Summer clothes shopping for the boys...

Thank you, United States Postal Service! And thank you dad for forwarding things to me in Japan, you rock! Old Navy may have left Japan, but I still have access to it. 

A good bunch of things for me. Short sleeve tees. 1 pair of shorts. 2 pair of summer material capri pants. I showed ya'll pics of what they looked like on the website a while back. And they did indeed get here. 

Bran's 2 items. Soup Nazi, we love you because you make us laugh!!! Bran will be rocking this hilarious tee all summer now and a cool pair of pineapple swim trunks. 

Noah's 2 items. 2 very cute preppy short sleeve tees. 

We also hit the Gap since Japan, still has Gap in Japan. Thank goodness. One bag of stuff for Noah and one bag of stuff for Bran. The super stuffed bag is B's. : ) 

We love you Gap. And FYI, I find in America, where Gap originates from. The Gap outlet in the USA is super cheap. And the regular Gap shops in the USA are normal priced. However I find in Japan, the Gap outlet is not very cheap at all. And I honestly find the regular Gap stores in Japan cheaper than the outlets here... because the regular Gap in Japan... always has sales. Super good sales. 

All pull up shorts... meaning stretchy waist band shorts were on sale for 1900 yen a pair last weekend. And they had a *ton* of wicked styles and designs! I picked this outfit for Noah. You know his favorite colors are yellow and orange. and yes they still are his faves. So, he ran right to these boy orange colored shorts with manly sharks on them! LOL. And I found the best tee that matched the shorts. It's a bunch of surf boards. It's a *gorgeous* outfit. And will be perfect for Noah all Summer. This just looks like a Noah outfit doesn't it? Hahaha. Yes it does! : )

Again...picked up another pair of the 1900 yen shorts. And I walked around the boys department looking for the perfect shirt to match the shorts and found this...so cute!!! This super cool pineapple surf shirt will be rockin' with the shorts. 

And the back of the pineapple surf shirt says...tropicool. LOL. Instead of tropical. We loved this! Oh and the white tee with surfboards has something written on the back too. 

I always and I do mean *always* read clothes reviews at Gap.com and see what other fellow American moms or parents have to say about the clothes. I am specifically looking for issues with sizing and if the color is the same irl as what it appeared online. And this year 2017...it seems that a whole bunch of American moms have been complaining on Gap's USA website and saying...their clothes are running *so* small this year. The comments/reviews I read..I took with a grain of salt. Because sometimes kids in the USA can be really overweight now days. Kids now days... just seem way more overweight than when I was growing up. Maybe it's because kids in my days...we went out and rode our bikes. And we played hide and seek etc. We were active. Or maybe it's because in Japan kids are leaner here. So anyways...I did take the reviews with a grain of salt, like I said.  Anyways...so now we are in the Gap store in Inzai, Saturday a day before Bran and his dad took the train to his high school and a practice run. I picked all size 12/xl clothes for Noah. Because Noah is only 11. But I figured buying a size 12 would be ample enough/large enough for my skinny minnie. To my shock. Noah snuggly fit the size 12/xl . It ran hella too tiny. Oh the shock...the surprise. My face in the dressing room with Noah was like...what????? @_@ I now flashbacked to all the many many reviews of the moms. And I know for a fact. For FACT that Noah is not 1 pinch chubby. He's as skinny as a toothpick, ya'll know that too. That we know for darn sure. So...I'm like in awe going. Wow. All those moms were 100% right. I'm so sorry for having doubted you guys. It fit like a size 10. That's how small they ran. And...if you are EVER going to use a dryer...hahahaha forget it. So, I called Noboru inside the dressing room and he said...those are absurdly too small. @_@ I said, I know right? I think so too. So, everything I had picked out. I put back and I went and now got everything in an XXL. And it fit perfectly, with enough room to grow. He will be able to wear these all Summer long. The size xl would not have lasted the end of June... that's how small those clothes were. @_@ Wow. Super shocked and surprised. So if you are planning to buy online at Gap this year...maybe try on in the store first. But I do agree with all the reviews...the clothes this year in particular...yes they certainly do run freakishly too small. And this is coming from a mom with a very thin 11 year old. And he's not big or tall and he has no beefy muscles at all either, lol. He's truly just regular normal sized. So if they were too small on my skinny kid....just consider maybe buying in person. Gap clothes 2017 for boys are running very very small, this year.

Size xxl 14-16. Yep, still can't believe it and ya'll know what a lean toothpick Noah is too. But...I really don't care about the number. But I do care... if it fits my child and if it will lasts an entire season or not. 

They had a whole table of tees for 1000 yen about US$9. And so we picked Noah these 2 in size xxl. This was a fantastic deal. I like getting cute clothes on the cheap! Noah so far has 6 new short sleeve tees for this coming warmer weather so far. We're not done yet, but we're getting there. : ) 

So we were now done shopping for Noah and we now left the Gap kids and went next door to the regular Gap, adult Gap. For Branden. Noboru and Noah were now chit chatting in the store. And Bran and I now walked the store looking for clothes. I gave Bran a Gap shopping bag and said...you're a teenager, you know what YOU like and you pick what you like. and so he and I walked around the men's department together. And Bran looked for shorts but they didn't have any good ones. But he did find 4 short sleeve tees that he liked. Branden is a men's size L. But since we were still reeling from the whole... Noah's clothes were all cut ridiculously too small, just 5 minutes beforehand at kids Gap. We picked 2 sizes in the shirts Bran liked, we picked all Larges and XL's. And the men's stuff was not cut too small this year. The XL men's was outrageously too big for Bran. And so Bran is just a L men's. And so he got these 4 tops. Plus his soup Nazi tee too that he got in the mail. So...so far Bran has 5 tees for summer 2017. So it's a huge step forward. Bran now has a bunch of undies. He has a good amount of short sleeve tees now too. Plus he has that cool pair of Vans. Now all we need to do is... look for shorts for B. We will probably hit up Uniqlo or GU soon for his shorts. : ) We're getting there. We're not done summer clothes wise for B, but we're getting there. : )

I have a jean jacket, both my kids also have jean jackets too. We have medium rinse jean jackets. However I have been noticing the *very* faded ones are the cool ones to have now. And I mentioned that to Bran about 2 weeks ago. And he said...he had noticed that too. Noah chimed in and said...I noticed too. Hahaha. Bless his heart, he tries so hard. : ) So...we were specifically looking for a light colored jean jacket that day. They had a bunch of jean jackets for 9000 yen about $85 US. Which is pretty expensive. But we were still planning to get it. But we were still making a lap around the men's department and we walked the sales at the back of the store and they had a whole bunch of stuff. And they had about 5 size small size men's jean jackets 2 mediums and only 1 men's large jean jacket. For only 2999 yen. We went and compared the difference between the 9000 yen jacket and the sale jean jacket. As a mom yes... I am going to do that and see what's the difference. I told Bran...we don't want a half length jacket or anything, so we need to compare. And so we held them both up side by side and they were identical. Same length and everything. So we snatched that size large right up and we 4 went to the back dressing area. Bran went into the dressing room by himself obvs. And we 3 waited near by. The jacket fit perfect with room to grow. 

Like I always say...I love getting cute things for super cheap! 

Such a cute jean jacket for Bran. : )

Branden got new underwear already... so Noah got some too. I picked up 4 packs for Noah, there's only 2 pair each pack. Converse brand. Adidas. T&C Surf, And the French brand le coq sportif. Size 150cm. And now Noah is all set.

Anyway, we're not done with the summer/warmer weather shopping for the boys yet. But we're getting there. : ) 

Throwback Thursday...

Since this coming Sunday will be Easter Sunday. I thought it would be fun to take a quick little stroll down memory lane on 2 of our past Easters. This picture is from 2008! We have celebrated Easter every single year that we have had kids. And I celebrated it my whole life too. It's really important to me... to teach my kids, my culture. This way they can know about Japanese culture and also my culture too. : ) 

We always have an egg hunt! 

Awesome! And now this is 2 years later from the previous pics. This is from Easter 2010! I had an Easter party with friends at our home Easter 2009, so I am not sharing those pics today. : ) The boys definitely look 2 years older, since the pics up above. We had a lot of low key fun planned for that day. Just noshing on some Easter candy. Coloring some eggs. Hiding the eggs about 5 times... if not more! LOL. And we also planned to have a backyard BBQ. Just very relaxed though...just very lean Costco ground beef. So we made chargrilled cheeseburgers and some fries. Again...kicked back and low key is our style. So that's what we did that day. : ) 

A gray overcast day. But it did not stop us... from the 4 of us being outside and coloring our eggs. We dyed the eggs. We let them dry. We decorated the eggs. And then the boys went inside the house. No peeking!!! : ) And I hid them all over the backyard. 

They looked all over! Such fun! : )

Daddy had rolled out the cold BBQ grill from the shed for later in the day. But Noah did look for an egg in there and yes there was one in there! Bran in the background looking hard for an egg too. Hope ya'll can find where I hid all the eggs! Good luck! : )

I think I should do a Spongebob....4 hours later!!! LOL. Later after about a billion egg hunts. I hid the eggs twice. Bran hid them for Noah once. Noah in his toddler-ness tried his best to hide them for Bran. Noboru hid them for the kids once. Gee whiz when all was said and done. We were all egg hunted out. And it was time to start our simple BBQ. Keeping things super low key means no stress. And that's good, because I don't want any! : )  

Just a simple backyard BBQ. And we just chilled at home for the remainder of our Easter Sunday Funday!!! : ) 

Train training...

I think... if you live in big city bright lights type Japan, your train "know how" is superly high. You're probably a pro taking the train by the first grade. However, for rural Japan peeps like us, you need a car to get anywhere. We live in a *real* rural town of 5,000 people. And our town does not have a public bus like you imagine folks in big cities. Big city folks have for example a bus #28 and a bus #32 because well... they're big city folks with populations that need that many buses. But for us in this tiny town of 5000 people. Our town has 1 bus. But it's honestly, a minivan! I am kidding you not. It's a flat out minivan and probably seats 8 at most. So when folks mention that they took the #20 bus to get somewhere, I know for a fact they live in a big population place. Because folks who live in true rural towns of like legit 5000 people... we have a minivan as our town bus! LOL! So having said all that. My kids... I think have ridden the train once in their lives. So...considering Bran will now be taking the train to and from school 5 days a week. We knew that a practice run would be in order... for our country kid! So, on Sunday April 9th. Noboru and Branden caught the train to B's new school. Sunday was supposed to be a gray rainy day and as you can tell by this pic, it sure was. Noah and I dropped them off at the train station. And they went from rice fields and rural Japan views, to a big bustling city view! Noboru said...he taught Bran how to use his new Suica card/train pass and also how to get there. Bran only has to take 1 train, no transfers at all... so he's lucky! Noboru later told me...Branden was so surprised to see all the things that the big city has to offer. He saw all the food stalls at the bottom of department stores. He saw so many things that Noboru laughed and said..."it's like Branden is an Amish person going to the big city for the first time in his life!" Hearing that cracked me up! 

His school is a short walk from the train station... they reached the school and then turned right back around. They had lunch before catching the train back to our rural town. I'm glad Noboru taught Bran how to take the train to and from. And he also showed him around. And we could have got Bran just a plain train pass. But we decided to get him the Suica card so he can use it at convenience stores to make a purchase. Some vending machines take Suica cards too. McD's also takes them too. Lots of places let's you just pay via your Suica card now days. And that is a relief because if Bran needs anything or gets thirsty... he can just get it that way. And we also give him cash too, in case. Anyways, so Noboru and Bran went for lunch at an udon shop in the big city. They both said they really enjoyed their lunch, then they took the train home, where Noah and I went and picked them up at the train station.

Monday April 10th. Was Branden's first day of high school. And first time riding the train alone. He did it! His dad also had him bookmark on his cellphone... the train website to see the time table of the train in case he gets out late or gets out early. He had absolutely no problems taking the train to and from. He said when he got out of the train at the station near the school. He started seeing lots of his high school uniforms. Mostly girls. But he saw his new classmate S (he's a boy too) and they both waved and said...lets' walk to school together!!! So they both did! Today is Wednesday here and Bran has been taking the train for a few days. And so far so good.

How does Branden like his new school? Honestly you guys he *loves* it!!! I will give you a few short stories. But remember these are stories from a 15 year old's perspective!!!

He said..."mom high school is way better than JHS! It's so fun! They have vending machines at school. You can drink a lemon tea or a soda or a Calpis!!!" : ) And he also said.."you can also suck on candy too mom, in class!!!" This just made me smile hearing this! He was so excited about this, you guys! : )

And yesterday he came home with another little nugget... that just made me smile again!!! "He said..."mom, did you know my school has a small store?!!!" He was too excited you guys! I said...REALLY? He said..."yeah it's like a mini version of a Mini Stop." His exact words! I said really, what do they sell? He said, "Yakisoba. Cup Noodles. Bentos. Sweet breads. Pencils mom...they sell pencils *and* erasers!!!" And..."and they sell Calligraphy paper AND ink!!!" Oh heavens...I said. What a cool store. He told me..."it REALY is mom!!!" Oh honey...I believe you. Next time I go visit your school... please show me this wonderful store! Last fun Bran fact about the store...."oh and many kids buy the sweet breads and J bought a Snickers bar!!!" I said... J has good taste, I like Snickers too! "Yeah me too...I didn't buy one though." I told Bran...you should buy one sometime. He said. "OKAY!" Goodness. Bran's school has a store. Much like I am sure most high schools in Japan have stores. In fact my high school in America, also had a school store. But it just made me smile. How happy he was about it. : ) Kids...including teens do have such innocence still. They're so for real. And show excitement in such a pure way. I hope he never loses that!

Monday, the English kids ate in their English class and had lunch there. But yesterday. The principal had invited *all* boys in the school to have lunch in his office. Oh and...sorry I did get the correct number of boys total for the school right this time. 14 boys all grades. So...all 14 boys went inside. And the principal told all 14. "There are so few of you, you better all be super close" Because there's just not that many of you. Remember boys are not allowed in the regular courses. So these are just English (speaking) boys and Genius (course) kids. So they're all good kids. And they all get along. He had the 4 new boys introduce themselves to the older boys first. The principal said just say your name, which JHS you came from and your interests/hobby's. Bran said, his name, the JHS he came from and he said, he loves swimming and has been swimming since age 4. The principal chimed in apparently and said...I love swimming too and I also swam competitively in my elementary school days too. So they talked about swimming for a minute or two. Oh and J is a returnee you guys, which is super exciting and great. He lived in Thailand for 13 years of his life. 10th graders are 15 in April. He moved to Japan only 2 years ago. So he went to a Japanese JHS for only 2 years. So that too is exciting and a fun fact. The older boys also introduced themselves. Branden said. There is 1 boy in the English course who is 100% Filipino and he says "mom he is so funny and nice." He told Bran... if you need any help at school or need to know where something is...please do not hesitate. We will all help you. Again...they are all LINE friends. Bran said there is a 100% Korean boy who moved to Japan from Korea a few years ago and he fluently speaks English and Korean and Japanese. He said...mom the boys are so nice here. So welcoming. And he said mom so many foreigners go here. Branden is just having the best time.

There is also 1 half African American and Japanese girl. And she's a new friend for Bran too already. Just so many hafus. So many 100% foreigners. And the 100% Japanese kids who picked this school are really special and open minded. And...he just loves this school, you guys. He keeps mentioning....high school is so much better than JHS.

Also the clubs at high school. Are not mandatory. You chose if you want to join or not. And they're not 365 days a year like at JHS either. One club is twice a week. English club is only once a week. So...their clubs here at this high school are light and no huge pressure like how JHS was. Branden is still deciding if he wants to join or not. We didn't let Bran join a club at JHS because his dad doesn't agree with the system of how JHS clubs run. But it's a totally different thing at high school...or at least at the high school Branden is going to. 

Branden's high school entrance ceremony...

For those of you that have watched my kids grow up from being babies then to toddler aged. And watched them go from yochien, to shogakko to Chugakko. THANK YOU! This is for you. Can you believe Bran is officially in high school? OMG! I logically know he is. But somehow there is some part of my brain that just marvels and goes..."wow!!!" It's true...kids seriously do grow in the blink of an eye!!! What is that old saying. The days are long but the years are short! So true. Too true. : ) Anyways. As soon as Bran was accepted into high school in mid January. A note was sent with lots of info. One being...where to buy your child's high school uniform. And they suggested us 2 things. *Don't* buy it over a weekend!!! Because they are slammed with customers/high schoolers from about 20 or so different high schools plus JHS. Etc to infinity. *And* if you do go on a weekend you will be in line for ages and not get the best service or undivided attention. Suggestion #2 on the paper from the high school was...go and order it ASAP. They said if you order it immediately your outfit will come to your house faster. And if anything is wrong, meaning the size is off or anything you still have time to make corrections. The earliest delivery date was March 25th. So...the second we got that note. We went a few shorts days afterwards. We went on a Tuesday morning or Wednesday morning. They were dead. We were the only customers in the high school boys uniform section. The girls uniform section is across the hall. LOL. We (Noboru, Bran and I) had 2 very nice women helping us. We spent a good 75 minutes there. Being properly measured. We didn't feel rushed. They took their time with us. It was such a good suggestion to buy our uniform on a weekday. Again...us coming from a tiny rural town, we buy our local elementary school gym uniforms or local JHS uniforms locally and you can go any day of the week and never have a problem with it being too busy. So this info helped us since we were buying in a bustling big city. : ) Also...Kuroneko (the delivery truck people in Japan) sorta like UPS... they had about 3 other boxes that looked just like Bran's uniform box in the back of the truck the day they delivered Branden's uniform (nobody in our town entering high school this year is going to Bran's high school it's just Mitsukoshi sells a bunch of uniforms from the bigger city). The Kuroneko lady said to Bran in Japanese..."I see someone here got into high school!!! Congratulations!!!"  Noboru and Bran are who answered the door...they were both happily telling her. Thank you!!!! So...receiving the uniform was nice. And the picture on the box that has a graphic of high school uniforms on it, which is pictured right here.... lets everyone know. Your uniform arrived. : ) Super exciting. 

The lady said, the fastest day to arrive is March 25th, when we ordered B's uniform. Would you like it to arrive March 25th? We remembered the schools note, about getting it quicker means we can make sure it's all correct and fitting properly. And we said...okay. Plus it still gave them 30 days to make the uniforms, the boys pants and jackets are handmade/made to order, the dress shirts are not though). : ) It arrived and there was nothing wrong with the uniforms sizing at all. It was perfect! So, Branden's high school uniform had been hanging in his bedroom closet since March 25th. : ) 

Everything for his outside uniform is from the Italian brand United Colors of Benetton. His dress (winter) dress shirts are Benetton. His summer shirts are Benetton. His slacks are Benetton. His jacket is Benetton. His sweater is also Benetton.  His gym uniform is FILA. And they stitched Bran's last name on it very fancy like. Very shiny fancy stitching on his gym shorts, gym pants. His gym shirt has the schools name on it and it's really big cool wording and all in English. Plus he also has a sweatshirt too all in English with his name on it. And it looks really cool. Even his school bag is Benetton. He has superly nice uniforms at this school. Noboru told me today...he has never been a fan of Japanese high school boys uniforms in Japan, because he used to wear one too his first year of high school before he moved to the US. But he said...Bran's uniform is *very* cool. And he's right. It's truly so cool. I wish I could show you guys. But...I really want to keep... which school Bran is attending private. So, that's why I'm not sharing pics of his uniform. I'm sorry. : )

Thank gawd, we can just buy normal socks. LOL. The note said, black socks needed. However in JHS, the note was extremely specific about required height of said socks. However at high school the note doesn't mention sock height at all. Hmm. 

Told ya. 3 pair of shoes. The Asics are Bran's gym shoes. The box that says...school shoes are his ballet shoes/inside shoes (they look just like elementary or yochien inside shoes, LOL.) Except they are colored by grade. And the orange box are a black pair of loafers. Nope..you can not just go and buy a cheap pair of loafers at ABC Mart for 3000 yen/US$30 bucks. You have to buy the pair that the school allows....they're black loafers that cost 12,000 yen. They are indeed pricey, however they are...extremely good quality and also made in Japan. @_@ So yep...3 pair of shoes. 

I took a ton of pictures during the entrance ceremony. I took pics of Bran near the entrance ceremony sign. Bran in his uniform. Bran and many of his classmates as they were walking into the gym. I'm glad I took so many. This is the only pic, I can share. I am really sorry about this you guys. But anyways...what I can share with you is a few stories. : ) The gymnasium was split into regular kids (the genius course is lumped with them) and the English course kids. So it is split into 2. So us English parents sat in our thin row for English parents. And the regular class kids parents sat in sections different than ours. 180 regular kids total. And 38 English kids (Bran is one of them) Oh and Noboru corrected me...he told me there is less than 10 boys total in the entire school that includes ALL grades. And for this year there are 3 English boys and 1 genius boy. So anyways...you know how in Japan entrance ceremonies are longer than life? They're so super long? Well this school had the fastest entrance ceremony, I have ever experienced. More like an American ceremony, since it is a unique school. #1 it was raining outside last Friday April 7th and all the other grade kids all held umbrellas...made a sorta makeshift umbrella roof for the new students to walk under as they entered the gym, we all saw this from our seats. I thought that was adorable. And so we were sitting in our seats. And Noboru is reading all the list of names of the kids. I'm meanwhile staring at the American flag and flowers at the front of all of us. They played happy music. And the kids came in. The teachers walked in with their class. Even in the regular kids course they have a western teacher who is fluent in Japanese but they have a western teacher as their main teacher. So this school is so incredible. So modern, this school rocks. And then in comes the last bunch of kids, the English kids. And everyone is clapping as the kids enter. And again...boys are so rare. And I spot Bran right away. And I clicked and clicked and took so many pics. Thank goodness my camera is silent. And they all sat in their seats. There was *very* little super long speeches like I was used to. The principal got up and said...as soon as I do roll call. You officially go here. So he took roll call for the 180 kids first. Oh and fwiw so many foreigners in the regular courses too. Which is so exciting and wonderful, growing up in America I loved that our country has so many different races and cultures and religions to respect. Oh some of the names listed during the ceremony. There was about 2 Lisa's. About 3 Alyssa's/Arissa's. There was 1 Angie. 1 Megan ( and yes a legit Megan not Megumi or anything else... her name is truly...Megan)...Plus 1 Branden awww. : ) There was also 2 girls of middle eastern decent. One wearing something covering her hair. She was simply gorgeous by the way, light brown hair, a dimple and had the warmest smile as she walked into the gym. And the other had her hair showing and she's tall and gorgeous. The one covering her hair... the super beautiful one, told Branden "hi" in English (he told me later) And Branden said he told her "hi" too. These 2 gals are in the regular course. But this school is super cool. People from all over the world. Plus returnees. 100% foreigners are going here too. And the coolest thing about the English course was....I was sitting in my seat and the couple behind us...were speaking a mile a minute...in Chinese! I loved that! Because....at this school. You can just be YOU. And be loved. Be accepted. This school is amaze-balls! Love love love this school. The entrance ceremony lasted about 30 minutes. There was a meeting afterwards. And then us English parents went upstairs again. But the entrance ceremony was the best most perfect length ever!!!

The English kids have their own wing/part/area of the school... that they stay in and the other regular kids are in the other part of the school. And this is on the handbook for English kids. See what it says for rule A. The English kids must use which language to speak with their friends with? To communicate with? As you walk down the halls, which language should you speak? English! The English course kids, have to take 3 English classes each day (writing, vocabulary and something else). They also have a Gtec or something English test to take in June. They are also expected to take the Eiken in July (what will Bran do, I don't know maybe start from scratch then?). They are also expected to take the TOEIC. They have English camp this summer. They have a California trip next year, where they are going to stay in a home-stay program (with Americans). Plus the English kids are going to Tokyo Disney this coming month too. And they better not be caught speaking Japanese at Disney either, hahaha. But they need to be speaking English. LOL. Which is no trouble for Branden at all. But fear not...these are kids who truly love English. Which is why they chose this school to begin with. So Bran is basically in school all day long with like minded people.

Also the kid formerly know as S O boy...he will now be referred to as J (his first name starts with a J). And the 3rd boy in the English course...his name starts with an S, so he will now be S. The 3 English boys are B (for Bran) J  and S. J came to me after entrance ceremony and greeted me. And...well...I'm a push-over. I was like...awww what an adorably polite boy. Plus Bran and him are like besties. So....his name starts with a J, so he's J now.  Oh and I also saw his mom and I like her!!! We didn't get a chance to speak. But I can definitely tell she wanted to talk to me. And I wanted to too. But...we will be seeing each other at undokai in May. We hear this school has the funnest sports day. And apparently the parents sit by class/course. So us English parents will get to know each other more that day too. I'm hoping J's mom attends. : )

Going to Branden's high school orientation...

I have been very vocal on my blog and informative about our JHS in Japan experience. And I have received 2 emails from foreign mom's over spring break because their kids will be starting JHS in Japan tomorrow. And they had a couple questions. And good thing they did have my email address beforehand. But I do like to help out, if I can. And while I did answer their questions. I will be writing a few posts regarding my thoughts regarding JHS in Japan... as an American mom who has experienced the entire JHS experience from start to finish...meaning all the way through having a child graduate from a Japanese JHS. So having gone through it and having experienced it first hand. I will be posting quite a few posts about that topic soon. However.... just like I shared our yochien experiences. Elementary school experiences and JHS experiences. I will now begin to write about our journey into high school in Japan too. So that will be the focus of today's post. Again and although it should not need to be said...again these are *our* family's experiences. you may have different feelings and experiences then we do and if you do fantastic and wonderful. However as this is *my* blog....these are our experiences. So please respect that too.

March 18th was Branden's high school orientation. Branden's high school is broken up in 3 sections. There is general studies. These are just "regular kids" in the regular courses. Then there is a course for the super smart and we nicknamed their course "the genius course." So only the smartest of the smart can enter the genius course. And then we have the English course. And only kids with the highest level of English will be allowed or admitted into this particular school's English course. For the English course... there is no ALT (assisted language teacher) The white teachers here are not assisted by a Japanese translator helper teacher. The white teachers are their main teachers. Even their gym teacher is white. So the English course kids, are in their own part of the school in an English bubble. The genius kids are off doing genius-y things in their part of the school. And then there are just the regular kids and they're around their part/wing of the school.

There are no boys....zero boys allowed in the regular course. The only boys that are allowed in this school. Are boys that meet the requirements for the English course or the genius course. We liked this fact... very much. Because if general or regular boys were allowed here...then there would probably be a billion boys attending this school. This school only allows genius boys in here or English speaking boys in here. So...in a nutshell. They only want *good* boys here. No Shady Mc Shady boys are allowed here. For the freshman 2017. Branden's year. There is only 1 genius boy entering this school this year. And there is only 3 English course boys entering the school this year. Branden being 1 of the 3. So, in a nutshell. The entire school all 3 grades only has about maybe 15-20 boys total. In the entire school. And they're all either very studious (the genius course kids). Or very English-y. So no riff raff boys. No bully boys. It's also an *extremely* expensive school. Branden's first year of high school will cost Noboru US $15,000 the first year. About $8-10 thousand the second year and a little less the final year.  High schools here start from the 10th grade and go all the way up to the 12 grade. So...the sheer cost of this school also means. Only upper middle class kids/wealthy-ish kids will be attending this school obviously. So no riff raff here at all. And probably just 15 boys total for the entire school which is nice. It's basically...what we in America would call a prep school. It's extremely fancy shmancy. In Japan there are public high schools, I have mentioned this before and they are rated and ranked by smartest all the way to the dumbest (eek sorry) it's all available online. There is an actual website that shows the worst high school in Chiba prefecture... all the way up to the best public high school in Chiba prefecture. And then there is also private high schools. Private high schools can range from cheap in price private high schools. All the way to the very *very* expensive and fancy private high schools. It just depends on what you are looking for. Branden will be going to college in America. So for us...we wanted the absolute best English program there is. So that's why we picked the school we picked. We also liked the fact that there are so few boys. That means we won't have to worry about possible bullying. Not that we worry too much anyways...because #1 Branden is nice and gets along with everyone.. but also because Branden is huge! So bullying has just never been a problem for us. So yep...only 4 boys entering our high school this year and only 3 will be English boys. LOL. So back to the orientation. March 18th.

The note said...only bring 1 parent. However...we came all 4 of us. And I wasn't worried But Noboru who always obeys the rules. Was nervous about it. However...honestly? About half the kids brought both parents and there were many younger siblings there too. As in extremely loud 2nd or 3rd graders running all over the place, type kids. @_@ lol. Noah is quiet and well behaved, so he just quietly sat. Good boy that he is. : ) #1 go early. I am always early. Noboru is always 5 minutes late or right on time. This drives me absolutely bananas. Started at 9. We walked into the gym at 8:20am and Noboru was like...omg we're so early...we look like freaks. And ummm there were about a good 10 people/families in front of us. And I turned around and whispered..."hmm seems we're right on time"...the guy opened the doors immediately. And I had the entire family bring inside shoes or slippers. Branden wore his JHS inside shoes so did the rest of the new kids. And Noah brought his from shogakko. And I brought my slippers. We went to the wall/board of names and it told us which table to go to. He went to the far right table and gave his student number. And they obviously made a stamp in his name already because his pamphlet had his name on it. And the lady showed us to seat #1. The parent must sit on a specific side of the child in the gym.

Oh....the paper we got in the mail... also said. Make sure your child knows his own size of shoes and his own size of gym uniform. @_@ This was a little scary for me...because I *always* take my kids to buy their uniforms.... always have always will. I even went with Branden to buy his high school uniform at the department store. So...the note saying make sure your child knows his own sizes. Made me wonder...will us parents not be allowed to decide? I mean...it's not that I am overly pampering at all. Don't get it twisted. It's just....do you have any freaking idea how damn expensive uniforms in Japan are??? Hello??? And add the fact that this high school is...fancy Italian designer *everything* not brand X. So it's even quadruple more expensive. So...umm. #worries. #momisgonnahaveaheartattack, #letmomspickthesizes, #weknowbest. So we waited until everyone sat down. Noboru whispered to me...and btw he is the loudest whisperer on the planet. So he loud whispered...THIS IS THE ENGLISH SECTION!!! @_@ Bless his heart.

The guy, head teacher? I don't know anyone here at this new school yet. Goes up and talks for a bit. About 20 minutes. And then he says...the JHS kids will leave now and go and pick out their own shoes and gym uniforms. I had meanwhile been regular whispering the 30 or so minutes before it all began when we had to wait..."Branden remember...whatever you do don't pick shoes freakishly too big...but also don't pick too small either...you don't want deformed toes." @_@ Yes I said that, lol. I then added..."now you know you're about a 28cm but...some shoes run small and some can run big. So start at a 28cm as your starting point and then go from there." I then said..."don't pick a too small gym uniform either. I'd like you to wear it a full 12 months. If you get it just fit...it won't last the summer." He's all..."okay mom. I know. Don't worry. Okay okay." : ) Yes...ya'll know I am a worry wart. Nothing new here. : ) I literally also thought...should I go with him, even though parents aren't allowed.. to try on his outfit? Then I said...hell to the no! We would be famous and I mean in a bad way. Nope, no way. I will *not* do that to my son. So...I let my son go off and buy 3 pairs of extremely insanely expensive shoes without me. For a person who wants to handle everything herself, this drove me bonkers. And 1 gym uniform. @_@ And 1 school bag. And yes...in Japan...in yochien my kids had 2 pair of shoes. 1 for outside for their private yochien and 1 for inside. But...I have *never* seen a school in my entire life...need 3 pair of shoes!!! OMG. Super fancy shoes. So the JHS kids...or I guess future new 10th graders...future high shcoolers were gone for about a solid hour. And we meanwhile...went page by page...about the rules...and dos and don't. It was so boring. And because I was sitting in the first row...I had to look wide awake and flip pages and the whole shebang. Then the kids came back. I was so happy to see Branden. You would have thought he was gone for years. He gave me his order form. Which I read immediately. I asked him...did you pick the right shoes? Did you pick the right gym shirt? How was the sizing? He said...since there was just 4 of us boys. We all went to a classroom to try on our boy stuff. And the girls...there's so many girls they took the longest in a different part of the school. He also said...1 of the boys picked a gym uniform in size small. And the other 2 picked gym uniforms in size medium. Branden picked his gym stuff in size LL (fwiw that's just an American sized large, but a Japanese sized extra large, but the size is the same, Japanese sizes run small). And no... he's most certainly NOT fat...but he's no toothpick like Noah is. Bran was chubby as a 5th grader in elementary school... but that's because he was ready for height. He also said...the boys all picked shoes in 24 and 25cm. And Branden asked for a 28cm shoe...and they had none...so the 2 teachers had to run to the storage room to find a 28cm. @_@ umm apparently no boy... in this school has big feet or what? They did find a pair and so with the trial shoe...he found his sizes and then ordered what he had to order. He said...my shoes took the longest...all the boys had to wait. And...the Japanese teacher helping Branden is of course... way tinier and shorter than Branden. Hmm, in fact Branden is also taller then 2 of the English teachers too... but there is 1 extremely tall English teacher and that's the super nice head teacher and he's about 6 foot 5. So anyways about shoes and stuff...poor Branden....but...he did find his right stuff and it has all been ordered. Also...in JHS...we could use any bag we wanted. But at this high school. all bags must be bought at the school and they must all be the same. Same for the gym shoes...inside shoes and outside school shoes. @_@ Everything must be the same. @_@

So the kids were now back inside the gym. And we again listened to the endless speeches. This was about an hour and a half by the way. And then...the guy said...all English students and English parents please get up and go upstairs...there is a special meeting for you parents and a special meeting for you English kids. All the other kids and parents stared at us all... super hard. It's a little nerve racking when you see about 200 faces all staring. You just smile and push forward. So we went upstairs. And the English kids went into their English classroom with their American and Canadian teachers. And we English parents went into a separate room. They forced all us parents to buy our kids a lap top computer. There were order forms on each table. Noboru was annoyed and loud whispering. Its' practically normal speaking which is why I am using all caps. So he loud whispers. "THIS IS CRAP...WE ARE FORCED TO BUY THE MODEL THEY WANT? WHY CAN'T I BUY ONE ONLINE THAT'S NEWER AND BETTER AND FOR A BETTER PRICE?" People are turning around. Wondering who is speaking. I'm just beet red. Hahaha. Did I agree with Noboru? Yes. But did he have to loud whisper it inside the classroom? I mean hello...these parents obviously freaking love and respect English otherwise they would *not* be sending their kids to this absurdly expensive fancy English program in the first place. And ummm more than likely most people in this class understand exactly what we are saying. @_@ So there! I said not one word. Except for a soft..."well, if they say the kids need one...we wouldn't want Branden to be the 1 lone kid without one, would we?"...my sentence was so quiet that Noah didn't even hear the whole sentence. Then Noboru loud whispers again...YES I KNOW AND I WILL BUY IT... BUT THEY"RE SCAMMING US ALL...I JUST WANT THEM TO KNOW. I softly say...Honey I now think everyone knows how you feel now. Let's just talk about it in the car. : ) I mean der...do you want to give the folks in your kids future class...this first impression? I mean...omg. : )

By the way...if it wasn't obvious...the most expensive course for this school, is the English course. No other course...not even the genius course gets a lap top.

So...we now leave the parent room... where we were all just forced to order the lap top. And I am meanwhile people watching. Parent watching. Looking around the classroom. Oh and also...1 other father was having a fit about the lap top too. And lucky for us we were sitting at the back of the classroom. My observations. These parents look super uber fancy. And while we do have a fantastic income and all. I am really not fancy shamancy at all. I mean like *at all* EXAMPLE... If there is 1 girl who likes to show off...look how expensive my coat is or look how expensive my bag is. I'm the total opposite. I like to show off how *cheap* or how *discounted* I got my plaid bag for (30% off btw, haha). Or what a good sale I got. I'm also obsessed with Target. I now live in very rural Japan. Where I  legit... pass cows daily. I see clumps of dirt on the street because of the farmer trucks driving down the regular roads. Meanwhile at this high school...everyone has designer bags. One lady is legit wearing a fur coat I catch this as she's ordering her child's lap top. Everyone has this air of snooty-ness. Hmm. I hope I change my opinion. But that's my opinion as of March 18th. @_@  Oh...what was I wearing? I wore really cute jean gauchos, like super wide leg capris...and black tights under my jean gauchos. A super tight fitting ballet neck top and a black cardigan and a Burberry scarf. However I have had said scarf for a billion years. I was wearing a ballet pair of inside slippers. I'm wearing minimal makeup. My eyebrows were on fleek though. And a MLBB lipstick.

When we exited the parent room. We were to stand there and wait for our kids. To my utter complete shock and surprise. Here comes Branden and a new friend. A boy from the English course. The shocking thing for me was....I see 2 boys walking and talking in English with one another. At the same fast speeds, I speak to my kids and they speak back to me. They are both speaking to each other. As fast as you'd see 2 native English speakers speaking to one another. And then Branden walks to me and turns to his new friends and says..."catch you later"....and the boy says..."alrighty see you" I am now waiting for Rod Serling from the Twilight Zone to enter. Because I know...I must have just entered the Twilight Zone.

I'm still picking my jaw up off the floor. And we are walking down the stairs. To leave the building.

So when we were buying the lap tops. Which the kids will get on the first day. The kids were seeing each other for the very first time. Also...omg I forgot this too. One of Branden's yochien classmates will also go to this English course. And her older sister is currently in the English course but is 1 grade older then B and the girl from his yochien. Branden does Line her sometimes...because there is a special LINE group for kids from Branden's yochien year. And then Bran is in a LINE for his JHS too. So he does know 1 person. And she is luckily a girl since this school has tons of girls, it will be nice to know at least 1 girl.

Since March 18th, when the English kids were in the class together. They all made a freshman English course LINE group already.

Also apparently there is a LINE group just for the boys all high school wide, which is just for genius boys or English boys. All 12 or so of them. And because Branden is friends with his former yochien classmate. Her older sister knows some other boys And so they Lined their Line codes and invited Branden into the boys only Line group too. Thank goodness she has an older sister. They live in the small city nearest our town. So Bran is in the English high school Line group and is also in the boys only high school Line group too. It's greatly matters who you know. Who is connected to who. Word of mouth. Again...all this stuff is happening because the kids now days network for themselves.

Anyways....Today, Noah started his first day as a 6th grader. It was just a half day today. Tomorrow Noah has a full day. And Noah's new teacher this year is the same exact man teacher... he has had for the last 2 years. So Noah will have had this teacher for 3 years straight. LOL.

Branden does not start school until next week. But tomorrow we have Branden's entrance ceremony into high school. So I'll be wearing a ceremony outfit tomorrow. I hate having to dress up, but I will. Noboru will be in his entrance outfit too. Because Noah will be at school tomorrow. We will have to take the highway there and back. To make sure we make it back to our tiny town by the time Noah gets out at 2:50pm tomorrow. We will be going out for a celebration dinner tomorrow night to celebrate Bran officially entering high school.  You know...I have said it a billion times. Japanese JHS sucks!!! There's no way to pretty that fact up. It's true. It's study study. They try their best to turn you into a borg! A mindless robot. But the silver lining is high school in Japan!!! High school in Japan is going to rock so much!!!

Branden spent 9 years from 1st grade through middle school. Where kids thought speaking English was not interesting. English? So what!!! Who cares. Not important. I always told him. I know how important English is!!! Everyone world wide *knows* how important English is. Your classmates might not care about English, in a rural farming town of 5000 residents. But believe me...you will thank me in the end!!! And now he's in a high school....where speaking English is....encouraged. Speaking English is seen as beautiful. Speaking English is a wonderful thing. Speaking English is a plus *not* a minus. Speaking English is an advantage never a disadvantage. He is now in an environment where people say...sugoi. Meaning...wow wonderful. You speak English. And my kid can finally flourish. And grow and just bloom. Branden is blooming and he's shining. And IF you have a hafu in Japan who grew up going to regular schools and your kid also is a native English speaker... then you will understand what a beautiful thing to go to a school where they celebrate speaking English. Because believe me. Speaking English has never been a disadvantage (us parents knew this all along). It has always been his strength and his advantage. So...yes. Just get through JHS in Japan. The best you can. High school will be better, I promise. If we are still living in Japan, when Noah is high school aged, Noah will attend this high school too.

As we were waiting for Noboru to come out of the restroom at the high school and after the boy and his dad greeted us and left. Branden's future classmates....were passing us and 1 girl in particular she and her mom...the lady in the fur coat...anyway her daughter pointed and said in Japanese to her mom..."look that's the cool boy, who speaks English (she meant Bran) and look at his foreign mom (me) and his little brother, aren't they so cool?" And fur coat mom said genuinely..."wow they are very cool" ....Seriously ya'll? Coming from rural Japan. Where I wear an apron sometimes when I pick up Noah from school. Because most mom's do too. And we're not about putting on airs in the countryside. It's not uncommon to see 5 or 6 little white K farmer trucks pick up grandkids or kids. For folks to come pick up their kids wearing muddy rain boots to pick up their kids (protection from wet rice fields and snakes too.)  I was actually thinking...do they seriously think we're cool? Us? Like seriously, us? My kids don't even think I'm cool! Ha! : )  So anyways...that's it for now regarding high school orientation. Tomorrow is the entrance ceremony. I'm not nervous or scared at all. I'm just happy for my son. Excited for the years of fun he will be having. High school is going to be a blast for him. So, I am just so happy for Branden. Sorry if this post is a mile long. Sorry if my picture I drew sucked, again I'm not a professional artist or anything. anyway...that's enough for now. : )

Day trip fun during our spring break! Family fun at Katsuura...

Sunday, April 2nd our family had went to Katsuura. It's about a 2 and a half hour drive from our home. So it's definitely a full day trip, considering the round trip drive back and forth is about 5 full hours round trip. But, it's a gorgeous little beach city. With lots and lots of surfers. Lots of surf shops. It's fun to looks around there. Everyone there is really REALLY cool.  The whole vibe over there is really fun. Our family has been there 3 times in the past 10 months. This time we stopped at a popular Italian restaurant that we considered going to last September. But we tried it this time. And lol, what is that paper on our table that says March 26th. LOL. It was April 2nd. Anyways the restaurant was pretty busy. But our wait was only about 5 minutes. They had a bunch of different flavored oils... for topping your pizza or pasta with... 

Both Branden and Noah ordered the same type of pasta dish. And I ordered a personal sized pizza.

The pizza was amazing. 

We all ordered Cokes and they each came with a slice of lemon and the ice, the man had hand chipped away at it, with an ice pick. So it was really high quality. And the blue bottle back in this pic was water for our table. We enjoyed a relaxing drive there. A couple hours sight seeing and taking many pictures. And then right before we left Katsuura we had a nice lunch. And we started the long drive home. It was an amazing day.

About 45 minutes into our drive back. We stopped along the way at a Besia Supermarket to get a drink each... for the car ride home. I picked a Jasmine tea. And the kids and Noboru each picked a Calpis water!!! Has anyone seen these out yet? I have not tried one... but the kids and Noboru *loved* these and asked me to buy them for them again... when I see them! So...Japan is so big into flavored water now days. And it's very cool to have spotted a Calpis water. So, if you're in Japan and you like Calpis. Be on the look out for this little gem! : ) 

Progress and update so far on my, "getting fit for 2017"...

As you all know, we spend a great deal of our summer at the wave pools and at the beach. Our entire family loves the water and so that's where we spend a lot of our free time. And although I have and use my treadmill weekly, year round. I really step it up in Spring because I need to have my body flat... fit and fabulous for summer. Usually...every spring I will quietly work harder for my summer body. But this year...I figured...why not document it and sort of invite you all along with me. The good, the bad and the ugly. : ) You know what I mean. Is it all... as easy as pie? Absolutely not! Is it all rainbows and sunshine? No it is most definitely not that either. It's tough. Some days it's painless and it's no big deal. And some days it's tough. So...operation get fit...#2. Right here. I started this... the day after Bran graduated JHS, he graduated March 9th. So I kicked this into gear March 10th. This coming weekend will officially be my 1 month anniversary since I started this. Although I do treadmill at home 4 times a week. And I'm pretty strict with myself on that. I have also been walking outside. And riding my bike too. Some days I go alone and someday I go with 1 of the boys or both. Depending on who is available. But...they both love the quality walk time because it gives us a chance to talk while we walk. And spend time together. These are also the tennis courts where Noah has been playing tennis a lot. And fwiw...Noah is actually a *really* good tennis player. I think it's because the tennis courts are in our housing community and they're readily available. 

This day, I walked around my housing community twice. I wanted to do 2 laps. Most of the time I will do 2 laps. 

Also, I found another sneaky way... to add more exercise for myself. I usually drive to the store. Because it's more convenient. It's easier to throw a ton of heavy 2 liter bottles of drinks home in the car... versus lugging it on a bike, that just makes sense to me. So...thank gawd... that I do have a car and I have a drivers license as my main way of transportation. However...I have decided that once a week, I will go to my local 1 and only store in town and do the shopping by bike. That way....I get extra added exercise in and I also scratch off the shopping. I still will hit the store... the day after to carry heavy stuff. But yeah...going once a week by bicycle has been an amazing way... to add in some extra exercise for myself. This day...Bran and I rode together. The bike closest my camera is Bran's bike and the red bike is mine. Both our bikes look brand new and that's just because they stay in the shed and have never rusted or been rained on or anything. And as soon as Noah went on Spring break we have been taking Noah with us too on our once a week bike rides to the local store too. Noah *loves* going with me and his brother. So he looks forward to our bike rides. We have gone 3 times so far. This is one side of the grocery store. And guess what's right in front of our one and only grocery store? A rice farming machine show room. LOL!!! Life in rural Japan for sure!

This was taken the first time we took Noah with us. And what's on this other side of our 1 and only grocery store in town? It's a rice field of course! Hahaha. You see concrete where my bike is with jasmine tea and whatnot in my bike basket, which that is the store on one side and then you see rice fields like literally direct smack dab right next to our one and only grocery store in town. Ahhh rural Japan, I love you so much! : ) So anyways...all the exercise...the treadmilling, the actual outside walking...the bike riding. I am feeling that my legs are tightening up. Feeling firmer. So...I'm getting there. Now to the food....

My dinner pic from 1 night. This is not a regular dinner plate size... this is actually a salad small plate size. This is 6 karaage. steamed broccoli and 50 grams of rice. The biggest part of my dinner was steamed veggies. The second biggest part of my meal was protein in the form of skinless chicken breast. Granted it was rolled in flour and fried. But...it's life and you can't just stay away from absolutely everything. It would be a miserable existence that way. However...all winter long I would have 10 karaage. And fwiw...my husband and Bran always have about 17 karaage each. And Noah has 12 karaage. So, I still never felt my 10 karaage was extreme-o or excessive or anything. However...I have cut my karaage down to 6 now. And my rice to 50 grams. I know carbs are the devil basically. And while I can stay away from rice no problem. Because I wasn't really raised with rice as a staple. I still miss bread, pasta and potatoes horribly!!! Like legit...one night I actually dreamed... that I was eating Costco dinner rolls. I woke up the next day...I knew I had like 3 ziplocs full of them in my freezer, but I resisted and ate none. But I mean...lol...to dream of bread? @_@ That's nuts. But it's also honest. So...no the less rice... doesn't bother me at all. But the less bread pasta and potatoes is still hard. But again...in moderation. I will let myself have carbs once a day. But it's best if I have none. 

This was my dinner last night. I made a gorgeous chicken veggie stir fry with curry powder. This is so good! The kids and husband had theirs with sides of white rice of course. And if it was me...in winter...I would have joined them with that side of white rice. However...I had an english muffin for breakfast yesterday (carbs) so I didn't allow myself to have any rice with supper last night and you know what...I didn't miss it at all. I enjoyed the veggies, the chicken...I enjoyed the flavor of this dish a whole lot. And I had a glass of jasmine tea (no sugar) on the side. And that was it. My lunch yesterday is pictured down below...

I had a bowl of corn. So yesterday for me, I had 1 Blendy 60 calories, and 1 english muffin for breakfast (I ran out of my yogurts, which I did repurchase this morning by bike ride) and for lunch I had corn... and for dinner I had a stir fry veggie and chicken thing. So...yes I am watching what I eat a lot. I am exercising.

It's now been almost 1 month going low carb. Do I honestly see a difference in my body...by cutting down so much on rice potatoes, pasta and bread? Honestly the difference I see in my body is huge. Branden told me the other day..."mom your stomach is *so* flat" I do admit, I also notice a flatter stomach, granted not that I was bad before....but just winter made me out of shape...also... my husband asked me last night, will you be wearing a bikini this summer and he was being completely serious. I notice...a body change...just with the cutting down greatly on carbs. I'm not starving myself. I'm eating lots of fresh or frozen veggies. I'm eating lean meats like chicken breast. I'm eating bananas. Celery with peanut butter. Yogurts. No sodas. Unless we go to a restaurant. But do I see a difference going low carb. Yes...biggest difference ever. And it's only been about a month. My waist is smaller, my stomach is flatter. And with walking and riding my bike, my legs are getting firmer.

But again...I'm not torturing myself. Like tonight...I'm going to make chicken parmesan on top of pasta. And we'll have garlic bread too. Granted my chicken size can stay the same, because it's protein... but my pasta I will be measuring the size of mine. And instead of 2 garlic breads, I'll have just 1. So anyway...that's the update on that...: ) You know how much I love pasta, bread and potatoes...so you have to know how hard I'm trying. How tough it is still for me. But...I'm doing it. And this summer when I'm at the pool...I will be strutting my stuff. : ) And yeah...knowing the hard work I put into it. I will *deserve* to strut my stuff a little bit.: )