Cherry Blossom Adventures

Sometimes you just have a great day and for me, today was one of them!!!

Noah had a reasonable sleep last night and while i woke up for the day a little tired I soon recovered (as my body is certainly getting used to!). We set out at 10am to do a bit of shopping (Got Noah so jeans from gap for 9ooyen on sale) before heading to Kinshicho to meet Cassie & Nana for lunch. We hadn`t met up since September due to schedule conflicts, sickness, baby births and overseas travel so it was a long awaited catch up and it didn`t disappoint!

It was so nice to have lunch with a friend, talk about bubs and just catch up in general. Cassie & I have similar outlooks on life and it is always nice to catch up and while we live kind of far from each other it is still a doable lunch date!!!

We said goodbye about 3:30pm and Noah and I headed back to Funabashi to do some food shopping before heading home. Noah went down tonight quite well after his bath and feed and while he woke up once about 10 minutes after I put him down (so I went in and gave him a cuddle) he cried again when I put him down again but not a hysterical cry so I let him cry and within 5 minutes he was asleep. I never thought I could be one of those “let them cry it out” parents but for Noah it works- he is much better at settling himself than having me settle him. If I go in and settle him he falls asleep but wakes up again within 5 minutes of me putting him down and after a couple of horror nights last week and over the weekend in which it took me 2-4 hours to get him settled as he cried within 10 minutes of putting him down every time,  I decided to take my mum`s advice and the first time he cried after putting him down went in to cuddle him and say “shush, shush” and make sure he wasn`t crying because he was hungry or had gas but would then put him back down (usually asleep) and if he cried again I would let him cry it out- I made a deal with myself that if he cried for more than 10 minutes I would go in and comfort him again but I have done it twice now and he has always stopped well before 10 minutes and settles himself to sleep.

Some may say that letting him cry it out is cruel but I always make sure he is not hungry, gassy or cold so really he just wants to be held. In fact when I pick him up he always sleeps within one minute of me picking him up but will wake soon after putting him down again so this way is actually working well for us both. I know that the “letting them cry it out” method does not work for some but considering I do the bedtime routine alone it definitely works for us (and a sometimes he doesn`t cry at all but when he wakes up just chats to himself and soothes himself back to sleep.)

Anyway, continuing on with my great day. After Noah had settled for the night I got a phonecall from an unknown number and when I answered it I repeated “moshi moshi” several times before I heard a little voice say “Is this Teacher Laura?”- it was one of my old international preschool students Shion (from my old job in Kichijoji). His mum emailed me just before Christmas to say merry Christmas and a happy new year and say that she hadn`t heard from me in awhile. I wrote back saying I was back in Japan and expecting a baby in the next couple of weeks and she wrote back showing me some photos of her boys- I finally got around to emailing her again about a week ago to say that I had had my baby and that I hoped we could catch up soon and I included my keitai number and email.

Anyway Shion`s English was still awesome- we were always in awe of this little boy whose English was so great despite having no English outside of school. He is now 7 (I met him when he had just turned 4) and at elementary school but still taking advanced English classes twice a week outside of school and returnee English twice a week at school. He talked to me about his elementary school and said that his teacher was “kind of nice but a little mean” and also said congratulations for baby Noah. It was so cute and hearing him talk brought tears to my eyes. This is a little boy who was one of my favourite EVER students who I had not spoken to in almost 2 years yet he still remembers me!

We have plans to meet up in a couple of weeks!!! I have to speak to Shun about which weekend/holiday suits but I think we will drive out to his parents house sometime soon. I spoke to Shion`s mum for awhile after talking to Shion and I can not wait to meet up again in person. They have another little boy Kannon (who was 3 months old or so when I met him!) and he is now 3 and going to a different international school.

Soon after I hung up I got a call from my mum and we chatted for a bit too- we spoke last night and I was a bit down so she was ringing to check how my day was today. I just feel like today was such a lovely day and I just have such a positive vibe! Dinner is all prepared and in the oven and Shun mailed before to say he shouldn`t be too late and will probably be home by 9:30pm (I might already be in bed however)…

Anyway to conclude my gushy post, here are a couple photos of Noah & Shun from last week in which Noah experienced his first “big bath”…

How was everyone else`s day?

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I have been working on Noah`s scrapbook- I am not very good at scrapbooking but I am enjoying putting it together…

A post about Noah`s recent developments to come soon, but to be honest I am too exhausted to write it all down now. Hopefully I will find some time in the next couple of days… (but if he is as unsettled as he has been most nights during the last week for the next couple of days then the post might have to wait. I am seriously beginning to think that people can actually die from sleep deprivation.)

Also anyone that had been having issues with my site recently (mainly those using internet explorer as a browser) should no longer be having issues as my server host updated some things- if you are still having any issues loading the page or commenting please let me know or comment on the post below this one and my server host will look into it. Thanks to Radans & Snos, my host provider people (that is definitely the technical term, hehe) for helping me sort out the issues so quickly!!!

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Noah & I went to our first English playgroup today with Tokyo North East team- today`s meeting was at a play area in Nishi-Ojima. The group meets once a week on Thursday`s or Friday`s either in Nishi-Ojima, Ryogoku or Akihabara. The last two places are a lot easier for me to get to with Noah as it is only one train (and there are elevators).

The people I met were lovely (and a couple of them read this blog, strange to have people recognize me and me not know them. Although I guess now I know them!)- Noah was by far the youngest there today (the next youngest was almost 9 months or so) however one of the members is pregnant and will be having her baby in about 2 months. I won`t be able to go again now for a couple of weeks because my dad will be here but I definitely look forward to going back. Plus, Noah slept in his pram the entire way there and on the way back (and had two other short naps today as well)…

I have to upload some new photos of Noah- it has only been a week since I put some up but he is changing so much everyday! He has already outgrown all his 0000 clothes (except the two outfits from Nay, which luckily still fit!).

Also some of you have mentioned having issues accessing my blog and commenting on my blog- were the issues only on the day before yesterday? If so, this is because one of the other sites on the server where my blog is kept (In Australia) had a huge influx of traffic which is why my site was also slow. If you are still having problems (like with commenting) could you please let me know. Also, if you receive an error message could you please let me know what the error message is (either in the comments or email me). My host will try to solve the issue, we just need to figure out exactly what it is. Sorry for the problems you have been having.

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Very short list tonight as it has been a horror night so far and Noah has only just settled in the last 20 minutes and I am exhausted… plus I have a feeling he is probably going to stir again very soon.

• New recipes, mostly Japanese.
• Dad coming next week (Thursday in fact)
• cheap blueberries
• sleep
• Watching Noah trying to roll over and failing (I love this because it is so funny to watch- not because he is failing so much)
• Comments on my last post
• Getting chocolate cake, strawberries and steak from MIL when they came on Sunday
• Shun taking the day off work yesterday

And Noah has stirred yet again so the list must be cut short…

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Okay I didn`t manage to cross anything off the list completely but I have furthered the following:

2. Read a Japanese newspaper or magazine and understand it

Started working on this today! Obviously not finished yet but have started at least by buying the magazine “おはよう奥さん”　−It has some good recipes so far that I am definitely going to try!

33. Maintain the weight loss for at least six months (1/6)

I made it back down to my pre-baby weight and have started maintainence again. I made it 4 months previously before getting pregnant but have to start again!!! So one month down!

78. Do a monthly update for each month that I do 101 things in 1001 days on my blog (22/33)

Just 11 more updates to go!

100. Make a budget and stick to it for six months (5/6)

Now we have stuck to it for 5 months! We also managed to save a lot more over the last month due to baby money, Shun`s Dec bonus and more!

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In January (this has nothing to do with 101 things though) I started writing down the books I read- I have tried this many times over the years and I use to write a monthly list in my journal (yes, I am THAT kind of person) more so that if I read a good book then I had the authors name so that I could check out others by the same author. Anyway, I don`t get as much time to read anymore as I used to obviously and I figured it might be a good year to start it again seeing as I won`t have as much to record- I used to do most of my reading on the train to and from work (both in Australia & Japan) or while relaxing in coffee shops and now, with Noah, if we are on the train I am moving the pram back and forth so he doesn`t crack up and it is similar in coffee shops!

That said, this month I tried to read a little each day even if it was just half an hour before bed.

The books I read in January are

Call me Okaasan: Adventures in Multicultural mothering – Suzanne Kamata (Ed)
Baby Love- Robin Barker
Are you my Mother?- Louise Voss
Split Ends- Zoe Barnes
It sucked and then I cried- Heather B. Armstrong

It was a pretty good mix. One was short stories/anthologies (Call me Okaasan), 1 reference/non fiction book (Baby Love), 2 fiction (Split Ends/Are you my Mother?) and I guess It Sucked and then I Cried could be considered a autobiography of sorts. All of them were good but I think I liked It Sucked and then I Cried best though as I had been waiting/wanting to read it for a long time. Suzanne Kamata`s (I read her blog!) book was great too- I am waiting for another fiction by her as I loved her first book (Losing Kei) as well. The short stories/anthologies were really great and I loved her introduction and the stories in the book. I am not sure how much I will read this month seeing as I am trying to read the magazine in Japanese (and my reading is so bad that it will take me A LONG TIME to get through it and actually understand it) but I am sure I will get a couple of English books in as well.

Anyone want to recommend any good books they have read lately? I have heaps of un-read ones on my shelves already but I am always on the look out for more!

Oh and if you missed yesterday`s post- see below! Lots of smiley pictures of Noah!

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Noah had his first smile at 3 weeks 6 days but they were few and far between but now we can`t stop him from smiling and grinning away.

My mum saw him smiling on Skype for the first time yesterday and Shun`s parents were here today and couldn`t get over how much he was smiling- it was hard to catch on camera at first as he would stop as soon as I put the DSLR to my eye which is why a lot of them are at funny angles since I rested the camera on my lap a lot of the time to get the shots below.

Here are some smiley shots of our beautiful boy (I can say that cos even though I might be biased I truly believe he is gorgeous!)- He is definitely at his “smiliest” in the mornings…

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• Chocolate. I just ate some meiji chocolate and it was great.
• Watching Shun get so excited yesterday morning when Noah smiled at him when he did “Inai inai baaa” (or peek a boo in Japanese)
• Catching up with three different friends  this week who I hadn`t seen since before Noah was born.
• Reading- I am making an effort to read a little bit each day because while I used to read a lot lately I haven`t seem to be doing much of it. Not just because of the baby but because of the internet/computer more than anything. So I am reading for at least 30 minutes a day at the moment and loving it. Currently reading “It sucked and then I cried” by Heather Armstong author of dooce.com.
• Getting a start on Noah`s scrapbook- still haven`t actually “glued” anything yet but the first page is coming together nicely and I have lots of notes written down for pages to come.
• Japanese recipe book that I bought- inspiring me to make more Japanese food (and hope that we can save a bit of extra money by doing so)- plan to make some things from the book this weekend.
• Breastfeeding- it may sound weird but I love breastfeeding Noah and I am so glad that we have had no issues with it.
• Having Noah go down to sleep tonight with no issues- he was awake when I put him down in his cot but he went off to sleep by himself within 10 minutes (and with no crying!)
• Everwood- Nay recommended this show to me (although it is a few years old) and I am working my way through it. There is not much else I can do while feeding Noah but watch tv or read so it is keeping me entertained.
• That it is almost the weekend again because it means Shun will be home. He has worked late every night this week not coming in before 10:30pm most nights.
• Making plans for the future.
• Loving that Noah`s cold is completely gone now.

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Noah is down for a morning nap so thought I should try and get a blog post in before he wakes up and needs my attention (Read: More boob)- after a bit of a shocker of a weekend he is now back in a routine and taking naps, usually 3 a day, and in a happier mood. I think Saturday might of been a peak of a growth spurt which is why he was so grumpy/hungry/unsettled.

I have my first lesson today since Noah was born- we will be going to Myoden this afternoon to do English conversation with MIchiko. Was meant to be last week but because he was sick I switched it to this week. Michiko has her own little girl, Yuna, who just turned one, so she has no problems with me bringing Noah to the lessons especially since we only meet once a week anyway (and I go to her house)

Yesterday, a friend, Darlene, took me to a craft shop to pick up some scrapbooking supplies- Amanda also put me in touch with a lovely lady named Kirsten who sells imported supplies so I am all set now to start work on Noah`s baby scrapbook. I am really excited to get started on this new project even though I know my time will be limted I hope to do a little bit each day til I am up to date and then continue from there. I have the photos printed and ready to go and have already semi-mocked up a first page draft so hopefully all will go according to plan and I will be able to start tonight or this afternoon. I promise to upload photos of my progress as I go!

Noah slept from 6:30pm til 1am last night but then was up at 3:30am and 6:45am- Shun took him until 8am so that i could get a bit of extra sleep. When I say took him I mean took him into the living room, changed his diaper, put him in his bouncer and I think Noah just sat there while Shun fell asleep again! But hey, Noah wasn`t complaining and I got an extra hour of sleep! Since Shun gets home from work so late (has been after 10pm the last two nights anyway) I am usually in bed (even if I am awake reading for a bit) and he doesn`t get to see Noah until he wakes up for his feed (which is between 10:30pm-1am) and so we usually catch up while I am feeding Noah and talk about our days. Last night we talked a lot about buying a house- not that it is going to happen anytime soon but I was under the impression that if we bought our own place we would stop getting rent allowance from Shun`s company (They pay 3man of our rent a month and we pay the other 7man) but he said that we still would get it would just be paid half yearly instead of each month. I would love our own place, although we are happy where we are for at least another year or two, it would still be nice. While buying an apartment would be cheaper we still have our heart set on a house as I know Shun would love a dog, and I would love a small garden. We are not sure if we would ever be able to afford to buy land and build our own place though (which would be my dream!) and think we would have to settle for a place already built that would be a couple of years old or more. I guess it would make sense for us to buy though, especially if our mortgage was around the same amount we already pay monthly at the moment although I imagine it would be a little more- we decided we definitely wouldn`t be able to buy until I had some more regular part-time work as we are only managing to save a little bit each month at the moment on one salary. I think I also need to learn to be more frugal (Who am I kidding, I definitely need to learn to be a bit more frugal) and while we are sticking to our budget each month I know there are places we could save  more money- for example on groceries and probably our keitai bills too (as I call home a lot!). This is why I have enjoyed Kel`s recent post on their budget and how they save money each month. I am definitely going to buy a budget book and start writing everything down- I tried to do it in excel but I know I would have more luck if I physically wrote everything down at the end of the day instead. The excel budget is good and I refer to it each month to make sure we are meeting our budget and to see how much money I need to take out on the 25th (pay day) and also how much I need to transfer. I also record how much the bills were for each month but that is about all!

We need to start saving for a down payment on a house and also for a car- which we will eventually need to buy. At the moment we really don`t need one but it is on our “want” list- there is parking where we live for an extra 1man a month (about $100) but at this stage since we can use Shun`s parents car or grandmothers car whenever we want we haven`t bothered looking into buying on yet. Truth is though. I have my license but have only driven in Japan a handful of times (and most were before I even had my Japanese license) but would like to start driving more.

Also, on my 101 things list I have read a Japanese newspaper/magazine and understand it- and Kel has mentioned a couple of magazines about saving money and budgets that are in Japanese so I think I will make that my challenge for February- even if it takes me the entire month to read the magazine and understand it!!!

For those of you in Japan that have your own place- please feel free to share your experiences! I know where we live is a bit more expensive than some of you (since it is so close to Tokyo and we would still want to buy our own place in Chiba somewhere)- what were your considerations when you did buy? For those that have an apartment over a house- why did you go that way? If it is not to personal and you are happy to answer- how did you budget for a down payment? I have no idea how things work in Japan or how much a downpayment needs to be but I am guessing it is a fair bit- to tell you the truth I really have no idea how much a hosue costs either- although I have a bit of an idea of how much land costs as we have looked into it before.

Talking about buying our own place is definitely exciting though and funnily enough we also talked about when we would like to start trying for baby number 2- I would like to have bub number 2 around the time Noah is 2 or 2 and a half but am I crazy to think having another baby while he is going through the throughs of “terrible 2″ is a good idea?

Well Noah has stirred and now on my lap feeding so I better go!

Oh and if anyone knows of some private lessons/work that I could take my baby too please let me know!

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Noah of late…

More at flickr for those inclined! He has started smiling but we have not managed to catch it properly on camera yet- this one below is probably the closest we have got!

Or this one

He looks so peaceful asleep

Last photo taken with Nan before she went home to Australia

He can hold his head up for a long time now, especially when he has something interesting to look at (like the sock octopus from Melanie!)

This one is for my mum- “colour ordinated socks” haha

He likes the mirror on his playmat

“Banzai” sleeping

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