I'm getting a touch behind blogging and I don't want it to snowball. So, this post is everything from last week. Last Monday late night we got back from Guam. And this pic is from Tuesday. After the kids got home from school Tuesday. And Noah got back from swim school. Yep, he's been switched now to Tuesdays. Anyway we bbq'ed after swim school. While we barbecued, the boys played soccer.
As you can see, this was a 2 ball soccer match, they had going! ; ) Oh the games they come up with!
Some country style baked beans.
And done. We had 4 slabs total. 1 rack per person. Baked potatoes and baked beans. A simple meal Tuesday. Tuesday was nice, not too busy.
This was my serving but everyone else had the same. Noah devoured his slab. As did Branden and the hubby as well.
Wednesday morning. I hung out a whole load of wash as usual, this time everything orange. The day before I did another full load of everything green. I usually don't do laundry in colors like that. But we had enough for a full load just one color. And I wanted all the Fall/Winter stuff washed up and placed in the boys closets. Branden's gym uniform on the right. And Noah's uniforms, behind B's. Last Wednesday, productive, not stressful though. Itw as a great day.
Wednesday evening after school the boys friends came over. Man these kids are popular! They hung out in the back for a while. Then they hung out in the front for a while and then they all went playing at the park in our housing community. A 1 minute walk along the walk/pathways. Meanwhile I made dinner.
Thursday, looked somewhat busy, by the looks of my calendar. But I had no idea how absolutely exhausted I'd feel by the night. I started with making obento for Noah that morning. Our yochien you can have school lunch and bring home obento twice a week only. Or you can bring homemade obento every.single.day. With Branden, I had only 1 school aged kiddo, Noah was still a babe. So, making Branden obento everyday was doable. When it was Noah's time to start yochien. Noboru suggested I let Noah have school lunch for the most of the week to relieve me of making it daily. However, Noah watches everything and sees everything and remembers when his brother was in yochien. Noah's first semester as a yellow badge, he had school lunch and also home obento twice a week. Noah often told me, I wish I could bring home lunch everyday. And I'd listen and say yes, yes I know honey. And then....this was last year by the way. Noah said to me in the kitchen in a very sad voice. "How come, you could make Branden a homemade obento everyday when he was in yochien and you don't do that for me?" OMG! I was stunned and left speechless. And I didn't really realize how it had hurt my son. And though I could not change it until the end of that semester. I did switch it. And so, when Noah was a yellow badge for the first semester he had school lunch/home lunch combo. And since then, red badge and now as a pink badge. I do make Noah's obento every.single day. Now matter how busy I am. Because I don't ever want him to feel short changed for being youngest. @_@ So yes, I do make obento everyday. And no, it's not because I'm supermom. ; ) And it's not because our yochien doesn't have the option of a school lunch. It's because it matters to my son and if it matters to Noah, then it matters to me. : ) So anyway..... where was I?Oh yes, it was last Thursday morning. I had just made Noah's quick obento that morning. And I also had the pork in the crock pot for niku jaga that night. Got Branden sent to school that morning... came back and got Noah dressed. And then while he watched Tom and Jerry and the Pink Panther on the Cartoon Network, I got myself dressed. I had to be at Noah's yochien for a sports day rehearsal that morning. Meanwhile Noboru was meeting Branden at school for his first and second class. Branden had observation day (and yes I would be showing up later in the day too). And Noah had undokai rehearsal, SAME DAY! Too bad there isn't 2 of me. ; ) I am lucky that Noboru could be there for Branden's first 2 classes. Noboru watched Branden's math class and PE/gym class. Meanwhile Noah and I arrived to the yochien by 9am. I made sure he got into his class with his little obento that morning. And right away us mother's were busy. First of all, field day in the US and how it's done here is really different. So let me try to explain. 2 weeks ago, we were all given a note, "can you help at the yochien sports day?" For the most part the only ones who say no are the ones who have younger kids and no extended family there to help watch the young ones. So no one expects them to help, it's very understandable. Now for the rest, it's pretty much expected/hoped to help. Even if every mom takes just 1 event, you can pretty much enjoy the rest. And they try to get you an event your child isn't in, so that helps. Such as the red badges mom's will do the pink badge races and vice versa. That way we can all enjoy the events our kids are actually in. Last year for example, I helped in the grandma/grandpa ball toss. And the blue badges ball toss. That was perfect because I wasn't missing anything. Noriko-san arranged that last year and she did a beautiful job how she arranged that. This year it seems every thing's all messed up. For starters last Thursday, they had all the mother's who are actually helping stand to the right. And all the mom's not helping stand way on the left. And no it wasn't to front them off or anything like that, lol. We were having a meeting is why. And had thick papers of the order of events to deal with etc. Anyway it seems like 20 or so mom's aren't helping this year (and this bunch didn't have any younger siblings or baby brothers or sisters nor did they have full time jobs, those would have been good valid reasons of course). So, the ones of us actually helping are now having to work 2 and 3 freaking events. And for many of us, first time ever.... we are now going to miss events our kids are in. I am working 3 events this year, thank you very much! And I will now be missing my own child do the ball toss! I am also going to be helping hand out the medals this year at the end. Therefore I will also miss seeing my son get that sweet medal placed around his neck! Honestly? To be frank about it.....I think this sucks! If more mothers lent a hand, we wouldn't be having this problem. And now because of this.....I doubt I will agree to help next year for undokai. What a cycle, I know, but hey I'm human. I may change my mind in 12 month's time. But I tell you. fair is fair and unfair is unfair. And yes I am steamed. And yes I want to see my sweet lovely Noah run and also get his medal etc. So as of right now...I will not be signing the yes box for next year. I also do not think I am the only one feeling steamed either. Because we were given a revision sheet of all the events because some mom wanted a change. Smart mom, whoever she is! So, anyway, us helping mom's, did the rehearsal. The non helping mom's watched and looked on. Watching their kids last Thursday. Jogo-san and I are doing all 3 events together basically. So, she is working just as hard as me and will be missing her daughter's events too. Anyway, last Thursday, we worked our butts off. We ran through the whole undokai. The blue badge class is doing a cool, 50's type rock and roll number! I saw Noah's dance as well, he is wearing an orange color. His best friend H is wearing green. They all did really good. 1 helping mother could not be there for the practice last Thursday, which is more then fine, hey at least she's helping.... so they needed a stand in and so I stood in for her, which was fine. And so, I stood crouched down as the blue badges raced. By the time we were done last Thursday, I was physically exhausted. Up down, up down, crouch crouch. The red balls go out of the white circle swoop them up, and I was moving all over like a dork collecting the red balls throwing them back inside the white lines. 11:45am is when we were done. We finished, they gave us a green tea for helping in a can. And I drove home. Arrived home around 12:10pm. Noboru was just about to leave but he told me about Branden's gym class etc. I meanwhile told Noboru an earful about the sports practice. Meanwhile I was chopping up the onion. The 2 pork loins were now fall apart tender since they were in the crock pot since the night before. I added the onion, potatoes. Set the rice cooker. Then I left and went to go pick up Noah from school. With Kumon bags and swim bags in hand. Picked up Noah, and we immediately drove to Branden's school. By now it's 2pm. I ran into the school. With pink badge safety pin....that says Noah such and such.... pinned to my khaki shorts (all helpers at the yochien needed to wear their child's name badge so we know who's who) and I didn't have time to take it off during the busy day, so I had a pink badge on my shorts and a name badge around my neck for B's school. I parked the car, Noah and I ran into the school. The secretary at Branden's school always speaks to me in English, I'm not sure why, but that's fine. She said, all the kids are in the gymnasium. I thanked her and ran down the hall getting to the gym. And sure enough the whole school was in there. It had just started so we quietly sat down Noah and I.
There was a clown performance for the final class. Not a whole bunch of kids by the picture but this is the whole school, all 6 grades. One little girl sitting near Branden spotted Noah and I, and she said..."hey your mom's here" and so Branden turned around and looked at me. And he knew I was there. ; )
I made it.....I was there for both kids, both schools, 1 day. It was a bit busy last Thursday, I was running around like a chicken with her head cut off, a few times that day. But at least my boys know.... I will always be there, no matter what. I personally enjoyed the clown performance. I found them quite funny and entertaining. Granted I was a bit tired, and if I would have closed my eyes I might have fallen asleep, but the clowns did keep me awake. ; ) Noah completely enjoyed this.
The clowns, walked on stilts, the girl clown, rode a unicycle and jump roped at the same time. The guy in the pic up above, stuffed himself inside a big yellow balloon. That was sorta wild and weird. It definitely kept me awake. ; ) And then school was over. And from school to Kumon. I meanwhile raced home. Got the tender pork, and onions and potatoes from the crock pot and transferred the stuff from crock pot to pan on the stove. Added some frozen green beans on top. The green beans steamed right away, since everything else was hot. And I covered it with a lid. Picked up the kids and we left swimming. Noah rested and played with his friend upstairs. Branden chatted with Kei-chan in the pool. And I chatted with some of my yochien mom friends. Both from B's era of yochien and the ones from Noah's time of yochien. A mother that was there at the sports rehearsal, "otskara-sama-ed me. And I did the same. I chatted briefly with Reiko-san and Taito-kun's mama. These are my mom friends from Branden's era of yochien. They said...wow did Noah get big!!! And it was nice catching up again.
Thank goodness dinner was made with help of my crock pot.
And by now, I sat and sat. And as the time says it was indeed 6:15pm. Kids were fine. It was me that was run completely ragged. I sat there and we arrived home at 7pm!
Branden's meanwhile refreshed, chatting with Keita in the white cap in front of B. By now I have a splitting headache. And just thinking about how I was up from 5:30am that morning, obento, 1 kid here, 1 kid with me there. The sports rehearsal. Cooking here and there. Branden's observation. Kumon and swim club, it's no wonder I felt frazzled. And no usually not everything piles up like that. But makeup swimming days had to be pinched in there somewhere. And it just happened to all pile up for me, on 1 day. How I didn't drop dead of a heart attack last Thursday I'll never know. At the end of swimming, Kei-chan could not find his DS game! He was frantic. In the genkan of the school. The secretary called him over....what did you lose? He didn't run to her for help, he ran to me for help instead! No I'm not kidding. Perhaps he knows me more. Perhaps he's always at our house that could be why. Perhaps he hurt himself 2 years ago and knocked on my door for a hug? Yes I'm not kidding a hug, yeah it surprised me too at first. But hug I did. LOL. So, anyway while I am waiting for B to get changed. He's all frantic. I can't find my DS. I said..just calm down, where was it? It was in my bag he said. Okay, let's go through your bag, one by one to see if we can find it. If we don't find it by the end, then you can get freaked out..how's that? deal? : ) He said yes deal. So, as the secretary looked on and a few mom's looked on, K-chan and I went through his swim bag. And sure enough at the bottom of the bag, there it was! Relief! See? I said. Not to worry. Oh thank you he said. And off he went. He takes the swim bus. So, he went to catch the swim bus. ; ) Branden came out and we went home. Though he usually takes the swim bus now too.Branden swimming on video, just a random day at swim school. But this kid swims back and forth... back and forth. 50 meters. For an hour and a half. He gets good exercise and gets to socialize with his friends. We went home after swim school. Branden unloaded all his bags at home, both the boys did. And I warmed up the nikujaga. I was exhausted, pooped, spent. Whatever you wanna call it. The boys and I ate. They went up to shower. Got in their jammies. And they watched some TV before bed. I went up and read them a bed time story. And after that, I put the dishes into the dishwasher. And I went upstairs, pinned up my hair. And I took a shower and then I soaked in the hot bath. Japanese baths can stay hot/warm at the same temperature. So, I had my bath set at real hot. And I soaked in there for like an hour. By now, Noboru came home. He ate the dinner I left for him. I told him all about my day. And he told me all about his. We talked and then he went into the shower. I meanwhile, sat on the couch. Just vegging out. Boy did I deserve it too. I just laid there. Surfing the channels. I think I went to bed around 10pm-ish. Man what a day, what a day. Every once in a while, a person gets a crazy busy day like that right? Mine was last Thursday.
Last Friday. Sent Branden to school. Breakfast beforehand of course. And Friday for Noah would be a half day. Because the Fall festival was starting that day. So the pink and blue badge classes got to pull the dashi/rope in the morning just for fun. Noah was a red badge last year so this was his first time.
This is the dashi.
My amazing husband, he was able to go along, his schedule just fit. And I didn't ask him to go, but he went. And I really appreciated it.
The kids sat in between dashi pulls a few times to take breaks : )
So now it was 11am or so. And Noboru suggested we go to the food court at the "farmer's market" so we did. This sign says, if you say..."trick or treat" they'll give you something good to eat. ; )
We ordered a pizza from there, and Noah went up there and said..."trick or treat" and got this treat. ; )
Noah and I shared this pizza for lunch.
Noboru had udon.
Noah eating his lunch.
After lunch last Friday, the 3 of us went to do the weekly shopping. Bags of veggies, meats, drinks and whatnot. And some green apple popsicles, garigari and some strawberry shortcake icecream cups. For desserts for the week.
Noah brought home a bag of treats for participating in the dashi pull. I was so thankful for last Friday. I kept thinking...TGIF! I was really looking forward to the weekend. I greatly needed to recharge my batteries after all that. My week last week. Not bad, Monday,Tuesday and Wednesday and Friday, pretty great actually. Thursday was for the birds. ; ) Granted it's over with and I'm not nearly as upset about how the undokai, will go down. Sure, I'll be working 3 events. Sure not as many mother's pitched in to help as they should have. But, I can't change other people and I know that. Thank gawd, I know that. All I can do is change the way I react in a given situation. Last Thursday I might have been steamed about it. But this week, I'm over it. It is...what it is. I want Noah to have one of the most fantastic and fun undokai's. And so he is completely unaware of all the stuff behind the scenes. And I'm glad for that. I will do the 3 events I am supposed to do, and with a smile. A sincere smile because..this is for my son, so that's why I'm doing this! Type smile. And I know my kids will be proud. Anyway the undokai is this coming Oct 17th, Sunday. And yes my MIL will be here for it. : ) I am still unsure if I will sign up to help for next years undokai mind you. We'll see how I feel next year. ; )
Last Friday. Sent Branden to school. Breakfast beforehand of course. And Friday for Noah would be a half day. Because the Fall festival was starting that day. So the pink and blue badge classes got to pull the dashi/rope in the morning just for fun. Noah was a red badge last year so this was his first time. This is the dashi. My amazing husband, he was able to go along, his schedule just fit. And I didn't ask him to go, but he went. And I really appreciated it. The kids sat in between dashi pulls a few times to take breaks : ) So now it was 11am or so. And Noboru suggested we go to the food court at the "farmer's market" so we did. This sign says, if you say..."trick or treat" they'll give you something good to eat. ; ) We ordered a pizza from there, and Noah went up there and said..."trick or treat" and got this treat. ; ) Noah and I shared this pizza for lunch. Noboru had udon. Noah eating his lunch. After lunch last Friday, the 3 of us went to do the weekly shopping. Bags of veggies, meats, drinks and whatnot. And some green apple popsicles, garigari and some strawberry shortcake icecream cups. For desserts for the week. Noah brought home a bag of treats for participating in the dashi pull. I was so thankful for last Friday. I kept thinking...TGIF! I was really looking forward to the weekend. I greatly needed to recharge my batteries after all that. My week last week. Not bad, Monday,Tuesday and Wednesday and Friday, pretty great actually. Thursday was for the birds. ; ) Granted it's over with and I'm not nearly as upset about how the undokai, will go down. Sure, I'll be working 3 events. Sure not as many mother's pitched in to help as they should have. But, I can't change other people and I know that. Thank gawd, I know that. All I can do is change the way I react in a given situation. Last Thursday I might have been steamed about it. But this week, I'm over it. It is...what it is. I want Noah to have one of the most fantastic and fun undokai's. And so he is completely unaware of all the stuff behind the scenes. And I'm glad for that. I will do the 3 events I am supposed to do, and with a smile. A sincere smile because..this is for my son, so that's why I'm doing this! Type smile. And I know my kids will be proud. Anyway the undokai is this coming Oct 17th, Sunday. And yes my MIL will be here for it. : ) I am still unsure if I will sign up to help for next years undokai mind you. We'll see how I feel next year. ; )
Sorry about the freakishly long title. But honestly as the title suggests, things have been pretty busy here. Two trips in the works. Have been totally getting ready for Fall (as usual for me this time of year ; ). If you have been reading my blog for a while. You'll know every Fall, I would have posts titled something like..."Branden's closet cleaned, and sorted out and Fall ready". And then usually a week later followed by a "Noah's closet Fall ready" Something along those lines. And I would have most definitely done the same this year, post wise. But honestly have been so busy. Good busy though. So, I will lump both the boys closet sortings in one post for this year instead. First I went into the attic. Pulled out a big plastic clear box with lid of stuff for Winter 5T stuff brought it downstairs to the 2nd floor and then brought it down to the first floor of the house. This coat was in there that used to be Branden's. I love this North Face coat. However I think it's a bit too big still, perhaps next year for Noah. Sorry kiddo, it went back into the attic for you for next year. ; )
Many long sleeve tops.
Some sweatshirts (surprisingly not too much though, so we had to buy Noah some online, which I already did that and they are at my dad' house now). And oddly enough, we found about 10 pair of sweatpants in there in size 5T/110cm. @_@ Yikes a little too many sweatpants, I think. But on the bright side, he will have plenty of comfy pants for lounging at home. ; ) These tan cords, and jeans. Gap fleecy jeans in the box too. It was nice to be able to get to use what we already had from when B was age 5. I feel as always... really happy and not wasteful to be able to use the clothes from son to son this way.
This sweatshirt we found in the box when we dug out the Summer 5T stuff, but now that it's getting cooler weather wise, this sweatshirt can get some usage from little brother Noah.
Another Gap/ON package came last week.
Long sleeve tops mostly.
Noah got only 3 things this time. But really cute things though.
A very preppy sweatshirt, I love this. And the newsboy cap, I love too. Can't wait for it to get cooler/colder so he can wear this.
A beautiful long sleeve that will look great with overalls for Fall.
Branden's stuff, 2 extra pair of sweatpants. And 3 is more then enough for anyone. In fact 3 would have been enough for Noah. Hmm. How did B get so many sweatpants at age 5?! That's a mystery.
A pair of pj's for Branden, I liked the plaid and I liked that the shirt said, "dream on" because it's for sleeping in, so well said. ; )
2 long sleeve tops for B. Perfect for Fall just wearing with jeans or for when it gets even colder he can layer under a sweatshirt.
I'm American, so I love football and I'm from Denver and I grew up going to Broncos games with my family. Freezing our butts off in the stands, screaming so loud our voices hurt! Our boys here love American football. And they are huge Broncos fans. Good thing for satellite, we get to catch all the games on TV here in Japan. And this red shirt, I ordered the same one, 2 orders ago in a different size and it was ginormous, so this time I ordered it in the correct size.
What else have we been doing? Besides me working my butt off getting the kids ready for Fall. Well the neighborhood kids have still been coming over. They come over all the time. Sometimes they play in the backyard on our playground. But they don't come over just for that, by any means. They come over to play in the front yard, to play DS, beyblades, play kori oni, soccer. And on this particular day they all went bike riding. : ) Branden's also had 2 study dates/get togethers. Last week a little girl in his class came over with books in hand to study with B. And then another time, a boy in Branden's class, invited 3-4 kids to go study at his house and Branden was invited so he rode his bike and took his school books over there. Needless to say, Branden's a really popular kid.
Last week sometime we went out to eat at a Chinese restaurant. This particular place is our favorite restaurant, they have good combos/sets.
And also last week, I baked a gratin. ; ) Just regular life going on over here. Just rearranging closets, cooking, going out to eat, kids studying, friends coming over to play. Mundane I know, but, it's honestly what we've been up to. : )
Some new dvd's came. The Women with Meg Ryan, Jada Pinkett Smith, Annette Benning, etc. Wonderful cast, this movie was a remake. I enjoyed it. Again didn't think it would have won any Oscar awards or anything, but a good girls movie for sure. I enjoyed watching this one evening, after the kids went to sleep and while the hubby was working. With a bowl of popcorn, I sat watching this and really enjoyed it. Would I watch it again? Ehh, probably not, but I'm glad I saw it though. The other one, we have yet to see. It's with Jennifer Anniston. Noboru and I will watch this one together this weekend. Side note on the movie "The Women" Often before I rent a dvd, I will look up the details and reviews on IMDB online. One of the commentors/reviewers on that website said something along the lines of and sorta snarky like..."Was that Meg Ryan, if so what did she do to herself?" She had too many plastic surgeries and/or botox. Then...the commentor/reviewer compared her to the Joker from Batman. Now people...I like Meg Ryan. I mean who doesn't. I enjoy all her movies and she genuinely seems like a nice human being. Also, When Harry Met Sally is one of my most favorite movies. That said..ever read anything you wish you could unread? Hear something you could unhear? Well...so I rented the movie anyway. Tossed that mean "Looks like the Joker" comment aside. And watched the movie. OMG! She did have some botox put in. And her lips or smile...really did look a little reminiscent of the joker. : ( Ugh...why did I read that....I wish I would NOT have read that coment on IMDB now...because for a great deal of that movie, that was the only thing I was thinking about. : ( Oh dear.
So last Friday. Everyone I know kept mentioning...a typhoon's coming today. Not quite sure if the typhoon ever camelast Friday or if it was just downgraded (as usual ; ) But in anycase it did rain last Friday. The boys were at school. And I meanwhile ran to the grocery store, then the meat shop, then went and picked up Noah last Friday from yochien and he and I went to the bakery together. Last Friday's dinner? Steaks, baked potato and salads for the boys and myself. Steaks for Noboru, and rice and (instant) miso soup and salad for him. I wanted to enjoy last Friday, and with all the rain, an easy dinner of steaks sounded right up our alley. : )
I also picked up some cheap/afforadable roast beefs, for some upcoming crock pot curry. two days worth of crock pot curry.
This is what Noah and I picked up last Fridat at the bakery. Figured if we were to be homebound. And indoors because of a possible typhoon, we might as well have some yummy breads for after our steak dinner. Picked up B last Friday at 2:45pm, my windshield wiper blades on high speeds and we went home, literally ran from the car to the front porch and went inside.
Friday and Saturday were great. They were quiet days spent at home. Relaxing. And it did rain. The boys watched, Ice Age, 1,2, and 3 on dvd over the weekend. Then on Sunday. Finally no rain. At this point, I thought it would be a great idea to wash all the upstairs beddings on the 3 beds. And also pull out all the fleece blankets we use in the Winter time. So, I ran to the laundry mat. And filled 2 huge washers. Hot temps, and the blanket cycle. I went back into my car and read a book as they washed. Threw them into the dryer. And then came home as soonas they dried. What was Noboru doing while I was washing the blankets? He was switching the flowers on the front porch to our Fall Halloween pumpkin decorations with the boys. So he was busy too. I came home, ran upstairs made all the beds. And though the temps are still in the 70's.... 77F in the house still and we haven't even turned on the central heating yet for the season or turned on the floor heating yet. So understanably, it's still too warm to use the fleece blanets. However I have now folded all the fresh clean, fleece blankets and placed them at the foot of all 3 beds. When someday, whoeever gets too cold, they can use them and they are now fresh and clean. So the beds are indeed Fall ready. Phew. I still have yet to pull the flannel sheets out for the 3 beds but again it's still too warm for them.
I also, on Sunday, first day of no rain in a few days. I had a load of towels on the fence. And 2 or 3 loads hanging on the playground. Noboru is meanwhile cutting all the yellow patches out of the yard. And will fill with dirt. And then next Spring he'll replace with new sod/grass. It is a fair statement to say we were all sort of busy last Sunday. The kids weren't so much though. Ha ha ha. They were just sorta hanging and then their friends swung by and they played.
Towels all the way over there.
Man knowing how much work we put into the grass, and seeing the hubby cut the grass out. It was like a knife to the heart, lol. But I know it will look better next Spring. And I know he's right. But yeouch. It was hard to watch. ; )
Still Sunday...after I made the beds. I took our hydrangea wreath down and packed it away safely. And then brought out the Fall one.....
Fall means, scarecrows, leaves changing and squash etc. So, I do enjoy seeing our wreath at the front door, every time I come into the house.
Tomatoes are still producing , it's slowing down a lot. But since I counted these tomatoes in this bowl they were 35 total. And we've been growing about the same amount a week...so about 35 a week, I'd say. Enough to not have to buy tomatoes at the store yet. And enough for our salads throughout the week.
So many sweatpants on there. Levi's jeans for both the boys. All their lunch mats and handkerchiefs, etc. Meanwhile Noboru was still killing the yard, I mean fixing the yard. ; )
I wanted everything washed up. And I managed to get everything done Sunday, laundry wise.
I have to rearrange during the day, as stuff gets dry, I take it off, move things around, make more room. It's work. To say, Sunday was a productive day would be an understatement. ; )
Monday. Branden was off school. So, after Noah went to school. Branden and I went into his room. He tried on many questionable things to see..."do they fit?" or "should I pack them up for future use for Noah. These 4 shorts, too small and so they got packed up.
These meanwhile fit, and stayed in his "shorts drawer"
Since it is now Fall. The hats will lay on top of the shorts in the shorts drawer. Likewise in Summer, when it was melting hot outside, the hats all laid on the pants drawer.
I have Branden, make 2 piles of undies, 2 piles of lunch mats and handkerchiefs and 2 piles of under shirts. Somehow though, a week later it's all jumbled again. ; ) But Monday, I made sure, it was all put in correctly yet again.
Gym clothes drawer, chisai towels, extra red/white hats. And socks all in 1 drawer. Branden knows exactly where all his stuff goes. School stuff in 1 drawer basically. It's a no brainer.
Pj's, still fit and can be worn, the others packed them up as well.
We vacuumed. We switched B's bed, moved it to the other side of the room. So rearranged his furniture. Dusted, vacuumed. Cleared off his school desk. We finished Branden's room 100%. We were hot... tired. Phew. We went downstairs, had lunch. Then took a 10 minute break. And we went to Noah's room. This is Noah's long sleeve drawer. He also has nicer shirts that are hung.
Noah's pj drawer, short sleeve and sumer pj's at the back, long sleeve and winter pj's at the front. Again easy. And swim stuff on the left.
All of this of Branden's, got it all nicely folded, the ichinensei/ninensei swim trunks B wore. Some tops, sweatshirts, got everything packed up.
The polo jeans, Hillfiger coat, and final bits of sweatshirts and took this box to the attic. Said goodbye and see you in a few years.
See you in 3 years... box! ; )
Sure there were things like jeans with holes, shogako gym pants with holes and not really wanting to patch them, so some stuff went straight to the trash can.
This was from Monday (before the closet and room rearranging). Since B had the day off school because of undokai. He could walk Noah to class. Half of the kids have older siblings and half don't. The senseis all talked with B since he used to go there too. And the kids all said.."wow look that's Noah's big brother" One kid even said...My brother is in the 2nd grade. How old is your brother. Noah said, "he's a 3rd grader." Wow, that kid said. @_@ Again, this is stuff us adults would laugh and think...how utterly silly. But for kids. This is so cool. So, yeah Noah loves the days when B can walk him to class. He gets all happy. : )
On Monday of this week during our cleaning of B's room frenzy, the ribs came. We ordered 2 sets. So 4 baby back rib slabs total will be there. We will be BBQ'ing them next week sometime if the weather permits. ; )
Also Noboru bought me a brand new dryer. The same exact one as before. Last week, during one of the rainy days, when I was using the dryer in the laundry room. The dryer started squeeking. It dried the stuff, but the squeek was still there. We called a service man to come and see. He said it was a belt going bad on it. And keep in mind a new dryer is about 33,000 yen. About $300 US. So, we asked him, how much to replace the belt. Should be cheaper we thought. He said somewhere between 25,000-28,000. That's nearly the same cost as a new one. The guy literally told us....you would be better buying a new one. @_@ So, we thought and we agreed. Noboru looked in person and the price is higher at the shops in person, we saw. But online they are quite cheap. So, we bought online. It was shipped this Tuesday evening. And they took the older but dead ringer.... look alike with them and we got the new one put back in the same place. I like being able to have a load in the wash and a load drying up at the same time. And by the time the dryers done, I can fold them and throw another load in the dryer. I feel I can get so much laundry done that way. And that's probably why I will never buy a new washer type. Unless I could keep my dryer. Because I like being able to use both at the same time. For me it's just a time saver.
When the dryer came, the kids said...'mama do you know that looks, EXACTLY like the old dryer?" Yes, kids...I am aware of that. :P Goodness gracious. ; )
Omiyage, with it being a 3 day weekend for our town. Not for Noah he still had school. Anyway, the boy next door, his little brother, mom and grandma next door and grandpa all went and took a mini getaway. I kept my eye on the pups. Talked to them, left my back porch light on so they would not get lonely while grandma next door was away. When they came back, the grandma brought us some omiyage from Hokkaido. Hokkaido, I said. Wow, I have been wanting to go there. How was it? She said they stayed at a really amazing onsen. Had so much fun. Etc etc. The weather was lovely. I enjoyed hearing all about it. You know, her and I chat every morning in Japanese as we both hang our laundry. She's my really good friend, the granny next door. I really *really* like her. She brought us cheesecake and canteloup caramels/chews. So good. And I thanked her a bunch and closed the door. And the next morning as her and I were side by side or I gather back yard to backyard hanging our clothes, I told her....those cheesecakes were soooo good. LOL. And I thanked her once again. ; ) 
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