The Weekend That Was

I don’t think asthma is contagious, but I’m pretty sure I’m catching whatever it is that Layla’s been coughing up recently… I can’t swallow, my nose is stuffed and breathing is a luxury I no longer take for granted. At least, not until I can do it without deliberate effort. Having said that, I feel better — it’s always nice to complain to someone, and since Tamie’s in bed… well, she’ll read it later.

As for the weekend update, our weekend was supposed to be a trip to the zoo, but plans don’t always go according to plan. Layla’s been out of commission for most of the week, either feverish at home, coughing up a storm at daycare (enough that they voiced their concerns… not so much for Layla as the other kids… and themselves), or chilling in Isehara with the grandparents. All week it’s been a question not of if someone would have to take time off of work to take care of her, but when. Tamie ended up taking a day off to be with her, and fortunately it was only one day.

Coming up to the weekend, we were still leery of her health. Friday, I had another company barbecue so came home a bit late and a bit tipsy, so Saturday was a bit of a late start. By the time I woke up, everything seemed to be okay. Tamie was eager to get out jogging, so away she went while I bummed around in my pajamas playing with Layla. Talk about a great way to spend a day.

By the time Tamie came back, Layla had fallen asleep on me on the couch. She was excited to see how far she jogged, passing me my spiffy google phone that she takes with her every time she goes out. Unfortunately, she didn’t push the record button so the map was blank. Even now, she tells me it was the fastest and furthest she’s run.

After Layla woke up and we all got cleaned up, we ended up in Machida to do some fall fashion shopping (ie. Tamie wanted to spend some hard-earned cash) and eat some ice cream (Layla’s request, not mine). Surprisingly, Layla was eager to shop as well… well, once the ice cream was eaten. Like a hurricane whipping through a trailer park, the two girls hit store after store trying on any number of things while I carried the bags and sometimes the baby. Exhausted, and broke, we returned home for a good meal (beef! on rice) and a quiet evening.

Today (Sunday) was another day that we were going to head out to the zoo but didn’t, this time because Tamie’s sister offered to babysit for us in the afternoon. Never ones to look a gift hamster in the mouth, we gladly took her up on the offer. After being married for almost three years, we finally got a chance to go on a date.

Before Hamster showed up, we took Layla out for a while. City hall was selling coupon books – pay 10000 yen, get 12000 yen worth of coupons. Having seen similar coupon deals being bought but not used, I was skeptical it was worth it. Tamie had more faith… a LOT more faith, I found out, when she shelled out 30000 yen. All I could think was “Crikey – I hope this investment turns out better than her stock picks.”

Still Hamsterless, we headed to Starbucks for frappuccinos to wait. Layla wanted to play with bubbles so we did that too. Eventually, Hamster showed up and we were free!

So what happened on the big date? Well, the planned trip to the Santa Claus hotel by the beach didn’t happen… the trip to the movie theater didn’t pan out… turns out the pool hall was closed during the day… but the arcades are still open, and packed! We ended up spending too much time, and money, playing coin games trying to win… you guessed it, more coins. As fun as it sounds, it was actually a good time. Only once were we interrupted by a phone call — Layla missed her mom but seemed satisfied to hear her on the phone.

By the time evening rolled around, a few hours later, we headed back home to get the other two girls so we could all go for dinner. It turns out that the reason Hamster was so eager to babysit was the promise of a good meal (the parent-in-laws are apparently busy this weekend so no one was available to cook dinner for her ) She picked a good weekend, as I was planning on taking the family out to the good sushi restaurant we’d gone to a while back, so that’s what we did. When it came time to pay, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Tamie’s investment was already paying off and they took the coupons… almost the entire meal was paid off with one pack of coupons! Sweet! We should have bought 3 more books!

And that’s about that. We dropped Hamster at the station and walked home. On the way we stopped at the grocery store, where I captured this little gem. Be sure to watch to the end – at least, it cracks me up.