Category Archives: Life

Life

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a quiet event in the Ishida house. Most years it has been only the two of us (and then three, and now four). Kei I used to go out for Thanksgiving dinner and then we had children and… well… let’s just say that it’s more relaxing to stay at home.

And I buy a takeout turkey dinner.

What? I’m not ashamed. It’s easier and it tastes just as good and I get the chance to spend the holiday with my family rather than in the kitchen. And besides, I’m Australian. Thanksgiving is my adopted holiday so I am free to create new traditions.

And I did make the brussel sprouts (the key is LOTS of bacon).

In the midst of a string of unusually sunny Portland days, Thanksgiving was still grey and miserable. We tried to keep the boys occupied with indoor football.

Excuse the blurry images – it was a dark Portland day and I am not a big fan of the flash.

And I’ll let you in on a secret… the photos are in black and white in the hope that it will hide the colours of our messy house.

Then it was time for lunch and the discovery that Samuel REALLY likes corn.

Hey, how did a photo of me get in there? That almost never happens.

After lunch I tried (unsuccessfully) to get a picture of the boys together. Here are the results.

So, yep, an uneventful Thanksgiving. Just the way I like it.

Happy

Yes, we had Thanksgiving and a day off today and many, many other activities between my last post (whenever that was) and now…

So, while Curious George is buying me a precious five minutes between loads of laundry, I thought I’d post a couple of fun photos taken the other day while Thomas was “helping” me strip the bed.

I’ll be back with more appropriate holiday-themed photos shortly. We’re pulling the Christmas books out of the basement tonight.

 

Happy Halfway to Two Birthday

My baby just turned 18 months old. On the one hand I wonder how we got here so quickly. On the other, it feels like he should still be my baby, not this chatty, active (nearly running) toddler.

I took him to his 18 month appointment today – 20% weight (23.5 pounds) and 70% height, saying way more words than is normal at his age (especially for boys), excelling with his use of utensils (the kid was born to eat) and basically happy and healthy.

There were shots involved in today’s visit, so he wasn’t happy for long. Funny how the doctor leaves the room right when the “fun” starts and leaves mummy and the nurse to pick up the pieces. Nothing a cookie (or “cacka!”) couldn’t fix.

Things I love about Samuel at 18 months:

  • That he hits you (not good) but then switches to softly stroking your cheek when you tell him gentle
  • The way he greets me on same days when I walk in the door with a bear hug around the leg
  • The way he says “night night” and happily goes up to bed when he knows it’s time
  • That he falls asleep almost immediately with just a little wave goodbye
  • And then stays asleep for 12 hours straight (most nights)
  • That he is finally saying Thomas’ name after months of “Evan” and “George” and “Jenna” and basically any name EXCEPT Thomas.
  • They way he eats with a spoon and makes less of a mess than his four year old brother
  • That he is easy to understand, even when not using his words.
  • That he LOVES to say Bye and ‘ello! accompanied by hand gestures – and to ANYONE. It is so fun to walk down the street with this kid.
  • His favourite words: No, No and No. ‘At (Hat), Jaquet (Jacket), Shoosh (Shoes), Yah (Yes), Daddy (ok, he sometimes says Mummy), ‘appy (happy), Cheeeese!, Cacka (Cracker)

I am a little sad that he is growing up, but happy about the little person he is becoming – even the inner Drama Queen. I gather the kids needs to do something to get a little attention around here.

 

Halloween Part 2: The Child-Friendly Version

Halloween was on a Saturday this year which means we had time to catch up with a bunch of families from the neighborhood before the big candy trek.

I took the opportunity to wear the costume I had planned to wear the night before – complete with makeup.

But it was the tights that were the perfect finishing touch.

Oh, and these shoes that I don’t think I can ever wear again now that they are firmly planted as witch shoes in my brain.

But of course the evening is all about the kids. It wasn’t until we were walking down the street together that I realized how “dark” we were – a witch, a spider and Darth Vader. Talk about getting in the true spirit of Halloween.

I have to mention here that I did not grow up with Halloween. Dressing in a costume and walking down a very public street – even on Halloween – makes me feel very uncomfortable. It’s something I’m working on.

One of our neighbors had the inspired idea to fill the kids up on pizza and fruit before we hit the candy, so we had an hour or so to enjoy some time with friends before the candy walk began.

Samuel was completely unfazed by the creepy decor.

(that’s his finger pushing the button to make the skeletal hand come out).

But soon it was time to start knocking on some doors. This was the first year that the 4 year olds really understood the concept of free candy just for saying “trick-or-treat”. Let’s just say that there was no holding them back.

We made quite the colorful procession…. well except for my dark, disturbed children…

While walking around we were able to enjoy some of the neighborhood decor.

Fabulous pumpkins that left my cat-carving in the dust.

Plenty of temporary graveyards

And weird scary faces peering out from windows. It’s a wonder the kids didn’t have nightmares.

But at the end of the day it was all about knocking on doors and being cute. They give you more candy if you’re cute and we had PLENTY of cute to go around.

If you look closely, you can see my cat carved pumpkin on the porch.

The candy is now gone – thanks to some help from Mum and Dad. The costumes are in the dress up box. The pumpkins are just a mouldy, mushed up memory. Until next year…

P.S. Expect to see that witch again. I don’t think I got enough leverage from that costume.

Better Late Than Never

I realize Halloween was over a week ago and you’re really supposed to post photos of an event like this in the days immediately following but, hey, I’ve been busy. And as the saying goes, it’s better late than never.

Our Halloween had two parts – and two costumes. WAY more effort than I usually contribute to the holiday.

I promised myself that I would not have a stressful Halloween this year. I have traumatic flashbacks of last-minute visits to thrift stores in the hopes of finding something (anything!) to wear. So this year, when I passed a pair of striped tights and a witches hat in Freddies (local enormous grocery store), I grabbed it and said done.

Kei had other ideas…

For the record, I was NEVER going to be Thing 2.

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This inspired ensemble was what we wore for the adult party on Friday night (saved at the last minute by a wonderful neighbor who came to watch the kids after our babysitter canceled at the last minute).

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It took me a little while to get over the fact that my friends all dressed as sexy kittens and sexy race car drivers and sexy…well… wenches(?), while I was basically dressed in sweat pants and an old lady wig.

But I did get over it. And we had a good time with the cookie monster…

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And one scary-ass clown.

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Or maybe this was the scary-ass clown.

Coming soon.. the costume I was supposed to wear…or a lesson in how to overdress for a walk around the neighborhood.

Embracing the Dark Side

My latest photo challenge entry for the I ♥ Faces photo blog.

We have crossed over to the dark side for Halloween this year. Here’s a sneak peek.

Look for more photos after Saturday – including some of Kei and me if we can get our act together (I have my costume worked out but Kei has grand plans for matching costumes). I am saving Samuel’s costume for the weekend so I have a better chance of keeping him in it for more than 5 minutes.

The Person Who Invented Infused Sake is a Genius

I have always loved to sing. I was in a few musicals in High School and I loved it – but it was clear that it was never going to a career. I was destined to be in the chorus so the dream didn’t follow me to university.

I think my voice is OK. In fact I have full confidence in it when I sing lullabies to my children at night. And by lullabies, I mean whatever mellow song I can remember the words to – Away in a Manger, Silent Night, Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds…

And the I moved to Japan for a year and suddenly I became a pretty good singer in a sea of people who loved to sing regardless of their level of talent. There is no such thing as false modesty (or even real modesty) when you are with a group of Japanese people in a Karaoke bar. EVERYONE is expected to sing and everyone marvels at your singing ability. There’s nothing better to boost your confidence level.

That was about 12 years ago. It’s been a long time between Karaoke sessions, but the truth is that I didn’t leave it my love for Karaoke in Japan. I have carried it with me for 12 years – that desire to get in front of a group of friends and belt out classic songs from the 80s.

And then a couple of weeks ago my friend Leeann requested a Karaoke night for her birthday. It may as well have been MY birthday present.

It started off well with my signature Karaoke song, but I’m pretty sure it went downhill from there. Although, admittedly, it was difficult to make an informed judgement after the 4th jalapeno-infused sake.

Two things I was reminded of during the evening:

  • You are really not as good a singer as you think you are, and
  • Karaoke is FUN (especially when you’re drinking jalapeno-infused sake)

Oh, and one more thing. A great evening of Karaoke ends with a very grand finale.

A Quick One

I have been so busy lately that this blog has been a little neglected. So here’s a quick photo so I can say that I blogged today.

I actually really like this photo taken at Thomas’ birthday party. I love how everyone is doing their own thing but the kids are the center of the universe (aren’t they always?).

Blue

This is how Thomas came home from school a couple of days ago. And this was AFTER his teachers at after school care had cleaned him up.

Apparently Thomas was drawing with a blue marker a decided it would be fun to turn it around and start colouring his face. Ahhh, the impulsive actions of a four year old.

This week has had its ups and downs. The shine of a new adventure has started to wear off, friends are being made – as are a few foes. We had an “incident” early this week where Thomas was on the receiving end of another child’s impulse. I won’t go into details, but the school took it seriously and spoke to the kid’s parents about it. Thomas told me it made him really mad and then I guess the next day he decided it was payback and threw bark chips at the child. Then Thomas (and I) got a talking to (although secretly Kei and I could understand Thomas’ behaviour).

This is the toughest part of working full time. It’s difficult to discipline when you’re not there to see the event and act in the moment. And it’s often difficult to determine the truth from a well-told story. While I want to stand by my child and believe every word he says, he can tell me a story of complete fantasy with such conviction that I have no idea if the other things he tells me are truthful. Kids have great imaginations.

On the drive home the other day I heard all about how Samuel went to visit Thomas at school by crawling and walking there in the middle of the day (about 15 miles). The story even included things that Samuel said to Thomas when he arrived. And, if I didn’t know that my 16 month old is incapable of traveling that distance and…well…of talking… then I may have believed it, simply based on the way the story was told.

The definite up side is that Thomas is being challenged every day and he loves to learn. He can now count to 5 in Japanese and say a handful of basic phrases. He even taught Kei and I a few words.

It’s all a learning process and we’re still getting in the groove of a new schedule. And let’s face it, the things that happened this week were not terrible in the grand scheme of things – I have a friend at work who is having a much tougher time with her child. This is just a new parenting experience and Kei and I are learning as we go.