Tales of a Hummingbird: our first iwakuni weekend

slowly our bodies are getting used to the shift in time, we're starting to wake up with the sun and are all falling asleep soon after it grows dark. i'm falling in love with the sounds here - whirring of planes, jets overhead, children everywhere and bugs - oh the cicadas! those crazy bug sounds of childhood filling the evening air. in the early evening as they start up their song, the birds go crazy, attacking the trees to gather up dinner and fill their bellies before nightfall. but the song continues long into the night. later in the evening the bats come out, swooping around, helping quell the mosquitos. we played at the park until almost dark the other night without a single bug-bite! each day we're exploring the base more and more, feeling confident we're heading in the right direction, finding new routes to get there, becoming more aware of the little details in our journey. there's a big beautiful bus that circles the base every 30 minutes, i know we'll be very thankful for that bus as we start scheduling events to attend around base. we've eaten at JD's grill, the diner at club iwakuni twice, and both meals have been quite delicious. we've eaten also at Crossroads foodcourt, a quick dinner at subway when we knew the kids couldn't handle much more before crashing into bed. we've picked up some food at the commissary and enjoyed a few meals in our room at the TLF as well.
we couldn't be happier with the lodging at the TLF, its perfectly adequate - particularly knowing how very short-term our time living here is - our house is available for move in this week and we just received an e-mail stating that our household goods are here and ready for delivery too. rejoice!!! back to the tlf; the kitchen is lovely, stocked with pots and pans and dishes, adequate tools for cooking and serving as well as a stove/oven, microwave, fridge and freezer. and i have to add the fridge is so amazing, its just a standard fridge, freezer drawer below and fridge door above - but the door can open either direction with no messing with tools - you just pull on whichever side makes sense and there it opens. viola.

there are two main rooms separated by the narrow kitchen/walkway with a bathroom off the kitchen. the front room has a fold-out sofa, a desk with free internet connection (no wifi), a folding table and chairs in the closet and tons of storage space - we were able to tuck all of our empty suitcases and carseats away no problem and with room to spare. all the kids clothes are put away in the drawers under the tv stand. i had to unpack the second we got to the room, i was so weary of living out of suitcases. it felt good to feel settled, even if it was only for a few days. the back room has a queen bed and also a twin bed. we've got a pack n play set up there too. betsy goes to sleep in the twin in our room. she's been the one up and roaming around in the middle of the night so it's been nice having her in the room with us so i'm aware of her wandering - she is super stealthy and i'm terrified she's going to help herself to the front door and go on an adventure so i am pretty tuned in to her nighttime movements. the beds are comfy and they provide all the sheets/towels/pillows you could want. the housekeepers come daily to give you fresh towels, remove the trash and recycling (yay japan!) and tidy up the room a bit. other fun tidbits about the room - there is a light in the kitchen and bathroom that gradually comes on as the sun rises and gradually turns off as the sun sets. the first day i couldn't figure out how to turn it off - now i realize its just a natural (probably solar operated) circadian rhythm dimmer light (i wonder what its really called). helpful for those of us working to overcome jetlag, i suppose. :) the other is the shower (there is no bathtub but our kids are enjoying the new fun of showers) - it has one lever to control the water temperature and the other to control the water pressure, just a bit different than what we're used to, a little detail i'm quite enjoying.
the commissary and exchange are just like "at home" in cali, perhaps a bit smaller, but in the next few years the base will undergo a massive overhaul to make space for some new units being stationed here so there are plans to double the size of just about everything. phew! i think we'll have lots of digger watching to keep us entertained during our time here. we did not do a lot of shopping at the commissary previously - mostly shopped at the farmers markets and the health food store down the street, so i'm anxious to get off base and see what's available in the form of a farmers market as well as local grocery stores. much of the commissary shelves are stocked with every pre-packaged thing you could desire, but the staples for organic, whole food based diet made from scratch, well....its a small selection. it is what it is and we will of course not go hungry - but i'm looking forward to seeking out some other options perhaps outside the base gates for sources of food. i am definitely longing to have my own kitchen with all my familiar pans and tools and cookbooks....ready to cook some healthy meals for my family. we're growing quite weary of eating out, but its been a nice break for me these past 6ish weeks of not cooking at all. has made me appreciate what a joy it is to prepare wholesome food for my family - and how much better i physically feel when we're eating healthy. i'm also looking forward to whipping up some purees for baby curtis to try: so fun to see baby's face when they first nibble something other than breastmilk.
sunday we celebrated baby e's first birthday. they arrived to iwakuni the day after we did - sweet friends of ours from san diego. we haven't seen them in about 18 months as they moved away for a new duty, but just like that, here we are back together again in our new homes. small marine corps indeed. its so fun to find new friends everywhere we turn - and literally everyone here has little kids. and there are beautiful playgrounds every few blocks on base. heaven for our littles!
this morning reid and i had to attend our orientation brief - a lot of information presented: heavy on the "don't get drunk and do something stupid" with the gaps containing useful information and phone numbers for resources available to us on base. the cdc is a lovely little building with a big outdoor play area that had pete jumping for joy as we approached the "school". he was giddy to get inside and get going. betsy seemed ok with the plan too, until it was her turn to meet her teacher and say goodbye to mommy and daddy. she feigned interest in something for a moment and my heart jumped for joy for just a tiny second at the thought that she might be ok with us leaving (she has always cried for her entire stay at base daycare in san diego, so i was prepared for it), but as soon as we headed out the door, she turned and cried her face off. the teacher shoo'ed us out the door as they always do, but of course i was feeling miserably sad and guilty to leave her, yet hopeful she'd be ok a few minutes later. then came curtis' turn. this felt impossible for me to hand my baby to a stranger in charge of a room full of babies. he is exclusively nursing still and we've only been here a few days so i only had enough milk for one bottle (thanks to my local friend for loaning me her pump, i hope mine arrives soon). he was fine, he didn't care, he was happy as a clam but as i left tears were just running down my face and no matter how i tried to tell myself it was ok, i couldn't stop crying. phew. during our first break from the briefing a few hours later i went over to check on him, and he was doing just fine of course - taking his little bottle like a champ and heading off to sleep. so i peeked in at betsy, and there was my happy girl, standing in the middle of hte playground, rade-faced and still sobbing. i asked one of the teachers how long she had been crying. his response was: "betsy? the one with the beautiful eyes? poor thing has been crying all morning." well, of course momma couldn't handle that. i didn't care how mandatory the brief was, i couldn't leave her there for another second. as soon as i had her in my arms, she stopped crying. all was well again. i told her i could take her with me if she promised not to talk, so we made it about another hour in the brief with good behavior before we had to go. we picked up curtis and headed home for lunch and naps while daddy finished out the day with a tour of base. i'll have to do the tour next monday in order to be allowed to get a drivers license. that's fine. babies always come first for us momma bears. :) one note to the ladies inbound to iwakuni: you don't send lunches with your kids unless they have dietary restrictions. we showed up with lunch boxes we weren't allowed to leave. a major difference from cdc at miramar and caught me off guard.
and that's where we are, my amazing husband and i, 7 years after saying "i do" in peoria, illinois. today we celebrate our anniversary in our TLF room, probably sitting together on the floor of the kitchen tonight with our babes sleeping in the room on either side of us. i'm so grateful for him, his ability to make me laugh, the way he fathers his kids, the way one of us always manages to keep it together when the other is falling apart. we're a great team and i'm so blessed to be sharing this adventure with the man i love so dearly. happy anniversary, sweetie!

crossroads - this is where the food court is, as well as some banks - and softbank is where you get your cell phones!

exchange has two stories and you can get everything here you could expect to find at an exchange in socal - perhaps less selection, but seemed perfectly adequate considering amazon.com also delivers to your FPO address :)

super exhausted kids waiting for subway our 2nd night here.

most amazingly tolerant and patient baby EVER.

most of the kids together for e's birthday party - poor betsy was still waking up from her nap and missed the photo session. will be fun to look at this pic in 3 years when we are saying goodbye to our new friends!