The Yochien Life

So Elin began a new chapter in her life this spring. She started Japanese preschool. Or Yochien as they call it here. I have to say I couldn't be more excited.

5 hours a day.

5 days a week.

And she comes home exhausted.

It's utterly fabulous. Elin is learning so much. Already this week she started talking to me in Japanese. Not that I understood a word but it was adorable. She's made a new friend. Emma whom walks to school with her.  

They love putting on their uniforms every day and greeting the headmistress each morning.

Many Japanese preschools are far more structured than their American counterparts. Some, such as this one require uniforms. Here is a sample list of what I had to acquire for Elin upon starting Yochien:

• Three school issued gym suits
• Hot pink school hat (each class gets a color)
• Name tag & pick up group tag
• School issued backpack
• School issued shoe bag & spare bag
• 5 hand towels
• 5 hankies for her uniform pocket
• Toothbrush & cup
• Bag for toothbrush & cup
• Lunch bag & utensils 
• Bento box (container for the lunch I send with her on certain days)
• Lunch mat
• Lunch smock
• Indoor shoes
• Box of Kleenex
• Soap 
• Spare set of play clothes 
• Extra plastic bags for dirty clothes
• Water bottle with neck strap
• Box of art supplies

....and EVERYTHING has to have her name on it. Right down to the individual crayons in her art kit and her pull-ups.

And the older kids have even more stuff! They have a full winter uniform, a full summer uniform and a pianica, a special instrument they learn to play. All together parents are expected to toss in big bucks which was intimidating at first however after just one week of school and seeing just how excited Elin is to attend, it's completely worth it to me. She's academically challenged, her manners are improving and potty training is coming along. I'm excited to see how she continues to progress. It will be a tough task finding a school to compete with this at our next station! 

Matane,

Caitlyn

Strawberries & Ice Cream? Yes Please!

So as the cliche goes, half my heart deployed this week. Colin left for his summer deployment. I'm determined to make this one a bit better now that Kid #2 is out of the 4th trimester and Kid #1 is in preschool. Despite Declan still not sleeping through the night I'd say things have gotten phenomenally better now that Elin goes to preschool five days a week and Declan goes to daycare two mornings a week. I've rediscovered Me Time. It's amazing! This week I got a Body Pump class in on one day and a 2 1/2 hour nap on the other (getting up SIX times the night before makes a nap an obligation, not a luxury). When Elin is not in school on the weekends we have to work hard to stay busy. 

My friend Asuza invited us to go strawberry picking and make ice cream at a dairy farm this morning. We brought our friend Judy and her son Daniel along as well. Judy and I knew each other at our last duty station in Norfolk where Colin and her husband Chris flew together. Judy and Chris recently joined us here in Sasebo. We shared the same due date but our boys are three weeks apart so we get to experience raising boys for the first time together. 

They're already wrestling pros.

And running buddies.

So back to today, I've easily decided strawberry picking with small children is not a leisure activity. Trudging through the wet dirt with an 18lb baby strapped to you while helping a toddler not trip and spill an entire basket of berries all over the ground pick and eat strawberries is not fun but the reward is fabulous. The strawberries were out of this world delicious. I might have eaten as many as I took home. Possibly. :)

E had a great time. After a few spills in the dirt she mastered her berry picking skills and declared we'd make strawberry pancakes for dinner tonight. 

We did. 

They were delicious. 

The boys enjoyed their first strawberry picking experience. Apparently they make great teethers. 

Adorbs.

Is this not the most brilliant contraption? I'd love to see my uncle convert his Rolls Ruff truck into a feeding trough on his farm. 

Onto the other tasty part of the day. It must be how they produce the milk because Japanese ice cream has a unique flavor and I will probably never want to eat normal American ice cream again. It's THAT delicious. 

See?

Loving the guardrail ingenuity around the herb garden. 

This proves a rice paddy can be placed anywhere. They're all over the hillsides here!

Elin was too scared to pose with the goat.

But not the least bit afraid to greet the cows. She must have some Friberg genes after all. 

Judy and I were rewarded with a whole five minute nap had by all three children on the ride home. Google maps took us the scenic route home (think 10 foot wide two way roads with heavy traffic) but we did get a pic of this gem. Any ideas?

Matane,

Caitlyn

PS, those pancakes? Oishi!