Anatomic Answer to Potty Training / アメリカ人のおむつ事情

I was talking to my mom about potty training and we noticed something interesting. American people eat more meat and Japanese eat more vegetables, so the length of intestines are different. As a result, Americans have shorter torso and longer legs, and Japanese have longer torso and shorter legs. Therefore, it is not surprising to note that Japanese people probably have larger bladders.

My mom told me that my sister and I were potty-trained all night by 2 and 1/2. By the 5th or 6th grade, it wasn't rare that I went potty only twice a day. I remember my mom warning me, "it is not healthy to hold urine so long!" I didn't think it was healthy either, but I seriously didn't have an urge. And I heard that my niece is receiving the same warning too.

I was probably in a hurry to potty train our girls because under my family standards, still wetting at night at 3 was strange. But I had to remember that our girls are half American with longer legs. I bet all Japanese people would rather have longer legs, even if they had to go potty a few more times a day :)

先週４日連続、成功したもののエマが３歳半になっても、夜のおむつが取れないのであせっていたのですが、色々調べてみるとアメリカでの平均は４－５歳とのこと・・・。昨日母と電話していて、そういえばアメリカ人って足が長いから、その分腸が短いのは知ってるでしょ、って言うことは膀胱も小さいんじゃない？ってことに気づきました。

先月日本に行って、親戚によく３歳なのにまだ夜のおむつしてるの？って聞かれて考え込んでいたのですが、そういえばうちの子はアメリカ人のハーフ。日本人のお子さんたちより遅くても仕方がないんじゃないかと言う気がしてきました。私もおしっこに行く回数が多くなってもいいから、足が長いほうがいいなー、なんちゃって、自分の子供がうらやましくもあります（笑）

The Impressions at the Temple

This is pretty personal, but I have been wondering why I am not pregnant already... I was wondering what I was supposed to do, such as an adoption... So when we went to the temple last Friday, I inquired of the Lord.

I was told to work on date nights, food storage and genealogy. Yes, genealogy. I almost forgot. Well, maybe I wanted to forget because it was extremely overwhelming. Data entry takes a loooong time in Japanese and the old handwritings I have to figure out is not easy.

I still wanted to have a clear answer to the adoption matter, so I was going to inquire about that too, but even before I did, I was told, "it is not for you to think about right now." That's right. Things must be done in order. I should not forsake my genealogy and move onto something that can require more energy. I shouldn't have been thinking about something that is not happening but something I could do today.

After this trip, I figured out why we should go to the temple. In the temple, we can receive instructions that will bring us to our goals in the shortest path. I can say this also because our babysitter gave us a playground toy for Emma and Lydia, which would be expensive if we bought one somewhere else. When we go to the temple, it seems like other things get taken care of in unexpected manners.

We tend to get discouraged to go to the temple once it starts snowing, but until then I would like to keep going at least once a month.

Funny Phone Conversation / 電話での会話

At 7 o'clock, I got a phone call from Jacob. He said, "Who am I talking to?" And I said, "Honey, someday you will get Alzheimer and none of us will know you have it." Then he said, "Oh, I think I got a wrong phone number." "....Honey, what are you up to? (I thought he was just done with a hunting license test.)" "..............(click)"

Jacob often changes his voice and tries to sound dumb with me and his family and friends. "Who am I talking to? What? Billy? Huh? Do I have a wrong phone number?" But he never hangs up. That's right; it wasn't Jacob! Ohhhhhhh, I feel so bad! But what kind of manner was it to ask someone as the first thing on the phone, "Who am I talking to?" Can't he at least say, "I saw your phone number on my caller ID," or "I am not sure if I am calling the right number, but is this so and so...?"? But he probably didn't deserve my Alzheimer's prognosis, huh? :D

By the way, the above story is a true story that Jacob knows. Some comedian's grandfather joked around all his life and when he got Alzheimer, his family didn't notice it for 7 years. Wow.

７時ごろジェイコブから電話がありました。「僕は誰としゃべってるのかな」　「あなたねー、冗談ばっかり言ってもしほんとにアルツハイマーになっても私たち気づかないかも知れないわよ」　「あれ、電話番号間違えたかな」　「あのね～、テストは終わったの？」　「・・・・・・・・（プツ）」

ジェイコブはよく冗談で「僕は誰としゃべってるのかな。なんだって？ビリー？え？」と電話をかけてきます。結構長いことあきらめないんですが、電話を切ることはありません。そうなんです、ジェイコブじゃなかったんです。ひや～！悪いことしたなーって感じです・・・笑　でも、電話かけてきて早々「僕は誰としゃべってるのかな」はないですよね！「IDにあなたの電話番号が出てたんですけど」とか「これが合ってる電話番号かどうか分からないんですけど、誰々さんですか」とか言えないもんでしょうか。でも、彼もアルツハイマーを予告されなくても良かったでしょうね・・・（反省＾＾）

余談ですが、明石屋さんまさんのおじいちゃんってほんとに冗談ばっかり言ってて、アルツハイマーになっても家族はほんとに７年間気づかなかったそうです。それもすごいですよね＾＾

Yaaay, the Dirt! / 土だ、土だ～ :)

ここに引っ越してきて３年。土をもらってきたりして庭の一部を平らにしてしてきたのですが、やっぱり土が足りないということで今週ようやく土を３山買うことにしました。来年の春には芝生がほしいなあというところです。

It's been 3 years since we moved to our house. Jacob has been trying to straighten out part of our yard so that we can have grass someday. We bought 3 truck-loads of dirt this week. B. Bade helped Jacob move the dirt with his bobcat, which made Jacob a little teary... :o

ジェイコブが庭のあちこちから掘り出してきた石で作った壁の一部。重労働の仕事のあとでようやるわ・・・と思って見てました（笑）フェンスはヤギを飼っている人からもらってきたもの。いつかヤギかアルパカを飼いたいなーと思ってます。

This is a rock retaining wall Jacob has been making. He found all these rocks buried in our property. It took him (and sometimes me) to find all these rocks and dig them out. I don't know how Jacob had this much energy after his physical labor at Les Schwab...
We were given the fence from our extended family who had goats. We are dreaming to have goats or alpacas someday.

「だすき！」 "Luv you!"

昨日エマが寝てる間、お庭で１歳９ヶ月のリンリンと遊んでいたら、後ろからぎゅーっとだきついて「だすき！」と何度も言ってくれました。とことん癒し系のリンリンです。涙が出そうになるほどうれしかったですねぇ。毎日何回も授乳して布おむつ替えて毎食作ってエンドレスに片付けて、とやっていることは気の狂いそうなほど地味なんですが、ほかでは味わえない喜びもあります。

While Emma was taking a nap yesterday, I was playing outside with Linlin. She suddenly hugged me from the back and said, "love you!" again and again. It surely made me teary. My everyday life consists of nursing, changing cloth diapers, cooking every meal, and endlessly cleaning..., which often wears me out. But I definitely get healed by such lovely moments.

エマとママの合作/ Emma and Mama's Collaboration

エマちゃんはパパとママとエマとリディアの車を描いたり作ったりするのが大好き。車社会なので車の思い出が多いんでしょうねぇ。

Emma loves drawing and making our cars. Since we live on the west coast, she must have lot of good memories of car trips.

Linlin went potty! Yaaay!

リンリンは１歳半のときから「トイレに行きたい」と言って、よくトイレの上で本を読んでいたのですが、さっきは自分でさっとズボンを脱いで「でんき！」をつけてもらって、ほんとにトイレでおしっこしてくれました。リンリンはもうすぐ１歳９ヶ月。やった～って感じです。

エマも２歳になる前にトイレには行けたのですが、未だに寝るとベッドの中でやっちゃいます。先週３日間は濡らさなかったのですが、どうも寝てる間のコントロールが弱いみたい。トレーニングパンツはすぐに冷たくならないから気づかないし。　このまま何度もベッドを濡らせばいつか分かるのでしょうか・・・　お布団とシーツを毎日お風呂で洗うの大変なんすけど・・・

おしゃれ大好き/ Beads Making

今日は片付けてくれたご褒美にネックレスとブレスレットを一緒に作ってあげました。

We made the necklace and bracelet together today.

プールパーティとBBQ / Pool Party and BBQ

どうも私のカメラは白く写るようですね。/ My camera takes whitish photos...

私が泳いでいる間、エマはトランポリン。/ While I was swimming, Emma was on a trampoline.
あら、リンリンが見えない！/ Where is Linlin?

エマはプールは好きなもののしがみつきっぱなし・・・ツカレル。/ Emma likes pool but won't stop clinging... tiring...
友達親子。馬に乗るのは１２歳のとき以来らしい。/ My friend and daughter. She hadn't ridden a horse since 12. Very cute picture.

トランポリンに乗りたいと言っては、ほかの子供が飛ぶたびに泣きそうになってた・・・/ She wanted to get on the trampoline, but every time other kids jumped, she was about to cry...
"I'm done!!"
パパは久々の乗馬。なんか様になってる？/ It had been a while, but Daddy looked good!

My Beloved Valiant 11

This is my class, Valiant 11. Next week will be my last day and I will be a pianist (I will still be a Primary worker). I asked, "if you could have any teacher in our whole ward out of 280 people, who would you pick?" and boys immediately answered, "you." Ah! I taught them well! .....Just kidding :D The girls said I was the least restrict teacher and they liked that (It's probably because I didn't know all the church rules due to being a convert...). The boy in the front looks unhappy only because he had to sit on the floor. He is actually really funny and I can't tell you all he has said :) They are all awesome kids and I will miss them all!

アニマルパーティ Animal Party

私たちはどこに来たでしょう・・・
Guess where we came.....
エマはチーター。
Emma was a cheetah.
リディアはワンちゃん。
Lydia was a dog.
そうです、エイラーちゃんの誕生日パーティです。６歳になりました。お城のケーキ、かわいすぎる！

That's right, we were at Alha's 6th b-day party! The castle cake was way too cute!

お庭でクラフト。マスクの飾り付けをしています。

They are decorating masks in the yard.

リンボーダンス。１５分毎に新しいゲームがあり、参加賞がもらえました。

They had games every 15 minutes. After every game, we were given lots of toys.
目隠しをしてユニコーンの角にシールを張りましょう～ ♪

Blindfolded kids put stickers on the unicorn's horn.

家の前でピニャータ。お菓子とおもちゃがいっぱい入ってます。

結構本気で叩かないと割れないピニャータ。男の子の子の番になると、みんな期待します（笑）

We got excited when it was a boy's turn.

開いた、開いた～、それ拾え～！

Oh, those kids were fast... プレゼントオープン！終わったらみんな一人一人にハグをして「サンキュー」と言ってました。

エイラーちゃんのママと。１年前に他のパーティで会って、今回会うのは２回目。お化粧品をよく安く売ってくれます。話し上手聞き上手で気前がいい。

I met Elizabeth at another party a year ago. She is fun to talk to and gives me good deals on Mary Kay :)

エマはたくさんお友達ができて大喜び。

Emma was happy to meet new friends. I bet she wants a playground like this. :)

参加賞とお返しのプレゼント。なんだかこっちがお誕生日だったみたい（笑）すごいよね。

They gave us so many things as if it was our birthday party. Incredible!

Our Goal: Go on a Date Once a Week... (yeah right!)

I don't know how long it had been; maybe since last spring? I was thinking, "Well, our girls started going to bed early, so we do have time together at night, to play sudoku or crossword puzzle together. Is this our date night?" You can tell that I didn't have a testimony of going out on a date. Jacob said, "I got a gift card to Applebee's, so let's go, just me and you!"
Also, we got babysitters every Friday night from now on, except their school events. My Japanese students, who are a brother and a sister, said they would love to watch our girls after our class (what a wonderful response that was!), so it will be at our house and our girls can go to bed on time. Jacob was so happy.
At Applebee's, I had a California shrimp salad and French onion soup. Jacob had fish and chips. (did Jacob try to save our date fund?) I can't say that I was totally out of mother's thinking (I forbade Jacob to call me Mama), but it was good to see Jacob's relaxed smile :)
Emma saw this picture and said, "Poor Emma. I wanted to go too.... :(" Well, you had fun at Sister Nelson's :)

エマの曲乗り Emma's Trick Ride

エマが「見てー」と言うので見たら先々週にやっと乗れた三輪車を手放しで乗っているではありませんか。来年くらいには逆立ちでもして乗ってくれるのでしょうか（笑）

Emma started peddaling just two weeks ago. She shocked me today with this release riding. I wonder if she is going to scare me with a handstand riding next year :D

せっけんぶくぶく Playing with Soap

食事のあとエマが「エマがごしごししたーい！」と言ってきました。内心大喜びだったのですが、もったいぶって「これはママのお皿だからママが洗うの。あなたはまだご飯食べ終わってないから、ちゃんと食べ終わったら自分のお皿をごしごししてもいいよ」と言うと喜んで食べ終わり、リディアのお皿まで大喜びで洗ってくれました。まだまだ、ママのほうが一枚上じゃのう～　おほほほほ♪　３歳大ちゅき！

After I finished eating, Emma said she wanted to wash dishes. I was exhilarated inside, but grandly told her, "Well, this is Mama's dish, so I will wash it. When you are done eating, you can wash your dish." She was glad to finish up her lunch and wash her own dish as well as Lydia's. I love 3 years olds. They are so innocent :)

Being Connected to Adam and Eve

The other day, Jon was helping me with genealogy; When I went to Japan, I got 100+ new names, birthdays and death dates. Anyway, I was overwhelmed by the work I had to do - Since I'm doing the work here in the U.S., I have to type everything in Japanese kanji, Japanese hiragana (how to pronounce) and English so that temple workers can read it too.
My work only goes back to 1600's. I told Jon, "And, everybody will be connected to Adam and Eve? That seems impossible..." Then Jon said, "I have a royal line, so mine is connected to people in scriptures and to Adam and Eve." I said, "Wow, so it is possible!"
I was pretty amazed then, but it didn't hit me hard until a week later when I was doing dishes alone. Through Jon's wife, Carrie, I feel like I gained a testimony of Joseph Smith because she is related to his brother, Hyrum. She showed me many pictures and I couldn't deny that Joseph Smith did not exist like a big foot. This time, I gained a testimony that people in scriptures did exist and they probably did see things written there.
Nowadays, many people write blogs. It's impossible that 10 of us write and testify the same things because people take things differently. But in scriptures, many peple testify one thing - Jesus is the Christ.

ヤキマの食い得

前の梨は半分ほど缶詰にしたので、また梨狩りへ。冷蔵庫の外で保管できるし、少しずつ黄色くなってくれるので、ちょっとずつ缶詰にできるところがすばらしい。（桃やブドウは部屋で保管すると小バエがたかるので冷蔵庫に入らない分は一気に缶詰、なかなか忙しい果物なのです。）

最近背が高くなったエマ。リディアのお世話をしたり、一緒に来てくれると結構助かります^^
涼しかったので２箱らくらく採れました。
一緒に来てくれたロビンと２人目の赤ちゃん、ケネディー。
家から１０分くらいのところに住む優しいステイリー夫妻に呼ばれ、 家族でインゲン豆を採りに。
インゲン豆とうちで採れた極小ミニトマト。

Lydia's thought Blue could be a pretty color on her. 「私って青が結構似合うかも・・・」ｂｙ リディア

We were playing outside this morning and my allergic reaction started, so I took an allergy medicine. A while later, I got alarmingly sleepy, so I went to take a nap. I was pleased that Emma and Lydia were playing nicely and quietly. An hour later, they started to get louder, so I woke up and came out. You know, I have seen this kind of thing on other people's website, so my first reaction was like, "oh, it's my turn," but never thought Lydia would color her face that much. I was going to take her and Emma to a baptism tonight and church tomorrow, but I don't think Jacob would let her out now. Her face is hard to hide. The color was on her front and the back of her hair. I used dish detergent to get most of it off, but furniture is still slightly blue and the color is more spread all over her face. Her eyes are still bright blue even with a wash cloth. Oh great, she looks ridiculous!

今朝外で遊んでいたのですが 、アレルギー症状が出てきたので薬を飲んだらすごく眠くなってしまいました。エマとリディアは結構おとなしく一緒に遊んでいたので安心していたら、１時間後色んなところにクレヨンで落書きがされていました。まぁこういうことはほかの人からも聞いていたので私の最初の反応は「私の番が来た」とぐらいにしか思わなかったのですが、家具だけならまだしもリディアが外に出られない顔になりました。顔って隠せないし・・・。食器洗剤で家具とリディアはまぁまぁきれいになったのですが、色がリディアの顔全体に広がってしまいました。今晩と明日出かける予定だったけど、ジェイコブがだめって言うかも・・・。あ～、すごい顔（笑）

（後談）
この夜は置いていこうとしたら、青白い顔で＾＾わあわあ泣いていたので、結局連れて行くことに。みんなに「どうしたの、その顔中のあざ！」と聞かれました（笑）次の日は目の際だけしっかり青が残ったので、アイシャドーのように見えていて、エキゾチックになりました（笑）

Canned Pears Today! 洋梨の缶詰

Yakima has many orchards and there seems to be somebody who knows good deals every summer. This time, I was invited to pick pears at an orchard for free. If there are more than we can eat before they go bad, or we'd like to have them in winter as an emergency food, I either give them away or can them. When I picked these pears, they were green, but some of them turned yellowish and ripe this week. I canned them in apple raspberry juice and orange juice today. Carrie and I normally can 28-56 cans in one day, but doing this little by little many times seems much easier and functioning with my girls. I am planning to can the rest of the pears and peaches in the next 2 weeks.
ヤキマにはたくさんの果樹園があり、夏は毎月誰かが「あそこの果樹園に今週行くと一箱１ドル（１００円くらい）で採らせてもらえるよ」と教えてくれます。だいたいいつも２箱買って、缶詰にすれば一年分になります。先週はただで梨を採らせていただきました。普通は無色のシロップを作って詰めるのですが、友達に聞いてリンゴとラズベリーのジュースとオレンジジュースの２種類を作ってみました。いつもなら２８－５６缶一度に詰めるのですが、今回は５缶だけ。ちょっとずつ何回もするほうが楽だと分かりました。来週か再来週、残りの梨と桃を缶詰にする予定で～す。

Labor Day Weekend 勤労感謝の日

"Popcorn popping on the apricot tree~♪"　（歌）
ゲームが始まる前に スタジアムの外で。Before the game outside the stadium.
Jacob had a 4-day weekend, which rarely happens. On actual Labor Day, our friends, Jon and Carrie, were helping us with the new Family Search. Jon is a Priesthood Leader, so he had an access early on. After we linked all my ancestors temple works, we had a family home evening together. There are times when Jacob and I both don't understand the scriptures but our kids are running around, so we say, "Let's get to it later," and we never do. This time, living scripture master, Jon, was present. He could explain what we were reading and give us an interesting insight. Jon, Jacob and I prepared angel food cake with strawberries. Everybody had a plate but I think everybody could have gone for the second plate. Some of us barely resisted licking the plates :)
ジェイコブがまたとない４連休をもらいました。勤労感謝当日はジョンとキャリーを呼んで聖文を読んだりジョンとジェイコブと私で作った即席イチゴケーキを食べたりしました。子供もみんな一皿当たったのですが、みんな一皿では物足りないようでした。みんなお皿をなめだすんじゃないかしら、とちょっと思いました（笑）
On Tuesday, we got a phone call from the Henry's. They are new in our ward but we have been good friends from the Yakima 3rd Ward. They serve kernel popcorn and strawberry lemonade at events. This night, they were at the Yakima Bear's last game. Generously, they gave us free tickets, a large popcorn bag, and 2 large strawberry lemonades. Oh, they were so good!　
次の日は屋台をやってるお友達から野球のただ券とポップコーンとイチゴレモネード（美味！）を頂いたので野球観戦に行ってきました。
We were in the 3rd row and players could hear cheers and yells from the audience. To say the least, it was very different from Mariner's Games. There was one funny audience who yelled and teased the opponent's team for a long time. I thought he was going to be stopped by somebody, but the game just paused for 2 minutes and when he couldn't yell anymore, the game restarted. I had never seen such a game!
前から３列目の席なんてシアトルマリナースの試合ではありえな～い！観客の声援が選手にはっきり届くし、小さい試合は小さい試合なりに面白かったです。一人面白いお兄さんがいて、長ーいこと野次を飛ばしてました。いつ止められるんだろーと思ってみてましたが、試合が２分ほど中止しただけで、お兄さんが叫べなくなったら何事もなかったようにまた試合が再開しました（笑） こんな試合見たことない！
After 1 hour or so, Emma said she was getting sleepy, so we headed for home. Bears wasn't winning and it was getting chilly, so it seemed reasonable.

１時間ほど観たときエマが眠いと言い出したので、家に帰ってきました。どうせヤキマベアーズは勝ってなかったし、肌寒くなってきていたので、ちょうどいい頃でした。

After the girls went to bed, at around 10:30 PM, we could see the fireworks from our house. They were even better than the 4th of July fireworks. I kinda wished that we could have stayed and watched them right at the stadium.
１０時半ごろ私たちの家からベアーズの大きな花火が見えました。独立記念日よりもいい花火だったのでスタジアムで見れたらよかったかなーと思いました。