kobe oji zoo. again.

drey & i have been to this zoo a handful of times, but tyler had never been able to come with us. one warm afternoon we decided to go so drey could drag him around and show him everything. we had actually attempted to go the week before, but when we got there it was closed. turns out, every wednesday it's closed and it just happened to wednesday. what kind of crap is that, right? in america, the south does weird hours like that. shops and restaurants are randomly closed in the middle of the week for no reason. so odd.

anyways. the zoo was a blast. the air was as warm as it has been since we've been here, which i loved so much. all the animals were so active & alert and that made it exciting. except the koalas and the kangaroo's. they didn't care how many people were staring at them. as far as they were concerned, we could all go kill ourselves.

oh my gosh and the little monkeys! they were the cutest little things i've ever seen. so cute, we had to become their best friends. there was a railing, making a small gap, separating the people from getting too close to the cage. well they wanted to play so we put drey over the railing so he could get closer and they were reaching their little arms out trying to touch him. turns out, they wanted what drey had in his hand, which was a rock. so they kifed the rock and climbed away. we eased them back with little mini pretzels (that they probably aren't supposed to eat, so don't tell the japanese zoo what we did..). but it was so cute! we got to, without permission, pet and play with the japanese monkeys! haha

easter basket wishlist

i feel like a terrible mother, but easter this year is going to be bypassed. normally, i go over the top celebrating holidays, however minuscule they may seem. normally, i take dreydan to the dollar store and let him splurge on decorations for his room. then all the days leading up to the holiday we bake in the kitchen making themed treats ready to munch for the days ahead. we do holiday related activities. we watch holiday related movies/shows etc.. and then on the day, i cook a holiday related themed dinner. ie: corned beef & cabbage for st. paddy's.

but being in another country where our holidays are not so wildly celebrated and revered, it's easy to forget. especially by a child. last year we were here for halloween, and that was so hard! i'm in love with everything halloween & there was nothing here to indicate the slightest idea that it was october. this year, we got here beginning of march so we missed st. patrick's day. if it weren't for instagram i would've totally forgotten all about it. sooo easter celebrations won't be happening. translation: the easter bunny won't make it to us. but shhh.. dreydan will never know. we've got him distracted with all sorts of other things.

besides all of that rubbish, i've put together an easter wishlist of must-haves. obviously i won't be needing or getting any of them this year, but hey, a girl can virtual window shop, right?

1// 2// 3// 4// 5// 6// 7// 8// 9//

one. dying easter eggs is messy with kids. especially my boy. so this apron from pottery barn would be perfect. and not just for dying eggs, but all activities all year long.

two. the sweetest floral romper from holley and sage. i seriously drool over the stuff in their shop.

three. every easter basket needs a book. 'marshmallow' found here is great for boys & girls.

four. throwing this on over your babes little dress after the hunt, pictures, church etc.. keeps the easter spirit just a little longer. from purllamb. another shop that i can't get enough of.

five. pamplemousse teething ring. such a cute shop for natural handmade teething rings! another easter basket must-have.

six. throw this short sleeve button up from crewcuts on with a pair of colored shorts & you have the most handsome dude around.

seven. easter bunny bundle masks from opposite of far. drey loves masks & dressing up, so every year we find themed masks for every holiday. he's obsessed.

eight. wooden toys are so much fun to have. so when i found this shop on etsy, i drooled and 'favorited' pretty much everything. this wooden toy bowling set from cake in the morn is an easter basket need.

nine. another pottery barn find, because pottery barn rocks. little plush animal rattles found here.

i hope you love this little compilation of easter basket yummies as much as i do.
i'll see you next year, easter bunny.

congratulations whitney & taylor

maddyn taylor jeski

is she not the cutest damn chunky newborn you've ever seen? i mean!

one of my favorite besties (some of you would know her as 'miss mama me') & her hubby welcomed their new baby girl into the world last night. it will probably be months before i'll be able to meet her, so i'm enjoying staring at pictures i keep forcing them to send me because it's just never enough. so proud of you, whit! you did it again & she's more than perfect. the hair, the pucker, the non-existent neck, the armpit rolls.. gah, so many heart eyes!

is your kid as annoying as mine?

i love my son. he's the best little person i know. he's smart, he's witty, he's creative, he's adorable, he has his daddy's tender heart.. but he's also so. damn. annoying. this stage in life he's at, i'm telling you, it's exhausting! every day at some point i want to slam my head into a wall to drown out his constant talking. the kid never shuts up, never stops asking questions, never stops. like right now(and has been for the last hour), he's driving two cars back and forth on the kitchen counters, screaming, making boy noises, crashing them together, running in circles, story-telling to anyone who will listen as he goes.. and no matter how many times i say hey drey, not so loud or hey play that somewhere else or hey bud, no more throwing cars it still continues. and then the pauses every 30 seconds during playtime to ask a question that has to have an answer right then or it will be repeated 200 times. real questions i've gotten the past 8 minutes:

mom what would happen if these wheels popped off these cars?! 
can glass get burned by fire? will fire burn glass?! can it?
how do you spell 'BAM'?
does our car fly? mine do. does yours? mom does it? mom?
MOM I NEED A DRINK! CAN I HAVE A DRINK?!
if dinosaurs were alive, would they be nice?
mom can cop cars fly?! they're cops! can they fly?!
will you help me build a fort? MOM I NEED A FORT FOR MY ANIMALS!
is it nighttime? mom? is it nighttime?
mom? mom? mom? mom?! .. can i have a snack?
mom what equals 2 plus 2?
what equals 2 plus 2 plus 2 plus a billion?
who builds houses?
animals don't talk, huh? they can't. do animals talk?
mom i found a sticker. that's funny! what is this sticker? where did it come from? mom?
does full blast mean a lot of blasting? or just full blast?
what's 'ow' mean? does it mean you're hurt? mom? mom?
mom who's optimus prime?
who is worser at fighting, dad or a t-rex?
dad is? why? why would dad lose? mom?! why would dad lose?
what spells 'h j k' ?
do kids in japan like being in japan? can they swim?
how do you make fire? what IS fire? mom! what is fire? flames and what else?
can i play play-doh?

all day. this is my life.

and i hate getting mad. i hate raising my voice to get my seriousness across. i hate it. but the thug life chose me & sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. like when we're fighting about lunch.. i'm begging him to eat his carrots & he's claiming he hates carrots. what i want to say: holy shit! eat your damn carrots!!  what i actually say: dreydan! eat your carrots, now. please. *serious face* 20 minutes & 2 more arguments later, carrots have been choked down. success.

time to leave the house. mom where are we going? why do we have to leave? are we going to the park? can we go to the park? mom are you taking me to the park? how long will we be gone? mom can i wear my red jordans? how many toys can i bring? is dad coming? i'm hungry, can we take snacks? how. long. are. we. going. to. be. gone?  *inhaling deeply and praying to anybody to shut him up before i throw myself in front of a car*  mom? mom? mom? mom? mom? mom?  *mother of god*  mom? mom?! mom?! MOM!

and you know that meme where the little hand is sticking under the door and it captions "bathroom break, they will find you"... i mean it's not even funny it's so true. i'm followed e v e r y w h e r e around the house. and then he sits outside the bathroom asking if i'm pooping if i happen to be in there longer than 4 seconds. and then wiggles the door handle to see if it's locked. and then asks again if i'm pooping. and then knocks. and then wiggles the door handle again asking why the door is locked. and then claims he needs to pee too but refuses to use another bathroom and repeats just hurry! over and over.

all day. my life.

and can we talk about the things he refuses to do on his own even though he's totally old enough?

putting on his own clothes - i have to beg. he's either a paraplegic or someone having a seizure when it comes to dressing him. and then the bickering dreydan HELP! dreydan stand up! dreydan stop moving and put your socks on! dreydan put your toys down and get your arm through! obviously he ignores me & instead asks questions about why it's raining or how many feathers are there in a pillow.
wiping his own butt - when he's done he yells mom i'm done! and will sit there until i come in to wipe for him. his argument is he "can't get it all".. he can though, he's just lazy as hell. lately i've been fighting back more and we've compromised with me checking to make sure he did. but seriously?
picking up his own toys - i partially blame myself for this. sometimes it's better to forgo the fight and just do it on my own. but he thinks he's king now & is too good to gather his toys after he's thrown them all over the house. i can almost hear him mumble slave under his breath as he watches me reach under the couch as far as i can go to snag that god forsaken lego.
brushing his own teeth - i've always been a crack head about his teeth and i've always done it for him. i want to make sure they're clean! but he's old enough to brush his teeth now, right? he won't. his arms get tired, it hurts when he has to do it, they're clean enough, he's been brushing them for hours.. the list goes on of excuses he can come up with. i guess i can blame myself for this, too? damnit.

all of these he's perfectly capable to do on his own, but refuses. because he sucks & must hate me.

but when i finally get some time to myself, like going to the grocery store alone or tyler taking drey to park for a little while, i find myself craving that little annoying child. i may not want him around me all the time but i need him around me. i need his questions, i need his yelling when he's stuck in an imaginary world, i need the shadow of everywhere i go.

like i said before, this stage in life he's at right now is exhausting, but it feels so good. he's the biggest part of who i am and my life would be near nothing without him annoying the hell out of me all day. he's my baby. he's my best little friend (except i'm not his, his daddy is. bros before hoes) and i miss him when he's not around. and randomly during a series of 1000 questions he'll surprise me with hey mom? i love you and then i melt & swoon and everything is forgiven. and that smart little jerk knows it.

so tell me. is your child as annoying as mine?

sometimes {japanese edition}

sometimes we walk around the train station while i'm in tourist mode.

sometimes it just feels good to be stared at with a look of wtf? from locals.

and sometimes, you just need to munch on mister donuts during all of it.

happy saturday.

20 weeks

most moms would be like i can't believe i'm half way there! and they'd probably mean it. because seriously, the first 30 weeks of dreydan's pregnancy flew by for me! but this one... i've been to hell and back to get to 20 weeks. i hate to be "that lady" who complains about being pregnant, so i won't. but i will say that the first 3.5 months this time around sucked. i literally laid in bed & puked. i showered maybe once a week & my teeth were brushed prob every other night. i know, so disgusting. but that was my life, people! this second time around was a trap i tell you.

i'm feeling much better now. aside from the heartburn that shows up every single night as soon as i lay down in bed, i'm great! baby girl is growing so fast in there. i'm starting to feel her move more everyday & i love it. that feeling of a baby rolling around inside your belly is something every girl deserves to experience at least once. you just can't explain it, it's so perfect.

i always want to be eating something, i'm seriously never not hungry. we had pizza the other night & i ate 5 pieces. f i v e. i can just picture myself eating when i think nobody is watching me - breathing heavy, chewing with my mouth open, not making eye contact with anybody, wiping my hands on my shirt, stealing food from my 4yr olds plate.. can you see it? jabba the hutt. that's me. chowing down like i'm not going to get fed for another 3 hours.

i've had a handful of people ask me is it hard to be in japan and not be able to nest?! right now, no. i'm not quite there yet. i've done some online shopping for the little miss, but i'm not in 'nesting' mode yet. once i am, everyone will know it and they'll want to kill me. baby everything! but i'm still sleeping in, embracing my hefty belly like it's just those 5 pieces of pizza that won't digest, & loving alone time with homeboy while he's still an only child.

half way there, guys. 20 more weeks and i'm going to have a little girl. whaaat?

what's making my life good right now.

one. my japanese apple water. i don't know what it is about the flavored water over here, but it is sooo damn good. the apple is my favorite, but my close second is the peach. different companies, but equally as yummy.

two. our ramen restaurant. i blogged about it last time we were here as one of our favorite places to eat and it still is. you guys, nothing in america compares to the fried rice here. my little brother would be in heaven because fried rice is his jam and i know he would punch a baby to get it.

three. speaking of baby, the ever growing bebe in muh belly! right before we left to come back to japan, we found out we were having a GIRL! ahhhh. another baby feels real, but a girl?! what am i supposed to do with a girl?! i still can't believe i'm going to have little pink clothes, dresses, hair bows.. tyler & i are both still a little shocked, but we're ready.

four. snapchat. i mean, seriously. ya'll keep me so entertained and i love it so much haha.

five. speaking of apps, trivia crack! if you don't have it, get it! it's literally crack. my aunt forced me to get it when she was visiting in february & i haven't done a damn thing else. i have like 900 games going right now, i'm the champion to like 40 of them and they keep coming back for more.. the only person i can't seem to beat is tyler. always freakin' tyler. anyways, get it. join me in the addiction.

six. my new blog layout, obviously. it's perfect.

seven. my maternity leggings. i can't wait to never wear regular leggings ever again. first of all, they're the best things i've ever put on my body. and i don't care whether i'm preggo or not, i'm wearing them for the rest of my life and you can't stop me.

eight. dreydan. i don't know how he can be so annoying and so fun all at the same time. he makes us laugh everyday with his random comments and witty remarks. he's so excited to have a little sister, it's the cutest thing.

nine. pinterest. it always make my life good, but now that i need inspiration for all things baby girl, its a life-saver and keeps me entertained all day long. but honestly, when does it not?

what's making your life good right now? tell me everything.

oh yea, and happy st. patrick's day!

amagasaki streets

it's been so chilly since we've been here. rainy. gloomy. it's even snowed! this area of japan we're in rarely gets snow. they don't know what to do when it snows. but it melts as it touches the ground or sometime during the same day, so it doesn't seem like that big of deal.

but because it's been so cold, we haven't been on too many walks. we go to the usual 100 yen shop or the grocery store, but then we come right back home. we haven't been able to explore! it is s l o w l y warming up, though. tomorrow is supposed to be 70! so we'll be hitting up the zoo, probably along with 8546 other people, but whatever. drey is excited. and then temps are going back down, and will be raining the rest of the week. jammies all day...

our neighborhood is very japanese. we are lucky enough to live in a more modern japanese home {and i use modern loosely because it's still very much japanese}. it's newer, cleaner, and has plenty of space. at least compared to the more traditional homes. nothing like the space we take for granted in american homes, but it's perfect right now. one day i will post a tour of the inside. it's pretty cool haha.

while ty was the gym this afternoon, drey & i walked around our neighborhood for some fresh air. we hit up the grocery store for a couple things and then made a small loop back home. and i snapped pics along the way.

 this is our little home away from home. it's yellow haha.