Looooong Time No Post

I know it's been more than 2 years since I've posted. I lost my blogging mojo and am not sure I ever have really had it. The boy is getting so grown up but still has some awkward teenage moments, DH hit the big 5 0 and it was a shock to him. We have been enjoying spending our summers in the US despite the fact that this past summer we were surrounded by one of the largest wildfires in the country and were under pre-evacuation status for 2 weeks. H was able to get his learner's permit anyway and was a very happy young man driving us everywhere. He still needs to drive about 30 more hours at least before he can take the written and practical exam at the DMV though. Hopefully next summer so if he goes to college in the US he'll be able to have a car and drive around if need be. I promise to try and blog more soon.

T.I.L.T.

It has been a long while but since this is such a crazy week I'm going to do a list to remind me of the good things!

• Teenage boy who goes to sleep at 9PM without a fight cuz they are so exhausted!
• Teenage boy who says I don't have to get up at 5:30AM tomorrow to make his lunch cuz he wants to leave the house BEFORE 6AM to go to before school soccer practice.
* Warm days like today and tomorrow.
• COSTCO bagels for breakfast, need I say more?
• Good friends gathering on Monday!

Busy Week!

This weekend coming up H's school is having their annual school exhibition and during this the PTA holds a bazaar and Parents Lounge. Since I volunteered to be a class mom this year I have to work on these. Today we went through the items that were donated for the bazaar and I was shocked to find several items that hadn't even been washed before they were submitted! I mean there was even a boys uniform shirt that has a filthy collar and cuffs and reeks of BO! One would think that as Japan tends to be such a "clean" country this wouldn't happen.
Anyway, this is going to be a LONG week with the exhibition taking place this upcoming weekend!
Have a great week everyone!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Date Night!

H is off on a school ski trip for 4 nights so S and I actually had a date tonight. We went to a Japanese style pub and had some yummy food, got a coffee at Starbucks and then came home and watched tv. We will definitely have to do this more often. Hopefully H is enjoying himself as well. It's nice to not have to get up so early to make his packed lunch for a few days even though I miss him.
Have a great weekend everyone! ☆彡

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Tokyo Station

I just had lunch with my good friend NI without even going outside the ticket gates at Tokyo Station. We had yummy Risotto at small shop and then coffee at Dean & Deluca. How cool is that!?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

TGIS!

After spending more than half the day at H's school at a parent's meeting I am finally ready for the weekend although I will only have tomorrow free. It was interesting talking with all of the other mothers as I am the only foreign mom. I feel like I have such a different outlook on things than they do regarding schooling. As long as H is happy there though I'm fine with it.
Anyway, have a great rest of the weekend everybody!

Long Time, No Blog

Well, sorry everyone for the long silence. Happy 2011!
Nothing really exciting has been going on.
H is really settling into school and loving it. It is great to see him thriving in such a positive atmosphere! His English writing ability is greatly improving and he doesn't seem to be so stressed about it any more.
We spent almost three weeks over Christmas and New Year's in Idaho skiing and enjoying the holidays in the snow. It was super cold though. Many nights were below zero Fahrenheit which is -20 or more centigrade. Brrrrrr!
Now that I have this blogger app on my iPhone I'll try to blog more!
Have a great weekend all!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

T. I. L. T.

• Summer vacation is finally here!!!
• All the prep my mom has done for our visit (THANKS MOM!!!)
• Cool nights instead of the 24 hour mugginess of Japan
• Family
• Good friends
• DS finishing his final exams
• DS becoming a teenager and so far not being too much trouble (knock on wood)

T. I. L. T.

Well, not much going on here but I thought I would at least try to do a Things I Love Thursday so here it is…
• Nice weather even though it's officially rainy season
• Old friends coming to Japan on business and getting a chance to catch up!
• Only about a month until we head out for summer in Idaho
• DS still enjoying school so much that he doesn't complain about having to get up at 5:15 every morning
• A wonderful DH even though he does make me mad sometimes (I'm sure I make him mad a lot as well)
• World Cup Soccer (go Japan and US)
• My mom who is always helpful and tries to be understanding
• Tacos for dinner
• Amazon Japan so I can get almost any book in English at a reasonable price
• My old dog still being healthy and hanging in there

T.I.L.T.

• Helpful teachers at DS's school when he is struggling with English
• Beautiful weather for now
• Costco (love we can get US products here at a reasonable price!)
• Only about 80 days until we head to the US for summer!
• Good friends
• Good family

Things I Love Thursday

I haven't had much of a blogging groove lately so I'm going to join the crowd and to TILT...

• AFWJ women selflessly rallying around members that are in need
• DS enjoying school so much that he was complaining he wanted to go to school when home sick with a fever
• Beautiful spring weather
• Lunch with friends
• My Slingbox so I can watch American TV in Japan

Junior High

Well, H started junior high school on Tuesday. He was soooo nervous he didn't sleep a wink Monday night but we made it through the entrance ceremony without any mishaps. DS loves his new school and we all feel that going there is going to be one of the best things that will ever happen to shape his life. It is so difficult to raise children bilingually and so the opportunity this school's international class program gives us is incredible. The kids are taught in English but are still part of the Japanese society there and as it is taught on the International Baccalaureate curriculum it will prepare him for higher learning anywhere in the world. What a relief that everything is settling down now. It has been a long road but definitely worth it so far. Yay!

Yatttaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, H got into our first-choice school on the first day of tests. We are all extremely happy and relieved that we got through this all with the results we had hoped for. I am really excited about this because he will be in the international class at the school which is taught in English. This will prepare him to go to university in whichever country he chooses and open up lots of opportunities for him. Also, as it is a Japanese school accredited by the government here it will keep him at native level in Japanese. S is happy about the whole situation too so we definitely got the best results we could have ever asked for. Now we just have to move on to the preparations for attending the school such as getting his uniform ready and all will be good.
What a great way to start the year!

The Dreaded Exams Approach...

We are now down to 4 days until H's entrance exams. This is such a stressful time and I really can't wait until it is all over and my son can start junior high school and settle in there. He is working very hard going over past exam questions with DH trying to figure out what kind of problems are possibly going to be on the exams and also going over areas he is weak in.
I think the worst is going to be waiting Monday evening until 10PM when the results are posted. I guess that since this is the system here we just have to deal with it and get through it all with a smile. I know that many kids go through this process every year and parents successfully guide their children through it. I am so glad that I have only one child so I only have to do this once!
Anyhow, please check back here later next week to see the results. I am hoping there will be no major dramas and H gets through the exams without too much stress and pressure.
Anyone have any good advice for right before the exams for how to get him to relax and focus? Anything would be much appreciated.
Here's to getting this all over with and surviving it!

School Starts!

Right now I am doing a Snoopy jig because it is the first day back at school after summer vacation for H and he just left the house. Finally we may have SOME normalcy returned to our home. Actually it is kind of sad that this was his last summer vacation of elementary school and most likely from now on he won't want to have anything to do with his parents.

Anyway, it is not that I don't want him to be around the house more, it's just that I prefer our regular schedule and H is much happier when he is in school and he can see all of his friends.

Happy back to school to all of you other mothers out there too! Enjoy your peace and quiet!

Hello! I'm still here!

It has been a long time since I've written a real post. A lot of things have been going on besides the loss of my father just over a year ago. I still miss him every day though.

I have been super busy trying to support H in preparing for his junior high school entrance exams. For those of you who are not familiar with the Japanese educational system, required education in Japan is only through 9th grade. Therefore, even to go to a public high school, one must take entrance exams. My son will only be going into the 7th grade next April, but we decided to try and send him to private school that continues all of the way through university so he can enjoy his teenage life and all of the activities that go along with it. In order to do this, he has ben attending a cram school since the end of 3rd grade and now will have only 6 months left until the actual exams. Each school has their own exam and entrance is all dependent on the tests. These all take place in the beginning of February.

We were able to spend about 2 and a half weeks with my mother in Idaho which was really great It is so peaceful there and the weather was wonderful. S had a great time paragliding and H had fun at filmmaking camp and soccer camp. The summers there are so beautiful and it is not muggy like it is here in Japan. Also, during the time that we were there, our friend Honza took 3rd place in this year's Red Bull XAlps race! He is the guy that took H on a paraglider ride in Idaho last year. You can see the story about that below.

Anyhow, life is good at the moment. Please, everyone just keep my young man (he's definitely not a little boy any more) in your good thoughts the first week of February. The system here is a real kind of torture for kids his age when they'd rather be outside playing with their friends instead of studying!

Pay it Forward!

This is my first attempt at something like this, but here it goes!

The first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive a gift from me sometime this year.

Trust me, you'll get something. The prize details will be a surprise. It won't be handmade as I am not very crafty but it may be something Japanese.

There's a small catch though...post this same thing (Paying it Forward Giveaway) on your own blog and then come back and leave a comment telling me you're in, along with a link!

Remember, only the first 3 commenters (that will be participating in the pay it forward giveaway) will receive the gift!

I found this on Tanyetta's blog and thought I'd try it out. Thanks Tanyetta!

Recap of the Rules:
1. Leave a comment with the link to your pay it forward giveaway from your blog.
2. Be willing to follow through on sending out 3 prizes to lucky winners of your contest.
3. Make sure your profile lists your profile contact information OR leave your email addy with your entry in the comments section.

Life Goes On

Well, we made it back to Japan about 10 days ago without any problems along the way. It is nice to be back to our own place but somehow everything just seems so different. I keep expecting the phone to ring and there will be my dad's voice on the other end, but then I come back to reality and realize that it will never happen. I am trying my best to make life as normal as possible for H and S but sometimes it is really hard to keep it all together right now. I really understand now how important family is and I am so glad that I went and visited my dad in September, December and June.
Anyhow, life must go on and I am grateful for what I have, my family and my fabulous friends.

Flying...

My DH is a paragliding addict and has participated in the sport since around the time it was invented. I am glad that it has helped him to make friends here in my hometown and due to this H was able to have an incredible flight with our friend Honza on the eve of his birthday

This is a great photo from their flight. It scares me to death but how can you not admit that the scenery during the flight must be spectacular.

Honza is a great pilot that does commercial tandem rides here in Sun Valley in the summertime. He participated in the X-Alps race last summer which is a race sponsored by Red Bull where the athletes cross the Alps by either Paragliding or on foot and ends up in Monaco. Honza came in 9th last year and hopes to better his record next year.

In Memory of my Father

My father passed away on July 23rd peacefully at nine in the morning. I knew it was going to be soon but it still has shocked me. You can never be totally ready for this kind of thing.

This picture was taken almost exactly 2 years ago when we were all in Sun Valley for my son's birthday:


Unfortunately, it was H's birthday that day too so somehow it just didn't seem as festive as usual. We will all miss him but are glad that he isn't suffering any longer.