You what?

Doug actually said he wanted to do something today. What? You don't want to stay in the house ALL day on the computer? You don't want to lounge around in your recliner and read? Who are you? I didn't waste any time. We're going to the beach! I was so excited that when he mentioned this last night, I immediately ran out of the house after dinner and headed to Jusco to buy Mary a float.

We went to Kadena Marina where there is a tiny stretch of sand, a nice netted off area to swim, beautiful scenery, easy parking right next to the beach, and a shower. It's also family friendly, so we don't have to hang out with all those obnoxious, young single marines. The tide was up and a bit choppy today. Good thing we had the float, we had Daddy and we had LOTS of patience. Mary was in/out, in/out for the first 15 min. before she realized it wasn't too scary and then she didn't want to get out. She had a blast. We even had a float for Adam, but I didn't get a picture of him in it. Next time. Amazingly, our daughter is getting to be one tan kid even through the 60 spf. Doug lost some of his pasty-whiteness and is now sporting an attractive red neck, red shoulder look (at least the farmer's tan isn't as noticeable). Here are some pictures from our adventure.

Mary deciding if the waves are too scary. I just loved the flower float. She has to share so much with Adam, I thought she deserved a special fun float. We also loved the rope handles. Didn't realize how convenient it would be until we were in the water. Mary loved holding on to them and I loved pulling her around by it.

I loved Doug's naivete in thinking that if we put Adam down on the mat, he'd stay there.

Nope. Away he goes.

He couldn't shovel it in fast enough. Had to use BOTH hands.

I LOVE this picture. It must have been a bad batch of sand. Ha,ha,ha! No, he kept eating it, and eating it, and eating it....
And of course, he loved the water. Darn, wish I had a picture of him in the float.

Everyone says cherish these moments, they grow up too fast. Man, they weren't kidding. I look at Mary and see glimpses of the woman she will become and of course, being the crazy, emotional mother that I am, I get all teary eyed. I know I'll be balling my eyes out her first day of school, her first date, her graduation, college. Heck, I almost lost it today when we went to preschool story time at the library. Seeing her sitting with all the "big kids" up front listening to the books made me proud of her independence and confidence, sad that she didn't want to sit with me, and relieved that she wasn't misbehaving like some of the other kids. I know that one day she'll grow up and move away, but today, I think I'll give her an extra big squeeze and tell her not to grow up too fast.

A quick trip to the playground to burn a little energy.

Then on to storytime at the library!

Getting stamps at the end for being good listeners.

The beach

I sometimes feel a bit guilty that we live 5 min away from the beach, and yet rarely go. Perhaps it's because it takes so much energy to get ready and make sure we have every thing, haul it all to the beach, play, and don't even get me started on the clean up. Man, I'm exhausted just thinking about it. I haven't taken Mary at all this summer. She never likes to get in the water, Adam's now crawling everywhere and putting everything in his mouth. It seemed a bit daunting. Well, today we did it. Our friend's Nicole S. and Jaiden, and Nicole G with Jessica and Michelle were going to meet us at the beach this morning. The G's had to cancel at the last minute and were missed. Jaiden had an extra float that he was willing to share and my daughter that doesn't ever go in the ocean past her ankles decided she loved it and didn't want to come out. I guess I'm adding a float to my shopping list.

I knew what to expect with Adam. There was no way I'd be able to keep him out of the sand or keep the sand out of his mouth. At least I went in with my eyes wide open...and my camera batteries charged. Before I could even get the blanket on the ground, this is what I saw.

And this...

Sand apparently tastes better when it's on his sister's flip flop. Ewwww.

Trying to be incognito amongst the sand toys. Yep, it was a pretty fun morning.

Deep breath 1, 2,3

I have to learn to let things go. She's only three. Why can't I let it go? Just take a deep breath and relax....

We took Doug to the airport this morning for another business trip. Luckily, this one will only be 4 days, but darn if he isn't going to Hawaii. I forgot how long that ride to the airport is to a small kid. It was rainy, it was rush hour, it took forever (ok, just an hour), but we essentially just drop him off and head back. No getting out to run around and stretch. Yikes. Adam lost it. He was sick and tired of sitting and probably a little hungry. I had to pull over and nurse him, since his screams reached an all time high and Mary was complaining that she couldn't hear her music. She really wanted to go to Jusco and I figured she deserved it considering the ride and the rainy day. We bee lined to the machine popcorn and had a little snack before going to the "airy balls", the play area with the ball pit. Now, I will tell you, it costs 300 yen (essentially $3.50) for 20 min for EACH kid to play in this area, but it's filled with a plethora of toys and has ball pits and tunnels and a slide and dress up clothes... You get the point. It's really cool. They have a rule, you have to make sure you go to the bathroom before entering. There is no in/out privilege. We've never had a problem before. Today, right as we were about to enter, I asked Mary if she had to go. "No", was her quick response. Ok, let's play. I kid you not, 5 min later I hear, "Mom, I have to go potty." Are you serious?!?! "I asked you and you said no!" I was so mad. Maybe it was because I was tired. Maybe it was because Adam was really having fun, since it was his first time in the baby ball pit. Maybe it was because I had specifically asked her and she had said no. It couldn't have been the wasted money, since we have been known to waste much more, but it did kinda irk me. Anyway, I told her to hold it, but then she started to do the potty dance. You know the knees pressed together, bouncing, half squatting look. Dang, she really had to go. So I called the attendant over, paid full price for their 5 min., all the while leaving Adam in the balls as long as possible, and we went to the bathroom. I then took them to the free padded room so they could continue to play. I don't know how many times I had to explain to Mary why we couldn't go back to the "airy balls" like she wanted. Each time I tried to explain it to her, I felt my blood pressure rising and I kept getting more upset. I had to keep reminding myself that she's only 3. I did assume some blame and admitted that after 2 hours in the car I should have immediately taken her to the bathroom without even asking her. So here are some pictures from our adventure. I wish I had more.

"Hey, I got a ball!"

"Hmm, are two better than one?"

Mary kept running laps. I couldn't get a clear picture since she wouldn't hold still. At least I can be thankful she had a chance to burn some energy.

Adam figure if he stayed in the middle, he could watch his crazy sister and still be safe from trampling.

The true test of a good quality play time is "how do your feet taste?" Awww, gross Adam.

sleep

It's amazing the difference 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep can do to a person. It can make me more patient throughout the day, more compassionate, a better mother, a better wife. Is it sad that I'm excited to get 5 hours of sleep? Why do the kids seem to have ESP and know when to wake me up? If it's not one kid all night, it's the other. It's like they talk to each other and decide which one will get a good night's sleep and which one won't. I wish I could be in on that conversation and tell them to cut it out. So here I am drinking my coffee and loving it. Glad that it only needs to "sort of" perk me up today where as yesterday it had to completely pick my butt up off the floor and drag it around the house. I'm glad the sun is out and we can venture outside. I'm thrilled at the 5 hours of sleep and all I can say is, "YEA!" Now if only we can start stretching that morning wake up alarm (aka Adam) from 5am to 6, we'll be in business.

this weekend

This weekend, we enjoyed the sounds of baby laughter.

We saw radiant smiles.We played with water guns.

We worked hard.

We made goofy faces.

We were amazed. *7 mo old. He only learned to sit unassisted 7 days ago*

What did you do?

Motherhood is...

Exhaustion is...realizing I'm burping my breast while my baby is asleep in my lap.

Pride is...watching my daughter grow into a fun, loving, smart little girl.

Frustration is...part of the job.

Happiness is...listening to my daughter sing in her off-key voice, watching my son do the worm across the floor to my outstretched arms, snuggling on the couch for reading time with the whole family.

Patience is...listening to "why?" all day.

Dedication is...answering the "why?" all day.

Motherhood is...the best job I have ever had and I love every minute of it.

water baby

A whole new world has opened up now that little man can sit up. I love it! Into the bathtub you go. Good thing, since he was starting to outgrow the baby bath that sat in the kitchen sink. He kept kicking the faucet and I know that couldn't have felt good. In case you were wondering, Doug had enough hot air to blow up the tub (in record time- hee,hee). Adam LOVED the bath. I think he could have sat in there all night and played if we let him. He is our water baby. He could care less if we dumped water over his head and it ran into his eyes...unlike Mary. What a refreshing change.

You would think those cheeks would hurt

...from smiling so hard. We ran some errands this evening and decided to stop at Pizza Hut for dinner. There's a big playground right outside the restaurant, so of course we played for a few minutes. I am so happy that Adam is now sitting up. He got to sit in the big boy swing tonight and...he LOVED it! Here's the smile to prove it. My cheeks hurt just looking at these. Awww, what a smile. My adorable "Honey Candy" (gotta love those Japanese t-shirts).

POP!

You know, 3 yr olds and water balloons aren't as scary a combination as one would think. Perhaps it's the fact that this was the first time either had seen/held/thrown a water balloon. Perhaps it's the wonderful parenting provided by these awesome moms to prevent the typical "She/he just hit me in the face!" screaming. Perhaps, we just had a lucky day. Jaiden came over for an impromptu afternoon playdate yesterday and it was HOT. We pulled out Mary's water balloons that she received for her birthday. The kids were given bowls of equal amounts of balloons (a must for all you non-parents) and we told them to throw them at the playground to see what would happen. They had a blast watching them bounce off the slide and pop in the grass. I got some great "in action" shots of balloons in the air.

I wasn't going to pull out all the water toys, but heck, you're only a kid once. They (we) invented the game of balloon bowling. They don't pop, so the fun lasts longer!

Adam just learned to sit up on his own this past Sunday and life has gotten much easier...er, busier. It was nice being able to sit him in the baby pool for a few minutes to cool off.

He enjoyed trying to eat all the grass the kids had inadvertently put in the pool. Ok, maybe "enjoyed" is the wrong word.

He even stood next to the water table for a few minutes before toppling over backwards. Don't worry, I softened the blow and he didn't even cry.

What a handsome little Dude.