Welbi ’Round the World

I don’t think I’ve mentioned it, but Riley did get into the BB program at Canadian Academy.  She is very excited about starting her new school although she is still attending her old one.  We talked about her new school tonight after I finished reading to her.  We talked about how mommy and daddy don’t work during the summer, and when we go back to work, Riley and Tess will go to their new school.  I am not sure how much of what we talk about she understands, but we did have a breakthrough this week with her.

Swimming started this week at her preschool.  Riley loves to swim, but she does not do so well with people messing with her routine.  So I started talking to her last week about the change in her school schedule.  She said that she did not want to swim at school, and then started to cry.  She mentioned that she didn’t want to swim indoors.  Weird – I took her for a couple of swimming lessons when she was less than a year old at an indoor pool in Peru.  She hated every minute of it, and we stopped after a couple of lessons.  That is the only time we have swam indoors, but luckily the pool the kids swim at her preschool is outside.

So this morning, I packed the girls’ gear in their own bags.  Tess’s was blue and Riley’s was red, and we headed off to school.  There was a relatively low cry level at the drop off, and when we picked them up 3 hours later (after some mommy and daddy quality time shopping and lunching), Riley had gone swimming!  Yoshi her teacher said that it was crazy with 14 kids changing their clothes to go swimming.  She said that in the past this would have freaked Riley out with all of the craziness, but Yoshi said that Riley was the calm in the storm, just calmly changing and getting ready to swim!  Riley has brought it up about a 1/2 dozen times by telling everyone in the room that she swam at school today.

Tess has no problem swimming anywhere or doing anything anywhere really.  She knows her mind and loves to do things on her own.  Those girls couldn’t be more different – my petal and my bulldozer!

You know Tess really wants to leave the house because she will start bringing everyone their shoes.  She knows who wears what and will offer them several choices if they don’t take her first.

Also, we have three different sections to our fridge, the top is the normal fridge, the middle is the freezer, and the bottom section is a crisper.  We moved all of the kid friendly food to the crisper, so the kids could just help themselves when they wanted something.  Riley still will ask, but Tess is so happy that she can to get it when she wants it.  I often her hear her footsteps go into the kitchen which are followed by one of three things: 1) the kid spoon drawer open and slammed closed, which is a drawer she is allowed to use.  2) the fridge phonics toy 3) the opening and slamming close of the crisper.  She loves the independence and the food on demand it offers her.

So tonight I will finish a great book, The Cloud Atlas, which I cannot recommend enough.  Again, the book is old, 2004, but I have had two kids since then, so I am due to be a little behind on things.  If you have not read this, get it and read it.  Nevermind.  Send me your address, and I will send you my copy.  I am not sure what I will read next, so if anyone has any suggestions, I am all ears.  Just leave a comment giving me the name and author.  I can order most books in English through amazon.jp, so don’t worry about availability in Japan.

Todd is madly studying Japanese.  He has to take his placement test by the end of the week because his classes start next Monday, and he really doesn’t want to be in Level 1 where he will be bored.  Our good friend, Debbie, is going to be in level 2, too, and he would much rather take the course with someone he knows.  And Debbie is funny, so that helps, too.

Off to bed.  Sorry no new pics of the girls.  I forgot to take photos of the girls at the river, which was really too bad because they were hilarious.  Tess did take a spill at the river, and now her nose is skinned.  She cried a bit, but she was back in the water in under a minute.  See more evidence for that bulldozer nickname.

So we went with about 16 other people to tour the Gion District at night in Kyoto.  Wow!  What a cool trip! We ended up going with several people we knew from our trip to see Sumo Wrestling.

We started the trip by finding out that our good camera’s battery was dead, so we had to take the not-so-good camera.  The shots are blurry, and Todd will complain, but I will post them anyway, and you can imagine what they would have looked like with our better camera.

The actual tour began in front of an old Kabuki theater.  Then we walked for an hour and a half through the Gion district.  The district is filled with boardinghouses, which is where the maiko (newly geisha) and geisha live.  Also there are tons of tea houses where people drink tea and are entertained by geisha.  Most of the establishments are private, which means that you cannot walk in off of the street.  You must know someone who is a member, and then you will be invited in.

We saw several geisha and maiko who were dressed up coming back from and going to jobs.   They start their career at 15, and then they train for one year.  Then they become maikos and are bound for 5 years to their boardinghouse, which provides them meals, kimono, and jobs.  Then they become geisha, and they have more independence.

Towards the end of the walking tour we made our way through a Zen temple complex that is open 24 hours a day.  It was beautiful, spooky, and enchanting all at the same time.  The moon was almost full, which I think added to the overall feeling.

We ended the night at a traditional Japanese restaurant.  Two maikos joined us and talked to each of us with their halting English.  I didn’t really know what to say, so the night Swiss woman to my right helped me out quite a bit.  Then both girls performed a dance.  Todd caught a snipet of it here.

Then we were offered a ride home by the French/Swiss couple who both work at Nestle.  It was great to be in a car again, but I gave wrong directions on how to get to our house!  Luckily, I caught my mistake quickly.  Things look very different from inside a car than they do when you are walking!

All in all, it was spectacular evening.

Let us not forget the children. Here are a couple of photos, and a video of Todd and Riley cooking breakfast with a little of Tess, too.

While Lindsay was in town visiting, we all traveled north to Hokkaido to witness the Sapporo Snow Festival. We stayed with Sarah and Rick. Rick is the Headmaster of the Hokkaido International School and Sarah is a teacher there as well. Their hospitality was amazing, and we all had a great time.

The girls loved the dogs and the cat. Todd and I loved the conversation and the Wii.

The snow sculptures were amazing – huge and spectacular.

Here are photos from February and of the Snow Festival.

So on the 21st of December we headed to Bali. We flew Garuda, the Indonesian airline. They moved us to four seats together even though we only had 3 seats (as Tess was a lap baby). We ended up in the aisle in front of the tv. It was 6 and a half hour direct flight. The kids each slept for 2 hours, although not the same two hours. It was a great flight. Todd and I were both able to watch the in flight movie, Oceans 13 – a first since having kids.

We arrived in Bali to enormous immigration lines, but after a short drive to Nusa Dua, we arrived at our hotel, the Nusa Dua Beach Resort and Spa. The hotel is beautiful, especially lit up at night. Lindsay had arrived earlier that day and had already checked in for us. Our rooms ended up being across the hall from each other.

We spent the first couple of days laying by the pool and relaxing. The pool was fantastic. It was called a lagoon pool because it very shallow and the bottom of the pool was covered in sand that extended a few feet out of the pool. The depth of pool was perfect, and the girls loved playing in the dry and wet sand. Todd, Lindsay and I lay by the pool while the kids played at our feet. Unfortunately, it rained on the 24th. We decided to camp out in the room and watch the movie, Ratatouille, which the girls got for Christmas from my mom. On Christmas Eve night Todd and I had a spa package which was incredible and much deserved. The next day, Christmas, it rained again, but that did not stop us from our expedition to Ubud and a day of shopping. When Todd and Lindsay lived in Indonesia as kids, they got name placards carved out of wood. We bought the same thing for Riley and Tess. Again the 26th it rained, but we were already room bound, as both kids came down with fever, and Riley threw up. We hung out while the girls slept the day away. Finally, the morning of the 27th was a beautiful partly sunny day, and both of the girls woke up fever free and in good spirits. We spent our last day in Bali soaking up more sun and venturing into the sea urchin invested ocean.

We took the redeye back to Osaka, and that flight was miserable. We arrived home around noon on the 28th and spent the rest of the day recovering.

We all loved being in Bali and cannot wait to go back. Here are our (including Lindsay's) photos from the trip.

We had another long weekend for the American Thanksgiving.  We decided to take a trip up into the mountains.  It was beautiful and cold.  Here are the pictures.

Since then we have had non-stop Christmas preparation and fun.  Click here for photos of our Christmas Tree and Kid Christmas Party.

One last final note – Riley peed in the toilet yesterday!  Hooray!  It only happened once, but it is the first step on the long road of potty training.

I swear that Todd and I work very hard at our jobs. Todd teaches middle school technology, IB A1 English, and high school Publications. I teach 7th grade math and humanities and 8th grade Humanities. However, the calendar at our new school is amazing, and we have had so many holidays since we started, Todd and I are just giddy.

So we are in another vacation. This one is a week long and boy have we been busy.

We decided to stay in Japan and relax a bit. We've had friends over for a game night. We went shopping for clothes at my new favorite store, Uniqlo – think Old navy with cashmere. We went shopping some more and found Chinatown. Monday came around and Todd and I were trying to decide what to do with the rest of the week. We decided to have a date day out. Our nanny came over on Tuesday and watched the girls, and Todd and I went into Kyoto for the day – by OURSELVES!!! First of all, Kyoto was amazing. We saw three things, and we have just barely scratched the surface of what that city has to offer. It is a magical place. However, it was bizarre to travel without the kids. Don't get me wrong- it was definitely easier, but very empty. We didn't regret the decision to come alone. I think Todd and I needed the time together, but it made me appreciate traveling with the girls much more.

The next trip put my feelings about traveling with the girls to the test. Our plans were to go to Nara, an ancient capital of Japan, with other families from school. Todd ended up staying home with Tess because she was running a fever, and we didn't want to infect the whole neighborhood. So Riley and I went to Nara. She was a little brat the entire time – whining, screaming, not listening to me. She was not her sweet self. We totally enjoyed Nara with its deer and amazing temples. I just hope the next time we go Riley doesn't turn into a devil-child.

Todd had a great day with Tess, and they ventured out to a store, Muji. It has everything with most of it being environmental friendly. He said that he likes it better than IKEA because things seemed sturdier. I am looking forward to visiting it soon.

Tomorrow we head off to Costco in Osaka. Todd is going to buy a pasta maker he has been fantasizing about for a month. I am hoping that they have warm clothes for the girls there. I didn't buy enough heavy winter clothes. We will get our usuals – enormous bags of edamame, bagels, bacon, and liters and liters of juice.

I think it is hilarious that most of our time is spent "shopping". I think a more accurate description of what we do is window shop. Our place in Japan is so small that we don't buy many things. If we buy something, then something else has to go.

Here are the pictures from Kyoto and Nara. Please forgive me. I know nothing of the Buddhist faith. I know things are old and pretty. I am able to match the Kanji on the map to the signs so I know I am in the right place. That is where I am right now. Hopefully, I will bet better linguistically and culturally.

The picture in the post is of Tess attempting to drink an empty miniature Coke. I only buy this size, as it is really all the caffeine I need. It is also the perfect size for a coke float which I am now addicted to.

It took me six months, but I have finally caught up with all of the pictures. I am now just missing 5 videos which I will start tomorrow.

I would like to blame having two small children, lack of sleep, traveling, and work, but the real culprit is my new found love of Young Adult literature. If you haven't read Maniac Magee – go out right now and buy a copy and read it. Wow!

Anyway, back to the pictures. I added a Houston album in January 2007. I created a new album, Lima Summer 07, and filled it with pics. Finally, there is a new album in our Travel main album called Mancora. We just went for the long weekend of April 27th to May 1st.

Other updates:

Todd's rehearsals for his show, The Real Inspector Hound, are in full swing and the play goes up in one month.

Riley is having a great time at Nido, and says everything we do – and not always what we want her to say.

Tess is incredible. She is standing now and we don't think it will be long before she walks. She is not quite 8 months.

I am enjoying these last months with 2 full time nannies. We are beginning full moving mode. We have sold most of our possessions, and now we are taking every Saturday to clean out our crap so we move as little as possible.

Enjoy the photos!

The family headed to Florida to visit my mom and Maurizio.  To sweeten the pot my aunt and her boyfriend were also there.  Riley had yet another Christmas and yet another birthday.  The kid is going to think that she receives presents every time she flies.  

Todd made gumbo, Riley ordered everyone around, and people could not stop cuddling Tess.  So everyone enjoyed themselves.

Here are some fabulous photos of the festivities, some swimming, and our trip to the Seaquarium.

First of all, we had a great time, and thank you Lindsay for your hospitality. If you want the highlights, check out Kirsten’s post below.

For the lowlights, here are a couple of leftover thoughts and impressions for your enjoyment.

First of all, Varig airlines (pronounced, with pure disdain for the letters, as VAH-ree-ghee). Lindsay was pretty sure they’d be out of business before our return flight home, but they got us to and from Curitiba. Very little in between was quite as smooth. For me, two factors stand out as general “don’ts” in the airline business:

1. If a couple has purchased an infant ticket (and, therefore, one might imagine, is traveling with an infant), avoid seating them sixteen rows apart. And
2. When you title your in-flight magazine, and you want to go for the classical touch (in this case Icaro), don’t pick the name of the guy who plummeted to his death after his wings melted off.

On the other hand, they are allowed to take off and land from airports in and around south America–which is more than I can say for a couple of Peruvian airlines.

On another note, I feel no shame about bathing our daughter in a bidet. Lindsay assured us it was clean, and no other basin in the house could comfortably accomodate our wee angel (Brazilians have, apparently, chosen to pass on bath-tub technology).

But enough about Riley, let’s talk about me. Her soak in the Bottom Bucket reminded me of my own experience with bidets–no, wait! Hear me out. Like many Americans, I have never used a bidet; like even more Americans, however, I feel an overwhelming curiosity when I am around them. This takes us to the Buenos Aires Hilton, 2004. While in the bathroom for unspecified purposes, I noticed the bidet. This, I thought, would be the perfect opportunity to see what all the fuss is about (of course, the only fuss I can think of was the the brief mention in the original Crocodile Dundee film).

I’m no idiot, though. I don’t even sit down in a movie theatre without checking the seat first, so I determined to figure this thing out unmanned, so to speak. A dry run, if you will. With my butt in my pants, as they say. I made my best guess as to which of the twelve knobs and levers to begin with, twisted eeeeeever so gently counter-clockwise, and a hissing, white jet of water shot up and–for once in my life I am not exaggerating–hit the ceiling. I twisted off the pressure and jerked away simultaneously. I stood for a moment, stunned under the drip of water from the light fixture.

If my butt had been just a few feet forward…

Otherwise, great time. Highly recommended.

Well, where do I begin? It has been since Thanksgiving since we had a substantial post. Thanks for reminding us to get to work on remedying this problem, Nicole.

First, how do you like the new look? Todd designed the page using a photo he took in Buenos Aires. I told him that I wanted color (I was sick of gray and blue) and texture. That was my only input, and I love what he created.

In late December, we frantically wrapped up the semester in Lima, packed all afternoon, and then flew out to Houston that night. While we were home we celebrated Riley’s first Christmas and Riley’s first birthday. Todd and I celebrated 10 years of being together, we got to go to Austin to celebrate Jennifer Leeper’s 30th, and we met the newest members of the Welbagnale clan: Erica and Paige. We also stayed with Barbara and Mike at their place in Marble Falls and Riley saw “wild” deer and turkey for the first time. Never a dull moment.

The day before we left Houston, I found out that I am pregnant. We had a very small window in which it was feasible (considering our plans for Christmas break 2006), or we were going to wait until Riley was four or five years old for the next one. While it took me a year and a half to get pregnant with the first one, this one took a month a half. I am due the 17th of September. This one will be born in Peru as Todd only gets a week paternity leave.

Then we returned to Lima for a week, unpacked, and then repacked as it was time to head off to Brazil to visit Lindsay. We had a great time and Brazil was gorgeous. I am sad that because of my morning (all day) sickness that I was not able to fully enjoy the culinary delights of the churrascaria, but I did manage to eat a little. While we were there we headed to the beach. It was beautiful and we all enjoyed it.

Now we are back in Lima and resting up for the upcoming school year that begins on the 20th of February.

There are 100s of new photos. Enjoy. Here are the new albums:

Riley in Houston
First Birthday
Riley in Brazil
Christmas 2oo5
New Years 2005-2006
Brazil