HOME!

We are home in the great United States of Awesomeness! It was a long flight. We flew business class on Cathay Pacific (I know, poor us ;) ) and we each had our own little "pod." Which was cool, but meant that Connor couldn't see us during take off or landing or times of turbulence when he had to be seat belted in (of which there were many). He was so good and so brave! When we were about to take off they made him turn off the ipad he was playing with and he said "that's ok- I'm about ready for a nap anyway!" He napped for 3 hours, woke up, ate dinner and watched "Tangled," and then he was off to sleep for the night until we landed. Leyla, not so much. There was a bassinet on board for her to sleep in but every time there was turbulence and the seat belt sign was turned back on she had to be taken out and seat belted in her own baby seat belt. Which of course woke her up and pissed her off royally. Not as much sleeping out of her.

They say that even the most hardened New Yorkers- the ones that have lived there forever and ever- still get a bit of butterflies in their stomach when they first see that skyline come into view after being gone for awhile. I straight up teared up. So happy to be home.

Ashley sent Andrew and I an email that was waiting for us when we landed with just the above picture attached. Too perfect- thanks Ash!

Being back in our house right now makes it feel a little like our short time in Tokyo was just a dream- or rather an extended vacation that took us to Japan, Hong Kong and Thailand along the way. Where when we returned home after our travels we found we'd been robbed of basically all our possessions- baby gear, our clothes, important paperwork, my makeup, jewelry- basically everything (we weren't really robbed, we sent it away ourselves, but still- that's a little what it feels like!) First order of business today is to buy a kitchen table and chairs. This morning while we were sitting eating cereal on the kitchen floor Connor said "Hey Mommy 'member when we lived here before and we used to sit at a table when we ate our breakfast?" (He's really into the "Hey Mommy 'member whens" right now.) Ha.

Leyla was up at 4am this morning, Connor at 5. I figure it will be a good week before everyone is totally back to normal and today will likely be the hardest. Lucky for us my Mom arrives this afternoon. Right now the the kids are playing legos together (the big kind that Leyla can't swallow)- I think its the first time they actually "played" together (not just watched what the other was doing) - so cute!

Thank you so much for continuing to follow our journey home, and for thinking and praying for us and our safety along the way. So many people reached out to us during this time- to lend prayers and support, booking us flights, passing along contacts in Hong Kong, forwarding travel advisories or other information when we didn't have access to it, offering to send us clothes and whatnot, or just to make us smile and laugh when it wasn't so easy. My Mom's co-workers even chipped in and had a box of food delivered to us first thing this morning so we wouldn't have to rush out to the grocery store. Deep bow of gratitude to all! And as always, we are sending many thoughts and prayers to the Japanese, back in our "other" home.

Hello Hong Kong (Again)

We are back in Hong Kong, leg 1 of the journey home down, 1 more (long one) to go! We are scheduled to arrive back on US soil on Sat. night. I saw the below image on a friend's blog and I had to share. It's a simple design but so perfectly captures how I'm feeling for Japan right now. Even right now it appears that things are worsening. I read the situation described as a "slow moving nightmare" and I feel like that really hit the nail on the head. I continue to pray that things stabilize at the nuclear reactor and recovery can really begin. Deep sigh.

On a much, much lighter note, here's a couple iphone pics from our plane ride today.
View to my left.

View to my right. For the millionth time, how thankful I am for the existence of Puppy. He has provided my little guy with such safety and comfort during these last two weeks (Puppy pretty much hasn't left his side). And I am also very thankful- that Connor is such a good plane sleeper! He slept for most of this afternoon's flight (timed up during naptime, sweet).

Lastly... dating back to his days as Leo on "Will and Grace," I have loved Harry Connick Jr. Imagine my excitement when I learned he also lived in New Canaan (and no I did not move there because he lived there but it was a very, very fun surprise.) My Mom and I had a chance run in with him in one of the shops downtown when he even asked us (in his smooth-as-butter southern accent) to weigh in on a gift he was buying (during which I literally almost died on the spot). As I was reading the in-flight magazine on my Thai Air flight today I came across this ad and had to smile. Harry baby, I'm coming atcha! Reason #114 I'm thrilled to be coming home!

The Game Plan

Ah Japan. I'd like to think we will go back eventually. Another reason we wanted to come down here is that we were (hoping) that after a week + here that maybe, just maybe (miraculously) - the crazy things happening in Japan right now would blow over (literally) and we might be able to return there from here. We were really loving our life there. While we were far away from family and friends (and that was not fun), the quality of our immediate family life was amazing. Andrew had no night calls, no travel and no commute. He was around every morning and would walk Connor to school on school days. He was home for dinner on average 3 out of 5 nights. On the weekends we had no chores to do, no house to take care of- we could just do whatever we want and hang out together. Connor went to a wonderful international preschool that he adored and we didn't have to pay for. We had a regular sitter that we loved and Andrew and I's Saturday night social life was the best its (ever?) been. We had financial security. We were starting to make friends. We loved our apartment and our neighborhood. And Tokyo itself- it's an extraordinary city. And as I've already mentioned, the Japanese are just the most incredible people imaginable. My point-- life for us in Japan certainly did not suck.

Sadly things do not appear to be getting there. While there was a glimmer of hope last night that things were at least stabilizing at the nuclear plants, today we learned about high levels of radiation found in the water. Levels declared harmful to babies if they were to drink it. Andrew spoke with some of his co-workers this afternoon- people that have been completely calm throughout everything that has happened there recently- but this has them freaked out. Don't mess with the water. Especially when there is already a shortage of bottled water. Our hearts, as always, ache for the Japanese and everything they've had to endure recently. And so we (obviously) know that going back to Tokyo is not an option for us whatsoever right now.

We've been talking to a lot of the other Tokyo "refugees" here at the hotel yesterday and today and people are mixed as to their game plan. Several families plan to return to Tokyo this weekend. It's basically business as usual there now. Most of them have kids in middle and high schools there (which all reopen on Monday) and so its a bigger deal for them to just up and leave for awhile. Another family here with a young child is going back home to the US this weekend. It's not easy getting back to the US from here by the way (we're really freaking far away from home!)- their flight plan is to go from Phuket to Bangkok to Seoul and then finally to Chicago.

Our plan: On Friday morning we'll leave from here and fly back to Hong Kong (3 hours). We'll spend the night there and then leave on a Sat. evening flight to JFK (timing wise it wasn't possible to do both legs in one day and we think breaking it up like that will be good for us anyway). We wanted to be sure to take a night flight so that the kids will sleep a good chunk of that 16 hour flight. Sixteen freaking hours! And then the real fun begins (jet lag, getting ourselves set up). Thankfully my Mom will be coming up on Sunday morning (thank you Mom!!!) to help us with the kids. Having a non-jetlagged person around to help and watch them so that we can be out and about getting the things we need asap will be instrumental.

There are many silver linings to coming home right now though. First and for most- we're returning to the United States of Awesomeness! We are SO looking forward to seeing our family and friends!! Connor is such a big boy now and Leyla's at such a fun baby age so I'm so excited for everyone to get to see them. Looking forward to playdates with my girlfriends and their babies (Claire-we're coming at you first girlfriend!) and nights out with the girls (already in the works!) AND my two best friends are both having babies in the next several weeks so I'm excited I'll get to see their babies when they are still itty bitty! And then there's the obvious- driving my car, trips to Target, CVS, Whole Foods, the farmers market, etc. and getting myself and the kids some new clothes with no problem, etc. A mom of one of Connor's old classmates in New Canaan has organized a soccer class for the kids in his class so I'm hoping to get him involved in that. And maybe even back in his old class. Routine is key for this boy. I have no doubt we'll be up and running again in no time.

We definitely haven't written Tokyo off forever, although once I'm home and the kids and I are through the jetlag, (I'm a total pansy when it comes to jetlag- there's very little I loathe more in life) I think it's going to be a while before I'm going to want to turn around and go back again. But I do think that eventually, we will go back. No giving up on Japan over here! Not to mention- that's where Andrew's job is ;)

So that's the scoop. Here's a couple more random pics from Thailand- wow is it paradise here! Though our hearts and heads remain heavy, we've tried to enjoy ourselves as much as possible here. We will definitely return!
Happy Birthday Andrew.

This is how we roll.

The hotel is so beautiful.

Watching Andrew play tennis this afternoon.

Ice cream date with my (little) man.

Beautiful beach!

Little lady Leyla.

First bananas (really the only thing I can make for her here). With no highchair when she doesn't want to sit on her own I have to hold her up with my legs.

Ready for the pool.

Andrew's mini-me!

Of course she'll sit for Daddy no prob ;)

Happy boy in his favorite shirt!

Hug from her big bro.

On the go!

Right now, my mood is: GRATEFUL. That we're all okay and not having to face the terribly scary things happening in Japan, that we're in such a beautiful place right now, and that we're coming home in just a couple days. So very much to be thankful for!

Happy Birthday Andrew!

This past Saturday night I had planned for a karaoke extravaganza with some of our friends in celebration of Andrew's birthday but obviously, that did not happen. But today hasn't been a bad way to celebrate either. We had a birthday pancake breakfast out on the patio this morning. Then we dropped the kids off at the kids club for a couple hours after Leyla's nap. You can arrange for babysitting there which was perfect. They have a jungle gym, crafts, lots of toys, etc. And Andrew and I were able to have some "us" time at the pool by ourselves. In the below picture we're at the swim up bar with a waterfall behind us. Pretty sweet!

The Birthday Boy.

Leyla's gift to her Daddy- her first word (which to even call it a word is a real stretch but in honor of Andrew's birthday and us not exactly having access to other gifts we're going to go with it): Dada. Which right now is more like dadadadada and not exactly with purpose but whatever, we'll take it. It's been so fun watching her find her little voice. She is quite the little personality!

Happy Birthday to Andrew- as I've said before- he's the best man I know. We've shared eight homes together on two continents, had two amazing kids, and countless adventures along the way. There's absolutely no one I'd rather share this wild and precious life with. I love you so much!

More from Thailand

Relaxation has commenced ;) We did not watch CNN yesterday or today (though we kept up to speed online.) It just wasn't doing any of us any good. That's not to say I haven't been thinking about what's going on in Japan every waking minute. We've donated to the international relief fund of the American Red Cross and continue to say a lot of prayers. I'm finally no longer scared or crazy stressed. Now just immensely sad. We've also begun to have the "ok what next" convos, as in what will happen (job and life wise) once we get back home. No fun. But in the meantime, we're really trying to enjoy our time here. It is so beautiful, it's hard not to unwind. Yesterday I took a pilates class that was held in one of those outdoor huts (called "salas" here) like out of a Travel & Leisure magazine. I was the only person who came so it became a private class. So awesome. Andrew played tennis today, I went to the spa. We've taken the kids to the pool, the beach, the playground and the kids' pavilion every day. It's been such a welcome distraction, we're trying to make the best of our "evacu-cation" ;) Here's a bunch of pics from the last day or so.
Leyla on our patio.

She's so proud of her new crawling skills. I, however, am slightly sad to say goodbye to the non-mobile baby days ;)

Tearing up newspapers like a little puppy. This is her "should I not be doing this?" face.

One of the bars here has a great happy hour, and a place for the kids to pay in the sand out front.

Connor brought his new friends back to meet his lil sis.

The scene.

I mean its sorta pretty here ;)



We've been ordering up all sorts of amazing Thai food and having it delivered to our balcony after we put the kids to bed. YUM

At the pool this morning.




Connor refused to join us for this pic, too busy playing.


Playing with his friend Nicolas, who is also here from Tokyo.

Kickin' back.

Someone's happy at Happy Hour!

Self shot.

The girls.

Thailand Pics

There's two Julies going on right now. One is just completely and utterly dazed and grief stricken. I watch CNN and the images are physically nauseating. They'll haunt me forever. It's been the pictures of the kids- babies and toddlers being checked for radiation etc, that send me into instant tears. Connor has been asking why Mommy is crying. At first I told him it's because I slipped and fell (just came to my mind first) but then he threw himself down on the ground and (crying now) said "Look Mommy, I fell too! I'm hurt just like you!" So now I just say Mommy is very sad but I'll be ok. We've been keeping in touch with Andrew's co-workers, etc back in Tokyo. They're almost all staying put, that's their home and their country. We've been especially aching for the Hayashi family (sons are Kenta and Kouta, ages 3 and 1). We're just praying that things will start to get better, it feels like they can't get worse. We're praying for the victims and all the heroes- the rescuers and esp. those that are working inside those reactors- they know they're receiving what are sure to be lethal doses of radiation but they are still working. As I've said before, the Japanese are just such an incredible people. There's a reason there's been no looting or panic there. It's just not in their nature. Apparently the US is evacuating Americans to safehaven locations now, once again, we are so thankful that we left when we did.

The other Julie is trying to pretend everything is a-okay and to have fun with the kids on our "vacation." We all finally got a good night's sleep last night (Connor only woke up once having a nightmare). It was such a good idea to come here and has provided a much needed distraction although it feels strange to be in paradise when so many back in Tokyo are suffering. The resort where we're staying is really awesome- its the most popular "family" resort (JW Marriott). It's an added perk that (I guess since its a Marriott?) everything here is in English. We've actually run into a few more families seeking refugee here from Tokyo. One Mom that I recognized from having seen at the Tokyo American Club is here by herself with her three young boys. Her husband is still back in Japan. No freaking way! Connor played at the pool today with his friend Nicolas from Tokyo. It's been nice to see some familiar faces. The Thai people are incredibly friendly and they love kids. Several times we've been out to eat and the waitresses have whisked Leyla away to show her off. As long as she's in sight I certainly don't mind! That must be an Asian thing (taking your baby away when you're out to eat)-- it's happened to us in Tokyo before too. And not sure if its babies in general, white babies, or just my baby, but we get swarmed easily walking around with Leyla. The Thais try and get her attention by clucking and making popping noises (that must be a Thai thing because we've not seen that one before). It's pretty funny. Anyway, here's a bunch of pictures from yesterday and today. Figured those at home would like to see the kiddoes having some fun!

Connor throwing rocks in the Indian Ocean!

It's nice having some room to spread out.


Big jump.



Again, such a family friendly hotel. We hit this up after naps this afternoon.


We picked this swim thing up for Connor at the hotel gift shop. It's a floatie thing on the top half.

Don't hassle the Hoff.

Look, no hands!

Leyla in her St. Paddy's Day green (which admittedly was pure coincidence).

The craziest storm clouds rolled in this evening but it never rained.



Awesome.

Connor watching them light the fires in the water.

My fam ;)

The food here is amazing. Best pad thai ever!

Tired and heading back to our room. Connor's face is covered in ice cream.

As always, thank you so much to those keeping up with us. The love and support we've received from family and friends back home has been incredible. For a million reasons, we are so blessed.