☆ Sanda: Where People and Nature Sparkle ☆

False Alarm: Where is the Baby?

2011-09-17T13:49:00.006+09:00

Sorry for getting everyone all worried/excited last night. It looks like Suzuna won't be putting in an appearance quite yet, after all.

Yesterday I started getting what I thought were contractions (and obviously turned out to be "false labor") around 10:30 in the morning. They were coming at about an hour to an hour and a half apart, so I threw myself into cleaning the house to make the time go faster. Well, the house got nice and clean, but the contractions didn't get any closer together and once disappeared for 3 hours. Then suddenly at 9:30 they started up again with a vengeance, coming every 10 or 15 minutes, so when Shoichi got off work at 10:45 we went to the hospital.

As my sister can attest, I was freaking out and afraid I was going to have the baby in the back seat of the car. She stayed on the phone with me the whole time for moral support. (Thanks Kate! You are awesome!) Then I got settled into the hospital and Shoichi took Rin and Rosie to his parents house, at which point the contractions promptly stopped. I was a little worried to go home and have them start up again and have to do the nail-biting ride to hospital again, so I consulted with the midwives and decided to stay overnight.

I had one or two weak contractions, but mostly I just got my nerves worked up waiting and listening to the women in the next bed who was really laboring in earnest. Then the doc came around at about 8:00 in the morning and checked my dilation etc. and said there was no change from when I came in, so I should go home and wait some more.

And here we are. We'll just have to wait and see what happens, but at the moment it looks like it's going to be a while. Ay yi yi!

PS- the picture has nothing to do with this post, but it was the cutest one that came up in GIS for "Where's the Baby?"

One Small Change

2011-08-26T19:59:00.003+09:00

We've been discussing the name a little more and checking it out from all angles and we decided to tweak it just a little bit. There's something in Japan called 姓名判断 (seimei handan) which is a kind of numerology based on the number of strokes in the kanji for the name, and the balance between the different characters. Apparently Suzune is badly balanced and therefore "unlucky", so we looked for another similar name with a luckier number of strokes. (NB I don't believe this stuff, but when in Rome...). We'd already been calling her Suzu-chan for quite some time, so we stuck with that, but we changed the 音 (ne-sound) to 奈 (na-a kind of tree).
So at 36 weeks and counting the new official name is Suzuna (鈴奈) bell-tree.

It's a Girl!

2011-07-28T08:45:00.004+09:00

We got 100% confirmation a few weeks ago. The next baby Kanou is going to be a girl and her name will be Suzune Catherine Kanou. Yeeha!

Finally

2011-05-30T17:23:00.001+09:00

We finally got a clear picture of Baby #2's face. And Dr. Ida says it might be a girl, but it's still not definite yet.

It's Official!

2011-02-08T08:28:00.004+09:00

Baby Kanou #2 is on the way with a tentative due date in late September!

And how's this for coincidence? Before our Monday appointment with Dr. Ida, we ran into Akane (the girl who had her baby Rui a few hours before Rin and who I shared a room with) at the hospital, also waiting for Dr. Ida and her due date is about a week before mine! Who knows, if one is late and the other early we may end up as maternity ward roomies again! Freaky!

Christmas Cookies!!!

2010-12-22T12:42:00.004+09:00

My favorite part of Christmas, ever since I can remember, has always been decorating Christmas cookies. Unfortunately here in my house Japan we don't have an oven, so I can't actually make any of the wonderful Christmas shaped cookies from my childhood, but my wonderful mother was kind enough to send me a big ol' box of powdered sugar, so at least I was able to make the buttercream frosting! This year I made up a big batch and had a Christmas cookie making party for my students. It was a big success and here are some of the finished cookies. Enjoy! (Also a little thank you to Justin who gave me some motivation to start posting again!)

Wild Kingdom Sanda: Part 4

2010-09-22T22:19:00.002+09:00

Here is a little gecko I found crawling around in the classroom. I believe it's another Schlegel's Japanese Gecko. Cute little thing, ain't it?

I want to watch a warm human love triangle

2010-08-02T23:30:00.004+09:00

Are you in "Awwwwwwww" overload yet? These two little guys were both orphaned last month and adopted by the Izaki City Zoo in Fukuchiyama. They've since become fast friends. Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!

Here's the article:
福知山市猪崎の市動物園（二本松俊邦園長）にいる赤ちゃんニホンザルとイノシシの子・ウリボウが、奇妙な友情を育んでいる。2匹は互いに生後1カ月のころ、自然界で親と離れて保護された境遇が重なっている。ゲージから出すと、すり寄って仲むつまじい姿を見せる。
　
ニホンザルは親と死に別れ、ウリボウは1匹で溝にはまっていたところを救出された。2匹とも1カ月ほど前から動物園にいる。ともに愛敬があり、約1週間前に試しに近づけてみたところ意気投合したという。
　
二本松園長は「自然界では親同士が警戒するけど、2匹は飼育員が親だと思っているのかもしれませんね。当面はサル、イノシシ、人の温かい三角関係を見守っていきたい」と話している。

or as Google would have it...
Fukuchiyama 猪崎 City Zoo (Principal Kuni Takashi Nihonmatsu) is the son of Uri bow baby monkeys and wild boar, and has fostered a strange friendship. Two cats each other around the first month of life, protected circumstances are overlapping in nature away from their parents. And out of the gauge, harmonious snuck show up.

The monkey's death parents, Beau was rescued but Uri was in a rut in the dog. The zoo has about a month ago with two dogs. There is both love and respect that I just hit it off close to the test in about a week ago.

Nihonmatsu Principal said, "but naturally wary of each other parents, two dogs that I think might be the parent keeper. Meantime monkeys, wild boar, I want to watch a warm human love triangle" and said.

...And Here's the Redheaded Mother

2010-07-26T19:42:00.003+09:00

My hair was starting look more than a bit sad (about 2 inches of brown roots OMG!), and Shoichi was getting rather long about the ears as well, so we made a day of it at Ippei's Hair Room. Here's a picture during the "manicure".

and another.

This is Ippei.

And this is my awesome new hair!

Shameless Plug for the Redheaded Stepchildren of SWPNS

2010-07-19T21:49:00.003+09:00

I've updated my two oft-neglected blogs, Bibliomania and Let's signing this week, so please go and check them out! (The links are on the right sidebar.)

A New Kit-kat Enters the Hall of Fame

2010-07-12T21:28:00.008+09:00

I've been on a diet, so I haven't posted any new Kit-kat posts in a while, but the latest one I just had to try: Cola and Lemon Squash! The Cola one was okay, it tasted a little fizzy with that weird cola-but-somehow-not-cola-taste you get with cola-flavored things like cola-gum and cola-pez. It was neither here nor there, delicious nor gross, fish nor fowl.

The Lemon, however, was something special, it earned it's place in the Hall of Fame beside salt, green tea and sparkling strawberry. It has a mild lemon cream taste with just a tad of sour bite at the end and is a pleasing pale yellow color, just as it ought to. I'll be bringing some home in August for the curious along with aloe-yogurt and bitter almond.

P.S. The text on the package says "Cola Flavor and Lemon Squash Flavor, Which will you eat first?".

Oji Zoo

2010-06-01T09:09:00.004+09:00

Yesterday Rin and I went to Oji zoo with the other Moms (Hachi, Yukari and Sayoko) and their babies (Yuuto, Fuuka and Yuito). Of course they all fell asleep the moment we got to the zoo's front gate! They all woke up a little later though and we had a good time looking at the animals. Here is a koala and I'll try to post some more pics on facebook once the camera battery finishes charging!

Let's Take a Walk

2010-05-23T15:03:00.008+09:00

Mom requested some photos of daily life in Sanda, so here is a visual diary of my walk back from the supermarket to the house. I usually walk this route once a day, with Rin strapped into the front carrier, or sometimes in his carriage.

Wild Kingdom Sanda: Part 3

2010-05-09T14:31:00.002+09:00

On the way back from the park we found this gross millipede and I thought I'd share the creepiness with all of you.

Wild Kingdom Sanda: Part 2

2010-04-29T09:37:00.004+09:00

Today Rin and Rosie and I went to play in the park. We were sitting in the grass and soaking up the sun when what should we see but a lady with a lizard on a leash. (Try saying that 5 times fast). Of course I had to investigate, so I went up and said hello, and got the dirt on the lizard. It's name is Memeta, its sex is unknown, and apparently it's some type of monitor. How do you like that?

Yozakura: Cherry Blossoms at Night

2010-04-11T12:01:00.003+09:00

More pictures from the park, this time at night.

Puchi Hanami

2010-04-06T18:37:00.002+09:00

Rin and I took a walk through the park today on our way to Furatto and the cherry blossoms were in full bloom with several groups of hanami revelers enjoying them.

Boys' Day

2010-04-01T11:18:00.006+09:00

Boys' Day is May 5th, but the stores are already filled with Kintaro and Momotaro dolls, helmets, armor and carp-streamers. My favorite was this doll with an 愛 helmet. I think we'll probably just stick with some small streamers for Rin though, since the helmets etc. cost an arm and a leg.

If you want to learn more about Boy's day check here.

Blooming Sanda

2010-03-29T17:15:00.002+09:00

On the way to the post-office today I passed a tree covered in absolutely spectacular yellow flowers. I don't know my aster from my elderflower when it comes to the floral kingdom, but maybe you can identify them, Mima. (I'm tempted to say mimosa for some reason, however)

P.S. Hmm just GISed mimosa and it looks like I was right. Go me!

Oopsie!

2010-03-24T12:04:00.003+09:00

We went to the sumo this past Sunday and had a great time, but at the very end the young sumo Minanosato who does the yumitorishiki (bow ceremony) dropped his bow to the amazement of the crowd. I've never seen this happen before, so it was quite funny.

Snowball Fight!

2010-03-19T20:28:00.002+09:00

In case you were in need of some cheer, here's your daily dose.

Some People Have a Hobby Like Tennis or Philately

2010-03-15T17:50:00.002+09:00

Just to absolutely secure my nerd/geek status I've decided to take up stamp-collecting. I bought myself a little album and a few sets of commemorative stamps to go in it. Here's one set.

Sakura Matcha Kit-kat

2010-03-06T15:19:00.004+09:00

This Kitkat is my favorite so far; even better than salt. The bar itself is a lovely shade of green, and they've managed to get the balance of chocolate and matcha just right. The wafer has a delicate cherry blossom flavor that is a perfect match for the green tea. This one is definately 10 out of 10!

PS As I was writing this blog I saw a TV commercial for this Kit-kat

Happy Girls' Day

2010-03-03T12:10:00.004+09:00

Today is Girls' Day in Japan when parents of girls decorate their house with a set of beautiful Hina dolls. They are lovely but unfortunately ridiculously expensive. This set here is about $1,105 and it's not even a full set.

We also eat a kind of sweet cracker called hina-arare and drink sweet sake. (It's for kids so it's not real sake.)

PS Be sure to check out the new posts on Let's Signing (Me 'n' Erica's Blog, to the right)

Breast-feeding... the Right Way and the Wrong Way

2010-02-27T18:42:00.003+09:00

I found this picture on a pro-breast-feeding group on facebook and thought it was funny, so here you go.

Kit-kat Passion

2010-02-26T19:11:00.003+09:00

The latest Kit-kat on the shelves is Raspberry and Passion Fruit. It has bitter dark-chocolate wrapping crispy wafers with tart raspberry jam and just a hint of passion fruit. It's not as sweet as the usual Kit-kat and it has a much more refined and adult taste. This is another winner. Also if anyone is interested I was reading on Fark the other day that there are even more new regional Kit-kat specialties in the works, including wasabi. I can't wait to try that one!

Double Trouble from Kit-kat

2010-02-02T10:53:00.005+09:00

I tried two new kit-kats this week: Maple and "Complete Vegetable". They were both quite tasty in and of themselves, but neither were real standouts.

The maple was your standard white chocolate Kit-kat with just a tiny hint of maple syrup. Like the rose variety I thought it was good, but just not mapley enough. They ought to have made the maple flavor a bit more prominent; as it is, it felt too similar to other white chocolate kit-kats I've had and lacked personality.

The vegetable was a little better. It had a quite charming orange sherbet color as you can see, and a light fruity smell. The flavor was a nice mix of carrot and some kind of fruit (apple? orange?), but as with the maple, it could have had a bit more kick.

Osaka: Of Lolitas and Macarons

2010-02-02T09:31:00.005+09:00

Last Monday Rin and I went in to Osaka to do some textbook shopping and we saw a pink Goth-Loli at the station. The picture's a little blurry 'cause I took it from kinda far away but I hope you like it.

We also went in search of macarons and found paradise on earth. A few weeks ago my friends Shiho and Naoko gave me a box of the most delicious macarons ever and said they were from the Hankyu Department Store. I went there but they didn't have the same ones, but fortunately they had even MORE delicious ones (if that's even possible). I had a cassis-violet, a yuzu (a type of citron) and a raspberry chocolate macaron. Perfection!

Four Eyes

2010-01-27T12:41:00.003+09:00

Here's a cute dog I found on yahoo news. His eyes are closed, but he has an eye-like pattern in the fur on his eyelids. Pretty cute, eh?

Wild Thing

2010-01-12T09:03:00.002+09:00

I've been wanting to do something wild with my hair for quite some time now, and I finally did. Ta-da!

Power Tools!!!

2010-01-04T14:59:00.004+09:00

Well actually only one power tool: the Bosch IXO cordless screwdriver. We've decided to finally dismantle the monstrosity of a jury-rigged bed in our second floor room, and we bought the IXO after getting blisters from manually unscrewing a bunch of tightly and crookedly screwed screws. It's only a teeny little 3.6V driver, but it's a ton of fun! God, I love power tools!

Happy Year of the Tiger!

2009-12-31T10:27:00.002+09:00

It's a little early, but Happy New Year to everyone from the whole Kanou family! I hope you all have a grrrrreat new year!

Merry Christmas 2009

2009-12-25T15:16:00.004+09:00

Have you been good? Here is Santa-Rin to bring you some Christmas cheer!

Kit-Kat Revolution

2009-12-15T15:33:00.002+09:00

The latest Kit-kat to hit the shelves is Sparkling Strawberry and it's the best yet. (Well, actually tied with Salt; they're both delish.) It has the standard creamy white chocolate taste with the perfect tart bite of strawberry at the end. Pepsi should take a lesson from Kit-kit; it's not enough to just keep coming out with weird flavors, they have to actually taste good too.

'Tis the Season.... to kill!

2009-12-04T19:00:00.005+09:00

That's what this Santa seems to being thinking anyway. God what a scary Santa; he's enough to give you nightmares. (Found at the entrance of my local supermarket BTW).

Congratulations, Hakuho!

2009-11-30T09:08:00.004+09:00

Hakuho just won his 12th total and 4th perfect tournament yesterday! He also set a new record for the most victories in a year with 86, beating Asashoryu's previous record of 84. It looks like the era of Asashoryu has ended and the era of Hakuho has begun!

Autumn Glory

2009-11-25T12:01:00.004+09:00

I just uploaded a bunch of pics from my camera to the computer. Here is a series of the beautiful maples in Sanda-dani Park and around the Flower Town area. Enjoy!

More Sparkling Nature

2009-11-21T10:44:00.003+09:00

The season for Kinmokusei has, unfortunately, come to end and most of the leaves have fallen off the trees already, but now we can begin to enjoy the winter-blooming flowers such as camellia. This tree is quite popular in Japan and our local park is filled with its beautiful pink blossoms.

Rice for Rin

2009-11-18T18:12:00.003+09:00

I fed Rin his first solid food today: rice gruel. He really seemed to like it, eating it up with a big smile and getting it all over himself. (Of course I stripped him down to his diapy before I gave it to him. ) Unfortunately I forgot to take a pic, so you'll have to wait until the next feeding to see him covered in gloopy rice.

Kit-Kat Report

2009-11-14T14:08:00.004+09:00

The latest weird Kit-kat flavor to come out is Royal Milk Tea. This one is not too adventurous; just your standard kit-kat wafer surrounded by creamy tea-flavored white chocolate. It's pretty much exactly what I expected from the name, and a good solid candy-bar. I can definitely recommend it.

More Pepsi Madness

2009-11-02T12:39:00.004+09:00

As faithful readers of this blog are no doubt aware, Pepsi Japan occasionally puts out unusual limited edition flavors. Their cucumber and shiso sodas were both delish, but they've come a bit of a cropper with the latest release: Pepsi Azuki. The first sip is ok, but the lingering aftertaste of sweet beans is really not something you want out of a cola. I recommend giving this one a miss.

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T19:51:00.002+09:00

Unfortunately we were too busy to do a Halloween party this year, but we did get Rin dressed up in his little pumpkin suit and here he is!

BCG : ASAP

2009-10-22T19:37:00.004+09:00

I took Rintarou to the Sanda city health and welfare center today to get his BCG vaccination. He was supposed to have gotten it in September, but we were away in the States so we had to put it off. He was a very good boy and only cried a tiny bit, although it looked like it really hurt a lot.

This is us waiting to get checked. We were number 31 in line, and there were plenty of babies after us.

This is Rin with his sleeve off; doesn't he look tough?

Here is Rin getting checked by the doctor.

And here is the final shot.

You did great Rin!

Autumn in Japan: Kinmokusei

2009-10-21T09:42:00.003+09:00

Autumn is far and away my favorite season in Japan. The weather is cool but not too cold, the trees turn beautiful colors and there are lots of yummy things to eat, like Mattake mushrooms. The best thing about autumn though, is the smell of Kinmokusei. These lovely trees are in bloom all around my neighborhood and they smell heavenly. So sweet and delicate it makes a walk in the park an absolute joy.

Mom- the English name is fragrant olive, the Latin name is osmanthus fragrans var. aurantiacus

Jonesin' for some FarmVille

2009-10-15T17:50:00.004+09:00

I'm really seriously thinking about changing to Hikari fiber 'cause my net is so slow I can't get my FarmVille fix. I've been trying to stay in the loop and send presents to everybody, but my connection speed makes it almost impossible to do any real farming. I'm jonesin' hardcore for that sweet sweet farming action.

God, I'm pathetic!

Typhoon 18!

2009-10-08T01:33:00.004+09:00

Typhoon 18 is coming up. It's supposed to be the second biggest since the end of the war, and apparently the English name is Melor?!?

I went out a few hours ago and closed all the storm shutters, but the wind is really raging; quite a terrific noise! Since we don't have to worry much about flooding or tsunami here in Sanda I'm just enjoying the wild sound of the wind.

We will be in the US in 24 hours!

2009-09-08T12:48:00.000+09:00

Pick us up at Bradley at 11:30 PM tomorrow! Wooooooooooooooooooo haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Fly Like a Baby

2009-09-03T11:00:00.005+09:00

On September 8th we'll be taking off from Kankuu and going to the U.S. for a one month stay with my family. I'm so excited!

Also please check out my latest post on Bibilomania

Book List Year 4

お宮参り (O-Miya Mairi: Baby's First Temple Visit)

2009-08-26T07:50:00.005+09:00

Two weeks ago Sunday we took Rin to Nakayama Temple for his first temple visit ceremony, and accompanying photo-shoot. It was brutally hot and he had to wait a long time on the train and at the temple and again at the photo-studio, but he was a little trooper and didn't cry at all.

Here he is with Shoichi and me and his obaa-chan after the ceremony. We had quite a time getting the kimono on him. No one in our group had any idea how it was supposed to go on, and we just kind of tied it in place. The other families seemed to know what they were doing and tied it on quite elegantly, but we got there late and just had to tie it any which way.

The ceremony itself was quite lovely. A monk chanted some blessings over the babies (Rin and two little girls) and his voice was really rich and deep and sonorous almost vibrated. The room where the ceremony was held was beautiful too. We weren't allowed to take photos but everything was done in gorgeous wood, covered in shiny red and black lacquer with golden tasseled ornaments hanging from the ceiling.

After the ceremony we went to the photo-studio at the mall for the official portrait. The photos all came out great, but darn were they expensive. Here is Dad and Julie in their Sunday best. (Dad had to buy a new tie at the mall because his original tie clashed horribly with his suit.)

Finally here is me and Sho-chan in our Sunday best.

Welcome Tutu and Dulie!

2009-08-11T17:35:00.002+09:00

By this time tomorrow Tutu and Dulie should be on the Shinkansen from Tokyo headed to Osaka! I'm so excited!!!

Eyeballs!

2009-08-09T10:47:00.003+09:00

About the eyeballs, I was watching a cooking program and they went to a fish market and showed all the different parts of the tuna and how to cook them, and the last one was the eyeball. A tuna's eyeball is really huge, about as big as a baseball, and the chef cooked it in foil, and brought it out for the host to try. She looked a little grossed out, but she soldiered on and ate it. She said it was oily but delicious. I almost barfed just watching it. It's too gross to put up on this blog, so if you want to see what it looked like GIS マグロの目玉 for yourself.

Oh, Those Wacky KitKats

2009-08-05T13:16:00.007+09:00

What will they think of next?

When we went to the conbini a few days ago we discovered yet another new seasonal variety: Apple Cider Vinegar!?! It was white chocolate with a mild sour/fruity aftertaste. Sho-chan said he preferred it to Lamune, but I disagreed; the Lamune had a special something about it that really endeared it to me.
Then lo and behold we went to the supermarket the day after that and they had Rose KitKats. I have to admit I was rather unimpressed with the rose ones however. They were just plain milk-chocolate with a very faint hint of rose. If you didn't know it was supposed to be rose you might not even notice it. If you're going to go for such a wacky flavor, I think you need to really go all out and this was honestly rather half-hearted.

Lamune Kit Kat

2009-07-26T09:42:00.006+09:00

As you may know KitKat sells various seasonal limited edition versions in Japan. This summer the new flavor is Lamune, which comes from the English "lemonade". The original Lamune is a fizzy lemon drink similar to Sprite or 7-up sold in cute blue glass bottles, stoppered with marbles. The Lamune Kit Kat is the same shade of blue as the Lamune bottle, but only vaguely reminiscent of the taste. It starts out quite sweet and creamy, much like your standard white chocolate, but it has a little sour kick of lemon right at the very end. I'm quite fond of them and I'd advise anyone who can get their hands on some to check them out.

TV Time, Blue Kit Kat & Tuna Eyeballs

2009-07-22T19:54:00.006+09:00

I've been meaning to update more frequently, but Rin is quite the little handful. In fact, He's sitting on my lap as I write this, drinking milk to his little heart's content.

Since I'm pretty much housebound on weekdays, apart from my daily walk with Rosie, I've been watching a metric assload of TV.
As anyone who's watched Japanese TV can tell you there are basically 4 kinds of TV shows: news, variety, drama and cooking. I can take or leave the cooking and drama shows, but I'm starting to get hooked on the variety shows, especially the quiz shows or the shows with cute animals.

My three favorites are:

1) Nep-league: a quiz show where every week a new celebrity team battles the hosts,( a comedy trio called Neptune) in a series of general knowledge and kanji quizzes. It's somwehow comforting to see a Japanese person mess up a kanji I know. I get to yell "Ha! Baka! I'm a gaijin and I knew that one!" (Pic is the hosts of the show, Neptune)

2) Hexagon: another celebrity quiz show. The second stage is great because the teams have to answer questions while jumping rope at the same time. ()I should have guessed but a GIS for the jump-rope quiz produced almost nothing but upskirt pics of the various female contestants... (Pic is the final round ladder-quiz)

3) Waratte ii tomo :the classic variety show, hosted by Tamori-san, it has celebrity interviews, silly Double-dare style physical challenges and my favorite corner: Dancing Queen where regulars on the show choose the prettiest of a selection of 3 transsexuals. (Pic is the host of the show, Tamori)

OK, Rin is sqiggling and hiccoughing so the Blue Kit Kats and eyeballs will have to wait 'til next time. Goog Niter

Pump up the Jam

2009-07-12T11:03:00.004+09:00

We tried the pump for the first time this morning and now Sho-chan is giving Rin his first bottle. It seems to be going pretty well and they look so cute together!

Thank You Mima!

2009-07-08T12:05:00.004+09:00

For the last 5 weeks Mima lived with us and helped us out: washing the dishes and doing the laundry, walking the dog and cooking delicious dinners. We were so happy to have her stay with us and I don't know what I would've done without her. Unfortunately she couldn't stay with us forever, and she went home yesterday afternoon. Here are some pictures from Kansai Airport as we saw her off.

Here are Mom and Rin saying goodbye.

Three generations.

and with Shoichi

Mima left on Tanabata, the day of the star festival, and here is the wishing tree at Kansai Airport

and here is my wish.

We miss you Mima and we hope you can come again soon. Having you here to stay with us was wonderful and having you there to hold my hand and rub my back and sing that stupid "You Can Do It, Rascal" song while I was in labor was more help than you know. I'm glad you were here to welcome little Rin into the world and I know he misses his Mima as much as Sho and I do!

Pee-pee Attack, Shiso!?! and a New Blog!

2009-07-03T13:23:00.004+09:00

1. I've been gradually getting into the swing of being a mom, the feeding, the bathing, the sleepless nights and the pee-pee and poopy diapers. I guess I was a little bit too cavalier about the diapers though because a few days ago when I was changing Rin, he let fly with a little yellow stream right all over me, the mat and the futon. Now I make sure to put a wipe down over his little equipment before initiating the diaper-change.

2. It's that time of year again; time for Pepsi to come out with a new weird limited edition summer beverage, and this year is a topper. They've made shiso soda. Shiso is a green leaf with a bit of a pungent flavor that's apparently called perilla in English, though I've never heard of it (and neither has the spell-checker, apparently). I'm a big fan of shiso in all kinds of dishes, (especially cold shiso and pickled plum spaghetti), but I never would have thought to make a soda out of it. Give it a try if you get the chance, I guarantee you're in for quite an experience!

3. Since all my relatives are clamoring for pictures of Rin, I've decided to make a new blog just with pictures of him which will hopefully be updated daily.

Chillaxin'

2009-06-26T20:48:00.004+09:00

Sorry for the lack of updates. We've been pretty busy with Rin. He's just getting cuter and cuter every day, and is (fingers crossed) pretty good about sleeping for fairly long stretches. For now, here's a picture of him cuddling with Daddy, and I'll try to get more pics up later!

A Star is Born!

2009-06-16T21:52:00.004+09:00

加納麟太朗 (Rinatarou Karl Kanou) was born this morning June 16th at 7:16 am! He weighed 3175 g and was 49 cm long. He is also the handsomest baby you have ever seen, (although I may be slightly biased.)

Beautiful eyes...

Cute little toesies...

and a great big yawn.

Posing with Mom!

At the hospital

2009-06-15T19:48:00.002+09:00

Sho-chan, Mom and I are all at the hospital now, biding our time. The contractions have started coming fast and furious, and I've decided to stay for the night, rather than go back home and have to come again in the middle of the night. (I just had a contraction while writing this blog entry in fact and had to stand up and waddle around like a penguin, breathing out my mouth. Foo..Foo... fooooooo.)

The hopsital staff are really great and they encouraged us to go out and have something to eat while it was still possible, which we did. We headed down to the sushi-go-round for some pre-celebration sushi, stuffed ourselves and came back. I think we must've slightly freaked out the other patrons though, since I had to keep grabbing Sh-chan's arm and squeezing it and grimacing. (I saved the penguin dance for inside the hospital at least!)

This will probably be the last pre-birth update, so wish me luck!

Goog Niter!!!

Let's get this show on the road!

2009-06-15T11:16:00.005+09:00

Well, signs seem hopeful that Rintarou will make an appearance in the next 2 or 3 days. (...TMI WARNING...) I lost my mucous plug (...TMI WARNING...) and I've started to have some mild, irregular contractions. At least I think they're contractions, but I've never really done this whole giving birth thing before so....

Anyway wish me luck and in a few days there should be a picture of the newest Kanou up here!

How is babby borned? How girl get unpragnent?

2009-06-11T09:12:00.003+09:00

Rinatarou is due today, but he seems to be a bit shy about making an appearance, and Dr. Ida says it'll probably be a few more days before he is actually born. The nurse told me to do squats to try to get him to come down more and another nurse suggested washing the windows. I just hope he'll be ready to come out soon! I don't want to be pregnant for much longer.

Shining Force Neo

2009-06-02T14:39:00.004+09:00

I'm hooked again! This year for my birthday Sho-chan got me Shining Force Neo, an action RPG (as well as some lovely green tea perfume and apple/almond toner; thank you Sho-chin!). I've always liked the Shining Force series because of the wide range of character types available (centaurs, wolfmen, robots,elves etc.) and the fun battle system, and Neo does not disappoint. I've already racked up almost 20 hours of game time and now I'm off to rack up some more. I highly recommend this series to any gamers out there.

Mother X2

2009-05-30T23:20:00.004+09:00

As of today I'm officially finished with work, and ready to start my biggest job ever: giving birth! The countdown is currently at 11 days, but Rintarou may very well be late or early. I just hope he holds off until my Mom gets here. She is due to touch down at Kankuu on the 4th, and boy am I excited! I hope she'll love Sanda just as much as I do.

This pic is kinda weird, but it's the only one of my Mom I could find....

Congratulations, Harumafuji!

2009-05-25T13:08:00.004+09:00

Congratulations to Harumafuji (previously known as Ama) on his first ever tournament victory!

Yesterday was an exciting day in Sumo as Ozeki Harumafuji took down Yokozuna Hakuho to win his first tournament victory. I've been a fan of Harumafuji since his days as Ama (the cheap horse) and he just keeps getting better and better. He's always been a scrappy, hang-on-and-fight-to-the-bitter-end type, but these days he seems to have really gained some sumo know-how as well as bulking up his frame. I hope we can continue to expect good things of him!

P.S. My mom will be here in only 10 days, and Rintarou shortly after that!

Bones: 骨は語る

2009-05-20T23:38:00.004+09:00

Our latest addiction is the crime drama Bones. We found it at Tsutaya and we've been watching it every chance we get. We've made it through the first 2 seasons and are starting season 3 tomorrow. If you haven't seen it, check it out. It's gross, funny and sappy by turns and the ensemble cast is great. I especially love Dr. Hodgins (third from the right with the curly blond hair).

New Juice Report

2009-05-15T23:27:00.003+09:00

Japan is a great country for beverage lovers; it seems like every day there's a new kind of juice or soda on the market. Today's spotlight is "Zooce: the juice that's like a zoo." I love the packaging, but I'm not sure I want to imagine what a zoo tastes like. Especially not the elephant cage...

Luckily it just tastes like some kind of random carbonated fruit, (maybe pineapple?) with an aftertaste reminiscent of Flintstones chewable vitamins. Goog niter!

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-10T11:50:00.003+09:00

Mom, Elaine, Julie- Happy Mother's Day to all of you! I feel really blessed that I have three great ladies like you in my life!

And Happy Mother's Day to all the other mothers out there too! Kate, Ann, Grandma etc!

Congratulations, Rika and Tommy!

2009-05-08T00:35:00.003+09:00

On April 26th 2009, my student Rika got married. Sho-chan and I went to the wedding with two other students Chihiro and Akiko. It was a lovely wedding in a gorgeous venue with stunning gourmet food. Very romantic and fun! Here are some pictures.

Here are Rika and Tommy coming out of the chapel after the ceremony. It was a very windy day and the ushers handed us all umbrellas as we waited for the happy couple to make their entrance.

I got to pose with Rika, but I didn't realize we were supposed to be making silly faces until after Sho-chan took the picture!

Don't they look wonderful?

This is everyone at our table: Akiko, Sho-chan, Me, Chihiro and two high school friends of Rika's.

Congratulations guys! I know you will have a long and happy life together!

I ♡ My Washlet!

2009-04-29T22:42:00.003+09:00

On the day of the Easter party last week our Washlet was delivered!

For those of you who are wondering what the heck a Washlet is, it's a Japanese space-age toilet with a heated seat and various sprayers and nozzles for washing your butt! (Wash+toilet =Washlet) I'd been wanting to get one for quite some time, but couldn't quite justify the price since they cost around $200-$300. Last week, however, our toilet seat, (which had had a crack in it for a while) finally broke, giving me the excuse I needed. I'm not going to go into the gory details here, but just let me say that having a butt-washing toilet with a nice warm seat is WONDERFUL!

FYI: The Japanese on the ad says: "Warm water wash toilet seat- Beauty Toilet" (pronounced the French way: twa-lay)

Happy (belated) Easter!

2009-04-21T14:52:00.005+09:00

This Sunday's Easter party was a big success! Ten kids and eleven adults attended and we held an Easter egg hunt, played bingo and decorated eggs. Here are some photos from the big day!

This is Chika, with the clover egg she decorated. Quite a young artist!

These lovely ladies are, from left to right: Chihiro, Yoko and Akiko.
(P.S. If you look closely at the background you can see the puzzle I mentioned a few posts ago!)

Choco-baby

2009-04-15T12:33:00.002+09:00

This Sunday we went to Stephanie's house to see the latest litter of lab puppies, and were they ever cute! Her dog Missy just had a litter of six, four boys and two girls, five black and one chocolate. They were only born a few days ago, so their eyes and ears were still closed tightly but they were sooooo sweet. Another one of her dogs, Tim-Tam is due later this week too, so they'll be swimming in puppies! The picture above is Sho-chan holding the one chocolate baby girl.

Hakuho and Son

2009-04-12T01:54:00.005+09:00

Just saw this picture of Hakuho and his 7 month old son Mahato on Yahoo Japan and had to post it.

Look at his little baby yokozuna-belt. How cute is that?

9 weeks

2009-04-09T13:54:00.001+09:00

We're finally down into the single digits! YEAH! I'm so excited.

♪か・わ・い・い♪

2009-04-07T22:53:00.003+09:00

OMFG! Look at this dress! I almost wish we had had a wedding just so I could twirl around before all and sundry in the distilled awesomeness that is a Hello Kitty pink rose after-party gown.

How did I come across this you might ask? To commemorate the baby's birth I'm thinking of getting a tattoo of Hello Kitty, Dear Daniel and a baby Kitty and I was looking for ideas. This came up in a GIS for Kitty and Daniel. I'm soooooooo jealous of any girl who got to wear this dress.

Rather Puzzling

2009-04-02T16:23:00.004+09:00

Recently Sho-chan and I have gotten into jig-saw puzzles. We just completed a 1000 piece puzzle a few weeks ago, showing the famous Blue Mosque in Turkey. After we finished it we glued it and framed it and hung it in the classroom.

Here is Sho-chan's hand putting in the final piece!

Our next project is a 450 piece of the Sagrada Familia church in Spain designed by Antonio Gaudi.

I'm big, but I'm not THAT big

2009-04-02T10:23:00.007+09:00

I requested a few weeks ago for my mom to send me some maternity clothes, as I was having difficulty finding ones in my size over here. Well, she came through with some lovely blouses (see below w/ Asashoryu) and a nice pair of black pants, but the jeans were another story. There must have been a mixup at the factory, because the jeans she sent, which were labelled 2X were HUGE! Not just big, but really comically gigantic. I pity the person who would actually fit these pants. Scroll down to see them in all their glory.
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HOLY TROUSERS BATMAN!!! Those are some hugamongous pants!

I'm never going to wash my hand again...

2009-03-15T22:37:00.006+09:00

because I shook hands with Asashoryu! That's right; the big Yokozuna, sumo's favorite bad boy, the Blue Dragon himself!

Sho-chan, Shiho, Naoko and I went to the opening day of the Osaka Tournament today and we had a great time. After the tournament finished we were buying souvenirs and getting ready to go when we saw a bunch of camera-men running off down a side hallway. We figured something was afoot so we decided to follow them. Then suddenly from around the corner came Asashoryu with a big smile on his face. I was so excited I could've died but I managed to say: "Congratulations on your win today" and put out my hand and he gave me another mega-watt smile and shook it! This is honestly one of the most exciting things that's ever happened to me. Kyaaaaaaaaaaa~!

(He shook Shiho's hand as well, but unfortunately Naoko missed out and had to be satisfied with just brushing his hand a bit.)

Also, here are some sumo butts:

The Face!

2009-03-12T12:37:00.002+09:00

We finally got a good ultrasound pic of Rintarou facing outwards! Enjoy!

Can you see the face? Here, look again:

It's (really) a boy!

2009-03-08T22:52:00.003+09:00

We went to the ob/gyn again today and we got 100% kintama confirmation. I actually saw the balls my self today so it's official.
Also; last time we went we were told that the baby was upside-down and I'd have to sleep on my right side to encourage him to turn over. Well so I did for 3 weeks, and he turned over! Yeah! I was worried I might have to have a C-section, but the doctor said that most babies will right themselves before 30 weeks and it's only after that you have to begin worrying.

A bit of bad news is that we'll have to change docs again. I'm sure the next doc will be great too, but I've really come to like Dr. Fujioka as she has a really good sense of humor and really makes the visits enjoyable. I think bedside manner is really important in an ob/gyn. (To tell the truth I also felt very comfortable with her because she was also a jolly, chubby lady like me)

More later... I have a bunch of pics I've been meaning to upload, maybe I'll get to them on my day off tomorrow!

It's (probably) a boy!

2009-02-21T13:31:00.005+09:00

So by this time most readers of this blog (all 3 or 4 of you) have probably heard that we have a tentative gender identification.

We went for the 6 month checkup on Sunday and Dr. Fujioka told us that "the probability is very high" that the baby is a boy, but it's still not 100%. We saw the ultrasound and Dr. Fujioka pointed out what may or may not have been the elusive baby balls, but she said because the baby is facing away it's very difficult to tell. Hopefully we'll get a clearer picture on the 7 month checkup.

For now though we're going with the doctor's judgement and calling him Rintarou. I think he may very well be a boy though, 'cause little Rintarou can kick like a mini karate-master.

Chocomania!!!!

2009-02-13T23:53:00.007+09:00

Today is Valentine's Day and you know what that means....

Chocolate, chocolate, and just for the flying heck of it all, a lil' more chocolate. I know a lot of single people like to hate on Valentine's but I never did, even when I was a lonely singleton myself. Who needs a boyfriend when you can console yourself with a 24 pack of Russell Stover chocolate creams, or even better: a Godiva sampler.

I love you Valentine's Day. I love you chocolate. (Second only of course to my wonderful sweet Sho-chan, my shy Baby X, my fantastic family back in the States, and my lovely Rosie).

Now let's turn to page 17... What the?!?!

2009-02-03T14:02:00.003+09:00

Our Japanese class was surprised yesterday by the sudden appearance of a window washer. I thought it was kind of funny so I snapped a pic on my camera phone

Get Your Kicks...

2009-01-31T22:19:00.005+09:00

As of yesterday the baby has begun kicking! What a truly odd sensation it is. It feels kind of like gas, but much more sudden and less diffuse. Any mothers out there know what I'm talking about? I'm really enjoying it now, but I can imagine it'll get old once the baby gets a bit stronger and really starts putting some leg in it. For the moment, however, I'm on Cloud Nine!

What a kicking baby may look like (not my stomach)

The Dog Days of Pregnancy

2009-01-26T20:25:00.004+09:00

This Sunday Sho-chan and his mother and I went to Nakayama-dera to get my pregnancy belt (腹帯). It's supposed to protect the stomach while you are pregnant and help you have a safe and easy delivery (安産). You are supposed to begin wearing it on the Day of the Dog in your fifth month. Why the Day of the Dog you ask? Because dogs have many babies safely and easily and you can get a little bit of the dog's good luck by begining to wear the belt on their day.

Nakayama-dera is famous for its pregnancy belts, so there were a whole lot of pregnant ladies there, as well as many couples with tiny babies coming for their "thank you" visits after having a safe delivery.
Here are some photos:

This is Me and Shochan with our freshly purchases belt (it's hard to see because of the light, but the white thing I'm holding is an envelope with the belt, a lucky charm, a thank-you candle and some other things.

This is me with Sho-chan's mother. She is a very sweet lady and a good mother-in-law (and only about 4'11")

After we got the belt, we had lunch together at the noodle-shop in the temple. In the shop there was a pigeon that had somehow wandered inside.

What's in a Name? (Part II)

2009-01-22T11:27:00.004+09:00

In the comments on the last post, Mom asked a good question. What do the kanji in the various names we're considering actually mean?

Here's a quick rundown:

Leina / 玲奈：玲＝the sound of a bell, 奈= a kind of tree

Junna / 純奈：純= pure, 奈= as above

Erika / 絵里花：絵= picture/painting, 里=village/hometown, 花=flower

Yuzuka / 柚香：柚= a kind of citrus fruit, 香= fragrance

Rintarou / 麟太郎：麟= a Chinese unicorn, 太郎= a suffix for a boy's name

Also, I've finally hit the halfway mark, 20 weeks down, 20 weeks to go. I'll be going to the temple with Sho-chan and his mother this weekend to get my special pregnancy belt at the safe-delivery temple, Nakayama-dera. I'll post pics next week!

Abuelita and (No) Baby News

2009-01-18T21:01:00.005+09:00

My student Shouta did a short homestay in California over the winter break and he gave me the above Abuelita (Little granny) chocolate drink as a souvenir. It's apparently very popular in Mexico, and after trying it I have to say it's quite yummy. I can't remember ever seeing it in the Mexican section at the supermarket, but if you ever come across it give it a try; it's creamy and lightly spicy.

As for the baby, we went for the 20 week check up today, and got the good news that the baby is healthy, energetic and growing at the right pace. Unfortunately he/she did not want to cooperate and give us a clear shot of his/her crocthital area, so we'll have to wait until next month's check-up to see if it's a boy or a girl.

Also, regarding names, the boy's name is decided; it's 麟太朗 (Rintarou). But we still have a few candidates for the girls name including: 玲奈 (Leina), 絵里花 (Erika), 純奈 (Junna) and the new contender 柚香 (Yuzuka).

丑年: Happy Year of the Cow!

2009-01-02T12:29:00.003+09:00

Here we are, another year come and gone and it went so quickly! I'm too lazy to do the yearly wrap-up today, but we had a great year in 2008 and are looking forward to an even better one in 2009. Check back later for a longer post.

Anyway here's wishing a happy, healthy and joyful new year to everyone out there!

Baby Update

2008-12-22T16:20:00.004+09:00

We went to the doctor again this morning and we got to see our first stomach ultra-sound (up until now they'd been sticking a camera in my hoo-ha; sorry TMI!) The baby was much bigger, almost 9 centimeters and we saw it moving its little arms and legs and we saw the line of the spine. It was excellent. It seemed like the baby was very genki, almost dancing around.

The doctor told also us that I'm now in the safety period so I can exercise more and get dental work done (this is a biggie since I somehow chipped a tooth 2 weeks ago and had been waiting for the doctor's OK to visit the dentist.)

Also it's not definite yet, but we saw something that looked like it might be baby balls. The doctor said it looked awfully suspicious, but that it's still too early to tell.

PS Also check out a new post on Bibliomania

Passenger to Frankfurt

日馬富士 (Harumafuji)

2008-12-18T11:31:00.003+09:00

安馬 (Ama) everyone's favorite scrappy sumo has been promoted Ozeki, sumo's second highest rank and has gained a new fighting name. He'll now be known as 日馬富士 (Harumafuji). Congratulations!

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, 鈴が鳴る！

2008-12-03T23:34:00.004+09:00

Nothing really blogworthy has happened recently, but I feel bad about not updating, so here is a picture of the little Christmas tree in the classroom. I went all out with the Christmas decoration again this year. It just makes me feel so happy and festive to be surrounded by glittery ornaments and shiny tinsel garlands.

Also here's a pciture of Sho-chan cutely sleeping while holding my stuffed frog. Doesn't it just make you go "Awwwwww!" Don't tell him I posted this picture here, he might kill me.

What a Wonderful Weekend!

2008-11-25T16:15:00.009+09:00

This weekend was absolutely great!
1) We went to the hospital to see the latest ultrasound of Baby Kanou and were treated to a very clear view of a teeny-tiny perfectly shaped baby foot! We were also able to see the whole shape very clearly and see the umbilical cord. Super exciting!!

2) My friends Naoko and Shiho came to visit and we had a lovely time eating some truly amazing cake from Saint An and watching the sumo.

3) The last match of the sumo tournament, Ama vs. Hakuho was a fantastic drawn out battle to the bitter end. Hakuho eventually won, gaining him his ninth tournament victory, but Ama showed that he is truly worthy to join the ranks of the Ozeki, and I am looking forward to his promotion in January! Congrats to Ama and Hakuho! (This just in- I read that along with his promotion to Ozeki he'll be gaining a new shikona {sumo name} and it won't include the character 安. The cheap horse is cheap no more!)

4) Sho-chan got a cool new hair cut. Here is posing with the stylist Ippei-san. She was alittle camera-shy.

and here is Sho-chan again. I really like this new cut!

5) Ippei-san mentioned that there was a new Indian restaurant that had opened up near us, so we went to check it out. luckily it was still open and we had dinner there. The food was top-notch, the portions were generous, the price was reasonable and the staff were very friendly and courteous. Absolutely 10 out of 10. We will definitely be going there a lot in the future. If anyone wants to go, it's called Subhi Mahal and it's in the little plaza next to Toridoru down the road from the Minamigaoka 7-11.

6) On Sunday my former co-worker Hisae called up out of the blue, and wanted to meet on Monday. I was thrilled, and so she came to our house for a nice chat with her husband Ma-kun and their cute little baby boy, Souma. He was the sweetest, chubbiest little baby and not at all shy with us. Here he is with Sho-chan.

7) Hana-chan came over to work on the budget and we got everything settled, and in the black!

8)Finally we went to the video store and rented Maiko-haaaan! It's about a man who's obsessed with Geisha and Maiko, and it was totally hilarious and over the top. Abe Sadao is really a wonderful actor. Please watch it if you get the chance!

Check out: Saint An's website and be prepared to drool over the succulent and inviting cakes displayed therein.

Also a new post on Let's Signing! I've been busy!

Sanda: City of Flowers, Water and Trees

2008-11-10T21:54:00.007+09:00

A few weeks ago Shoichi and I went to Kazan-in, an ancient temple in the mountains in Sanda. It's the home of the seven lucky Jizo statues and has a spectacular view of the whole town.

A Jizo statue wearing a knitted red cap. Jizo is the protector of children.

Sunset over Sanda as seen from Kazan-in.

Statues of the Seven Lucky Jizo.

A lovely full moon over the mountains.

N.B. Post title is Sanda's new slogan, title of this blog is Sanda's old slogan

Autumn in Kyoto (almost)

2008-11-07T14:26:00.006+09:00

This past weekend Sho-chan and I went on a day-trip to Kyoto. We were hoping to take in the autumn leaves, which are especially beautiful in the mountains around Kyoto, but unfortunately we were early and most of the trees were still green. We had a great time sight-seeing and eating yummy food though, so no loss. Here are the pictures:

This is Sho-chan at Sanjuusangendou, the famous "Hall of 33 Bays". I always go to Sanjuusangendou when I visit Kyoto, but Sho-chan had never been before. I'd highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys temples even a little. There are more than a thousand spectacular gold-painted statues of Kannon (the Chinese goddess of mercy Kwan-Yin) and they say that anyone can find a statue that resembles someone they know.

This is a small pond at Sanjuusangendou. It's a little hard to make out, but there's a large carp swimming in the water near Sho-chan's hand.

From Sanjuusangendou we went to Kiyomizu temple, another famous sightseeing spot. On the way there we spotted this couple. Recently it's become popular for visitors to dress up as a maiko (apprentice geisha) and walk around Kyoto. There are many shops that rent clothes and do geisha/maiko make-up , but you can always tell the real from the fake by the way the walk. The fake maiko have a heck of a time in the giant clogs that go with the kimono. Also real maiko aren't usually strolling around tourist spots in the middle of the afternoon dressed in their full regalia.

This is a display of ema (votive plaques) at Kiyomizu temple. You can buy one and write your wishes and hopes for the future on it and hang it up here.

Here is one funny ema that we saw.

From Kiyomizu we went to Ginkakuji and on the way there we saw many young men pulling rickshaws (rickshaw comes from the Japanese jinrikisha). I've always wanted to ride in one, but they charge an arm and a leg, so we just took a photo.

This is the sand garden at Ginkakuji. Magnificent, isn't it?

After our long day trekking around we went to a lovely little restaurant in the Gion area of Kyoto. Dad and Julie may remember this place; we had lotus root chips, pumpkin soup and some delicious daikon pickles there. Here I am pouring Sho-chan a little cup of steaming hot sake.

And finally Sho-chan enjoying a well-earned cup of sake at the end of a long day of walking. Until next time, see you!

Congratulations, President Obama!

2008-11-05T13:34:00.003+09:00

It's that time of year again!

2008-10-30T13:07:00.009+09:00

Time for Halloween! This year we had two Halloween parties, one in the early afternoon for the kids, and one in the evening for the adults. The attendance at the kids party was great! We had about 15 kids come, along with 3 or 4 parents. And here they are:

Unfortunately many of my adult students were busy, so the turn out was a little low, but we still had a great time. We did bobbing for apples at both parties and it was a huge success! Everyone really got into the spirit and was cheering each other on. Here's my student Masako's daughter Airi with her hard-won prize:

We also did face-painting with the kids and the adults. I was surprised how many of the adults were willing to get their faces painted, but almost everyone was a good sport and joined in the fun. I think my best effort was Chihiro the bunny, her teeth really came out well:

As for our costumes, we were a bit late of the gate on planning this year and ended up going with the old stand-bys: witch and pirate. I think Sho-chan looks awfully cute as a pirate though, don't you agree?

A Womb with a View

2008-10-23T08:32:00.004+09:00

Please check out the link I've installed to the right: "Kanou Baby Countdown". It goes to the parenthood.com site and shows the weekly development from embryo to fetus to baby, and tells what's happening each week. It's pretty neato.

And thank the FSM, I haven't had any morning sickness.....yet.

And in other news...

2008-10-17T15:27:00.006+09:00

With all the excitement about the new baby I almost forgot about our other news.

For ages and ages we've been dying to get a new TV since the old one had worn out connector ports making it nigh on impossible to watch videos or play Wii. We had to tape down the cables so they'd stay at the precise correct angle, but if they got joggled even a bit we'd have to do it all over, so we finally just got rid of our ghetto-ass TV and got the lovely red model you see pictured above. It's also digital-compatible, so when Japan makes the switch to all digital broadcasts in 2011 we'll be ready!

We picked up an el-cheapo DVD player to go along with it since season 2 of Heroes is now at the video stores in Japan. (Don't even get me started about the British samurai dude's Japanese; it's rubbish). But Hiro is as cute as ever and I'm happy to see Sylar didn't really croak, he's such a fun villain. Also, did anyone else notice that Bob is Ned the insurance salesman from Groundhog Day? Probably not, but I recognized his voice right away. For some reason Groundhog Day is one of my favorite movies ever!

What's in a Name?

2008-10-13T20:37:00.004+09:00

So, now that we know a baby's on the way it's time to start thinking about names. We're already set for boy's names. If Baby Kanou is a boy he'll be known as 加納正宗. (That's Masamune Kanou to all you non-kanjified people out there). But if it's a girl, the name is still up for grabs. Right know Leina (礼菜) and Junna (純奈) are at the top of the list, but we'd love to hear suggestions from anybody out there!

It's a bird...It's a plane... It's a BABY!!!!

2008-10-12T17:42:00.003+09:00

Just in case anyone hasn't heard the news; we are having a baby!!!

My period was a few days late this month, so I did the home test and the result was positive. Much jumping for joy and dancing around ensued!

We wanted to be sure though, so the next day we went to the doctor and had it checked out. It turns out we were correct and I got the first ultrasound picture of Kanou Baby #1. The baby is the little tiny black spot in the center of the white blob. The doctor said that it was about the size of a sesame grain.

Because my current gynecologist doesn't do deliveries we checked around with students and friends to see what hopital they recommended. Just about everyone said that Kobe Adventist Hospital was good, with friendly doctors and nurses and the added bonus that all the food in the hospital is vegetarian. The picture below was taken today. In only 4 days the baby has already grown from 3mm to 8.7mm! We scheduled our next visit for two weeks from Monday so I should have another pic up then.

I can't believe our luck! This was only our first try after going off the pill and we got lucky right away!