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Underestimated

Two things that have started happening this week: 1) putting Sriracha on everything and 2) brushing my teeth three times per day.

The Sriracha is hopefully just a phase. I put it in a shrimp gratin last night as a midnight snack and dolloped it on a chicken sandwich today as the boys went upstairs for their nap. It's so delightful. But I am probably overdoing it. 

The boys and I headed out early to the traffic park in Wakabayashi Ward, one of our favorite places. We invited our friends, too. The boys haven't seen them in a couple months since they were away for a while over the holidays visiting family in the Philippines. 


Kenzo and Max are both graduating from kindergarten next week and they're super excited to start elementary school. I'm hoping Kenzo's excitement continues after he actually starts. It's gonna be pretty different than his kindergarten. He knows that, but he's also 6 years old and doesn't know a lot of things. After school three times a week he'll still go back to his kindergarten for English class, so there's that to look forward to as well.


The traffic park never disappoints. Except that it was pretty crowded today and the parking was full early so we had to wait for people to leave. The boys are still not good at waiting and complained a lot in the car. When we finally got a parking spot I tried to make it a teachable moment about the merits of delayed gratification and patience, but they just ran off to grab bicycles and go carts.




We had snacks and onigiri and a little fried chicken and I thought that would be enough. I underestimated the appetite of growing boys who played for over three hours straight like wild animals. On the way home they claimed they were very, very hungry. So we stopped off for a second lunch and they cleaned their bowls.


Our friends got us a present in the Philippines. Paw Patrol Jenga. They know us well. Kenzo and I played while Osamu's nap went right up to dinner time. He loves it and has already started experimenting with different versions of the game.


I've been brushing my teeth twice a day for a long time now. Once in a while I'll have Thai curry or a Korean bibimbap for lunch and I'll feel the need for a midday brushing. But normally it's just two times.

When I was at the dentist last weekend the lady who cleans my teeth gave me a good report for having no cavities, but commented that my teeth were pretty dirty and plaque-covered. She added, "You must be busy, I understand." I just always mumble my excuse that I drink a lot of black coffee and red wine.

She gave me some advice about the frequency of changing toothbrushes and I made a mental note that maybe a three times per day habit is the way to go as well. So when I go back for next check-up in June I'll see what happens.

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