Saturday in Makuhari, part 2

Then we headed to a place called Tokyo Interiors. This place is about a 1 minute drive from Costco in Makuhari. Seriously it's right on the same street as well, ha ha ha! We have been looking for a white table to put in our genkan area. We didn't find anything at Ikea last time we were there for that. But lucky for us, we found exactly what we were looking for at Tokyo Interior! So we got that.Then we headed to Mr. Max to look for Christmas lights. Unfortunately, no Christmas lights like we were looking for, shucks! However Branden got to try on a few Christmas hats at Mr. Max, ha ha ha!





















We haven't been in the Daiso/100 yen store for a month or two and since Japanese 100 yen shops are so cool, I love going in there and getting stuff every once in a while. So we headed inside since it was just upstairs from Mr. Max. And by the way Mr. Max is just down the same street from Costco as well. So we stayed pretty close from where we started. At the Daiso chain, I found a really cool, sorta funky retro change purse! I love it and am already using it right now! I also like being a bit crafty as well. So I bought some wood letters and some glue and things, so I could make name plates for each of my kids bedroom door. I'll be working on that project tomorrow for sure! : )


So after we left the Mr. Max and daiso, we all got into the minivan and were on our way home...or so I thought! Ha ha ha!

Noboru said...oh lets' not go home just yet! I was like....What? He said yes, let's hit the outlet mall in Makuhari and have some Subway sandwiches. Hmmm. How could I resist? I am powerless against Subway, ha ha ha! Curse you Subway and all your yummyness! : )

Branden and I had sandwiches. I had a footlong and Branden had a 6 inch sandwich. I had a veggie delight and Branden had the ham and cheese. Noboru changed his mind about Subway when he smelled the yummy udon cooking. And since Noah prefers eating Japanese, he had the udon too! : )






I went into Kate Spade. I don't know if it's just me or what but. In the US, outlets are cheap! Best deals *ever* type shopping! ha ha ha! But the outlets in Japan are like almost just as damn expensive as paying retail!!! Does anybody else notice this? I went into Osh Kosh outlet here and I mean like 2700 yen for 1 onesie! Horrible prices, considering I bought my Osh Kosh t- shirts for my boys in Hawaii last April for just $8.00 US each! So I headed in Kate Spade. And everything was like 45,00 yen and like 56,00 yen. I recalled that was the price of them at Nordies and Neiman's last time I was home! Ridiculous prices in Japan and this reminded me why I buy my big purchases back home versus buying them in Japan.

I have been wanting to buy the boys a new pair of sneakers. However I'm in no rush. They haven't outgrown theirs yet, but I'm looking already. I went into Adidas and while I like Adidas their selection was crummy this time. Shucks! I headed into Nike and found a nice pair. But they only had Noah's size and not Branden's size. Again, I hate buying for 1 of my kids and not the other, unless it's a birthday or something. I wasn't even going to get them but Noboru said, we should get them because the price was actually really great, which...this Nike outlet does have great prices though. So we bought them.


Phew! It was one heck of a long day! Didn't buy anything major or to certainly huff and puff about at all! Just some air freshener, chips and dip and a few things from the 100 yen. And a pair of sneakers from the Nike outlet which was a fantastic deal. But it was a long day!

The boys were fast asleep in their car seats. And I was in the front seat with Noboru and we were listening to some music. And suddenly we saw some brights colorful lights behind us. They were bleeping and twinkling! I told Noboru jokingly...is it a UFO? And we laughed and I turned my head and it was even more shocking then a UFO! It was this truck that was so brightly lit up, it could actually beat any Christmas decorations I've seen to date! Ha ha ha! I wondered what would compel a guy to do this to his vehicle? Hmm, he isn't shy, I bet! For some reason I told Noboru...I think his truck is weird, but I bet he's nice whoever's driving it! It reminded me of the taxi that picked up Tom Hanks in the movie the Money Pitt!!! I snapped this pic, but this pic doesn't do it justice. This truck was so brightly lit up it was actually glowing on all sides and just all over! : )

We got home and put the boys straight to bed. We had changed our clothes and sat and warmed up some leftover sukiyaki. We munched and watched some TV before we both headed upstairs. : )

A "sorta kinda" sukiyaki for dinner, ha ha ha! : )

Noboru made us all dinner tonight! We had sukiyaki. I know sukiyaki is supposed to have thin sliced beef. And shirataki noodles. But since I'm not crazy about those noodles (sorry), we use udon instead. Besides cooking can always be adjusted and switched and tweaked a bit, come on, that's what makes cooking fun, ha ha ha! We sorta made it our own...so this is our version! This is the sukiyaki sauce we use.


We use skinless boneless chicken breast meat for me. We boil it good and long and then at the last second we add Noboru's beef. We also use, Chinese cabbage, potatoes, mushrooms, bell pepper, carrots. The boys eat both ways, beef and chicken, ha ha ha! Hey...if it works, then it works, right? : )


His beef is in there now and we are about to eat!



Noboru's smiling. We are all ready to eat! It was a pretty good day today! A day well spent in the back yard! An afternoon baking cookies. And now a great dinner. Ahhh, good day...good day indeed! Now we will clean up the kitchen and everyone will take turns and go and get showered and bathed up and then pop ourselves into our jammies! And we will go lay on the couch for the rest of the night! Just kicking back and relaxing with the family! Happy culture day! : )

Oyasumi nasai everyone...good night and sleep well! : )

Baking cookies!

So, today was some sorta holiday here in Japan. I'm not really sure what today was, although I *think* it was culture day. Branden had the day off school, so it was nice to be able to stay home and relax with everyone today. After we all played outside in the backyard this afternoon. We came inside around 2:00 pm. Watched TV for a while, maybe for an hour and a half. And I started thinking about cookies. I asked Branden if he wanted to make some and he said, "sure"! So, we made some cookies. I used the mix that is available at Costco. And the recipe can make all sorts of varieties of cookies. But for some reason, we made the snickerdoodle recipe along the box. The only difference is I went ahead and added some chopped walnuts. No reason why...I just have a big bag from Costco sitting in my fridge and I thought it might be good to add some. I'm glad I did, because they came out great! I let Branden help me make the little cookie balls and then roll them into the sugar and cinnamon mixture. He loved helping! Noah is a bit too young, so he watched while in his high chair while he snacked on a senbei.


Okay, this is a *clear* sign you got kids in your house when you have character bowls and various dishes in your house! Ha ha ha. Yup, we rolled the cookie dough in the Dora the Explorer bowl. Oh man, ha ha ha!


You know if I had the patience like my mom does. I'd have made 2 batches of cookies and not tried to cram every cookie onto the cookie sheet like that! Ha ha ha! Note to self:.....do not do this with the Christmas cookies! Ha ha ha! : )


Look at both the boy's faces as they peered through the window waiting ever so patiently for the cookies to be done! I even turned the light on so they could watch.

I knew we were going to stay home today. And most of the time I really like it for this very reason. Just doing family activities like this. Making cookies before I had kids was okay. But baking cookies with your very own kids is awesome! They get a big kick out of it! Branden was so proud of himself! And when they were done and they ate some! It was really very nice! Only kids can get excited about something as mundane as baking cookies, ha ha ha! It truly becomes family fun! : )


Come on cookies, you got a lot of people waiting on you! Ha ha ha! : )


All done...now they have to cool. I'm glad we decided to bake some cookies on our day off today! Culture day or whatever today was....: )

Friday afternoon, playing in the backyard!

Noah has been able to go up the play gym, all by himself for a while now! It's always a bit exciting because it means he is getting a bit more independent, even if just little by little. It's still a good thing! And at 15 month's, I'd say going up all on his own is fantastic! : )


Making that next step!



















Almost there! And now he's taking a look at the view!



Looking down! Woh! It sure looks far down there! Ha ha ha!















The view that just goes on forever! It's about a 15-20 foot drop behind our home, we sorta live on a flat top area that's elevated. Below are rice fields! It's an awesome place where the boys will grow up, plenty of wide open space!


Swinging on his little kid swing and he's safely buckled in! : )


Branden was riding his bike. But he wanted to join his brother for some serious swinging! Ha ha ha! : )


These boys swung on our sings for about 30 minutes! They laughed and made games. Branden wanted to swing higher then Noah! And all sorta funny games that I remember playing with my friends when I was younger as well!



While Noboru did the yard work is when the boys and I were out back there. Branden was riding his bike. Meanwhile Noah, rode his outside car. This old beat to shreds, Anpanman car has certainly seen brighter days! Ha ha ha! Branden got this, from one of Noboru's aunties when he turned 1 year old. And Branden loved and played with this so much when he was little! He also stuck stickers on it at one point! Since Noah inherited this from his big brother and it was used outside by Branden already, so Noah also uses this for outside! He loves this car! He cruises outside in it all over and since it's used already, we don't care if it gets a bit banged up here and there! It's well loved though! We also have a new one, that Noah keeps inside....I think I showed a pic of it, on here a few weeks ago. : )

Noboru was raking up a bit earlier and Noah wanted to give it a go as well! he did very good! Ha ha ha! : )

Thursday! : )

Okay so last night, I made ginger pork and also made some butter rice and some zucchini. I love
zucchini! So last night I saved a good sized spoonful of zucchini and wrapped it and saved it in the fridge for today's obento. And I also saved 3 slices of ginger pork and fried them up first thing this morning! So he had basically a smaller version of what we had last night. Ginger pork, butter rice and zucchini. As usual, I worry if my kids get enough to eat. Ha ha ha. I'm sure they do. But I do worry. So, I made a grill cheese sandwich this morning as well. And sliced it up and threw a few slices of it in his Thomas the tank engine case. The rest of the sandwich, Noah ate and snacked on this morning, while Branden had his breakfast! Another mikan for a boost of vitamin C, lol. And 2 jellies. I got it all packed up and carefully put it into his yochien backpack! : )



Waiting for his brother and the bus to pull up any second! I wish to take pics of the kids actually getting of the bus and all. But with there being another kid and mother there. I usually won't snap pics when they are around. I wish I could, but I don't want them to panic, or get shy or nervous, if I were to snap a pic of their child on accident or something, lol. So.....that's why I can't show the actual bus show up or anything.....bummer! But I do want to respect their privacy as well though too. : )


Hmm, the wording can't go near the pic of food below for some reason, hmmm. Anyway I'll just write about it here. For dinner I roasted some chicken leg quarters. We had them with some yakitori sauce, it was so good. I also stir fried some veggies, some cabbage and green pepper and mushrooms with a bit of butter and salt and pepper. A very nice dinner that took almost no work at all. My favorite type of meal, ha ha ha! Throw meat in the oven with some garlic salt and black pepper...ignore it for about an hour! LOL. then throw sauce on it at the last 3 minutes. Ahh so easy! Stir fry veg on stove for a few minutes. Done, add rice. : )

Tonight's dinner, ginger pork and zucchini! : )

Picking up Branden from Catholic school and taking him to swim school! : )

So with today being a swimming school type day. I picked up Branden from yochien this afternoon versus the bus dropping him near our home. I arrived a bit early. I do this so I can get a good parking, because parking is limited at our Catholic school and if you show up late, you more then likely won't get a spot and will be just stuck on the street, so knowing this, I always go a bit early. This gave Noah and I time to walk along the rocky parking area and to go and have a look in the church.



Since he's probably one of the happiest little boys I've ever seen. This shirt is a perfect match for Noah! : )


We had arrived 25 minutes early before class started. The photographer was waiting for us with his camera. Since class didn't officially begin yet, the other kids just waited along the sides, for a bit while they took the pics of Branden, for their new little swim brochure they're making.


They had Branden swimming on his back and the photographer started snapping pics.


A few more different swimming styles and a few more pics snapped.



















Here is when the photographer jumped in the pool with him. Which explained a lot to me, because I was wondering why he was wearing swimming gear. Aha...he had planned to get into the pool as well. Here he was telling Branden, I could tell by the hand gestures...go into the water. Under water and I'll snap a pic of your face underwater! This photographer must have had a water safe camera, because he went under water as well. Meanwhile I was observing all this from this window with the other mom's.



Here is where Branden is under water and the photographer was too. He snapped a few underwater pics as well. And then it was over, he thanked him and bowed at me through the window and waved. It was over so fast. It took about 10 minutes. And like I said, I didn't see the big whoop dee-doo either way of it all! Ha ha ha! Yes we were compensated for it, by the way. We got 2 free month's of swimming. Not bad, so for the next 2 month's they will be courtesy of the swim school. Since this swimming school is a chain throughout Japan, I am unsure if this brochure will be distributed too all the swim schools or just our own swim school. I guess I should have asked. But again like I said, I honestly wasn't out looking for him to do any modeling at all. This thing just sorta fell into our lap, last week and since it didn't alter/change any of our own normal plans...meaning we'd be at swim school anyway. It was okay with me. And we weren't expecting to make gobs of cash either. So when they offered us 2 free month's of swim class, it sounded pretty fair to me. : )

My busy morning! Halloween decorations are all packed away now! : )

Woke up bright and early this morning. I prepared Branden's obento quickly. As usual I kept it super simple. Because...it's just lunch, for crying out loud! Ha ha ha! I gave him some rice and mixed in a bit of butter and soy sauce with it. Then I had 1 chicken breast that I took from the freezer from the night before. I chopped it up, fried it in a skillet with a bit of olive oil and black pepper. When it was all cooked and nice and brown, I added a bit of the bottled teriyaki type sauce on it. Placed it on a cabbage leaf for color, lol. Oh man...I am *such* a nerd! Steamed some broccoli with some butter and also salt and pepper. Threw in 1 mikan since bunches of kids at his school are still sick, I hope all the mikans and extra vitamin c helps. 2 jellies and I was done.

I ran upstairs and made sure Branden got himself dressed and I brushed his teeth. We ran downstairs with just enough time for some Frosted Flakes with milk and a slice of toast. I threw Noah in the stroller and we were off. Dropped Branden off at the bus stop with a kiss and a hug and watched as the teacher and bus driver drove off with Branden and Genki-kun.


I had 2 cups of hot coffee, while doing my morning check of my fav blogs. Got off after about 30 minutes. Made Noah something to eat. And then Noah and I, took down the Halloween decorations on the windows. Then I went outside and took down the pumpkins. Before I put the screens back on the windows, I got out my Windex and cleaned the hell, out of my 2 front windows! They are totally clean now! Ha ha ha. I then put the screens back on. And packed up the Halloween stuff for next year!

I came inside and cleaned both the restrooms. Swept up downstairs. Cleaned the downstairs. And vacuumed the upstairs. And I did 2 loads of laundry. I was amazingly done, before 10:30 am (well the laundry was still drying but you know what I mean, the major stuff was done : ) So I did absolutely diddly squat, until I went and picked up Branden from school at 1:10 pm. I had lunch and I lazed on the couch and watched afternoon programs on TV. Anyway...that's how my morning went!

PS...can you see the lights and decos are now gone from the front of the house pic? I really did do a lot today in that short amount of time. : )