I know a few of you have been asking me what we brought back with us. As usual I'll share with you what we brought. I know it's always the fun or interesting question what did everyone bring back. And I think it's because people in general are curious. Me too. : ) I really don't mind sharing what we brought even if it is mundane stuff. : ) So if you wanna read this part, please go ahead. If you prefer not read this part, please no worries at all and just skip this part entirely. No worries either way really! : ) However, I must prepare you for some disappointment because we really did not bring too much back with us. Not even the camera. I'll explain in greater detail down below though. : ) This trip was *so* short (1 day spent traveling there, and 1 day traveling back and 7 days actually spent there, time seemed to be gone in no time flat). And there were just not many opportunities to shop. For example, when we went to Oregon last year, we had no family there. So we did a bit of site seeing but we shopped and just rested. However in Denver, since that is where I do come from. I had a ton of family to visit with. People to have meals with. And my time coulda either been spent shopping or with family and I honestly chose my family. So the shopping 2 hours here or 1 hour there was about all the shopping I could squeeze in. However I don't take anything back, I am glad I chose to spend my time with my family versus shopping. : ) Anyway here are the slim and few things we brought back. These are the DVD's I brought back. When we went to the Target Super store in Denver on Monday, would you believe I stupidly left my list of what to buy at the hotel??? Grrrr! Why in the hell did I do that? I was so angry with myself that day. But I did the best I could without the list. The DVD's on the other hand, I did not buy in Denver....when we were in Glenwood Springs, I ran into the Target there and bought the movies I was looking for there. Many were out of stock or not out yet (too new) as luck would have it. But these are the few I ended up with. : )
The new ones I got were Desperate Housewives the 4th season this just just came out when I was there in fact, so I was so happy to buy this! I also picked up the 3rd season which I hear is not so good but I have not seen it and wanted it anyway. I also got Harold and Kumar the new one! So funny! And the new movie Penelope with Christina Ricci where she has a pig nose and needs to find true love to break the spell, I think. I have not seen it yet, but I have seen the previews. And also, I have all the John Hughes movies on VHS however I have been slowly buying them on DVD, bit by bit. I bought Flashdance (not John Hughes, lol), Pretty and Pink, Some Kind of Wonderful, and Better off dead (I want my 2 dollars!!!!) ha ha ha! So one day when it rains or snows and my satellite is out, I can put in one of these and have myself an 80's flashback! *winks* : ) And the 80's DVD's were just $7.50 at Target, so I felt happy I got them! Since we do know how to value our money! : ) I also got 1 more DVD but it could not fit into the picture. It's....
It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown dvd! Again, I had the whole Charlie brown holidays on VHS, my parents actually bought them for me, when I was little, but again we need them on DVD. So, again, bit by bit, little by little. : ) Gotta start somewhere, right? : )
I bought a nice size bag of books from Barnes and Noble. Again, I wish I could have brought back a whole ton of books for the boys and myself but again, you know how heavy books are. Sigh. So, we bought just a few. But again, what I always tell myself is this.... if I ever feel negative like, I wish I coulda brought back more books or more this or that. I always say...."I at least am coming back to Japan with more then I had at the start of the trip, so that is the positive" and that *always* snaps me out of anything!!! Because I am a concentrate on the positives kinda person. Just always have been. So, I really felt in the end very good about what I could muster bringing back with me! : )
The books I brought back for myself. I had been *dying* to get that book about Valerie Bertinelli, her autobiography. Remember her from "One Day At a Time"??? She was on Larry King a month or two ago talking about this very book. She was obviously married to Eddie Van Halen from Van halen. She gained lots of weight and also lost it! I find that amazing, awesome and fascinating and she seems so honest. And so "shoots straight from the hip" kinda girl and I appreciate that and I knew I would have to have this book. I am only on chapter 3 right now, because things have been so hectic around here. Branden has undokai this weekend, blah blah blah. Jet lagged Noah grr grr grr! And the posts on my trip and you will understand why I have yet to finish this book. But the book is so amazing to read, it's like reading a really funny letter or blog entry from a friend. She doesn't right stuffy or all pretentious. She writes like the common, every woman does or thinks. She talks about sex, losing her virginity and her dabbling in drugs (yikes about that). How her parents never wanted to discuss *anything*. And it has been making me laugh and has also made me sad. It's an awesome book and I hope to finish it soon. Also you all know how much I love and am captivated by the real Titanic. I just love it and have seen every Discovery channel special ever about Titanic. Have seen the movie so many times and I wanted a new Titanic book. This book just came out, it has been out just a few weeks I think. And I love it. The pictures are so amazing! Also a book on Denver Colorado, so whenever I miss home, I can read it. Or the kids can read about it or do a book report about it someday at school. : ) And I also got a 2009 calendar all on Denver, it will hang nicely on my fridge come January! : ) Oh yeah and a magazine with Shannon Doughrty (sp?, sorry too busy trying to post this then to have time to go google her name, lol)/Brenda on the cover.
The pictures of Denver in my book are amazing! A book I will treasure for years and years! : )
These first hand pictures of the actual belongings of the Titanic passengers that lay on the ocean floor leave me in awe! A shoe, a hair comb! The whole book is amazing... best book on Titanic that I have honestly! 
I also spent a bit of time in the children's book section. I bought the "Good night Denver" book. These books are amazing, they have them for many states in America. When we say our prayers at night the boys and I, we then say good night to grandpa in Denver and we read this book! I also got a children's book on Colorado, very informational and good for Branden to read. And the reading book set all in Spongebob. These are for 6-8 year olds and the level B needs, since he fits that age and reading group. : ) And a book about fall, it's called, Apples and Pumpkins.
Like it says, "dive into reading" and there are 12 thin books. And scholastic, geeze how many of us from America ordered those books from school! So many of us ladiess probably learned to enjoy reading or were helped to read via those scholastic books. Yup, I bought B the scholastic Spongebob book set, they looked very good for my first grade reader. : )
This is what's inside of the Good Night Denver book. The botanical gardens, Washington park and lots more. 
And good night to the airport and the top/roof is supposed to look like the Rocky Mountains. My kids can learn something and also have fond memories of being there.
And inside the Apples and Pumpkins book. It talks about how in the fall in America, we usually bake many apple pies and then carve pumpkins and make them into...
Jack-o lanterns! ha ha ha! A good book to have and pull out every year for the kids in the fall, I think! : )
And the kids Colorado book, it shows all the famous Coloradoans. : )
And even a recipe for a Denver omelet, lol, how funny! : )
Please don't laugh you guys. But again, I want my kids to be aware of where mama comes from and also to feel it's okay that she does come from someplace else, other then Japan. And you know, that's okay she does. : ) And for hafu kids, they do learn to be proud of Japan from school. Which is amazing and as they should. But I don't want my boys to grow up feeling weird having a foreign mom. Because nothings wrong with it. And it can actually be a really cool thing she (me) does come from somewhere else. Does that make sense? So, yeah, the learning comes from home. And I want them to feel good about both sides of who they are. And they do! : )
Don't blink because you may just miss the food we brought back. This picture is the *only* food we brought back from the grocery store! Not much at all. Isn't it so sad? LOL! hey, I am being honest at least as always! I am kidding you not, I did not get a single chance to go to the grocery store. Again a choice between grocery shopping or visiting with family, I went with hanging with the family! I had a very long grocery list and never got to it! The night before we left to Japan. At like 9pm. After we said good bye to my dad and I blabbed out the window the extra 5 minutes. On our way back to our hotel. I said to Noboru, I need to go to the grocery store. Kids were asleep by now in the car. And we were all tired. Not much room left in the 3 empty suitcases we brought with us by now. And I had about the space of a bread box or less. I knew how much space or lack of... I had. So, I went into the store at 9pm at night. Hubby and the kids stayed in the car. I did not take a big metal cart. I instead used a handheld basket. Forget all the rice a roni's I wanted to buy or the good microwave popcorn's I wanted to buy versus just the regular Act 2 butter that's available in Japan at Costco (just being picky I know, and I'll end up getting more of the kind at Costco now, lol). Forget it all and I was okay with it. It was worth it to spend all the time we did with family or the time we relaxed in Glenwood. So, no, I wouldn't have changed a single thing. And there I was standing at the store with mini basket in hand. And as you guessed it, *no list* ha ha ha. I thought to myself, what is a necessity. And I thought the fixings for Thanksgiving, without a doubt! American Thanksgiving is in November. So in just a few month's. I thought and I suddenly was in the zone. I went to the Miracle whip/mayo aisle and I bought the largest jar I could find. 1 and a half liters, or something like that. I need it for all the sandwiches, turkey or otherwise and the jar expires end of February 2009, so it will last a good long time! Happy I got that. 2 cans of Libby's easy pumpkin pie. And I read the back and it said 5oz. of evaporated milk and I bought the generic store brand of that and the generic was 50 cents or so, so cheap. Now I know at the very least we will have 2 pumpkin pies this season. And I am sure if I see them in Costco, I will buy a few more cans in Japan. But at least this way, I know I am covered, phew! : ) I love homemade pumpkin pie! : ) A can of cranberries. Whole cranberries that is. I know some prefer the jelly kind and some prefer the whole berry kind. I prefer the whole berry kind lol, just seems more natural to me, lol is all (dorky me). But, I can eat both ways quite happily to though. : ) Gravy, I know making your own is easy, but I like this. And they had turkey gravy 2 for $1.00 Yet I bought the chicken for 65 cents each, I just prefer the chicken, sorry. My one of many weird things, lol. And stuffing. Again, I know it's a no brainer to make homemade. But, I guess I just like what I like. Now if I go to my family's house or my mom's house they make homemade, has to be homemade. And I agree it is awesome. But, if it's at my house, it's gonna be stove top, it just has a flavor I love. I really love it. And heck, I won't lie. For us it's stove top and no worries about that at all. : ) And yes, would you believe the turkey stuffing was 2 for 4 bucks, cheaper, yet I bought the chicken flavor. Just a personal choice and nothing wrong with that. Anyway, I did get a good start on our Thanksgiving meal at least and that was the positive that I reminded myself when I left the store with 2 tiny little plastic shopping bags the night before we left back to Japan! : )
And here's the deal, in Japan, after living here for a while you learn quickly what is available and where. What restaurants are good and not and you learn fast basically. Also to be fair you learn what is NOT available too though! For American food, I mostly make my own and I do have my own spices or packets I bring from Guam or America whenever I can, so that is pretty much covered. And Costco also is a big huge help. And for Italian, I do make my pizzas from scratch, and the most wicked lasagna with ricotta cheese and meats, yumm! Homemade meat sauce! And I also take short cuts too and I am fine with it. Same as I am fine with using stove top stuffing or baking a cake from a box ha ha ha, thank you very much, lol, ! I buy myself the 2 big jars of Prego from Costco, about twice a year for easy quick meals, like say stuffed bell pepper and I am in in a big rush. Again, I am fine with it. And yes I do dislike Japanese pasta sauce immensely by the way too many carrots. Yikes! : ( Indian is also easy to find in Japan, I buy naan, and curries, though again I am not Indian... but it tastes pretty good to me. However having said all that. Mexican food seems impossible to find in Japan! And I guess being from Denver where we pretty much grow up spoiled by all the amazing delicious real and authentic Mexican restaurants, I find I miss it. Plain and simple. It doesn't matter if you are Irish American or Chinese American, growing up in Colorado, you probably are hooked on the good stuff and same here. They have canned refried beans at Costco here in Japan, but I don't do canned refried beans at all... they taste really weird to me. So, I basically bring back whatever favorites I might need in the 6 month or year period. I like chicken and cheese enchiladas a lot. And so I figure one batch a month and so I bought 7 cans of the enchilada sauce. I have a very big food pantry and they are now sitting in there. Woohoo! And 10 packs of Taco Bell taco seasoning... again not so authentic but it sure helps with the cravings once in a long while. Again now I can have tacos 5 times. Ha ha ha. And heck, after the 5 times, if I am not in America someplace by then, I will just get it in Japan but it is more expensive though. But it's okay. As I told myself, at least I have more then when I started this trip. And beans, I actually like the taste of making fresh ones, same goes for me with navy and kidney too though. And since one of my very best friends while growing up and went to Catholic school with me, and her family happens to be one of the most coolest and most awesome hispanic families I know....and they are expert cooks in their home, I learned everything I ever needed to know about making Mexican food from her family. She's also Branden's and Noah's godmother by the way, a person I've known since age 4 in preschool and I trust her with my life. She's now an admissions counselor at Auraria Campus at one of the colleges/universities there and her parents were both real estate agents before they retired, lol. Oh and the jalepenos are for guacamole or Mexican hamburgers. Ahh, Denver eating habits, I know! I love it! : ) So, yup, the foods most hard to find in Japan are the ones I lug back with me. In all seriousness though, I don't just eat one kinda food and I don't just have one kind or type of friends either. I have friends from all over and from every nationality and race and I love food, good food that is... from everywhere! Anyway....
Yup, not a lot of food at all. Sniff, sniff. Oh well. It's okay. Okay this is what we got Monday when we went shopping for 3 hours, which wasn't a lot of time considering we went to the outlet, Target and book store and Old Navy. We had plans after that with family so it was super compressed. But I am happy with what we got. : ) Just 1 bag at Old Navy.
Bits for all 4 of us were in this 1 bag.
The only thing I got from Old Navy was 1 pair of jeans. Regular length meaning not capri or anything. Good for when winter comes. I have only 3 pairs of jeans. And you know, that is okay and all I need. I have the levi's I bought last year in Oregon. And these new Old Navy ones and a 5 year old pair of gap jeans (5 years old people). I do laundry everyday anyway and 3 jeans is plenty for me. When winter comes. : ) Now for fall and summer I have plenty of capris. But ehh, I truly don't need more then 3 pairs of pants for winter. I am no fashion diva I gather, just a regular ol' mom! : ) Oh yeah and I have 1 pair of cords around someplace, must locate those. : ) Or buy another pair via Nissen? : ) And the 3 T- shirts are what Noboru got from Old navy for himself. And they were all marked down, see the sale red tags?
He got 3 cute t shirts for 5 bucks each, not bad! And I loved the orange one he found that says Old Navy. Very smart hubby! : )
Branden is oldest so he inherits nothing from an older sibling the way Noah does, which is fine. So, Branden got 2 pairs of sweatpants. I love how they say "varisty squad" or "track and field" on the sides of the leg. And they were 2 for $20 bucks and the quality is nice and so fleecey and warm on the inside. Noah probably has some to get from B's stuff in the attic so he only got 1 pair. Our family seems to live in pants like this come winter time. Perfect for running to the video store late at night. Hanging in the house on a lazy evening. Or good for staying warm after swim club! I think 2 pair is enough for B, but if it isn't we can always get him another pair at Nishimatsuya or something. : )
This t shirt was on sale for B. And he can wear it now all the way until the end of next summer, the size is right and it was a steal at 5 bucks! And the yellow color, I loved! That is all...absolutely everything we got from Old Navy. See? Told ya, not much.
Target stuff now. Branden got a 2 pair of mix and match Spiderman jammies in size 8. No, he is still 6. And is by no means near a size 8, but the sizes of these kind of PJ's runs slim and so I felt better buying them in a size 8 so he can wear them for 2 winters versus 1 winter. And at $19.99, yeah I felt he needed to get more then 1 winters worth out of them. God am I cheap. LOL. Hence the size 8. And the regular plaid jammies were cheap, very preppy, but they only had this color and the other color didn't have his size. I bought these in just the size 7 which is what he will use for this year only and that's okay. B needed some jammies quite badly, so I am happy at least he got 3 pairs. Bless his little heart! : )
Yup size 8's for the Spiderman jammies.
I loved the jammie color they had for the littler ones! The whole blue and brown scheme was cute. And I loved the monkeys of see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil, lol! And they were a 2 pairs of mix and match too. But for the little kids like Noah they were only $14.99 for these.
Target has a cheaper line by Carter's and we all know carters makes the good stuff. And the quality is awesome and the prices, I like. 3T for Noah! : )
Perhaps it is because I come from Colorado where we have cold snowy winters. But growing up, my mom always bought my long johns every winter. It was a disaster if I didn't have 2. Mine usually had flowers or princesses on them, lol! Now with my 2 boys, I think again with it so engrained on me. That I too, think it's a natural disaster if my 2 boys don't have them. B still has his from when I got his from Oregon last year and they are size 6/7 so will last this whole year. And Noah, also has his that are from Oregon too. Remember I bought Noah a size 2T and also 3T. So, Noah's this year will be the unopened 2 pairs of long johns I got last year. And I also bought these 2 pairs of long johns for next year in a size 4T. Did all that make sense? LOL. At $4 bucks on sale, I felt foolish not to get these.
Yup next year he will be wearing the dinosaur ones and the chocolate with blue stripes. And this year he has really cute pale lime colored ones.
House shorts for next summer again on sale, perfect time to stock up for Branden. And again just 5 bucks.
One pair of house shorts, comfy gray shorts for B from Target and 1 pair of cargo khaki shorts for B from Target too. And I actually have another size 7 cargo shorts like this from last year I have been saving. What am I, a clothes hoarder? Ha ha ha.
Again cheaper line from Osh Kosh. Which I love Osh Kosh. And the quality is so nice and from Target! Btw, those of you who live in the mainland, are people still calling it...Tarjay anymore? Reason I ask is because I heard some man at Target call it that on his cell as he shopped, on Monday, I am kidding you not. I was just wondering. Ha ha ha. I just call it Target, lol!
Good thing I had him try it on, the 3T was oddly too small. And Noah is not a big guy at all. He's actually a bit on the small side if you ask me.
Anyway though, this sweatshsirt is so adorable, the color, the style, the pic of the little doggy. I love it! And even the little detail of the button near the neck. Unbeatable price too. I grabbed this one right quick on Monday! I can see him wearing this all fall and winter long! : )
Osh Kosh outlet in Silverthorne. Only 3 things were bought and only 1 for Noah. Again though, to be fair, Noah does get to inherit all B's goodies he outgrew and there's plenty. And also B has to wear regular clothes to school, so he needs variety more then Noah. And when Noah attends school he will be wearing a uniform. But this is the 1 long sleeved top Noah got. An American football shirt. Happy yellow and blue. And it was 60% off from the tag, so it was a good deal.
Branden got 1 long sleeved rugby type top in size 7 and 1 zip up sweatshirt in size 7.
Once again more sale stuff. Seems a gigantic Walmart opened in Westminster. Geeze that was news to me. Not really a Walmart shopper, more of a Target girl myself. But I went in there one day, real fast. And I found some more house shorts for the boys. For next year, in size 4 for Noah and size 7 for B. $3.00 each, unbelieavble prices.
I wanted blue or gray for B, but all they had was red or orange, I chose orange. Yup what did B get from Walmart, 1 pair of 3 buck shorts for next year. Again, sorry to disappoint, ha ha ha. But seriously not much was bought this trip. : )
3 pair of shorts for Noah and only 1 pair for B from there. I wish they had more in B's size.
: ( Anyway, B did get the Old Navy shorts and the Children's place ones though, so he left Denver with 3 play shorts too for next summer, so it's fine. : )
And sorry to gross any of you out or anything (lol, kidding, kidding : ). But I found a very nice and super cheap long sleeved zippy sweatshirt with fluffy white inside of hoodie. It is a nice bright shade of orange and it was so cheap, like 15 bucks? Honestly. And I tried it on and it looked really cute on. I figure as a mom, it will be great for running to my PTA meetings or to swimming school. It'll keep me plenty warm in fall and winter. It's actually sorta really cute. And with a pair of jeans and la Coq sneakers or some old school Nike cortez sneakers, it can actually be sorta cute. A cute mom style, right. : ) Yup the only things bought from Walmart, some sale prices house shorts for the boys for next year and my crazy orange sweatshirt for running errands in! : )
The only splurge I made for myself and I almost didn't. Anyway, I went into the Ralph Lauren factory store in Silverthorne looking for stuff for the boys. Of course never looking for myself, always someone else. Sigh. The lady working there was very nice and really cool. A bigger gal, but she wore it well and was honestly gorgeous really and truly gorgeous. She and I were chatting and I told her, how it's hard to shop in Japan if you are over a size 8 or have feet larger then an 8. And she told me..."then you just have to check out these sweaters, they're new and they flatter almost everyone who buys them" Rubbish I thought. I said, well, alright let me try one on. Fully intending not to like it. And as I sat in the dressing room, it was like wow. They are so slimming, so flattering. I ended up buying 2. I shoulda bought them in every color, lol. But I was conservative as usual and I bought only 2. I bought the orange and the oatmeal colored one. I thanked her immensely and she was actually the manager of the store! Right on! I left the Ralph Lauren shop and we went to Gap and funny thing is, I said to myself. You know, if these are feminime and look good on me and they weren't techincially outragouesly priced, I should buy another 1 or two. And I rarely ever splurge on myself, hence my Walmart zippy. And I said, to heck with it! And I drove us back to Ralph Lauren and I wanted the gray and the red but they were out of a large. So, I instead made lemonade and got my alternate picks and I got purple and yellow. I was content, with my new pair of jeans (Old Navy) and my 4 new sweaters, that knowing me, I will keep and wear for the next 5 years, lol! I was happy! And they are so warm! Really warm. And with a pair of jeans and a pair of sneakers, I won't mind going to dinner with these, going to another PTA meeting or, doing whatever. These make me feel good and heck us mom's /ladies in general deserve to feel good. : )
Yes, $59.99 each, and I felt I deserved this once every blue moon splurge.
I liked the zip up neck line. And I do plan to wear these with a crew neck or turtle neck underneath come winter. I also liked the nice leather zipper pull. And the bright green polo person. : ) I know....I have a very conservative preppy (could be boring, lol) style of dressing. Probably why I usually shop at just regular/typical American stores like Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy and can't forget the all American, Ralph Lauren either, lol, Very typical average American style of dressing, I know. Sorry. Ha ha ha. On the bright side, I am consistent at least, ha ha. : )
And it has the V vent at the end of the sweater perfect for girls with curves. : )
Nice long sleeves.
And I love how the leather zippy handles are all coordinating colors of leather.
And also got Branden a sweatshirt from Ralph Lauren for $19 bucks and you don't even wanna know the price of retail on this one, underneath all the stickers, it nearly caused me to faint! Ha ha ha. : )
And I also got myself these flip flops. I have the twin of these already but mine are black.
Nick and Nora slippers for myself. Again they were on sale and in Japan at school functions we are expected to wear slippers in the school. So, I got these for school functions.
And these sparkling silver ballet shoes. I do got that fondness for ballet shoes. These both pairs came from Target and were affordable.
Broncos stuff for Branden. Yes, we are a football loving family. And this is a Denver Bronco household. A size 7 long sleeved top for B and a size 7 sweatshirt for B. And a baseball cap hat with bronco logo. And a Denver broncos backpack for the next time B has a field trip or something.
Go Broncos and go Branden!!! Ha ha ha. : )
And for our littlest Denver Bronco fan, he got a size 4 sweatshirt! Yay Noah! Btw, amazing game yesterday between the LA. Raiders, and the Denver broncos, we watched it with our satellite! . : )
And my simple, conservative preppy little messanger type bag. I need bags that hang because as a busy as heck mom of 2 boys. I need to be hands free. Plain and simple. Whether I am holding my 3 year olds hand to cross the street. Or carrying Branden's ichinensei backpack into the car as I pick up my son. Or carrying fresh yummyness from the bakery with one hand and holding my sons hand with my spare hand. It's pretty obvious I need a bag that can hold onto ME versus me hold onto the damn bag! Any smart mom will know what I mean. And since my kids are potty trained and I don't need to drag diapers and such anymore, I did my time doing that. : ) I only need a small/medium bag. Enough to hold prada wallet, Gap black shiny coin purse I just bought, and a Nivea lip balm and a pack of gum and I am set. Yeah and it even can carry my camera, so all is good. And the tiny little understated alligator is still sitting there. Again not a fancy bag but a basic bag, good enough for me. : )
And only $65.00. A really good find. Good thing I walked through the DFS in MN. : )
I also got these earrings on the airplane. I've sorta liked them for this whole past year every time we fly I would see them in the catalog and finally this time, I bought them. Geeze, I guess I am a cheapskate if I waited a whole year! Ha ha ha. Oh well. : )
Now the Gap, wow, we had a big haul from there. 2 big bags full! But they all came from the outlet, so more smart savings from us! : )
Branden got 2 pairs of jeans. He's outgrown all his other jeans at the house. I think we will need to buy him another pair or two of pants in Japan once the winter stuff comes out in Japan. Because since he goes to school 5 days a week, and wears regular clothes, 2 pairs of jeans isn't enough. Ah well, it was a good start though! : ) Noah got no jeans, he can wear Branden's.
Both size 7's. Both Gap. : )
Noah has a shirt like this already from Gap in size3. And I saw this for B. It's a light blue and chocolate colored long sleeve shirt. This will be excellent come fall and winter! Again, I wish they had more long sleeves for B but this one is a start! They did however have a lot of short sleeves but I didn't get him any. I needed long sleeve.
Sweatshirt in size 4T.
Same exact sweatshirt in size 3T. I loved the orange color. It is such a flattering color. It's a boys sweatshirt. And I wish they woulda had some for B in his size. But they did not. So, I got Noah 1 for this year and 1 for next year.
3 sweatshirts for Noah but only 2 he can wear this year! : )
4 long sleeved t shirts for Noah in size 3T. I was quite happy about the orange one and the chocolate and sky blue one. Why didn't they have these in Branden's size he coulda used them for school! Grrr! : )
This was on the clearance rack and a size 4T, for next year for Noah. I snatched it up. Great happy color.
So many good sales and deals were had. Monday morning.
An affordable little black patent leather coin purse for me. 5 bucks again.
Socks for B since he's in school. And a basic hat for me. On days I am too sleepy for words and wanna run the kiddo to school, in jogging suit and baseball cap and cup of coffee in hand. Ha ha ha. : )
I know many of you that have been reading for a long time will remember when my mom gave both the boys an Old Navy gift card (which I used) and a Toys r us gift card. Anyway this trip, we used the Toys r us card. Noah chose this. A big car from the movie Cars. His name is DJ and he plays music and his eyes move. Noah just loves this car! And a sippy cup with strap for Noah, I think he can use this for when he has yochien field trips and the best thing is it has his name on it! It spells Noah! A Speedracer backpack from the new movie. Oh yeah we saw the new Speedracer movie on the plane back to Japan. So good. And also Noah bought Branden a 99 cent pack of eraser tops for Branden. He's so nice. : )
Meanwhile Branden bought 2 DS games with the Toys r us gift card grandma gave to him. : ) Yup the only toys the boys brought back. Just 2 Ds games for B and a car and cup for Noah. Again not too much.
Toiletries/medications and whatnots. These came from Target on that Monday morning as well. Again not too much of a lot here. 1 bottle of Rolaids. 1 travel pack of Rolaids. Some decongestant if I ever get sinus pain or become like booger city! LOL. 3 deodorants. I never have a favorite I always switch and try new ones. Soaps and kids meds and that's it really.
The name brand Advil was $8.99 for the same amount and this Target generic store brand, same thing was $2.99. Sorry to sound so cheap, but I bought the cheaper store brand. All, I really need it for is for that time of the month cramps, or if I get a headache or something. And heck, I don't care either way if they are name brand or store brand meds, as long as they work, that's good enough for me. : )
Same for the kids. Children's liquid ibuprofin, same as kids Motrin. But it's Target brand. These were seriously 2 for $4 bucks. The other were
$ 3.50 each? Again, I checked and compared the active ingredients and they are identical. And then I checked the inactive ingredients and again they are the same. I like saving money and getting the meds at the same time. And I already got 2 and a half bottles of this in Japan so now I have 4 and a half bottles of fever reducer. This greatly puts my mind at ease knowing I have these hiding in the hall closet upstairs, on the top shelf.
My American pediatrician when B was living in America with us before we moved always always always recommened this to me. She even gave me a case of her free samples of this from her office, that's how strongly she reccomended this. Granted I don't want my kids to get sick but at least I take comfort in knowing we do have meds they can take. And I also have 3 bottles of meds already for them saved at home from my last trip that are still good. So, I have many meds now.
This kids med is supposedly strong, it's for kids 2 and up. But I even needed to show ID at the check out. LOL. Seriously. I figure with a name like...Mucinex, if my kids ever get badly congested or end up with mucus, I will whip one of these packets out and it will cut that to the quick! Ha ha ha. : )
Yup safe for a 2 year old so should be safe for my 3 year old. Knock on wood we will not need to use it though on either kid. : )
And the one and only thing bought from Children's place. a $1.99 pair of house shorts for Branden in size 7/8 for next summer. Again the deals were amazing. Wish I coulda lugged back 2 more suitcases of stuff, lol. Or had another week in Denver. But, sigh, I did not and that was okay, we made the best of the time we had. : )
Not bad at all for $1.99! Perfect for Branden bopping around the backyard with flip flops and a t shirt next summer.
And some unmentionables. As luck would have it, I started my period while in Denver. Doesn't it just figure? Ha ha ha. I got 2 packs of regular tampons and 1 pack fo the supers for the 2 days it's a bit heavier. Oh come on, we are all adults here, I don't think I have any 10 year old readers here, lol it's natural, it happens, geeze. And some generic conditioner, I bought because I needed it while I was at the hotel, my hair needs conditioner. And 1 sippy cup for Noah.
He got the orange sippy cup, and it's a surfing Diego cup, lol! : )
We came back with $1,500 dollars. So we really did not shop much at all. That's okay, we will put it into our vacation fund for next time. : ) And where is my camera you ask? As usual, we waited until the night before we left as well. We went to best Buy before we had dinner, I got to see them all finally in person. It all came down to the Nikon point and shoot. That had a touch screen and I worried about fingerprints on it after a while. Noboru mentioned that too. And it came down to the Olympus 1010. Lulu is the one who recommended the Olympus. I wanted the 850 Lulu had, but they only had the 1010. And they only had black. : ( Anyway Noboru and my dad came up with how long does it take to turn on. We had a race, and my dad turned on the Nikon for me and I turned on the Olympus at the same exact time. The Olympus opened faster. Also I wanted to say the one Lulu rec'd. The 850 or whatever, it got rave reviews. Nothing but compliments via Amazon and nothing but raves from even that place Heidi showed us on the post down below. The place that disliked the Canon. Even that place raved about the Olympus. So, while not as name brand as my Sony maybe. I ultimately went with the Olympus. However.....as luck would have it. Best Buy did not have it. We were leaving the next day. The guy working there said I could order it online. As if! I went across the street and they were also sold out of the Olympus 1010 too, what the heck? How popular is this camera? LOL! They had it at a store all the way clear up in Broomfield (far) Noboru checked the camera model over at the 2nd store and sure enough the languages can go from Japanese, to English to all sorts of different languages. The far store closed in 40 minutes. Yet I wanted to eat fish and chips with my dad. So, I opted to just buy my camera online in Japan and enjoy my last meal (for a while) with my dad. Yup, I went for enjoying a meal with my dad rather then getting my camera go figure. Boy did I make the right choice! Because I love my dad! And once back in Japan, Noboru found me a 1020, which is even a grade better with a hyper crystal screen or something weird. And he bought it for me. And it was delievered yesterday. I love the camera and yup it's in English. Anyway that is the whole long and short of it! : )
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