Tales of a Hummingbird: busy on base

settling. unsettling. balancing. falling apart. scooping it all up and putting it back together again. that's sort of my current norm. slowly, slowly we're searching for a rhythm but that's certainly upset a bit by our funny living conditions and lack of routine. every cell in my body is anxiously awaiting our move-in and delivery of household goods this friday! it will feel so. good. to be settled in, unpacked. it will enable us all to start getting a groove. setting a rhythm and finding our routine. its so important to small children, and i'm finding through all of the chaos and transition of the move that its also quite important to me. living helter-skelter like this always has my nerves extra tense and leaves me feeling even less in control of life than what is to be expected with three littles. life lessons. practicing patience. i know. i'm learning and growing. but the excitement and anxious anticipation of moving in makes it hard to remember all those little yet important details.
baby curtis is having wierd nights, waking up every 20 minutes - 2 hours. i'm not sure if hes teething or he just knows that i'm there and will scoop him up the second he makes a peep in a desperate attempt to keep him from disturbing the other sleeping babes. its making it hard on momma to stay patient in the light of day when i'm awake most of the night with him, despite a 9 pm bedtime because every room of the house is occupied with sleeping kids, so what else is there to do?
we're finding there is so much to do on base, so many great programs and opportunities to take advantage of - which is a huge blessing, as we can ride the bus for free to all of them and it gets us out of our temporary housing. soon after breakfast the older kids get a bit hysterical, their bodies aching to get out of the house and move and stretch and scream with joy. we're getting out the door and taking advantage of what the base has to offer. swim lessons for the big kids every day at 9 this week and next. and today was peter's first dance class. its for 3-5 year olds and is not formal instruction, but rather geared toward becoming aware of body movement and moving with intention....and following instructions. :) a new friend, erin, is the teacher and she did a great job managing the adorable little mob of maniacs. we were invited into the studio (aerobics room at the gym) at the end of the class to see what they worked on today. it was clear peter enjoyed his time and was happy to be "required" to move and jump and wiggle. it was also clear that my presence was a huge distraction and it was hard for him to follow the teacher's guidance and reminders when i was in the room. honestly, it was just nice to see him happy and surrounded by other littles his age. wishing betsy were old enough to participate. soon enough, lady bug. apparently they will be "performing" on stage at the summer music festival on base later this month. that will be a fun and interesting thing, for sure!
last night the squadron hosted a bowling night at the base bowling alley, again just a hop skip and jump around the corner from our temporary lodging. there's a little play room for kids off the lanes that the kids enjoyed for a bit before some (more) fast food (again...ugh). and then, they just couldn't keep their happy little hands off the bowling balls, all 10 pounds of them. they wanted to bowl, so reid got them some tiny shoes and manned that operation while i chatted with some of the wives. i must confess, i was so relieved to be meeting some new friends. i am missing the comfort and companionship of my san diego gals bigtime. but its fun to make new friends too, its such a long process to become close - but i'm sure being here, away from our "other" friends, living on the same street, seeing each other everywhere we go can only accelerate the process. horray. it was also wonderful to connect and hear that there is a big need/demand for birth education and support. thank heavens, such a relief to hear...of course there are pregnant women here too. i've also found out that there are more birthing options than i originally had been told. yes, some momma's choose to go far away to yokosuka to have their babies. but there is a local OB in iwakuni wit his own practice and i found out today there is also a local birth house in iwakuni - YES!!!! i am looking forward to getting off base to check them out before starting my first birth classes. before i can start teaching, i have to get permission from base to operate a home business, so that's at the top of my to do list next week after we get moved in and unpacked (can i tell you how nice it is that already moms have offered to watch some or all of my kids during our moving day? so thankful).

my rosetta stone headset and my new cell phone - taking me awhile to get used to the phone, i have to remember to set it to letters and not japanese writing - but feeling grateful to be connected while on the go. those few days without a cell phone were really strange and unsettling. how did we ever survive without these?

vending machine across the street from our TLF...there are so so so many vending machines in Japan. they serve hot and cold beverages and hot and cold food. incredible. and of course, japan has verry little theft or vandalism so they are actually lucrative.

the view of the clouds and mountains in the distance from my front door the other day - its nice to see clouds and weather patterns again - just a few raindrops from these. am waiting anxiously to see the first real rainstorm (and hoping we get a car before that happens!)

daddy all dressed up fancy and ready to check into the squadron and meet the skipper.

local shrubbery, for my dad, who is interested in these sorts of things.

riding the bus across base to the gym. so thankful its air conditioned. just after this picture i realized there were seatbelts, so yes - we wear those when we ride.