It is funny. Noah knows that I AM DIFFERENT but doesn`t really see that he is {and I don`t think he sees that Jon-son is blond and Isabelle too or little M yesterday too}...I kind of like that though. His Japanese language skills are not up to scratch compared to full Japanese kids in a Japanese environment but he knows that outside others speak mainly Japanese and that at home we speak English. When he pretends to be on the phone he always does Japanese...."moshi moshi. etto...noah desu. etto..." etc... as if I am using my actual phone {and not skype} then I am usually speaking in Japanese and of course when he sees his dad or his grandma on the phone it is always japanese. It is funny to think that he thinks of that as the "phone" language.

Noah is not going to kindy next year. We will keep him at home an extra year as unlike Jon-son he has his whole life to get up to scratch with Japanese and experience the culture here since this is our permanent home but only the first four years of his life to be at home with me, speaking and hearing English all day. If we were in your shoes though I imagine I would be sending him from April. I am sure that within 3 months Jon-son will be speaking at near native 3 year old Japanese level and enjoying the environment.

Yesterday we had three blondies, a red haired half Japanese bubba and a lot of dark haired half Japanese half other nationality children. Always a nice mix!

After the initial news and seeing the tsunami hit live, in some spots, I never watched the footage again. Even now I turn the TV off or leave the room when videos come on showing that day. I was so far from the epic center but the quakes that shook us that day, and the days following, and the stress of radiation, more quakes, possible evacuation was very hard to handle even more so with 2 kids under 18 months at the time.

Yesterday, 18 months on, there was news showing that day and days following and I couldn`t watch. It makes me feel so ill.

Yet we were lucky. We had a home, we had each other, we had an escape plan in place if we needed it and very very minimal damage to our apartment and surroundings.

I will never again be so unprepared as I was that day though. We had an evacuation kit but it had not been updated in ages- it had nothing for Shion in it at all and we did not have nearly enough "supplies" like water/non perishable food.

I have never been as far North as Sendai Alyce. The furtherest I have been would be Niigata or Fukishima - both times for skiing. Would love to see further up! What a humbling experience for you and your family.

i Can totally attest to so many of these things. I also know which of my kid poos without looking..... a mama trait perhaps?

Alyce, is perhaps one of the BEST singers I know. Having gone to karaoke with her I can tell you I was blwon away and I was not the only one.

I think that a few good things about me are that 1. I will try to help anyone in need, no matter how trivial {it might seem}the thing they need help with is..}, i try hard to be a better mama each day and I am a good drinking partner!

I don`t spend nearly as much time reading and commenting on blogs as I used to. My reader is overflowing and if I don`t subscribe to blogs through fb then I don`t "pop" in as much as I used to. Too many other things happening in my life and I am not blogging as often myself anymore but am thinking about starting a new project/blog although would still keep Cherry Blossom Adventures going as I have been blogging there for more than six years now.

I have had a ton of blog friends come and go. Lots of people who used to be regular readers who might not follow anymore but I have also met so many wonderful wonderful people through blogging. Some in real life, others only through blogging/emails/online courses. When I gave birth to my second son prematurely two RL friends {who I made originally through blogging} put a call out to others who blogged/new me online or in RL and each person made a patch for a quilt that was sewed together and given to me just after my son left the hospital. It was one of the most amazing things I have ever received and without blogging I would probably not have known these people, these wonderful wonderful ladies.

Blogging is amazing. People are amazing.

Personally I love hearing how online friendships and connections have lead to more {like your post here!} so would love to see more of these types of posts.

It is fantastic. The board, your words, this post. Awesome!

This line stopped me in my tracks "The thing about depression is that you don't just wake up one morning and say "It's gone now". Instead, it's a journey of thousands of tiny steps which gradually take you where you need to head." - as someone who has suffered from depression since my teens {and then PND after my 2nd baby in Jan 2011} this moved me. Sometimes I feel I will never be fully free from it {and medication} but that doesn`t mean that I am not heading where I need to go and that one day, maybe, I might be free of it completely.

How did you do this board? Did you print the pictures then cut out and glue followed by the embellishments? I made one earlier this year but it was more for my family life than just me and my self-care. While it is is still relevant and my core values have not changed I am leaning towards making another but am still working toward collecting things I would like to put on it.

As another participant in the e-course, if anyone is thinking of trying it- then GO FOR IT! I can not recommend it highly enough!

Meeting me was the highlight so far right? LOL

Love to hear how others view Japan as most of the novelty has worn off for me now and what is here is the "norm" for me now.

Glad you are back online!

Looks fantastic. South facing in Japan is fantasitc especially since you have to hang the washing on the balcony! Lots of built in storage though which is awesome.

Just a note with the AC- it might say they have AC but it means they have the holes to install it it doesn`t necessarily mean it comes airconditioned. So double check that! It depends on the place. Also keep in mind that some apartments do not come with lights or at least not all of them. In our last place we had 2 aircons installed when we arrived and only 2 large lights. Bathroom, toilet and kitchen had lights with bulbs and one living room light and one bedroom had a light- the rest we had to buy and stick in.

You are right that in the kitchen and bathroom it is where the fridge/washing machine go. What floor is the apartment on?

Looks like a great area! I have a couple friends in Inage area too so I can introduce you!

ps: Interested in what they are charging?! Our old place was 76m2 and then had a 6m2 storage room on the same floor but down the hall a bit and no car park. And everyone that ever came was like "This is huge" and by standards in Japan it was. Super old building though but the apartment had been reformed a bit.

pps: Do you use a double stroller?

While I am not really a practicing Christian so I can`t really comment on that part BUT I thought this post was fantastic.

I have a lot of assumptions made about me because I am non Japanese {you will find this too, no doubt}. I get asked a lot why I married my husband {as in, why did you marry someone Asian?}...

I guess I am also "young" by some standards although I don`t really think so. I met Shun at 19 and we married when I was 24.... I had Noah at 24 and Shion at 25 and have 2 under 2.5 now at {just} 27.

People make a lot of assumptions about my children too.... some are strange like "oh, they probably don`t eat rice, huh?" and people that don`t know us at all will often assume that their father is also foreign as they don`t look so Japanese I guess.

I do want to say though that I too make assumptions, and sometimes judge, when I shouldn`t. I do think people that made these comments to you were rude and I can see how it was offensive and uneccessary but I also have been guilty of making assumptions about people in the past as well. I often have to remind myself not to judge a book by its cover- and this is something I definitely hope to instill in my kids as well.

Home centers in general here often some good deals but you can`t go past Ikea a lot of the time!

Nittori and other home centers are great though. We have a Unidy and another one near us- can`t remember the name but where I used to live we have a Shimachu which was awesome too!

Rakuten is also great to see if you can get the same thing cheaper. Can`t beat the convinience of online shopping!

Ikea`s shipping can be quite expensive- we live only 15km {before this 7.5km away} away so we are in the A zone which is cheaper- if you are out near Inage though I think that is B or C zone so it gets a bit more expensive. Something to think about! It might end up cheaper for you to rent a car for two days and do a ton of shopping than have stuff shipped to you.

Just some friendly advice from the Aussie in Japan :D

Great post ALice. All points are very true- I especially like #1.

My kids have taught me that a bath/shower can really turn a day around!

Also that tickling can solve almost ANY problems.