We spent Sunday night and Monday at Dad's in KY then came home Monday around dinner time. Jackson started getting tired and was ready to go home and go to bed, but we stayed a little longer to avoid Cincinnati rush hour. Good decision.
Tuesday and Wednesday were SHOPPING days. Sheila took me, Camden, and two of his friends to Bed Bath & Beyond. We spent almost 30 minutes digging through 5 shelves with curtains 3 packages deep to find some. It was actually kind of rewarding. After what I saved from everything being on clearance, plus enough 20% off coupons for each item, I spent $155 and saved $160. Not bad! That covered curtains for the living room and master bedroom. Wednesday we went in search of curtains for the kids' rooms (no luck!) which need 72" lengths. And also a duvet cover. We ended up back at BB&B where I picked out a duvet cover and exchanged the master bedroom curtains from burgundy (our current color) to brown (to match the new duvet cover I picked out.
After we got home on Tuesday, Uncle Cam Cam shared his Twix bar with Jackson. See, if it had been me, I would've given him bites. Instead, Camden handed him almost a whole bar. The following ensued:
Thursday was a big day for Mr. Jackson! Mom got him to go poop in the potty. He followed her everywhere, including the bathroom when she went. She was done and he squatted like he was going to poop, so she said, "Are you pooping?" "ah"(yeah), "Do you want to poop in the potty?" "ah". So she took his diaper off (which already had a little poop in it), and put him on the potty. He finished there, then wanted to wipe and flush 50 times. And wash his hands 100 times. Probably a one-time accomplishment for now, but I'm going to start trying to figure out the best way to go about potty training him without Mike. He's starting to show signs of being ready.
Thursday was also a doctor's appointment for Jackson. He had a suspicious spot on his butt that looked like a pimple, but of course turned out to be MRSA. We're pretty sure he got it when we were in OH since he kept signing "hurt" every time I put him in his car seat even before he was buckled. The doctor said that 60% of the abscesses they see now are MRSA, so she put him on antibiotics even before the lab results came back. As of now, it's looking much better. It stopped draining after a day and a half of antibiotics. We'll follow up with doctors here just to be on the safe side, but since we caught it pretty much immediately, I don't foresee any complications.
Jackson also played buddy-ump and this little piggy with MiMi and O'Sheila. It was a lot of fun for Jackson and very entertaining for those observing the craziness!
Friday was a fun day for me!! I had an ultrasound to look at Baby Alex, details in previous post. Also, some packing and laundry.
Saturday was a BIG day! The baby party for Alex, and the big reveal that it's a boy! The party was really fun. We had 16 adults and 5 kiddos. Four of them were born between August and October, 2007. It was really fun to see them interact with each other. Not that I saw a whole lot of it. Matt had the job of child-entertainer and did a GREAT job. (Can we say tent under the cake table?) It made it easier for the moms to play games, eat, etc. It was a lot of planning, but everything went off without a hitch and was all worth it in the end. I'm really glad we got to have a party for Alex.
Then came Sunday. The beginning of the trip back to Japan. I was dreading the trip but looking forward to being home. Surprisingly, the 3+ days of travel went by pretty quickly. Some of you already received this in an email, but I'm just copying and pasting since I already did it once:
(All times local to the location)
Sunday July 26th
0415
Mom and Sheila got gate passes and entertained/wore out Jackson in the gate area and on the escalators while we waited to board, which was only about 30 minutes.
We found the USO in our terminal and hung out there and ate some snacks while we waited for our flight. We got to the gate area just as they were boarding “people who need extra time” (that’s us!).
0855—Depart Houston on Continental Flight #1767 seat 28C
The plane left a few minutes late, but nothing significant. It was a big plane, with 3 seats on each side of the aisle. We had an aisle seat, but the two girls in the seats toward the window were with the girl in the seat across the aisle so I switched with them. Jackson and I are better off in a window seat anyways. They were 12, 14, and 14. It was really nice because they were playing with
1118—Arrive in Seattle/Tacoma (SEA)
Baggage claim was uneventful, but
Hotel in
Days Inn
Confirmation # 58552155
Check in was a breeze even though we were 3 hours early and she made sure to give me a ground floor room. The hotel wasn’t anything spectacular, but was REALLY clean. I could tell our nonsmoking room had been smoked in before, but that’s pretty much a given anywhere. Small fridge and microwave in the room. The bathroom was nice and had zero mildew—pretty unusual for a motel. We walked to the restaurant next door for lunch. It was decent food. Nothing spectacular, but edible and decent prices. It was completely deserted at 1245 though, so that may say something. It was pretty lacking in any kind of welcoming atmosphere, but it was at least a sit-down hot meal. Then we walked to the gas station next to the restaurant and got milk and Gatorade for our stay and came back to the room. We were both pooped and took naps. I fell asleep about 1415 but
1115—Depart hotel for airport—actually didn’t leave until noon since the shuttle was only hourly and I knew we’d still have plenty of time to get through security.
Shortest flight ever. Although I’ve never flown from
1435—Arrive in
CoastVancouver Airport
1041 Marine Dr. SW
Vancouver, BC V6P6L6
604-263-1555
Expedia Itin #128537439876
This was a really nice hotel. It got some pretty shady reviews online, but was only $80/night with a free airport shuttle. Everything else I could find was twice that. So I figured we’ll just deal with whatever it’s problems are since it’s only for one night. It was fine. The hallways weren’t air conditioned, but the rooms had very good window units, so we stayed comfortable. Dinner was in the attached White Spot Restaurant downstairs. Worst service I’ve had in a long time. Maybe there’s some secret Canadian signal to get your server’s attention. I had to ask for a water refill three times, and therefore ate my entire meal with nothing to drink. Then I had to ask for the check twice. Dinner took almost two hours, and the last half-hour was after we had both finished eating and were just waiting to pay. I can’t remember the last time I felt compelled to leave $.01 for a tip, but I left 10% instead.
Then we walked to Safeway for some milk, powerade and a banana (which never got eaten). There wasn’t a fridge in our room, so I made do with ice buckets and cold water. The walk was a decent distance, probably 20-30 minutes. Uphill on the way there, which was nice for the way back when I was pretty exhausted from pushing
It was another early night, with both of us in bed by 2100.
Tuesday July 28th
Breakfast was White Spot again. I figured we’d give it another shot. Still pretty crappy service, but not quite as bad as the night before. It was decent food, but not exactly great. I guess kind of expensive, although it was all in CAD so it wasn’t as expensive as it first appeared.
After breakfast,
1300—Depart hotel for airport
Oh the flight. The dreaded 10 hour flight. The car seat was too big to fit, so we had to gate check it with the stroller. I was sure we were doomed without it. Turns out we were probably better off.
Wednesday July 29th
1705—Arrive at Narita (NRT)
Then the drama. The only kink in our whole entire three day trip. The car seat and stroller didn’t get delivered gate-side like they were supposed to. The flight attendant had told me it would take a while to get it delivered, and she would help me with my bag (just a backpack), so to wait after we landed and she’d come get me. Okay, whatever. Then she came to get me after everyone was off the plane and we went and sat in a seat right by the door. I had no idea at this point what we were waiting on. Turns out, the stroller got delivered to baggage claim with the luggage. So they went to their little office and got one of their airport strollers for me to use. I was on the plane a full 30 minutes longer than any other passengers by the time they got there with it. So I RAN through the health screening and immigration (always a problem for us until they finally understand we’re military). At this point, all the immigration officers are gone since there are only a few people waiting to get through, so we actually waited a long time. Then when I got down to where baggage claim was, there was a closed off gate that said “No Admittance” blocking where I needed to go to get our stuff. We got that straightened out and they let me through. I collected and arranged the stroller, car seat,
Then I was off to find the shuttle to the base. It was in another terminal. So I had to board a bus (with stroller and suitcase) to go to the other terminal. I had to stop and ask again where the bus was parked, and got good directions. By the time I got to where it should be, it was 1818. Thanks to sitting on the plane for so long, I missed the 1800 shuttle. I cried. Twice. It had been a long day despite my great fortune with
He was a CRANKY boy and definitely not ready to get up. We went to the bank, the post office, quick stops at the BX and commissary, then Burger King for lunch and home. We ate our lunch and then he crashed. It was only 3, but I thought he MIGHT just nap. No luck. Around 5 I woke him up, changed his diaper, put jammies on him, and laid him back down. Then I went to bed, too. He woke up briefly at about 10, then again at midnight. I put him in bed with me at 2 where he messed around for an hour before finally falling back asleep. Then we were up for the day on Friday at 0600. ALMOST back on a normal schedule.
I'm going to assume nothing interesting will happen in the next two days and post a little early since it's already so much in one post. I'll put any weekend stuff in the next blog on 8/7.
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