My deepest condolences...

My heart goes out to Mr. and Mrs. B and their family. I was just informed that Mr. B's father died this morning and his sister died in August. What a tragic loss! I am saddened by the news. I hope the Grace of the Lord comforts them in their time of need.

Knowing Mr. and Mrs. B changed my life forever. I answered an ad in the university newspaper back in 1997, and it changed my life forever. Mr. and Mrs. B were looking for a nanny for their 2 young boys. I was lucky enough to be hired by them to care for their children. In answering that ad, I got the pleasure of watching 2 young boys grow to become outstanding young men. I also got the pleasure of knowing 2 unbelievably intelligent, honorable, kind, and gracious people...Mr. and Mrs. B. I cared for their children as if they were my own. By caring for those boys, I learned what it takes to be a good parent. In fact, I think of them all the time. I have pictures of them proudly displayed in my home. Some of my fondest memories in my life are with them. I was blessed to spend holidays and family vacations with them. Each year I looked forward to spending time at the beach with boys. It was my favorite time and favorite vacation.

Mr. and Mrs. B showed me kindness and trust beyond belief. In fact, after I graduated from college, Mr. B helped me get my great job at the law firm. I will be forever grateful for all the opportunities they have given me in my life.

I have so many happy memories with the B's. When I was in college and hungry, they fed me. When I was sad or lonely, the boys would make me laugh. Even though I was hired help, I felt like part of the family. In fact, I still feel like part of their family. Each time we go to Houston, we stop by to see them. Each time I see the boys, I'm amazed at how handsome and big they are. When I became their nanny, they were 2 and 6 years old. Now, they are giants and tower over me. I cared for those boys for about 6 years, and they will always have a piece of my heart!

But, now I offer my deepest condolences to the B Family. I pray that the Lord will give them all the strength they need to make it through this difficult time.

May God bless them and their family.

Missing him...

So, Jude and I are going through Husband withdrawal. He's been gone for 5 days now. We were okay at first, but now we are both missing him terribly. Jude misses wrestling with his daddy, and so do I (if you know what I mean!!). I miss Husband most at night when Jude goes to bed. I miss hearing about his day and telling him about mine. I've been staying up late at night watching useless Japanese television shows to help pass the time. And, Jude has been sleeping in my bed with me. I know I shouldn't let him, but I like having him there. I feel safer having him next to me. I'm not scared of someone breaking in or anything like that. In fact, I have never feared for my safety here in Japan. What I'm most worried about are earthquakes. And, having Jude next to me makes me feel better. If the "big one" were to hit, I could protect him if he were close by. I know, I'm crazy and obsessed with earthquakes. But, I do live in Japan, where earthquakes happen about 10 times a day.



So, we miss Husband, and we can't wait to see him.

Guilty!

***This entry was requested by BJ...so you can blame her!

What goes around comes around! According to BJ, there is justice in the world after all. Mr. Simpson walked the first time, but not this time. The son-of-a-b*tch will be going to jail this time. Thank God! It's about time they put that killer behind bars where he belongs. Come on now...every one on the planet knows he's guilty for killing Nicole and Ron.

It seems that his own stupidity got him busted this time. I mean, who walks into a sports memorabilia shop at a casino with a gun, steals hundreds of items, and thinks they're going to get away with it?? What person in their right mind would think that was a good idea?? This just goes to show you that the man is nuts and needs to be behind bars. Or, maybe he's just a moron! After all, he did get hit in the head a lot playing football!

Mr. Simpson hasn't been sentenced, yet. He will be due in court on December 5th to find out whether or not he will be spending the rest of his life in jail. I hope the judge has a enough sense to realize this man is a nut case and should be in jail. I just hope the judge isn't a Buffalo Bills fan or 49ers fan. Whatever! We shall see...

I bet Mr. Simpson is thinking Karma's a bitch! Hee-hee!

In the car...

So, I take Jude and his friend Des to the bus stop every morning. It's a short 10 minute drive. But, the conversations I hear are priceless. They go something like this:

Jude says to Des, "I'm going to fly to the moon."
"You can't do that, silly...you'll miss your mommy," Des replies.
"No I won't...I'm a big boy...I can go to the moon if I want," Jude replies.
"No you can't, you'll cry," Des says.
"You're crazy...I won't cry...it will be fun," Jude tells her.
"But it's too cold on the moon," Des says.
"Okay, then I'll go to Mars, I think it's warmer there," Jude replies.
"You can't go there, it's too far and you would be dead," Des tells him.
"When I'm dead, I'll look like this," Jude replies.

Then, he sticks out his tongue and rolls his eyes back into his head. Des laughs.

Everyday is like this. I never know what they are gong to discuss. But, it always makes me laugh. There is nothing like conversations between 3-4 year olds!!

Just another day in Weenie's World!

Baby Breakdown Time!

(Here is Jude on the stage with his classmates.)
(Here he is answering questions on stage.)
(Here is Jude, standing confidently on stage.)
(Here is the preschool class performing.)
(Here are the kids from K5 performing.)

Yesterday morning Jude woke up in a bad mood. He didn't want to do anything except cry and ask 'where's Daddy?' We had his school Halloween party to attend, but he cried and begged me not to go. Each class had been practicing all week to sing a Halloween song on stage. Jude said over and over that he was scared and didn't want to do it. He said his tummy hurt, and he said he was nervous because he didn't know how to sing the song right. I thought about staying home and giving in to him, but I decided to tough it out and make him go. So, the kid fussed all the way there. He begged me not to make him go. But, I talked to him and told him I would be there watching him. I told him that sometimes you just have to do things that are scary.


When we got there, I walked him on stage and his teacher took him behind the curtain. By the way, he refused to wear his Batman mask and cape, but he did wear the other part of the costume.




Battle #1 won: I got him there. Battle #2 won: I got him to wear part of the costume.


When the curtain came up, Jude stood proudly on stage. He sang his little heart out. Granted, he didn't do any of the hand movements or gestures, but he did sing. Most of the kids just stood there like deer in the headlights...scared, bug-eyed and crying. But, not my kiddo. He sang with gusto. Then, when the teacher asked him his name, age and costume using a microphone, he answered appropriately. I was scared to death he was going to scream an obscenity or just pick his nose and fart. But, the kid actually delivered the goods. He did exactly what he was supposed to do on cue. And, he didn't cry!! It was my proudest mommy moment so far!






The kid was so seriously frightened in the morning. So much so that his tummy hurt, and he begged me not to go. But, through perseverance and force, the kid made it through the event with shining colors. Once he got off stage, I grabbed him and hugged and kissed him. I told him just how proud I was of him for doing something that scared him. I told him he was brave. I told him that he did everything just perfectly and that mommy was so super proud. He, too, was proud of himself.


He told me, "I did it mommy, and I didn't even cry!"

He said, "I sang my song with my big voice...did you hear it?"

"I heard it baby, and you sounded great!" I said.

"I'm so proud of you!" I told him.


Battle #3 won: he got on stage and sang!



I'm so glad I stuck it out yesterday. I was incredibly tempted to just stay home. I wanted to cave into him. I was tired of hearing him cry and fuss. But, I knew I just couldn't let the kid win. I knew that I couldn't let him have control of the situation. I saw that moment in his life a turning point. In my mind, I could see a 28 year old fat hairy Jude still living at home never wanting to leave or take a step outside all because I never made him face his fears at 3 years old. All because I caved into him. All because of this...and I just couldn't let that happen.


It's hard to hear your baby cry and fuss for hours over something. You just want to help them and end their tears. But, sometimes no matter what, you have to do what you know is best for them...no matter how much it hurts you. And, yesterday...it worked...it was a success. I'm so thankful for that!

Hand Cramp!

Last night I went and ate dinner with the Texans. We ate Chinese food at the Peach Place. It was really yummy, but Mrs. Texan got a hand cramp from eating with chopsticks. Who knew you could get injured from using chopsticks??? Hee-hee!

Just another day in Weenie's World!

He makes me hot!

George Stephanopoulos is ABC's Chief Washington Correspondent and host of This Week with George Stephanopoulos. I find this man incredibly sexy. Husband knows how I feel about this little Greek news man. If Husband sees him on TV, he'll call me so I can catch a glimpse of him. In fact, Husband will yell, "Your boyfriend is on."

There is something about him that gets me all hot and bothered. Maybe it's his ability to report political news in an untainted somewhat non-partisan way (even though he was a senior political advisor for Bill Clinton), or maybe it's the way he interviews politicians with tough questions in a mild mannered way. Or, maybe it's because he's incredibly intelligent and just so damn cute. Whatever it is, he's hooked me.

Some women think Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise is hot, but not me. George makes me hot!

Pimp Out Your Kid!

Do you think you have a cute kid? If so, pimp them out. The Gap is looking for some new kids to model their clothes. Since lots of you out there have kiddos, you should give it a try. If your kid is selected, you get great pictures, free clothes and a gift card to the Gap. I would pimp out Jude, but I think you have to live in the states to participate. So, good luck!

In a perfect world...

....I would get paid to blog. Lots of people get paid big buckaroos to blog about nothing. I could do that. Then, Husband wouldn't have to work.


I started this blog so my peeps back home could keep up with my family in Japan. I got tired of sending out e-mail updates about my family and having them (the e-mails...not my family) returned because people changed their e-mail addresses. I hate getting dreaded "Undeliverable Mail" e-mails in my Inbox--that's worse than getting Erectile Dysfunction Spam e-mails. And, Rice Spice thought it would be a good way to keep up with me--in a non-stalker kind of way. So, I here we are...5 months...and 1,598 hits later. In the beginning, I never thought people would really want to read about me or listen to my rants about nothingness. But, apparently I was wrong.

Most of my friends and family members read my blog on a regular basis. In fact, the other day I went to lunch with my fellow Texans, and they knew every thing that had happened to me recently. They had read it all on the blog, so I didn't really have much to say. Can you believe that...me...speechless! You should write that down in the record books--that never happens! I would start off my conversation by saying, "Oh yeah, on Saturday I went to a birthday party." Then, my friend would interrupt me and say, "Yeah, I saw the pictures on the blog...it looked like you had fun..." Then, the conversation was over. It was weird. I had no stories to tell and nothing to bitch about because I had already done it here, and she had read it. It was like being in the Twilight Zone.

I'm glad to share my stories and inner thoughts with you. In fact, I wish I could share more. But, I hate to let it all hang out. And, since some of my family members and in-laws read this, I can't bitch about them because they would hate me forever or disown me. So, I give you what I can.

But, if I were paid to blog, I would give you everything--all the juicy details about my "lunch" date with Husband, and I would even let you hear the voices in my head. And, I would really tell you how I feel about certain people in my inner circle. Besides, if I was disowned or hated by family members or friends, I could just buy new ones with my blog earnings. Hee-hee!

Another reason why I love Japan...

In Japan, when a worker arrives at work, he or she will bow before entering the place of business. Whether it be at the mall, a gas station or a high rise building filled with offices, all workers do it. I've seen it and have been amazed by it. The worker will walk up to the front door, pause, and then bow deeply as a sign of respect. They respect their work place and show it each time they enter.

Another thing that I love about Japan is the way people clean up. Around lunch time, you can see Japanese businessmen walking around with giant tongs and a plastic bag. They go around picking up trash in the streets after lunch. They clean up their own neighborhood. They don't get paid to do it, either. It is simply expected that you take a few minutes out of your day to clean up your area or neighborhood. I love it! I think it's great. I wish everyone in America would do that! Just think how clean our country would be!