What a lovely day!!

Today was one of those days that makes me like Japan. I dropped my MIL off at the ferry port and then headed to the station to buy my train ticket for next week. I had lunch and coffee at Starbucks and then headed into tenmonkan to pick up my plane tickets and sort out some other bits and bobs. I was looking for a new diaper bag because the Hello Kitty one I bought is a little bit too big at the moment and also as it it a tote bag, it is tricky to carry Joey and the bag at the same time so I wanted one I could sling across my body. I found a really nice one with the same Hello Kitty pattern as before but I figured Daisuke would never forgive me for buying two bags he would be embarassed to carry if/when he ever has to look after Joey on his own! LOL! I was looking for a plain black one. If there is one thing I love it is shopping so I was in a fairly good mood anyway but there was just something about the atmosphere in tenmonkan today that made me even happier. Joey got kawaii-ed by another ten zillion people and I decided to get my own back and started randomly talking to mums with babies around the same age as Joey and saying "kawaii" to them. It was actually quite alot of fun and none of them seemed remotely phased by it!

I went to Yamakataya as recently I had received quite a few vouchers from there and as I am a little bit short on money, I decided the best plan would be to use the vouchers to buy my bag (as I never really shop there normally so the money would just sit around going to waste!!) I found a really nice black bag that was around the size I was looking for but a little bit expensive and not an official "mothers" bag so I went to check out the baby section. As I got out of the lift, there was another foreign woman there with a little girl in a stroller. We both smiled and said hello and just randomly started talking!!! None of the usual "foreigner freeze-out" so I was really chuffed. She seems really nice and we exchanged contact details.

The random meeting and potential new friendship (I am the first to admit that i get quite lonely at times) put me in an even better mood so I went to check out the baby stuff and bags and was really chuffed because some of the staff remembered Joey from when he was only a month old and we took him shopping there!! They all commented on how big he had gotten...

Which reminds me! On wednesday I took him to the baby massage class at Takeuchi. It was a different class to usual as I have to teach next week and couldn`t make it but the women in that class seem alot friendlier than the class I usually go to. Joey seemed very taken with one of the girls who is about 10 days younger than him. I wish I had had my camera with me because they were VERY cute together!! I took him and weighed him in the nursing room and he weighed in at 10380gms.. he is HUGE! ;-) It also means I have to find a new car seat for him and change the stroller into the one where he faces fowards but I figure it can wait until we come back from Malaysia.

All in all it has been a cracking week and I have even more fun to look forward to tomorrow as it is the bunkasai at D`s school and then in the afternoon some of the other foreign wives in Kagoshima are coming round for a pot luck lunch. Then in the evening D is out drinking so Hisano^san is coming over to hang out. I am also looking forward to next friday when I go up to Fukuoka as am going to stay with Kristin and Yoshi. Am looking forward to spending time with them!

Ooh.. I forgot to mention that it wasn`t all good today! The handle on my washing machine broke so OI can`t open it and get my washing out! My favourite new top that I bought in England over the summer is inside so I am hoping it would get ruined!! They are coming to fix it on sunday or monday (depending on when the new part arirves). Fingers crossed that it won`t cost too much! If they don`t come on sunday I guess I am going to have to take a trip to the laundrette!