Multitasking

Recently, I have been struggling with something (besides the sickies)....that something is...are you ready.....multitasking. No, I do not want to hone my multitasking skills instead I want to try to eliminate them. Basically, I am trying to ween myself from it.

Multitasking has been causing me to get less done. Sure I can get dinner ready while chatting on the phone or play with Mia while at the same time trying to make my grocery list, but in reality it isn't bringing me the results that I'm looking for.

I find myself not focusing on the task at hand and not doing it to the best of my ability. Also, things take a lot more time to get done when you are doing 20 things at once. Not to mention that when you have a million things on your list and your are trying to race through checking each off....you can definitely get demotivated.

So, these past few days I have been doing one thing at a time. I'm not watching TV while cooking. I'm not grabbing the smartphone at all times of the day, and I think that the next step will be to remove Facebook from my phone all together. It will just be one less thing that I will be tempted to check.

Yesterday my boycott on multitasking allowed me to snuggle up and take a two hour nap with my baby, and you should have seen the smile on her face when she woke up and there I was! 

This morning...I cleaned the apartment, went grocery shopping, worked on Mia's first year photo book, baked homemade cinnamon rolls, read her 5 books, played zoo with her, as well as did things like make breakfast for us and get both of us dressed....oh and blogging...all before 11:00! 

So, to me this is proof that taking things one at a time is the key to keeping me focused and productive....not to mention that I feel much less overwhelmed with all of the tasks that I need to get done.

Memorial Day Weekend

This past Memorial Day we made zero plans. We just considered it a long weekend to get some things done. Lots of people in the city left to go to beach houses and things like that. The weather was pretty terrible on Saturday though and then chilly on Sunday, so I think we made the right choice to stay put.

Also, on Saturday we had this on our hands.

You might not be able to tell, but Mia had glassy eyes, a runny nose, a pretty bad cough, and by Sunday a 101 fever. She was not feeling good at all. She also couldn't sleep well because of her bad cold. The cough was even making her throw up, and I learned that sometimes...you just can't shower after being puked on....a clean shirt will have to suffice.

Ten ran out and got some Pedialyte, cough medicine (for ages 1 and up -- so basically honey), and some saline spray. After we loaded her up on all of this and gave her some baby Tylenol, she was finally able to get in a good nap...I'm talking a three hour nap! Enough time for me and Ten to clean, make dinner, watch some YouTube videos, and take a nap ourselves. Amazing.

On Monday, Mia was much better so we hit the park pretty hard.

It was definitely not warm enough for a tank top...haha.

Let's see, over the weekend...we bought Mia some much needed new shoes. I made these wickedly good cinnamon rolls. I mean they were amazing! We also did a bit of (George Foreman) grilling...haha. Ten also made a run to the supermarket to pick up some fast foods (pizza, hot dogs, etc) for when my mom comes to visit in a few short weeks. We don't want to have to spend a lot of time cooking.

Also, a few other random bits and pieces. Mia is moving to her new swim class next month, and she is also switching from Saturdays to Sundays...which means I will have to break it to the missionaries that we won't be attending church with them. It is either Sundays...or no days...There is a waiting list to get on the waiting list for the Saturday classes!! I actually know one person who has been waiting for 4 months now, so I think we will take what we were offered!

The rest of this week we will just be going to the park and continuing our activities at home. We may check out the museum and have a play date but nothing concrete. Oh, and I signed Mia up for a Japanese play group on Friday, so that should be fun.

Vacations, Religion, and the Usual

I have been M.I.A. from my blog for a week or so, and I wish I had some fabulous reason why. The truth is though I just didn't feel like logging on and typing anything. We have been relatively busy though.

Let's see...we did go to the Greek festival...and there was really nothing Greek about it...except for the blue and white balloon animals and the loud ethnic music being piped over the speakers...so needless to say we didn't even stop at any of the stands. We just kind of walked right through.

We also went to the AMNH over the weekend. We took Mia through the butterfly house one more time before it closes. They had an exhibit about Global Food which was I'm sure interesting, though we were mainly focused on preventing Mia from getting a little too hands on with the displays.

I thought originally we had decided to go to Japan for our vacation. I mean we were ready to book the tickets. At the very last, last minute...we decided no to Japan. It would have been an exhausting (but worthwhile) trip. Ten and I haven't really been on a proper vacation since Europe 2 years (?) back, so we didn't want to be completely worn out after our trip. So, we ended up booking a week at the supposed happiest place on Earth...Disney.

On that note, Disney is actually a really complicated place to plan. We are reserving our character meals now, and they are almost fully booked. Also, I'm trying to figure out the whole PhotoPass thing...where to find the best snacks...which rides to skip...all of that fun stuff...in the hopes that we will have a stress free week...fingers crossed...but I am VERY EXCITED...and I do not get excited about things easily...Fact.

Also, my mom will be joining us for a weekend next month. We are hoping to go to the Statue of Liberty, hit up Red Lobster, go to Central Park, and watch Mia swim....it is actually a lot for only a few days...so we will do our best.

That weekend is Father's Day and Ten's Birthday! I just kind of remembered that today, so I need to find a way to make it special.

Another thing, Mia got a ton of clothes in the mail from a professor that I do some work for. They were the cutest things, and I need to run out and buy a thank you card for her....people who don't send thank you notes are one of my pet peeves btw.

Finally, I am still meeting with the missionaries...I think. They actually cancelled on me because they didn't want to talk with me while I was discussing the church with a member. Apparently all of my questions were getting a little too intense for them. So, I met a guy that talked about how we need to be able to live with ambiguity in the Mormon church...and that other Christian faiths are overly simple...we can't know all about God and the after life...Also, before I get any comments...yes, Protestant faiths are much, much less intellectually challenging when compared to Mormonism. If you have not investigated the religion, then I suggest you do so before sending me crazy messages...He also explained that he has been a Mormon for over 20 years...and he doesn't follow some guidelines or believe certain aspects of the doctrine. It actually made me okay with a lot of things...though I am wondering if the missionaries will be back...haha.

Anyway, that is everything simplified down into  one post...I shall assume regularly scheduled blogging sometime in the near future...

Mother's Day and Japan Day

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day. I had such an absolutely great time celebrating with my hubby and baby and felt truly appreciated. I also want to say thank you to my mom and grandmother for all of the effort they put into being the best moms that they could be. Thank you!

Now our weekend started exactly the same as it always starts with swim lessons. Ten and Mia always take a stroll around the pool before their class begins.

Whose shoe is that? haha...oh well

Practicing floating...getting better

I'm excited to say that Mia will be moving up to the next level. The instructor told Ten that even though she was still a bit young for the class that she should go ahead and advance. Yay! Good work Mia! Mia can hold her breath underwater, splash around, and blow bubbles...so she is ready to learn some new things.

Also, on Sunday we headed to Central Park to go to Japan Day. I wasn't really sure what this event would be like, but it turned out being a lot of fun. They had a few different activities and some basic Japanese foods for people to try, and the best part was that it was entirely FREE! 

First, Mia and Ten tried yo-yo fishing. Mia was really looking like she wanted nothing to do with it at first, but when she actually got the balloon...she was super excited.

After her game, we headed over to the calligraphy tent to have something written for us. A lot of people were having the teachers write Happy Mother's Day or their names. We decided for them to go ahead and write Mia's name...so, we gave them her kanji and this nice lady wrote it out for us.

Unfortunately, she actually wrote it wrong...so Ten decided that he would sit down and do it himself. You should have heard the oohs and aahs over how beautiful (their words not mine) Ten's handwriting is....his mama should be proud since she is a calligraphy teacher.

Oops someone's little hand got into the picture.

The finished product is hanging on our wall at home :)

Next we headed over to the stage area. They were actually between performances but had some music playing and Mia wanted to dance...so we let her dance her little heart out.

Notice how there aren't many people in the picture...well they were all lining up at the food tents...free food can make people crazy...haha. We ended up going to the okonomiyaki line first which was a great idea because some people had to wait 40 minutes to get it!! Wow. We also had some gyoza, ramen, miso soup, and rice balls...all pretty good.

Okonomiyaki tent.

They were also handing out bottles of tea....by the box! I was shocked when Ten walked up to me with a box of tea. He said that they asked him to please take the whole thing, so we ended up with 24 bottles of flavored tea...It was so heavy carrying around the event, but I'm loving having the extra tea around this week.

We then headed home and showered and had a lovely dinner made by Ten. Also, here is a pic of my Mother's Day present. Two new shirts and a Vacation Candle from Yankee Candle...perfect for the summer. Thanks Ten and Mia.

Me and Mia then headed off to bed because we were pretty tired. I had the best Mother's Day. Thank you so much to Ten for making me a mom and to Mia for loving me!

Really, really random

Okay, so here are some really random things

• We are pretty much officially going on vacation in July for two whole weeks, and we have decided our location...almost....like 85% certain...we will be heading to Japan! There are so many things that we want to take Mia to do....We think she will love kaitenzushi, the Anpanman Museum, and Tokyo Dome...just to name a few things.
• For dinner I made two types of chicken...sauteed and fried...both Japanese style...and they were awesome...per usual.
• I saw an article applauding a size 14 model and how we need to show more average sized women....not stick thin ones. I then was really disturbed by how we are accepting overweight as average and okay. For the most part...size 14 is not healthy...yeah...that's right...I said it. I have a few pounds to lose myself, and I know it. I will not accept it as normal....say what you will.
• I love Desperate Housewives...like obsessed...and am now enjoying the seasons that I've missed since being in Japan.
• Next month I have a consultation with a high risk doctor to talk about future babies. I have the potential to have problems in the future, or I could have a normal pregnancy. I'm pretty sure it is 50-50...so I have no real expectations for this meeting...we shall see.
• I am really, really, really looking forward to the start of Mia's new school. I can't wait to see her doing gymnastics, enjoying puppet shows, and all of that fun stuff. I just hope that the other families are down to earth.
• I've pretty much decided that I live in the perfect area of Manhattan. We are high enough on the west side where we have lots of big playgrounds, but we aren't so high where there is nothing. We also have tons of kids stuff on the Upper West Side....I do love our location (though not the price).
• Ten and Mia look almost identical when sleeping...so funny.
• I'm finally reading again. I took a break from books. I actually haven't found anything I'm really into, so I'm open to suggestions. Anyone?

Anyway, like I said really random. 

Kodomo No Hi and the Hippo Fair

I hope everyone had a great Cinco de Mayo. I actually thought it would be really fun to celebrate it. When I was a kid, it just wasn't that popular of a holiday. However, I quickly realized that it was the same day as Kodomo No Hi or Children's Day in Japan....so, we stuck with the Japanese celebration instead.

Let's see...on Friday Mia had her friend Soma over for a play date. Those two kids are crazy when they get together, and my apartment literally looked like a pack of wild boars had ran through it....but so much fun....not to mention, Soma's mom brought us some yokan from Toraya...I am so excited to eat them...yum!

Snacks for the play date

I couldn't snap a single picture of them playing together because they were running around like maniacs. When Ten came home, he realized there would be no time for cooking, so we went to Texas Rotisserie instead. This is kind of our regular place. It's right up the road and the prices aren't too crazy for what you get.

Broasted Chicken, Garlic Potatoes, Cucumber and Tomato Salad, Mac and Cheese, Creamed Spinach, and Corn Bread.... like I said a lot of food.

On Saturday, we went to swim lessons as usual and then after went to the library and TJ Maxx. This is kind of our regular Saturday routine. We also finished watching Wreck It Ralph...super cute movie.

Finally, on Sunday we celebrated Children's Day with a trip to the Children's Festival at Hippo Park...perfect timing. Next year I may make a special dinner or something, but this year we kept it simple.

We first took a stroll through the petting zoo.

Mia absolutely loved all of the animals, and we spent quite a while there....quite pricey though...$5 for the tiny petting zoo!! Yikes.

We also let her get in on some of the game action, and she absolutely loved it.

Catching ducks with nets (or just splashing in the water).

Fishing...and she actually caught one! This was by far her favorite game.

Posing as a hippo

After more games, we played with all of the animal statues in the park. We also grabbed some food from the food table. I had a hot dog, and Ten had a cheeseburger. They were pretty tasty since they were from Zabars. I actually had a picture of them, but Blogger isn't cooperating.

Finally, we had a few more tickets left, so we decided to make a flower pot.

Finished product with the little violet.

With all of the prizes and food and games....we had a really nice time. Not to mention, Mia slept for hours afterwards!

Finally, I will leave you with a picture of our koi flags that I made. Children's Day isn't complete without them. These were a simple thing made of felt that I whipped up for the occasion. Very cute if you ask me.

First World Problems

My first world problems are bringing me down today folks. They are just gnawing at me...

I should definitely preface this though....not all things are going badly...and like I said...these are first world problems....

Let's begin....

I need to get my teeth cleaned. I haven't had it done since....hmm...about a year and a half ago...yeah overdue...so, I made an appointment yesterday. The soonest that they can get me in is the middle of July!! JULY! Words cannot explain the irritation I feel....so...far....off....why?

Also, I was thinking what kind of fun class we can do with Mia this summer....and then I learned about one of the most horrid things I have ever heard of.... pre-pre-school. I am not even kidding you. You go to pre-pre-school twice or three times a week and do things like art, music, gym, etc for an hour and a half a day. It all sounds like good fun....except this is Manhattan...pre-pre-school means 1) ridiculously priced, 2) the biggest biotch moms you ever did meet 3) and competition, competition, competition....It makes me want to puke a little. I do want to join because it sounds like fun....but the reality is probably dark...very, very dark.

Hmmm....okay....got a letter today...Would you like to renew your lease for September? .... would you like to renew your lease while paying more in rent? Our rent is terrible....I mean it makes me vomit in my mouth...and then swallow it...type of terrible. This additional cost...just makes me want to hide in a hole. I will admit I have started to look at other places online ....and...everything...is...so...expensive. I seriously have no idea what we will do. Maybe if I turn off my internet and only use electricity for...hmmm...nothing...we will be able to afford to live in this city.

Moving on....Ten cut his finger on a knife at work...slicing a bagel. Now, we are bombarded with worker's compensation documents...I mean seriously? Is this necessary? I even called the little number to ask if this was necessary....and after an hour and a half...I got to talk to NO ONE....so answer is...I have no idea.

A while ago Mia cut her lip open from a tumble off the bed. We went to the ER. They gave her a Popsicle and sent us on our way....We got a bill for over ONE THOUSAND dollars...yeah that's right....and we have insurance. This is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever encountered....ever. So, no one in this house is allowed to get sick....like ever...because it could bankrupt us...

So, yeah these are the things that are just on the top of my head that are driving me nuts right now... therapeutic sharing them with the world....or my tiny band of friends who read this thing.

Ms. Keys and Mr. Z...you completely lied to me when you said:

"New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of
There's nothin' you can't do
Now you're in New York
These streets will make you feel brand new

Big lights will inspire you"

Lies...all lies.