I’m at war with my vision (or lack of vision). More specifically I’m at war with the devices that help me see.

Sometimes I forget that I handled jalapenos and I change my contacts. This results in me running around screaming because of the jalapeno juice of doom burning my retinas. Yes, retinas. They reach my innermost eyeball core.

I regularly poke my eye, accidentally of course, while trying to adjust my glasses.

I’ve stabbed my eyes with my glasses.

I have also poked my eye or the bridge of my nose because I was trying to adjust the glasses that are not on my face.

When I yell out, “OUCH!” my kids will reply with “Did you poke your eye again, Mommy?”

REALLY?!

I honestly stopped wearing contacts for six months because I was concerned I would do something stupid and lose my vision for good. This didn’t shock my friends.

I think they supported it but missed the entertainment.

When my annual eye exam came up I was happy to discuss LASIK options but it’s just not in my budget right now. My optometrist urged me to make it a priority because of my history of being a complete jackass. She suggested I look into “more obvious” eyewear so I won’t forget when I have them on.

Yes, she meant bigger. Huge glasses and heavy so I wasn’t poking myself by being overly excited and distracted by life.

When I realized she wanted me to get glasses so big I could see into the future I probably should have been slightly offended. That’s what most people do, right? She was so delicate about the suggestion I sensed she was expecting me to be upset or negative. My first thought was, “This is going to be awesome!!”

I browsed the glasses. I was steered towards the men’s frames. I couldn’t find anything that I loved. I also figured if I was going big with this I needed to really go big. I needed absolute ridiculous!

Need not want. I want to have perfect vision but I need to be… well… me.

I asked if I could use sunglasses for frames and the sales chick, reluctantly, offered to pop frames out of them so I could see what they looked like as glasses.

THIS WAS AMAZING.

If you have seen my Instagram feed or know me in person I am usually rocking some huge glasses that make me look like an anime bug.

I love them.

I feel that the larger the sunglasses the smaller my giant head looks! It’s in my half Japanese genes to have a ginormous noggin.

As I tried on dozens (seriously) of sunglasses frames I noticed the sales girl got a little nervous. She tried so hard to stay positive and not react negatively. I said to her ”It’s totally okay… I embrace looking absolutely ridiculous!” She smiled politely and excused herself to help others.

Since then I’ve scoped out my sunglasses and want to get a second set. I’m paranoid that I will lose my glasses, run out of contacts and bump into things. Also, I scratched the lens on my favorite sunglasses and figured I should convert them to everyday wear.

A few days ago my sweetie confessed that he hates those sunglasses. The look of disgust when I told him I was going to get them as prescription glasses was priceless.

“Would they look ridiculous or awesome as glasses?!”

He replied, “They look ridiculous as both!”

“You mean… they look ridiculously awesome as both!”

He made a face.

I popped the lenses out to show him the awesomeness. He made another face and mumbled to himself. He was driving, the kids were in the back laughing and he just shook his head and focused on the road.

“I don’t have to love them… it’s your choice…” he said to me and I quickly cut off with “OH I KNOW! I can’t wait!”

Last night I popped the lenses out again and told him I was going to wear them like that all the time until he realized he loved them. He left the room.

I took pictures of myself in the giant frames of radness and I intended to send him multiple pictures of me in them.

He had to realize these frames were going to be a part of my face soon.

When our son jumped in to take pictures with me I wasn’t sure if he loved the frames or loved the chance to take silly pictures. Either way I was cool with it.

His Dad continued to ignore me. I kept bugging him about the glasses. I loved the frames more and more.

I love that he will give me his opinion honestly and accept that I’m going to do what I want anyways.

That is what sustains a loving relationship. Acceptance, awesome frames that annoy your significant other when he looks at your smirking/mocking face and you realize he loves you so much he will put up with anything. Thanks, babe!

Oh and also these are supposed to prevent me from poking my eyeballs out. So, there is that.

When we live in a constant cycle of getting to the next thing, feeling overwhelmed to accomplish the next task or trying to hurry up to do more we often miss some very important moments.

We are within walking distance to our elementary school. Next year my 11 year old is going into middle school, my youngest is in Kindergarten and my step-son is off to High School.

This is the only time the younger kiddos will ever be in school together. Next year I will have to drive my daughter to school which means I won’t be walking my youngest as often. They will all be at different schools next year.

This seems like such a small thing and maybe it’s a nuisance to walk instead of drive. I sometimes think about how I need to carve another hour into my day to get things done. I drive them to school some days and then drive off to check off my ToDo list one by one by running errands, going to events or meeting up with friends for breakfast.

Realistically, so many of that can wait. The last several years have revolved around learning to truly prioritize things. We stress, fuss and prioritize events and tasks that should be on the back burner. We get caught up trying to squeeze what we can in the day that some things get missed.

What I am missing out on those days are more than just walks…

They are some of the last moments my 11 year old daughter wants to hold my hand…

They are the moments where I see my son learn by example by watching his sister look for cars before crossing.

They are the moments where the kids laugh the whole way because they are brilliantly creative and come up with new games along the way…

The moments where we all play “I’m going to stomp on your shadow!” and my son, usually, takes it one step further by saying “I’m going to pretend to pee on your shadow!” or “I’m farting on your shadow!”

They may be the last moments where they laugh like that, in that way since my daughter isn’t “too cool” for her baby brother yet.

They are the last moments where their walks to school involve bickering and resolution … and they always end with hugs and “See you at the bike racks!” …

In a few weeks these moments will be gone. Yes, they will be replaced with new and different special moments but we won’t have many more opportunities for these ones.

They are moments that seem easy to just push to the side so I can do other things, but, these are the moments I should be appreciating, taking in and enjoying.

So, I’m doing just that and I hope you do the same… in your own way.

As summer approaches, and I start researching things to do in Southern California, two things go through my head:

YAY! More time with the kids!!

and…

OMG! More time with the kids!!

Depending on my mental state (and coffee consumption) determines if my response is positive or running for the hills screaming. 

As the years tick on I want to really make the most of these summers when my kids want to spend time with me. I hope they always want to spend time with me, but realistically they are going to wake up to that dawn of hormones and coolness and I won’t be their world.

When I factor in what my kids like to do, what their friends dig, things that are fun, affordable and never gets boring I always think of amusement parks.

Oh and I also like to factor in what my friends like to do and who has passes to where… because, it takes a village right?

Knott’s Soak City Waterpark is my favorite waterpark to take the kids during the summer and a huge hit with my friends. The park has many slides and attractions to keep everyone happy in this 13 acre park of awesomeness.

My youngest loves Gremmie Lagoon where he can run amok in this water playground. This is a great place for parents with younger ones to set up for the day and hang with the little thrill seekers. While the older kids go on thrill seeking rides like Old Man Falls, Malibu Run and Laguna Storm Water Tower I like having a spot they can check in with me where it’s a little more mellow.

When the whole family wants to take it up a notch we head over to the three story Toyota Beach House where we can play with water guns and try to avoid the giant bucket! Or we try to catch some waves in Tidal Wave Bay.

The Sunset River is also a big favorite. I don’t know what it is about a lazy river but we can circle around in a group for hours and never get bored. I like trying to, lovingly, soak my sweeties under the waterfalls.

You can’t beat the price for a day of fun with the family and making Knott’s Soak City a regular summer activity is more than worth the affordable season pass price.

I’m looking forward to the summer, fun times with friends and watching my kids have a blast at places like Knott’s Soak City. Enjoy these times while you can and make the most of them.

And for all my friends reading this… get your passes… let’s rock

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. I sincerely love water parks like a big kid and I made plans to visit Soak City on opening day with media tickets. 

Photos belong to Soak City OC

Disclaimer: Super big thanks to Toyota for having me as a guest at the Lifesaver Conference in Denver Colorado. My travel expenses were covered. I was not compensated for attending the event or for writing about Toyota. All opinions are my own and are not influenced by Toyota.

Are Our Teens Safe on the Roads?

I’ve always known that teenagers often lose their lives to fatal car crashes. What I didn’t know, until recently, is that the number one killer of teens are car crashes.

When I was a teenager, and being the daughter of a police officer who frightened me when I was learning to drive, I knew how precarious driving a vehicle could be. I knew then that teens lost their lives often due to car crashes. This is something that became a harsh reality when I was a teenager and I lost friends, acquaintances in High School or friend’s lost family members due to car accidents. We heard the stories, we often saw the aftermath of the wrecks, we felt the heartache and fear, but, it didn’t stop most teens I knew from driving recklessly.

The most distraction we had, back then, was from our own idiocy, loud music, posturing and silliness.

The only electronic device that distracted us then was a pager.

Now? Well, how much are we connected? How often are we distracted as drivers? How often do we stare at the moving map on our GPS? What about eating and drinking? Changing music? Texting or talking on your cell?

We know that texting and driving is dangerous and if we are going to chat on our phones we should be hands free. But, even hands free is a huge distraction.

Combine all of these distractions with an inexperienced teen driver and the world has created a cocktail of catastrophe.

Encouraging a Safe Teen Driver Starts Early

I have an almost 14 year old step-son and a diva of a 11 year old daughter. The focus from first foods, first words and first steps has shifted to first loves, first heartbreaks and first cars. The world of driving is just on the horizon for them… and this frightens me a little. Yes, I still have a few years until this starts being an actual reality. The truth is that their driving behavior has already started to form in their sponge brains.

It starts with us. The parents. Those who drive them around now. They watch, learn and repeat.

I’ve spent so much time advocating for my chronically ill daughter who has life threatening health issues. I’ve, naturally, assumed that would always be our biggest battle. Realizing that her getting into the car as a teen could the tragic mistake I made was jolting. I know I talk about being a safe driver, point out with colorful words when others are not driving safely (hehe) and I think I’ve instilled driving safety in the kids… but has it been enough?

Sure, I want to lock her up, and her siblings, and throw away the key forever. I want to do this for plenty of reasons! I won’t… I didn’t say I can’t because I SO could if I needed to… but, for now… I won’t. Did you read that kids?!

Be the Example

The first thing I decided to change was my own driving behavior. The statistics on distracted driving, and the tragedies that followed, made me physically ill and brought more tears to my eyes than any other events in the past year combined. In order for me to expect my children to be good drivers it has to start with me.

No more texting and driving. Not even when the light is red. Not even for a quick second. I just don’t pick up that phone, the phone is put on silent and everything can wait.

I do not even talk on speaker when I am driving. We aren’t completely focused on driving when we are caught up in a conversation on our cells.

I sure don’t want my soon to be driving teens to risk having a conversation and driving so I have to set that standard.

Be a Part of the Learning Experience

I am also starting to educate myself NOW on how to be a better supporter for my kids when they become drivers.

Toyota is celebrating their 10th year of saving lives through the Toyota Driving Expectations program. Toyota offers complimentary 2.5 hour classes for teens and their parents to help prepare the newest driver in the family. It is a hands on experience that has one mission – to help save lives on the roadway. Signing up for classes on their website is easy.

Here are the current dates and locations for the Toyota Driving Expectations Spring Tour -

Toyota Headquarters in Torrance, CA – May 4 & 5

Bass Pro Shops in Denver, CO – May 18 & 19

Toyota Texas Plant in San Antonio, TX – June 8 & 9

It’s FREE – I just thought I would emphasize that.

Toyota can also bring the program to your local high school and your local Toyota dealership.  You can visit the Toyota Driving Expectations site to find out how to bring this lifesaving program to your community.

Toyota also has another resource for parents and teens called Toyota Teen Driver which is a plethora of online information for the whole family.

I don’t want my kids to be terrified to drive with me in the car… I want them to drive me, safely, everywhere I want to go. I want to be able to lovingly annoy them about how long it will take to get there, when we will stop for a bathroom break and why we have to listen to that horrible music… I want them to take road trips and know they will come home with memories of awesomeness… I want them to be able to take the car out, on dates… wait, no… scratch that one. No dating. Ever. I do want to know that every time they get behind the wheel or trust a friend to drive them that they will be empowered, safe and come home safely… and most importantly, I want to do everything that I can to make sure they won’t add to the statistic of teen deaths.

I love coffee on an obnoxiously-delicious addictive level. My coffee addiction is so bad, yet comical, that my daughter started making me coffee years ago as a means of self preservation. 

She is the smartest one in this house.

I’m also a bit of a jackass and tend to do things to hurt myself, break myself and end up in ridiculous situations.

I had one of those days where my to-do list was too long, I didn’t get a lot of sleep and I was rushing everything. The plan was simple – grab a peppermint mocha with soy and no whip (yes, you can get these year round. You are welcome!) and head into Lowes then to the five other places I needed to go.

I got so far as the Lowes parking lot.

What came next happened within a few seconds, but it seemed like I was stuck in a slow motion movie scene.

I got my coffee, parked and took a picture of the deliciousness in a venti sized cup to share on Instagram. Because… that is what everyone does right? I grabbed my Tardis purse (it’s bigger on the inside) and my coffee and started to hop out of my truck when all hell broke loose.

My purse got stuck on something.

That caused me to slip and my arm, which was connected to my coffee, jerk back.

My venti peppermint mocha was falling to it’s DOOM!

I did what any sane person does in that situation…

I screamed loudly and tried to catch that coffee in midair so fast that I ended up karate chopping it. 

By the way – At that point I was still halfway outside of my truck, in a leaning back Matrix-like position with my big huge Tardis purse wrapped up on something.

The coffee hit the radio and a volcanic coffee explosion happened. It. Got. EVERYWHERE. I had coffee on my face, down my back and my hair smelled of peppermint mocha for days despite the amount of times I washed it. Coffee was on the ceiling, behind the steering wheel, ALL over the windshield and just puddles of it.

You never realize how much is in a venti sized coffee cup until it’s all over your everything.

I was yelling the whole time. I do that when I get nervous and I do it without thinking. After the yelling I laughed and I laughed so hard I snorted. I was halfway outside my truck, covered in coffee, practically strangled by my purse and laughing hysterically.

The Lowes parking lot was filled with men loading up their work trucks. I heard a faint male’s voice ask “Ma’am… do you need help?” and I yelled back “Move along boys! I got this!”

At that point I did what anyone would do. I took pictures and shared them on Instagram and Facebook. I texted my sweetie who was telling his co-workers how amazingly graceful and sane I am in these situations.

I had only a few napkins, my soaked hoodie and a used snot tissue in my truck to clean this mess up. The windshield was a giant coffee smear. I could see out of it but not well. My glasses were also foggy with coffee. I drove the one mile up the road to my house with my face over the steering wheel and trying to drive as carefully as I could with my hazards on. An officer pulled up next to me at a stop light, I gave him a quick rundown of my morning and he let me follow him down the road. I think he was contemplating locking me up in a looney bin. 

I got home, cleaned up the mess the best I could and literally hosed myself off on the front lawn. After almost an hour of scrubbing, washing and soaking up coffee I was glad to be done. 

Until…

Yup, of course I would lock my keys in the truck.

Thankfully, I found the spare.

I’m glad it was my ‘free’ coffee so, techincally, I didn’t commit coffee waste.

So, amuse/comfort me… How many of you have done something similar?

If you have watched anime, are into cosplay, read manga or seen a Japanese movie with school kids in it then you would probably recognize the “Randoseru” Japanese backpacks. Randoseru comes from the Dutch word “Ransel” which means backpack.

These have been the standard backpack in Japanese culture since the 1960′s. Their origin dates back to at least to 1885 when soldiers were using a canvas backpack called “ransel” that had the same shape. It later became the norm to make these out of leather so they last a long time.

Traditionally kids will start kindergarten or 1st grade with a brand new randoseru and keep it into their middle school years. This is usually a gift from their grandparents. Before recent times, girls used red backpacks and boys used black but as the Japanese culture shifts to a more individualistic society these come in a range of colors. They make two toned backpacks, that are slightly larger and lighter for older kids… I really want a black and red one. Just saying.

These backpacks are solid and many people cherish theirs. They can literally last a lifetime.

I guess that is why they can run from $300 – $850+ !!

Yes, those are some pricey backpacks (well, not the ones I bought. But, I will get to that…).

Yes, I cringe at that price tag. Then again some women spend hundreds on purses so why not, right? Logically if you think about it most parents buy their kid a new backpack every year. Backpacks in the states can cost around $20-30. If a randoseru is expected to last at least 6 years then it’s a decent investment. The market has been set for these backpacks, their sales haven’t slowed and since they are mandatory in some schools they will continue to be a big part of a students life.

Besides… LOOK AT THEM!

So. Cute. Totally worth it… especially if my Dad was paying for them and not me! Did you read that Dad!?

When I traveled to Japan with my Dad the kids really wanted backpacks. My daughter has asked for a randoseru for a very long time but I just couldn’t justify the cost. While we were in Tokyo it was back to school shopping season so I had hoped to find some school supplies for the kids.

I knew the cost of a randoseru and didn’t even think I would consider getting one.

I don’t read enough of the Japanese language to understand what I am looking at… but, for some reason I lucked out that day. There was a huge display rack with randoseru in every color. There were even accessories. I read 35,000 yen (Over $350) and up to 95,000 yen (Over $1k!!!) for these backpacks. Then something caught my eye.

I saw two randoseru backpacks on the backside of the display case. One was in a box and one was displayed. They both had a code number of 5180 on the box and on a tag on the displayed one.

The sign below it said 2,000 yen (insert lots of Japanese words all over the sign), “2010″ and “5180″.

My brain said grab those because I think that sign says the randoseru model # 5180 from the year 2010 is marked down to 2,000 yen!!

Uh, thats like $30.

That’s like impossible.

I asked my Aunt to translate it and she couldn’t believe I was right. We asked a sales woman she she confirmed it. I had hit the randoseru japanese backpack jackpot! I love finding sales as much as I love drinking sake and eating sushi.

I may not read Japanese but I do read discounts. I really wish I had thought about taking a picture of the sign but my hands were a bit full at that point.

My Aunt said that since it’s an older style that kids may not want it or like it so that is why it was marked down so much. Those details aren’t important to my kids since there is nothing to compare them to!

Yes, usually only girls wear red randoseru but my son LOVES red. He would have probably picked out the red one anyway. They love their backpacks and I think I’ve made them paranoid about taking good care of them. I love that I found a great deal on them because, I may not have allowed the kids to use them if I paid full price . And I not-so-secretly wait for the day they decide they don’t want to use them anymore… I would totally wear one and use it as a purse!

So, what about you… Would you spend that much on a backpack that could last years?

The national flower of Japan is the gorgeous sakura which is known by most in the states as the cherry blossom tree. It’s delicate petals, ranging from five to one hundred, glowing against the sunlight are truly enchanting when you see them with your own eyes. There is a reason these flowers inspire poetry, stories and songs… they are remarkable.

Every time I traveled to Japan as a kid it was always during the summer. I love Japan and consider it a part of my heart, love and who I am. However, the summer weather there is like being a sauna in a snowsuit and it is not something that most desire. Even sweaty everything weather can be ignored to enjoy Japan during the summer months…

Except you can’t enjoy sakura during the summer. That is something special just for the spring.

Actually, you can’t even enjoy sakura for long when they bloom in the spring. It is truly the kind of gorgeousness you have to enjoy in the moment because when they bloom they only last for a touch over a week. It seems almost bittersweet or even unfair that something so lovely is short lived.

I like to see it as natures reminder to live in the moment, appreciate what you can when you can and enjoy it.

I was told by my family that the cherry blossoms usually bloom early April in the Tokyo area but this year we were fortunate that they decided to bloom early for our trip. When we arrived the blossoms were blooming and as wel left they were falling. When the petals fall it creates a spring snowfall of flowers and something I have never seen before.

My aunt wrote to my Dad just before our trip and told him that sakura was all around Tokyo waiting to greet us and we may travel to Kyoto to see more.

My Dad, being the awesome and easily confused person he is (love you Dad!), was thinking this had something to do with dogs. One of my aunts in Japan has a small dog named Sakura… why my Dad thought the dog was going to greet us or that we would travel a few hours from Tokyo to see more dogs baffles me.

It just added ammo to make fun of him. That is my favorite part because I am such a nice daughter.

Tokyo was transformed with these beautiful flowers and you don’t realize how many sakura trees there are until they are in full bloom. The cherry blossoms blanketed an already magnificent city in absolute beauty.

We walked around the local park the first morning I was there on our way to Tokyo Skytree. I took so many pictures and could have spent the entire day there. Viewing sakura is called “hanami” and it is a very popular activity all over Japan and this became obvious when we went to Ueno Park. People laid out tarps early in the morning and picnicked all day and most through the night to sit under the beautiful sakura trees and celebrate. Picnicking under the Sakura trees and enjoying the night festivals is something I cannot wait to experience with my kids.

Traveling in Japan during the spring for Sakura Hanami Festivals is very popular. It is also very crowded and the peak travel time in Japan. If you find yourself planning a trip to Japan and want to experience the beauty of the sakura I highly recommend making it happen. The average bloom times vary in different regions of Japan… the southern areas, like Okinawa, bloom as early as January while most are in early April.

If you want to check out Cherry Blossoms in the states there are many parks that have them since Japan gave the United States thousands of Cherry Blossom trees in 1910. The gift of Sakura has been ongoing since then and some varieties have been raised to tolerate warmer climates. If you want to get a taste of the Japanese culture keep an eye out for “Cherry Blossom Festivals” in your local area… there are many happening all the time in March! 

Traveling to Tokyo is something I did often as a kid. While many of my friends went to summer camp I often spent a chunk of my summers in Japan. I had no idea then how fortunate I was. I’m half Japanese and my ethnicity has molded me in many ways and so did traveling to Tokyo as often as I did.

I have family that lives in Tokyo, Japan that I hadn’t seen for over 15 years. The last trip I took to Japan was when I was a teenager and I was there for almost two months. At that time I thought I would move to Japan when I turned 18 and live there for a few years. I even planned on getting a job with one of the international airlines so I could travel back and forth from Japan to the US.

Then life happens, things change and time slips away. The things we were sure we would do changes as does our interests.

I don’t regret staying in the states but I do regret not making visiting Japan a priority. I allowed over 15 years to pass between visits. Life, at times, has been more than difficult especially since I was a single Mom for so long with two kids… one of which has special health needs.

Traveling internationally with kids is difficult to say the least. Traveling with a child with special health needs and life threatening food allergies makes things a little more complicated. But, I want my kids to experience Japan and I hate feeling like my kids can’t do something because of their health.

When my Dad planned his trip to Japan this year he invited me to come with him. Actually, I think I invited myself! I was very excited but also had a huge amount of guilt being away from my kids.

I realized if I am able to go to Japan and familiarize myself with everything again it will make it so much easier to plan a trip with the rest of my family. That may seem like a lame justification. However, going to another country and not knowing how to modify our trip to make it safe for my daughter petrified me from planning it.

And, of course, there have been the tsunami and radiation concerns these past two years that delayed bringing them.

On top of all of that I also needed to realize I do not need to have an excuse to make time for myself. I haven’t had a vacation of my own since becoming a Mom. Yes, I’ve been fortunate to have some amazing travel opportunities from my blog, with the kids and friends/family but those are still an amount of work involved.

This was also the first time in many years since my Dad and I have spent a lot of time together. I honestly can’t remember the last time we traveled just us… if ever. Again… time is a tricky thing and so is life.

We booked the trip in January and the trip was here before I knew it!

Finally… Traveling to Japan Again

The flight from Los Angeles to Tokyo is a long one. I had my backpack loaded up with my MacBook, Kindle Fire and iPad. I tossed in a couple books and notebooks. I figured all that time without distractions from the kids would result in some extra writing and wrapping up projects.

When we got settled into our seats my Dad looked at me and said, “Yes! This is where I catch up on movies! If you time it right you can watch five of them.”

Every time someone speaks over the intercom on the airplane it pauses your screen. Each time the pilot or flight attendant started to speak my Dad would make a frustrated face. They were cutting into his movie time! It was funny watching him get so upset.

I don’t watch a lot of TV or Movies and when I do I tend to multitask. I think this makes my sweetie crazy because I will miss things or he will say “Watch this part!” if my attention is diverted. The night before I left we watched Wreck it Ralph and I painted my nails and my daughter’s nails the whole time. I heard the whole story but I can’t tell you in exact detail what some of the scene looked like. Basically, it’s rare for me to just relax and watch something.

I ended up spending 12 hours enjoying movies and reading. It was glorious. The flight is long, your body gets sore sitting that long and the food sucks… but the silver lining is that it felt like a mini vacation to just be able to chill out.

Sure, spending 12 hours on a patio overlooking the beach would have been much better but I will take what I can!

Important or Obscure things to mention about International Flights:

* If you sit at the back of the plane you may not get a choice in food. We were just handed what was left. Twice they had to scrounge to find my Dad a snack. The food was terrible… Bring your own food but no liquids!

* If you sit next to a guy who speaks no english, picks his nose and wipes it on his pants constantly and sleeps with his head rested on a pillow on the seat in front of him while drooling do NOT stop trying to take pictures of this. I tried to be sneaky but the pictures didn’t come out and I was worried he would wake up a fling a boogie at me. It’s truly my only regret. It would have almost been worth the boogie flinging.

* If you are the type of person to do what I listed above on a plane do NOT sit next to me. I will document it in greater detail if I am ever put in that situation again. hehehe

* Accept before going on a plane that there may be babies or children and traveling with kids is much harder on them than you. Yes, they can be loud but I found captain drooling nose picker next to me much more annoying than the baby who cried a few times in flight. Making loud passive aggressive remarks, whining about it and complaining doesn’t change this fact… it just makes you look like a jerk. Even if other jerks agree. There is this wonderful thing called technology – use your earplugs and cut those kids some slack.

* Stretch often, bring a donut neck pillow and don’t be afraid to look like a weirdo and stretch in your chair.

* The trip TO Japan isn’t so bad as far as adjusting to the time difference goes. We left around noon and a looooong plane ride later we landed in time for dinner! On the way back sleep as much as you can because you will lose a day. I like to say that it was like a wibbly wobbly timey wimey plane of stuff and I time traveled leaving at 5pm in Tokyo and arrived in the morning in California.

* Why do so many people cut in line going ON an airline? There is a huge line already for the previous groups waiting to board so if you are in the final group then go to the back of the line instead of crowding the ticket checker and cutting everyone that has been standing there. It’s not Disneyland with rigid line policies, chances are you will get away with it without anyone saying anything but courtesy is just good for humans.

Sadly, on both flights, I only saw Americans cut lines like this. There was a couple who was behind us on our flight home and they got out of line and walked up to the front and basically elbowed their way in. I heard the guy say “This line is ridiculous!” … No one is going to stop anyone from doing this or throw you in Airport Jail (is there one?!) for acting like a tool but… yeah. Don’t be a traveling tool.

We left on a Sunday and came home the following Monday. We lost a day and gained a day somewhere along the way. Since I cannot possibly wrap up my entire Japan experience or what I have reflected on since then I am going to write many posts on various topics over the next couple of weeks. Have a question or something you want to hear more about? Let me know and I will do what I can to answer it! Here is a little glimpse at our trip…

I will be covering the following things in upcoming posts:

Planning a Trip to Japan
What to see in Tokyo
Nikko, Japan
Restrooms in Japan – It’s an Experience of its Own!
Ueno Park
Public Transportation in Japan as a Foreigner
Traveling to Japan – Tips on Etiquette
Sakura aka Cherry Blossoms – The Beauty of Spring in Japan
Korean BBQ in Japan
Japanese Breakfast
Why 7-Elevens in Japan are Amazing
Food Allergies in Japan
Tokyo Giants – Why Japanese Baseball is insanely Exciting
Japanese Baths and Onsen/Public Bathing
Culture Differences between the USA and Japan
Akihabara – A Tech Geeks and Shoppers Paradise
Harajuku – A Subculture and World of Fashion of its own
Sushi and Sashimi in Japan
Bento – Cute Lunches and Rad Stuff to put Stuff in
Bicycle Culture in Japan – How Moms in Japan Roll
Drinking Coffee in Japan… Like a Boss
Traditional Japanese Desserts
Taking Your Shoes off in Japan – For Homes and some Restaurants

I will update this list with links as I add the posts Yikes, I better get writing!

Also, if you follow me on Instagram you can see many pics on there. I will be adding an album of pics from Japan on my Facebook page as well.

Thank you to everyone who was following along on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook on my trip. I loved getting all the feedback and making so many people feel like they were a part of it!

Parent’s quickly learn that we adapt and become different roles, wear many hats, fill countless shoes and juggle on multiple paths. There is no rule book or guide to show us the exact right way. Parenting is what we make of it and every situation is different so there is no one right answer. We are all things and not enough and each phase is just as confusing as the next.

We become nurturers, wipers of butts, chefs and rule enforcers.

We are the people our children cherish the most and at times they love to appreciate the least.

We are the expectation and exception to the rules.

We are perfect, flawed, accidentally managing it all while being hopelessly lost in a sea of parenting misconceptions.

We find ourselves saying and doing things we swore we wouldn’t. We find ourselves in situations we never expected.

We create different definitions, standards, expectations and judgements but hate being on the receiving end of conflicting point of views.

We pretend there is a mold to being a perfect parent that everyone should magically melt into because having a goal is encouraging. We find ourselves devastated when we don’t mesh as well as we expected and worry that others may notice… and judge.

We try our hardest and hope for the best. Which is our exact expectation for our children… but, it becomes not enough in the Mom-Wars world filled with guilt, stress and gossip.

We hate the games, we play them, we lose them and we win them.

Parenting is a riddle with no answer but we continue to try to.

Why is a Mommy or Daddy like a writing desk? Parenting makes as much sense as a mad tea party, for an unbirthday hosted by insane people who don’t exist… But, everything doesn’t have to make sense. It’s about enjoying the party and accepting that some things have no answers.

Attend the preposterous party of parenting, be the life of the party, don’t try to over think it and just be.

I’ve shared stories and moments about my youngest and his obsession with his gentiles. When you are an adult there is a line between a healthy understanding of one’s body and being a creeper… when you are a kid there is no line. They are just innocently exploring and getting reactions out of people. They have no idea what they are doing but they only know how we react.

And they love pushing buttons. It’s a phase right? It is all a phase. They will eventually stop button pushing and we can have sanity again. Right?! Not likely.

A couple weeks ago I found myself having a conversation I never expected.

“Mommy, The Flash is a superhero… do you know what his super power is?”

“He runs really fast!”

He grinned at me in that way that only means trouble, “Yes, but do you know why he has to run really fast??”

….. I don’t want to know now because I don’t want to know what this child has come up with. Look away, pretend you didn’t hear him. Nothing good is going to come of this I can sense it….

“Um, why does The Flash need to run really fast, sweetie?”

“Mommy, it’s because he is a FLASHER!” And he ran away laughing “FLASH THE FLASHER! HE FLASHES! I figured that out in my mind.”

He went about his business and left the topic alone… thankfully.

For about two hours I was convinced that I didn’t hear what I thought I heard. I also convinced myself in those blissful two minutes that my son did not learn what flashing was and that couldn’t be the logical conclusion he came to.

When he was getting ready for bed he ran through the house naked, flailed his penis in my direction, farted and ran away laughing. “I am Flash! I will Flash you super fast! I LOVE RUNNING THROUGH MY HOUSE NAKED!”

There are moments in parenting, like instilling philanthropic hearts in children, that I feel – Yes! I am doing this right!

Then my son throws a naked monkey wrench in the whole damn thing and I am left shaking my head, telling him that “naked superhero time is over and get in bed” and wishing I wasn’t out of wine.

Whoever taught my son what flashing is owes me a case of wine. It’s only fair.