We dropped Zack off at the ship on Sunday evening. And they left early Monday morning...having everyone on the night before eliminates having to deal with people being late and missing the ship if they are leaving early the next morning. I'll rewind and tell you about our weekend. Friday evening Zack got off of work and we decided to go out in town to get pre-made food in the grocery store at More's City Mall. Then we could bring it home and just hang out here eating our food. Zack had been on his feet all day and decided he didn't want to walk from the front gate to the mall. The mall is located on a busy street that us Americans call Blue Street...because the street has a lot of blue everywhere. There is also a train station right next to the mall...meaning it's super busy almost all of the time. I was all for driving as long as it wasn't me doing the driving. I knew that it was going to be crazy. So we left base...took the first road to the right and we were already on Blue Street. And then the fun began...it's basically a four lane road with six lanes of traffic. Cars were parked along the sidewalk..blocking one of the two lanes...and in order to go around these vehicles you had to drive into the turn lane of the oncoming traffic. And then mopeds and bicycles ride on the road but next to the curb...so we often had to leave room for them to navigate...and then motorcycles are free to ride down the middle of the street to navigate around traffic. So imagine that you have to go into the lane of oncoming traffic to continue your path...but you must keep track of the bicycles and the mopeds on your left to ensure you don't run anyone over/or cause them to run into the side of your vehicle...and then also keep track of your right in case a motorcycle decides it wants to just drive down the middle of the road...all the while keeping track of the traffic in front of you because they could potentially come into your lane to go around a stopped vehicle on the curb. It can be a bit overwhelming! We made it to the mall but missed the turn lane for the parking garage...and there is no doing a quick turn around and going back! So we had to keep driving and I had the iPhone and was able to tell Zack which way to turn to get us back to the main road that runs in front of the base...there really isn't a grid system set up on the roads. We made it back to the main road and then had to drive down to turn right onto Blue Street and do that fun drive to the parking garage again! We parked and headed down to the grocery store where we picked up a few of our favorites and then a few new foods to try. Then we headed home to eat our food and watch some movies that we rented.
Saturday Zack had duty so Noah and I hung out and visited the park..fairly boring day! Zack came home the next morning and we did family time and played at the park. That evening we tried to get Noah to go down and then the plan was just to move him to the car to take Zack to the ship. Noah decided to sleep in that morning and he was full of energy. So when we took Zack to the ship at 9 that evening Noah was still wide awake. Zack had sat down with Noah and talked to him about him leaving and going bye bye for a while...on the boat. We drove to the ship and we said our goodbyes. Zack once again told that he was going bye bye to work on the boat and that he loved him and would miss him. Noah waved goodbye to him and Zack went through the security gate. We drove home and Noah finally passed out a few minutes after coming home.
Noah has done really well so far in this post daddy leaving time. He's been going down well for naps and bedtime. And not nearly as grumpy. He has asked for him and we talk about how we dropped him off at the boat so he could work and go bye bye for a while. Noah seems to accept this and goes on with his business. I guess Zack's talks with him and him being awake for the drop off helped make some connections for him. We have been watching him on TV(reading stories) every evening. Noah has also been asking to see "cheese me, dad"...pictures of me and dad. I get out the camera and we go through the pictures of him and then pictures of him and Zack. He gets a big smile on his face!
We have been very busy with play dates at the park and our home...as well as PT Tots. That class has been a lifesaver for both me and Noah. He has meet a lot of friends and is able to do developmental activities. And it has given me a chance to meet a lot of other moms and make some friends. Noah got invited to his first birthday party today...it has a dinosaur theme and Noah will enjoy it. It will present some challenges for us food wise but we'll work it out. And yesterday we were busy with a typhoon. This has been our third one since coming here but this one was different because it actually made landfall right on top of us...and we experienced the full typhoon and not just the rain associated with the outskirts of the band. It was an interesting day as the winds were going crazy. I had picked up the seat cushions from the patio furniture and laid them all down...this bugged Noah to no end that they were "broke"! The wind really hit us around 3-7ish that evening...and I heard all sorts of noises coming from our home. I was texting/fbing with a friend that also lives in townhouse in another housing area about all the noises...and we were all trying to figure out what noise was coming from where! One was the metal and the glass "stuff" from the patio overhangs that were flying off the homes, another was the sound of neighbor's outdoor sheds being ripped apart, and another was the sound of the top of the vent on the roof that was connected with the stove vent hood-this was super annoying...as the sound traveled down and into our home...along with tree limbs, sheet metal, tin...and all sorts of other stuff flying around on and off base! Very Wizard of Oz! We made it through with no damage...except for our small plants/trees in our flower box...3 out of the 4 are leaning over from being blown by the wind. Zack is not going to be very happy about it...but I think I can somehow get them to back upright again. We have activities planned for tomorrow and then possibly going to the aquarium with a group on Sunday. Almost one week down and so many more to plan!
