options. Although I'm sending my sister to Wal-Mart for me to pick up a few hot items that I can't buy online.  I'll just pick them up from her in July when I go for a visit.  They are things we needed to buy when we moved back to the States anyway, so why not buy them on sale now?!

It's 12:42pm right now and Howard's napping.

Oh yeah...gas FINALLY went down from $4.06 (it's been that way since July).  It's now $2.43.  Still a $1 more than in some parts of the U.S., but at least it's some relief!

Happy Thanksgiving

Howard did a beautiful job setting the table this afternoon for our dinner.  We had a little more food, but it didn't fit on the table, so there were a few plates of food in the kitchen.

My best friend in Okinawa, Amy Howell and her daughter Karah digging in!  Yum.

Now that Thanksgiving is over at our house, it's time to start getting ready for Christmas!  Howard will be venturing out in the morning at about 3am to get in line for Black Friday.  He's eyeing a $350 laptop!

Enjoy the Christmas music!  

How to Make Ghetto Pumpkin Trifle

Here's my ghetto pumpkin trifle recipe...

1. Make Pumpkin Roll as directed from your favorite recipe

2. Prepare cream cheese filling as directed from original recipe

3. Under cook the roll (it really helps to have your oven malfunction)

4. Watch it crack and fall apart before your eyes

5. Layer any salvageable parts in a Tupperware container

6. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, enjoy!

Here's what really happened...

I think my oven temperature is wrong because this morning it took me a lot longer to bake my pumpkin pie than directed, but luckily it turned out fine.  When I made my pumpkin roll this afternoon it didn't even cross my mind to bake the pumpkin roll a little longer.  Anyway, I took it out of the oven, flipped it out as the recipe directed and rolled it up to sit and cool for 30 minutes.  When I unrolled it, it cracked apart and the center was all gooey.  I thought about what I should do for a few minutes and then decided that since I'm really the only one that eats it, it wasn't worth the effort, mess, or clean up time involved to start again.  I layered what I could salvage into my Tupperware container and this is is how I got my Ghetto Pumpkin Trifle!

At least it still tastes good (what I could save anyway).

Thanksgiving Eve

After school today the kids helped me with some more preparations for tomorrow.

Here's Erin putting together the relish tray. I washed and cut, and she assembled.

Howie really wanted deviled eggs, so I enlisted their help peeling the eggs.

Even Jack wanted to help!  What a big boy!

While the kids were at school I was busy making desserts...what a disaster!!

I cleaned it all up before the kids came home.  

Thanksgiving Day Preparations

Here's the turkey soaking in the brine.  It's in a turkey oven bag in a crisper drawer, definitely less mess this way!!

Thanksgiving Stuff...

First off, Thanksgiving is one on my favorite holidays.  I can't decide between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Thanksgiving is when I get to cook all my favorite foods that I wouldn't dare eat any other time of the year (all the calories!!!), but Christmas morning is awesome because I get to see my children open their presents.  I would be content to never receive anything for Christmas just as long as I could  watch my children  come down Christmas morning to the presents under the tree!  

So I've started getting ready for Thursday.  I'm 27 weeks pregnant now and I just don't have the energy to cook ALL day, so I'm spreading it out over the next couple days.  Sunday night I put the turkey in the fridge to defrost and this afternoon I prepared the brine to soak it until Thursday morning.  I've never made a brine before, but I've eaten it at other peoples homes and it is THE BEST!!!  So I've decided to try it out myself, wish me luck.  I also prepared my asparagus casserole, so all I have to do with it on Thursday is pop it in the oven.  On Wednesday I plan on making my desserts...a pumpkin roll and a pumpkin pie.  

Baby Stuff...

This morning I spent 3 hours at the hospital.  I had a prenatal appt., had my glucose test done, and also received my Rhogam shot (I'm o-, and Howard's o+).  Instead of ranting on about how stupid military hospitals are (it was a LONG morning), I'll just be thankful that it's all free! Let's just say that I was lucky to be out of there after only 3 hours, it would have been much longer had I not asserted myself.  They think I'm stupid, H-E-L-L-O this is my 4th pregnancy...I think I know what I'm doing by now!!!!

Saturday I bought a nice used double stroller for $30.  It's a side-by-side Jeep Umbrella stroller, very sturdy though. (I don't like the front/back ones.) When we get back to the states I want to buy a really nice double jogging stroller.  I'm looking forward to going on long walks again.  I have too much pain and exhaustion while I'm expecting, so exercising is very infrequent.  My kids and household responsibilities take all my energy right now, so I have to prioritize EVERYTHING that I do.  I have really bad varicose veins, so I have to wear medical grade support hose and even then it doesn't help completely.  I have to put my feet and legs up frequently to ease the pain.  Unfortunately it gets worse with each pregnancy.  

Frustration

So the school nurse called me today and Howie had a fever so I had to pick him up early from school...no big deal.  But then she tells me that he can't come back to school tomorrow because his fever has to be gone for at least 24 hours.  Tomorrow is Howie's big Thanksgiving program and feast (potluck style).  Howie has been working on a special Indian vest and practicing his songs and poems for the presentation for the past 2 weeks.  I was even on the ball and made the side dish last night so that all I would have to do was pop it in the oven right before school tomorrow.  Erin also had a Thanksgiving feast tomorrow that I was going to attend after Howie's (I'm making the bread tonight), but since Howie's not allowed at school I can't even go to Erin's!  I'm so frustrated.  The thing that frustrates me the most is that Howie is NOT SICK!  He had a fever because he just got 2 shots the other day...that's why!

Random Stuff

Showing off their wounds at the restaurant.

It's nice that our kids are old enough for us to sit next to each other again.

Pregnancy Mishap for the Day...

Yesterday I was getting a new sippy cup out of the cupboard and what did I find?  A sippy cup with milk in it...from the day before!  Gross!  I guess I put it in there the previous day and forgot. 

Shots...

All three kids each had 2 shots yesterday.  Hep A and Flu.  I made Jack go first since he didn't know what was going on, he cried for about 5 seconds afterwards.  Who goes next, Howie or Erin?  Howie sure didn't want to go, so Erin stepped up to the table like a brave little girl and did a fine job, no tears!  After Howie saw that Erin was brave he ventured up to the table, but was so nervous we all had to hold his hand.  Just one tear.  It surprises me that Erin was the bravest since she cries about EVERYTHING!  She even cries when she's really happy, what a girl.  Stickers for everyone and Cracker Jacks as a treat, yum!

Friend in Crisis...

As I was walking in the house at 4:20pm yesterday a friend called me in crisis needing to talk, girl stuff...you know.  It was serious enough that I couldn't multi-task like I usually do on the phone and I hid in the laundry room while the kids watched TV.  Before I knew it Howard was home, it was 5:30pm and dinner had not even been started...so we went out to one of our favorite restaurants here in Okinawa.  CoCo Curry House.  Fortunately Howard was understanding and luckily we had extra Yen to pay for dinner.  

Cold Weather...

It's cold here in Okinawa!  We've pulled out our sweaters, long sleeve shirts, pants, and light jackets.  It was 66 F today...burrr.  Yes, I know for some of you that may seem like heaven (Cindy in Alaska with -5 F, sorry) but we've really acclimated since this is our 4th winter here.  We're in trouble when we move back to the States!