Exciting News

We're heading back to China in the near future....
and it won't be just a vacation.

Details to come......

Normal ????

Well, life must definitely be back to normal.
Whatever that is.
And today it felt totally normal to take 4 kids to back to back physical exams.
We were at the doctor's office for three hours.
And I'm sure we weren't the only ones happy when we finally got to leave.
To make it even more fun, there was a brand new doctor on staff today.
Not brand new as in brand new to the doctor thing.
Just brand new to this facility, which when you are in the military is just the way it is.
Someone is always new.

We survived, and everyone is pretty healthy. And it did make me a bit sad that I have one kid that doesn't qualify for the pediatrician's office anymore. A kid that has the same primary doctor I have. And that is kind of scary.......

PW is Going to Kill Me - Or At Least Make Me Fat

Pioneer Woman is going to literally kill me. I just made these for dinner:


I don't think I've ever tasted anything so delicious. And I'm really hoping someone will hurry up and eat the last one lonely taco sitting on the counter, 'cause I really don't want to go back for more. Well, I DO want more, but I'm trying really, really hard to be good!!


(Disclaimer: That is NOT a picture of MY tacos, but mine looked just as good. Or better).

And guess what? Tomorrow night, it's another PW dinner!!

Mother's Day

I am having a truly fantastic Mother's Day. Started with breakfast in bed - nothing can beat that!!! Then I ventured over to the little Asian bazaar we're having on base this weekend, and was beyond thrilled to find this:

Yes, it's a mortar and pestle (actually, suribachi and kogi, to be exact) - and I've been wanting these items very badly recently. 'Cause it makes me feel like I'm really cooking when I use things like this. And because it makes me think of my own mom, which is always nice.

The pestle is made of wood from the pepper tree, which is supposed to add a hint of fragrance to the food. SCORE!!!

AND my twelve year old made me this. From scratch:



He said he had some trouble making the frosting and getting it to be, well, smooth. So I asked him how he made it. He said: "Well, I melted some butter, added 3 cups of sugar, a little vanilla, and a little milk......"
Me: "Wait. Three cups of REGULAR sugar?????? You mean powdered sugar, right???"
Jake: "No, it was regular sugar. I think it said cane sugar."

Well that would explain the trouble he had getting it nice and smooth.

But you know what???? You top anything with a little New York Super Fudge Chunk, and it's not a problem. No matter how gritty that frosting was!! I loved every.single.bite.

The Blessing of Siblings

Remember the recent fiasco with Josiah's swimming lessons?

We went twice. The first time he screamed his little head off the entire time.

The next time he calmed down some, and even went in the water, but was very stressed out.

The day it was time for the third lesson, he started throwing a fit at home at the mere mention of going. And I figured it was not worth it to force a three year old to go to swimming lessons. So we just quit going. I had only paid $36 for the month, so I didn't count it as a great loss.

Soon after that I took Abby for a swim test to see what level she needed to start on. Although she's pretty comfortable in the water, she would NOT put her head in without plugging her nose, so they said she had to start on Level 1.

Then the lightbulb went off. Maybe Cy would be willing to go to his lesson if his big sis' was there with him. So I signed them both up.

We had our first lesson yesterday, and it worked like a charm. She's happy because she feels like the "big" girl. He's thrilled because it's not so scary with her there. They both did a wonderful job.

Now I'll just have to make sure they work at the same pace, so they can move up to the next level together : )

Uninspired

I've been pretty uninspired to blog lately. We're pretty much doubling up on school so we can get done as previously scheduled. And by the time that's done for the day, I just don't have the energy to think.

Abby's been up to her usual - trying everything possible to NOT have to do any school, or should I say - to not have to THINK in school. Which involves a good amount of tears and drama. The good news is, I'm getting pretty good at expecting it and, frankly, not letting it get to me. The schoolwork IS getting completed by the end of the week, mainly because she really wants to be able to play on the weekend. It's not an inability to do the work - it's just plain unwillingness. But she won't just say "no". That would be too confrontational. She pretends to be trying but it takes forever. Kind of like eating used to. Then somehow, magically, on Friday it all comes together and she can get like 3 days worth of work done in about 1/2 a day. Whatever.

We've cut out sports for now so that we can focus on school. But, that doesn't mean no fun. It is very rare for us to have a completely free Saturday, but, yes, we actually had one this week. So, we went and hiked up Mt. Takao - another beautiful mountain here in Japan. At the top they have a little monkey park. It was great to get outdoors and get some fresh air and exercise, and so much fun to be able to do it as a family. Jim and Jake took turns carrying Cy in one of those hiking backpacks that kids ride on, and surprisingly he enjoyed it. I was very impressed with Abby here because she hiked all the way up AND back down with zero whining. And I could tell it was hard work for her little body. Frankly, she did less whining than some of her brothers, who will remain unnamed.

Yes, I did let my children pet a monkey.

I spent the remainder of the weekend poring over curriculum choices for next year. So much fun, but, oh so hard. So many choices.........