To Do

Battling illness of a variety of kinds, at the last minute (when Wm had a 102 fever on Friday) we opted not to drive up to NH and PA to visit family.  Taking a car load of kids, who haven't been all been healthy for a week straight, to visit friends and family - especially when family is 90 years old - just didn't seem like a smart idea.  So, it's a stay-cation for two days (and I'll go into work for the other three ... saving those days for whenever we *are* healthy and can drive north!).

I put together a list of things I'd like to do with these four days home: grocery shop; file papers; order photos; call grandpa; figure out how to pay school fees in Hyderabad; mow; seed grass; plant seeds; check Lea's papers before she goes home; plan dinner while Lea is in the Philippines; mail cards.

Wm then wrote his "to do" list next to mine: change up; fix bed; eat lunch early; soccer game; park.

Kind of wish he had remembered to put his homework on it ... :) I like his list better than mine!

Managing my pantry

If there's anything that I still find frustrating about moving every two to three years, it's the pantry.  Most of the time, we can't bring non-perishables with us.  Even spices are banned when heading to some places (up side? you know your spices are never more than two to three years old).

Today, I was looking through our corner cupboard, where we keep things like granola bars, pasta, and munchies.  It's overflowing, because I keep finding things we can only buy in America, and I purchase them, not because I will eat them in the near term, but just because I can.  Or maybe the ever-picky Patrick will decide one of the new fangled American foods will suit is discerning palate.

As I was putting away the groceries yesterday and trying to find space in this cabinet, it hit me.  I'm bidding this summer.  And bidding means a move is possibly on the horizon.  And if a move is on the horizon, I need to start paring down the pantry, to avoid waste.  And I need to start now, because it can take a really long time.  We failed miserably when leaving India, giving so much food to a friend that she ended up writing us a check because she felt so guilty.  We did better leaving Manila, probably because I was in the US for 9 - 6 months before departure (and Greg is much better at avoiding temptations at the store).

Thus, my new found mission in grocery shopping: only buy perishable food, unless I know we'll eat something this week.  Once again, I realize buying a house one block from a grocery store was a great idea -- not only will it help keep future teenage boys fed without having to purchase a second fridge, but I can use it as my back-up pantry if I miscalculate.

Remembering the Seasons

In Japan this week, I'm back to my happy spot - would be perfect if Greg and three crazy boys were here, too, but I'll take (and thoroughly enjoy!) the solo trip.

Coming back to Tokyo is always full of reminders of Japan's unique-ness.  In the first hour I was in the airport, I saw: (1) the lady pushing the extra carts diligently hang a flashing red light on every third cart (as if passengers in the terminal couldn't already see the 15 foot train of carts!), (2) a group of 20-something young men open their suitcases that just came out of baggage claim, change their shirts - and then change their pants, in the middle of the arrival hall (!!), and (3) the ticket taker at the airport bus bow not only when the bus door closed, but stay bowed as the bus pulled away and we could no longer see him.  Then, of course, there's the contrast of the urban bustle of Shibuya with the quiet of small gardens tucked inside tiny spaces.

What I enjoy most, though, is the small reminders of seasons.  Food changes, decor changes, clothing changes - in India and the Philippines, seasons vary between dry and wet.  In the U.S., I have to make a conscious effort to buy fruits and veggies in season, since we have everything available all the time.

A simple reminder of the changing season is right outside my hotel room door.  With apologies for the cell phone quality of the photo, hopefully you can see the tiny tree bud about to flower in the base of the pine springs.  A simple way of saying spring is about to come! (and if anyone knows how to rotate a photo in Blogspot, please send me a note!)

Tunlaw by Photos

Disclaimer: I haven't figured out how to arrange photos well in Blogspot, so this is a really poorly laid out post.  But, you'll get the point of some of our memories in pictures. 

First, we had to get the house ready.  This involved Painters Without Pay (aka Pam's mom and sister Beth) working hard to rid the place of seriously poor color choices by the previous owners.  Then, Pam's grandma made curtains, her grandpa made radiator covers, and, eventually, Pam herself sewed some pretty spectacular roman shades.  When Pam's grandpa passed away and she and Greg chose to take his National Geographic collection, book cases were installed to house them.  

 

We got Bagwelle! 

We had lots of fun parties - here are just a few!

China Welcoming Party

Birthdays!

Easter Dinner

Jenn & CK's engagement

Jenn & CK's engagement

New Year's

We had lots of visitors - too many to post photos of - but highlighting those who came from overseas to stay with us

Greg's colleague from Jordan

And the last year was dominated by William's arrival. (Beth moved in with us, too, but Wm was just so cute, all the photos are of him!!)

Dinner with Wm on our roof deck

First time meeting great grandpa

The bathtub lived under the kitchen sink

Rocket Baby met Aunt Beth frequently after a night shift

Aunt Tracy makes a pony

Wm learns a favorite spot from Bagwelle

And really, we started to say good bye in 2008, when we found out we were joining the Foreign Service.  Wm started the trend, but now we have three FSO Babies, and, well, sadly fitting in Tunlaw would just be a little tight. 

Learning to communicate

I already posted about Ian starting to figure out words.  More and more, now, he's actually communicating.  Lea has told me that she speaks Tagalog to him during the day, "so he doesn't forget the Philippines."  I'm not sure if she just likes speaking Tagalog (makes her less homesick) or if she really wants Ian to speak it (her lasting contribution to his development).

Patch grew up in a dual language environment, too - well, actually tri-language, since while our nannies spoke Hindi/Urdu at home, many of the surrounding people spoke Telugu, and we of course spoke English.  In Patch's case, this meant he hardly spoke a word at age two.  I remember telling his first pre-school teacher in Manila that my "goal" for him was to have him be able to say more than just "mama" and "milk."  In a few months, he figured it out and was speaking in sentences.

Ian seems to be taking a more incremental approach, showing an interest in saying words in both languages.  Yesterday, I noticed him differentiating between how he spoke with Lea and how he responded to me.  To Lea, for an affirmative answer, he consistently said, "O-o," Tagalog for "yes." He can't quite make the "yes" sound in English, so to me, he would nod his head.  Kind of cool.

[side note: for no, to anyone, he firmly shakes his head and, if at all possible, pushes the offending item away.  It doesn't matter what language you speak!]

Why we need more snow days

Something about being stuck at home, with active kids, motivates me.  Maybe some friends lounged about in pjs, but that's not really an option here … items accomplished today:

- Making pancakes
- Catching up on a myriad of work reading material long delayed.  This includes such gems as the International Strategy for Cyberspace, the Asian Energy Outlook, and numerous news articles on TPP and TPA.
- A game of Settlers of Catan with Wm
- Baking cookies with Patch
- Trying to up my Japanese reading skills with NHK Easy News
- Finishing valentines for both classes (just in case there's school tomorrow!)
- Loading and unloading dishwasher (get credit for the small things, too, right?)

And, most importantly:

SLEDDING

(and it's only 3:30!)

 4:30 update:

 

So We Can Play Together

Patch today will be attending his first "girl" birthday party.  It took some convincing to go, since he says he doesn't like girls.  After (1) Wm pointed out all the girls Patch plays with at the park and (2) I confirmed that Patch's friend Lui would be there, Patch finally agreed.  Score for me - Saturday afternoon activity out of the house confirmed!

Off we headed to Target to get a toy.  I'm sure many of you read some of the various articles over the holidays about the bifurcation of "girl" and "boy" toys.  Here is our family's version of that experience:

Me: OK, shopping for house done.  Let's go to the toy section and get something.
Wm: Patch, here's the pink area.  Come, let's get a princess or doll thing.
Patch: NO. I don't like girl toys.
Wm: But Emily is a girl!
Patch: But I don't like all that pink around me.
Me: OK, let's get Oliver's present first
(note: oliver's birthday party is in two weeks)
(debate about benefits of Hot Wheels vs. Cars figurines vs. Legos vs. Imaginext ensues.  Imaginext wins)
Me: Time to get Emily's now.
Patch: Hey, this game looks fun! (pointing at Let's Go Fish-- the game where the fish mouths open and close and you have to dangle a magnet fishing line in to get them out)  Can we get it for Emily?
Wm: But it's not a girl toy.
Patch: It's an everyone toy. We can play it together!

So, there you go.  My four year old wants more "everyone" toys so that he can play with his friends who are girls without a crushing amount of pink.  Do you think retailers and toy makers will listen?  Looks like someone has even started a blog to "Let Toys be Toys."