i haven't posted this week because it has been a bad week. really stressful. mostly my fault, but that doesn't make it easier to bear.

it all started on sunday. we left the house early to have breakfast together. hamakatsu-ya, a pork cutlet restaurant, has recently changed its hours in order to serve breakfast. there are only two options, pork hambaagu or grilled salmon, but that's ok. both yoshi and i ordered the hambaagu. it was delicious. then we drove to the airport. yoshi wanted to introduce us to his co-worker (boss?) with whom he was traveling. i had taken the stroller out of the car (to take hiro and sasha for a walk the day before) and forgot about it, so yoshi left his luggage with his boss and carried sasha back to the car for me. we said goodbye and then left.

on the way back, i stopped at costco. i got some ground beef and chicken wraps (something new at the fukuoka costco). i was also going to get a (cooked) pizza, but the kids were fussy, it was a weekend day so it was already busy, and the kids cart i was using didn't have belts (so i couldn't step away from the cart, even to stand in the snack bar line because sasha was intent on climbing out and landing on her head.) then i drove home.

near the house i started thinking, 'did i take the house key? did i have it?' i started looking in all the places i usually put it (the tray on the dashboard, in my bag, in my pocket) but i couldn't find it. oh shit. i got to the house and checked sasha's car seat (she likes to play with keys) but since yoshi put her in the car, i was pretty sure she didn't have them. she didn't. yes, i got locked out of the house. i checked the small window at the genkan, but it was locked up. i have been worrying that someone could reach through the window and get our keys, which we keep in a small dish on the shoes box. i expressed my concern to yoshi recently, and so either one of us locked the window. all other windows (except one) have security bars on them. all were closed and locked. all the sliding glass doors were locked, too. dammit, of all the times to actually remember to lock up the bleeding house....

that's when i realized i didn't have my keitai with me, either. i had to drive around town looking for a pay phone. who uses pay phones any more? the first one i found wouldn't even take coin money! blast!! i found another and tried to call yoshi, but his phone was turned off. i left a message and then drove around some more. i pretty much figured that i would just stay in a hotel (because there was no way i was going to my in-laws' house) for a couple of days. that meant buying diapers and some clothes for the kids. looking back, i suppose i should have tried a locksmith, but honestly, it didn't occur to me, and i just started stressing out about having being locked out of the house. i thought that maybe yoshi could send the keys to me, but first i had to get a hold of him.

i finally got him on the phone after 2. he first suggested i go to his parents' house, but i didn't want to do that. i was getting paid on wednesday, so if anything, i'd pay for a hotel room for myself! then he said he'd call the builder (of our house) to have someone let me in, but they don't have keys that work on our house! i then suggested that he send me his keys. he had to inquire, and then i had to call him back. it turns out that the keys would arrive on tuesday, the day he returned. and even if it was a few hours before he got there, it just didn't seem feasible. so, i checked into a hotel.

it wasn't so bad, really, looking back on it. on monday the kids and i visited kuri in the clinic where she gave birth. she looked great, and her baby is so beautiful! i am glad that we had a chance to go, and that kuri was up for a visit (it is tiring giving birth, and then having a new baby. thanks so much for having us!) after we left the clinic, we went to a shopping center. i got sasha in the new stroller (which i had bought that morning before visiting kuri) and then went to get hiro out. he had kicked off his shoes, again, and one actually was out of the car. i got his shoe, scolded him for kicking them off and then...i couldn't find the other shoe. i just lost it. i started shouting and screaming at poor hiro. we couldn't go into the shopping center. why did he kick off his shoe? i kept telling him to keep his shoes on! sasha is hungry. mommy is hungry. hiro is hungry. now i have to buy new shoes! do you know how many things i've had to buy already?! poor hiro kept saying, 'i don't know.' a new phrase for him. i feel so bad about how i lost it. i threw everything out of the car (except hiro). no shoe. i threw everything back in the car, put sasha in her car seat and put the stroller in the car. i was so angry.

i could have left them in the car, or just hiro, i suppose, but they were both awake. and hiro can get out of his car seat, and he can open car doors, plus it was pretty hot, even though i had parked on the fourth floor (of a five story building) and there was no sun shining in the car. but i just couldn't. so, i drove towards home. on the way, i stopped at 7-11, got an onigiri for hiro and a drink for me, and i tried the chicken wraps i had bought at costco (it was pretty good). i could tell the hamburger wasn't going to make it. sasha had fallen asleep, but she drinks a lot of milk these days so it wasn't a big deal. i apologized to hiro, but reminded him that he shouldn't kick his shoes off in the car. or throw them out the door.

after 'lunch', i started back 'home' again. hiro quickly fell asleep, so i stopped at nishimatsuya, and with the car left running (it was so damn hot this week) i quickly ran inside and bought hiro some new shoes. that was a crappy day.

on tuesday, i had to go to work. it's my last week for working, except for three days in august when my boss wants me to continue with a special (that is, high expectations) class. he doesn't want to have another substitute come in just before the 'new' teacher starts. no problem for me, but i admit it will be nice to not have to worry about working any more. i do like the work, the experience, but now that i'm seven months pregnant, i'm ready for relaxing! yoshi got home just before we did. surprisingly, the dishes and the dirty kitchen wasn't as bad as i had been imagining. i did throw out the hamburger though, that morning at a convenience store. it was a pretty full trash can so i hope someone took care of it before it turned too rancid.

we have now put spare keys in different places (for one, there is now a house key with the gaia's keys) and i truly hope this never happens again. or, if it does, that i have my ketai with me so i can call the damn locksmith!