Greetings from the one armed blogger!

So, yes...writing blog entries with only one hand available is certainly not ideal, though I could have some sense of accomplishment in my multi-tasking abilities (my other arm is being used to hold/feed Elise)...there's still no denying the fact that even the smallest of tasks takes at least 3 times longer with a newborn around! I am learning the slow and sometimes painful lesson of having no expectations for my days so that I can be thankful when we get even a few chores done or errands run.

We have actually accomplished quite a lot of things during Elise's first six weeks in the big bright world - we've been to Tokyo and Yokohama twice, taken cable cars up two different mountains (one in Hakone and one in Chiba), gone to see Big Buddha twice and bigger Buddha once, traveled to Shimoda (a great beach on the Izu peninsula), and now we're all experiencing our first real typhoon! I guess it's the un-fun daily chores like cooking and cleaning that seem more difficult to have time for...oh well, the dishes can always wait until later!


More on Shimoda: We joined our friends from the Lighthouse for a Labor Day weekend getaway and traveled about 3 hours by train to the peninsula just south of us. There are lots of beaches closer to us, but they are surrounded by some of the most heavily traveled waterways in the world - so you can imagine how clean they are.

Having a little sweaty baby on the beach was quite tricky. I think we found sand in her nose, ears, and neck folds for at least 3 days. Stiil, we enjoyed "discovering" a new part of Japan and it was great to be in the Pacific Ocean! We also stayed at a great bed and breakfast, complete with tatami rooms and Japanese-style futons to sleep on.