Wow!

I just realized that it's been five days since I last posted.  Time sure flies!

This weekend was pretty low-key for us.  On Saturday we took the boys shopping for sneakers and it was a  very successful venture.  Ryan, whose toes were coming out of his Lightning McQueen's, got two new pairs and Nicholas got one.  Ryan's second pair were intended for school if he liked it enough to keep going after Monday's trial day.  I spent Sunday doing some baking for school lunches including banana bread and cookies then made a tofu dip and sweet potato fries.  It was all delicious with the exception of the cookies which ended up with too much flour and were crumbly.  I tried a new recipe that used honey and molasses instead of sugar and the flavor was good, just a bit dry.

Monday was a big day for us.  We were all out the door at seven (blah!) to take Nicholas to the bus, Tim to work and Ryan to preschool.  Jessica and Samuel came along with us and as I expected, Ryan wasn't too keen on the idea once he got there.  Luckily the teachers and staff were understanding and we were allowed to stay with the boys in the classroom for a while.  Ryan was not willing to do circle time or play with the toys until after the kids had moved on to something else, then he slowly started to relax a bit.  After a while he was comfortable enough to roam around a little and when they brought in lunch he couldn't get at it fast enough.  He ate five pieces of shrimp (two of them were Samuel's) and a good amount of rice.  Samuel ate Ryan's tofu soup.  We had been thinking that they wouldn't want to eat the food there!  After lunch they went to play in the auditorium where they have an awesome play structure and I was thankful for that since I knew that would help me to convince Ryan that he would want to come back again.  Once they were done playing they were taken to a little dining room where they were given homemade apple pie, carrot cake and some sort of cinnamon cake.  We watched the playing and eating from the "Mommy Room" where you can sit and monitor what the kids are doing by the cameras placed in every room.  We were also given coffee, tea and the same desserts as the boys.  Between this and the lunch were were starting to wish that we could stay there every day.

When it was time to go and they brought the boys to us, Ryan couldn't stop talking about the cake he had eaten.  He was very excited about it.  The principal noticed and asked him if he wanted to take some home.  He took off after her down the hallway and came back with about four pieces of cake.  He was thrilled and started giving high fives to all the ladies.  It was pretty cute.

Tuesday I had my Chinese lesson and Ryan didn't go to school.  He will likely only go two to three days per week, unless he asks to go more often.  Anyway, I spent the morning baking again while we listened to Sharon, Lois and Bram - how wholesome is that???  The cookies turned out better this time (not so much flour!) although when Nicholas tried them he said, "Maybe you should get Daddy to show you how he makes cookies".  I informed him that I know how to make Daddy's cookies but that they aren't as healthy as mine.

The forecast for Tuesday was calling for a lot of rain (50+mm) but it wasn't until I got an email from the school that I knew we were actually going to get brushed by a typhoon.  Dad had mentioned that there was one near Okinawa but I didn't think it would make it here.  Since the rain wasn't too bad by 3:30, I didn't bother calling our driver to pick Nicholas up at his bus stop but decided we would walk.  Neither of the boys have raincoats (it's on my list!) so I threw a Busch Gardens poncho on Ryan and brought my raincoat for Nicholas.  As we waited for the bus the rain got harder and I was regretting not calling Li.  Luckily, our neighbors from Mexico arrived in their van and offered for us to wait with them then gave us a drive home.  It was really coming down by then.

 

This morning I must admit that I was hoping school would be cancelled after the typhoon.  It wasn't.  In the end, it was probably a good thing but I really didn't want to get up after a night of coughing to get us all ready to go.  We did it though and didn't have too much trouble getting around until we were on our way to Ryan's kindergarten.  There were several trees down and some roads were flooded and it ended up taking us two and a half hours of driving around detours to get everyone delivered.  Just to give you a small glimpse of what traffic issues can be like here, I snapped a quick picture.  We had just driven the wrong way up an exit ramp (everyone was doing it because they had blocked the road to the proper exit) and were heading into oncoming traffic on the toll highway (you can see the toll booth in the distance).  We had to make our way toward the toll to the only spot where there was a break in the median.  From there we had to fight our way across the traffic that was trying to get from the side we wanted to be on, to the side we were on.  It was nuts, although not entirely unusual.  Several of the cars and trucks continued to drive against traffic even after crossing over to the opposite side of the road.  I'm not sure why the bothered crossing in the first place.  I have learned though, that it is best to never ask "Why?" here.  Just accept it and move on.

Each morning at the kindergarten they take the children's temperatures and take a look in their mouths to make sure they are healthy.  The thermometer they use is an infrared gun and only has to be pointed at the kids' heads to take their temperature.  Still, Ryan wants no part of it.  This morning I let them to it to me to show him it doesn't hurt but he refused to hold still.  In the end I had to hold his hands down and pull the trigger to get it for them.  Honestly though, after watching action movies for so long, it is a little intimidating to have a gun held to your head.  I didn't care for it either.

We left the boys rather quickly this time and although Ryan was pretty angry (mostly at me) he eventually did alright.  He played, ate and even did some painting.  He is officially enrolled but now comes the yucky part.  Tomorrow morning both boys have to go have a quick physical and blood work done.  The worst part is that they can't eat before and it will be nine o'clock before we get to the clinic.  It won't be a pleasant morning!

While the boys were at school today, Jessica, myself and a couple other ladies went for some lunch and a quick grocery trip to YooHoo.  I picked Tim up from work a little early so we could do some important banking stuff and more grocery shopping at a small import store.  We picked up Ryan, then Nicholas, had a quick supper of sushi then went outside to play.

So, it has been a busy few days here.  All that activity and my cold have kept me either on the go or lying on the couch playing Words With Friends on the iPad.  That game is my newest addiction:)

Here are a few random pictures just for fun.  Enjoy!  I will post some of Ryan's school once he's a little more comfortable being there.