Gasp...is it almost that time already?

Incredibly I have only 4 more days of work ahead of me. I can hardly believe it. Most of this winter has passed in a blur of teaching, sleeping, being ill, and taking care of various kid-related needs. I am almost 34 weeks pregnant and have been down for the count AGAIN this past week due to whatever was going around. My lowered immunity means that I am like black corduroy for lint. I look forward to being cloistered in my snug apartment with only the germs of my beloved filtering in. This is my first time in four pregnancies that I have worked this far into my pregnancy so come March 3rd, I am going to be a happy woman.

Part of slowing down means focusing on the fact that we will have a new baby here in a few short weeks. Luckily, having had a baby not so long ago, we do still have the basics such as baby carriers and a floor rocker. Unfortunately for Luca, most of the clothes for the previous baby are pink so that is something we must work on stockpiling in these next few weeks. He'll be a spring baby but spring in Nagoya is rather cool until the end of May usually so his earliest clothes will need to be long and warm. I do have plans to make some of his clothes but my plans and my reality rarely meet as I expect them to. So for those aunties and grannies out there looking for something to send, I would suggest looking in the used clothing shops or discount bins for footed rompers or coveralls. And socks are always a great thing too.

Another thing I would like to do is to use cloth instead of paper diapers. Besides for the ecological benefits, we are also going to be on a tight budget this next year so I believe it would be economically advantageous for us to give it a go. It is something I have always wanted to try but since I have never been home full-time with any of my infants, it was always off the table. I am thinking of ordering something like this starter set, something good for cloth diapering novices.

I am also searching the auction boards for my own mama chari, a bicycle that can carry Luca in the front and Colette in the back. The boys both have their own bikes and I think that this would be a good option even for neighborhood errands. Nico's only in school from 8:45-2:45 which really doesn't leave a lot of time for doing errands on foot. And in the summer time I think it would be nice to be able to bike around as a family instead of hoofing it on the melting pavement.

Another thing that I plan to implement since I will be queen of apartment #202 is to switch to a whole foods, macrobiotic based diet for the whole family. Again ecological and economical at the same time. We'll be planting some of our first plants in the balcony garden this next week or two now that the weather is leaning towards spring (though still dipping past freezing some nights).
It is shaping up to be a very domestically-minded year, something I am truly excited about.

Of course, I do have other plans as well but being sick recently has taught me that I need to focus on the core before working on the periphery. Like school supplies over art supplies. Reading skills for the boys over writing books. That sort of thing. But I am sure with a whole year ahead of me, I can manage to fit in everything. Just a matter of patience and diligence, which are part of that core as well.

Now, time to make some soup and rice and get everything ready for the start of another school week. Hope you are all well. Take care.

Hello from the Osoji Trenches

Welcome to Day Three of Osoji.
Day One went like this: washed curtains, took the thousands of books (okay, maybe about a hundred or so) off the bookshelf, dusted bookshelves and moved them to mop under bookshelves. Rearranged bookshelves and replaced books in more orderly system. Beat living room rug, washed many loads of laundry and folded them, washed living room windows. Hand washed living room floor. Put everything Christmasy away. Cleaned sofa and depilled it with little depiller device. Ate some oden. Had a yuzu bath. Finished my first Christmas gift.
Day Two: Washed more curtains and laundry. Went to bank to withdraw fund before they close for New Year's (about four days). Went to Osu branch of bank. Ate mediocre Mexican food. Wandered through a flea market outside the temple. Bought ichigo daifuku mochi (my favorite). Returned home. Pulled all my fabric from the closet. Felt exhausted just looking at the pile of fabric. Finished my second Christmas gift.


Day Three (so far): Last gomi day before the holiday so I had to stuff the dead kiddie pools and the nasty rug into a trash bag along with some gross forgotten pizza boxes and long deceased ajisai and geraniums. All of these vile things had been put out of sight on the balcony for too long. Quickly cleaned out the fridge. Took everything downstairs before the gomishushusha rolled around the neighborhood at 8:30. Took a shower. Ate last omochi. Sat down with some tea to procrastinate by writing a blog post.


[Sigh] Okay, now my list:
-organize fabric
-finish cleaning out closet
-clean out desk drawers
-wash bedding
-beat and hang futons outside
-beat and hang bedroom rugs
-wash floors
-scrub bathroom
-clean toilet room
-scrub drains, especially washing machine drain
-use magic eraser to get all pencil and marker creations off the doors and walls and floors
-take a short break to buy supplies
-avoid looking at third Christmas gift