The Hackworths

And I don’t think that’s going to change anytime soon. A brief recap in photos…

We went on vacation to Tokyo:

We went to a Hiroshima Carps baseball game:

I cooked without burning the house down (and it was good!):

I visited a Buddhist priest with a friend:

We gave up brushing our hair for the summer:

We watched fireworks:

We (and when I say we, I mean Justin) Sumo’ed with the neighbors:

We (this time when I say we, I mean I) harassed the dog:

Fun things we’ve done without photographic evidence include lots of movies at the theater, lots of playing outside, and lots of flower planting. I’ll actually take photos of that when my solar lights get here. Can’t let the opportunity to catch the flowers still alive pass me by.

Things still left to do this month…

1. Meet Nikki and her gang when they move out here to be close to me. (Okay, really the military is moving them out here, but whatever…)
2. My mom comes for a visit! Yay!
3. Celebrate Lauren’s 8th Birthday
4. Lots of sightseeing with mom

So, we’re all still alive and kickin’. I can’t believe I’ve neglected this place for so long. I have no excuse, so instead I’ll just jump right in with the latest.

Lauren turned 7 a couple weeks ago, then promptly lost some teeth. Soccer will be starting soon and she’s very excited to start the 2nd grade. She’ll more than likely be in a multi-age class again this year since it worked to her advantage last year. She’s growing like a weed and already she’s nearly as tall as my shoulder.

Kate also celebrated her birthday back in May. 5 years old and so ready to start kindergarten already. She’ll be playing soccer this year, too. She’s enjoying Japan so much. Every time we leave the base all of the kids ask for sushi.

Ryan turns 3 this month. I am seriously confused about where my baby went. He’s done with the whole potty training thing. No more diaper changes for me! We’ll be putting him in Yochien (Japanese preschool) in September. If my poor little Mom heart can take it. I’m excited to have the day child free to do whatever, but at the same time I’m a little… I don’t even know. But what am I going to do with myself all day?!

We’ve been spending lots of time at the beaches and running around town. We do some of our grocery shopping in the Japanese grocery stores to get ourselves out and experience some of the culture. We love many of the local restaurants, too. It helps me keep my mind off the fact that I miss Target. And Old Navy. And Chili’s, Starbucks, and lots of other places, too.

All in all, we’re enjoying our time here. And I’ll try not to stay away for so long.

Currently we’re on day 3 of “Justin is Missing Potty Training Again and it is SO Not Fair”. I know it’s been a while since I’ve been over here and I feel bad. Really I do, but life is hectic right now. There’s a lot to talk about so here goes.

As you might have gathered, Justin is not home. He’s gone on a little TDY (temporary duty) that has put him back in the states and it completely sucks. It might be for 2 months it might be 4 months. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am absolutely positively ecstatic that he’s not back in Iraq, but we’ve only been in Japan for a month and a half. It’s only been 6 months since the last absence. The kiddos and I are seriously ready to have him home for a long time.

Miss Lauren, my little super achiever, got citizen of the month for February. I’m so proud of her. She truly amazes me on a daily basis. She’s only in the first grade and she’s already been to 3 different schools, yet she manages to make friends quickly (she’s already wanting to call them on the telephone) and adjust better than I could have hoped. She loves going to school and I’m so thankful that she is nothing like me in the friend making department. I’m a total spaz in person.

Kate is also doing very well. She’s loving gymnastics. I can’t believe her birthday is right around the corner. She just doesn’t seem like she should be 5 yet. Since she didn’t get to go to preschool out here, she’s very excited about going to kindergarden in August and I know she’s just dying for the warmer weather to hurry up and get here so she can go to the park and make friends.

I’m trying to potty train Ryan these days. I hate this part of my job. I’d rather get up in the middle of the night to crying babies than potty train. He’s doing okay, but we’re definitely a long way from being done with diapers.

As for me, I’ve got a big thing in the works. Still waiting on something that should’ve been here this week before I can go ahead with it, so until I get that I don’t want to announce it and jinx myself. But it’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long, long time.

Our house looks like it might finally sell. If this deal falls through, I’m totally going to cry. Oh! Last bit of news, since we had to leave Tessa behind with Justin’s parents we decided to get a kitty here. It’ll be easier to take a kitty home than it would’ve been to bring one here. We found a wonderful sweet guy named Smokey-san to join our family. He’s a 3 year old Russian Blue and just as cute as can be. I haven’t been able to snap a photo of him yet because he’s still a little shy around the kiddos, but he keeps me company at night.

I think that’s about it. I better go check on Ryan and make sure he didn’t pee all over my rug. Again.

Where to start? Justin has gone back to work. The girls are doing so well in school and Ryan has a slight obsession with the Wonder Pets. He runs around the house singing the theme song. I keep trying to catch it on video, but every time he sees me with it he stops what he’s doing and starts yelling, “CHEESE!”. I don’t know how I’m supposed to embarrass him when he’s older if he won’t sing for me.

Lauren has had several soccer games. They won last weekend, so that brings them up to 3 wins and 2 losses. A huge improvement over last year where they only won 1 game. She also got her hair chopped off. I don’t have a picture for you yet, but I’ll snag her when she gets home from school today and stick it up on Flickr.

Speaking of stuff on Flickr, this is what has been keeping me away:

Now, I need to go make sure there aren’t any bottles of laundry detergent being poured out on my rug.

We picked up The Mister last night from the air station. We’re all thrilled to pieces to have him home again. Well, except maybe Ryan. He thinks it’s pretty cool to have another person in the house, and another boy no less. But he still is a little shy at times. Last night when Justin first came over to us, Ryan kept saying in my ear, “Mama, is thunner!” when Justin would talk to him. I’m not worried, though because I’m certain that by the end of next week Justin will be his new favorite person and I’ll just be that Mommy person who wipes his hiney.

In other news, our baby girl started the 1st grade today. I cannot stand this another second. I keep insisting that she stop growing up on me so fast, but she just laughs and tells me she can’t help it. Before I know it she’s going to be moving away to college or something.

Anyhow, I just wanted to let everyone know that Justin made it home. I’ll be around here and there, but not necessarily blogging. Keep your eyes on the Flickr stream because y’all know I love to take me some pictures.

Today my little man is two. I cannot believe how fast it’s gone. Every day is so full of fun and love and little boy trouble. He makes me laugh, he makes me cry and he makes me proud. He loves his sisters so fiercely and shares his hugs with anyone who will take them. He tells me, “I yuv you Mama!” and “Mama, you gotta be kidding”.

He loves trains and Spongebob Squarepants, pulling hair and chocolate. He carries around this picture and tells everyone, “Tha’s Daddy and Ryan Jaym”.

Occasionally he’ll sneak in my room in the middle of the night and crawl in bed with me. I give him a squeeze and turn over and he’ll say, “No Mama, we nuggle, okay?” and I’m putty in his little chubby hands.

I’m going to miss the little baby he was, but I’m enjoying the little man he is becoming so much.

In a mere 11 days Ryan turns 2 years old. I’m convinced he does not want to live to see that day. Seriously. We all remember the Tide Incident, the Chocolate Syrup Incident, and the Mayonnaise Incident. Well, Chocolate Syrup Incident II and Operation Clog the Toilet on a Sunday have since occurred. After much scrubbing of the poor abused chaise and a call to the plumber man ($95 for 10 minutes of work) both of those issues are corrected. Conclusion? It’s a good thing there won’t be any more Baby Hack’s around here. And? I should be a plumber.

It’s been a while, no? I swear I get so caught up in making it from one day to the next and then before I know it, it’s been 10 days. Which is awesome for us, but not so awesome for y’all. It is now officially less than a month until The Mister returns and I am beyond stoked. I could totally tell you that it’s because Ryan has flushed more things down the toilet in the past couple of weeks than should be legal. Or it could be because he still won’t stay in his bed for more than 30 seconds at bedtime. It could also be because I can’t even go pee by myself (cute side note, Ryan waves and says, “Bye, bye pee pees!” when the potty gets flushed). But really, it’s because it feels like my best friend in the whole wide world who was forced to move 10,000 miles away with their family is moving back. It doesn’t get better than this.

Back to the toilet. So far this week, Ryan has tried to flush another toothbrush, some Littlest Pet Shop critters, a bunch of fake coins, several hair clips, makeup, sunglasses (mine of course), and a shampoo bottle. Thankfully (or not, depending on how you look at it) I managed to fish them all out before they actually went down. I bet my poor septic tank is scared of us.

In other news, Lauren is completely excited about being a first grader. I’m signing her up for more soccer tomorrow night and she’s got a playdate tomorrow afternoon with her “boyfriend”. Miss Kate finally got word about pre-school. She starts September 11. I’m so excited for her because I know she was really wanting to go.

I’m getting by. The days seem to blur into one another. It’s just endless cleaning and chasing of kids with the occasional trip to Target or Wally World. It’s too hot out for much else right now. Did I mention that it’s less than a month left?!

So, the past couple of days have been… interesting. Saturday afternoon, my darling son decided everyone’s toothbrushes were dirty. Either that, or he’s prepping for boot camp by practicing his Toilet Cleaning With a Toothbrush skills. Whatever the deal is, it’s gross, he flushed, and I had to stick my hand in toilet water. More than once. Other things he’s stuck in the toilet in the last week: cars, My Little Ponies, Barbie heads, and an entire roll of toilet paper. You’d think with this obvious fascination with the potty, he’d use it in the proper manner. Heck no, y’all. Heck. No.

Also, the following convo has taken place lots this week.

Me: Ryan, where’s Katie?
Ryan: Ovah der, dat’s Kay-tee.
Me: Where’s Lauren?
Ryan: Ovah der, by Kay-tee.
Me: I know she’s over by Katie. Can you say Lauren?
Ryan: No. By Kay-tee.
Me: Okay, where’s Katie?
Ryan: Ovah der. Kay-tee’s swayngin’. (He’s totally country.)
Me: Where’s Lauren?
Ryan: BY KAY-TEE!!! (I know he’s thinking, “You stupid woman, I just told you!”.)

While I find his refusal to say Lauren quite hilarious, I think Lauren is a little sad. He makes up for it, though by hugging her constantly and infecting us all with his completely hilarious gasping for breath laugh.

Justin’s mom and sisters will be here later today, so all will probably be quiet until they head home. Look for pictures over on Flickr, though.

Two days ago I managed to break the baby gate. The one that kept Ryan in the livingroom, except when he would launch himself at it, knock it down and take off down the hallway. So without the gate, I can’t keep the boy out of the fridge. He’s especially drawn to my deli ham. I found it in the livingroom floor last night (still in the baggie and still cold thankfully), then this morning I caught him carrying it around. Not sure what the obsession with cold cuts is, but I’m buying a fridge lock and a new baby gate today.