Super Bowl 45, The Green Bay Packers vs. The Pittsburgh Steelers! Noah's Omise Gokko (play/pretend shopping) at the yochien.

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you'll know we watch the Superbowl every year here live, thanks to satellite. And I usually blog something about it. Just a little snippet. Anyway Sunday for those of you in America but for us back on Monday morning for us in Japan. After both Branden and Noah got sent to school, we enjoyed the game. Though we watched all the pre game stuff all that morning as well. While getting the kids off to school.

Since my favorite football team the Denver Broncos weren't playing. I was rooting for the Green Bay Packers. Because I like their team and come on! What is not to love about those cheese hats the fans wear, they're cool! ; )

Lots of jumping for joy and cheers from our house Monday morning. It was a great game. : )

Also this week, Noah's yochien had their pretend shopping day at the school. These were the Wii's for sale. ; ) Cardboard box ones. All the kids make all the stuff they sell. So very creative of the kids and the teachers. I also liked how much attention to detail they paid. They had black and white Wii's. They also had the wrist bands too. And the buttons were spot on. Good job to all the kids! ; )

Tables and tables of different things for sale. And to buy these? No money needed, they used pretend/fake money too. : )

Burger combos.

Baby tomatoes and grapes in 2 different colors. : )

Churros. These are definitely modern kids. Churro loving kids! ; ) Curry in the background.

Pretend yochien bags. They also had wallets and other types of bags on the other side. : )

Hot dogs. Very useful those toilet paper cardboard rolls are, right? ; )

A ramen and gyoza set. They even colored a nice skillet fried look to the front of the gyoza! ; )

Hi Noah! I also took some good pics of him and his best friend H. Of them goofing around and doing silly poses and stuff. : )

The observation of the shopping day was very short. You could go between 8:30am and 9:10am. We stayed until about 9am and then kissed Noah good-bye. Noboru wanted to go and eat breakfast somewhere. Suggested Coco's and I love Coco's but with it being a buffet. Not sure if I would be able to have self control with all those bakery items. So, had to protect the whole "getting fit" thing and suggest Jonathon's. But Noboru said nah. So, we went to Denny's. I really prefer American Denny's. But, figured why not...go with the flow...so let's go. I had a veggie and hard boiled egg sandwich. It had ketchup on it. Which I would have never thought to use, but it actually wasn't so bad. : ) A little salad and some yogurt. It was a breakfast set/combo.

After Denny's we went to the shoe store. Noboru wanted to get some sneakers for himself. He found these navy ones with the orange swoosh. ; ) He's wearing them today, he says he wants to break them in before the trip to California.

It being a half day yesterday (Wednesday). We went and swung and picked up Noah afterwards. These are the things Noah bought.

See the custard/pudding cup engine? LOL.

Not sure if this is smoke or fire coming out the tail end since the color is red and orange. Ha ha ha. : ) Hope it's not fire. Otherwise we'll have an emergency landing on our hands.

A burger combo.

A Wii. Noah has been playing with this upstairs since yesterday. I was peeking in on him and watching him pretend play... the games were quite funny. ; ) He's quite a character. ; )

Do you know what this is? I'll give you a hint. If your hair is wet and after you towel dry.... you use a......... ; )

A blow dryer. Noah, said mommy I bought this one for you. I thanked him. : )

The wallet that contained all Noah's pretend money. ; )

This is how I have been tracking my workouts. This is the cardio side. All the treadmill I've done that particular week. 195 minutes of cardio that week. And it says for my height and current weight, to lose anything I need to burn 730 calories a week which isn't so bad. And that week I took this pic, I burned 830 or so. Not to mention I also have another page that tracks all the Wii workouts and Jillian Michael's dvd's I have been doing. So, it gives you a tiny peek and idea. I am indeed working out the amount I should be doing. So, I am indeed right on track. And if you check the time spent. I am busy. So, often if you look it says...10 minutes treadmill here. Or 15 minutes treadmill there. I might once in a while do 40 minutes, but often I don't have time for that long. So, every bit does indeed count. And by gosh it is working. My dvd's time fitness minutes is also quite high each week. So....that's probably why I have been a little bit quiet lately. I am just really into working out. Spending any free time I have on Sparks. A bit boring to read I know...but.... It is fun. And something I plan to stick with for sures.

I made sweet and sour chicken recently.

And I did not make these brownies. Branden did. He has taken an interest in cooking lately. And I recall I was about at the same age when I started wanting to cook things in the kitchen when I was his age too. He can make his own over easy eggs, omelet, toast. ; ) But last weekend he said as he saw the boxes of brownie mix in the food pantry. Can I make these. I said do you want me to make them for you guys? He said, no, I'd like to try. Okay I said. I preheated the oven for him. And I sat in the kitchen keeping Branden company and keeping a watchful eye. He read the directions in the back himself. And cracked the eggs... measured the water and oil. And got the Crisco vegetable shortening out and greased the pan even. He even chopped the nuts. I was standing so close when he chopped those nuts, but he did wonderfully. I called Noboru at work that day and said Branden made them, and if he could really talk positively about them. He said for sure. And when he came home. He already knew because of my call. But he said..omg! These are the most delicious brownies I've ever eaten. what did you do differently? Branden's was smiling so much his dimple actually really sucked in. ; ) Branden said...I made them. He was so proud all night. And Noah really laid heavy on the compliments too. "Branden thank you for making such delicious brownies!" So, now he's caught the cooking bug right now. : )

Tidbits. Today (Thursday) is the last day of school for the boys. It's a 3 day weekend here in Japan. Tomorrow Friday the boys are off school. Noboru doesn't work. So, he and the boys will do something fun together (maybe even just play Wii at home but they'll have their guy time though). Meanwhile I have a hair appointment tomorrow at 10am. I haven't been to the hair salon since October. Right before Noah's undokai/sports day. ; ) Anyway I am going to try and go to the salon more often this year. Every 4 month's is my goal. So, it's definitely time. My hair is...hold on let me see how long it is right now. Let me pull my pony tail out real quick. My hair is about 10 CM below my shoulders and will probably be longer after they straighten it tomorrow. And the roots are wavy-ish. So it's time for a hair straightening. I got choppy layers last time and flippy ends. But not going to happen tomorrow. I'm letting it grow out and have face framing layers for right now. And I am getting that thermal hair straightening thing that takes like 4 hours at the salon and they use flat irons twice during the process. But it comes out stick straight afterwards. So, I imagine my entire day will be spent at the salon tomorrow. : ( I plan to take a good book, some magazines and a bottle of water with me. Though they always give me coffee and stuff and a massage during my hair straightening. The bright side is, it'll be so easy to take care of afterwards.
These dvd's came this morning. Eat Pray Love, with Julia Roberts, this movie looks so good to me. And the other is Knight and Day. Remember that time I was supposed to go to the movies with my friends and forgot? : ( Yeouch even now I wince saying/typing that.: ( I guess I just still feel badly about it. Anyway, we were to see Knight and Day. I have yet to see it. So, we'll probably see it tonight since today is the last day of school and nobody has school or work tomorrow. Stay safe and warm everyone. : )

A new swim level for Noah. Dental check up for both the boys. And Setsubun!!!

What's up. Well, Noah passed another level in swimming. Way to go sweetheart. : ) That was on January 28th. And then the following day on a Saturday the boys had their dental check up.

Branden and Noah get their teeth checked and cleaned every 6 months (so twice each year). And the dentist gave them an appointment for Janauary 17th originally but that date didn't really work for us at all, so we switched it to January 29th. So, on Saturday, both Branden and Noah had an afternoon appointment for a thorough teeth cleaning, fluoride treatment, they got to watch a movie while they got it done. And then got an examination by the dentist. No cavities for either kid. Sorry about the scary teeth on the wall pic, I usually take a pic of the office waiting room. But it was so full with parents and kids. There was no place to take a pic without anyone realizing I was actually taking a pic except shooting it at all wall real quick and quickly putting my camera back into my bag. ; )

After their dental appointment we went to our favorite Chinese restaurant. They make some delicious fried rice. The chicken is so good. All white meat chicken and so flavorful. Delicious gyoza too. We all enjoyed, the kids also had egg drop soup and we went home afterwards.

But along the way Noboru wanted to eat taiyaki with custard inside. So we stopped off at Narita-san because we knew they'd have someone selling taiyaki there and sure enough they did. : )

All the shops along the roadside.

Taiyaki with custard. The kids call them, fishy custard. meaning the shape but not the flavor. : )

So many tourists in this area. : )

We came home. Noboru and the boys quickly showered and I showered afterwards real quick. We all got switched into our comfy clothes the boys into their PJ's. And we had family movie night at home. The boys enjoyed the butterfingers, I bought at the Cainz store that week. Everyone just relaxed. It was a nice way to wind down the day. And the kids do brush their teeth right before bed, so. : )

That Sunday, same ol' same ol' I tell ya. I clean the house during the week. And the weekend is my rest time, but I do air all the blankets out, which you can see both Branden and Noah's along the fence in this pic. And wash shoes and clean the kids uniforms and school stuff. It's not too hard and doesn't take too long. They do have some of the cleanest shoes around though. ; )

Uniforms drying in the breeze.

There was a fire not too near our house. But not so far away either. But on one of the mountains near us. Not really a mountain type mountain.... since I come from Colorado and when I think of mountains I think Rocky Mountains or Pikes Peek. So, I guess you could say...hill? Anyway on one of the hills near us, there was a fire. What happened exactly? I don't know. It first started around dinner time. And we heard the fire trucks, we heard a bunch. And so we knew there was a fire someplace. We knew it wasn't our housing community. But figured it was somewhere close. Anyway, we then had bath time. Kids got on their PJ's. And I was in yoga pants and wet hair. And we still heard sirens. It wasn't until, we went out in the backyard did we see flashing lights and the fire trucks. It is quite far away but still visible. Hard for you to see with this picture especially with the flash on. It was those dots or specks in the background.

This is on zoom. A bit blurry but it gives you a good idea. Those firemen and volunteer firemen worked so hard! We could see actual flames from the hill. But it was nearly out by the time we were out in the backyard. Yes kids in their pj's in the backyard and me and my yoga pants and wet hair. We stood in the backyard in the dark watching. It was quite cold, like freezing temps so I ushered the kids into the house and myself too. Noboru wanted to stand out there a little while longer. Just about 5 extra minutes watching.

These are the fire trucks. There were so many people down there trying to contain that fire and put it out. Which they did.

4 boxes of cereal. You already know, the kids are both hooked. I know that and it's fairly cheap, so I don't mind 200 yen a box. But Noboru, he tried it 2 weeks ago and now he's hooked too. @_@ So, he wants me to make sure there's enough for him too now. So, there I go every week buying 4 boxes of cereal. I really do need a little sign you know. This cereal is not for me. Or, I am not a cereal-aholic. : ) Something like that. Knowing my luck, the lady at the store probably thinks it's me who loves this cereal and eat 4 boxes a week. LOL! It's not me though. Okay I do eat a handful or so a week. But wow. Anyway. What I wanted to ask was...has anyone seen those new Straight tea cakes?

These are so good! They taste like tea. Branden loved them and so did Noboru. But oddly Noah disliked these. Anyway they also have straight tea lemon soft cookies and the hard cookies, and a few other things.

Branden needed new inside shirts. I just buy the cheapie ones at the Cainz. They need replacing every 6 months or so anyways. So, no need to buy super expensive ones. Plus their just inside his regular shirt.

I am nearly done with the scrapbooking. And right now I have 3 different photobooks (more of a photo album with words and such near it. So sorta like a scrapbook but different. Anyway Branden's yochien one is done. I am on his elementary one now. And I am working on Noah's yochien one now. And, am also working on a vacation book for each for both Branden and also Noah. Phew! So much work. So much writing stories next to each pic. But, they will love them when they are older.

What am I eating for breakfast while the family is eating eggs during the week or a bowl of pancake cereal? I am eating yogurt.

This is my breakfast that I have 5 days a week. A yogurt, a slice of white toast. And I know I should eat wheat but considering the cost of it in Japan. I will buy the 88 cent pack of white thank you very much. : ) And just work out a little extra. And a coffee. I'll have 2 mikans for lunch and a pack of saltines. or a Knoor soup and 1 mikan. Or maybe some graham crackers and a mikan. And then a normal dinner. But I am watching my portions. I eat regular food. I don't want to buy special food or special meals. As cheaply as possible is what I prefer. : ) And I like that on Sparks, you don't have to buy any special food. You can add, for example, today I ate a Taco Bell taco and they'll total the calories for you. Or today I had a medium french fries for example (horrible example but you know what I mean). Or total white toast. It'll total it for you. I like easy. I need easy. Because I'm a busy mom on the go.

What have we been eating for dinners lately. Well, the night Noah passed his swimming test. I made cheeseburgers and fries at home. We had eaten healthy dinners all that week. And a night cheeseburgers and fries was a good way to celebrate. I had the tiniest amount of fries, like 5 or 6 of those big potato wedges but still more then enough for me. I enjoyed my burger. And we all just sorta relaxed. I need to watch what I eat and be mindful and conscious of it, but I don't want to feel punished or deprived either. So, yeah it's a fine line. It's a struggle. I'm human. It's tough. ; )

Another night we had sara udon. Chicken chow mein for you Americans. : ) Lots of veggies, I love veggies.

Another night we had yakiniku, just fried it in a skillet. Kids and I had white meat. Noboru had some beef and some dark meat chicken. We wrapped our meat with lettuce leaves. And it was really good.

Once a week we have one super good thing. The rest of our week we eat fairly healthy. Like two weeks ago it was the burgers. Last week it was the tacos and this weekend it'll be homemade pizza. You know what I mean, I think. And last Friday, we had tacos. Beef for the hubby and Branden and Noah. And chicken for whoever wanted it. I went with chicken. I had 3 tacos. Was I stuffed after 3 tacos? Honestly? No. But I wasn't starving afterwards either though but I stopped at 3. I had a mini yogurt after for my dessert and I felt really proud of myself for stopping at 3. Noboru ate 5 tacos that night by the way and Branden had 4. Noah had 2.

Another meal. No this wasn't the kids dinner, this was mine. Again, I am not perfect. I am trying to get a grip on my portions. It's a struggle for me. Sometimes my portions are really good sized (meaning what I should be eating...the proper amount) and sometimes they are a bit overly large. : ( LOL. So, this night I just used a kids plate. Anyway we had ginger pork that night it was really good.

What a cute oni mask Noah made this year! Last week was Setsubun, for us in Japan and all the kids made oni/monster masks. And the kids all got to throw beans at the school (the elected sensei who was the chosen oni ; ) and cast the oni away!!!! : ) The kids all made them out of tissue boxes, if you look real close you can indeed see it was an old tissue box. : ) And yes Noah's nose for the oni is a bit off/not exactly centered. But then he's just a little kid, he's only 5 years old and you know.... I sort of like the way he made his! : )

Definitely the cutest oni, I've ever seen! : ) Anyway these are some of the things we've been up to lately. : )