The Magic Carpet Ride

This past Saturday we trekked over to nearby Ie Island (pronounced EA, like EA Sports) for their Lily Festival! First we drove our car north to Motobu Port. The farther North you go, the fewer signs are in English. We found the Port just fine, but getting on the boat was just a leap of faith... we just assumed it was going where we wanted to go, as there weren't any signs in English and purely Japanese speaking staff, but figured where else would it be going and just bought our tickets and boarded the boat.  Wyatt was soooo excited!

That early in the morning there were only one or two other American couples on the whole boat, so we certainly stuck out, and everyone took notice of Olivia!  In general, I get stopped a lot by Japanese people wanting to look at her (I think it's the American baby thing), but Saturday everyone was checking her out. I felt a bit like a celebrity! Some people even wanted to take her picture.... weird, but whatever! I allowed the people in front of us to, but then made them take this picture for us! :)

There was also this freaky-weird Japanese clown that kept coming around the boat and Wyatt thought he was a hoot!  I thought he was sort of on the scary side...especially when he was window-stalking us - but whatever! It kept Wyatt entertained.

That morning we had told Wyatt we needed to hurry so we could catch the boat. He told us it was okay if we missed the boat because we could just take a magic carpet ride!  We thought that was pretty funny, and after the 30 minute boat ride I was definitely wishing we could have taken a magic carpet instead thanks to my terrible sea sickness!  It was over soon enough though and then we got on a bus that took us to the Lily Field.

So we walked around, looking at the beautiful lilies, and checked out some Eisa drum performances. These guys were pretty good, but we were even more impressed by the little kids who performed after them. They were belting it out and doing some serious dancing!

Next up was lunch, and we chose some things that were familiar to us like soba noodles and sushi, and some things that we had no idea whatsoever what they were. Wyatt is taste-testing the chicken here, which I would describe as Japanese style friend chicken, and these funny white balls with sauce on them... sorta tasted like heavy marshmallows with syrup? I don't know how to describe those.  We definitely felt like we were at the Iowa State Fair...almost everything was served on a stick!

After lunch we checked out the petting zoo, which consisted of one pen of chicken, one small mule/horse, one grungy looking ostrich, and something else I can't remember... and finished the day off with some yummy homemade ice cream they had there and called it a day!  We started the trek back home and Wyatt fell asleep in the car he was so tired. A fun day!

Busena Underwater Observatory

This week I took the kids to the Busena Underwater Observatory in Nago, which is about 50 minutes north of where we live. Our playgroup friends came with us, which was a lot of fun! The Observatory is located at a fancy resort, so we all had fun ooh-ing and aah-ing at the beautiful beach, water, hotel, etc.

We bought tickets for 1000 yen (about $10) and walked to the end of this pier in the East China Sea. Then we descended about 50 stairs to the ocean floor and watched the fishies in their natural environment through these little port holes! We saw lots of fish, another blue starfish, coral, etc. It was neat, especially if you're not a big snorkeler or scuba diver but would like to see fish in their natural habitat!

Afterwards, we ate a picnic lunch outside in the sun and called it a morning. It was 86 and HUMID so we were all pooped by the time we got home!

I'll leave you with this funny little conversation we had on the way there in the car...

"Mommy, where are we?" asked Wyatt.

"We're in Onna Village," I replied.

"We're not on a village, mom, we're on a ROAD!" he said.

Can't argue with that, can I? "You're right, Wyatt," I said, laughing.

And so it goes!

"Just" Staying Home...

So as most of you know, this business of staying home with the kids has been a struggle for me. I blogged about this decision a while back on here, and it's on my mind constantly - should I stay home and enjoy the kids and the island while I have the chance? Or go back to work after I have the baby?

I apologize in advance if I offend someone by this entry - I certainly don't mean to... but it's an honest reflection of what I'm feeling right now. This issue is about me and me only... and not how I feel about others.

A couple weeks ago I was at the doctor's office for my 6-week post partum checkup. The doctor was young, probably right out of med school, and she seemed a bit nervous, albeit very nice and competent. She was asking me a series of standard questions, and then she asked me the one question I absolutely hate - Occupation.

"Are you just staying home?" She asked.

"Uh... yes...for right now..." was my answer.

I have been thinking about this exchange for the past two weeks. Why was there the "just" in her question? What does that mean? Why was it assumed that I was a stay at home mom? Do I somehow "look" like a SAHM (whatever one looks like as a SAHM)? And staying home is HARD! What did she mean "Just" staying home?

And my answer... why do I have such a hard time with this question? Why can't I just say "Yes" and say it as if I actually thought that was an ok thing to do with my life? I actually wanted to tell this woman - who was obviously quite educated as a doctor - "Yes, for right now, BUT I do have a career and a graduate degree!" Which obviously would have been inappropriate.

The ugly truth is that I'm not proud of being a stay at home mom. I just hate the "stereotype" of moms who stay home. As if there are no other options available to us, and therefore we must stay home. I think it bothers me so much because I assume - perhaps wrongly - that others assume that I have no education, no work experience, no life experience. And I hate that.

Honestly and truly, I admire other women who choose to stay home with their kids. It takes a lot to put your own career on hold and be content giving the best of yourself to your kids, who are so small they don't always show you the appreciation you deserve. I wish I were more giving. I wish I didn't selfishly crave time to myself. I wish I were content giving my all to my beautiful babies. But for some reason... I'm not. I'm happy, yes... but content? Not completely. I miss the "professional" me.

For right now, living in Okinawa with limited access to my career path and two small children who would need to be in full-time child care, me staying home is the best option for our family. And don't get me wrong - I love my life. I am absolutely blessed to have my amazing husband and kids, and I absolytely enjoy having time with them to explore the island and experience this adventure without the stress of work. But I am admittedly out of my comfort zone, which may be the best thing for me while making me a better person for it.

My Wild & Crazy Spring Break

So here we are on the land of Okinawa and it is spring break! Oh, how my life has changed... just 10 years ago my life had a completely different spin when it was spring break week!!

So I have both kids all week long by myself while Tommy is working crazy mad hours. Something about swimming quals, the gas chamber, flying in a C130 and helicopters. I was too tired to hear most of what he was saying!

Things that happened this week:

- Tried to move baby girl to her crib. After 2 1/2 days and approximately the same amount of hours of sleep, I declared it a massive failure and gave up.

- Wyatt pooped in the potty a few times, which means gifts, gifts, more gifts and "Games" which means going to American Village (oxymoron) and spending a boatload of Yen playing the Japanese video games and riding the Ferris Wheel, which is Wyatt's all-time favorite activity on the island. While we were there we went to Doctor Fish. I so wish I had taken a picture of this! It is basically a plastic pool like the little kiddos have that goes for about $1.99 at Walmart and filled with tiny fish. Then you pay 500 Yen (about $6) each and stick your feet in for 10 minutes and they eat the dead skin off your feet. I am dead serious! It tickles like crazy and I actually hated it but Wyatt thought it was the best thing since fruit rollups.

- Accidentally went to the beach the day BEFORE the water opened (they have jellyfish nets that go "out" during open seeason) so then it was just playing in the sand. Oops. That didn't go over too well.

- We went to a new park for playdate. It was fun and of course it had those crazy roller slides. Three of them actually! Wore him out running from slide to slide and doing all the Japanese play ground equipment - the kind that is borderline unsafe and would never go over in the States!

- Olivia got her 2 month check and her 5 vaccines! 2 oral and 3 shots in the thigh, which she took like a champ.

- We went on a little drive (me & the kiddos) and eventually found a great farmer's market that Jen had told me about. Wyatt helped me pick out a basket full of veggies all for 1200 yen ($15) but the Japanese man wasn't too impressed when we found that Wyatt had stashed a bag of red onions in Olivia's car seat. How do you explain in Japanese that you weren't trying to steal them? Well, you don't. You just pay and leave. :)

- Today I was supposed to host a "Water Play Day" in our yard, and I suppose I could have but it would have been in the rain... again. Instead we helped the kiddos make homemade playdough, which lasted all of about 10 minutes, but they still had fun!

A fun, busy week but I am ready for preschool to start back up next week!! Not sure what I am going to do after it lets out for the summer. Eek!

Here Comes Peter Cotton Tail...

We had a full, fun week of Easter activities!!  What a great time! We started the week out with the Easter Egg Hunt last Saturday for Tommy's Squadron.  He was still in California but Wyatt, Olivia and I had a great time!  Wyatt was soooo excited!  I'm pretty sure he got the most eggs in the 0-3 year old category! He just couldn't wait to get his hands on those eggs.  This is right after I fell down the hill :)

Next up, I hosted an egg-dyeing extravaganza on Tuesday at our house for some of our little friends, Gabe, Ashlin and Grayson.  The kids had a great time and Heather whipped up a little egg hunt in our backyard for them afterward, which was super fun! 

Then came Wyatt's Easter program at his pre-school. The kids sang songs and there was a reception afterwards. They had done a lot of arts & crafts for Easter and each of them received an Easter basket!  Here's a little video of them singing... this is the only song he actually sang ;) He's in the back row in the green shirt. Is it bad when one of the teachers has to sit right behind to you?!?



On Saturday Wyatt got to see the Easter bunny when dad took him out to Kadena for a fun morning of bouncy castles, souped-up cars, karate shows and dancing.  Then on Sunday we tried out a new church, and we all got dressed up in our Sunday best. Check out Olivia's beautiful little Easter dress!!

After church we headed to the Butler Officer's Club for Easter brunch. The kids were very well behaved and we had another photo op with the Easter bunny!  Wyatt was actually stalking the Easter bunny around the O Club... "Mommy, where did the Easter bunny go?!?" was all I heard!

I hope your Easter was wonderful!  We had a great day, which once again reminded me of how lucky we are to have such a wonderful little family.  Happy Spring to you and yours!

Celebrating 40 Years

Today is my parent's 40th wedding anniversary.  40 years is a long time.  Being only 6 years into my own marriage, I can't imagine doing that nearly 7 times over - but I hope I get the chance to.

I learned a lot about marriage by watching my family.  My dad's parents had been married for nearly 69 years before my grandfather passed away and my mom's parents will celebrate their big milestone in June! Of course, the best example I had was watching my own parents, who taught me a lot just through their actions.  It wasn't anything that was said or done, but what I observed over the course of the years that taught me the most.

My parents rarely fought, at least not in front of my brother and I. In fact, I can only really remember one time of knowing they were fighting.  I think I was somewhere around 8 or 9 years old.  In fact, it was so rare to see that I remember thinking, "Does this mean they are going to get a divorce????" Of course they weren't, but I just wasn't used to seeing them argue!
They say women choose their partner based on what you see in your own father. I would say that to an extent that is mostly true in my case. Tommy generally refuses to fight with me, and most often I see my dad turn the other cheek as well. That doesn't mean there's no further communication about the issue - just that the men in my life many times refuse to indulge the women in their fury :)

What I do remember seeing quite frequently around the house is my dad "goosing" my mom in the butt.  I don't know why I remember this, but it's something I saw often and to me is a sign of affection and playfulness - something I hope that Tommy and I can continue to have in our marriage despite the stress of work and having two small children.  Again, I think I chose wisely, because Tommy is definitely the more playful one of us. He absolutely keeps me smiling, day in and day out.
 
If there were ever problems on the home front, we as kids most times never knew about them.  I'm sure there were, as every marriage has its ups and downs.  But what I take away from this example is that your kids should be protected from those ups and downs as a means of providing stability in your family.  I always, without a doubt, felt that our home was a safe space and that while we may drive each other crazy once in awhile, ultimately we were in it together as a family, and always felt loved and secure.
 
These and many other lessons are things I have come to appreciate by watching the amazing example my parents set for us growing up.  I am thankful every day for these lessons, because they have served as the basis for my own wonderful marriage.
 
Happy Anniversary, mom & dad!  Here's to another 40 years together!!  I love you.