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.