Tomorrow is Nathan’s last day of school and then its me up against the two of them for the rest of the summer. Oh how I wish we were spending the summer back in the States, bouncing between people we love. When I worked at the bank I had a Russian friend Katya who told me her parents would send her to her grandparents every summer growing up. She then proceeded to send her daughter back to Russia every summer in the same manner. I thought she was crazy…..crazy Russian (she’d also swap shoes with me at work and one day just gave me her cute Banana Republic sandals. Incidentally I wore said sandals to Ashley’s shower last weekend so that swap worked out well for me, but, I digress). Who “summers” like that? Evidently, I’d like to.  The summer of 2007 and 2009 were spent sort of galavanting in the states, mostly in Iowa and the farther I get from Iowa and the longer Im away, the more I HEART it there. Such a great place for kids and there is something sort of peaceful and simple about the rolling hills and rows of corn as far as the eye can see. And of course there is Colorado. And Colorado is really “home” for us and if I HEART Iowa then I double HEART Colorado. Its hard for me to talk about and I try not to think about it too much because there will always be a Colorado shaped hole in my heart.

But, there will be no “summering” anywhere this summer except on this little island. So, today I need to finish unpacking and get back on top of things. Vacation is over. I need to make dr. appts and dentist appts and bake cookies for Nathan’s school for tomorrow and go into work and finish up some projects I left half done for the gift shop. I need to download the pictures off my camera and tell you all about my week with Ashley! (or Ashaley as Nathan calls her) and my brother! I need to post my blog about packing! I need to tell you about how I got to go on my brother’s submarine and how you’ll have a whole new appreciation for the military members that do that! Wheew. Yes, vacation is definitely over, but its good to be home. So, are you “summering” anywhere or what do your summer plans include?

Yes, sure enough she did and it wasn’t just like a small chip, it was a sizable portion of her tooth. I called the dentist and asked if we could come back, they saw her briefly and basically told us we needed to see the pediatric dentist. There is currently only one Navy pediatric dentist on the island and he happened to be on one of the northern bases today, and with it being the holiday weekend it was either schlep up there or wait until next Wed. I didn’t feel comfortable with that so we picked up Nathan, drove 45 minutes up there and, much like our x-ray experience, tried to coax her into cooperating. The end result is that they filed down the sharp edge and now basically we just wait. Great. And you’re wondering why Im telling you all of this.

This was my very long winded way of telling you that while we were at the dentist they had a bunch of toys all around the room and one of them was an Alex the Lion (from Madagascar) happy meal toy and I remembered that I FAILED to mention that in my post that I always get a few new toys or “new to them toys”. Much of my great! advice! depends on the age of your ankle biters but I bought Mackenzie a bunch of happy meal type toys from the thrift store. I figure if I get stuff from the thrift store its relatively disposable and I wont be sad if it gets lost. For her toys I ran them through the dishwasher and they were ready for her to chew on. For Nathan it depends on what he is into. Often I’ll get him a few airplanes, I wrap them to a) keep them under cover and b) make it more fun/more of a reward for good behavior. Now that he is older some of the novelty has worn off but it worked great when he was 2-3. I try and get things at the 100Y store (and I had a bunch of great stuff from you guys from all those care packages!) Items that have been given the kid-stamp-of-approval in the past:
-these little matchbox size puzzles (these are great for in your purse too- they are so teeny and cute and keep hands busy (Im all for keeping little hands busy. That way I don’t have to be the entertainment committee).
-sticker books, either cheap ones from 100 store or I bought this one thinking, ha, the mother of all sticker books and Nathan could sort of take it or leave it.
-matchbox cars, (this airplane set kept him busy for HOURS)
-flashlight
-pipecleaners
-pop up post it notes

Im a big fan of the ziptop clear bags and before a trip I sit down with a sharpie and my box of bags. With my box of bags I create the following:

1) Everyone gets an extra outfit in a ziploc bag. Including mom (I’ve been pooped on enough to know I want a spare outfit on a plane). The kids also have spare nana/ling lings in theirs. I label with their names and stuff at the bottom of my backpack. These outfits are almost always needed, and by having them bagged it allows for whatever accident occured necessitating the clean outfit (potty/barf/spill) to be deposited back into the ziplock bag.

2) a bag labeled ‘mealtime’. This bag includes a few bendy straws, disposable bibs, child take-n-toss silverware, a couple clothespins (to clip open bags shut) as well as a few paper towels that have been neatly folded up so I can quickly grab one at a time. I also bring a small (teeny- like smaller than a hotel shampoo bottle) bottle of dishsoap (this is for in the hotel, not the plane, obviously)- this is critical when traveling with sippy cups, water bottles, snack bowls etc. With the sippy cups I take the valve out, put it in the cup, fill with hot soapy water, put the lid on and shake shake shake (I mean, bringing a dish brush would be over the top, no?). I figure this does a relatively good job of getting the valve clean (as well as the cup). Lay them out on a hand towel and they’ll be dry by morning.

3) A bag labeled snacks. Im all about pre-packaged when traveling. Boxes of raisins, granola bars, yogurt covered raisins, individual bags of goldfish. I like the raisins and because they keep little fingers busy digging them out of the box and if it falls on the floor its minimal mess/cleanup (unlike smashed goldfish crackers). Small packages of cereal are good too because they come in a ‘bowl’ keep fingers busy and are less messy than say, ritz crackers that just smash and leave crumbs everywhere. I even stoop so low as to buy my children lunchables as long as I know they will be consumed shortly (out of the fridge). There is some novelty in assembling the fake cheese, starchy crackers and high sodium ham. Since they come in an organized tray its easy to eat without them being dumped over. And I figure its at least a little cleaner than handing them a sandwich and then having them put it on the dirty* tray table (“even though I told you to PUT IT ON THE NAPKIN”). I always bring a few ace in the hole treats too– i like the little mini M&M containers (see also: keeps fingers busy), little individual packs of oreos etc. I do bring fruit (grapes travel well, sliced apple with lemon juice etc) but its always a problem of remembering to dump them when you get to another country so I don’t bring a whole lot. My dad is a big fan of bringing PBJ’s on trips because they are cheap and keep for a long time. The problem is Kiki isn’t onto PB yet and Nathan doesn’t like it so, I do bring them for PC and I, but meh, Im sort of indifferent. And, while we’re on the topic of food, generally the food required for this family to travel more than 5 minutes is significant so I bring a separate “food bag” which is this lame Marine Corps Association (or something) bag–you know, a tacky freebie but I like it because it zips on the top so all our crap stays in there. In addition to the “mealtime” zipper bag, and the snack bag I also throw in an old dishtowel, some extra zip bags, a grocery bag for trash, and some plastic bowls/disposable tupperware (WITH LIDS) for holding snacks (I have one that has the suction bottom which works well for people that are in the ‘throw my food on the floor’ stage of life. These also work well in the destination phase of the trip. We usually stop by a grocery store and buy snack food and we can just portion it out into tupperware containers while we’re out and about.

*dirty is all relative of course, as you see below I disinfect our entire area

4) A bag labled Meds. Given that when we fly it often involves an overnight flight I carry a small drugstore with me. Childrens motrin, infant tylenol (well, used to, not so much infant anymore) dimetapp for plugged noses/cough/allergies. Pepto and tums for upset tummys. Saline spray, afrin, sudafed because trust me- there is nothing worse than flying when you are severely congested. Ok, well maybe barfing would be worse but, not by much. Bandaids and neosporin and alcohol wipes. I used to carry eye drops (I like the single serve ones Bauch and Lomb make) but I used them so infrequently and they would always expire so, meh, I guess I’ve stopped with those. Good if you are a contact wearer though. Oh- and a thermometer– never know when someone is going to spike a fever at 30,000 feet.

5) A bag labeled Clean. Oh yes, laugh if you will. In this bag I have hand sanitizer, antibacterial wipes, the little soap papers, and most importantly, a travel pack of Clorox wipes. The clorox wipes I began carrying after our trip to Hawaii where, within about 10 hours of arriving Nathan got the stomach flu to end all stomach flu’s. For five days- FIVE he puked. We had to take him to the ER he was so sick. Oh- and this was over Christmas too. Never again will I allow my children to sit in the airplane seat before I have completed a full cleaning regimen. As soon as we get to our row PC gets busy buckling carseats and I start wiping. Tray tables, seatbelts, armrests, tv screens, remotes, phones, lights. Anything they could possibly touch or lick? I wipe it down.

In my backpack I take:
-Pashmina. I had some really nice saris PC got me in Bangladesh that I can’t find anywhere (Im afraid the realization that I must have inadvertantly? FOOLISHLY? gotten rid of them has sunk in) so Im back to the pashmina. Everyone should have one of these because it can be a wrap, a blanket, a pillow, a headdress (?? probably not), a privacy shade over the top of a fussy girl who refuses to sleep (you tuck it over their seat and up in the seat in front of you and voila- its like a canopy) and if you’re in the breastfeeding stage of life, it works quite perfectly as a nursing coverup.
-sweatshirt (perhaps redundant, but alas, better than shivering on a cold plane)
-blow up pillow. Im thinking of making a cover out of minky fabric for it– will I look lame or very smart and cozy?
-my laptop
-my spare outfit
-all the remaining bags listed above
-a set of headphones and my iphone
-wallet
-camera
-book/magazine/crossword –something for entertainment. Though, by entertainment I usually mean “entertaining the kids”
-pens, a sharpie marker and pencil and eraser (for crossword puzzles of course)
-gum
-water bottles for both kids (I prefer these to sippy cups)
-diapers, wipes, and changing pad. Enough for our travel time +1 day….in the event we get stranded (its happened) or diarrhea happens.
-tranq gun to put unruly kids to sleep

PCs backpack:
-work computer. The Marine Corps might come to a screeching halt if PC doesn’t have his laptop.
-stuff that makes our stuff work (spare batteries, cords, misc electronics,)

We take Mackenzie’s car seat most of the time. When we went to Hong Kong we didn’t because it was a short trip, short flight and she didn’t have a seat. We took it to Singapore knowing we wouldn’t use it in taxis but with an 8hr flight down there (and she had a seat- no way could I have her on my lap for 8hrs) it made sense so that she was ‘confined’ and could sleep. We have a car seat bag that works well (And we also tend to jam any erroneous items into it that didn’t get stuffed back into backpacks while trying to navigate the airport). We also have this tray (because the seat back trays can’t come down when she’s in her carseat) which….I could take it or leave it. Its handy because it keeps things from rolling away since it has raised sides, but, its kind of bulky and flimsy.

Kids carryon bags:
Mackenzie hasn’t rated her own bag yet, when we went home last summer she was 8mo and to Singapore she was just barely 1 so for her up to this point I have a—no not a clear ZIP TOP BAG–but an actual mesh bag. She’d get a handful of her favorite baby toys, a couple board books and thats it. She usually found the emergency instruction card in the seat back to be the most fascinating item anyway.

Nathan has a small wheeled backpack. In his bag we pack:
-spare outfit, including socks in case its cold on the plane
-nana (his blankie)
-travel pillow (got it off etsy; basically an airplane sized pillow with cute little airplane fabric pillowcase on it)
- headphones and iPod with tv shows/movies (an old one of ours, no, the 4yr old does not have his own)
-a few agreed upon toys (we organize these into small mesh bags we got at the 100Y store. This works well because if he wants to take a few toys while we’re out daytripping he just picks one of those to bring with– usually its a bag of airplanes.
-a few books, workbook and or coloring book.
-a ‘craft bag’ I made (I also take this with us out to dinner and to the dr. office) that is well stocked with crayons, stickers, small notepad paper, mini coloring books, a few random markers/pencils, postit paper, tape, some pictures I cut out of magazine’s/catalogs (ie cut out pictures of toys from the Pottery Barn Kids catalog) and he uses the tape to make a collage of whatever from those pictures I cutout (keeps him busy for awhile. Also, I’ve thought of bringing a glue stick but Im sure that would just be a security line hassle). Also- those foamie things that have sticky backs–those keep him busy too.

All of that goes up in the cabin with us. Seems like a lot doesn’t it? Depending on our destination and how big the load above is, we take a carryon suitcase with everyone’s swimsuits, toiletry kits, PJ’s and another spare outfit. This is because we’ve had our luggage lost enough times to know that, well, that sucks. Now with the 2oz security rule and the adults generally having to schlepp the younger people’s bags and dealing with carseats and strollers we no longer do the carryon suitcase but if there is room in our backpacks I’ll stuff in at least extra underwear and PJs for everyone, that way we can wash stuff in the sink and have it dry by morning without having to sleep naked.

If you have tips to share PLEASE do. We could make this the worlds greatest packing list if everyone throws in their ideas. Tomorrow we’ll discuss suitcase and toiletry bag packing. I’ve even got pictures. Stay tuned.

I’ve been saying that my luck was going to change, and maybe it finally has. This morning I was reading an email from a fellow bridesmaid in my brother’s upcoming wedding. She had asked if I wanted to send a card or something for the bridal shower to be read in my absence. Yes, in my freaking absence because if you live in Japan you might as well live on another planet because you miss out on everything that goes on at home. Every family get together, wedding, engagement party, new baby etc. Military families pay a high price for doing what they do.

As I let out a sigh PC was reading over my shoulder and says to me, “how about you just go? You’ve wanted to get off this rock, why don’t you just get a ticket and go.” I look at him and my immediate response was “well…..pffft. The money and the time you’ll have to take off work and what about the kids and I’ll miss Nathan’s end of year program and thats a lot of money to spend for a weekend and what if….” and he cuts me off and tells me to just go. I deserve it. (Well, I knew that already [wink wink]).

So internet- I bought a ticket. I bought a ticket for ONE and I’ll be traveling back to the other side of the world by myself. There will be no scenes of me cussing and sweating, kicking my shit down the jetway of the airplane as I struggle with a carseat and stroller and backpack and child’s backpack and dammit where did you put your blankie? You left it where? There will be no extra diapers or sippy cups or toys or extra batteries or crayons rolling off the tray table. There will be no sticky half eaten snacks I have to hold on to until a flight attendant comes through with the trash bag. There will be no entertaining unhappy children on a 12 hour flight. There will be no diaper changes in the nast-o bathrooms or taking a 5 yr old potty and pleading with him to not. touch. anything. puh-leze.

You guys– the fact that Im traveling without companions actually makes a 12 hour flight seem…dare I say….enjoyable? Unfortunately for me United has made a douchey move and now not only do you need miles to upgrade, you need miles and dollars. To the tune of $400. Pfft. I bet its cheaper to upgrade on a space ship from another planet than it is to fly United from Japan to the United States. Twerps.

Its time for Fancy Backpack and I to get reacquainted. We’ve got a trip to take. My mom seemed pretty floored that PC would do all this for me. Yes, that husband of mine, he’s a keeper. I sent him an email with a big THANK YOU and told him that I already loved him for a million different reasons. Now I love him for a million and ONE.

Heavens to Betsy, I am living large.

I managed to find a ticket (on 3 weeks notice during high season no less) for $1300. Im feeling like that is a bargain, and I fly through Chicago which is the only airport I’ve flown through that has a line in customs dedicated only to military. I get a bit of a warm fuzzy feeling as I walk past the line of oh, 987 people, waiting in the customs line looking at me like “ha….sucker, the end of the line was back there dummy” and walk right up to the counter, stamp stamp stamp and Im through. Sucka. This is a great perk. May even be worth joining the military for.

My mom told me ‘hmm, better sleep on it. Its a lot of money.’ And it is, and I considered that and I consider with every thousand-ish dollar purchase that is one less piece of furniture (oh alright, you’re right, no more pieces of furniture, 12,000 lbs remember?) Then its $1000 less that can go to a car or whatever other crap we’ll need in 12 months when we move. But, while I tend to worry about money sometimes my husband’s answer is the right one: its only money, we can’t take it with us. Ashley then sweetened the pot and told me that Scott would be there- my brother that I haven’t seen in 3 years. That pretty much was the deciding factor (and sure, the chances are good that the Navy will screw us and he’ll have to work, that seems to be par for the course these days). I guess at the end of the day I’d rather spend $1300 to be with the people that matter most to me*, than to spend it on a bunch of ’stuff’.

*There are a lot of people that matter most to me, in particular the ones Im leaving behind. Point being, its a quick trip, there will be no detours, no stopovers and no extra visits. Sorry if you didn’t make the cut this trip.

Im not sure how Im going to do being away from my babies. Nathan turns 5 in July and the longest I’ve been away from either of my kids in the 5 years I’ve been doing this gig is about 8 hours. Im going to be gone for SEVEN DAYS. I also told PC if Mackenzie needed to get the stomach flu if she could get it the week Im gone, that’d be greaaat- take her to the store and let her lick the cart or something.

Im sure I’ll miss my babes like crazy but I think this will be good for me. Rejuvenating, if you will. For almost the entire time I’ve had kids we’ve lived in Japan. We’ve lived here where I’ve never been able to turn to family for help. Never had an overnight without kids. Have navigated an unprecedented amount of health issues/dr. appts and hospital stays in the last 2 months without much help. I’ve been a single parent more in the last 5 years than most people would ever be in two lifetimes. I’ve been the one left keeping the entire boat afloat when my husband gets sent off on a moments notice. So, yeah, I do think I deserve this. And Im going to relish the fact that I can go out to dinner and not worry if I packed a cup and a bib and snacks. Relish the fact that I don’t have kids to bathe and diapers to change. And then Im going to come home, smooch them and squeeze them and relish the fact that I get to pack sippy cups and snacks, that I get to bathe them and change them (er, one of them) and be so glad Im home.

***

questions:
me: do you think it is possible that my heart could literally break in two from missing the kids so much?
PC: No

me: will you be ok?
PC: yes….why wouldn’t I?
me: will the kids be ok?
PC: its not like this is my FIRST DAY
me: well….its will be your first time being a single parent, and, Im not sure if you’ve had adequate training, I don’t want to throw you to the wolves.

me: Are you planning on wearing your uniform every day while Im gone even though you aren’t going to work?
PC: [puzzled look] why would I do that?
me: You’re going to be going into combat, best be prepared.

me: can I bring you back anything from Target?
PC: [head shake]

Anyway, our time is winding down here and on the one hand I feel like there’s no where to go and on the other hand there are still so many places to go! And Im going to be honest with you– PC offered up the Maldives. (free tip-Its mahl-dEEves not Mal-dives) This, in my book would be the #1 place on Earth to go. I have a friend from high school who went there and he told me I should NOT miss it. This friend lives in Japan and gets to travel all the time for work (and is married with kids) and is my go-to guy for all questions Japan, lest you think Im drumming up some kind of romance over here! Anyway- he said that you literally feel like you are at the end of the Earth. The problem is with two small people, Im fairly certain the last place I’d want to be with them is at the end of the earth. Its like the adage- if you were on a deserted island- what would you take with you? Hmmm NOT my kids. Not to a place where there are no Targets for extra diapers and tylenol. And Mackenzie can’t swim. And aside from laying in the sun and swimming there isn’t much else to do. Which, of course, is the point. That and the place I’d really really like to stay is $1200/night and, pfft. Im not sure how rich I’d have to be before I felt that was an acceptable amount of money to spend on a hotel, but I know its not on Captains pay. And the tickets are more than we’d like to spend so. Plus my friend assured me that no place will ever measure up after this- so, might as well save it for later right?

So we turned our search to Thailand and then remembered, oh. My and Nathan’s passports are about to expire. And then this morning, instead of unloading the dishwasher when he woke up early, my wonderful husband spent the morning finding this gem in Vietnam. See how wonderful he is? Forget the dishwasher, lets plan trips instead. So, it won’t be a birthday trip, but its still a trip. The big sellers are the VERY affordable spa treatments (go ahead- check out the prices, of course they aren’t the price you’d find on the street in Thailand-like where I had a massage for an hour and a half for $7) but, I can still afford multiple treatments off the menu. There is a cooking school (yay! learn to cook more food I can’t find ingredients for!) AND a kids program: ITS FREE. Sold.

Im not sure if I like Vietnamese food….so, I’ll either not like it and not eat and lose weight (win) or love it and eat well (win).

Just the other night as we were going to bed I asked PC if he thought we should all have gas masks. Oh I know, you’d love to be a fly on the wall to hear the conversations we have before we fall asleep. We have one (military issued) and Im fairly sure four people couldn’t survive on one gas mask. PC told me that if we were in a situation requiring a gas mask, “It’d be all over. Go to sleep Lise.”

I have a friend who no longer lives here but she was, hmm, how to say…..she was all about a plan to get off this island should the need arise. She told me she had enough cash on hand to buy full fare tickets back to the US. I asked why cash and she always figured that if the world was going to hell, money talks louder than a credit card. I suppose thats true….but, I don’t know, if the credit card system is down Im thinking $ for plane tickets will be the least of my worries. We all know that there are missiles pointed right at this little island. If one is headed towards us Im not heading for the airport- Im heading for the marina and getting in a row-boat or a canoe or kayak or whatever I can get. There are plenty of little islands around here, I figure my chances of survival if I start rowing are better than those who are standing in line at security having their shoes X-rayed with a missile headed this way. There was a day awhile back that this same friend was on heightened alert and suggested maybe I should have a backpack packed. As I packed fancy backpack with a few essential items I was sort of like, “well shit, what do I pack? diapers? Nana? movies? A deck of cards?” I mean, if we’re going into LOST type survival mode I need more than a backpack. Im not waiting for any darma initiative to bail me out with their white boxed food- Im going to be pre.pared. dammit.

I dont know, maybe Im foolish but Im not conspiracy theory enough to have anything stockpiled. Though, living over here knowing that we run out of stuff all the time, I estimate we have enough food in the pantry for at least a month if not longer. I keep a couple of gallons of water in the pantry because of typhoons (we’ve never lost water or power though). As I mentioned we have a lot of camping gear so we have flashlights and batteries and a propane stove and whatnot. But that is about as far as our emergency preparedness goes.

Is that foolish? Should I for a moment consider doomsday and, I don’t know, buy a couple cans of spam or something? Do any of you have fallout shelters because I might want to share one with you if the need arises. I hope you are close enough that I can get to you in a rowboat though.