My dad's visit

I baked these 2 homemade loaves of banana nut bread the morning my dad arrived (though he didn't arrived until the afternoon) in Japan last Thursday. The day before Branden and Noah's observation day. So our whole family munched these Thursday, Friday and Saturday was when these were finally all gone. I know my dad loves banana bread which is why I made these. : )  Friday was of course observation day.

Saturday afternoon the 5 of us went to Capricciosa to celebrate Father's day for my dad since the actual Father's Day we wouldn't be together. The boys and I would celebrate Noboru on actual Father's Day. So this was really nice to have 1 day to celebrate with my dad. We had so much to eat. 2 salads, 1 was cesar and 1 was a garden salad.

Noboru and my dad get along really well, so they chatted and chatted, all of us talked and ate, talked and ate. It was nice.

Bruschetta

Pizzas, 2 of them.

Breaded and fried rice and cheese ball. This is so good.

Two large servings of tomato and garlic pasta. We also had melon sodas. And we were all stuffed by the time we left.

A pic from Saturday evening. Noboru sadly had to be away at work, but the 4 of us enjoyed TV and 2 bowls of popcorn, Branden and I shared a bowl and my dad and Noah also shared their own bowl of popcorn. It was a nice way to spend the evening. Look at Branden stretching out on the couch. Everyone was very relaxed.

Sunday, the boys wanted for grandpa to join them to go zarigani catching along the tanbo but since my dad's leg was still injured he stood home. I explained to Branden and Noah we want grandpa to heal quickly and so for that to happen he needs to rest. That way next time, we see him, he'll be zipping around and ready for fun. They understood. They are good boys. So we waved them off. And off they went, with nets and bug boxes in hand and rainboots on in case any snakes or muddy water. Good protection for their feet and legs.

They could go directly down behind our house, but if you see the house in the pic with the strip of wood down the side of it. They walked right past that house and there's another way to get down to the rice fields from there. And it's a wider walkway for the boys to walk around down there. So it's just a 1-2 minute walk.

Aha, Mr. Dimples caught a zarigani minus 1 claw. @_@ All of these creatures didn't even stay the night they went back into the fields after they showed grandpa/my dad.  Noah caught a ton of stuff in his bug box. Then the boys walked back and brought them back to the fields. Came home and got cleaned up for lunch.  Noboru wanted to make us all dinner Sunday. Which was awesome of him. He said it was a Father's day dinner he wanted to cook for my dad albeit a week early, but it is the thought that counts. A pic of that below.

And Monday after the boys went to school and my dad and Noboru and I relaxed, we later went to lunch. We went to our favorite Indian restaurant.  I know we didn't do anything huge while my dad was here. But the main reason my dad came was because he wanted to spend time with us, his family, his grandsons, his one and only daughter. And his son in law. We also wanted to see him too. So to us, the trip, the time spent together was awesome, we all got the quality time we wanted. Granted we just saw each other a few months back. But we're a close knit family with my dad for sures. After lunch, we headed directly to the airport.

Like I always say, for us, it's never good bye but instead...a see you later. That hurts less. : ) And I watched my dad walk all the way into the building with my eyes. I sure do love you dad, I thought to myself and then we left the airport. And headed to the Aeon and Narita mall for swimming stuff for the boys for elementary school.

Here's what my dad brought. I didn't ask my dad for anything but he's thoughtful. He came with 4 packs of microwave bean and cheese burritos. I said..."4 packs.... Holy goodness." @_@ : ) he said, "yeah good for a quick snack for the boys." : ) 

He unpacked these and said, I know you often mention how hard it is for you to find cheese in your area especially colby jack...longhorn or cheddar. I shook my head and said, thanks. Wow, I was so happy. He actually brought me 2 longhorn blocks of cheese but I used one while he was here.

Pasta sauce.

4 pounds 3 ounces per bottle these are huge. I appreciate these dad. So thanks. : )

He said he knows Branden and Noah like Cinnamon Toast Crunch. : ) And he said reading my blog he sees Branden has been in a baking/cooking mode so he brought him a a cake mix with frosting. Seriously....thanks dad. : )

Thursday night the first evening he was here, I made a very simple dinner. Homemade chicken strips and homemade mashed potatoes and gravy. And a simple salad. To feed 5 people, 2 men and 2 growing boys plus me, I boiled huge amount of potatoes to make the mashed potatoes. Everyone was stuffed though and we all had banana bread for dessert. Plus it was a Kumon day for the boys. So it was a bit busy around here.

Friday, I decided to make Mexican food since I made American the day before. Considering I had to get the boys sent off to school before observation day started for us all. And get dressed and we spent the whole morning at the shogakko. When we got home around 11:45am-ish, is when like I said, I prepped for dinner. I fried the corn tortillas. Grated the cheese, the other huge block of longhorn, I used for these. And boiled 2 chicken breasts. Then shredded them and put seasoning on the chicken, before rolling them. I made red chicken and cheese enchiladas and green chili chicken and cheese enchiladas. And also rice and a salad. While my dad rested his leg. By the time we got back to the school for the disaster prep part, I was pretty tired from prepping dinner, gee dinner was 98% done. Rice was done. The enchiladas were done and wrapped in tin foil and sitting in the fridge until we got home. When we got home with the boys is when I whacked them in the oven. I was so happy Friday was here. I put my comfy black shorts on and a T, threw my hair in a pony tail, grabbed a Matsuya Cider with ice and got ready for enchilada night. We all enjoyed these that Friday night.  Saturday for lunch we had Italian. At the restaurant and us 4 had leftover enchiladas for dinner Saturday night. And then Sunday....Noboru cooked, which was a welcome change for me. He said, I'd like to cook, I said, cool.

These are size 6-8. These are the size of my hand and when they were straightened they were beyond that. These prawns were monster sized. We ordered these from rakuten. They were so delicious. A special treat since my dad would be here, we bought these a week before in preparation.. And I didn't cut or clean them Noboru did it all, I just couldn't believe how enormous they were so I asked if i could place one on my hand for this pic. : )

We all had 4 (except Noah). These were so good.

What Branden and Noah's plate looked like. Noah ate 3. Branden had 4 like the rest of us. Which we were glad Branden enjoyed them as much as we all did. My dad loves shrimp so he loved the ones Noboru made, they really were excellent. So that was Sunday....then Monday morning we had french toast which I made for everyone before sending the boys to school. We had Indian food for lunch and then we dropped my dad off at Narita airport like I said. It was just a really relaxing visit, we really didn't go anywhere specific or anything but we just enjoyed our time together. Anyway....that's all folks. ; )

Tidbits from our week! : )

Last Friday, right on the date, the backpack for Branden's elementary school, that we ordered, was supposed to be delivered. It indeed got to our home by delivery, right on time! It came nicely packed in the box. Came with a lot of little extras, like protector pads for carrying the backpack. A book bag and even a shoe bag, etc (even though we will use our own handmade bags we bought already, but it was nice they gave them to us). I opened the box and took a good look at the backpack to make sure it was indeed the correct one we ordered, which of course it was. But heck, better to check. Checked for any flaws, and it's flawless, perfect actually and I checked every stitch, every dot of this backpack. And when I was satisfied, I packed it all back into the box and put that box into the brown cardboard box and put it safely into Branden's closet and there it will stay until the new school year begins this coming April. Man, things are coming into place with regards to the first grade. We also got a paper sent to the house. Saying Branden is ready to pass to the first grade. And he will be passing and completing yochien. Noboru told B that he got his "license" in the mail. I like that he termed it that way. And now he can move onto the first grade this coming April. He's very excited! : )

Branden's best friend, Genki-kun went skiing last week, while Branden was in Guam. Genki-kun gave this cute little box of cookies to Branden! He was so happy to get it! We usually give and trade omiyage with Genki-kun's family.

And a few pics of the obento lunches I made for Branden this week. What do we have here? Karaage (I had made karaage the night before, so this was an easy fry up in the morning), french fries, steamed green beans, with some butter, salt and pepper. White rice and some fresh strawberries (my god these were so sweet, I bought 2 packs one for him to take to school for a few days and some for us to eat in the house, we loved these this week!) and a mikan jelly, that's it.

Another day, I made some pizza toast. 2 mini pepperoni pizzas, I made that morning. A toaster oven, toasted hash brown, some steamed green beans. Some more fresh sweet strawberries and a grape jelly.

And thinly sliced sweet honey ham and some good swiss cheese, some miracle whip, made this a fantastic sandwich to send B, to school with that day. I also gave him a small handful of fries and some steamed green beans. 1 mikan and a white peach jelly! : )

On Friday, which is today, I sent Branden to school with this obento! It's an all beef Oscar Meyer hot dog that I pan fried, yumm! Put some ketchup on there. Some Kraft mac and cheese and some steamed brocoli. A mikan and a strawberry jelly! Kept things simple regarding the lunches for my son, as always. But I wanted to get a good variety of meals for him, as well! Every single lunch came back, totally empty! Phew about that! : )

Tonight, Friday Feb 1st, I am making fried shrimp/ebi fry! I always buy bigger ones for the hubby and me. And easier to hold smaller shrimps for both the boys! Although, yes they could have the big ones sure, but they always like the smaller sized ones, go figure! I also got my big shrimps on sale and they are huge! We can't wait until we eat ebi fry tonight!

Tinier tidbits of the week are going here: )

Things I have watched on TV this week! I saw the last and grand finale of "so you think you can dance" And if you haven't seen the finale, please do not read any further! But, I must say, I loved the grand finale! I am glad how they had some of the last 20 top dancers come back for the finale and get to redo/redance some of the most loved dances from this season. I especially am/was fond of the Hummingbird dance with Hok and Jamie. Also, did anybody hear in real life, Hok and Lacey are really going out? And I was really glad Sabra won! Her personality in my opinion was always fantastic, she was always smiling, so cheerful. I think she gave 100% every performance. And I was just really glad she won! I was also *really* happy to see the new season of Nip/Tuck had started! I watched that this week, as well. And movies, I've seen on the ol' satellite this week, are, Robocop 1 and 2. Benny and Joon (I love this) Aliens, I have seen twice this past week, ha ha ha. And has anybody been watching the Entertainment Tonight episodes they have been showing on the Fox channel? I have seen every single one of them! I loved the one they showed on the Osmond family. The 10 most shocking moments was good too. I've also been watching the George Lopez show on the GLC channel and it just cracks me up that show! I have also been watching the Gilmore Girls off and on, whenever I can catch an episode, I watch it. And I obviously can NOT wait for the new Season of American Idol coming next week to the Fox channel. I will no doubt be watching that show, from beginning to end. Ha ha ha. : )

Also, on Thursday, Jan31st, yesterday rather. I went to lunch with 2 of my Japanese girlfriends to the ANA hotel in Narita. I shoulda took pics, but I didn't : ( They are the 2 funny ladies I went and sang karaoke with, remember them? I went with Kaya-san and Rumi-san. Kaya-san and I are friends because our 2 sons go to the same yochien and same swimming school, plus her personality is very kind, sweet and we have fun hanging out. And Rumi-san and I are friends, because we are neighbors and B will be attending the elementary school her 2 daughters attend. And she's just freaking hilarious. I won't say, who said what but, or in detail what we talked about but we talked about, the topic of breast implants came up and we were dying of laughter about some talks about that. And no, I am all natural with that and would never get them, but the talk was hilarious. Being comfortable in swimwear also came up and I think actual tears of joy or hysterical laughter were coming outta my eyes. We also discussed more serious subjects about educating our children. And I left with the feeling, we are all going through the same thing in one way or another, we all have the same concerns and worries. Regardless if I am American or they are Japanese. We all have concerns and out of love we worry a great deal. And we are all just doing the best we can. So, it was nice. Nice to ponder things like Kumon (how long is enough fo example, and Kaya-san has 2 kids in Kumon at the moment so it was good to get her thoughts and B goes to Kumon too meanwhile Rumi-san does not send her kids there and that's okay too, and she does send her kids to things like English lessons, so it was great to see everyone's opinions and listen and even though we stick with our own ways of parenting and stay true to what each of us believe in and what's best in our own individual cases, it's nice to hear other mother's takes and respect others in their own choices and I loved that we could talk like that, and probably why I enjoy spending time with these 2 ladies so much and why I consider them, real friends) and so on. It was a good day. The food was great, especially the desserts. Also, and maybe I should not mention this but, have any of you reading this, ever seen a woman just flat out, fall flat. I mean totally wipe out? Rest assured it wasn't any of my friends. But, Rumi was getting food, so I don't think she saw. But, as Kaya-san and I were eating lunch and discussing something. All of a sudden this woman, slipped on one of her high heel stilletos, she was wearing a pant suit, thank goodness, she wasn't wearing a skirt. But, she slid and she fell flat on her back, it was loud. It happened so fast and her head actually made a huge thud sound onto the hard cement or tile floor (must have hurt like hell). I wanted to run to her and see if she was okay, that was my first instinct. But again, I didn't wanna make a blunder. So, I looked around, clearly everyone else saw her too. She laid there on the floor for about 10 seconds. She went splat in front of 2 full tables of woman. Nobody got up. To me that was a bit shocking. Perhaps to be fair though, they were trying to not notice, as to not embarass her? I don't know and I often do the wrong thing in situations like this in Japan. So, I just copied what everyone else did and watched but did nothing. She did get up, and she actually walked it off as if nothing had happened. It was like it didn't even happen. And she continued to eat and everything. But the sound of her skull hitting that hard fancy shiny tiling, or whatever it was. It was so loud, her head hitting the tiles. I wondered if she almost needed an ambulance at first. Either way, she might need an MRI, seriously, just to get a look see. She really hit her head hard! Anyway, that was my interesting tidbit from the lunch from yesterday.

I did take B to Kumon twice this week. I also took him swimming on Wednesday and I will be taking him to swimming this evening as well, for the makeup class, he missed while we were in Guam. So, I should be busy all day today and well into the evening.

Also, at our yochien at the moment, a few kids seem to be down with the flu. A few of B's good friends have it. Especially Genki-kun, he's missed the last 2 days of school. And Branden and Genki-kun are seriously best friends, these 2 kids play together every single time after lunch in the playground. They play on the bus together and ride the bus together. They even meet up on their days off. They're as thick as theives, I tell you! Ha ha ha. So glad they will be going to elementary together! So, it was a real bummer for Branden that Genki-kun is sick. I hope he gets well soon for Branden's sake because he truly has been missing his best friend at school these passed few days! : ( On the other hand, my kids have not got sick even once this year. Isn't that weird? I think it's odd. They got sick last year once or twice, but not this year yet. Ha ha ha. Oh well, knocking on wood about that! You watch, now that I say that, it will be my kids next, ha ha ha! Crosses fingers about that. But I hope all the kids get well soon at Branden's school! They are all good sweet kids!

Anyway, I better go in the kitchen now and panko the shrimp and go make the rice and get things prepped for tonights dinner for after swim school! Have a wonderful weekend everyone! : ) Noboru is off today and tomorrow, so, we will be having a nice family type weekend starting this evening. Some DVD's and some board games! Okay, I better motor! Have a good one, you guys!

PS, a tiny grumble grumble! When I got back from Guam, Noboru did not throw out the fruit or bread while I was away. When I got back, there were black old stinky bananas sitting on the green counter. I worried if they'd leak some banana guts or anything but they didn't. And the bread had grown actual mold spores on them. I think Noboru doesn't do much while I am away does he? Ha ha ha! Shakes head and smiles! Sigh! : )

Okay have a good weekend! : )

Sunday at home

Today was Sunday and we enjoyed a really nice relaxing day at home. We got up about 10:00 am. So it was nice that I got a really nice long sleep today. Both the boys also snoozed until then as well. Branden and I had cereal and toast for breakfast and orange juice. Typical generic 5 minutes or less breakfast lol. Oh well, it tasted great and it was quick. Besides I'd prefer spend quality time with my boys then make each meal by hand ykwim?

Branden has been using these computer learning games. He has a preschool one and a kindergarten one as well. Teaches him counting and ABC's and more. I mean, we teach him this stuff ourselves anyways yk, but he actually enjoys playing the game and interacting and learns so much so I let him play for an hour today. Meanwhile it gave me a chance to clean house a bit and throw in a load of laundry. Then I made lunch.

For lunch today I made some grilled cheese sandwiches, because Branden asked for those. And I also warmed up the leftover cream stew on the stove and we each had a nice warm bowl of cream stew with rice and also had a yummy oohy gooey grilled cheese sandwich. It was a nice lunch. Again our lunch only took me about 5 to 8 minutes. So easy and so fast! We enjoyed it on the mini table in the living room and we watched reruns of the series finale of Joe Millionaire on Fox TV here in Japan. Noah also had cream stew. He's my second child, so there's an experience or wisdom that I got the second time around (lol hard to explain but it's all pretty much, been there done that! And I don't intend for it to sound cocky at all, not my intention at all but I know the signs of a baby interested in food yk) and I am pretty comfortable with him dabbling with foods now at this stage. He is ready and he loves to eat! Obviously I don't give him gigantic chunks of chicken and whatnot. But I do give him the broth of the cream stew and a tiny bit of rice. That's all he needs at this age and it fills him up pretty good, well besides the side of milk that he gets from mommy. LOL.

After Noah ate his lunch and I breastfed him, he took an hour nap. This gave Branden and me some together time. We got out our play doh and sat at the kitchen table and had fun. We only played for 30 minutes. Then we cleaned up. And he laid down for a nap.

I was feeling a bit tired but I decided I better start breading the shrimp for dinner. I also made the rice. I did 1 more load of laundry, this was a load of Branden's yochien clothes mixed in with Noah's stuff.

Noboru came home right on time and I had dinner all ready to go. We all sat down in the living room and watched TV and ate. We had ebi furai/fry, green beans and white rice. Noboru also had a cup of instant miso soup to go along with it. So not an absolutely gorgeous dinner, but certainly a good basic typical home cooked meal.

Now, baths have been given and Noah is fast asleep in my bed and Branden is also laying on my big giant queen sized bed watching the TV in my room. Hmmm I think he's watching Tom and Jerry. : )