Latest favorite

Sushi bars aren't what they used to be for me. Pregnancy puts a nix on raw fish sushi, and there is a ton of sodium in the soups and noodles. I've discovered that I'm loving edamame. Steamed soybeans never really appealed to me before I moved here. They are kind of like peanuts and pretzel at an America bar, but I order with my meal. Give them a try!

Flying Fish

Lots of flying fish flags (look at that use of alliteration!) in these parts lately. Apprently they are in celebration of Kodomo no Hi, which in my native tongue we'd call Children's Day. The fifth day of the fifth month is a celebration that, while originally intended for boys, celebrates kids being kids and enjoying being kids. The carp signify parents and their children and that they grow to be strong and healthy. The black represents the father, the red the mother, and the smaller, various colored fish the children. It's also way cute and I hope to hang one from our balcony next year.

Little One

Little One, as our son is now referred to, appears to be progressing quite nicely. Apparently, he loves a balanced meal. When his host, aka me, eats at least two vegetables, a starch and protein with some calcium at a meal, he dances and dances an hour or so later. He definitely gets those moves from his father. It's rather comical. When his host is a BAD person and indulges in a little Taco Bell (those tacos-I'm a sucker!) he's not nearly as active. I'm reading all this theory mumbo jumbo that claims that what the child is exposed to in utero is what he/she later enjoys and finds comfort from later in life. I'm trying my darndest to be healthy and good, I don't want that kid who is whiny about wanting fast food, or sandwiches without the crusts on them.

Little One and I have lots of conversations throughout our day. He understands that Mommy's "daytime voice" is never directed towards him, but rather students in need of redirection. Or at least I tell him that he understands that. I've never been a big Dr. Seuss fan, but I read to him from lots of Dr. Seuss stories because I find my voice is more inflective and has a higher pitch than other stories. We also talk about Daddy's big adventures, and a wonderful place known as Indiana, where many, many magical things happen. Poor kid is going to think Indiana is better than Disney World.

He communicates with me when I'm typing on the computer. He either loves or despises when I sit in an office chair and type. He'll move like crazy and let his presence be known. He also isn't a big fan of my bedtime. That's his cue to boogy. This could potentially work to our advantage while we are in Indiana, but once we return to Asia, it'll all be over. Poor kid could really go either way with his genetic make up-his father can fall asleep anywhere at any time, no matter the situation, and his mother cannot fall asleep even when exhausted because she's thinking too much. It'll be interesting to see how he ends up.

Darn Dog!

There is a dog in our neighborhood that barks EVERY NIGHT from sometime in the 9 o'clock hour until past the one a.m. hour. He's barking now and it's driving me berserk. The Okinawans are very spiritual, so sometimes I wonder if he sees or senses spirits out there, or if he is just scared of the dark. Grr, loud dog.

Visitors

As you most likely know, we were thrilled to host our first visitors this month! Eric and Nickole made the trek across a continent, an ocean, and then another ocean to visit us here in Oki for a couple of days before they then experienced Tokyo. We were THRILLED to have them visit!

It was fun to be an explorer in our hometown (island?) and I got to experience some new places with them. Too bad my baby daddy had to work that week (it was my spring break) but we had a ball once he was off the clock.

E & N seemed to always have a smile on their faces and an awesome, adventurous attitude. They tackled Asia in a week and fought jet lag with ninja-like intensity. We had so much fun with them during their visit and cannot WAIT to have them back!

Indiana Bound

I can't sleep and it's past 11:00 pm, so I'm going to catch up on some bloggin'.

I am Indiana bound in 6 weeks!! I'm turning in the paperwork so my orders are out of their equivalent of purgatory so I can return to the best country in the entire world in a month and a half. I cannot WAIT. I have doctors appointments scheduled before I leave, and the day after I return, so lots of people will be making sure Baby S. and I are a-okay.

Some things that are going to be weird about being at home:

• selection at grocery-milk in a plastic jug, fresh chicken meat, cantalopes costing less than the price of admission for three to a movie
• selection at Wal-mart-choice among three or more brands/varieties in just about everything
• Target!
• driving on the opposite side of road/opposite side of vehicle
• More than one television channel
• a choice on the radio
• More than one source of news and newspaper
• Socializing with people at home (well, my parents home, but still)
• Not hearing and seeing fighter jets on a daily basis
• Not stopping at 5 pm everyday for three minutes during colors
• Cars that aren't cartoon looking
• Dialtones on phones
• not ignoring what others are saying, because I'll be able to understand their language
• post office with semi-regular hours
• talking on a phone instead of to a computer screen

I cannot WAIT to return to the best place in the land!

Way different than my regular shopping trip

I bought our first baby-related item today: a car seat and stroller.

Oh my goodness.

When you see something here, you gotta buy it because you don't know when you'll see it again. I learned that lesson with potential nursery furniture (maybe we'll have some by the time he sleeps in a big-boy bed). We LOVED the size of this badboy; it is quite nimble and narrow and can easily be used off base. Aisles are considerably more narrow here. One thing checked off our list, only like 2.3 million more to go!

No pink in this house!

Received a nice post-St.Paddy's surprise- an ultrasound confirming that we are expecting a baby boy in August!! He was measuring "perfectly" according to my doctor (she's the maternal-fetal medicine specialist so I'm going with what she says). He was sleeping during the u/s, so I'm blaming that on his paternal family's side, as his father can fall asleep at the drop of a hat. At an earlier u/s he was dancing on the screen.

I've recently been able to feel him. He LOVES steak! It's so funny, but I've had a major craving for steak this past week and everytime I had it, he danced around like crazy. Again, the dancing moves come from his father as I am not known for my finesse on the dance floor. I had pizza last night and he didn't seem to love it like he does beef.