The Takagi Reunion & Other Happenings

So our Takagi family reunion was a success and we survived family photos and a weekend together piled into two cars. It was great to see Koji again and the timing of our new minivan purchase worked out for carting eleven people around town (not all eleven people, it just meant we only had to take two cars around instead of three!). We ate lots of great food, celebrated my Dad's birthday, spent some time relaxing and doing a little bit of sightseeing downtown before everyone headed home.

I am looking forward to visiting my parents in Japan this winter as it may be my last trip to Japan for quite sometime-- my free lodging will be moving to the U.S. next spring! We are excited to have them on the same continent so we can see them more often though. I am nervous about how Jaron will do on the flight, but I plan to being as many activities and snacks as I can realistically carry while juggling two kids and I will have a big bag of mini marshmallows for any emergencies. It will definitely help the first little stretch of Jeff's deployment go quickly and although the holidays will be lonely without him, at least I will be with my parents for Thanksgiving.

Oh, and I realize that I did not make an official announcement, although many of you probably already know from Facebook or word of mouth. We are expecting our third baby in March 2012! What a surprise, let me tell you. We knew we wanted another baby, but with Jeff's deployment we had planned to wait until he got home. Well it seems we have a little spirit that just cannot wait any longer to join our family. Sadly, Jeff will not be home for the birth or the newborn stage, so I pray that God will have mercy on me and give me an easy baby! The newborn stage is so exhausting.

I think I covered most of the news around here...new minivan, family in town, another baby and an upcoming deployment. Oh and we found renters for our Missouri house! That is pretty exciting news after paying rent and a mortgage for the past few months we decided the market still stunk and renting was the best financial choice for us for now. The icing on the cake this past week was that I found an awesome Japanese grocery store-- it's a little bit of a drive, but it has almost anything I could ever dream of having from home. Not everything, but the closest I've ever seen in the U.S. Yum.

Finally, a Little Update

As you can imagine, life has been hectic. Between driving across the country, living in a hotel, unpacking boxes and learning a completely new neighborhood and area we have been going non-stop. We have been excited to explore local (yes, local!) shopping, farmers markets, summer activities and Kailie just started a part-day preschool program a couple of weeks ago.

Needless to say, over a month has gone by since we got the keys to our rental and I realized I had not updated everyone on all of the excitement. Below are some photos from the 4th of July celebration on post and we have also been able to attend a recent air show, Sesame Street Live show geared towards military children, and we also got more family photos taken (in honor of the lack of photos of Jaron we had in the house). This time we were able to get a few shots of him, unlike our last attempt. 

We got many good family and shots of the kids, although some shots captured the hectic reality of the photoshoot more than others. Kailie was loving all the positive reinforcement she was getting for her cooperation and posing, and put on her signature picture smile.

We are super excited for a out little Takagi reunion here in Washington next month, to show everyone our new stomping grounds and to all be together after many years!

Leaving Missouri

Today is the day we left Missouri after five years (six for Jeff). It is still surreal and as much as we are looking forward to a scenery change and to be in busier towns and cities, we are sad to say goodbye to this town where we started our lives together.

Being in Missouri taught me to be more laid back about getting my hands dirty in the garden, that I could survive shopping online since there is no mall within an hour of home and that the people under the roof of our home mattered a heck of a lot more than any attractions outside the walls.

So I shed some tears leaving our first home where we started our family, where I survived being a single mother during Jeff's deployment to Iraq, suffered the emotional and physical trials of the car accident and made so many dear friends.

As we drive out of the state borders this afternoon I leave humbled and just as I was taken away by the greenery and gorgeous hills as I stepped foot here so many years ago, will miss this strange and beautiful place we called home for so long.

**I will be blogging on my phone and iPad the next couple of weeks so I apologize for the crazy picture sizing and lack of my usual blog post organization**

Wedding & Washer Updates

So I know you have been having trouble sleeping at night wondering if I was ever able to find a match to my pedestal last week. I was and it is arriving tomorrow! Very exciting, but I sadly paid full price through Whirlpool for the match since it is a discontinued item I could not find anywhere else I searched. I actually got put on hold numerous times and transferred three times to even talk to someone at Whirlpool in parts that could actually find and order a discontinued item for me. Nonetheless my $39 steal on the one pedestal still means I am saving lots of money compared to what I would have paid for them full price.

So it's still a happy ending although I would have been ecstatic if I had found another pedestal on sale or clearance somewhere. Since Jeff will be home tomorrow we will have the fun job of putting it all together and my washer and dryer will be the same height once again. The simple joys in life. I think I will finally be able to keep my washing machines clear of clutter now that a) I have doubled my storage space and 2) it is harder to stack things on top of the washer and dryer when they are taller. So it's a win win situation. More storage and a clutter deterrent.

As the days inch closer, we are starting to get excited about the March wedding in Las Vegas! We ordered our plane tickets the other week and booked our hotel so it's official. I will tell you though, I understand why so many families are crazy enough to drive all over the country, because tickets are expensive! Luckily Jaron is still lap eligible, but three tickets sure adds up. Luckily your sister-in-law doesn't get married just any day. ;-)

It is actually going to be a family reunion of sorts for Jeff's family as he has not seen most of his relatives who are attending since he was in high school. I actually had the pleasure of meeting his paternal grandmother and one of his aunts while he was deployed, and we met a good number of his maternal family on our little get away last summer, but over all we don't see his extended family very often. Plus, the weather in Nevada is very mild in March and will feel like summer to us coming from Missouri. So it'll be a fun little escape.

I ordered Jaron a little "gentleman outfit" to wear at the wedding on Zulily for about 70% off and we are trying to decide what Kailie will wear as the flower girl (Zulily and Totsy are a blessing and a curse, let me tell you! I also scored my Emu slippers and other Christmas on Gilt). It's not a suit suit, but I thought it looked sharp and it's something he can wear to church as well. I am excited that I may be able to crash the hair and make-up party the morning of the wedding and get pampered, especially since I didn't have a more traditional wedding experience like this one.

Oh and we got our first real snow that stuck this week. It's been a mild winter which always makes me nervous for tornadoes or crazy storms to come! So what's going on in your neck of the woods?

Jingle Bells & Jaron is One!

So I wear my new fluffy, comfy, fabulous Emu "cuddlers" as I write to you this evening. I say if you want to ensure you get what you want during the holidays, buy it yourself! As much as I love presents, I enjoy watching others open what I got them just as much as getting my own, so I don't mind not having surprises come Christmas morning. My feet were already snugly warm as I walked out on to the hardwood floor under the tree on the morning of the 25th so I was a happy camper.

Moving on, one of my goals for this year is to write on this blog once a week. Even if I write once sentence that reads "Too tired to think" or "Jaron's teething again". I know it may seem that I apologize about my lack of writing and promise to write more often, oh, probably every dozen posts or so, but I really mean it this time. Once a week (and you have permission to nag)!

I need to remind myself that this is just as much for me and my family as it is to share with you our life's happenings. I don't journal-- this is my journal. I have had the opportunity to look back on posts from time to time and smile as the years always seem to fly by when you look back or cry when I remember a trial or triumph that left significant footprints in my life. I can't get caught up in how many comments I get, because I know there are some of you who read, but don't comment. Again, this is when I need to remind myself about why I am writing here in the first place.

We had a lovely Christmas and first birthday for Jaron this year and it's crazy to think that a year has gone by since he came into our family. I can't imagine our family without him. He was timidly taking a few steps over the past month, but would quickly grab onto his next anchor and didn't seem to have enough faith that he could do it (while dodging two hyper dogs, cats, a sister and toys scattered about. Who can really blame him, right?). 

Anyways, this week it was like all the sudden he decided he had nothing to lose. He shuffles about the house, takes most of his falls like a champ and even thinks he can run like Kailie (which results in the majority of his face plants). It's like you wait the entire first year for this to happen and it is exciting! He is graduating into a little person, a toddler, and although he continues to be a happy little guy (a.k.a. our "Jolly Christmas Boy") he has much stronger opinions these days that he likes to be heard.

Jaron was no stranger to cake, ice cream and icing!

The other big news is that we settled our personal injury law suit. You may notice I am tailing this on the end as if I am not quite sure if I am ready to tell the world, yet, I will start to feel some closure after the loose ends are tied. We were on the waiting list to go to trial in the spring and prepared to do so, but some unexpected things came up shortly before Christmas (gotta love the timing, but I guess it was nearing the end of the year so they had some incentive to push things along) and we are happy with the decision we made. I prayed my little tail off in that office every 20 minutes and feel that we made the best decision for our family.

I shed some tears, it doesn't quite seem real yet since it dragged on for two and a half years, but it will be nice to have the legal burdens lifted as the physical reminders will be with me the rest of my life. And that is more than enough. We will not be featured in a new season of the Beverly Hillbillies, but it will be nice to start college savings accounts for the kiddos and tuck the rest away for when I get older and the physical burdens become heavier as I age (I've got 60-70 years ahead of me). So no crazy vacations, frivolous spending or lifestyle changes here. Just our regular old selves with some peace of mind to help in my future which brings many unknowns as to how and at what age my legs will become a significant issue. And that is what the settlement is essentially about.

Oh and I almost forgot to mention, don't the pictures look fabulous? I got a DSLR camera for Christmas!!! I am still learning, but there's already a noticeable different, don't you think?

So ending on a happy note, my sister-in-law got engaged this fall and we will be headed to Vegas for her wedding in March! Kailie will be a flower girl and Jaron will be a ring bearer of sorts. Now that he's walking I think he will officially make the cut. Until next week...

Sewing, Pedicures & Kailie's New Chore

So I know you're dying to know how my kitchen window treatments turned out, right? I ended up sewing the curtains into valances for the dining room and sewed small cafe curtains out of a different fabric for the kitchen windows when a friend came over with her daughter for a play date this past week. Slowly, but surely I am trying to finish all the projects I've started and never finished over the past couple of years, but that will take some time! I also have some baby things I want to sew for Kenta and Virginia's baby-to-be and many cute, but never sewn patterns I had planned on giving as gifts to family I need to wrap up this year. The fabric I used on the kitchen windows has been waiting to be made into something for over 2 years!

 So in addition to sewing, Kailie keeps getting better at reading letters, helping with chores and Jaron is working on crawling. I think he will be zooming around here in just a couple of weeks. Kailie's new chore is putting the silverware away in the drawer and she does a really great job for a three-year-old. She even remembers my measuring spoons go in a different drawer and this week she put it away by herself in the other drawer without asking. She also helps fill the pet food bowls, wiping down the table and some other miscellaneous things, but I can't wait until she can help with more and more chores and Jaron is not too far behind!

We have a weekend trip to Indianapolis coming up in two weeks, which we need to finish wrapping up plans for (as in book a hotel), but it will be nice to see (almost) the whole family and we'll see how Jaron does on the long car ride. I am not as worried about Kailie now that she is older and we have a DVD player that will keep her entertained for a good chunk of the trip. I ordered a little suitcase and matching backpack on the Pottery Barn Kids clearance online this week to use on this trip and our big trip to Japan this fall, so I am excited for that to come. Thank you Sarah for the company sewing this week and filling me in on the clearance and free shipping for the gear. I hope you don't mind we copy-catted the same pattern as Abby, it was the cheapest and super cute ;-).

Oh yeah, and it was my birthday yesterday. We went out to breakfast and dinner (I didn't want to get stuck with any dirty dishes to clean) and I went to get a pedicure, alone! Sadly, this is one of two mommy times I have had in the 7-months since Jaron was born, both for just a couple of hours, and I need to take the initiative to make sure it starts happening more often! I got a really awesome Santoku knife from Jeff and lots of baking goodies from Jeff's family! You will see all of these things debut in my cooking and recipe posts on my EPJ blog for sure!

Until next time...

April Showers Brought May Flowers

And now it's June. Now that summer is officially here and although I am definitely feeling a little perkier in some ways (probably thanks to the vitamin D and actually getting out of the house) I am definitely worn out! Jaron still wakes frequently at night, which is probably the main culprit of my feet dragging, so we will be converting (at least part of) our third bedroom into a nursery even if it's just for him to nap and sleep at night. Hopefully this weekend. Kailie's room and the living room may continue to be the play areas until we move next year and hopefully have an extra room, den or larger laundry space to spread out our things in. Regardless, he is a good baby and doesn't stay up at night, just wakes up a lot to eat or probably when he's startled by some noise or another (still makes for a tired mom, though!). 

Well this past month we made a short little two night trip up to The Lake of the Ozarks and it was great to have a little get away, far from chores and to-do lists. And it always seems that home seems a little sweeter after being away from it for a short while, doesn't it? We went to a resort that has a phenomenal military rate which is only about 10 minutes from the outlets and they also have an indoor water park perfect for little kids. Kailie and Jeff had a ball at the park and Kailie was sure starting to get brave by the end and begged to go back on the water slides! Jaron and I were just spectators for a while then hung out in the hotel room when they went back later in the evening. 


I am going through a bread baking kick and it's actually so easy to bake bread I don't know why more people don't-- or think that it's harder than it is. I am experimenting with a couple recipes and tweaking ingredients to see how the bread comes out differently and maybe sort of an attempt at creating my own recipe. The three loaves pictured below mainly look different, because they were baked in different pans, but I changed little things to see if they made a difference. I think I will be writing more about bread baking in my creative EPJ blog and share the results of my experiments as the month goes on. 

Jeff started night classes on Mondays and Tuesdays and continues to have a busy schedule so I often feel like a single mom at times. Kailie is getting more confident in gymnastics class, Jaron started solids and is working on sitting up and I am busy as always. I hid with the kids in the bathroom for the first time during a tornado warning, which was scary. We have warnings many times a year, but never took them as seriously until the recent Joplin disaster. We don't really have a good refuge either without a basement. Maybe I should make friends with a neighbor since everyone else on the street seems to have a basement... Anyways, scary stuff. Jaron is "calling" so until next time.

My New Creative Blog is Up and Running

Although I contemplated making this Aria's blog a personal and creative blog combined, I wanted to keep my personal reflections, events and pictures separate (thus the three blogs now :-)) Follow through Google Friend Connect, Twitter, Facebook or sign up for emails by filling in the box on the sidebar and clicking submit. Hope you follow and spread the word for me, thanks! 

Blog: http://easypeasyjapanesey.blogspot.com/
Twitter: @Emi Stapler
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Easy-Peasy-Japanesey/172869412765045

Yard Sales, Puppies & Big Girl Beds

I know that I am a slacker when it comes to this blog, but I thought I'd give everyone a quick update. We got two puppies the end of July to add to our chaos, bought a twin sized bed for Kailie to start transitioning to before the new baby arrives, are shuffling furniture around the house trying to find a scenario that will work for a newborn and a toddler and are busy with everything else that comes along with work and military life. 


I just had a yard sale that went pretty well and took about 5 boxes of stuff to Goodwill. We have a few more huge garbage bags full of clothes and shoes to take over this week as we continued to tidy up and organize the garage this weekend. Our de-stashing is definitely helping us find a little more space to work with, and we will be moving the elliptical out of our bedroom and into the garage with some of the newfound space. As of now the crib will stay on one side of the nursery and Kailie's twin bed on the other...we will see how Kailie does sharing a room after baby #2 graduates from his bassinet in our room. If she doesn't do well (as we all know she is a light sleeper!) we'll come up with plan B, but I guess we have a good 6 months or more before we cross that bridge. 


Jeff is busy at work with evening and weekend work more than I would like, but it is nice to know that he won't be deploying for a couple of years, so it'll be worth it. I am excited for Jeff to see all the newborn and infant stages he missed for Kailie with our new little one and have some help while I transition into juggling two little ones at home. We still haven't started sifting through name ideas, and it just seems harder for me to come up with boy names I like!


Once we get the furniture arranged how we want it (for now) I will start making a list of the clothing and bedding we will need for our little guy, since I can't start thinking about it before I have any drawers to store it in! Soon enough... stay tuned for more nesting and life updates, and as always, comments are motivation for me to hop on here and write ;-)

Gone With the Wind

Kailie with her tutu she asked to put on under her dress. We couldn't get a better shot, but her rocking horse is behind her so it's very Gone With the Wind.

I know I have been bad at updating on this blog, but my goal for 2010 is to write at least once a month with general updates, pictures and what not. It's funny how life is so hectic and busy, yet when I sit down to write it's almost impossible to decide on what to write about or how to sum things up. And it's not that there isn't anything to write about!

Kailie keeps getting more and more grown up, I continue with my physical therapy and recovery and Jeff is always busy at work. That would be the general summary. Kailie started the nursery at church and is doing really well. She took a few weeks to get used to the chaos of a room full of toddlers, but (we are told) she is doing great. She loves to count, read books, watch cartoons and play picnic. I got some adorable crocheted play food this week she loves and have some crocheted baking utensils I am hoping to get in the next few weeks.

Jeff and I on the other hand started teaching the 6-year-olds while she is in nursery and although they are all good kids, we have a couple rowdy boys that wear us out! It was only our second week today, so we are optimistic things will only look up as we continue to get to know them and vice versa. It is something we have never done together, so it will be a new growing experience for us.

I've started to get back into my cooking again and my new Le Creuset enameled cast iron pot I got at Christmas was definitely a motivation. I also got a handful of new Williams-Sonoma cookbooks with some gift cards from my mother at Christmas. I am trying to find time to sew, but the past couple of months have been a little hectic, so I haven't had too much to show for it. A lot of cloth wipes and some odds and ends, but I have a couple craft books I need to review so I should get a few fun things done over the next month or two.

We plan on starting to car shop over the next few weeks as I am hoping to start practicing behind the wheel again. Maybe tomorrow now that the snow has cleared and it is supposed to get up into the 50s! Jeff says he already has a plan on a parking lot and tests to give me to make sure my right leg is strong enough to drive safely. Even after I start I don't anticipate driving further than the Walmart or around town for some time. I got back to the doctor in Springfield this week for more X-rays and follow ups and am hoping to get a prescription for a quad cane.

The Countdown to Jeff's Homecoming

Alright so we have less than two weeks until Jeff comes home! They are coming home two weeks earlier than what was originally going to be one week early. We are SOO excited and it's about time! It has been a long 14 months and the last two, well, we all know those have gone a little slower.

Kailie sporting her See Kai Run sneaks we reviewed. They're awesome~!

I know it's been a month since my last post and I am slacking on my blog posts, but The Cloth Diaper Report is booming and I'm trying to keep up with reviews, giveaways, articles and networking. I've been getting some sweet stuff to review!!!

So a quick update on the past month is that I got my hard cast off last week, and a space age boot on, but was declined full weight-bearing approval for 6 more weeks (like 4.5 now). So I was bummed, but I understand it'd be worse if I tried too much too soon, then I'd have to start the bone healing process all over again.

Kailie keeps growing and she is enunciating all of her words so well! She is my little chatterbox and once she warms up to you she talks quite a bit. She loves to pretend to have conversations on the phone (often the remote) and folds her hands to pray when we sit down to eat and mumbles like she's praying. Super cute.

Yes, life has been stressful, but my family was here the past 3 weeks which was nice. My mom worked like a dog chasing Kailie and tending to the house and every one else. They left Saturday to take Koji to college at BYU and will be back by the end of the week. Then my mom will stay until Jeff comes home and we're in good shape to manage on our own.

Oh and I made a tote bag for my mom and finally finished the oversized hobo bag for Lilli our babysitter who stayed with us for a couple weeks to help out. She chose the fabric and we ordered it when she stayed with us and I finally finished it like a month later! Life has been busy.

That's life in a nutshell.