Sayonara

Huge things have been happening over the last few months. Huge things that have, unfortunately, led us away from Japan and back to OZ.

Raising a child in Japan is amazing. There are many wonderful things about Japanese society. Our neighbourhood had a real community feel, the childcare system (if you can get into it) is super affordable and teaches kids some important skills, and we found the people in Japan so warm and welcoming. People look out for each other.

Now that our little Pi is getting older, (3), we started to look more into the future than we had before. Japan is an amazing place to live, and the times when I was either single there (briefly, well over 10 years ago), and then with my husband were amazingly fun. And while we still had lots of fun as a family of three, it is so different when our priorities shifted. We realised that the most important thing in our, and his life, was family. With just the three of us there were many times we were without help. There were no 'couple nights' out, or free babysitting, or even just someone else close-by who loves our son us much as we do. I never met Husband's parents- they both passed when he was younger. My parents were great and would come to Japan twice a year (and we would go back to Australia once a year), and we skyped usually every week. But it's not the same. Pi would feel attached to them when they were here and then the closeness they built would fade- as is natural. The most important thing is to love, to be loved, and feel loved. We didn't want to deny our son that feeling.

We are all getting older, and we never know how much time we have together. We wanted to be there for my parents, and for my son to know them, and for us to spend many, many more years together.
We also wanted the Australian lifestyle- nothing about Pi is quiet or sedate. He needed a yard. He needed a variety of friends and cousins he could learn off. He needed beaches, parks with grass, and activites (Don't get me wrong, in Japan there are lots of activities, but in Yokohama there was often a waiting list). But most of all, we wanted to surround him with the love and support of a family.

We have been back in Australia for a few months now. Much has changed. I have returned to work full time, and Husband is a stay at home dad and is studying to become a Vet Nurse. I was really worried about Pi, but he has been taking it very well and settling in well. I've been having difficulties giving up my days with him. I miss him every moment. He really is my sunshine. I miss the days we would walk to the conbeni for some onigiri, or go to hang out in the local park.

If I get time I may write a few more posts about moving country for anyone else in a similar situation. Hints and tips- what NOT to do.... There have been so many costly regrets.

For me, Japan is amazing. If I could have Japan and all our family there, then I would. I suppose it is different if you have a Japanese partner with their family and friend base around to help. I miss it, and my friends. I miss my students, and neighbours, and the friendly people and amazing customer service. Japan will always be my second home, but we no longer have an Akachan in Japan. We have an Akachan in Australia.

Thank you all.

Free daycare at city hall

The other day when I went to Tsurumi ward office I finally thought I would take Pi to the jidokan (play-space) they have there. Well, I thought it was a jidokan,  but it was actually an ichijihoiku (temporary daycare).  Before anyone gets too excited  it is just for visiting the office ( you can't really drop your kids off and leave the building). However, anyone who has been to city hall and waited in line for hours with a screaming toddler will appreciate how valuable the service is.
I was nervous at first that Pi wouldn't want to go, or would freak out,  but they had an insane amount of toys there that he didn't want to leave.
The ladies that worked there were very nice too.
So, if you live in Tsurumi I highly recommend it, and if you don't then hopefully your city office will have one too.
Certainly takes the stress out of going.

Busy work

Looking to keep your little one entertained :
Daiso pipecleaners + colander = a cheap way to entertain for 10 mins.

Don't forget to save the pipecleaners for next time too.

Look at the concentration face

Sandpits

Once of the best things I ever bought for Pi was a planter box and some sand.

Our house has the worlds tiniest yard. It would be lucky to be a meter squared in size- just big enough for us to sit, but that is about it. I did have a nice little (very little) flower garden out here, but seeing how much my boy loves the sandpit, I ended up buying some more planter boxes and a big bag of sand and made a tiny series of sandpits. Actually, it is a grit and sand pit (the word "suna" 砂 is used for both sand and grit). And though it is gritty and crap, compared to aussie sandpits, it still gives hours of fun.

I bought little astroturf mats from Seria- the dollar store. They are really nice plush mats, and each is about 20cm x 20cms. I bought about 20 of the them to cover the small area and the path leading up to the door. In hindsight, I would have been better off spending the same amount of money for one BIG sheet of astroturf- which can be bought from the big hardware stores like Beaver Tozan (about 2000yen for 1m2. The problem with the lots of little mats is they get separated and let rocks underneath though.

I also bought the planters and sand from the big hardware store too. I think it was about 300yen for the large planter, and about 180yen for the long thinner ones. A giant bag of sand was about 400yen.

The sand toys are mainly bought from dollar stores. I am actually typing this as he plays (aka, makes a HUGE sandy mess). Even on cold days like today, if the sun is shining then it is still mildly pleasant out be outside. Sometimes we even put out picnic blanket out there and have an impromptu picnic.

The sand and sunshine provide some great sensory play for him (if he is really lucky he can make oceans with the hose), and gives us a much needed time out of the house.

Still alive- and napping

I am still alive, just very, very exhausted these days. Why? Pi stopped napping which meant that it was a full day of entertaining, and then teaching at night and on the weekends- which left little time for me to scratch myself most days, let along blog.

Pi stopped napping in December, or was it November? It took a long while to get used to it, but once I did, it was actually ok. Sure, I was frazzled by the time 5pm rolled around, but the no nap meant that he was going to bed at 6pm on an organised day, which meant more time at night for me to watch a movie or have a cup of tea.

The biggest downside (besides lack of a sit down in the day) was that Husband didn't get to spend much time with him anymore- getting home at 6pm most nights.

Over the weekend, we went to Enoshima to see the lights and stayed over night. And from then on Pi has needed a nap. He has been sick,too and a total crankypants the last two weeks (along with myself), but being so utterly exhausted- even from the moment he wakes has been really surprising. He would sleep at least 12 hours over night (which is nice) so he should be bareable- but nope! The last few days have been super tough, so I tried giving him a nap and after a bit of protest screaming, he has been napping again. Sweet bliss.

The other good thing about him napping is it is cheaper. Because we have to pay for parking for most things, it means that even going to the park is super expensive. And we are less inclined to have lunch at home if we are out. So lately it has been about 2000yen per day on activities and food.

I have been doing some research and apparently it is quite common to go back to napping after shunning it for several months. In many ways, I will be quite happy if he continues. Even if it is every second day. If it keeps the cranks away, even better!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year, everyone. I hope you all had a great new year. I've been kind of quiet on the blog front lately, because, dun dun dun- Pi has stopped napping! :'(

It kind of came out of nowhere. For a little while he was skipping a nap or two here or there, but about four weeks ago he stopped napping completely. He skipped day, and then the next day I didn't get him down until late, and then the following day we put him down, but only for an hour (and he didn't fall asleep in that time) and then that was it. In the last four weeks he had a nap only once, and it really messed up his bed time.

When I think about it though- His bedtime had been getting later and later recently. This sucked because I work on Tuesday and Wednesday nights so we didn't have the luxury of putting him in bed past 8.

In someways the lack of naps is bad because I don't get time to sit down in the day, and Pi doesn't get to spend much time with Daddy (he is well and truly ready for bed by the time Daddy gets home). However the earlier nights for Pi means that Husband and I can watch a movie and have more time to ourselves, and if he is not napping anyway then we have been able to leave the house all day and not be worried about him being too tired.

I have been putting him down for an hour for a bit of quiet time for both of us, which is better than nothing. Enough time for me to clean up/eat lunch and answer a few emails, and give him the opportunity to have some quiet downtime and fall asleep if he wants.

Dropping the naps was bound to happen eventually, so getting 2 years and 7 months is not too bad.