Presento Arigoto Namo Bachan, Jichan

We received a wonderful package of Christmas goodies from Japan, and Maia was thrilled. Thank you so much Bachan and Jichan! Maia loves the dresses, the hair accessories, the markers, and her little mini doll. Yoshi and I appreciate all the delicious food.

Maia's fashion show! She is modeling one of the outfits she received for Christmas.

Maia's first interview. She is modeling another outfit from her grandparents. This is too cute!

More Belly Shots (less than 3 weeks to go!)

I think our baby boy is ready to come out! I keep telling him not yet, because I still haven't "nested." Well, I washed some outfits and blankets and things... I guess if he came now it wouldn't be too disasterous. My prediction is that he will be one day late. January 11th, 2009 sounds good. Maia came on her due date, but what are the chances of that happening again?

I'm very obviously pregnant now, though people still act surprised when I tell them how close I am to my due date.

Maia is enthralled with her baby brother and talks about him as if he were already outside my belly. She has even attempted to blame things on him! I hope she retains her enthusiasm after he is born!

Overall, I feel good, though I've had a headache every day for the last week. I can't complain too much! Lots of women have terrible symptoms during pregnancy. I'm a little sad that this is likely my last baby, and I won't experience the wonders of pregnancy again.

On Materialism

Since Maia has entered my life, every action I take and every decision I make has taken on broader implications than it ever has before. Always in the back of my mind is the nagging question, "Is this the lesson I want to teach my child?" This is the case for both simple things and those that are truly moral conundrums. I think this is the natural growing up that happens when you are responsible for another human being. Suddenly, everything takes on a more profound meaning.

One thing I have giving much thought to this holiday season is the notion of Santa Claus and presents. Yoshi and I agreed a while ago that we would follow the American Christmas customs, so Maia believes in Santa. Neither of us were raised that way, but we don't want to deprive Maia of the excitement and joy that believing in Santa brings. Unfortunately, as she gets older, it's very hard to separate the notion of Santa Claus from the idea of an overly materialistic culture. Were it not for the Santa myth, we would probably buy her a present or two for Christmas and that would be the end of it. Instead, I find myself asking, "Did I buy her too much/little?" and "Will she be spoiled/disappointed?" There seems to be no middle ground.

The truth is that I know Maia will be elated when she opens her Christmas presents. We did not go overboard this year, but we got her two big presents and some smaller things she will enjoy. My worry is what will happen when she compares stories with her friends. Some parents go crazy this time of year and spend hundreds of dollars on their children. Will she wonder why she didn't receive as many presents and feel that she is not as good as the other kids? This thought bothers me, but the thought that she will grow up feeling entitled to anything she wishes for is even more disturbing. I don't want her to be spoiled, yet the idea that she may feel deprived in any way makes me shudder. When I was growing up my family was on the poor side. I didn't get much of what I wanted until I got a job at 16 and started buying it for myself. The odd thing is, I don't remember feeling bad about this or wanting things I couldn't have. The exception was clothing, which is why I got a job and started shopping for myself! Being dressed funny when you are over the age of 10 makes life hard.

While writing this, I've been thinking about something that Maia's preschool teacher said that resonated with me. One day as I was dropping her off, we chatted for a second, and she said "Maia always has a good time and is so enthusiastic about everything." This made me smile as I was much the same way as a kid (and even now.) I have always adored school. But I digress... The other thing she said was, "Maia is very comfortable with herself and knows who she is, which for a child her age is extremely rare." This comment brought tears to my eyes, because as a parent, I can't think of anything I would like to hear more. It means that she will be okay even if she doesn't get as many presents as the neighbors, and that she will not define herself by her possessions. In writing this reflective post, I seem to have answered my own question.

Dilemma over. I'm off to bed! Happy Holidays to everyone if I don't post again before Christmas!

Quick Update

My gift dilemna for Boots and Greg seems to have been solved. I have decided to go in on the gift card that my neighbors are planning. I wanted to be more creative, but have conceded that this is not the time in my life to focus on that. Maybe next year! I'm all for being a part of the group right now.

For the last 3 days or so, I have been experiencing a pretty bad head-ache. My friend thought it might be pregnancy induced hypertension, and that worried me a bit, but I visited my doctor this morning, and my blood pressure is really good. Thank goodness for that! Had it been high blood pressure, it would have been a nightmare of bed rest and I would not have been able to deliver in the low-risk birthing section of the hospital. The head-ache is lingering, but it subsides with Tylenol, so it's not too horrible. I hope it goes away soon!

My doctor said that everything looks good with the baby. I am not showing signs of going into lablor early or anything, and I am very happy about that. The baby needs to wait until at least after Christmas! I didn't gain any weight this week, but it's no big deal because I've gained a lot overall from this pregnancy. I have already surpassed what I weighed when Maia was born, but I guess that is pretty typical, because most women don't lose all the weight they gain from the first pregnancy. I was carrying around an extra 10 pounds, so as a result, I'm now 10 pounds heavier than at the same point with Maia. I'm so glad to be healthy; I'll lose the weight somehow afterwards. Bring on the Christmas cookies!

Christmas Ramblings

We are having a tough time getting our Christmas pictures together this year. Our favorite place to go for portraits is booked until after Christmas, and Yoshi, the family photographer, is working feverishly in the basement trying to get everything completed in the next couple of weeks. Since we have no pictures, we haven't really sent cards yet either. It all seems so overwhelming all of a sudden!

Luckily, we are planning to go to an outdoor lighting extravaganza on Saturday, so that should provide lots of material for pictures. This year, rather than send out one to everyone on our list, I think I'm going to send them only to people who have sent us one, and family. That will lessen the stress a bit. I always feel like I send out way more than I receive, but usually don't mind. This year is a little different, though! I have to conserve energy.

I thought that I was all done with Christmas shopping, but I forgot to buy Maia's teachers a present. Then I remembered the mail man and garbage man too! Some neighbors are going in on a gift certificate, but I'd like to give them my own present this year. They are both so kind and go above and beyond the call of duty. Particularly, Greg, our garbage collector. In our city, you leave the cans in the driveway, and they drive up in a little cart-type thing and then transfer it to the big truck. If a car is left parked in the driveway, they aren't allowed to drive around it to pick up your trash. They just leave it until the next week, or if you call, they'll come back later and get it. I guess it's all about liability; the city doesn't want to pay for scratching your car.

I hate to confess, but I have been terrible about moving my car in time for the past few months. I have the best of intentions, but somehow end up forgetting until I hear the noise of the little cart. Then I grab a robe and run out trying to get the car out of the driveway in time. The last few times, I have run out only to find that the garbage collector has already dragged all of my garbage cans behind my car and emptied them. This is not common practice, but I think the guy feels sorry for me. He's usually a couple of houses down, so I'll wave to him and say sorry. He's always very kind about it, so I think he deserves a nice Christmas present this year for having to deal with my forgetfulness.

Our mailman, Boots, is straight out of Sesame Street. He is a kind older man who knows all of our names and asks how we are every day. He has followed my pregnancy news, my work or stay-home dilemna, and any other drama I have experienced over the last 5 years. It's amazing how a 2 minute conversation can brighten your day. If we see him coming, Maia will run out and get the mail. All of the neighborhood kids adore him. Sometimes the older ones even follow him on his route for a few houses. Since Maia was one, he has come to all of her birthday parties and the last couple of years he's even brought his wife along. They are good people who we are lucky to know. So does anyone have any ideas about a Christmas present?

We are planning on shopping tomorrow after Maia's gymnastics class. Christmas is right around the corner now! Thank goodness I've already bought and wrapped all of Maia's presents!

Visting Santa Claus

Yoshi's company has a children's party every year where they invite all the employees' children who are under sixteen to visit Santa and receive a small gift. They also provide lunch and activities. This year the event took place at the Boonshoft Museum, which is the chilren's museum here in Dayton. I think it is a very nice gesture, and the kids get very excited. Maia still has all the presents she has ever received from Daddy's Kaisha-no Santa (Company Santa), though she is always a bit scared of him.

Yoshi and Maia hang out right before it is time to visit Santa. She doesn't seem nervous.

Maia was willing to sit on Santa's lap, but she was petrified. I think she was shaking at one point. He asked her questions and she just sat there with a "I know I have to do this to get a present, but it's not enjoyable in any way" look.

I like the way she is grasping Santa's finger. Is that a keep your hands off me kind of gesture? Hopefully she will begin to enjoy visiting Santa more as she gets older.

Trimming the Tree

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves! We had a lot of fun, and yes, Maia is wearing a ballet costume. Thank goodness for a good heating system!

Lofty Goals

This morning, Maia and I were chatting before pre-school. She proudly told me that she had been helper of the week twice! Of course, I was thrilled for her, and suggested that she might like to be a teacher when she grows up because she enjoys school so much. She vehemently shook her head no, so I brought up some other occupations...nurse, doctor, bus driver, etc. She refused all of these as well.

What would she like to do with her life? She wants to be a Disney princess! Not just any princess, but a Disney princess. I am trying to take it in stride, but I'm really worried. Not that I don't think she would be a fabulous Disney princess, but because she identifies so much with the girly-girl things in life. I have always been the type of parent that didn't want to gender-stereotype, but I admit defeat in this department. My white flag is dangling; I have lost this war.

I guess she has plenty of time to change her mind! For a long time, when I would ask her what she wanted to be when she grew up, she would answer, "you." This always made me tear up and pray that I was being the best me possible for my little girl. I guess I'm ready to let go of that pressure and let her move on to new role-models.

Burning Questions

Every once in a while I get the scary yet proud feeling that Maia is pretty smart. She has an amazing capacity to remember things, and she often asks questions about topics that I think most three year olds wouldn't normally be interested in.

Just today, after reading a book about new babies that had a picture of a nursing baby, she asked, "Mommy, how does the milk get into your breasts to feed the baby?" I tried to explain that your body knows you are having a baby and produces the milk, but I'm not sure she was satisfied with my explanation.

Of course, there is the dreaded, "How is the baby going to get out of your belly?" conversation she has been bringing up again and again. My neighbor told me that when her kids asked her that question, she just said, "A special hole," and that was the end of it. They never questioned her further. I tried that on Maia, and it failed hopelessly. She ended up pulling up my shirt while gleefully shouting, "Where, Mama? Where's the hole?" Luckily, my belly button side-tracked her. I let her go on believing that the "special hole" was the belly button, but after a couple of days, she asked again. I decided to be honest and pointed down. Thank goodness, she seemed satisfied and did not do any further prodding. Until today that is... Out of the blue she asked me, "Mommy, when is the baby going to come out?" I told her after Christmas, and she repeated, "Oh, after Christmas the baby is going to come out of your o-shiri (o-shiri is the Japanese word for butt.) I couldn't stop laughing, but didn't correct her. I know I"ll have to eventually tell her the truth, but I am still confused about how much detail I should go into.

She is a very precocious little girl, and she understands a lot, but I don't want to give her more information than what is developmentally appropriate for her age. Also, I am very conscious of the fact that I am developing her attitudes about what is normal and healthy. I don't want her to grow up feeling ashamed of her anatomy or misinformed about how things work. For example, my mom lied to me about how babies were made and came out. She told me that when a husband and wife were married, God would put a baby in the mommy's belly. The baby would be taken out by c-section. The mommy would go to the doctor and have him cut the baby out of her stomach. To my mom's credit, I was born that way, so she was not completley lying, just withholding very important information. Later on, I learned that information on the school bus from other kids, and was incredulous! I was sure what my mom had told me was accurate, and I remember arguing with them that they were wrong. It doesn't feel good to know that your parents lied to you. I want to avoid having Maia experience that feeling, yet I don't want to inundate her too much information either. What is a parent to do?

Cosi in Columbus

A couple of weekends ago, Maia and I went to Cosi Science Center in Columbus with some friends. It was an amazing place for kids, and made me lament not living in a larger city where we could have access to places like this any time. Then again, when I think about how much more expensive it is to live in more culturally rich places, I don't mind making the hour-long drive every once in a while!

Ginger Bread House Experiment

A Christmas tradition that I never had as a child was making a ginger-bread house. They seem as integral to an American Christmas as pumpkin pie is to Thanksgiving, so we decided to make one this year. I purchased a kit from the store, and quickly turned the project over to Yoshi when it wasn't as easy as it looked. Yoshi and Maia had a blast building and decorating the house. I enjoyed my role as the photographer.

I just realized that yet again, I have failed to take a picture of the completed project. I'm going to blame my short attention span on the "brain-fog" so often associated with pregnancy. Anyway, it's more about the process of making it than the end-result, right?

Thanksgiving Day Pumpkin Pie

We tried making pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving this year. It was a lot of fun, though no one in our family really likes it. I guess since we couldn't go to Cleveland for our traditional holiday feast, I wanted to recreate it as closely as I could. The result: A delicious pumpkin pie that we all ate a bit of, and then remembered we were not really pumpkin pie fans! Maybe next year we will make a less tradional dessert that we will enjoy a bit more! Not to mention, making the pie provided plenty of photo opportunities for Maia.

Getting ready to make our pie.

Maia loves helping out in the kitchen. Too bad she can't chop yet!


She has been very efficient at blending/mixing things. Pretty soon, she won't even need my help in the kitchen.

Sorry, no pictures of the finished product! I suppose I could pull what is left out of the fridge and photograph it, but it probably won't look as appetizing a week later!

Thanksgiving Top 10

The top 10 things I am thankful for on this Thanksgiving Day

1) My wonderful expanding family and our health.

2) Having the opportunity to experience being a stay-home mom in all its glory.

3) My insurance company. I will write more about this soon!

4) The White House is in the hands of someone who gives me hope.

5) Sarah Palin has no chance of getting anywhere near the presidency.

6) Our wonderful friends and neighbors.

7) Our home and other possessions that make life easier.

8) Living in a country where I can further my education or change jobs at any time.

9) The internet because it allows me to keep in touch with distant friends and relatives.

10) All the opportunities I have been granted in my lifetime.

Maia and Sheep

Today was a rainy and cold day, so Maia wanted to stay home and play dress-up. The outfit she chose was her "Japanese outfit." She struck some adorable poses for the camera if I do say so myself!

O-jichan and O-bachan (Grandfather and Grandmother)

I am very happy that Maia's grandparents in Japan have started following this blog. I hope this gives them a way to keep in touch even though they are so far away. We miss you very much o-jichan and o-bachan!

Totemo kawaii desu, ne? (Very cute, isn't it?)

Kono sachin totemo suki! (I love this picture!)

Maiachan aruko to o-bachan

(Maia's first steps with her grandmother.)



Konnichiwa ojisan to obasan! Watashiwa hontoni yukaii kono blog wa anata ga suki. Toi wa totemo samishi to mazukashi desu ne? Watashi-tachi to Maia te: "Ai Shiteru!"

Basement Update

Our basement is almost finished! My excitement cannot be described in words. Finally, we'll have extra space in our house, and Yoshi will be a free man again! I think it needs about another week of work. Thanksgiving will provide a four day uninterupted break. I'm going to miss seeing my family in Cleveland this year, but I think this is worth it!

Picture #1: This is the shower/bath area. It still needs to be tiled, and the shower needs to be installed. I think this is going to be the most difficult part of the project. Once this is finished, we are in a good spot.


Picture #2: The whirlpool tub! Our entire family is excited about the prospect of taking long relaxing baths.

Picture #3: This is the family room. The drywall just needs to be mudded and sanded, then we are ready to paint! Any color suggestions?

Picture #4: Yoshi hard at work. He has been mudding the wall, so hopefully we can sand it this weekend. I am of absolutely no use due to my "delicate condition." Too bad, because I would really enjoy helping out!

I will post more pictures as the project progresses!

Flashback #1: Reading Les Mis with French III

The summer before last, I was attempting to plan a new curriculum for some of my classes. Since I didn’t use a textbook, I was free to choose from any materials I wanted as long as they were affordable and easily accessible. I found an abridged version of Hugo’s classic Les Misérables in a catalogue and the text seemed simple enough for my French III class to understand, so I ordered a class set confident that my students would love it. I was excited about the prospect of making them culturally literate on a topic I thoroughly enjoyed.

The book came home with me over the summer, but did not get read. About a week before we were ready to begin studying the novel as a class, I finally sat down to read it. What I found worried me. Most of the text stayed true to the original, and as a result, was extremely depressing and difficult to read. Even I had to look up several words per chapter, so I knew this would be a daunting task for my students. I decided to take it a day at a time and help them through it.

We would begin each chapter by taking highlighters and finding 20 unfamiliar words. I would then ask each student for a word, write it on the board, and after we had compiled a list of at least one word per student, we would go through and erase the words which were deemed too easy or overly difficult. In this manner, we created a meaningful vocabulary list together. Each student would be assigned a word which they had to write a sentence for and illustrate. Some of the sentences were hilarious, and their illustrations made the vocabulary words easier for them to remember. In a couple of days, we would have a test over the words.

Reading and translating the text was not quite as easy or fun. No matter what method I used, this novel was just too advanced for my students. I resorted to reading it together line by line as a class. When each student was called on, they had a choice to say either “read or translate.” Usually, they would choose read, and read a paragraph in French, which I then translated for the class. Some of the stronger students, or students who did not enjoy displaying their French accent for everyone, would choose to translate. In those cases, I would read and they would translate.

After a while, this got very boring, so I decided to read a chapter to them in English. I wanted to hook them on the story so they would be more interested in what was going on and engaged in class. Unfortunately for me, I chose a very bad chapter to do this with. It was the chapter where it became evident that the Thenardiers, who Fantine had entrusted to care for her daughter Cosette, were mistreating the little girl and exploiting Fantine. They kept sending letters saying that Cosette was sick and needed expensive medicine. Poor Fantine did everything she could. She sold her hair and even her teeth in order to send them money. Finally, she had nothing left.

Imagine me reading this to a group of high school students. Now imagine me tearing up as the story got sadder and sadder. Perhaps I am overly empathetic, but I couldn’t help but imagine how I would feel if I were in that situation. At one point I stopped and said that I couldn’t read anymore, because it was very sad and would make me lose it. Of course, my students urged me on, saying things like, “We have to know what happens. Don’t stop now.” So I continued to read to the end, and totally broke down in front of my class. I don’t mean just a tear or two, I mean downright crying. The entire time, I was apologizing and admitting that the novel is just too depressing. At one point, I think I said, “I just keep imagining, what if it were Maia.” My lovely students tried to reassure me that it was just a story and that Maia had a good life and was not mistreated in any way. It was very touching. Some of the boys teased me. Some girls got tears in their eyes, but I’m not sure if it’s because they were also moved by the story, or if they were just downright mortified for me.

The truth is that I was going through a lot at that time. I wanted to be pregnant, but wasn’t. I knew that I had to announce my decision not to return the following year to administration, but just couldn’t bring myself to do it. I was overwhelmed by my life, but somehow felt that changing it would bring me sadness. Reading the unfortunate story of Fantine’s situation unleashed the flood gates that were overdue for a good cry. Too bad it had to happen in front of a class of students, but luckily they knew me well enough to understand. At that point, they had studied with me for two and a half years, and we all knew each other’s idiosyncrasies. In short, they knew that I didn’t usually do crazy things like that, so they excused it. That’s not to say that they didn’t tell all their friends or whisper, “I think Yokoi is pregnant; she’s super-emotional.” Or even more amusing, “PMS.”

After the incident, we read a couple more chapters, and then I gave up and showed them the film. Like all good teenagers, they loved the movie, but hated the book. I still felt they had gotten their cultural lesson, but with much less pain on everybody’s part. We had worked hard on Les Misérables, but the time had come to move forward with the curriculum. After the nearly impossible Les Mis, the students found “Le Fantôme de l’Opéra” easy. They could translate almost all of it with very little help. This had not been the case with my students the year before. It turned out to be a positive experience, though it was difficult on many levels at the time.

In the end, I announced that I was leaving a couple of weeks later, and found I was pregnant shortly thereafter. Although it was painful to tell my students, many of whom were pretty sad, I feel I made the right decision. My own little Cosette was waiting for me at home, and now we get to spend our days together. I will probably still cry when I read sad stories of mistreated children, but at least I’ll know I have spent as much time as I could with my own.

How I spent my morning

This morning I decided to give myself a break from all the things I usually try to get done while Maia is in school. I'm only 8 weeks from having the baby, and I'm starting to feel some of the aches and pains of pregnancy more profoundly than before. So this is how I spent my morning:

9:00- Drop off Maia at pre-school
9:30- Arrive at OBGYN for appointment
10:00-Leave OBGYN appointment and begin craving a killer brownie.
10:10- Arrive at DLM and purchase what I have been craving. (I bought a cookie for Maia too.)
10:20- Plop myself on the couch to watch DVR'd episode of Desperate Housewives while eating
killer brownie.
11:10- Leave to go pick-up Maia

Yes, this is the good life. In only 8 weeks, I won't have any alone time for awhile, so I'm going to savor these moments.

Mommy gets a make-over

We recently attended a birthday party for our neighbor, and a little make-up compact was in the goodie bag. Of course, Maia adored it immediately and rubbed the make-up all over her face. Then it was my turn to get a make-over. I was a good sport, but as we waited for the camera batteries to charge, my face became increasingly itchy. I'm not sure what was in the "make-up," but it did not feel very good. Needless to say, I have hidden this away where she will not find it for awhile! My skin can't handle too much of Maia's creativity.

Bread Continued

Making bread seems like such a domestic thing to do, so I decided to give it a try. I was very optimistic as I began the long yet not overly complicated process of baking bread from scratch. Overall, it was a positive experience, though there are some things I will change when I do it again. First of all, I apparently did not give myself enough time to get everything done, leading to less rising time and a flatter bread with a denser consistency. It was definitely a fun and educational activity for Maia. She was an excellent sport and I even let her stay up past her bedtime to sample the bread.


Yummy! Maia ate two pieces as soon as we cut it, but did not want to touch it the next day. I think it had something to do with the consistency. Yoshi tried to be nice and noted that it kind of resembled pound cake. I ate all of the bread throughout the week and made myself like it!

As you can see, the height of the bread is not quite right. It is a little too short and could have used an additional 1/2 hour to 45 minutes to rise. My neighbor who bakes bread all the time told me she sometimes starts the process in the morning in order for it to be done by dinnertime, so next time I'll definitely allocate more time. We didn't start until 5:30, and the bread wasn't ready to cut until well after 9:00.

We were so full of optimism!

A close up right before the final rise!

I thought that letting the bread rise this far was good enough, but it needed to get even bigger before I started baking it. Next time, hopefully our bread be even more delicious. It was definitely a great experience that made me feel a bit more domestic!

A Video Documentary of our Breadmaking Experience

We recently decided, with a little encouragement from my friend, to attempt making bread from scratch. It was definitely an interesting experience, and produced lots of blog-worthy material.

Unfortunately, these videos are in reverse order. I tried to correct the sequence, but have not figured out exactly how to do it. Apparently, it is impossible. Please feel free to watch them in any order you would like!

Video #3: Taking a Break for a Little Entertainment

Video #2: Beating Up the Bread

Video #1: Getting Ingredients Ready

Stay tuned for the photo documentary, which actually features pictures of the BREAD.

Belly Shots!

I am approximately 30 weeks pregnant, but I feel much bigger than I did when I was pregnant with Maia. Maybe I'll have to re-think that natural child birth I have planned.

This is my belly shot the night before I gave birth to Maia.





My belly shot today with about 8 weeks left until my due date!

Wearing the right outfit, I can still manage to look overweight rather than pregnant.

Halloween Video

This is a brief video of our party. The one wearing the black shirt with the giant belly is me!

Halloween 2008

Our Halloween this year was incredibly fun. Maia had been looking forward to it for months, and we were so happy when the day finally arrived. We were able to share it with lots of our neighbors and friends, which made it even better!

Belle, Ariel, and Cinderella all ended up trick-or-treating together. It was quite thematic and adorable. Ariel is hiding in this picture!

No matter how many houses we went to, the allure of candy did not wear off!

All three princesses approaching a very well-decorated house!

Did I mention that they were excited?

We ran into another neighbor while trick-or-treating. Maia paused for a picture.

Some of our friends posing for a group picture right before trick-or-treating officially started. They were ready to go!

We managed to squeeze 16 kids and 18 adults into our tiny house. It was a lot of fun until the last 20 minutes or so. I found myself wishing for a larger house because a bunch of screaming kids in one space can be overwhelming (especially when one of them is yours!)

Our neighbor and Maia's preferred babysitter. She begs to play with her. The little duck is our other neighbor. Her twin, dressed as a skunk, is running around somewhere.

This is Maia's best friend and her mom and dad. They are super-fun!

Peter Pan with his mom. More of our neighbors and good friends!