Good ol' off-shored Tech Support!

I tried calling the Tech Support for the Scanner that my parents have. We had tried downloading the driver and it hung the system. The instructions were poor and did not correspond to the files available, so I wanted to check.

Some Indian guy came on and asked which files I downloaded, and which ones I installed. I told him, and I also told him that it hung and we had to force shutdown the system. (my mom's system)

Indian guy: "Let us re-download the files and re-install them."
me: "okay. But what do I do if it hangs? Is there anything we need to do?"
Indian guy: "It won't hang."
me: "But it did."
Indian guy: "I tried it on two of my computers while we are on the phone. It works fine."
me: "But it hung on ours. Is there anything we need to do?" (meanwhile, I'm re-reading the instructions)
Indian guy: "The drivers are fine. It works on my computer. If it fails, it's something wrong with the computer."
me: "Right. Do I need to unplug the scanner while installing the files?"
Indian guy: "Oh. Yes. The scanner needs to be unplugged."
me: "Great. Thanks. You should've told me that."
Indian guy: "It works fine."
me: "No, it doesn't. This is not much of a tech support if you're just telling me it works."
Indian guy: "It's not like that. Let us try re-installing it."
me: "No thanks. I think I will try to figure this out myself."

Wow. Moral of the story was... There's something wrong with our computer, and that he's able to install it just fine. Good for you, dude! I didn't call for a success story! And can you imagine what he does all day? He answers calls, installs the drivers on his own computer and says everything's fine. Geez, if only I got paid to do that!

Blog revival! (and indoor bowling)

Wow, it's been over a year since my last post. (not that anybody is really reading...)
I've had another boy since then! Yuta is now 2 yrs.5mos, and I have another little boy, Hiro, 2 months old. Maybe I can revive my blog!

Here's something fun to do on a rainy day:
Collect 10 plastic bottles, preferably the same size.
Fill them up with a little bit of water, just at the bottom.
Find a ball in a size of preference and...
play indoor bowling! Maybe add a disco ball...

So my big Sumo guy (a.k.a. Yuta) is the sweetest big brother to my little Sumo guy (a.k.a. Hiro). He is very protective and proud of his little brother. Any time someone goes to admire Hiro, Yuta goes over and says "baby brother" and shows them how he rocks the car seat. He also doesn't like me admiring other babies. He scowls at me and points at Hiro saying angrily, "Hiro!" Oh. Right. Wrong baby.

Yuta is getting to be fully bilingual. He primarily spoke Japanese before, and was really shy about speaking English. I'm pretty sure he understands most of it, since my husband and I speak English to each other mostly. But Yuta was 100% Japanese. He's now trying hard to speak English, and is more outgoing with other kids. Hurray! I was getting a little worried because I didn't want him to be traumatized in Preschool as I was when I moved to the states in first grade. Oddly, he calls his dad "Papa" when speaking Japanese to him, and calls him "Josh" when speaking English to him. I guess that's my fault. Should choose a name, mom!

That's all for now. Hope I can keep this alive!

Way to communicate!

We were outside in the yard, me gardening, and my husband raking. All of a sudden, our little Yuta started crying. Tears were pouring from his eyes. I immediately went over and asked what happened. He was signing "ouch" with his hands, while saying "shoes" in Japanese. So I checked his foot and I thought I saw a fire ant crawling into his shoe. So I asked him, "bug"? And he said, "Buh! Buh!" all the while crying. Our little Yuta was bitten by a fire ant! Poor guy! I took his shoe off and the little booger crawled out... within a few seconds it felt the Dad's rage. (got stomped) I soaked Yuta's foot in warm water. Thankfully he didn't seem to be allergic to the bite or anything so all was well... Oh, but I'm so proud of my little munchkin. He is communicating so well! Even in his state of trauma he was able to communicate exactly what happened. Good boy! 17 months and growing too fast...

Homemade Paint for Toddlers!

In my effort to foster creativity and prevent boredom (especially on a rainy day), I've started finger painting with my 17 month old son. I've tried several recipes for homemade paint on the internet, and I think I've finally come to the right mix. I used 1/4 cup all-purpose flour and 3/4 cup water as a tester. For bigger batches you can try 1 cup flour to 3 cups water. They store well in a sealed container in the refrigerator. Here's how to make good homemade paint:

Ingredients
flour & water (1 : 3 ratio)
~1 tsp salt
food coloring

1. Mix flour, water, and salt in a medium saucepan. Put the mixture on medium-high heat and whisk vigorously for a while, until the liquid is close to boiling and it starts to turn pasty. The amount of time depends on the consistency you want. If you want it more watery, you can take it off the heat earlier. If you want it more pasty, keep it on the heat to reach the desired consistency. I found it's really important to whisk well!
2. Take the mixture off the heat and let it cool for a bit. Scoop the mixture into little containers-- I like using the plastic egg cartons. Add food coloring to your preference in each of the containers. Voila!

I need more crafts and activities for inside the house. Any ideas?

Who needs life to be easy, anyway?

New look for my blog! It's spring. (sort of)

*Phew*. Boy, I am EXHAUSTED every night after I put Yuta to bed. It is just incredible how much work that little tod is. I've had quite a rough past 6 weeks. Call me a weenie, whatever! I know I KNOW many people have it worse and are strong enough to deal with it, but my recent philosophy is that if it's tough for ME, it's TOUGH ENOUGH! It helps me deal with things better. Thankyouverymuch.

So my husband underwent foot surgery at the end of February. We really couldn't think of a better opportunity to do it, and I'm glad we did. Ah, but going to the hospital 3 times within 24 hours, waiting there for god knows how long, all the while with my toddler in tow was THE hardest thing I've done. EVER. After that fiasco, I immediately started looking for a local babysitter. Anyway, for the past 6 weeks, I have been nightingale, mother to a toddler, wife, homemaker, and so much more. My husband was not allowed to put weight on his foot, and was ordered to keep it raised 24/7, so I brought him food three times a day. For the first week, I also brought and cleaned his potty (not my son's!), and medicated him regularly. Did I mention I still have a 15 month old?

I'm not really sure how I got through it all, but I did. My husband can now put weight on his foot and is relatively crutches-free. I cannot believe how appreciative I am of him being able to go get cereal by himself!!! He's still not able to chase after Yuta, but at LEAST he is able to move around and do minimal things around the house. It is incredible how much easier it is. And just in time, too, because Yuta has just started warming up for the terrible two's. WHOAH! Who, my adorable, quiet, passive, pensive, observant, cooperative, eats-anything, Yuta?!?! Yes. He is none of that now, with the exception of observant.

I have never seen so much exhibition of "I hate you but I love you". He yells, he cries, he shakes his head and adamantly says "no", but as soon as I leave the room he starts crying like it's the end of the world. He whines, rebels, starts toddling off in the store, but once he gets far, he starts crying "ma ma ma ma" and needs to be held. WHAT DO YOU WANT, SON?!?! "Should I stay or should I go?!?!"

It is like being with a girl with PMS. Incredible. It's a good thing I don't PMS too much, and I've been prepared for this. Still. What a difference a month makes.

Creative Home-made bath toy Part I

Today I made a bath toy for my 16-month old Yuta. He's getting bored with the things he normally plays with in the tub, including empty bottles, wind-up fish that swims, and random caps. (and don't forget the bubbles) So I took one of the disposable plastic tupperwares and poked a bunch of holes on the bottom. Voila! A little shower head. Just scoop up some water and you get a little shower. Pretty cool.

On a different subject, I was putting him to sleep today. He had his usual bottle of milk, and I hugged him close and sang while I swayed side to side. He leaned his head on my shoulder and once in a while peek into my face and smile. (AWWWW!!!) I ate it up. When I finished singing and laid him down on his bed, with a big smile he says to me "dya dye dee dyama dyoo" and I was so positive that he said "I love you" in Japanese. So I told him "I love you too" in Japanese, and he gave me another huge smile and became quiet to go to sleep. Geez. Sometimes I wonder why I even questioned becoming a mom...

Your gaze is MINE!!!

Yesterday, the three of us were chillin' in front of the TV. To paint a visual image, I was sitting on a chair, Yuta was on my lap facing me, and Josh was on a chair next to me. I saw something interesting on TV, so I turned to Josh to discuss it. I was laughing and chatting when Yuta put his chubby little hand on my cheek and turned my face towards him. He gave me a smile, but I was not fooled! He didn't want me talking to Josh. I kind of laughed. Josh, very interested in what he just did, told me to repeat my gesture. So I turned towards Josh again to talk. Again, Yuta put his chubby little hand on my cheek to turn my face.
It's one of those moments if you're not sure if you should be happy or worried. Jealousy strikes the 15 month old munchkin?!