On your very first day of Kindergarten

Dearest Jude,

Today is your very first day of real school.  I can't believe how time has flown by.  I still remember when we brought you home from the hospital, and you had explosive poops that would shoot out the back of your diapers and assault bystanders.

This morning when I took you to school, I was really nervous, probably more nervous and scared than you.  I had so many thoughts flowing through my mind:  will you make friends easily, will you listen to your teachers, will you crap your pants and be laughed at, will you pick your boogers and eat them, will you spill your lunch and starve the rest of the day, will you drop an F bomb in front of your teachers, will you yell out Goddammit when you make a mistake...there are so many things that can go wrong, I thought.  For your sake, though, I kept quiet and put on a brave face.  Besides, you looked cool and ready to tackle whatever was ahead.

So, congratulations to you for being brave and strong today.  You were much stronger than mommy.  I was brave until the parents' meeting, where I let out a single tear, trying desperately to hold it together. 

So on your first day of school, I hope the rest of your class appreciates what a brilliant mind you have, what a caring heart you have, and what a great kid you are. 

Mommy loves you!

Jude dancing, installment #2

Turn up the volume to hear the music.

Airplanes galore

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We look like sweaty Mexicans!  If you look below, you can even see Husband's forearms sweating.  It was hot!

Last week we went to an airplane show. Jude loved the airplanes, but the heat kicked our asses! I was about 98 degrees with 90% humidity. We all had sweaty balls! Okay, I didn't have sweaty balls, but if I did they would have been sweaty, saggy and dragging on the ground, leaving a trail of ball sweat on the runway! Seriously, the heat was intense, too intense for our pansy asses!


We went early, but by 10 AM the ball sweating was out of control, so we had to leave.

There's nothing worse than sweaty balls!

Husband's 40th

I have tons of other pictures from the event, but Husband is a little bit googly eyed in them, so I'll refrain from posting them. 

Happy 40th Birthday, Husband.  You're old!  (But I still love you!)

The hands of time

This week has been a whirlwind of excitement and change. 

Jude finished preschool and attended Kindergarten orientation this week.  We scheduled his upcoming home visit with his Kindergarten teacher, and we are looking forward to the beginning of his school career.  Hopefully, he will be the future, graduating class of 2024.  Crazy, huh?!

Husband turned 40 this week, and we celebrated last night with a huge, epic karaoke birthday party at our favorite karaoke joint.  Husband is still recovering from last night's festivities.  Let's just say we partied like it was 1999, but our bodies are not the same as they were in 1999!

With all that's going on, sometimes I just wish I could stop time and take it all in.  I wish Jude would stay this age just a little longer, because 5 is a great age--the best age, in my opinion.  His world is full of discovery and curiosity.  He wants to know about everything.  Our conversations are a constant why this, why that, how come...he desires all the answers to everything, never stopping or being content with the answers given.  Instead, he continues to constantly probe us, in an attempt to understand everything that exists in his world.  Sometimes it's exhausting.  I spend countless hours on the computer researching things, because I don't have all the answers to his questions.  Even then, sometimes he's still not satisfied, continuing to ask even more questions.  His thirst for knowledge is unbelievable.  I've never met a child this inquisitive. 

So, I wish I could make the days a little longer or stop the rotation of the Earth just so I can enjoy Jude being 5 a little longer.  Everything about him at 5 is wonderful, and I don't want it to end. 

I know it seems selfish of me to want to keep my son 5 for just a little longer.  I'm sure this age is quite frustrating for him, never getting all the answers he wants, sometimes not being able to understand the answers given because they are too complicated for his 5 year old mind. 

But every day passes quicker than the one before, leaving me yearning for all the yesterdays even while I'm in today.  I know I sound crazy, but I just want to hold on to every minute and every second just a little longer-- just long enough to absorb everything about each moment, permanently implanting it into my memory where it will last forever. 

In utter shock

So, a couple of weeks ago I bought Jude a new American style backpack for school.  It was a rather cheap one (made in China) with Iron Man on the front.  Since Jude wanted it, I threw it into our basket without thinking twice. 

Well, yesterday I decided to remove the tags on the backpack and let Jude start taking it to school.  When I went to cut off the tags (which were in English), I stumbled across a small tag that said, "CALIFORNIA PROP 65 WARNING: This product contains a chemical known to the state of California to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm."  I was like huh, what the...??

So, I went on-line and did a little research about California's Proposition 65.  Basically, the people of California are tired of their lakes and streams being polluted, and they are tired of toxic substances being used in everyday products without the consumers' knowledge.  So, by passing Prop 65 in 1986, the state of California requires businesses to notify consumers if any hazardous chemicals exist in their products, on their property or at their work place. 

So, after reading about Prop 65, I thought how could a backpack manufacturer make a backpack, knowing it contains harmful chemicals, and then market it to children, hoping they buy it and wear it on their backs, exposing them daily to potentially dangerous chemicals?  How? 

Look, I know there are cancer causing chemicals everywhere.  I'm aware of that.  But to put harmful chemicals in a kids' backpack is just wrong!  It shouldn't happen.  Ever! 

So, before you buy products for your kids to use and wear, please check the labels. 

By the way, I tried multiple times to get in contact with the manufacturer of the backpack, but my calls were never returned! 

Needless to say, I went on-line to L.L.Bean and purchased Jude a new, safer, better backpack, and it was 20% percent off!

Jude Breakdancing to Billie Jean

Turn up the volume to hear the music and the smack! 

(I love my 5 year old!  He's the best!)

Yummers

Even if you don't like salmon, you'll L-O-V-E, LOVE Morey's Marinated Wild Alaskan Salmon.  I found this super-duper delicious salmon one day when I was meandering through the freezer section at Costco.

This lovely little box comes with 6 individual wrapped pieces of marinated salmon.  It is by far one of my most favorite foods ever.  So, if you shop at Costco, you should definitely get some.  And if you are a pathetic soul that doesn't have a Costco card or a Costco near you, check your grocer's freezer section.  You might be lucky and find it there. 

***By the way, I was not paid for this product endorsement.  However, if Mr. Morey, the marinated salmon maker, feels the need to give me free fish, I'll take it kindly. 

A taste of home

(Photo via Dallas News)

The worst part about living overseas is missing my favorite hometown and homemade foods, especially Mexican food.   And in Japan, you really can't find good Mexican food.  In Tokyo, there are a few places that serve okay Mexican food, but it costs a million dollars and your first born.  And seeing how I ain't about to give up Jude for a taste of home, I decided to make caldo de pollo (Mexican chicken soup) today. 

As I cooked, the smell of the soup tantalized my nostrils, taking me back to my childhood.

I can clearly remember my mom (YaYa) making caldo de pollo in our modest home on the east side of Houston.  I can remember our small kitchen getting warm because of the simmering pot of caldo my mom was cooking.  Then, YaYa would always open the kitchen window and let the cool November air in, letting the delicious smell of the soup escape through the screen. 

Today when I was cooking, I didn't open any windows.  Instead, I inhaled the fragrance of the soup deeply, never wanting it to dissipate, hoping it would penetrate the walls of my apartment and always remain. 

Yikes!

Today I watched The Shining.  Since I'm a super-mega-horror-film buff, I totally dig movies like these.  However, I have a crazy imagination with an even crazier mind that takes hold of these images, usually dreaming about them and being scared shitless.  

 And, recently in my old age, these types of movies scare me even more.  Now, my mind keeps conjuring up the most frightening scenes, replaying them over and over, giving me the hebie-jebies. 

I'm not sure why allow myself to watch these movies.  I guess somewhere deep down I enjoy being scared shitless.  It makes me feel more alive.