Mommy Fails: Episode Two

I'm not sure how I missed them, but a few weeks ago*, after typhoon Neoguri passed over Osaka shedding only a few drops of rain and a couple gusts of wind, I found two emails from my mom asking if we were OK. 

*I actually started (and pretty much finished) this ages ago, so my timeline might be a little off.

Unlike the power outages, flooding and damage caused by the gale force winds in and around Okinawa, by the time Neoguri had hit us she was a typhoon no more. 

With that, typhoon season was upon us here in Japan. 

Typhoon Season 2013 - Curtains & Giggles

Kio's favourite typhoon activity.

Not long after that, the biggest typhoon we've had in this area in ages hit with a vengeance. As I was tying down the plants on the balcony and trying to keep the pond from overflowing (didn't want the fish to get washed away after all) I was reminded of my rainy day 'mishap' from last year.

Typhoon Season 2014 - Wind & Rain

Was soaked to the bone after just a few minutes on the balcony.

After spending a month in Canada, Kio and I arrived back in Japan just in time for the typhoon season. After locking us in my bedroom for a few fretful hours I was being extra careful not to have any more screw-ups. 

Setting myself up for failure.

Typhoon Season 2013 - Before & After

The river beside our house, these were taken on the same day!

 

It had been raining for days on end and I was going a little stir crazy. At that time we didn't have a car so if I wanted to go anywhere it was on foot. I was still breastfeeding but allowed myself one (much coveted) cup of coffee a day.

So of course I had run out two days before.

Due to severe boredom, I'd become quite obsessed on having my fix and began monitoring the weather constantly. Checking the Internet and looking out the windows at regular 10 minute intervals hoping for the rain to finally let up.

I finally got lucky.

I popped Kio into his stroller and pretty much sprinted to the nearest place that served coffee.

In retrospect, there are several things that I overlooked as I jetted from the apartment:

1. I could've just gone to a convenience store, bought some coffee, and been home in under fifteen minutes.

But I didn't.

2. I could've just ordered a coffee, drank it, and been home in under thirty minutes.

But I didn't. I ordered lunch too.

3. I could've grabbed an umbrella 'just in case'.

But I didn't. And I didn't bring the rain cover for Kio's stroller either.

4. I could've just sucked it up and gone without my coffee.

But of course I didn't.

Kio slept soundly in his stroller while I savoured my coffee like it was a fine wine. As he began to stir and I got ready to go...and that's when the heavens opened up and it started to pour.

Bugger.

I spent over an hour at the restaurant waiting out the rain, but it just wasn't happening. I called a cab company and was informed that it would take over an hour for one to arrive. And they were none too friendly when I told them that my destination was a mere 3-5 minutes away. 

Luckily, the downpour lightened up into just regular rain and I decided to make a run for it.

My footwear was not really conducive to running through giant puddles so I kicked off my shoes and began running down the sidewalk.

We made it home in record time but as you can see from the picture Kio wasn't at all amused. 

This year we're all stocked up on the rainy day essentials.

Lesson learned.

This is how we roll.

When compared to the Canadian winters of my youth, the season of Jack Frost in Japan is rather mild.

After my first few years living here, I had become accustomed to the weather in Japan. For the most part I can tolerate the hot and humid summers, and I complain along with everyone else about the 'freezing cold' in the winter.

In reality the temperature only dips down below zero a handful of times each winter.

As I grumble and complain, people more often than not respond with, "But you're Canadian!" At which point (for the umpteenth time that week) I explain the differences between winter in Canada and Japan.

"To start with, Canadian winters are dry. When crawling into bed at night it doesn't feel like you're entering a partially frozen swamp."

One particularly cold winter I took to heating up the bottom plate of my tajine and putting it in my bed to dry it out. Sure I could have used a hot water bottle but where's the 'old world' fun in that? Anyway, it worked for about a week until I overheated it one night and burnt my sheets. 

"As well, we have central heating in Canada which means that there is no need to avoid certain areas of your home for fear of frostbite."

At the next Winter Olympics I propose that Speed Toweling be added to the roster. The athletes enjoy a nice hot shower and are then forced to towel dry and get dressed in an unheated bathroom before hypothermia sets in. I think Japan would be a major contender for the gold medal.

"Finally, for the most part, Canadians do not ride bicycles or commute by train in the winter. We go from our nice warm houses to our nice warm cars, suffering the cold for only and few minutes at a time."

Sure Canadians use subways in the winter but that is different because they are underground; there is no bitter wind howling into the car at each station. And those Canadians who travel by bicycle in the winter are mentalists and not indicative of the general population.  

Usually by the time I have finished my rant, the listener is wishing that they had never brought up the topic in the first place. Even now, with the temperature in the low 30s and winter long gone, I can't control the feelings of (dare I say it?) hatred that I feel for that particular season, no matter which country it occurs in.

Hmmm. It seems that I have long ago strayed from the original topic of this post. I blame it on winter.

My apologies. I shall now get on with it.

My story begins last Christmas (I knew that there was a winter tie-in lurking around somewhere) and one of Kio's Christmas presents was a bicycle helmet. Shin and I combed websites and sporting goods shops in order to find one that we felt would suit Kio. 

This is what we came up with...

 

 

I think that it is probably more Shin's style than Kio's, but it's pretty damn cute nonetheless.

 

 

The next step was to buy a bicycle with a baby seat so that I could take him to nursery school, and then head directly to the station to board the train to work. A fine plan except that the day we decided to go bicycle shopping happened to be one of the coldest of the winter. I then realized that there was no way that I would be strapping my baby onto the back of a bike until spring.

There's winter rearing its ugly head again.

Thus from January until April I walked with Kio to our car (our parking spot isn't at our apartment, we save ¥6000 a month by walking 5 minutes), drove Kio to daycare, drove back to our parking spot, walked back to the apartment, picked up Shin's bicycle and set off to the station.

 

 

Not exactly the most convenient system, but it kept Kio warm.

Once spring arrived it was time to dust off Kio's bicycle helmet and get shopping for the ultimate 'Mama's Bike'. 

 

There were a few 'features' that I deemed necessary for this particular ride: more than 3 gears, a frame large enough to accommodate my taller than average stature (in Japan anyway), a basket big enough to carry a bag of diapers and my diaper bag, and finally the colour had to be dark so that Shin could use it if needed. 

Obviously cool didn't factor into my decision. Because seriously, the second you throw a basket into the mix, cool is out the window.

After a few weekends of combing bicycle shops in our area, the search was over and Blue Mama joined the slowly expanding Hirano fleet.

 

 

I love this picture, I think that Kio looks like 'The Fonz'.

Eehhhhh!

 

Kio is the best little passenger and doesn't mind wearing his helmet - a total surprise as keeping a toque on his head during winter was an ongoing battle. As well, not having to return home after dropping him off means that we can spend more time together in the mornings. Of course, now that summer has arrived, and the humidity is starting to set in, I'm one sweaty mama by the time I reach the train station.

But I shan't complain. No, I'll save that up for next February when I'm dramatically freezing half to death.

子どもの日 (Children's Day) Again

From October through March there is a flurry of events going on in the Hirano family. 

We all celebrate a birthday, and of course there is the build up to and excitement of Halloween, Christmas and Japanese New Year. We close off the 'holiday season' with Valentine's Day and White Day a month later. 

Honestly, it was all a bit much and Shin and I have been looking forward to some respite from all the organizing and merry making. However, after only a month and a half, we're back at it again.

Last year when I wrote about 子どもの日 (Children's Day) I mentioned how relieved I was that we were able to persuade Shin's dad not to buy Kio one of the traditional samurai helmets that parents display around this time of year; it was just too much money for something that is not really our kind if thing. On the other hand I and still in love with the 鯉のぼり(carp banners / flags) that he got instead.

 

Children's Day is on May 5th, so a couple of weeks before we hung Kio's fish from the balcony. With that, my Grinch like holiday burnout disappeared, and I happily went about making plans for Kio's second 子どもの日.

Last year Shin and I decided that for Children's Day our tradition would be to buy Kio a toy and a new outfit; our dearly departed Mushi-san and The Very Hungry Caterpillar book were his present last year. 

My choices of course.

And Shin picked out his outfit.

This year we decided to leave out the clothes. Not because we're slackers who can't keep up with the traditions that we have started up on our own (at least that's what we tell ourselves), but because we just bought him a mountain of new clothes when he started nursery school.

One of the things that I really like about Kio's daycare is that they send home a little letter everyday outlining his reactions / participation in the activities of the day (from what I hear, this is a pretty standard practice across Japan).They also let us know if we need to stock up his diapers or clean clothes, and if he pooped or not. 

All the essentials really.

Anyway, just after he started we got a note saying that his clothes have too many buttons. I guess during one of the information sessions we attended they told us not to dress our kids in onesies or pants that button / zip up; I had been too busy trying to get Kio to, "Please be good for just another 15 minutes!" and missed that little tidbit.

The button thing is totally understandable when you think about the time it takes to snap a super wriggly toddler into their clothes; then multiply that by ten. They also said that he'll need to be button free when potty training season comes around.

I don't even want to think about that at this moment.

Being one that tends to follow the rules (Shin seems to think that everything is a guideline - this can be noted by the number of parking tickets he's received) I headed out that night and restocked Kio's wardrobe with elastic wasted, button-free, snap-free, zip-free clothing. I also bought him a 'good' outfit for his daycare entrance ceremony - a button up cotton shirt and pants that have both a zipper and button.

It takes me ten minutes to get it on him.

As Kio was set in the area of clothes, we put all of our efforts into choosing an awesome toy.

At this point I'd like to slip in the fact that the road to hell is indeed paved with good intentions.

On Children's Day we dressed Kio in his 'good' clothes and headed to Toys R Us.

Last year my mom suggested taking a picture of

Kio beside his fish every year on Children's Day.

Love it!

Shin had decided that Kio needed a 'ball-toy' - not to be confused with your garden variety ball, but rather something that comes with several balls that go down slides etc.

You'd be surprised at the number of 'ball-toys' out there to choose from!

After narrowing down the choices, we had decided to show Kio the boxes and let him make the final decision. Then we passed one of those little video player advertising things, and it was showing what could only be called the king of all 'ball-toys'.  

Without hesitation we bought the toy and raced home to try it out - I'm sure Kio was wondering what the hell had gotten into us.

In my mere one year and three months as a mom, I have learned hundreds of parenting lessons. And I can say without hesitation, that on Kio's second Children's Day I learned one of the most important ones...

If the toy isn't on display, and there is a video making it look like the most amazing toy in the world, then it is guaranteed to be the loudest, most obnoxious, 'what the hell were we thinking' toy on the planet.

Because seriously, no one in their right mind would buy one of these contraptions if they knew what it was capable of beforehand: loud repetitive music, irritating animals noises, balls randomly shooting across the room, all topped off with the deafening sound of the motor.

You may want to turn the volume down on your computer for this little clip...

 
The fact that Kio loves it does make it a little better, but seriously that toy is the devil reincarnated.

We topped off Children's Day with a homemade egg-less cake and spaghetti - Kio's new favourite meal. 

 

As I was relaxing on the sofa with a much needed post-celebration glass of wine, two things came to me:

1. Books really do make the best gifts.

2. Mother's Day is next week and Father's Day is in June.

 

Cutting the chord.

After the dust had cleared from the fun and games of giving birth to Kio, I had a quiet moment to go through the enormous bag of goodies given to us by our hospital. Most of it was free samples from different diaper, formula and baby wipe companies but there were some other fun goodies as well; one of them was a little wooden box. Too tired to bother asking the nurses about it, I left it on my bedside table with the intention of asking Shin the next morning. Had I looked inside the answer would have been revealed.

To this day, I am quite happy that I wasn't in an overly inquisitive frame of mind. 

Fun fact: hospitals in Japan give you a piece of the umbilical chord to keep as a 'souvenir'. They even provide a cute little box for you to keep it in. 

I didn't have to wait for Shin to arrive the next day in order to get the lowdown on my new treasure. When the morning shift nurse popped in to introduce herself, and find out how Kio and I fared during our first night together, she handed me a piece of gauze and explained the purpose of the box. She opened the box to reveal the prized bit of chord that was nestled inside, and then gave me the gauze which held a spare. 

Yes, that's right. A spare piece of umbilical chord.

It was at this point that I burst out laughing. When the nurse didn't join in I quickly muttered, "すみません、ちょっとつかれた。" (Please, excuse me. I'm a little tired.) 

Coupled with the rather unladylike expletives I bellowed during labour, I didn't think that I was making a very good impression. Luckily maternity ward nurses are used to a bit of nonsense from new moms and they didn't hold the curse words or cultural insensitivity against me.

So there's a little anecdote about physically cutting the chord, but my purpose here today is to delve a bit into the metaphorical side of things.

From the day that Kio and I came home from the hospital we've shared a room. It was always my intention to move out of 'his' room once he started sleeping well but I just never got around to it. 

In the beginning we bed-shared. The ease of being able to roll over half asleep and nurse in the middle of the night just made life that little bit easier.

This is my favourite picture of Kio and I.

He's just so pleased with his fatness.

Too bad that it is so grainy.

 



Once Kio was able to roll on his own, I decided that it was time to move him to his crib. A few people warned me that the transition would be hellish, but it went off without a hitch. Not much after that Kio was also regularly napping in his crib too. Ahh the freedom of being able to move about the apartment during nap time. 

Kio's first night in his crib.

That's my shirt that he's sleeping on - I read that it is supposed to

help with the adjustment. It turns out that it wasn't needed.

The next step should have been my exodus but that's where my momentum kind of petered out - until recently.

It was during March, when both Kio and I were sick, that I realized it was time to strike out on my own. 

WARNING: The following story contains scenes of gratuitous vomiting. Proceed at your own risk.

There was one night in particular where Kio had been waking up at least once an hour. Either he or I would have a coughing fit that that would rouse him and bring on a fresh batch of tears.

And of course more coughing.

At one point he got to be pretty inconsolable so I gave him a bottle. His eyes began to droop, his whimpering stopped and within minutes he was sound asleep in his crib.

I crawled back into bed with the hopes that I might get a couple of hours of uninterrupted sleep...

Cue the vomit.

It was up the wall, down between the slats of the crib, all through Kio's hair, and still coming. I whisked him out of his bed and headed for the shower, which he hates. 

More tears.

More vomit.

More tears (this time from me).

Finally, after what felt like and eternity, but was probably more like 10 minutes, he was in clean PJs and for all intents and purposes puke free. The poor little dude was exhausted so I put him in my bed and set to work cleaning up the mess.

By this point it was around 3:00 in the morning. I'm sure that the people living below us were pleased as punch that I was moving furniture and knocking stuff around.

I'm less than graceful on a good day, but add sleep deprivation and the plague into the mix, and I move with the elegance of an elephant. And really, this is probably doing and injustice to elephants.

Sheets, pajamas and towels into the wash. Mattress on the balcony to be dealt with in the morning. Walls and floor hastily mopped. And lastly, the crib was wiped down. Mission accomplished, time for bed. Again.

I snuggled in with my little guy, closed my eyes and was immediately overwhelmed by the stench of puke.

Although I had cleaned both Kio and the room, I admit that I did a less that stellar job - especially on the room. 

It was the middle of the night after all.

As I was dragging out the futon that we keep stored away for guests, I repeatedly kicked myself in the ass for not moving into the spare room earlier. 

If I had moved, I wouldn't have woken Kio up with my coughing.

If I had moved I could have closed the door on that awful mess and sorted it out in the morning.

If I had moved, we would be sleeping right now.

Grrr.

So as we stretched out on the floor of the spare room I vowed to 'cut the chord' and be in my own room by the end of Golden Week (that's the beginning of May for those of you who are unfamiliar with the Japanese public holiday system).

And so I was.

And it is good.

And Kio has slept through the night six times. 

And I've only brought him in to sleep with me four times...

OK, so maybe the chord isn't completely cut, but we're giving it a pretty good stretch.

This is where my bed used to be -

Kio's new playroom!

 

Notice that he is surrounded by toys and

playing with the box that his crayons came in.

 

March: In like a lion, out like a squirrel.

We're baaaaaack!

Since the beginning of The Hirano Family Blog, I have made a major effort to write at least three times each month. Unfortunately, in March and for the majority of April, it just hasn't been possible.

In a nutshell life has been mental.

For you to get the full effect, our story shall begin in December...

As I would be returning to work at the beginning of January, Shin and I began to organize a schedule for Kio's slow introduction to the world of nursery school. I was already feeling guilty about abandoning my child into the hands of strangers, and I wanted his (and my) experience to be as stress-free as possible.

First we contacted our ward office and got a list of schools in our area. We then checked out the closest ones, and submitted our application listing our top five choices. Our first set back occurred when we were informed (by the same people who told us that there was no need to register early) that Kio would not be able to enter any of the places that we selected until April; the start of the school year in Japan.

Luckily, there was one nursery school not far from our house that accepted children on a daily reservation basis, and they had room for Kio!

After our tour of くるみ (Kurumi Nursery School - FYI Kurumi means walnut in Japanese) and meeting with the principal, we came up with a schedule that would have Kio going only a few hours a day for a couple of days a week in the beginning. As he became more comfortable we would increase the length and number of days. Other childcare needs would be met by Shin's parents and our regular babysitter.

The perfect plan was born.

 

In January, only a few days before he was due to return to work, one of the part-time teachers at the school Midori and I run, resigned. As such, I would have to return to work full-time until we were able to hire a new part-time teacher.

With that, the perfect plan crumbled into a thousand little tear-soaked pieces.

Rather than the slow, stress-free introduction we had planned, Kio was thrown full force into 'school life'. And this did not jive with the little guy.

For most of January, Kio screamed bloody murder as soon as we walked into the building. His teachers encouraged me not to stick around as he wouldn't calm down until I was out of sight. Sucking back the tears, I would retreat into my car to the sound of my son losing his poor little mind. Then, I too, would have a bit of a cry of my own.

Along with his daily meltdown, Kio also went on hunger and sleeping strikes. He refused to eat at nursery but would come home and devour everything in sight. As well, he would wake up in the middle of the night wanting to play. Not satisfied with my feeble efforts of singing from my bed across the room, Kio would cry until a full on playtime was had.

I was exhausted, but feeling so guilty that I couldn't deny him the time that he clearly wanted with Mommy. 

Luckily, by mid-February Kio got his groove on and things settled into a more stable, yet hectic, routine:

5:30 wake up, shower and get dressed before Kio is up.

6:00 Kio is up. He eats his breakfast and half of mine (the hunger strike is clearly over). 

Kiss, hug, make dinner for and play with Kio, dropping him off at nursery at 9:30.

Catch the 10:03 train to work. 

Shin picks up Kio at 4:00 and takes him home to do dinner, bath and bed by 7:30. 

Shin gets ready for work and makes dinner.

I'm home by 9:00, we eat dinner and Shin is out the door to work.

I clean-up from dinner, do housework and collapse into an exhausted heap by 11:30.

Up again at around 2:30 as Kio still hasn't given up his middle of the night bottle. Then crash for a few more hours only to go at it again the next morning.

Totally nuts! This was NOT the plan.

Originally, I was going to finish work at 5:00 and be home by 6:00. We would eat as a family and have time for Kio to be with Shin and I together. And although we were interviewing new teachers on a regular basis, they were either duds (to put it politely) or looking for full-time employment. My daily mantra became, "This is only temporary." which I chanted to myself like a crazy person regularly throughout the day.

And that brings us to March. In like a lion...

 

In Japan, the rule across the board from nursery school right through to high school is: if your kid has a fever then they stay home. 

 

Without exception. 

 

I have to say that I was not very good at remembering to take Kio's temperature each morning, but the fine folks at くるみ never skipped a beat. One morning as I was heading back to my car after dropping Kio off, I was chased outside by a teacher loaded down with Kio and all of his things. As she handed over Kio, she informed me that, "he has a fever." With his classmates' little noses running like faucets, it was only a matter of time before Kio joined them. 

 

Kio's fever turned into a chest cold. His chest cold turned into asthma. And his asthma resulted in our first midnight trip to the emergency room. Something I remember well from my own childhood.

From the moment I got pregnant, I knew that the chance of Kio getting asthma were pretty high. Shin suffered from childhood asthma and I still take medicine on a daily basis to keep mine in check. But of course I had been silently hoping that through some DNA miracle it would pass him by.

 

Miracle. Shmiracle.

Kio didn't go back to くるみ for the rest of the week. 

And of course Shin and I got sick too.

 

March was literally sucking the life out of us - something had to give.

 

As the month started to come to a close the clouds parted and a ray of sunshine beamed down upon our tiny family.

 

How's that for drama? 

Anyway...

Midori and I were able to hire not one, but TWO new teachers for our school. 

We got the confirmation letter that Kio could enter nursery as a full-time student, AND he could stay at くるみ. Fabulous news as we seriously did not need to go through the adjustment period again. 

We all got over the plague and although things were still busy, the end was certainly in sight.

Out like a squirrel...

April 1st was the 'entrance ceremony' at くるみ. 
 

 

 

 

Although Kio had already been going there for 3 months, it was now official and he had his own little cubby hole and group name to prove it. The kids are divided by age: 0 - 1 year old are the Panda Group, 2 - 3 years old are the bear group and Kio was a proud member of the Squirrel Group. 

Here is a picture of the Squirrels on the day of the entrance ceremony. Ya, that's my kid acting like a nutcase. 

April has been a flurry of teacher training and ear infections but everyone is sleeping more and I'm working a little less. I'm certain that May is going to bring even more peace to the Hirano's and we're starting it off with a week off.

And breathe.

Before I sign off today, I need to give a special shout out to Midori, Dave Crayon and Shin's mom, Toshiko. If it hadn't been for their absolute fabulousness things would have been...well I don't even want to think about that.

Thank you all so very, very much! 

Mommy Fails: Episode 1

In Japan it is widely discussed, if not believed, that blood type determines a person's temperament and personality. In lessons I've examined this phenomenon ad nauseum with students from all walks of life. Some totally buy into the idea (in the same way that many people religiously read their horoscope), others think that it is an interesting concept but doubt that the entire population falls into four categories, and of course there are those that think it is total nonsense.

A very bare bones look into the four groups goes something like this: "type As are sensitive perfectionists and good team players, but over-anxious. Type Os are curious and generous but stubborn. ABs are arty but mysterious and unpredictable, and type Bs are cheerful but eccentric, individualistic and selfish."

I personally don't believe the whole thing, however, it just so happens that my personality and blood type match up perfectly.

You only get one guess as to which blood type this borderline OCD sister has...

As a "sensitive perfectionist" I find it rather irritating when I wind up in a sticky situation of which I am the cause. Unfortunately, during the past year my sleep deprived, naturally clumsy, baby brain addled self has, on more that one occasion, landed Kio and I into a situation which I have decided to name a "Mommy Fail". For the most part, these situations are not overly amusing at the time, but in retrospect they are pretty hilarious. 

Originally, I had thought that I would collect these and write a blog post in which we could all have a good laugh at my expense. It turns out that there are quite a few more than expected, thus giving birth to the Mommy Fail series. So without further ado, I bring you Episode 1.

In August, Kio and I returned to Japan after a luxurious month in Canada. Kio was severely jet lagged and waking up at around 3:00 in the morning ready for action; I was exhausted, hot and unable to get on top of unpacking and doing laundry from our trip. Which of course means that you can add frustrated to that list.

A perfect recipe for disaster.

After what had become our usual early morning play session, Kio went down for a nap just before dawn. I'd planned to quickly follow suit, but needed something to eat first. As I opened the bedroom door, the handle came off in my hand.

Gah! Bloody cat.

Before I continue with my tale, I need to give a little background information; Mikan the wonder cat can open doors. When the inspiration hits her to relocate to another room, she just jumps up on the door handle and off she goes. It makes keeping a room heated / cooled quite difficult and it also means that our door handles go through a lot of wear and tear.

On with the story...

Exhausted, hot, frustrated and now hungry, I just stood there letting my temper cool before I headed to the kitchen for Shin's toolbox. After fixing the door handle I figured that sleep was more important than a snack so I headed to bed.

An hour or so later Kio woke up and it was time to get ready for our day, and I was now more than ready for breakfast. With Kio in one arm, I opened the bedroom door and for the second time that day the handle came off in my hand.

But this time the door was closed.

And this time the part of the handle that actually turns the mechanism inside the door, was outside the room. (I had reassembled it backwards.)

So we were trapped.

And the story gets even better from here...

We were trapped with a cell phone. But the battery was almost dead.

We were trapped with the tools that I had originally used to 'fix' the door handle. But they were of no use as I needed the part that was laying on the floor outside.

We were trapped together (thank god). But all of Kio's diapers were in the living room.

We were trapped and Kio was starving. But luckily I was breastfeeding so he could eat, although I was also starving.

We were trapped on a Saturday morning. Shin wouldn't be home until late that afternoon.

We were trapped.

And I had to pee.

And Kio had just pooped.

To this day I am unsure how I managed not to have a total breakdown.

The first thing that I did was call Shin who was sleeping one off in his bar. Of course he didn't wake up, but I wasn't surprised. Shin is a very heavy sleeper, but add a few drinks into the mix and he sleeps like the dead. In the past if I have really needed to wake him up, I have called his bar phone and just let it ring. There is no answering machine so it will ring until he finally wakes up and answers it.

The last time (I had locked myself out of the house when I was pregnant) took 35 minutes.

So I dialed, put the phone on speaker and proceeded to deal with the poo situation.

I was digging around for an old towel to fashion into a diaper, when I came across a bag of newborn size diapers that Kio had grown out of before finishing. I looked at my fat baby and the teenie-tiny diapers and figured what the hell.

I will always regret not hanging up the phone and taking a picture. It was seriously hilarious, his big old belly hanging over the top and sausage legs sprouting out the sides of the smallest diaper ever.

Things were ticking along nicely. Poo sorted, baby fed, phone ringing, but my phone battery was dying.

With just a 10% charge left, it was time to change tactics. I called the only other person who I knew would be up at that time on a Saturday, The Sugar Fairy, and asked her for some help. Between the two of us (me ringing the bar phone and The Sugar Fairy calling his cell) the guy would have to wake up, right?

Right...?

In fact he did. And as a rather anti-climatic ending to the story, Kio and I were set free about two hours after the door handle came off in my hand.

The whole scene is pretty hilarious, and would've been even more so if I had been forced to pee in the diaper pail. But even to this day I think about what would've happened if the door had broken with Kio on the inside and me on the outside. I'm sure I would've Mama-bear'd it off the hinges, but luckily that's not what happened.

So you have it, Mommy Fail number one. Don't worry there are MANY more where that one came from.

So much for the type-A perfectionist.
 

 

A Very Hungry Birthday!

I love Eric Carle books. How can you not love an author that incorporates counting, healthy eating and an explanation of metamorphosis into a book about the most adorable caterpillar of all time?

Obviously, Kio loves his books too. And of course his favourite is The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

No brainwashing going on here at all.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar has 'wormed' his way into several areas of our lives. We read the book on a regular basis - Kio loves to stick his fingers in the holes on each page. There was also our dear friend Mushi-san, who accompanied us pretty much everywhere until his recent demise. And there is Kio's 'nursery'.

When I was pregnant and in full-on nesting mode, I was so sad that it wasn't possible to do up a nursery for the little Bean. As our apartment is rented and redecorating is strictly forbidden, I had to settle with a cute crib set and a few bits that I picked up from IKEA. On top of that, we had set-up everything for him in our bedroom, so space was more than limited. Then one afternoon while I was killing time before meeting a friend for lunch, (back in the days when I was actually on time, even early for things) I came across a Very Hungry Caterpillar wall sticker set. With no offence intended to said friend, I remember absolutely dying to get home and 'decorate' the nursery.

It isn't much but it's pretty cute, and recently Kio has taken a real interest in the dots; pushing them like they are giant buttons.

As an aside, if anyone ever tries to tell you that non-adhesive wall stickers are repositionable or that they will withstand the humidity of Japanese summer - They. Are. Liars! I've had to put double-sided tape on all of them. Fingers crossed that the wallpaper survives when I decide to take them down.

So yes. We like the Very Hungry Caterpillar (VHC).

As such, it shouldn't surprise anyone that I went with a VHC theme for Kio's first birthday.

I would like to say that I was full of creative, one-of-a-kind ideas for Kio's party but it took all of a five second Google search for me to come up with (aka steal) these little numbers for the big day.

Like the invitation with VHC as the 'n' in one.

  

Or the VHC cupcake cake.

I have to say that I'm a little disappointed with the layout of the cupcakes. I decided that I would not be able to put them out from the beginning of the party because the buttercream icing would melt. But when it came time to set it up, Kio was tired and a bit clingy and wouldn't let anyone but mommy hold him. Obviously, I had done a practice run and knew exactly where each cupcake should go (OCD much?) but Shin had to set it up freehand. There will certainly be a map to follow next time.

I'll leave it up to you to decide if I'm joking or not...

Not being overly crafty, and extremely short on free time these days, I decided that I wasn't going to make the decorations. Besides, back in November I found a VHC Happy Birthday poster at one of the local import shops so decorations had been taken care of long ago.

One afternoon I was sharing 'my' party ideas with the Sugar Fairy (who sadly would not be able to make it to the party with her Sugar Family, because they would be in Hawaii - sad for us anyway) and I told her about some VHC inspired cookies that I had seen during my Internet searches. I mentioned that I would love to make them, but between work, and lack of talent there was pretty much no chance that I would take on the project.

You have to be careful what you say to that woman!

A few days before she left for Hawaii these arrived at my house - complete with little holes and all!

Thank you Sugar Fairy, you are the best!

Seriously, you are freakin' awesome.

So we had VHC cupcakes, cookies, decorations and finally there was Kio's 'smash cake'. 

I had seen pictures of babies desecrating their birthday cakes online; they were so adorable and I wanted to give Kio the chance to take a swing at his. Plus, his egg allergy meant that he would need a separate cake anyway. So the final addition to Kio's Very Hungry Birthday was decided.

On the day I think that Kio was a bit overwhelmed. As I mentioned before, he was clinging to me pretty fiercely and was crying more than usual. I think that is possibly why he didn't go to town on his cake. I was expecting a massacre but he poked at it a bit and seemed pleased to leave it at that.

After his cake, Kio took a nap. "It's my party, and I'll nap if I want to..." and I think that did the trick. He returned with a vengeance, working the room and chattering away (mostly to himself). And once the presents appeared there was no stopping him!

These are two of my favourite pictures from the party.
 

 A new car!

That box could not be opened fast enough!

Although there weren't many little people present, the big people (from near and far) made the day; spoiling Kio with fabulous gifts and love. What a lucky little dude.

Happy 1st Birthday Kio!