Television...I'm not bitching about Armed Forces Network this time, that's later.

In terms of television, let me explain, no, there is too much, let me sum up...we went from 4 TVs in Florida to 1 here in Japan.  We only put one TV in our express shipment and we are still waiting on the rest of stuff.  Why is that a big deal you may ask?  Why are we not out exploring the brand new country that we are in, taking in the sights, experiencing the culture etc? 

In a simple answer, because we still have to live a normal life...work, school, grocery shopping, whatever Amie does all day blah, blah, blah. 

So after we do all that stuff, we settle down like an average family and relax, and like many families it most of the time involves the television.  In  Florida that actually worked out to satellite TV in one room, PS-3 for Call of Duty in another and typically Mac-Mini on a third TV in another.  Sometimes if Amie was watching 'Here Comes Honey Boo-Boo' or 'Real Housewives of whatever city', I would watch something else on a 4th TV.  

So for those who are mathematically challenged, going from 4 to 1 is a problem.  I know what some of you would say...what a great opportunity to get closer to your family.  You can share your days and talk to each other and really get to know your kids better.  No offense, but that is a load of crap!  At the end of the day, I just want a little peace and quiet and anyone who would say otherwise is lying to themselves.  Don't get me wrong, I love my family but claustrophobia can set in quick.

The TV issues usually boil down to a fight over who gets to play Playstation with Lila wanting to watch some cartoon.  By the way, when did kids cartoons get to be so LAME.  She wants to watch this show Caiou(?).  It's about this wimpy little kid that cries all the damn time.  I mean if you stay up too late, and had a little too much to drink, but had to get up with the little one at 6 in the morning, this is the worst show in the world.  Even just hearing the kids voice while you are trying to sleep on the couch is nauseating!  Seriously, forget water-boarding or any other torture, just make an adult watch this stuff.  If I could find the "let's talk to our children and explain why they are miss-behaving and how everyone would feel better if they understood what they did was wrong" type of parent who wrote this show, I'd kick him in the Caiou.  Whatever happened to Super-friends, and the Hall of Justice, Underdog, Bugs Bunny.  I mean who wouldn't want to wake up to Wonder Woman and her invisible Jet?  

Sorry, slight tangent, what was my point?  Oh yea, so we have 1 TV, 6 people with diverging interests in a room that is about 13x20!  

The answer is simple, expensive, but simple...iPads, iTunes, Hulu, and really good headphones!  Our living room has never been quieter.  I don't care that the older boys are quoting Family Guy and SouthPark.  I'm also not so worried about the money spent on down loads.  One song/app at a time can't add up to too much money, right?  

We'll explore on the weekends, but during the week, it is a new found heaven.  Hell even watching Ethan play Batman: Arkham Asylum on the PS-3 can be cool if your listening to the right soundtrack!

The Universe has a sense of humor...

Let's flash back a few months when my darling husband said "I think I got us order to Japan".  After my first response of stunned silence, Phil tried to ease my worries and fears and said "it will be great".  Hold on there Mister.  I will be the judge of that.  First things first.  "Where in Japan?"

I know you are all thinking "why does it matter?".  Well, it does.  To give you an idea, Japan is roughly the size of California, meaning it offers a range of different and volatile climates.  Knowing that there are several US bases in Japan, location (to me) is everything.  Had my brilliant husband said "Misawa" (in a northern prefecture) he knew my answer would have been "Sayonara.  Have a good time".  But like I just said, my husband is brilliant and he said Yokosuka.

As the planning for this massive move began, my first stop was Google where I promptly searched
"Average Climate for Yokosuka, Japan".

I was pleasantly surprised.  Average lows of 44 F in the winter and mid 80's F in the summer.  Comparable to the temperatures of South Carolina.  South Carolina is nice...I can do that.  So, when it came time to pack up our clothing, I diligently laid out jeans, long sleeve shirts, sweat shirts and fleeces for all the kids.  But hey, I am a good mom so I remembered to throw in some hats and Lila's new winter coat for good measure.

Fast forward to Monday, January 14th.  I send my motley crew of men folk out the door for school and work while planning to spend the day with Little Miss.  Having a perfectly good, nothing wrong in the world morning when...BAM!  The Universe lets out a mighty chuckle.

IT'S FLIPPING SNOWING!!!!

Are you kidding me?  Snow?  Not impressed.  We aren't supposed to get snow here.  Maybe it's just a passing snow shower.  No!  It's four dang inches of irritating white stuff dumped on my unprepared ass.    I haven't had to deal with snow in over three years.  And there is good reason for that.  I do NOT enjoy!  However, Little Miss is giddy with excitement.  She has never seen snow and wants to go out and play in the winter wonderland (read "wet nightmare").  But her eyes glisten with anticipation of snow angels and frolicking she's only seen on TV, so I bundle her up for her first snow adventure.

I do the best this unprepared Momma can do and I dress her up as warm as possible.  Remember, I am a good mom, so I did pack her winter coat.  Crap!  Shoes.  A quick checklist of what footwear I brought...crocs, sneakers and ballet flats.  None of which are adequate for playing in the snow.  Pleading little eyes look at me..."please, mommy.  I want to play in the snow".  Well, girl, it's gonna be a white trash play day.  Yep, I put bags on her feet!  Not just any bags.  Navy Lodge laundry bags secured with hair ties.  I knew I would be thankful for the Lodge one day.

The day continued and the white crap continued to fall.  It took 5 (!!!) hours for the boys to get home from 7 miles away, leaving this Momma a worried mess...without any wine in the house, nonetheless.  Everyone finally arrived home safely and I was able to let out a sigh of relief.  The boys were safe and had an unexpected snow day, Little Miss had her first taste of snow that she thoroughly relished , Phil was able to come home early, and I was relieved knowing this was rare weather occurrence and my unpreparedness left no lasting scars.

Until the next day when I had to scrape off the car windshield with a spatula.  True story.

Out of the Lodge, and into a temp house?

Well after 30 days in the Navy Lodge, we have finally moved out into temporary housing.  In the lodge we were staying in two rooms, next to each other but not connected.  Each room had two queen beds and a small kitchen.  Definition of kitchen is 2 burners, microwave, sink and refrigerator.  Despite the lack of size and the limited number of utensils, Amie did a great job coming up with meals so we didn't have to each at Chili's, the only restaurant near by, more than twice!

For a greater appreciation, cooking in that small kitchen for a family of six is all about timing.  It's kind of like cooking Thanksgiving dinner.  You have to work extra hard to get everything out at the same time.  Well in the lodge with the small kitchen it was the same.  Needless to say it is nice to be in a house with a large kitchen and an actual dining room table.

So anyway, we moved into a house in the Ikego housing complex.  It is military housing, just located about 10 kilometers down the road from the base.  As of now it is temporary as we wait to see if a house on Yokosuka itself will come available.  That would be ideal, and the sooner the better because that is where the kids schools are, and of course work for me.  Even-though Ikego is only 10 km down the road it can take up to 25 minutes to drive, and with the eventuality of the job calling me in, in the middle of the night, it will be nice to live on Yokosuka and be close.

The house is about 1500-1600 sq feet.  The average bedroom is 11x11 feet.  I say average because the master bedroom, about 12x13, is off-set by Harrison's room approximately 9x9!  Or as Harrison has stated, a large walk-in closet.  What's most striking about the house is that is white...all of it.  Every wall, floor and appliance.  As a matter of fact the only non-white part are the stainless steel counters.  Yes counters!

As we've said before, "Home is where the Navy sends us."  So for now, Ikego is home even with our temporary Navy furniture.  It looks like furniture you'd find in a doctor's waiting room.  One really cool part is that Lila has taken over the storage space under the stairs and made it her "Club House".  It is a lot like the room Harry Potter had under the stairs, only we aren't locking her in under there.