Moving right along

Ok, I've decided to move.
Not apartments, that would be a nightmare, I've moved this blog over to wordpress.lol

You can find me at http://kyushukel.wordpress.com/

I have a few posts I would like to write but haven't, it seems such a waste to have a blog but not be able to write freely. So I'm going to do a few password protected posts instead, because I don't want to give up blogging altogether, and I do value any comments that are left here and I honestly would like to hear the opinions of my loyal readers (the few of you know who you are!lol). As a start I've deleted the last post, although I realise it will still be in readers, because I just wasn't comfortable with it being 'out there', and it is now password protected.

I will send the password to those of you I know read regularly (if I know your address that is!), if you don't hear from me but feel you should have it please leave a comment here with a mail address. I can't promise I will send you the password though, so sorry if I offend anyone but I really do want to keep things reasonably private.

Sometimes I find it hard to comment on other peoples' blogs, it's not always that I don't have anything to say, just that I don't like the idea of people I don't know (or may actually know in real life!) stumbling across my blog from a comment I've left somewhere and in doing so getting to know so much about my family and daily life just by clicking a mouse. It's scary!! lol And for me it just doesn't seem right. So by protecting some posts I figure it might make it easier for those who do comment on my blog to do so honestly and without worrying who might be able to track them down too!!

Maybe it just boils down to the fact I'm scared of lurkers!!!lol

Time is flying

It's been a while since I last posted, lots of things have been going on and it's all been quite overwhelming. Some things I have thought about blogging about but decided against doing so just for privacy reasons. I guess that's what password protected posts are for, it's a shame blogger doesn't give you the option to do that. Anyway, in the end I decided I want to keep my posts as positive as possible so I won't go into nitty gritty details, I mean you never know who is actually reading these posts after all!!!! But at the same time it would be nice to hear some opinions on different things too...

Let's just say there have been (and still are) many frustrating situations, mostly related to S's work conditions, and that being 28 weeks pregnant and looking after two small kids day in day out does not make for an easy ride. Especially when B has turned into an eater from hell, and A has hit the terrible twos. It makes for a frustrated and exhausted Mummy, and as much as I love them both sometimes I just need a break. This break of course never eventuates so you can see the endless cycle of things I'm sure...

Anyway, this pregnancy has just flown by, I can't believe I've hit the third trimester already. The morning sickness lasted for 20 weeks so I guess things just crept up on me, considering it's only been 8 weeks since it stopped. Last week we finally got a ultrasound pic that shows for sure what bubs is. Any guesses? Boy or girl? Weight gain (mine) has been minimal, things are going pretty well in that department so now we just have to get organised and get ready for the jump from 2 to 3 kids!!!

I know people say that going from 1 to 2 kids is a big change, then from 2 to 3 is also, but anything after 3 doesn't change much. Apparently having 3, 4 or even 5 kids is pretty much the same. Personally I didn't feel much change going from 1 to 2 kids, so I'm wondering just what people mean when they say the leap from 2 to 3 kids is big. It's kind of daunting, but at the same time I can't really see there being that much of a difference, well not for at least the first 6 months or so. I hope I'm right...Any thoughts on the matter?

We're back!

Hello there bloggy world!
Well as you would have guessed from the title we made it back in one piece, and I am SOOOOOOO exhausted that I don't even know why I'm trying to blog already.

So I think for now a rating post might be a good way to sum things up.

• Flight 1 8/10 (No major problems except for takeoff when I was trying to convince B he needed his seatbelt on for more than 10 seconds at a time.)
• Flight 2 5/10 (Night flight, both kids slept no more than an hour each, at different times of course, leaving poor Mummy with zero sleep. B got motion sickness, moaned for about 5 hours then proceeded to throw up non-stop for the last 3 and a half hours.)
• Being in Oz 10/10
• Constant help with the kids 10/10
• Flight 3 2/10 (Day flight but lights turned out nearly the whole way. Read: everyone else asleep except for the kids who think it is play time. Maybe one hour of sleep for B before throwing up again for the last hour and a half. Despite taking some kiddy meds. A had a total of 30 minutes sleep, every time she was about to go off something would disturb her and I'd be back to square one. 2 overtired kids refusing to sleep, a quiet and dark plane, and a stressed out Mummy)
• Stopover hotel 9/10
• Waiting at airport for flight home 1/10 (Both kids overtired and wanting Mummy to carry them. Even B, who is always fine with just holding my hand, was nutting out MAJORLY before immigration. He HAD to be picked up. Didn't matter that A was trying to run away every single time I put her down or let go of her hand for the split second I had to so I could pick him up. No matter how I tried I couldn't carry both of them. Ended up having a back pack, another bag, carrying A (who was refusing to walk) on my side and having B somehow attached to me like a koala on my front (on top of 24 week bump) hanging on for dear life as I walked through. Stayed like this for nearly 10 minutes. No better once inside because the playground we went to was under repair. I'd asked the lady at information where the closest one was so was so not impressed. Neither were the kids. Other things happened but I think I'll stop ranting here.lol
• Flight 4 9/10 (Both kids asleep after 10 minutes)

And I'll leave you with that for now til I can find some more energy!!!!!!!!

Trip

This time next week we will be home!
The 24 hour trip will be over!!!
Well I'll still have to manage the return leg somehow, but no point worrying about that yet, right!lol

The last time I was home for a fleeting visit I got a grand total of 2 things done.
The first was getting my Australian drivers licence renewed.
The second was going to an uncle's funeral.

Of course it wasn't planned that way, nothing like that ever is.
Unfortunately he passed away just hours before we were meant to visit.
So instead of showing A off to him in hospital, we were staying at his house trying to comfort my aunty who was being bombarded with endless phonecalls and funeral arrangement meetings.

I'm hoping we can get a bit more done this time, and in a lot brighter spirits.
Meeting up with friends, relatives, seeing some Australian animals, and going to the supermarket are all on my to-do list this time round.

In other news, bubs is going well, and, wait for it, I think morning sickness has finally stopped!!! At 20 weeks, no less. Same as what it was with A, but overall it wasn't as bad as it was with her, thank goodness. Still makes me wonder if we really should try for number 4 or not though...

Any guesses about whether bubs is a boy or girl? We pretty much know already but I'm not quite ready to spill the beans.lol Will keep you all in suspense for a bit longer. Ha!ha!

Not long to go

Only two and a half full days of single parenting to go.
S is still away, he won't get home til midnight Saturday.

Surprisingly there has been hardly any difference in looking after the kids by my lonesome than to when S is actually around.
It has been easier than normal to get them to sleep at night, the part I was not looking forward to handling by myself.

I guess it just goes to show how little he gets to see them even when we're living under the same roof, and also how much I am depended on for everything anyway. Seriously, my 'load' so to speak doesn't feel like it's gotten any heavier. I guess by being a SAHM in Japan I've somehow got used to doing it all by myself, without even realising. Sad but true.

But I sure will be glad when he gets home!!!!!!
And so will the kids!

Things I love Thursday

It's been a long while since I have done one of these. Oops!

Things I am loving this week:

• Tickets being confirmed and paid for
• 2 days in a row not throwing up (yesterday and today)
• Tuna and mayo jaffles (ran out of ham and cheese so made do with these)
• Chocolate (it seems my taste buds are returning to normal.lol)
• 冷やし中華

What are you loving this week?

Daddy come home!!

S is away on business.
First time ever for anything longer than a few days.
He only found out about this 出張 yesterday.
He left this morning, and won't be back til the 12th.

B has been whining all day long, and it's only Day 1.
A is yet to realise Daddy won't be coming home tonight, or tomorrow night, or the night after...
Bubs is requesting I lay down at regular intervals. Read: too much hardening of my tummy.
And to top it all off, the cat has been more vocal than usual, and is being a general nuiscance.

And I thought worrying about the 24 hour trip home in a few weeks time was doing my head in.
What was I thinking??
This has got to be an even tougher test!!!!!

Catch up

I have had so many blog posts written in my head the last few weeks, but that's as far as they got I'm afraid.

So something I'm sure you all want to hear about...
I finally got around to renewing my drivers licence yesterday.
What with going home next month and all I needed to get my act together.

The reception was from 1 til 2, so we got there at 12:20 so we would have time to have some lunch together in the cafeteria, then S was going to take the kids to the park/shops/for a drive and wherever else he deemed necessary for the 3 hours or so it was going to take for renewal.

Well it was a great plan until we walked inside the building to find at least 40 people already lined up 40 minutes before reception even opened, and plenty more people following in after, all standing in single file in about 5 different lines. What to do, what to do..

Only took 5 seconds or so to make the executive decision to ditch lunch and line up.
Said goodbye to S and the hungry but we want to go the park right now kids, handed him over a bag with drinks, bibs, nappies and bumwipes and waved them off with a big よろしく!

It was a weird experience, not having to hold onto my bag, the kids' bag and two small hands, surrounded only by adults, no noise, no whining, no I want to go to the toilet right nows, it was just pure bliss doing NOTHING while waiting in line. The whole 40 minutes of it!!

Of course I love my kids, and (most of the time) everything looking after them entails, but this kidless time was something I very rarely have, and it was lovely. All 3 and a half hours of it. lol

The renewal was pretty painless, except for the 2 hour lecture which didn't seem like it was ever going to end, but it was actually enjoyable! Not sure how many people walk away saying the lecture on traffic safety was enjoyable, but there you go.lol

Totally unrelated but my budget, cooking, grocery shopping, getting to the bank, general organising of things such as bill paying and other necessary housewifey skills have been shot out the window the last few months. Morning sickness really is more than just being sick. I have been feeling better the last few days, finally, but after nearly 19 weeks I've had enough!!!

Disappearing comments

Achan I got your comment and tried to repost it but for some reason both have disappeared!!!
So I'll try and repost it here.

Progress?

Thanks for the comments on the last few posts.

I have just got off the phone from the travel agent and I think we may have made some progress. Finally.

The idea I had about leaving on a Thursday turned out to be even worse than the other days, and so now it looks like I might be able to go on a Monday after all, the week after I was first asking about.

The main problem is trying to arrange the flights between appointments, which will turn into fortnightly appointments straight after we get back. The travel agent (a man) had no idea that appointments may come into consideration until I just told him on the phone that that, and only that, is what I'm trying to work around with the dates. I thought I had made things clear before, but obviously not. Seriously, as long as I can go for about 3 weeks, I don't care what day I fly!!!!! And I think the travel agent finally got it.lol

And for all the number crunchers out there who may be interested, the total price will be just under 24 man for 1 adult, 1 child, and 1 infant. Fares, taxes, surcharge and visas (both kids only have Japanese passports) included.

But only 178,000 yen of that is for the 3 actual tickets.
So that means that about 60,000 yen is just for taxes and the fuel surcharge for 1 adult and 1 child.
Highway robbery don't you think?

Surely Sydney airport must go close to the most expensive airport in the world with a whopping 8,800 yen airport tax!!!!!! It's even 4,800 yen for kids.

Achan, even if it says the ticket price is 6 man, it probably isn't, so make sure you check out what the surcharges are early on. My fare had 31,000 yen worth of extra costs, and the child fare about 27,500 yen extra. Mind boggling isn't it. And Asiana aren't even the dearest with their surcharges, that's actually reasonable!!!!!!! I was looking at Qantas and JAL tickets from Narita at first, but with all the surcharges even a 60,000 yen ticket was more like 90,000 or 95,000 yen. And you still have to allow for the costs of getting to the airport on top of that!!! Don't want to scare you, just letting you know what I found.lol

Thinking thinking

Is it just me or does everyone else have trouble organising trips home?

I've been looking into ticket prices, routes, stopovers and schedules for a while now, and have figured out what I think is the best route for our trip (if it ever eventuates) next month.

But, every single time I try to organise dates and ask the travel agent about seat details (three times already) I get a reply saying one of the sectors is no good. I can't figure it out. Weekdays seem to be fuller than weekends, but wouldn't you think it would be the other way round? Why is it the one day that I really would like to fly (a Monday night) is so booked out? Ok, so I don't really expect anyone to answer that but I wish I knew what the problem was.lol And coming back leaving Sydney on a Sunday seems to be a better option than leaving on a weekday??? I just don't get it.

I've thought about giving up a few times, but every time I do that I get e-mails from the airline I want to use (totally coincidental, usually about mileage or something), or see ads for Qantas and trips to Sydney on the Yahoo page or on the weather page. There seem to be so many signs saying to me just book the tickets already! But no matter how many times I try I can't seem to get things 100% right. And after another depressing e-mail from the travel agent this afternoon I'm back to square one. Aaarrgghhh!!!

There are a few things to consider here, and I'm going to write them down here to see if it helps me figure something out. Although it might just confuse me more.lol

• I will be 6-7 months pregnant, travelling with 2 kids, one who is just under 2
• I need to use an airline who I think will look out for me, and who have friendly staff
• Going to Narita or Kansai, or even Fukuoka is WAY more trouble than it's worth, so I'm no longer looking into schedules of other airlines
• We don't have much money to spare at the moment, just enough for flights
• The amount I was thinking for 3 fares is actually what it will cost for 2 plus an infant
• This is the last chance to go home before flight fares become even more expensive because there will be 3 kids as well as me
• The ticket price for an adult and a child over 2 is nearly the same
• I want a seat for A but after checking out ticket prices have realised this is impossible (it's nearly 40,000 yen for her WITHOUT a seat!!!)
• It's about 90,000 yen for a child fare, and an extra 50,000 yen is HUGE for us at the moment
• Which means I need a flight that is likely to have spare seats
• Why is the fuel surcharge still so damn expensive, and why is it the same price for a kid when they get discounts on other things like airport tax??? Oops, getting sidetracked.lol
• The only 'good' connecting flight is on a Monday afternoon, but is full the day I want to go
• Otherwise I need to survive a 6 hour wait at Incheon
• If I do that I have the choice flying on a Thursday or Saturday as well, not just Monday
• I have to arrange flights between doctors appointments

Ok, I think I need to check out the Thursday flights. I kind of had my mind fixed on Mondays. And if things work out with the flights maybe go to the transit hotel for a few hours (have done that once before with just B). Will keep thinking, but I'm so sick of sending e-mails to the travel agent.lol

16 weeks

When I started this blog I had no intentions of it becoming kid based, but look what has happened! Nearly every post is about kids or pregnancy. lol
Oh well, I guess it can't be helped right now.

So I am 16 weeks today, which means the second trimester has begun!

Morning sickness seems to be nearing the end, but I don't want to go jinxing myself just yet.lol
Still throwing up every morning but the recovery time is getting quicker and quicker as the days go by.

I seem to be showing already, which is weird because I've only put on 1.5kg, so you wouldn't think you'd be able to tell, but you can. Well I think you can. Well I definitely can!lol

I put one of those 赤ちゃんがお腹にいます badges on my bag (didn't bother the first 2 times) a few days ago, just to let people know kind of indirectly, but it seems to be helping with shop assistants offering to carry my basket over to the counter and things like that. I think being pregnant this time round is really making me let myself be helped a lot more. Does that make sense?　

Up until now I would have been adamant I could do things by myself, and not bothered to tell people I was expecting because I didn't want to be treated differently, but in the end I just ended up being frazzled half the time from overdoing it. This time round I have 2 other kids to worry about, and any help is better than no help at all. So I'm trying to be gracious about it, and let people who want to help help!! And it's not as easy as it sounds!lol

Marco pol(i)o!

Wow, second post in 2 days!!

I've just got back from taking the kids to A's polio vaccination. Exciting stuff, I know!lol
It was her second one so no more going to the health centre til she's 3, and boy am I glad about that!!lol. They only do polio (in April and October), 18 month and 3 year old checkups there now. Everything else is done at the docs. She's got a DPT booster shot (probably next month) then that's it for a few years. Yay!

It wasn't actually the day she was meant to go, because she was getting over a cold when we were supposed to go, but I didn't fancy taking her in October when I'm huge and about to pop at any time!! I think a lot of the other kids there were in the same boat, having missed the right day due to being sick or something, so there were so many people there all from different 校区s. I should have known when the parking lot was full and cars were lined up waiting for people to leave. What is a 校区 in English by the way? Designated school area maybe??

I swear I feel like I've run a marathon. She mucked up the whole time we were waiting (close to 50 minutes, which isn't that bad I guess, but a long time when you're being stared at and when your kid is not doing as they're told!lol). B was an angel, sitting beside me the whole time telling A to stop mucking up and chasing after her every time she tried to run away. Ha!ha! My oh my how the tables have turned!!lol

I think she was just excited to see so many kids in the same room, but for someone who is usually so docile the 18 month checkup 2 months ago and todays vaccination sure seemed to turn her into a whole different kid! I was puffing by the time it was her turn to be seen by the doctor! When it was finally our turn I said to B もう疲れたね！To which he replied 疲れてないよ！which made me, and two of the nurses who had been watching us the whole time giggle. It's not particularly funny or anything, but I guess they were sympathising with me or something.lol
I suppose I was expecting him to agree with me, and when he didn't it was kind of amusing in a weird warped kind of way!

Sorry, just rambling here...
Will stop now!lol

偶然

I was driving home this afternoon and was stopped at lights at a fairly busy intersection.
There were a few people standing waiting to cross at the lights, one man happened to be in a black worksuit with a white long sleeved shirt, just like you would see on any given workday all over Japan.

So anyway I could only see the back of this guy, but the second I saw him I thought, wow that looks like S! It's him for sure!! Despite the fact that about 4 days out of 6 he's not even in the prefecture, I just KNEW it was him. Realistically though it could have been absolutely anyone. I mean the black hair, black suit, black shoes, white shirt kind of thing is pretty common, yeah?? But somehow I just knew.

So the lights turned green and I drove past, and of course I was right!!!
There was a conbini across the road so I quickly drove in, parked, hopped out of the car and called out to him. Man the look on his face was priceless!!lol

It was so nice to bump into him like that. It really was. The kids were both asleep so they missed out on seeing him, but it really made my day. Not that we were doing anything wrong but it was like what if somebody sees us?? Ha!ha!! After over 8 years of marriage I know that is a really dumb thing to say, but I'm guessing it's what high school sweethearts must feel like.lol

I love it when coincidences like this happen!lol

Still here

The last few weeks have been pretty busy all round and although most of it was very enjoyable, I'm still exhausted!!

My parents came for a 2 week visit, and their help with the kids (especially in the mornings when I was throwing up) was much appreciated. I am still kind of wishing I could have gone back with them for a few weeks but unfortunately that wasn't to be this time. That being said I can't get the idea of a visit before the next one arrives out of my mind so it might just happen yet.lol

It just would have been nice to have help on the plane. The thought of taking two small kids while pregnant (by myself of course, no way S would be able to take time off) for a trip taking close to 24 hours in total is not the most appealing to say the least. Not all of that is flying time of course, but that's generally how long it takes after stepping out my front door. The more I think about it and imagine what might happen (and most probably would happen!lol) on the plane and in transit the more I doubt whether it's worth the effort. But I want to go home!!!!! So what can you do...

The cravings (all unfulfilled of course) I've been having for comfort? food like meat pies (from a shop down the road from my parents house), sausage rolls (ditto), cheese and bacon rolls (like I used to get in high school from the canteen) and as of early this morning sausage sizzles!!??!! is driving me nuts.lol I feel like I've been transported back in time about 15 years or so. In all the time I've lived in Japan I've never really felt the need to eat Australian food so this is all very weird.lol

In other news I am 12 weeks today, so hopefully that means I'm into the safe zone now. Morning sickness is not over yet, and at the moment I am just praying it stops soon, and not continue until 17 weeks (as with B) or 20 weeks (like with A). It isn't as bad as the last couple of times so maybe that means it will stop earlier too. Fingers crossed.

Time for a new ticker

I had my first (very belated) appointment yesterday.

So officially I am 9w 3d today, which is still possibly too early to get all excited and put a ticker up, but I couldn't resist. It seems like such a long time ago I announced on here that I was pregnant, considering I'm still not into the safe zone yet.

Anyway, things went well with the check-up, and 5000yen later I came home with a huge smile on my face, an ultrasound picture and paperwork so I can get my 母子手帳.

I absolutely love my clinic, it is only very small, and needless to say I am a well-known patient (for obvious reasons, as well as the fact I have been there SO many times over the last few years) and the reception staff, midwives, nurses (and doctor of course) all remember me and were so genuinely excited to see me sitting in the waiting room I had no less than 10 staff members come up to me and ask how the kids were (some of them even remembered the kids' names!) and give their congratulations. It really made my day, and just thinking about it now has me smiling again.lol So yeah, I love my clinic!

The last week or so has not been so good for morning sickness, throwing up on average 3-4 times a day, but even so things are a lot easier than the last two times. A big thank you goes out to those who are helping me through this, it really is much appreciated.

Long time no post

It's been a while since I last posted, I'm kind of glad I could blog every day last month because it would have been an impossible challenge this month!lol

Things are ok, not great, but not too bad.

Cooking is still a problem, I just can't seem to get into it.
Trying to think of meals is my greatest challenge at the moment, there are just too many things I don't feel up to cooking or eating...

I've been having cravings? for Western type food, which is a change from the norm and the kids aren't impressed with the lack of rice recently. I guess morning sickness is challenging for all family members.lol

Things I love Thursday

Things I am loving this week:

• Home delivery services
• Amazon (aromatherapy book is bought!)
• Not feeling sick 24/7
• Friends who are only too happy to help out

What are you loving this week?

A day of thanks

Don't you love home delivery services?
I know I do.

And moreso now that they are my ray of hope in being able to have a (relatively?) well fed family for the days the cook goes into hibernation!lol

Seriously though, I can not recommend these services enough.
Thank you thank you thank you to whoever invented them!lol
You've made the world a much better place to live in!!

Spoke too soon

Well although it's not as bad as the last two times (yet!and hopefully it won't be!), morning sickness has started...
Thrown up twice already today and feeling very tired.
I'm trying everything I can, and I know I have the support of lots of people out there, but if I'm a bit quiet around here, you know why.