Daiso: THE 100 Yen store

I'm a sucker for anything cheap and if it's even a little bit decent quality, even better!

 Here in Japan, the current yen rate is going between 76 and 78 yen to the dollar. That might sound like a lot for a dollar, but it's not. One yen is comparable to one penny, and so 100 yen would be about One dollar.. or 100 pennies. Except the Yen is worth more, so 100 yen is about $1.25 give or take with the daily fluctuation of the yen rate.

This can make shopping a bit frustrating since everything off base seems to be so expensive! Lucky for me the Japanese also believe in THE DOLLAR STORE!!!! Yay! Here it is the 100 yen store or DAISO. Unlike most dollar stores in the states, Daiso carries a wide variety of very decent quality items... all for 100 Yen!!

Yen always seems like fake play money to me, so I rarely keep any on me since it just burns a hole in my pocket.. but when I do, here's my favorite place to shop!!

There are many "100 yen" stores in Japan, but Daiso (seen above) is my favorite. They always seem to have a better selection.

Keegan also loves Daiso, there are so many colorful things to play with. The good news is, everything is only 100yen so he usually walks out with a few goodies.

Here's a sneak peak at all the usefule things you can find at Daiso.

 

I love the kiddie cups and plates! They are so durable and even dishwasher safe.. I think. At least I've put them in the dishwasher and they haven't melted, yet!

Consider yourself warned: Daiso is a children's wonderland! Most of their items come in a variety of vibrant colors! I spent mretime chasing my child than actually shopping.. but hey it wore him out right?

Happy shopping!!

Let me know about your favorite local finds!



Take a vote: Our Maternity Photos!

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Back in July I won a photo Shoot with Simply Ania Photography. She was incredible and so awesome to work with. If you're in Okinawa, she's definitely worth looking up!

 We took our pictures in August at Fukushen Gardens, near Naha and they're finally here!!!

 I am so excited.

I hope you're ready to be bombarded with pictures!

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She even got some of little man by himself, which I love!

Seriously, look at this kid. Little dude with a 'tude!

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I have some favorites but I'm still deciding which ones I want to frame for the homestead.

Let me know what your favorites are!

Off to "Italy"

This “trip” is part of our adventure around the world. If you would like to see how it all started or where else we’ve been, start here.

 

 

Italy just screams romance to me. So naturally, as I was planning our trip around the world, Italy came to mind first. It just so happened that a local wine festival was scheduled for the same month. That made it a no brainer!

This trip was originally planned for August, however due to a typhoon sweeping by the island, the festival was postponed two weeks. Other than having to swap our Friday night tickets for tickets on Saturday night, everything went as planned.

 

 

 

Okinapa.. where to begin?

We dropped K off with the sitter and headed to the festival around one. As soon as we arrived, we were handed wine glasses and a list of all the wines available (there were hundreds!! From all around the world). We didn’t waist anytime and headed to the first table of wines. I’ll admit, Mikael and I went to the same festival last year, so we already knew what our favorite tables would be, but Mikael was a good sport and still tried many other wines on the list. I, of course, just pointed to the wines I was curious about and had the waiter fill Mikael’s glass. I think he was having trouble drinking for two!

I drank for two, too!! Water that is. They even had sparkling water so I at least got to feel a little bit cool!

 

We ate intermittently throughout the event. Mostly because there is a baby cramping my stomach and Mikael just needed to balance the wine from time to time! The food was absolutely delicious! I meant to take pictures of the spread or at least my plates full (yes, there were many), but I was so engrossed in just eating everything that I forgot. We ate plenty of pastas, cheeses, and even crepes for desert. The also served a bit of local fare: Yakitori, Gyoza, and a few other seafood dishes, which are always Mikael’s favorite. Needless to say, we were stuffed by the time we left.

After tasting countless wines, Mikael and I had several stars next to our favorites and headed to the sale room. The room for purchasing is full of all the sampled wines and organized by table and number, which made it very easy to find what we were looking for. We lucked out, having only two of our “star” wines be sold out. It’s not uncommon for many wines to sell out on Friday night of the event. We do, after all, live on a very little island in the pacific with a very small wine selection… and let’s face it, people just need their wine!!

 

 

 

We filled our basket and had them all boxed an ready to go. We made out with 12 bottles (and got a discount for buying a cases worth) and spent a little over $100.00, which I thought was great.  The really great part is that you get the case discount even if all 12 wines are different!

 

We are now stocked on wine for a while and I certainly can’t wait to enjoy a glass after this baby arrives. I’m sure I’ll need it by then.

 

Our trip to Italy wasn’t as Italian as it could have been, but it was a much needed and well enjoyed date for both of us.

 

 I have to add that I have the greatest babysitter in the world and am so lucky to have such great support so far from home. It’s nice to be able to go out and not be so worrisome about my baby!

September will take us to GREECE, so make sure you stay tuned for our next adventure!

 

 

 

 

Bye Bye Mr. Binky

I was one of those new moms that swore I would take away my child’s beloved binky once he turned one. I figured it’d be easy to just take the binky with the bottle and call it good. Until I realized just how beloved that binky was… and how not so lovely my child became when he didn’t have it.

The truth is, that binky became my crutch, my little hope for sanity. Whether it was at the crowded grocery store, the park, or even in the comfort of my home, whenever Keegan started to throw a tantrum or cry inconsolably, I turned to the trusted binky. It would calm him instantly and for me that was a relief. So his first birthday obviously came and went. We tried a time or two to take it away, but gave in way too soon.

 After a few months we started to only give it to him at during naps and at bedtime with hopes that we’d shortly end that too. Yea… just one sleepless night and you could forget that. I think we made it a whole hour before getting up to find the binkies we had hid.

So here we are, coming up on K’s second birthday and he still uses a binky… or he did, until two nights ago. That’s right, I said DID. I noticed bumps around K’s lips from him sucking the pacifier too hard and decided that was it. They had to go. We threw them all away and gave up cold turkey.  I admit, when he woke up at 2AM screaming for his binky, I so wished I hadn’t thrown them away.

The first night, K woke up twice. Once at two, when he was screaming bloody murder and then again at 4am. When he woke up at 4 he started to scream for his binky, and once he realized he wasn’t going to get it, he began begging for cheese. Who wants chees at 4am? Only my child.  I obviously got up to get the cheese, because I knew I wouldn’t get any sleep otherwise. After I gave K the cheese he decided he wanted to eat it in the living room on the couch and watch cartoons… at 4 AM!  Did I mention it was a weeknight, meaning Mikael and I had to work the next day? Yea, poor planning on our part.  But K survived the first night. And the second night was even better. He only woke up once and only took a few minutes to calm down before falling back into his sweet little dreams.

Night three is just starting, but he didn’t even ask for his binky when he fell asleep. I’m seeing the progress already. He’ll forget all about them by this time next week. Now I have to decide whether or not I want to start the process all over again and give our new bundle a binky when he comes. Of course, if I do, it will be after we’re done breastfeeding, so at least I’ll have a couple months to decide.

We went cold turkey, but there are lots of different methods for weaning children from binkies or pacifiers. Below are a few articles I found around the web with good tips.

 

 Find what works for you and let me know how it goes.

Bye-Bye Binky: Ending the Pacifier Habit 

When should my baby stop using a pacifier?

6 Tips for Pacifier Weaning