Maya's Birthday

Today was Maya's birthday, and I will tell you, it was quite a fun adventure!! We started the day with a phone call from Mrs. Della-Coletta, which got our day off to a great start (Mrs. D-C, if you are reading this, you are AWESOME. We appreciate you so much!!). Then Maya, Hanna and I had the chance to web cam with our friends and neighbors, the Frank's and the VanWinkle's!! They all sang Happy Birthday to Maya, and the girls had a chance to catch up with Madelyn, Natalie, Madi and Sam, which was fantastic..(and Mom got a chance to catch up with Nicole and Joell!!). They also, technically, babysat for me while I tried to set up my co-op. I have found a co-op here in Tokyo (there are TONS of them around) that will actually just bill me for our food monthly...so for 198Yen a week (roughly $10/month), they will deliver as much food as I want them to, from their catalog, every Monday. I will be able to walk to the AM/PM or the Family Mart and pay my bill, just like I do my electric bill (yes, I have to currently pay that at the convenience store every month!). The issue is this- I don't speak Japanese, and the person they sent over to do the paperwork, didn't speak English...I could tell she was a SUPER lady :), but all we could do was sit and smile at each other...which was nice for a few minutes, and then just got awkward...so, I had to go get Mori-san, who is our concierge, and have him talk to her, then talk to me, talk to her, then talk to me. Thank goodness my friend Tami, who is Japanese, did the pre-set up, and most of the real work/explanation had already been negotiated (they don't typically let people pay at the conbini, as they call it, but I have a friend who does it, so they let me also do it!). But, while I was nodding and smiling, the girls were in on the web cam, talking to the Portage crew!! So, Joell and Nicole, thank you for keeping an eye out on them...I will need you again Saturday night, say, 7ish?? :)

My parents also called, and my brother and sister-in-law called Maya as well...the day couldn't have gotten off to a better start!!

After that, I took the girls (they did not have school today) to their new favorite place to eat.....drum roll please.....T.G.I. Friday's!! I couldn't have gotten them to go there in Portage to save my life, but the kids love it here...a little taste of home. They sang Maya Happy Birthday, she got a free ice cream sundae, and they took her photo and put it up on their birthday wall....yahoo. Forever enshrined in the Shibuya birthday wall of fame! After this, we had to find our way to the ice rink...Maya LOVES skating, and wanted to go for her birthday...we had planned to do an outdoor rink, that I actually knew the location of, but because it rained, we had to go to our backup plan...and indoor rink, in an area that I had never heard of, much less trained to, in the rain, with two little girls....luckily, my wonderful Husband got me this fantastic iPhone, or I would be still wandering around Tokyo, with two little kids, trying to figure out where I am. If you are ever in Tokyo, please, do not come without your iPhone...or rent one...I can get myself anywhere, on any train, to any location...and then, I can map how to walk to the place I need to go...technology is amazing. I would have probably died, lost in a puddle of my own tears, if I had to live here prior to the iPhone and the internet!! :)

So, we did find it, though it took a little round about walking...the cool thing is, we found the 100 Yen park, which is an awesome park for kids here in Tokyo that we had heard about, but I had no idea of its actual location! Next time it is warm and not raining, we will be heading there! We spent the afternoon skating...I even wore skates, and was thrilled that I remembered how...that is, when I wasn't bending over, picking Hanna up off the ground!! They did so well today though, and were such troopers! Getting around isn't nearly as seamless and easy for these two, but they did not one lick of crying all day..(ok, Hanna cried once, but got over it fast!!)...plus, by the time we left (after over 2 hours of skating!), it was POURING rain outside...so we had to walk back to the train station in that! Thank goodness I brought our umbrellas and we wore our rain coats, just in case!

Tonite, Maya chose Domino's pizza for dinner, and we celebrated with cake and ice cream! She loved all of her gifts (especially Super Mario Brothers, which Scott picked out for her-she says all the boys make fun of her for playing Tinkerbell on the bus!!), and was so grateful and happy tonite. I can't believe a. she is SEVEN and b. she didn't complain about one thing today! Success!

Aside from Maya's birthday, I figured out how to purchase Wilco tickets (a band we love, that is coming to Tokyo in April), and booked a stop in Maui on our way back to Michigan this summer- thank you Marcy!!).

Till next time... :)