A Retro Welcome Home

I talked all about our trip to the states but I never mentioned what we came home to:

When I unlocked the front door and walked in, I saw a perfectly straight row of white balloons hanging from the ceiling.  I thought maybe I'd walk around the corner and see a "Welcome Home!" sign.

But no...

I walked around the corner and saw PAC-MAN!!!

Which is actually far cooler than "Welcome Home!"

There were many, MANY straight white rows of balloons hanging throughout the house.  The balloons in the corners were larger than the others.  Just like the white dots in the game.

 Each balloon was hung from white thread and stuck to the ceiling with blue painters tape.

We weren't surprised to learn that the project took the perpetrators a few hours to complete.

Turns out it was done by two punks in the neighborhood.  (One Doctor, one Rocket Scientist)

My guess is that they just really really REALLY missed us and wanted to spend some quality time with our stuff.

Or maybe they just really, really like Pac-Man.

Maybe it was a metaphor for the duality of our lives here combining both Japanese and American influences.

Or maybe it was just a hint that we just need to be more careful whom we leave our keys with in the future.

Whatever the point, I thought it was pretty awesome.

LONG LIVE PAC-MAN!!!

I Laughed, I Cried, I Blogged About It...

I saw this clip on another "Mommy Blog" and laughed and laughed.  (And wanted to cry.)

I swear on a stack of every holy book in the world that while I was watching this, Gabe was standing at my elbow doing the EXACT same thing.  As he does multiple times daily.  Only when he finally gets my attention and I say "WHAT!?!!?!?!!?" he says "I yub you Mama!" and runs away.

Man, I love that annoying little angel!

A Few Little Things...

• I had a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast this morning.  (Great food choice!)  I put sunflower seeds, raisins, and Japanese cow milk* on top.  It was really good!  (Yay me!)  When I finished, I was still hungry and decided to have a leetle bit more.  I poured the (whole) oats, dumped on a few sunflower seeds, and went to grab the last few raisins in the box.  That's when I saw a suspicious clump.  I pulled out the wad of raisins and found a little web surrounding some sort of caterpillar looking thing.  I had just eaten some of those raisins.  I wanted to gag.  And cry.  And gag.  I threw the box away, contemplated throwing every perishable item in the whole pantry away, and then got out the chocolate chips and dumped those on top of my oatmeal instead.  (Whomever told me it's okay to put chocolate chips on oatmeal should be severely punished.  (Kim B.)  It's like eating an oatmeal cookie for breakfast!  Not a great idea for a hypoglycemic!)  After I finished this bowl, I dumped some (more) chocolate chips in a cup and I'm eating them while I type.  Some things, like bugs in food you've just been eating, do psychological damage and require immediate chocolate healing.  Gross!  *shudder* Munch.

• In regards to my overall health and healing, I'll just say this:  "I got bettah!  I think I'll go for a walk!  I feeeel happpppppyyyyyyy!"**

• In other news, we're at the beginning of the end of our time here in Japan.  Friends are finding out their next assignments and we have to face the fact that we'll all be going our separate ways SOON.  It's quite exciting but mostly just really depressing.  I don't know where everyone will end up yet, but I can say that we have a trip to Argentina and most likely Germany planned for...the minute we pay off all our (stupid) student loans!  (And Romania if you're still there, Jay-Bird!)

• In other other news, my cousin Wendy is coming to visit.  Obviously because she's the ONLY family member who loves me.  Or maybe 'cause she's an uber-famous travelling photographer.  Whatever.  I'll take what I can get.  (If you want her to take your picture in late April, let me know.)

I could go on, but I have to blog for 12 more straight days, so I think that's it for me today.

*Yes, we always note and/or differentiate the type of milk we're referring to around here since we cater to so many milk needs.  I.E.  Doug's ultra pasteurized (nasty imported from the U.S.) Skim Milk (cheaper than the local milk and with less fat), my Unsweetened (Green) Soy for healthy and/or lactose-intolerant days (and all dinner smoothies) and my delicious Japanese Cow 1.5% for when I'm feeling unhealthy and rebellious, Max and Sam's (Light Blue) Light Vanilla Soy, (Gabe drinks whatever anyone gives him) and Gray's Breast milk and/or formula since our pump broke.)

**Dear Mom and/or any Aunts and Uncles who may be reading.  This is a quote from Monty Python and The Holy Grail.  Call Brandon and he'll quote the rest of the movie for your listening pleasure.

Dear "16 and Pregnant";

I don't generally (read: never) watch day-time television, but I happened to catch a few minutes of your MTV show yesterday.   You were really stressed about school and your boyfriend and your family and I felt so sad for you and everything you're going through.  As I rocked my baby to sleep in my arms, it was hard to contemplate the struggles your little one is likely to have in the future.

Clearly I don't have all the details and I'm making a snap judgement here, but I have to say this:  Please don't keep your baby!  It is apparent to me and everyone watching that your boyfriend is immature and he's just not that in to you.  Life with him is going to be really hard and adding a baby to the mix will make it even harder!

I have a much better idea:  Give your baby (girl) to ME!  She could grow up in a loving and secure home with four overprotective and adoring older brothers, two happily married, mature(ish) loving parents and all the ridiculously cute girl clothes she could ever want.  (And oh...the tea parties we'll have while the boys are all at scout camp...!!!)

Anyway...

Just thought I'd put the offer out there.  Let me know if you're interested.

Sincerely,
Emily

Still Sick.

Still tired.

Going to bed.

(30 days straight of my blog just isn't all it's cracked up to be, is it?!)

I'm Sick.

Gabe did it.  He took his shoes and socks off and ran around outside in the cold.  When he came in, his nose was dripping with green snot.  Now the whole dang family is sick.  And yet I'm the only one who goes through three boxes of tissue a day and spends all night hacking and blowing my nose.

Oh yeah, and I've lost my voice.  Makes it hard to yell at the kids.  I have to clap or click at them.  Much less effective.

But anyway, I've spent pretty much all day napping and this last five minutes of being awake has really tired me out.  So I'm just going to leave you with this and say goodnight.

You're welcome.

Japan to the U.S. and Back: A Trip by the Numbers

Now let's review:

We flew between Misawa Japan and Seattle Washington.  That's 13,035 miles or 11,327 nautical miles--2x.  (26,070 total) 8 hours there, 10.5 hours back.

We drove through 3 states.  (And about a million cities)
In 1 week we drove from Seattle to Albany to Fairfield to Salinas to San Luis Obispo to Carlsbad where we stayed for 5 days.

We saw many friends, 3 grandpas, 3 grandmas, 4 aunts, 2 uncles, and 8 cousins.

Then drove from Carlsbad to Fairfield to Albany to Seattle where we flew back to Misawa on October 31st.

We were gone for 2 weeks and drove somewhere in the neighborhood of 1,299 miles 2x.
With 4 kids... 3 rowdy boys and 1 tiny baby!

Doug visited/ate lunch with/interviewed with/met with/chatted up 10 dentists/dental practices.

Emily bought 4 sweaters, 4 shirts, 2 skirts, 1 dress, 3 pairs of shoes, (returned 2 pairs of jeans) and 1 super cute purse.  (You can't blame me.  At 5 feet 9.75 inches, I'm WAY too amazonian to shop here.)

We came home with 2 more duffle bags than we brought, 4 spoiled kids, 16 new nervous ticks and some excellent job possibilities and prospects to pursue.

All in all, we have 1 happy, if slightly crazier, family.
I suppose that means it was worth it!

Dear Tami; Please Don't Hate Me!

This is Gabey's girlfriend Madeleine with her daddy--Doug's boyfriend Wes.  

Her mommy is my girlfriend Tami.

This is what Madeleine did to her hair while she was at my house:

This is the third time she's cut her hair at my house.

Third time.

It's amazing that we're all still friends.

(We're still friends, right Tami?

Hello...Tami...?)

Reason #342 to live in C-bad

The kids had so much fun at the beach. Sam, for some odd reason, dug a hole and stuck his head in it. Then his echopraxic brother Gabe decided he wanted a hole dug for his head too. When they went to the beach with Doug the next day, Gabe immediately asked for a hole for his head. Why are they so weird?

That night, or the night before, I stayed late with my sister and Mom while Doug went back to the hotel to hang with his family. All they did was sit around and watch/listen to youtube videos. Here are a few of the favorites:












And this last one is Doug's sister Kris, who is one of the Time Out For Women speakers. A funny lady who got her humor from my husband. She is also the author of Hard Times and Holy Places, an excellent read, especially for someone experiencing overwhelming trials in their life.



*Blog by Doug

Gray's First Bath?

Grandma Fae always gets to do the honors of giving each of my babies their first bath.  (Usually before the cord falls off delaying the cord falling off an extra week or two.)

 Hey look!  It's Gray's first bath!

Okay, maybe he's had a FEW in Japan over the last 7 months, but really...

this is the one that counts!

"I Need Something I Can Shake My Money Maker To!"*

In an effort to get Sam to quit screaming hysterically loudly protesting the injustice of his Cinderella-esque existence and start helping clean up the kitchen last night, I said,
"Sammy, whatever you do, do NOT shake your booty to this song while you wipe off the table."
I then proceeded to wash the dishes while shaking my money-maker to the beat of "It Must Be Love" by Madness.  (Playing loudly on the computer in the other room.)

Well, of course Mommy using the word "booty" snapped Sam right out of his funk and within moments three boys were dancing and booty shakin' around the kitchen with cleaning implements.

Doug just looked on with equal parts smug "I-told-you-they-got-their-lame-moves-from-you" dismay and amusement.

Hey, whatever works, right?

---

Need something to shake your booty to?  I really don't think this is the best collection, but it got us moving last night!
Here are the songs so far on a just started/still in the works/woefully incomplete "E's Favorites" playlist:

Tell Her This - Del Amitri - Twisted  (Needs to be moved to "E's Slow Jams/Mellow Mix")
Blackbird - Sarah McLachlan - I Am Sam Soundtrack
It Must Be Love - Madness - Divine Madness (Reminds me of Carlsbad)
We Close Our Eyes - Oingo Boingo - 20th Cntry Mstrs - The Mill. Coll.: The Best of O. B.
Your Smiling Face - James Taylor - The Best Of
Eres Tu - Mocedades - Tommy Boy Soundtrack  (Oh, how I love this song!  Reminds me of Anna, Wes Larson, and the drive from Provo to Springville.)
Just Like Heaven - The Cure - Galore (The Singles 1987-1997)
Boys Don't Cry - The Cure - Staring At The Sea: The Singles 1979-1985  (Reminds me of Ang)
To Be With You - Mr. Big ( P.B.)
Close To Me - The Cure - Staring At The Sea: The Singles 1979-1985  (Reminds me of driving to the airport with Kemp to pick up Tys.)
No Myth - Michael Penn - March  (Reminds me of the Thespian)
You Make My Dreams -  Hall and Oates  (Makes me giggle.)

Don't Killing Your Love is Killing Me - Erasure  (Hot Buns likes this one.)

One Thing - Finger Eleven

She Loves Me - Stephen Duffy - Some Kind of Wonderful Soundtrack

The Way I Am - Ingrid Michaelson 

Being Around - Lemonheads

*A favorite "Glee" quote.  Unfortunately I had to stop watching Glee due to too much S.E.X.ual content.  :(  Cryin' shame 'cause that show is hilarious.

Hmpfh!

It's all fine and good to say I'm going to blog every day for a month when the SUN is shining, but right now it's rainy and cold and all I want to do is get back in bed and sleep all day!  (Thus we see why California is a good choice for me mental health wise!)

When we got to Carlsbad/San Diego, we were greeted by MORE FAMILY and it was WONDERFUL!  My mom (Faezer) and her husband John drove in and Doug's parents flew in and brought his sister Beth to surprise us.  Then, the next day, Doug's sister Kris magically appeared at church to surprise us as well!  (All from Utah.) It was awesome!  Laura (my sister) was a champ to host all of us just a few short days before getting back surgery.  (See her angry rant to the neighborhood dog here.)  (Doug's fam stayed at the Carlsbad Ramada with us, but Laura did a lot of the entertaining at her house.)

Saturday night dinner out with all the grown-ups for some great Mexican food!  

What was the name of the place La?  (Oh Mexican food, how I've missed you.)  

BIL Jeff, My sister (La)ura, Target Sweater, & Doug

I paid the strolling mariachi band to play "Guadalajara".  Worth it to see Faezer's smile.

Delicious Sunday dinner made by gimpy Laura.

No, my sister Karie and brother Brandon in Utah did NOT come to surprise me nor did they call or e-mail or in any way acknowledge that I was in town from a foreign country.  

But I'm obviously not bitter.  Or passive-aggressive.  

Jenny, who lives in Romania, did e-mail however to say she wished she could be there!

Sunday evening stroll in beautiful Olivenhain

Doug with sisters Krissy and Beth and Mom and Dad

Yes, I know there is a big thread hanging onto my bum, but I'm in no mood to photoshop at the moment!  (Adorable sweater with hangy thread from Target, in case you're curious.)

I love you California family! Wish I were there!

And We Finally Made It...

To Carlsbad and to MY MOMMY!!!

Another Day, Another (Two) Road Trip(s)

From Salinas we went straight to Paso Robles.  "Pahh-so" as the locals call it, (not Paw-so like you're supposed to say it en espanol) is just a little North of San Luis Obispo close to the central California coast.

The great part about this leg was that Grandpa Dale (aka Papa Disneyland) drove out from Clovis to meet us.  Right about the time Doug went in to his interview, Grandpa showed up with treats and DVD's to keep the boys from tearing the rental van apart.

We drove to a park in the center of town and that's when I fell in love.  Paso Robles is such a cute, quaint small town!  The downtown area has been restored and revitalized and is incredibly charming!

Let's just say you wouldn't need to hold a gun to my head to get me to live there.  I loved the area.  That evening, we went to a local steak house where Claudia, my dad's wife met us for dinner at a restaurant the boys loved because root beer floats came with every meal!

After dinner, we said goodbye to Grandpa and Claudia and got on the road again.  Doug said he wanted to wake up and not have to drive!

So we headed for THE PROMISED LAND:  Carlsbad.

to be continued...

Fairfield to Salinas

After a fun evening and delicious meal with Aunt, Uncle, and Cousins, (whom I have no pictures of for some reason!) a dip in their hot tub after the boys were all in bed and a good night's sleep, we got on the road again.  This time headed for Salinas, CA of Steinbeck fame.  Once again arriving just in time for Doug's pre-scheduled meeting, we dropped him off and went on our merry way...
to...
TARGET!!!
Yes, that's right.  I made my first visit to that fabulous store of my dreams.
First things first, lunch for the boys:  We stopped at the food court and got three hot dog kids meals.  Now, due to my new 'trying-to-be-slightly-healthier' status, I don't buy hotdogs anymore.  But the kids are still welcome to eat them when we're out or at a BBQ or friends house etc.
So they sat munching happily away while I ate a turkey sub.  Sometime mid hotdog, Max asked "Mom, what are hotdogs made of?"
"Well," I said "It's kinda gross.  They take all of the leftover meat stuff they don't use from the animals, like the guts and stuff, then they grind it all up, add a lot of salt, and turn it into a hotdog."
Max's response?  "Hmm!  Well, they sure do taste good!" continues eating
In the mean time, Sammy is turning sorta green and spits the rest of his out--practically throwing up-- complaining of a suddenly sick tummy.  It was pretty funny.  Can't say I'll be sorry if one kid stops liking hot dogs.   (They've never been my favorite thanks to my sixth grade teacher Mr. Wilkerson telling us a similar story in class.)

And then I proceeded to spend $450.  ($150 of which was later returned...for the record.)

It was bliss.

Doug is terrified to move back to the states.

I told him it would all be worth it when he saw me in my hot new clothes.

He was understandably skeptical.


(I should mention some of that $450 was Doug's biking stuff.)

After Doug's Salinas meeting, we managed to track down some MORE dental school friends.  Our former next-door-neighbors the R's.

Steve was two years behind Doug so they weren't in the same class, but Max and their oldest Samantha are the same age and played together pretty much every day for two years.  It was amazing to see the beautiful young lady Samantha has grown into, see cute "Benny-Boy" again, and meet TWO new brothers.  They lovingly offered to let us stay the night to prevent Doug falling asleep at the wheel on the way to our hotel, and we had a great time staying up late playing "Colosseum" and talking.

Thank you R's for opening your home to us at the last minute!  It was a great visit!

Hooray for Baby Gray

We interrupt this trip report to bring you...

The cutest seven-month-old you've ever seen!

Baby Gray is getting bigger (taller and skinnier) and cuter every day.  He's sitting up (barely) and trying his darndest to crawl.  (But mostly just rocks on all fours and then rolls where he needs to go--see video.)

He drools profusely like his brothers (Max and Gabe) before him, and tries to put everything in his mouth to bite with his two razor sharp new teeth.  (He's bitten Mommy once but I threatened to ween him so he hasn't done it again since.)

It is no longer safe to stick him on the couch for naps.  Today I left him sound asleep and came back in the room a few minutes later to find him MISSING!  He rolled off the couch onto the large cushion I put down "just in case" and from that cushion he somehow rolled around behind the recliner.  I found him on his tummy happily reaching for his binky just beyond his grasp.  It was quite amusing after I recovered from the moment of shock and terror at finding him gone without a peep!

On our recent trip he got to meet all three sets of Grandparents, four aunts, two uncles and a boat load of cousins and friends.  Obviously, it goes without saying (although I'm saying it) that all who met him loved and adored him.

I'll leave you with the following:

Things most often said to or about Baby Gray:

"Is he always so happy/smiley/alert???"  
(Yes.  Yes, he is.)

"I hope my baby has as much personality!"  
(Yes.  Yes, you do.)

"He's SOOOO happy!!!"  
(Wouldn't you be with me as a mom?)

"He's so GOOD!"  
(Naturally.  All my offspring are perfect angels!)

"Were all your boys so smiley?"  
(But of course!)

"He looks EXACTLY like DOUG!"  
(truer words were never spoken.)

Love you Baby Gray!

Next Stop: Fairfield, CA

Seattle Tacoma Airport to Albany, OR = 4 hours

Albany, OR to Fairfield, CA for a 4:00 p.m. meeting = 8.5 hours of driving with very few breaks.

I think Gabey was just waking up in these two:

I should mention that Gray-Gray did an excellent job traveling considering he HATES his car seat.  Tender mercies!

Check out the body language on Sammy in this last one:

(Yes, Max did steal his airplane blanket.)

We barely made it to Doug's brother's house in time for Doug to throw his nice clothes on and head out the door for his first official meeting with a local dentist.  It went well and we had our first inkling of not being unemployed next year!  (whew!)

Now that I look back on it, I think we all deserve a cookie!  

Or a medal, but I'd rather have a cookie.

Albany, Oregon and the Browns

The last time we saw the Brown's, our families met up in Palmyra, New York for the Hill Cumorah Pageant.  That was August 2007.  It was great to be able to see them again.  As I mentioned, we were neighbors during Dental School and our husbands were classmates.  After graduation, they went to Michigan for an Ortho residency and we went to Rhode Island for Doug's Pediatric residency.  

Whenever we see them, it's like no time has passed at all.  We pick up right where we left off.  (Even if we both have more kids.)

One of the best parts of this particular visit was meeting their baby, "M-Madness".  Before Kim had kids she'd look at my high-energy, mischeivious, baby-gate climbing, child-lock-picking little Max with dismay and say "My kids will all be calm and well behaved pocket babies!"  And the first two pretty much are.  So it made me laugh when little M-Madness climbed onto the table to dance and kept trying to escape out the front door.  Evidently she's quite "spirited".  I love it.

I may have mocked Kim.  

A lot.

You go Little M!  Keep your parents on their toes!!!

Sam was happy to be reunited with his first Best Friend.  They played the Wii pretty much every waking moment we were there. Their middle child (not pictured) is super adorable and kept Gabey entertained.

Despite Dr. Brown's offer that Doug move into his building and start a new practice there, we eliminated Oregon as an option based on the weather.  

Yes.  I'm a big fat whiner and I like, no NEED, SUNSHINE.  Sue me!  

We'll definitely be back a lot to visit, though, if they'll have us.  Oregon is BEAUTIFUL!!!

Oh, and by-the-way, if you're in the area and need braces, I HIGHLY recommend 

Orthodontic Specialty Care in Albany or Lebanon.  Brett rocks, plus he studied a lot and got really good grades in Dental School.  I know.  I was there.

Thanks for putting us up Browns.  We love you guys!!!

Leg 1: Misawa Japan to Seattle America

Exactly two weeks ago it was Tuesday morning and we were in Japan.  Many hours later, it was still (or again) Tuesday morning and we were in Seattle.  We got from here to there by taking a "space-A hop".

This is a commercial flight, chartered by the military, to transport military personnel.  Any seats not used by those on special assignment or service members being relocated, are open to those who want to try to travel "space available".

The thing about "Space A" is that it is NOT a sure thing.  You don't know if you'll get on pretty much until you're on.  You just have to show up and hope for the best.  This is extremely hard to do when you're traveling with four small children.  But the price is right (practically free) so it's worth trying.

So two weeks ago we went to the terminal and waited and waited and waited.  We were thrilled and a little shocked when they called our names.  Then we waited some more.  (Two weeks previous to this our friends tried to get out but couldn't.  There is only one flight per week, so if you don't get on, you're out of luck until next week.)

Once on the plane, the flight took only eight hours and BAM --we were in America.  I might be tempted to complain, but it was a heckofalot shorter than our flight OUT here two years ago when we had to go through Tokyo.  And at least this time the movie system was working!

Once in Seattle,  we rented a minivan and drove straight to Albany, Oregon for Doug's first visit with the esteemed and revered Dr. B. Brown.  (Who just happens to be our former two-doors-down UCSan Fran Dental School neighbor.)

...to be continued...

*Christina--we didn't call you while we were in Seattle because we didn't stay in Seattle long enough to even catch our breath!  We basically only stopped in places where Doug had interviews or meetings set up.  Which means we missed seeing and visiting lots of friends along the way. (Don't hate us San Franciscans!)  Hopefully we'll be able to see you next year when we're back for good!!!  :)

Aaaannnndddd...We're BACK!

And it's NaBloPoMo.  So I'm going to try to post every day this month.  Because hey...we've been gone a long time.  And I have a lot to talk about.  
(We'll see how it goes.)


But for starters, here's where we've been for the last two weeks:


From Misawa to Seattle to San Diego and back again.  Most of it driven in a mini-van.  


It was a looooong trip.
(Did I mention we brought all FOUR boys?)


WHY did we do this?  


To job hunt.


WHY do we need to job hunt?


Because next year we'll be getting out of the military.  
(Goodbye job security and free health care!!!)


WHY are we getting out of the military?


Because Faezer has leukemia (among other reasons) and we want to be closer to family.
[Sub question:  Why does Faezer have leukemia?  Probably as a result of the radiation she received as treatment for the breast cancer she had when I was a kid.]


So we traversed the west coast of the United States searching for jobs.


And we're pleased to say we have a few more options then we did 2.5 weeks ago.


So!

Any questions?  


Cause I have all month to answer them!