starting off the new year

Be more patient with my family, clean more, spend more one on one time with the kids...

I had some great ideas. Then I got out of bed.

I was already bugged that everything that I was cleaning up was not mine. I fell asleep on the couch while holding Maximus (I don't regret that part) for longer than I should have. The kids fended for themselves which translates into getting all their toys out and moving them to random spots in the house. Basically everything that I resolved to do, went to pot.

And the worst part? The very very worst part of my first day of 2011?

See this sweet kid?

His fingernails were getting a little long and it makes me so sad to see those little scratches on baby faces. I bet where you can guess where this story is going.

This trusting little boy. Sigh.

And look what I did. I cringe as I type. I was so flustered. It bled. I had to cut a bandaid in half, his hands are still so tiny. Add to that being all flustered and then my kids want to hold him and instead of helping husband is taking pictures. I was a mess.

I think I may have lost my job as the nail trimmer in this family.

But look, he is still a happy kid, modeling his wound.

The day wasn't all bad. It's just that my resolutions only lasted for about 7 minutes. But that's okay. Lot's of great things happened too. I had an amazing meal with my family. And Maximus slept through the whole thing (maybe because he was exhausted from crying after having his finger clipped).

And from the look of this picture. It looks like he has forgiven me.

Happy 1-1-11! It's all up from here.

February is the new January

There are so few things in my life that I keep in order. But for whatever reason, I feel compelled to keep my blog posts in order. So, even though it is February, this is my New Years Day post.

New Years is the biggest holiday in Japan. So, since my parents have kept up the tradition, we get the best of both worlds. A big Christmas and a big New Years. Hooray for lots of reasons to celebrate!

There are several dishes that you will see in most homes during the New Years holiday. From what my parents tell me and from what I read on line most people in Japan now buy all the dishes pre-made. But not my mom! She makes most of it. I must get my obsession to try to make everything myself from my mom. Most of these dishes have neat meanings.

So pretty. Can you believe she made all this?

The kids table. My nephew is such an awesome eater... so much so that he amazes even my family.

I think this is one of the reasons why people don't cook like that anymore. So many dishes.

To burn off some of that meal:

We started off with a rousing game of duck duck goose. Katie and Eva talked us into it. Look at the middle picture. I am having a great time, aren't I?

Next, was a little bit of Wii fit (or unfit for some of us).

And, not to be forgotten, Tai Chi by Katie and my mom.

New Years. Posted.

New Years Eve

For New Years Eve we took a quick (even though the drive is never ever quick enough for me) trip up to Logan for a basketball game.

Samuel, just like his mom, was only there for the food:

hot dog, popcorn, chocolate covered pretzels, and, of course, Aggie Ice cream.

As soon as the game was over we rushed to the car and drove (Karl drove, I slept like I always do during that drive) to try and make it to my parent's house before midnight. I woke up to, "Wake up! We are three minutes away!" Cutting it too close like we always do, we pulled up to their neighborhood as the clock turned 12 and we could hear fireworks.

Ever since I could remember, we have banged pots and pans to welcome in the new year. The kids didn't care what the occasion was or that our timing was a little off, they liked making the noise.

New Years is a huge deal in Japan. The biggest holiday of the year. I am grateful that my parents have kept up some of the traditions with us. One of them is to eat "Toshikoshi-soba" at midnight. Soba is buckwheat noodles and there are a ton of ways to prepare them. There are many stories that tell why we eat them. One of them says that the long noodles symbolize longevity. I like the one that says that the soba maker guy started the tradition to boost business. Whatever the reason, I am glad for the tradition because I love the hot noodles at midnight. My mom topped them with shrimp tempura this year. Yum. Eva loved them. She is getting pretty good with chopsticks.