Halloween Pumpkin...

I went and bought our Halloween pumpkin October 1st. I went the week beforehand and there were no pumpkins yet and I asked the staff and they told me, to come back, if I can October 1st. I made sure to go right away and picked this one. I buy one every year and it's just something we really enjoy here at our house! The family pumpkin carving of our pumpkin... is always a lot of fun! And the roasted pumpkin seeds too! : )

Halloween decorations and goods are starting to become really easy to find for those of us living in Japan! They sell these adorable Jack o lantern plates at the Daiso for just 100 yen, plus tax. And same for the napkins, also available at the Daiso too. : ) We usually eat something "good yummy and comfort foodie" on Halloween here at our house and we can hopefully use these plates. : ) And as for the napkins, the boys have been taking 1 each every day since October 1st in their packed lunch to school Monday through Friday. : ) Very cute napkins and the price? Super cheap! A great deal. And should be easy to find if you live in Japan. : ) 

I found these Halloween napkins mid September and these came from the other 100 yen shop called Seria. So again, super cheap and equally super cute. And easy to find, if you live in Japan! I like the ghost and Halloween kitty and jack o lantern witch. Hahaha. The kids have been alternating between taking this napkin in their lunch bag ever day for school lunch and the napkins up above. : ) Just you know..sharing some holiday fun in their daily lunch!

Everyone gearing up for Halloween? We brought back a huge amount of American Halloween candy from Guam last week, so we're ready! Halloween is a fantastic holiday. : )

Last Friday, movies with my friends. And flu shots for our entire family...

A pic of Noah about to get his flu shot last Friday evening October 14th. And that's Branden's leg to the right of Noah. Branden's flu shot for this season is 100% done (Bran gets an adult dosage now, so just 1 shot for him, anyone 13 or over). Mine totally done, Noboru's totally done. Noah needs 2 doses so he will go back in 30 days and get his final shot in November. So Noah is half done... flu shot wise, but we are on the case! We're on top of things!

Friday morning, same day as the flu shot. Again, October 14th. I had a movie date with my 2 favorite girl friends. The movie started at 8am! Holy crap was that an early movie. We 3 met at the movies at 7:45am. We're all mothers, I pack 2 lunches for my kids Monday through Friday everyday for school lunch. And they have 1 high school daughter each... so they too pack lunches in the morning. We 3 were busy that morning. Quickly trying to do our lunch making and packing. And getting ourselves ready for the day and meet up by 7:45am. And for me...I do NOT live in the small city nearest me. Where they live and where the movie theater is located. I live way more rural...so I drive from my town to that small city. So, I had to leave even earlier. Luckily for me...Noboru was home that day and able to drive the 2 boys to school. Otherwise I would have never been able to make our...meet up time at the movies. Anyway...so we 3 enjoyed the movie. We saw the movie with Matt Damon, "Jason Bourne." Is this the 4th installment of this movie franchise? I'm iffy on that...but there's others before this one. After the movie we went and had lunch and they went on to Starbucks. I stayed for only a few hours at the lunch spot. The movie let out around 10am or 10:20am. I knew I had dinner to get prepped. Usually I can stay with my friends and chit chat and enjoy our time to catch up and stuff..until it's time to get our kids from school. However...I knew the boys and us had a flu shot appointment since a month beforehand. And we had a very tiny window to eat our supper. The appointment was at 5pm for our flu shots. And they got off at 3:45pm. So we had about 30 minutes to get dinner eaten (considering the drive there and back). And I cooked dinner while Noboru was actually picking up the boys. So...my schedule was super tight that day. Because of our flu shots. I felt super bad I could not stay the whole time with my friends, but I know they are very understanding and kind ladies. The only way I could ensure...dinner  would be ready to eat the second the kids got home from school. Was if I had prepped the ebi fry in the day time. Dredging in flour, tossing in egg, rolling in panko. I had HAD to get everything ready to go in the day time. I did feel really bad about leaving early. But...sometimes you just have to. : (  My kids come home from school hungry...because they're active boys. And considering we had 4 flu shots, plus we would be taking the boys for haircuts at the barber after the flu shots. If we had dinner after all.... that we'd be eating super late. Too late. Everyone would be starving. And miserable. So...I had to make sure supper was ready and on the plate at 4pm. So we could all quickly eat...get full. Then go and get our flu shots! So that's what we did. The flu shots went smooth and we were actually done within 10-15 minutes. They were ready and waiting for us. They had the shots all laid out. And the doctor just gave us each our shot. Our flu shots are free because of Noboru's health care. And so for us...it's nice to get them done and out of the way.  We then drove to the barber and as luck would have it...not a soul was in the barbershop other than us and the 3 barbers. The guy who always cuts the boys hair, cut Bran's first and then cut Noah's. I'd say by 6:30pm we were home and ready to call it a night. We sure had accomplished a whole bunch that day! Hahaha. : )

Anyways...I do have a whole bunch of posts to post. And I will be trying my best to get them up as soon as I can. : )

I caught the Lifetime movie last night. About Michel'le. Called "Surviving Compton" It was a really good made for TV movie. I enjoyed it a lot. It was eye opening. I didn't realize Dr. Dre was so brutal to her back in the day. He denies it of course. But wow...an interesting movie for sure. 

Throwback Thursday...swimming school and then home for some family pizza making fun...

This weeks fun blast from the past takes us back to October 2009! The weekend was just about to get started! As soon as we finished swimming school for both the boys for that day. Branden swam the hour before and this was Noah's class time in this picture! I had smartly made the pizza dough that morning. Knowing full well, that I'd be spending 2 hours at swim school after picking up Bran from regular elementary school and Noah from kindergarten/yochien. I could relax at the swim school knowing dinner was basically in the bag and knowing I bought some ice-cream for us to enjoy over the weekend. : ) Yep, I still feel...even now...weekends should be enjoyed! My boys have been swimming and taking lessons since they were 3 years old and have swam competitively for their swim school as well as for their elementary school. They really enjoy the water.  : )  

The weekend has begun! Yeehaw! And yep, my happy dance has been started. : ) And we will have a DVD night with popcorn after dinner and hot soapy showers. The boys love rolling out the dough and putting the toppings on. And I meanwhile make sure I get that oven cranked to 450 degrees F. And have all our veggies sliced and diced. : )

The weekends are just the best. Time to relax, recharge. Sleep in. Enjoy our family time. And the Fall weather is just a beautiful time to enjoy. Period. : )  Good job on those veggie toppings Noah. And Branden did an excellent job on those pepperoni! Bran was in the shower. As soon as he laid those pepperoni down, he went and took a shower first...at my request! Which is nice to make sure the boys are showered and stuff before supper. Noah took one while the pizza baked.

And some Neapolitan ice-cream for dessert. 

Everyone could pick their own flavor or pick all 3 if you'd like! : )  Yep...the weekend was here. It was 2009. And our weekends are pretty much the same even now in 2016. Minus the...their obviously getting older factor...but you know what I mean, I hope. : )  TGIF for us in Japan tomorrow. Right on!!! I have that movie date in the morning with my friends. And I do hope to get home with enough time to bread that ebi/shrimp. And run to the store on the way home to pick up some potato and mac salad. Oh yeah! I want everything ready to go before the boys get home. As soon as the kids get home. All I have to do is fry the shrimp and Noah's chicken cutlet. We will eat ASAP. Why? Because tomorrow at 5pm we have flu shots. @_@ Hahaha. However...after that...we can come home and take showers and relax and watch a movie and pop some popcorn. Anyways...the weekends almost here everyone. Please...have a lovely weekend! : )

Update or anything to add now: I did get my hair colored. It's brown and my natural color and this is the 2nd month in a row that it's this color. I'm happy I'm a brunette again. I am really loving this color and will be keeping it...for all of Winter at least... maybe even longer, who knows. I was coloring it like an auburn, reddish type of color the past few years. And while that wasn't bad. I am just now preferring this.  : )

I have seen 2 episodes of a new show called "This is Us" I like this show. The only bad part for me is it comes on as the same time as my other show I really like, "Fresh off the Boat" And both are good shows. It's just...they come on at the same exact time. @_@ Bummer. So, I watch Fresh off the Boat since it's only 30 minutes. And then I switch to This is Us" I don't really want to drop one show or anything. So for now it's working. But maybe I will eventually just watch one of them. Because catching This is Us 30 minutes late...sorta sucks too.

Weather around my area of Japan. It's been a pretty warm Fall. Until today. Today was the first day where...you could no longer get away wearing shorts and a short sleeve top. I wore gaucho jeans and a black fitted boatneck top. And black Gap leather ballet flats to the hair salon today. With a little LV bag that carry's my breath mints, drivers license, blotting papers and credit card. Noboru and I met for lunch at McD's today after I left the salon. I had a goma salad. And an apple pie. No drink. He had a combo. We followed each other home after we ate, he was in his car and I was in mine. Noboru was wearing jeans and a sweatshirt. He prefers short sleeve tops so, I knew he must be chilly if he was wearing a sweatshirt. Yep...the weather today? Chilly willy. Not...freezing cold or anything. But a definite crisp bite to the air...for sure. Alrighty...that's enough of me for today. Please have a wonderful weekend you guys. : ) 

Bits and Pieces...

Hi!!! Holy goodness it's been about what....6 days since I have had the chance to update? I'm so sorry about that, you guys! Even right now, I have a free 30 minutes right now... before I go and pick up Noah from school. I was at Costco this morning. But I really don't have the time to update properly right now (have something else to do too), but I will... just so I can touch bases with you all real quick. Hopefully I can get this thing written in like 5 minutes or less so here we go! Hold on tight ya'll! : )

Let's see, where have I been and what have I been doing? That's the million dollar question right there! : )

Sunday afternoon, both Branden and Noah took the Eiken. Bran Eiken 1 and Noah Eiken 3. Bran's test was so so long... that we sat there for hours! Seriously for hours! @_@

Sunday...same day as the Eiken. Immediately after the Eiken, with packed carry-ons in the car at the Eiken place and empty suitcases, Noboru drove Bran, Noah and myself to Narita International Airport Sunday after the Eiken. Because Monday (like 2 days ago type Monday) was a holiday with a day off school in Japan. So Sunday evening the kids and I flew to Guam. My dad picked us up. And we did some Halloween shopping, Fall shopping and Thanksgiving shopping. We also ate good things and went to the movies to see. The movie title is super long..."Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children." Directed by Tim Burton and this movie was really good! We had popcorn and nachos and sodas that we bought at the concession stand and chocolate or candy that we snuck in from the grocery store (Noah picked Skittles, Bran and I picked Snickers Peanut Butter Squared) We flew back to Japan Tuesday morning. We landed a little before 10am or so. Yesterday. Bran actually went to school after lunch and so that means he won't be counted as absent yesterday, since he did attend a half day.

Today, you know what I did today.... I just said...I spent my morning at Costco. : )

Tomorrow, Thursday, I have a hair color appointment at the hair salon I will go in the morning, my appointment is at 9:30am. I also have a lunch date with the hubster after my hair appointment,

And Friday, I have a movie date with my 2 closest girl friends/mom friends of mine. We're going to see the new Jason Bourne movie, whatever the new one is called...but hopefully you all know what I mean. And Friday at 5pm...the 4 of us have an appointment for our flu shot! We made that appointment a month ago. Bran only needs 1 shot now. He gets the adult amount now. But Noah has to get a 2nd dosage a month later.

And Saturday we're taking the boys to go Fall and Winter clothes shopping. But luckily we have no...undokai or street cleaning or anything we "have to do" if you know what I mean...so this weekend is actually just pure...do what we want. And this weekend we are so looking forward to. : ) Just very appreciated to have a real weekend for a change. : )

And as for meals....tonight we're having cheeseburger night at home. We love this night so much! I bought some super lean ground beef last week. And froze it into thirds. And we will have cheeseburgers at home with all the toppings. Lettuce, tomato,pickles, onion, jalapenos if you want. Cheddar or mozzarella, really good cheeses. I bought the buns fresh today which is why the trip to Costco today. : ) And I'll make some potato wedge fries too. So tonight is going to be a very filling but fun supper!

Friday we're having ebi fry/furai. Fried shrimp basically. And this coming Sunday we're having taco night. I have a whole weekly menu but...my menu is on the kitchen table, and I'm being a tad lazy and not getting it. But...those are just things from my memory. But very excellent meals this week. : )

I know, I still have yet to put up Noah's undokai/Sports day post and that's not really fair to Noah to post Bran's without posting Noah's too, you know how I feel about being fair with the boys/kids. So...you know I will most definitely be posting that one. Gotta be fair. And I'd like to post the trip to Guam of course too. And of course I have many more posts to get up and things to say. You know just the...everyday type of stuff. : ) But because my Thursday (tomorrow) and Friday and Saturday are spoken for. I am not sure if I'll get the chance or not in the next couple days. But...I will be posting super good updates soon. Probably from next Monday... But...I am alive and well. Hahaha. : ) I'm just having fun. Taking trips. Going to the salon doing regular girl stuff. Hanging with friends, you know...regular normal people stuff. : ) And in between...cleaning house like a maniac. Cooking and enjoying my time with my fam-bam. And just you know...watching TV or...doing regular stuff. : )  I will try my best to do my TBT tomorrow. And then after that... hopefully I can start with some Sports Day or the Guam trip type of posts. : )

Throwback Thursday, Fall 2008...

Today's TBT is a nod to our family in Fall 2008! Just 4 misc pics with super short captions underneath. Easy peasy. Cool! : ) Here's #1, our family was at a home-center type of place and we were buying some Fall flowers. We really liked these Fall colors from these wine/maroon color flowers and so we bought some. Branden was in the yellow closest my camera. And Noah was in the adorable orange surf hat and Noboru was behind them. No ones face is really in this pic, but we can tell this is clearly my fam-bam. : ) 

Bran was at school and Noah was getting sleepy but still trying to stay awake and so he was watching cartoons on TV. The Disney Channel or something. While I vacuumed the downstairs. And tidied the house. However Noah's eyes were getting sleepier by the second. And by the time I put the vacuum away he was completely zonked out. So I covered him up with a nice thick fleece-y blanket.

You rest Noah. Get lots of sleep. So by the time your brother gets out of school, you can be recharged and ready to play with Branden. As for me...as Noah slept, that was the perfect time for me to prepare dinner and get everything ready. So by the time it's time for me to pick up Bran. Dinner's pretty much a non-issue.... meaning I did it already.  And no, I'm not super mom I assure you, I'm just... super good with my time management. Time management is my super power for sure. : ) Just makes things easier for me this way. 

Awww, after supper and a soapy sudsy hot shower. I wonder what they were watching. And I wonder why they wanted to watch it on the mini DVD player and not the one we have in the living room hooked up to the TV. Hahaha kids go figure. Oh well. They were having fun. : ) 

Bits and pieces...

How's everyone been? As for me, things here have been super! I haven't really had the chance to catch up with you all. You know...just the day to day type of stuff. So let me give it my best shot right now! September 16th. I had a free day and a plan to meet a good friend. House was all clean and in order. And the kids had a full day at school. And so, I drove myself to the Aeon in Ibaraki to meet a really good friend of mine (fellow foreign mom friend, that we have been friends for ages, like since before Noah was born and Bran was a toddler) We don't get the chance to see each other too often in person, since we don't exactly live the closest to one another. So it was nice we could meet up for lunch halfway between where she lives and halfway from where I live. She was looking for some stuff at the Disney store for her daughter. And I was wanting a foundation. Which was in the Aeon cosmetics area. And she ended up buying a coconut face wash also in the Aeon cosmetics area. We also had lunch and a look around the Body Shop. I had grabbed a sandwich downstairs after we left the Disney Store. And she wanted to have something to eat in the food court, so while she was placing her order, I quickly snapped this pic of my sammy and foundation in the bag as she was ordering her lunch. We ate in the food court, our plan was to eat in the food court... it's just Subway is located downstairs and not in the food court. : )

I had a footlong veggie and cheese sandwich on white. No sides and no drink. I didn't want the calories of a soda. Should have probably picked up a jasmine tea downstairs at the Aeon, but eh...I was fine. : ) Her daughter will start JHS next year so she wanted to ask me some questions. It was so nice to be able to chat and catch up in person. We parted ways after lunch. I had a bit of a drive and kids to pick up from school. : )

I picked up the Koh Gen Do Aqua foundation. This foundation is really popular in America right now. has been for the past year. Kathleenlights. So many people are in love with this. However in America at Sephora this is super expensive. $70 or 78 US? Something like that. It's pricey let's put it that way. However since it is a Japanese foundation it's like 4,000 yen for us in Japan. This foundation is for dry skin. So if you're oily, I wouldn't try it. If you're over 35 you might like this a lot. If you're over 35 and have dry skin you will really love this, if you can find the right color/shade. They say this foundation makes you look like you have just had a facial or been to the spa. Like a radiant glow from within type of look. It's light to medium coverage so if you want super thick full coverage foundation this isn't for you. If you just want a light to medium foundation this could be a good one to try. As always am I suggesting you buy it? Derr...no I'm not. However if you're in Japan and you want to try it... you will be able to buy it here way cheaper. If you're a Mac NC20-25...color 213 will be the best color match for you. 

My thoughts? Do, I look...like I just come from the spa? No I do not. Does it give me a beautiful look? Yes, totally. Would I repurchase this? No...but that's only because I bore so easy with foundations. I'm like a tumble weed rolling and blowing in the wind regarding foundations, guilty as charged and hey I admit that. Also...I find this color matches me 98% perfectly. However I feel the one I bought in Denver. The Make Up For Ever Ultra HD matches me 1000% maybe even a million percent. As in best color match ever in my life. As in..would I repurchase the MUFE Ultra HD? Hell yes, I would. Without question. But am I glad I at least tried this and own this? Yes, I am. Because I am wearing the Koh Gen Do right this second even. So, I do really like it a lot. Anyway...enough foundation talk. Moving along. : ) 

Pic right next door to my house. Pheasants gone wild! Seriously there are so many pheasants next to my house. They are so smart! And the first monkey in our town has been spotted this season already! Last year 3 were spotted! Rural Japan living stuff, I guess. : ) 

This one was sure the little fatty! He's very lucky, I don't eat pheasant! LOL. : )

Good night dear pheasants. We'll just pretend we don't know you have a big family living in the wilderness that is next door. : ) 

What else have I been doing? Once a week, I will throw the comforters outside to air and get sun! They get so fat in the sun. In japan they believe blankets get disinfected by the sun. Whether it's true or not, I still do it anyway. I'll go out and whack the blankets with a futon stick. Flip them around and whatnot. And the day after this. I usually will unzip the duvet covers. And wash the duvet/comforter covers. The insides are still fat and fluffy but the outside has just been laundered. 

If you live in Japan then you know October 1st means time to switch into your winter uniform. Noah wears regular clothes to school, but Bran wears uniform. So, I had to pick up 3 dress shirts for BrannyMcB at Sanki last week. 

Also picked up 2 wash clothes for face washing. This side is floral.

This is what the other side looks like. So each side is different. 

This side is navy with white polka dots and the other side in white with navy dots. 

3 dress shirts. I washed on the quick wash. Hung them outside to dry. And since this Monday Bran has been wearing his winter uniform.

Noah needed more name tags for school supplies. So, I ordered these. I love the colorful banner above Noah's name. And I picked the yellow frame too because that's Noah's favorite color! And these name stickers come in all sorts of sizes...super big stickers  large stickers, medium, all the way to itty bitty stickers. 

I mentioned I have been enjoying the new TV show called The Good Place which stars Kristen Bell. She was a very very bad person on earth. Super bad. And so she died. She was supposed to go to The Bad Place (yes that's what they call hell in this show) and some sort of mix up occurred. And a person with her same exact first and last name was supposed to go to heaven. But Kristen Bell went to heaven by mistake. She is still behaving badly even while in heaven! It's not a religious show. It's just a funny show. 

This week she found out her neighbor, pictured here is also here in heaven by mistake. 

This guy pictured here holding the book is a good guy and actually belongs in heaven and he knows about her secret and so he is trying to teach Kristen Bell how to be good. He was an ethics professor. It's not heavy or serious or deep. It's just honestly a fun 30 minutes of my evening. 

Monday morning/yesterday after the boys went to school. And I vacuumed the downstairs. And cleaned the downstairs toilet. I baked 3 dozen peanut butter cookies from scratch. The fam-bam has been enjoying them ever since.

If you are living in America, you know that JonBenet Ramsey has been all over the news for the past month! Though she died a day after Christmas. Apparently this is the 20th anniversary this coming December. And because of it being the 20th anniversary it's all over the TV now. There have been like...5 documentaries about it this past month. Plus the TV movie where they flat out say Burke (the brother who was 9 at the time) was the killer. And he's flat out suing. And he should sue. This JonBenet Ramsey murder happened in Colorado. It happened in Boulder, Colorado. Noboru and I were actually living in Denver at the time. Because it happened in my home state. And I was living there at the time. I can tell you, the news people from all over the world came to Colorado to cover this case. It literally captured the whole world's attention. Some people thought the mom did it. The dad did it. Some thought an intruder did it. And some thought the little boy did it. Then the case seemed to drop off the face of the earth. The Ramsey's moved back to their home state, which was not Colorado. Now this case is huge all over again. I have watched nearly all of the JonBenet stuff this past month, the new shows. And from what they say, Burke found out they were going to make a TV movie about him and basically say he did it. He was mortified. And he and his dad will sue. And they should, as I said. But, I wanted to hear from Burke. Not hear say. From him. And so, I tuned into the interview on the OWN channel and I watched it. 

His dad talked a lot privately with Dr. Phil. 

And no, I do not think her dad did it at all. I just don't. 

And I watched Burke answer all of the questions Dr. Phil asked and I don't think he was involved at all either. In fact, the grand jury that convened and the Boulder county officials years and years ago said Burke was ruled out 100%. Also...if you have seen that 3 page ransom note. It was quite lengthy. And a bit sophisticated and I just don't think a 9 year old boy wrote that letter. I don't think he wrote that letter at all. With phrases like..."don't grow a brain Jon" To the father. "we are from a small faction" ummm...doesn't really sound like a 9 year olds' type of wording to me at all. Who do I think killed JonBenet? I honestly do not know. Sometimes, I think Patsy did it. And sometimes I think an intruder did it. But, I do not think Burke or the dad had anything to do with it. And to make a whole 2 hour movie where Burke's the killer in the end? OMG! Can you imagine how mortifying that would be...to have someone make a movie about you like that? Sue the pants off them Burke! They deserve it. Anyways...anything else? Oh my gosh. American Horror Story is so good this season. It's so weird and creepy. Seems like a haunted house with 2 nurse sisters haunting the house. This looks like a good season. And OMG, The Blacklist is getting so good too. Freaking good! : ) 

This pic was taken this morning. Obviously it is a filter. More than one.. so filters. This morning, after I vacuumed and scrubbed my sink room/area upstairs. I decided to jump on the step stool and pull the filters out of the heat exchanger for the central air conditioning unit we have. I clean all house filters every season, every single one we have. Once in summer, once in Fall, once in winter, and spring. I took this outside and scrubbed this filter down with some green tea dish soap. The neighbor was hanging her laundry out and greeted me! Good morning, she said in Japanese! Good morning, I replied back in Japanese! What are you doing, she asked? Cleaning the filter, I replied! She said...you sure stay busy! I said, thanks, you too! : )

Tonight's supper? American style fried pork chops and Rice and Roni and steamed broccoli. We'll have peanut butter cookies for dessert if anyone wants any. : )  Anyway, have a great week everyone!

Did any of you in Japan catch that 50% off sale at Gap online last weekend?

If you're living in Japan and have kids, I'm sure you knew about that fantastic sale Gap Japan had all last weekend! First it was 50% off and then as the days and weekend went by, by Monday it was 20% off and then by mid Monday nothing was off, it was full retail. : ) I'm lucky in that I have a very good solid set of fellow foreign mom friends here in Japan that we will email or LINE each other right away! "Girl Gap's on sale right now go...get yourself online!!!"  And we'll be like..."OMG, thanks for the heads up!" And I'll do the same too, since I'm signed up to get emails from Gap in Japan and the US and Old Navy in Japan and the US too. In fact, even those of you that I am not email friends with or closer friends with. I will sometimes post on my blog. "Gap's on sale right now, if you're interested have a look, if not, sincerely no worries!" And no, I obviously have no relationship with Gap other than being a customer and enjoying the sales. I've had fellow mom's actually tell me..."Gina thanks... because you mentioned it on your blog, I was able to score my daughter her winter coat at 50% off."..so for me, it makes me happy if I can help out that way. I wish, I could have mentioned last Friday on my blog about the huge 50% off sale online at Gap Japan. However as you know last weekend, was "crazy town" at our house! We were on undokai/sports day stand-by all weekend! And we had it Sunday. So, between saving a spot, making the picnic/obento. I was busy as all heck... here at my house last weekend. So, I never had the chance to help out and give a heads up on Gap's big sale last weekend. I did hope that many of you knew from word of mouth or hopefully received the email. So anyways...while I didn't have a chance to give a helpful post about it last weekend... because frankly we were so busy with undokai last weekend for Noah. I did however, find some time to place an order. And got the 50% off! So, I was very happy about that! Because hey....saving money is ALWAYS a wonderful thing! 

I only bought 3 things for Noah. 2 sweatshirts and 1 long sleeve top. I am always 50/50 fair with both my boys and you all know that! However, Branden for being 14 is getting big and buff and muscle-y! And so just buying blindly online for Bran is just not as easy peasy as it was... when he was younger and elementary school aged. His sweatpants he wore last year for example were a Japanese size mens size L. But they seem a pinch too small. A tad short in the length and not hugely too small in the waist but yes...a tad small in the waist. And so...because he is growing like the Hulk. However he's the most nicest smiley sweetest kid you'd ever meet! : ) So...because he's like in between sizes or...I'm just not so sure. I'm pretty sure... he's an XL in Japanese stores sizes like GU and Uniqlo and a standard size large in American stores like Gap and Old Navy. However...I don't want to buy something if I don't know the size. So for Bran...we just will buy in person. It's just too iffy buying online now. So that's what's up with that. October is going to be a pretty busy month for us. Yesterday we spent the entire day at the 1 and only high school in Japan that we're interested for Branden to attend... for their Cultural Day yesterday. It's sort of like an English type of high school with an international vibe that's so cool. So many hafu we saw yesterday and they saw my 2 kids, it was just very cool! There are also "returnee students" (Japanese students who lived in America or an English speaking country) Native teachers, (talked to 3 of them yesterday and 2 the other time we visited in July). Just a very fun high school. We also have the Eiken coming up. Plus the kids and I will be heading to Guam this month. And Bran has his own Cultural Day to do this month. We seriously are so busy this October. However, when we do have a spare day...we will be taking Bran to Uniqlo, GU, Old Navy and the Gap outlet. For some Fall/Winter clothes shopping in person. Anyway back to the 50% off sale last weekend. 

Size 12 for Mr. Skinny as a Toothpick, Noah-chan!

I was deciding between the gray or navy varsity and I chose the gray because you can see the contrast of the buttons and the big G on the chest. I love how the big G has the word Gap on it too. I think when it finally gets cold enough to wear this...this will be so great for Noah!

Love the 2 navy lines on the arm. Such great details.

I have already washed this on the quick wash and line dried it and it's now sitting in Noah's closet in his bedroom.

This striped pro fleece is super cute. Loved the red and navy stripes. The Gap wording is glow in the dark, I'm pretty sure by looking online at the Gap website. Not that we care about that too much, we just loved the preppy styling of this one and the fact that it's fleece means Noah will be warm and toasty snuggly all Fall and Winter long. Size 12 means he can wear this for ages. : ) Since he's barely 11.

Orange and navy. Noah loves yellow and orange, his favorite colors since he was a toddler. And I think this is so nice. It was on sale anyway and to get it 50% on top of that. This was super cheap. And it's long sleeve. I love being a smart shopper and getting 50% off. : ) And the quality is so nice.

So anyways, that's all we picked up last weekend on the 50% off sale. Just 2 sweatshirts. 1 super warm cozy fleece-y one and 1 super styling varsity one and 1 basic long sleeve top. Are we done with our Fall and Winter shopping? Nope. However we're getting there! : ) Hope you all were able to catch the sale last weekend, if you live in Japan. : )