Kendra's Bubble

I'm in a bubble.  I'm frozen in time and I like it.  I'm comfortable.  I live in a place that's super safe.  Robberies, rape and murder are practically unheard of (and when they are, the majority are perpetrated by Americans- sad, I know).  I live with no cell phone, a 19 inch t.v, an antiquated home computer, a stereo with it's cassette player duct taped shut and a car I have to unlock with a key.  I live in a place where I can go shopping and if my child runs to another aisle, I'm not terrified that he/she's been kidnapped.  I live in a place where you can go out to eat and not a single person is talking on a cell phone or texting their friends.  Heck, you usually can't even hear them talking (unless it's Americans- yes, also sad).  Of course, there's a downside.  My bubble is located way too far away from our families.  The children are growing like weeds and the grandparents only see them through photos and videos.  It also gets way too hot and humid in the summer for my taste.  My bubble is about to pop and I'll admit, I'm a bit apprehensive.  Change is good, right?  This weekend, Doug plans on buying our first laptop, a Mac.  I'm excited, but I feel so out of touch with technology these days.  I've played with the in-store models and they completely confound me.  Doug said, "It's easy.  Just click on what you want."  Ha!  I couldn't even figure out how to "click"!  Maybe he can use the laptop and I can have the old standard I'm familiar with and not have to share.  In about 4 months, we'll step off that horrendously long flight and be instantly inundated with new technology, new cars, a new house and so many shopping choices, Doug's wallet will probably go into cardiac arrest.  I have no idea what an "app" is, how to get one, or what to do with it once I have it.  I've never had a cell phone with a camera and we haven't purchased a new t.v. since 1999.  When you move overseas, you're required to go to a "cultural awareness" class to help with culture shock.  I think they should offer one for when you return to the States.  I don't know if I'm super strange or if there are other people like me (under the age of 80).  Don't get me wrong, I am definitely ready to move back, I'm ready for change, but for now, I'll relax in my bubble for a little while longer.


Yesterday, after 7 nights of great sleeping, Mary earned herself a trip to Toys R Us to pick out a prize.  Yea!  We headed to the one closer to Naha that we've never been to before.  Mary had a tough decision between the Thomas the Tank Engine Mylar balloon or a princess dress-up accessory pack (shoes, tiara, purse, gloves, jewelry and magic wand).  After much deliberation, she chose the dress-up pieces.  She said we can go back for the balloon next time. :)

We ended the trip with play time at their indoor playground.  This place was awesome.  Adam literally ran around screaming with excitement until I paid and got us through the gate.  They had a blast.

Mary's favorite ride was this palm tree with swinging balls.  Kinda like a merry-go-round...with balls. 

Adam LOVED the ball pit (in case you can't tell).

A huge fan + lots of balloons = one happy kid.

Mary came out and said, "Whew!  It's really windy in there."

Now that's what I call a successful morning trip.

A Mom By Any Other Name...

For a while, Mary was in the whiny "but, mommy..." phase.  But, mommy this and but, mommy that.  I had to tell her my name wasn't but, mommy.  I gave her alternate phrases to use to instead and I think they've really started to pay off.  Example:  Me:  "Mary, it's time to go to bed."  Mary:  Old way- "But, Mommy I don't want to go to bed." [insert whiny voice], New way-  "Mom, I'm having nice quiet time, may I please stay up 2 more minutes?"  Yea, she's really doing better and we haven't had nearly as many episodes of talking back or temper tantrums. 

This past week, Mary has now started calling me Mama.  Yes, Mama.  No, Mama.  I'm pooping, Mama.  Adam's on the train table again, Mama.  Today, I told her, "I really like that you call me Mama."  She said, "You like it better than But?"  Ha,ha,ha!  Yes, much better than But...or Butt!

Ginowan Seaside Park/Tropical Beach

We ventured out to Ginowan Seaside Park today.  We've never been there.  If I had, I definitely would have brought the stroller.  It was a huge park, great for biking, walking/jogging, playing ball, etc.  There were wide paved paths and we saw many kids on their tricycles pedaling about.  Adam would walk/run about 20 feet, get distracted by a pretty flower, a fellow pedestrian, a pond, a piece of trash...and would promptly wander off or better yet, sit down.  This made for a long walk to the beach.  Luckily, we found a playground to explore for a few minutes.

Mary made a new friend on the see saw.

Adam was fearless through this tunnel...even when his leg fell through.  The Japanese parents were impressed, so was I.

We finally wandered further down the path and found the beautiful beach.  Tropical Beach.

The sand was super soft, the water a beautiful teal and the sky a clear blue.  It truly was tropical.

I loved just sitting in the warm sand watching the kids play together.  I had such a sense of peace and contentment.  Aahh.

Adam showed me a handful of sand.  I said, "Hey!  You're a big boy now.  You didn't immediately eat it!"

WRONG!  Mary said, "I guess he's not old enough yet."

Good thing he's so gosh darn cute...and the sand passes easily through his digestive tract.

My happy little sand digger.

It's hard to believe how much he has changed.

Our quiet family life so completely rearranged.

He started out with a head so bare,

But 15 months later, now look what's there!

He knows he's adorable, he's getting quite vain.

He puts so much product in his hair, It'll drive me insane.

There are lots of options on the market these days.

Let me tell you, what can help those fly aways.

                         There's fish...                                                                  and couscous         

And good 'ole sweat.

                   There's spaghetti...                                                               and broccoli

Even water gets it wet.

So whatever option you want to choose,

Remember, it's always better to use hair gel or mousse.

...but, definitely not as fun!

 









FEET!

We're trying to teach him body parts.  He may not talk, but he sure can laugh.

The Negotiator

*Mary and I were snuggling on the couch after story time tonight.  This was our conversation.

Me:  "Mary, it's late.  We can snuggle 1 more minute then it's time for bed."
Mary:  "OK.  2 minutes or 5 minutes?"
Me:  "1 minute"
Mary:  "2 minutes it is."

*Grandpa Mesta would be proud.  Our little negotiator.  For the record, she earned 2 minutes.

Iso Park

I've made a list of new parks we haven't yet visited and today, Mary picked Iso Park.  It's tucked back on a small street and if we didn't have directions, we never would have found it.  It was fabulous! 

First, we said, "Whoa."

  Climbers, rope bridges, slides, zip lines and yes, swings. This place had it all!

 Then we said, "Whee!"

 This was Mary's favorite ride.  She hung on like a champ and I just ran her up and down the zip line.  Good exercise for me, strong arms and legs for her.

Then we said, "Cool!"

So much to explore and climb and hang from and slide down...

Adam seriously climbed all the stairs by himself and went down 10 times!  He loved this.  Good thing the slide was so slow (since he loves to go head first).  I realized there's a method to his madness...he drools the whole way down, but because he's on his stomach, his shirt wipes it clean for all the people coming behind him.  Genius!  Yes, he's a screamer when he gets really excited.  Beware if you're a little too close to him, it can feel like it's piercing your ear drum.  Ouch!  Do I have to tell you that he thoroughly exhausted himself and was asleep by the time we got home?  That's a winner in my book!

* A milestone for Adam-  The place was covered in sand and he didn't put a single handful in his mouth!  Maybe it was the granola bar I had him eat in the car on the ride there.  He must have been full.

* We also explored up the hill and found an old stone Tori gate and what looked like an old shrine set deep in the woods.  It was really cool, but I have too many photos.

The Cure All

The Band Aid-  It cures everything, a bump, a scrape, a cut.  It wipes away the tears as if by magic.  Sticky magic.

Today, we went for Adam's 15 month well baby check-up.  It included 2 more vaccinations.  There was nervousness and apprehension and even a little hand holding...then I had to tell Mary to sit down so I could give all my attention to her brother.  He was a champ.  He wiggled and squirmed, he screamed and cried, he delighted in the colorful, fun Daffy Duck band aids on his thighs.  Ahh, life is good.  This afternoon, he had fun pulling off the band aids and re-sticking them everywhere.  Apparently, there were lots of boo-boos in need of fixing.  There was his shin... my chin... the couch... even my arm had an "ouch"...the train table was really sore...so was his sneaker, so was the door.  He finally settled on a permanent place, the very appropriate cut on his face.  Of course, he's 15 months, so his aims a little askew.  He's so gosh darn cute, what can I do?  Oh yeah, take a picture!  (He seriously left the band aid here for over an hour)



Diggin' Up Some Entertainment!

We had some serious entertainment today.  Apparently, there's something special in the ground and all throughout our neighborhood, you could see workmen digging big holes in people's front and back yards.  I didn't see anything extracted and the workers were so quick and thorough they had the holes filled in no time.  You could barely tell where they dug.  They did our house while we were out at ballet this morning and the only way I knew they had completed it was because of the tread marks from the digger.  I had a faint moment of panic on the way home that maybe they were looking for unexploded WWII ordinances and we'd come home to find that they had hit one with the digger and blown off the front of our house.  I would say that's a bit extreme, but unexploded ordinances have been found all over this island.  A machine gun was actually found on this base a few years ago.  For those of you worried, our house was intact when we came home.  Whew!

  A photo op this morning.  One of the workers actually picked Adam up and moved him inside the roped off area.  Thankfully, he chose this time to be shy and not run straight for the hole.

After nap, we headed outside to watch them fill up some holes.  Adam kept opening his mouth and saying, "ahhhh."  He was mesmerized.  Of course, I couldn't get that on camera. 

We were even able to scoot over to Nicole's back yard and watch with friends.  Good times.

Shisa Park

Only in Okinawa, can you find an amazingly large Shisa playground.  And the Putthoffs love a good playground!

You haven't fully lived until you've been pooped out of a Shisa.  (OK, maybe it's technically his hind leg, but it still looks hilarious).

I am lion, hear me roar!

The squirrel "welcoming" us to the park. 

There wasn't much Adam could play on here, but he found and conquered these stairs.  My little "Rocky".



Higashi Azalea Festival

What do you do when you have over 50,000 azalea bushes?  Why you have a festival, of course!  Today, we awoke to a beautiful, warm, sunshiny day and knew we needed to get out and see the azaleas before they were gone.  This was the first year for us, since it's really far north.  And when I say far, I mean, it took us almost 2 hours to get there.  Yikes!  Thankfully, Adam fell asleep halfway there and Mary was a pleasant driving companion.  Didn't even whine about the trip, except to say, "Mom, I'm ready to get out and get some exercise."  By that time, so was I.  As we turned the corner and drove up the hill, we were greeted with huge blooming azaleas on both sides of the street.  Gorgeous.  Not all the bushes were fully in bloom, but it was definitely worth the drive.  All the azaleas reminded me of growing up in Georgia and having beautiful blooms in the yard...and Dad yelling at the deer for eating them...and collecting my hair after mom cut it to sprinkle around the bushes...and the little chunks of Ivory soap on sticks in the yard...and Boots, our dog, eating the soap.  Ahhh, memories.

Yes, there can be thousands and thousands of beautiful flowers and my kids find the ditch.  Adam, of course, found snacks (rocks, leaves, etc.)

And you know us, we can't go anywhere without finding a playground.

Unfortunately, Doug has been super busy at work and was unable to join us on our adventure.  He was certainly missed.