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!

Family Home Evening, Taco Soup, and High School Musical 3

Last night our FHE was about Gratitude in preparation for Thanksgiving.  Now that the kids are a little older they all get assignments. I've included the resources used just in case you want to use it for yourself.  In all it took about 10 minutes (just right for small kids), not including the word search.

~I played the opening song on the piano "Listen, Listen" (since that's 1 of the 2 songs I know how to play) while Howie conducted the music.

~Howie gave the opening prayer

~Jack held up the picture of Jesus with the Ten Leapers (Gospel Art Picture Kit # 221) while I read the short version of the story on the back.

~ I read about Gratitude from "True to the Faith", pg 78-79

~Howie read our scripture, D&C 59:7

~I played the closing song on the piano, "Popcorn Popping" (the 2nd, and last song I know how to play) while Erin conducted the music by doing the fun hand motions.

~Howard offered our closing prayer. (Howard isn't on the schedule much for FHE because he's crowd control, meaning his job is to keep Jack happy and reverent...if that's possible for a 2 yr old)

~Our activity was a Thanksgiving word search (we mostly have our closing prayer before the activity because it's generally not very reverent). 

For dinner we had Taco Soup, a yummy recipe given to me from Katie B. when we lived in Washington.  Our kids used to have to gag it down, but then one evening Howie and Erin both gave me a thumbs up and told me how wonderful it was.  Weird huh?

After dinner we had a little surprise for the kids...

We took them to the movies and they literally screamed with delight when we showed up at the base movie theater!  For our family of 5 it only cost us $13.50!  You gotta love military pricing!  But then again we've been paying $4.06 for a gallon of gas since July!!!!

It's a trade off, I guess.  Except we go to the movies less than once a month and we buy gas every 2 weeks.

P.S. High School Musical 3 was a popular FHE, our former Branch President was there with his kids and there were several other LDS families.  I though it was a good movie, and the kids loved it!  If only High School was that much fun. 

Parkes Wrestling Championship

Normally Sundays are very quiet and peaceful in our home.  We've established clear rules and guidelines of what is acceptable and what is not.  We have a wonderful Sunday box full of Friend magazines, Church movies, Bible stories, etc.  That didn't seem to get touched today.  It all started when the children and I went upstairs to wake up Howard from his nap (it was my turn for some alone time and he had his fair share!)  After a few minutes of being nice he still wouldn't budge.  Even though he was awake he just layed there with his eyes shut.  That kind of frustrated the kids and I; they wanted to spend time with their Dad and I wanted him too so I could relax alone for a little while before I had to start dinner.  Anyway...we started poking and prodding him to no avail.  It eventually turned into 4 against 1 to get Howard out of bed and this is what it turned into...

an all out wrestling match.  It started upstairs in the bedroom on the bed...then the floor, but since I'm a "Mom" I saw the danger of our tiny room and all the corners ready to poke someone.  I called a time out and we all went downstairs to finish what we started.  Jack and I had had enough so we turned into spectators and watched the show.

Since Howard is obviously winning, he decide to take a break, but Howie and Erin still had some more energy so they decided to get each other good.  Here is one of the few shots that I got of Erin dominating Howie.  This was rare.  

Go Erin!

This is where it all ended...the designated "Love Zone".

Saturday is a Special Day

Saturday morning Howie had the opportunity to sell popcorn for the first time for Cub Scouts.  He did a great job along with Pack 102 and almost ran out of popcorn.  Howie said he had a lot of fun, that's a good thing because there will be more popcorn to sell next Saturday.

Right after we he was done with his shift (the Tiger Cubs only had to sell for one hour) we headed off to his last soccer game of the season (thank goodness).  I'm tired of my Saturday's being booked up for the last 2 months.

When Howie participated he was a great asset to his team, but...

he sometimes got distracted waiting for the ball to come his way.

Here he is at his end of season team party.  He sure loves his bobble head trophy!

Culture Teaching

Looking at books with Jack

The Japanese LOVE little children (especially with light colored hair)

On Thursday I hosted 3 Japanese boys in my home for the day.  We do normal American things and I just expose them to American family life, culture, and food.  Here they are with Jack looking at books.   I have 4  teenage girls next week coming to my home.  Most of the time it's really fun (occasionally the the language barrier is so bad it's not fun).  Japanese kids are so polite and kind (almost all Japanese people are for that matter).  I'm so thankful that I've been able to participate in this Culture Teaching program while I have been in Okinawa.  It has taught our whole family much more about the Japanese culture and way of life that we wouldn't have experienced otherwise.  I'm really going to miss it all when we leave in May. 

Rain Rain Go Away

Last weekend the kids were off from school for 5 1/2 days and it rained half of that time.  The weather has cooled down considerably, so here is Erin, the lone kid in the neighborhood playing outside in the rain with her new rain jacket.  When it is warmer all the kids are out in the rain in their bathing suits (assuming there is no thunder or lightening).

Piano Update

I just wanted to share some exciting news.  We've had our piano about 4 days now and I've been practicing everyday.  I've already taught myself "Listen, Listen" and "Popcorn Popping" from the Children's Songbook.  I know...they are very simple and short songs, but I'm proud of myself.  I'm still slow at playing them, but I can get through the whole song and my kids get excited because they know what I'm playing.  If you have any simple songs that you can suggest, let me know.

The Best Husband in the World

Look what Howard bought me tonight!

It's a Clavinova Digital Piano.

Okay, Okay...I have been wanting to learn how to play the piano for a while and our children have been wanting to learn as well.  Since it's kind of hard to learn without getting adequate practice we decided to go ahead and get it.   Also, over the past 3 1/2 years they sell them at the BX from time to time, but not consistently.  Since it's the holidays now they just got some in. It's my early Christmas present because it was their last one and they said they weren't getting more in until the New Year.  I did my research and we saved about 50% buying it at our BX here than in the States!  Crazy!!  

Twins?

So today at church I had a well meaning *childless* lady ask me how much longer I had before the baby was born (she thought it might be soon), but of course I told her I had 3 more months to go, so then she blurted out...Is it twins?  Gee thanks!  I politely told her no, that this is normally how I carry my children, and since I'm only 5 feet tall there's no where to go but out.  So for those of you who have never been pregnant, every woman carries their babies differently, so keep your mouth shut or tell her she's beautiful!

Erin's first tooth out!

Earlier this week Erin came to me and told me that she had a loose tooth.  I didn't believe her at first since she has thought she has had a loose tooth for about a year now (remember...Erin is very dramatic!).  When I peaked into her mouth to my surprise it was loose, and there was a big tooth behind it!

So tonight Howard convinced her to keep wiggling it to get it out.  Here's a little background on us.  Howard grew up having his loose teeth pulled out with pliers by his Grandfather (ouch!)  I grew up wiggling my loose teeth for weeks until they were hanging out by the threads and I always did it myself.  I insisted that Erin pull it out herself, but Howard helped her tonight by getting it a little (lot) more loose.  Erin took turns going between Howard, myself, and her wiggling it for about an hour.

Until finally...

it came out!  Notice all the blood.  

I had to blot her mouth pretty good before we took pictures.

All about my Braces and Oral Surgery

I've had a few people tell me I look different, but they couldn't quite put their finger on why. Here are a few pictures and the explanation behind my transformation.

This is me back in Washington in March 2004 before I had braces.

After we moved to Okinawa I had the opportunity to get braces, but in order for them to be effective I needed 2 jaw surgeries. The first one was done in January 2006. My top jaw was split wide open and expanded so that my top jaw and bottom jaw were the same width. I lived with this ugly gap for about 9 months before my 2 front teeth touched again. It was socially hard and I rarely smiled with my teeth showing those 10 months. Sometimes kids would come up to me in the store and ask if I lost a tooth.

This was taken in September 2007, about 6 weeks before my 2nd surgery while we were visiting the States. My gap had been closed up for 11 months and my orthodontist was just getting everything else straight before my BIG surgery in November.

This was taken in the morning before my 2nd surgery. Mid November 2007. My 2nd surgery required the oral surgeon to separate my top jaw and bring it forward to correct my underbite, move it to the side to correct my crossbite, and widen the back a little bit to align my molars. All of the movement was measured in mere millimeters, but the changes were quite drastic.

I was very fortunate that I did not have my jaw wired together. I wore an acrylic brace over my top teeth to keep everything in place.

This was taken about 2 weeks after my 2nd surgery. I still have swelling and bruising on my face. This was right after Thanksgiving and I was still on a liquid/soft diet. My Thanksgiving dinner last year consisted of Jell-O salad, mashed potatoes, and jellied cranberry sauce. Our Branch at church really took good care of me by bring me some great homemade soups. My favorite was Angela's...it was SOOOOOO good!

I can't quite figure out how to get more than 5 pictures on a post yet, so please refer to our family pictures on my first post to see the final results. Those pictures were taken in June 2008. I had my braces on for 2 1/2 years and everything was FREE thanks to living overseas and my husband being Active Duty Air Force! I've been told that it would have cost me between $30,000-$40,000 to get all of the work done. Of course I would have never paid that much (I'm too cheap), but I'm just so thankful that I had the opportunity to have it all done. I get compliments all the time now on my teeth and I feel I look better now than I did a few years ago. It was all worth it and I would do it all over again in a heartbeat!



Update 5/28/2012 - I've noticed I get a few page views of this post every week. I'm sure people are curious about this type of surgery and google it. I've had my braces off for about 4 years now and the biggest piece of advice I can give you is to wear your retainer after your braces are off! Good luck with your surgery, I never regretted it!

Here's an updated picture of me from December 2011.

Comprehensive Park

The children had the day off from school due to parent/teacher conferences for the next few days so we went to Comprehensive Park today.  We only went to one tiny little section of it, but it did the job of entertaining the kids just fine while we were there.  It was quite hot and humid today.  We only stayed for about 45 minutes, we were all dripping sweat and were ready to leave by 10:30am.  Afterwards we went to the local Japanese grocery store and bakery for some treats.  Oh yeah...I bought gas off base for the first time today.  On base it is still $4.06, but I forgot to fill up before I left this morning so I thought I'd get 500 yen worth (about $5) of gas just to make sure I could get back home.  I ended up get 3 1/2 liters of gas which is less then 1 gallon!  Crazy huh?!  

Howie in the middle of the rope thingy.  Notice the Japanese children in the background with their matching green hats.  That's what they wear on their field trips .

Erin couldn't figure out how to get across the balls, I had to come to her rescue.

Jack seems to stick his tongue out a lot when he plays.  He's like a little puppy.

We fed the birds and the fish today at the pond next to the park.  The kids thought it was so cool that the birds were actually touching them.  All I could think about was how dirty the birds were and telling the kids not to touch them back.  I'm such a mom!

For all of you who wanted to know...this is a Japanese toilet.  You are supposed to put each foot on the creme colored tiles and squat down to do your business.  They generally have at least one handicap/elderly toilet that is American style.  The kids and I prefer to use that one when we can, but yes...I have used one of these toilets before (but not this particular one!)  Also, the walls are always pink in the girl bathrooms and blue in the boy bathrooms.  

Kyoto Trip part 2

The bamboo forest was so quiet and serene (my favorite picture!)

A real Zen Garden

A real Buddha (I think) shrine that people worship at.

Here is our day 2 of Kyoto.  Once again...it was wonderful!  On this day we went to some smaller temple, but all were still tourist hot spots.  The thing that struck me the most was how calm, quiet, and serene it was in all these places.  I guess that's what you get when you leave the kids at home!

As a side note to anyone who has kids, if you ever have the chance to leave the kids for a few days to go somewhere nice...DO IT!!! This was our second trip away from the kids and home and every time I come back rejuvenated and a better Mom (of course I missed them) but it really can strengthen a marriage and makes you fall in love all over again without the distraction of little kids.  Don't get me wrong, I love being a Mom and I love my children dearly, but sometimes we forget that we were married first and parents second.  Don't let your romance take a back seat to parenting!