Geisha Pictures

This past Tuesday, I was invited to go into Tokyo to get some fun, unique, authentic Japanese pictures taken! My friends Debbie and Shelly (who have both been instrumental in my transition to Yokota and whose husbands work in the hospital also) are leaving Japan soon and heard about this place that dresses you up like Maikos (a Geaisha in training), Gaikos (Geishas) and Oirans (Japanese Courtesans - high class hookers). They reall wanted to get it done before they left and, with the help of a Japanese friend who works at the hospital, set up the appointments. I dropped the kids off for school and we hopped on the trains to get to the studio.

The studio is a temporary one right now as they are rebuilding at their normal location. We found it with no problems and made it a few minutes early!!! The whole process was so fun! First you chose which look you wanted. Next you chose which dress/jacket/accessories. Finally you picked what poses/props you wanted (we got 3 out of about 30). Then the fun began!

You had to get into a white gown and wash your face. Then they put a net over your hair and applied a layer of vasoline-type substance all over the areas they would be covering with make up (face, neck, shoulders, arms). Next, they literally painted white ALL over. Eyelids, nose, neck, mouth...everywhere!!! It was very freaky looking! Once the white was applied, they intricately put some red coloring on your brows, lids, and lips. They added some blue to the brows (to make a purply look) and some fake lashes.









When all the make up was on and dry, they helped you get into the kimonos, etc. If you have never had on a kimono - it is basically like a robe that they wrap together soooooooooooooo tightly with a 'belt' (Obi) so you can barely breathe. We quickly learned why Japanese ladies are so thin. You could barely move - let alone eat!

Once your dress was on they put your wig on. This was the most uncomfortable thing to me. The Oirans wigs weighed even more - but it still felt like your head was going to topple over!!!



When you were finally all done - they helped you get into position to match the poses you chose. Some of the poses were easy - but some involved SUPER high shoes (the Oiran) or traditional Japanese sandals (the Geisha) which are very hard to balance on! The photographer was awesome and very professional. The assistants were fast and stealthy. And they edited the pictures literally the second they had been snapped.


The best part was we were allowed to take pictures with our own cameras also. We took shots of the whole process as well as shots of the final product :-) When all was said and done, we walked out with 3 professionally edited and printed pictures in a triple frame and a CD with ALL the professional pics on it.


It was such a fun experience...I can't wait to take friends and family that come and visit!!!

epiphany

I don't know why these little thoughts pop up - but it always amazes me when they do! I mean, I know my parents love me. They have always been loving, caring, supportive, etc. And I could understand that love once I had children. I distinctly remember when I brought Gavin home from the hospital that I suddenly realized JUST HOW MUCH a parent loves a child.

I was re-reading my earlier post to my children about how I was so sorry that they had to go through something as horrible as they did on March 11. And then I realized that my parents probably felt the same thing for me. The fear. The sadness. The worry. The relief when we were ok. The wanting to make it all go away.

I remember the weight that was lifted from my shoulders when I walked off that final airplane in Philadelphia. Words cannot express the feeling I had when the first people I saw were my Dad, Godfather and sister. And then, when we reached our final destination at my mom's house there was that extra layer of comfort. But. it was not only me that was relieved. Hugging me (and their grandchildren), knowing they could protect us for a while, being there to show support...it is a parents job, right, and passion.

I am so blessed to have such an amazing family and I hope to be able to pass that down from generation to generation!

Did you ever have a day....

That was so perfect you needed to blog about it just so you could remember? We have all had days that were so great that you wanted to go back and read about it when you have days that were not so great (mom...remember that time that CJ got sick and had doggy poo all over your new rugs? It was one of the only times I have seen you cry). Anyway - the past 2 days have been that good that I want to remember them always.

It started on Friday when it was time to celebrate Patrick's promotion to Major. There was a beautiful ceremony, Patrick gave a touching speech (in which he got very choked up talking about how much he loved me - which made all the ladies in the room go "Awwwwwww"), and more than twice the amount of people showed up! I swelled with pride as I stood next to our children and watched Patrick recite his oath (by memorization) as he was sworn in as the newest Major in the US Air Force. My favorite part though, was right before Patrick was officially announced (and we all had to rise as he entered) - Evelyn saw him and ran over to him with open arms and hugged him! The picture is awful - but again, it was something I just wanted to have documented so I never forget! When the ceremony and celebration were over, we went to the O Club and socialized with some friends, had some drinks, and then decided to go out for dinner. We went to a new place (new to us) called Sherlock Holmes. It was an English Pub type of place that had Guinness and Bass on tap, and a delicious 'hamburg steak' which was basically hamburger meat made into a steak shape and grilled in front of you served over rice with sauce. Very yummy! Then we grabbed some desserts at Chatelaine (a 'French' Bakery) and were home by 9 (yes, I know - we are lame). But it was a great night I will always remember.

Today, we woke up, Patrick made breakfast while I went for a run (ok - a walk with some jogging thrown in) and then we decided to get outside to soak up the gorgeous day. We decided to go to Showa Park again (we had been twice before during the week so it was empty) and Evelyn literally was there yesterday with her school. But we wanted to rent bikes, have a picnic and enjoy the day. So we packed up some lunch, threw on some sun screen, and headed out for some fun!

Much to our surprise it was not as crowded as we expected for a gorgeous weekend! We are getting much better at figuring out how to do things in Japan (buy tickets, rent the bikes, etc) so it did not take long to get on the bike path and head for the Children's play area. This area has the white jumpy cloud area, the dragon park and the rainbow nets. The kids ran and played and laughed and were perfect. We ate lunch under a covered pavilion and took off on our bikes again. I think the kids liked riding on the back of the bikes as much as anything! We went to the open area which had beautiful poppy fields, more play grounds, people laying out in the grass, some people in tents, people playing frisbee, etc. It was almost out of the Stepford Wives books...it was that picture perfect. Everyone was happy and just having a good time. No one got into your business. Everyone was friendly. Very nice. After that we headed for our last stop at the Bonsai Gardens. It was very neat, clean and serene. There was a koi pond, bonsai trees, bamboo trees, and - my favorite - the purple iris gardens. The kids were very well behaved, the bikes were easy and fun to use, and the weather was absolutely perfect.

When we got home, the kids relaxed and watched tv, Patrick tended to the yard, and I napped :-) Then we all worked together to help make dinner which consisted of BBQ chicken, corn on the cob, mac and cheese and applesauce! We ate outside, there were no bugs, and we used paper plates so there was nothing to clean up! After dinner we walked to the shopette to rent a movie for us and to get ice cream and gummy bears for the kids.

Throughout the past 2 days there was voluntary hand holding with parents, hugs between siblings, and shoulder rides. There were laughs, sharing, and pleases and thank yous. I know we still have one more day in the weekend...but so far - this has been one of the best weekends to date :-)

Our first week back...

Things have been slowly getting back to normal for us again in Japan. Gavin started school last week and Evelyn went back this week. She was excited to go back - especially since one of her best girlfriends, Julia, is in her class. They had assigned seats next to each other, but unfortunately, the day Evelyn went back is the day the decided to rearrange seats. As far as I know, that was the only snafu as she was happy when she got home and wanted to go back the next day!

The only really bad part this week is that Patrick and Gavin both got sick which sort of ruined our 4 day weekend plans. But, we stayed at home, together as a family and did nothing. To me, it was great!

Since I had so much unpacking and laundry to do anyways, I had extra motivation to purge clothes and toys, put winter gear away, and reorganize. My BFF Eileen told me about Space Bags (my newest obsession) so I went gung ho and totally got everything done. We have so much storage room now, the kids areas are organized (but still livable and easy to sustain organization) and the house has been pretty clean since we have been back! Let's see how long I can keep it up!

The kids have adjusted very well and are happy to be back with their daddy, school and friends. But, I do think that our little adventure has brought them even closer together. Most mornings they wake up and crawl into each others' bed and read books or play. Gavin can't wait to pick up Evie at the bus stop and hear about her day. And Evelyn always asks Gavin to go out and play with her when she heads out back. I love seeing how close they are and I think it is cute that they still want to spend time together as much as possible!

So, that is our week in a nutshell. I have made some goals for myself each day - and one of them is less time on the computer. I do plan to make computer time worthy though - so I hope to keep updating and tracking our adventures! For now, I am going to put away more laundry :-)

Back with a Bang!!!

Today was Gavin's first day back to school. I was going to keep him out until next week - but he desperately wanted to go back, so we obliged. It was so heart warming to see how excited he was as well as how excited his little classmates were to see him! It makes me feel good to see that all his friends were so happy to have him back!

The only glitch we ran into was that tonight was the whole kindergarten's Spanish Dance recital and Gavin wanted to be included. Now, mind you, he has not practiced at all, let alone even know the songs and dances expected of him. But he still wanted to be a part of it!

In my opinion...he did great! I was so proud of my little man that he wanted to be part of his 'team' regardless of if he knew the steps or not. I thought he adjusted perfectly (except for a few late moves and a slight wardrobe malfunction) and he seemed to have a blast!!!

I am trying to attach a video..if it doesn't post I will keep trying!

To my husband...

I love you. These three words don't seem to provide any justice to my actual feelings, yet I say them to you all the time anyway.

9 weeks. In the grand scheme of our life together, this does not seem like a long time. But when you consider that it was the longest period of time we have ever spent apart in over a decade of being together, it feels like an eternity. I know it was a choice we made together (which some people couldn't fathom being apart from each other for that long), but we did so with our children's safety in mind. It proves to me that you put your family above all else. It proves to me that you love your children and want to protect them. And it proves to me that we have a relationship so solid that not being physically together as a family didn't matter. We could be 8000 miles away from each other and still love one another as much as possible.

Sure there was a lot that we missed. I missed cuddling, holding hands, and other physical joys ;-). I missed talking at length about a surgery you had, or your soccer game, or about each hole of golf you played. We knew there were limits on how long we could talk (the time difference made that difficult). And the kids only had an attention span of about 3 minutes on the phone. Gavin missed playing Wii with you. Evelyn missed having you throw her in the air and play puzzles. We missed Saturday mornings at the bakery, Sunday morning homemade breakfasts, walks after dinner, and bedtime stories.

But more than anything, I fell more in love with you once we returned to you! I cried when I saw you after our 22 hour trek home. Even though the kids were seriously perfect angels almost the whole time, it was such a relief to know I had my partner back. You rented a van to pick us up because you knew we had a ton of luggage and would like space to relax and sleep on the drive home. You missed a soccer game to come get us (which I KNOW is a big deal for you)! We came home and opened the door to find the house decorated with streamers and balloons and flowers and presents for us all. You knew the perfect gifts for each one of us...Gavin got Star Wars 3 lego Wii game, Evelyn got a new puzzle and hungry hungry hippos and I got a beautiful arrangement of flowers in a Tiffany's vase.

And to top off the thoughtfulness you displayed, my mom emailed me to let me know that she and Kaitlin received a surprise arrangement of flowers with a beautiful note of how appreciative you were that they went above and beyond and took care of us when we were in the states. I feel like you are courting me all over again and doing all the 'right' things to prove that you are an amazing husband. But, I already knew you were. This just cements it even more. You are so thoughtful, caring and loving. And I am so honored to have you. So even though the words seem meek...I will say them again.

I love you.

Video

Melissa added a cute feature to her Fresh Face Contest. She also took some video during the shoot and added it with the still pics to make a great slide show feature. It was fun to see!!!

Melissa Jones Photography Fresh Face Contest

I know I have so much to post from our time here - but for now - here are the pictures we got from Melissa during her Fresh Face Contest...

To my Children...Part 2

It has been 11 days since we have been on solid ground in PA and there are a few more thoughts I needed to express to you.

1. Once we return to Japan, there will be NO vacation fairy bringing you gifts every morning.
2. You will NOT be allowed to watch tv before bedtime.
3. You WILL go to bed by 8pm - not 10.
4. You WILL have to get up by 7am and get fed and dressed right away so we can get to school.
5. You will NOT get to go to every bounce house, museum, movie, indoor pool in the tri-state area.
6. You will NOT get pizza or chicken nuggets every night for dinner.
7. We will NEVER have cocoa puffs for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
8. It is NOT normal to visit with multiple friends and family every single day.
9. There WILL be a limit on the number of hours you spend in front of the tv, Wii or DS.
10.We will NOT be able to go to Target whenever we want (I am sad about this one too).

BUT...
1. We WILL be with Daddy again!!!
2. You WILL get to go to your own schools and see your own friends and live in your own rooms with your own toys.
3. You WILL have a normal routine and know what to expect each day (like Tuesday and Thursdays is swim lessons, etc).
4. You will NOT have to spend every second of every day with each other or with me - you will have independence.
5. You WILL have chances to make good decisions to earn privileges or money (which always feels better than just having things handed to you).
6. You WILL like eating mommy's dinners all together as a family with a gratitude attitude (meaning you like my food or politely just say thanks anyway).
7. You WILL still get presents sent from Tishymom, and Poppop, and Mommom and Poppop, and Aunt Eileen, and Kiki, etc... which is always fun to get things in the mail!
8. You WILL get to see more things in Japan...like cherry blossoms and shrines and rivers and mountains and watch the Japanese recover with humility and grace and learn life lessons far beyond what Mommy and Daddy could possibly teach you!
9. You WILL get to see super cool relief efforts from the military. Marines, sailors, Army guys and our own Air Force...working together and bringing all the awesome planes and helicopters to help Japan in their time of need. We will help out anyway we can, like making cookies to give to the volunteers working the night shifts or putting together backpacks for school-aged kids so they can start going back to a normal routine and learning again. We will have fundraisers and we will add Japan to our prayers every night and we will forever remember how grateful we are for our host country. We will be glad (one day) that we were able to be a direct part of this event.
10. You WILL continue to be loved more than you could possibly know and Mommy and Daddy WILL continue to protect you as best as we can!!!

So, as much as we are having fun and getting spoiled in the United States right now, it will be awesome when it is time to go back to our home...JAPAN!

To my children...

Dear Gavin and Evelyn,

I am sorry. I am so sorry that you had to ever be so close to such a life threatening, life changing tragedy. All a mother wants to do is protect her children...no matter what. From harm, from illness, from bad people, and from experiencing horrifying things. So I am sorry I could not keep you from this.

I know that it must be scary to go through something like that as a small child. And it must be even scarier to see fear in all the adults eyes too. Gavin, I tried my hardest to be brave during the earthquake, but after a couple of minutes, I was REALLY scared. And I might have let you see that fear. I tried to explain what was happening so you could learn from this, but there were moments during some of the aftershocks and subsequent EQs (as we now call them) that I literally couldn't breathe or talk. And Evelyn, I am the most sorry that I wasn't there with you. As soon as we realized that your bus was not coming I RACED as fast as I could to get you at your school. It tore my heart apart when I got there to see you crying for your mommy, surrounded by children whose parents got there quicker than I did.

The night of the EQ your daddy and I didn't leave your sides. Even with all the strong aftershocks, you two were OUR rocks. Being together was all that mattered. I knew I was okay as long as you two and your daddy were with me. We played musical-beds since no one wanted to sleep alone.

With that being said, I am so proud of how you have handled things since then. I KNOW it was scary to go back to school. I KNOW it was scary to go to sleep in the dark by yourself. I KNOW it was hard to see mommy scared too. Our 'normal' was no longer. Some friends started leaving Japan. Your teachers started leaving. Our base was scheduled for electricity black outs. The Japanese schools were canceled. You were not allowed outside to play during recess. I am so proud also that you were so excited to go back to visit PA, for 'spring break' as you know it.

Again, I thought of myself as the luckiest mom in the world. You both stepped up and were great on our 30 hour trek back to the states. We woke up, ate breakfast and boarded the bus for the airport at 8am. Luckily, you slept more than 1/2 the way!!! The line to check in was LONG and the security line was LONGER - but again, you did great. We were lucky to have a friend with us to help entertain you - but you still made it so easy! You watched movies, played DS, and watched planes take off and land while we waited to board our initial flight. Once on the plane, you ate dinner, played games and then went to sleep for over 8 hours!!! People surrounding us told me how good and well behaved you were. And how lucky I was!!! You continued your good behavior (for the most part) all the way through until Poppop Why and Kiki picked us up, and all the way until we got back to Tishymom's house at after midnight...more than 30 hours after we left our home. Even now, 4 days later, you have adapted to jet lag, you have been willing to tell your stories to people, and you want to experience fun things (like the Please Touch Museum) instead of just staying in and playing Wii.

I know that, together, we will learn from this. We will learn how important it is to care for others. We will learn, from the Japanese, that we will be respectful and supportive of each other. We will learn the importance of donating time, resources and money to charities that can help people. We will learn.

And most importantly, I want you to know I will NEVER stop trying to protect you. I want you to know that NONE of this is your fault (an assumption that adults know to be true - but that sometimes children can feel). And I want you to know that together, we can get through this. This is a link for a book about a mother's instinct to protect - especially after earthquakes!
http://www.sylvandellpublishing.com/eBookSamples/Flash/Panda/Default.php

I love you forever and always.

for those not on facebook...

I feel like I have to say something - although I am mad at myself for feeling like I have to say it (if that makes any sense). I am pleading with all of our friends and family (and please tell you friends and family) that the decision to leave or not leave Japan is ONLY about what is best for that specific family. I fully support those people who want to leave (heck, I am one of them) and also for those that stay. For us, The 4 Bulls, our decision to leave was not based on fear. At first, it was...but it never felt right, so we never went ahead and made arrangements to leave. It made me sick (literally) and tore me apart trying to make a decision based out of fear. If I was scared enough to be running away - how could I possibly leave my husband here in danger? How would I sleep at night knowing my friends on base, and my Japanese friends off base were in trouble? How could I possibly think that I might not come back to my home again and that the kids might never see their toys again? If I left, would Patrick think I was abandoning him? Would I be teaching the kids to run from things when they got scared? Would I ever feel safe coming back to Japan again if I did leave?

And I know that the people back in the states are seeing a sensationalized version of what is really happening. So many of you sent me heartfelt messages to "get the eff outta here"!!! "Better safe than sorry". "No one knows the effect it could have on kids". You name the reason - and almost every single one of my friends (and their friends and their friends) wanted us home. But again, that was out of fear. It is not a way I want to live my life.

I had a great talk with 2 wives here. I don't really know what they said, or how they said it, but something clicked in me. I truly felt that it was safe here. I am not fearful of the radiation because I know for certain that we are monitoring the air every hour. I know if anything changes they have the ability to get people out of here. I am still a little afraid or more earthquakes - but I think that is normal (you know, after being in a 9.0 (6 for where we are) for 2.5 minutes). I stopped really freaking out after about our 200th one. Now, I look at my wine glasses clanking together and just hope they don't break. But I also know that the earthquakes weren't what devastated this area. On all the videos y'all are seeing - please notice that even in the area closest to the quake, the houses are still standing. No buildings fell in tokyo. Sure, it bent the tip of Tokyo Tower - but for the most part, Japan was prepared for this. What is not able to be controlled in the path and destruction of the tsunami. But we are much further inland and higher ground for that to affect us. So I am not fearful of that.

Once my fears subsided, I decided it WAS best for us for the kids and I to come home. Evelyn is on spring break for 3 weeks. Gavin will have 10 days off soon. Patrick may be called to do humanitarian relief. Trains are down. Teachers are leaving. Activities are being canceled. As much as things are business as usual here, it is not necessarily our every day life. It is all people talk about. And once the US Embassy started voluntary evacuations, we felt like it was best for Japan to get the panicked foreigners out. The Japanese are such a structured, non-chaotic, calm, peaceful culture. It is best for their recovery to get back to normal. I believe in my heart of hearts that if I do leave...I WILL come back home here. Patrick WILL be safe. And my friends WILL thrive.

There are more people than not who are deciding to stay until FORCED to leave. This is not a decision they made out of being stubborn or naive. It is a very hard decision to stay also. They have people constantly contacting them telling about the fears they should have. But what everyone has to realize is THIS IS OUR HOME. Our husbands have to stay, and if we truly do not fear danger than we will stay too. Some people can't afford to go. Or some people think it will scare their kids more if they leave.

Whatever decision people make, I beg of you to accept it and pray for them regardless. I chose to buy a ticket (thanks to my loving parents to help with the cost) instead of getting evacuated out. This means that I have to face hours on a bus (imagine traffic now that the trains are down) and then hours in the terminal (try to picture the scene at Tokyo's airport right about now) by myself with 2 kids. Then a 14 hour flight to Chicago, with a lay over, then another flight to Philly. But, if we went with the evac - we could end up in Korea or Singapore or somewhere, sleeping in a gym on some cots. Or we could get back to the states. It is all up in the air now.

As for the 4 Bulls, we feel that we have made the right choice and hope people understand. We are not running out of fear, but there were many more pros than cons for us specifically. We are so blessed to be part of Yokota Air Base, the United States Air Force and welcomed guests of Japan. I truly believe the military and government is doing exactly what needs to be done and has our best interest at hand. They have done remarkable things and I am sad that I will be missing some of seeing that first-hand.