Just The Craziness

The last couple days have been crazy! I'm actually amazed at the amount of stuff we've accomplished.

I already sold all the furniture that we hadn't planned on keeping. I thought for sure that would take a while, but nope! It was all gone and picked up within a few hours. Who needs tables to eat on, right?

A friend and I went to the flea market last weekend to get rid of stuff, but we are going again this weekend. Now that I know we are leaving, I can get rid of everything else!

I got a pedicure. I took the husband along. He was a bit uncomfortable at first, but loved the leg massage! He got an extra long one too since he didn't get his toenails painted.

I've been rolling change. I love rolling change. It's therapeutic or something.

TMO dates are scheduled. It took me a while to remember what the Army calls TMO. Actually, I never remembered, I emailed someone and they got me the phone numbers I needed and informed me it was HHG. All of our stuff that is in gov't storage was done through the Army. We need to get it shipped too.

This gorgeous girl got a haircut. I was told I am not allowed to call her pretty, gorgeous, or cute, but smart is fine. Whatever, bossy pants.

I made tons of other appointments today too. I'm super tired and ready for a nap, but Little Man has an award ceremony at school tonight for the 100 Mile Club. 

It's never ending. 

My Living Attachments

I really don't know why I don't blog about my kids that much. I feel like all I do is run them around!

This guy still has over a month of school left. All his activities are starting to end (thankfully!), so things will slow back down a bit. I have never seen an elementary school offer so many clubs! For a while, it seemed like he was bring home a sign up sheet a day. I let him do what he wanted, even though I tried to steer him towards the technology, math, and science clubs. He picked cup stacking, the 100 Mile Club, and the schools online news.

I don't know that he got any skills out of the cup stacking, but he thought it was fun. Filming the news taught him new words like teleprompter and green screen. The 100 Mile Club is just the kids trying to walk/run 100 miles by the end of the year. They got t-shirts at 25 miles and I feel like they don't really care anymore! Only miles walked during their events count, so none at home. He stays after a few days a month and walks at recess. He isn't going to make 100 miles, but he stuck with it the whole year and that counts for more in my book.

Then there is soccer. Poor kid has my athletic ability, meaning he has none. He is having fun though and we've told him as long as he tries his best, that's the best we can ask for. His team as a whole wasn't that great. Those kids tried, but they played other teams that were just bigger and better than them. He had his last game this past weekend.

As much as he says he doesn't like school, he does pretty good. He isn't good at spelling and his handwriting is horrible, but he pretty much gets everything else. He also loves to read! I have a hard time keeping him supplied with books. The school had a contest in March for reading. Each classroom gave the kids who read the most minutes a really neat metal, Dr. Seuss designed water bottle. He came in second with 950 minutes for the month. 

Then there's my girl. She loves preschool and is always talking about her teachers and her friends. In the 5 months she's been there, she has learned a lot. Apparently she's the singing leader too. I haven't put her in any other activities yet. I would put her in sports in a heartbeat, but you have to be 5 for most things. She's going to be the athletic one and wants to play things, she just can't yet. On the days she's not at preschool, we go exploring, to the beach, to parks, on bike rides, and just have fun together while we can. Like today, we went to a mall near our house (that for some reason we'd never gone to before, what's wrong with me?) and played at the arcade and looked around. Then I took her on a bike ride, since she had been bugging me all day. 

Month of the Military Child

April is the Month of the Military Child.

Military children live normal lives, but then their lives are so unlike most children's.

They are resilient to change. 

They call many places home.

They may not like it, but they live with long separations from their parents.

They are always saying good-bye to friends.

They stand at attention when they hear the National Anthem.

They think every helicopter is carrying their Daddy, or so my daughter says.

They recognize the different branches uniforms.

They know many words from many languages.

They know Asian geography. 

They have friends from all over the world. 

At least for my kids anyway.

We like to talk about how wonderful military children are. They are, don't get me wrong. They deal with their lives being uprooted, leaving loved ones, and long separations from their family. For my kids though, it's what they know. They were both born into this live. I have never once heard them complain about any of the downsides of it. My oldest understands - to a point - what his dad does in the military. My youngest just thinks her daddy kills bad guys and rides around in helicopters. They both understand his job and why it is important. I pray that the military lifestyle helps my children become better, more well-rounded people. They will have experienced things at a young age that many adults never will. I admire them for the way they adapt and overcome the challenges of being a military child. 

Spring Break at the Park

After we went to Nakagusuku Castle on Monday, we went to the park. We have been to the Rocket Park in the past, but it hasn't ever been open when Little Man has been with me. I wanted to see him climb it! It was open today. He turned into a monkey and climbed right up. I caught him trying to shimmy down the poles on the outside once. Small heart attack on my end. I climbed it and the little one managed to climb it too. It took her a while, but she did it and was very proud of herself! We also watched a baseball game while we were there. A bunch of neighborhood boys, playing in a small area, with a tennis ball, but they were having a blast!

I'm going to be sad when we go back to the states. The parks here are unrivaled. 

After all our fun was had there, we headed north to a new park on 329. No idea what the name of it is, but it's right before you get to Ishikawa. You can't miss it.

I want one of these swings, just a little bigger for my rear. Little Missy calls them bed swings. I think that's appropriate.

My Favorite Judy Blume

A few weeks ago, I read mention of Everything I Needed to Know About Being a Girl I Learned from Judy Blume. It's basically a bunch of essays written by authors about how certain Judy Blume books influenced their lives. For some reason, I had never heard of this, so it was added to my must read list. I read it yesterday. The whole book. 

The book was good. It reminded me of books I had long ago read and a few I hadn't. I didn't even remember what a few of the books were about, while others, I vividly remember. Reading other's perspectives and how Blume's books influenced their preteen or teen years was interesting. It also got me thinking.

I read the books geared towards kids, like the Fudge series and Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself. I read the mandatory preteen books like Deenie, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, and Blubber. As an adult, I read Wifey and Summer Sisters. I think Judy Blume, like Beverly Cleary and so many others, was a must read for kids. While reading Everything I Needed to Know, I realized there were books that I hadn't read. I don't remember reading It's Not the End of the World or Then Again, Maybe I Won't. I am positive I never read Forever. We all read Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret and giggled with our friends while chanting, we must, we must, we must increase our bust! You would think a bunch of 13 year old girls would kill to get their hands on Forever. 

My favorite Judy Blume book has got to be Just as Long as We're Together. My sister had this book and I read it multiple times. I'll never forget Stephanie and her imaginary boyfriend Benjamin Moore, who just happened to be a poster of a young Richard Gere. I mean, who didn't have imaginary/fantasized boyfriends when they were 12? I can still recall large portions of that book. The book was all about the dynamics of friendships, something any girl can relate to. Somehow, I never read the book that went with it though, Here's to You, Rachel Robinson. 

I went to the library this morning and checked out Forever. They didn't have everything I wanted to read, but they had a couple and I plan to re-read them. 

All her books are still being published, just with fancy, new, updated covers. I love that kids can still read these. I look forward to sharing my favorite books with my kids, especially my daughter. 

Reading other women's take on Blume's books, made me wander what everyone else thought of them. I don't have a favorite because it helped me through a rough time or was something relatable to my life at the time, but I still have my favorite. So what was your favorite Judy Blume book?

My Weekend, Via Instagram

Saturday morning was the season opener! Little Man has his first soccer game. 

It was actually pretty riveting and the parents were all well behaved. This one sure had fun, when she wasn't in trouble anyways.

The game was tied 0-0, but the kids had a blast.

We went to the husband's softball tournament next. He wasn't playing because of his shoulder, but they had a barbecue and a hail and farewell, so we had to go. I can't pass up lumpia.

Little Man really wanted to change out of his soccer uniform, but like the great mom that I am, I forgot to pack a change of clothes. We decided to add to his torture, but going lots of other places, like bike shopping.

After we got home, I took my new bike out for a spin. Not too bad for my first time and all.

Sunday was GORGEOUS! Off on another bike ride. Why does IG not chop the no filter pics?

This one kept giving me the sad face because she wanted to go on a bike ride too.

Commissary shopping I go! A thing of strawberries is $5.29. Do I buy the so perfect they look fake Japanese ones or the slightly icky looking, most likely moldy when you get down in there American ones?

The Easter Beagle was on! I love Charlie Brown specials.

Maybe taking a bath will sooth my soreness from the bike. It's not my legs that are sore either, if you get my drift.

How was your weekend?

Follow me on Instagram at rofamw!

Playing Tour Guide

My parents are here! This is their second trip here, they were here about a year and half ago. We did a bunch of the big touristy things the first time they were here, so this time we are just kinda hanging out and I'm showing them some of my favorite places.

Important things first, I took Mom for a pedicure. She was amazed. I told her it would be the best pedicure she's ever had and she completely agreed with me.

We also went to Gala, Cape Zanpa, and the Yomitan Pottery Village.

Friday, we went to Shuri Castle, Naminoue Shrine, and Fukushen Gardens.

Today, we went to Ryukyu Mura and then spent some time at the beach.

More than anything, I think someone is happy to have her grandparents here. Little Man is excited too, but he's been at school everyday. I feel bad he doesn't get to do everything with us, but he got some special time this weekend.

I'm so happy I have family willing and able to come see us. My parents and my in-laws have both been here twice and my sister is coming for a second time later this spring. The parents mostly come because they have grandkid withdrawals and it has nothing to do with me or the husband, but I'm ok with that!



The Birthday Fun

For the little one's fourth birthday, we didn't have a party for her. I still wanted her to have an awesome birthday day though. I mean, come on, you only turn 4 once!

We started the day at the Neo Park. The kids and I went to the park while the husband was deployed, but hadn't been back. I wouldn't call it a zoo, but they have a variety of birds and smaller animals. We started with a train ride around the park, then walked the whole park. 

There is a huge variety of birds. They are so used to be fed, that they just follow you everywhere. 

There is a petting zoo, but it costs extra (they do have a huge tortoise that little kids can ride though) and the birthday girl decided she wanted a pony ride instead. She asked me if she looked like a cowgirl.

Next, we went to Fruit Land. We had never been, but I figured why not since we were in the area. It had a lot of different trees, many being fruit trees, with informative little quizzes about the trees along the paths. There was also a mini scavenger hunt to find the fairy tree. The kids loved it! There was also a butterfly house (we didn't see any though) and a bird area.

We went to Chili's for dinner. Mainly because I knew she would love if they sang Happy Birthday to her. She was super tired, but she still loved it. Once she got home, she had a present waiting for her! I think it's safe to say she had a good birthday.