Getting the Most Out of Outgrown Clothes

I've been meaning to post about this for a while now, but as many of you have realized, we've been deliquent in our posting lately. Anyway, about a week and a half ago, I came home to find Marielle wearing an outfit that she picked out completey on her own. Natalei told me this when I got my first look at Marielle, but it was apparent with or without the explanation. Marielle was super excited about her get up. She pranced around smiling, while waving her sock-covered hands. Clearly, her hat's getting a little small (still ultra cute), her shirt's riding up, her pants are a bit short, and there are no puddles in sight, but I can't think of a better use for all this clothes.
Oh, and note below that despite requesting that we help her put the socks on her hands, she is still mad as can be that she can't pick up the ball.

We Haven't Blogged Since Summer

Yes, that's right. We haven't blogged since summer. Our friends' posts of late have been making note of the waning year. Lisa's getting geared up for Christmas, and Geoff's captured the very beginning of the changing leaves in his recent post's pictures. This past week I too noticed the end of summer, and I'm excited about it. I love the fall and winter. A lot of this has to do with liking the weather. "What?" you say. Correct, I like the cold weather. You all know that I sweat like it's going out of style. The cool weather definitely suits me. This past week we got down into the 50's. It rained and we had the best low-hanging clouds in the mornings. As excited as I am about the dreary days to come, it is a little sad that so much of this year has already flown by.

I'm glad that we have been filling it with fond memories of our growing children, weekends with friends and family, and trips to see all those who we don't get to always see.

Have Internet, Will Blog

Warning: We were going to blog about our Tokyo adventure in several separate posts while we were traveling, but the technology at our disposal wouldn't allow us to post pictures along with the text. We decided to wait to tell the rest of the story until we could get photos up as well. This all adds up to one very long posting. Don’t complain. If you choose to read it, I thank you for being interested in our lives. If you don’t choose to read it, then I’m sorry you lack culture and class. Hehe, just kidding. I separated them so you could read them one at a time if desired.


Tokyo was a lot of fun. The city has tons to see and tons of great food to eat (my favorite activity). Getting from the airport to the hotel, however, was quite a challenge. Marc, I, and Marielle had two suitcases, two travel bags, Marielle’s car seat, Marielle’s stroller, and my purse. The subways had a complete lack of elevators, thus we had to carry the luggage, the stroller, the car seat, and Marielle up down every flight of stairs in between transfers at each subway stop. Lisa, PC, and Nathan were facing similar circumstances. After several times climbing and descending several staircases I felt like the cab ride which would have cost $70 should have been the chosen travel vehicle. I looked over at Lisa a couple of times and felt like she also thought that the $70 would have been worth it. When going up the last staircase I think I would have paid $7,000,000 not to have traveled that far holding and lugging all of our stuff with us. (ok so that is a bit of an exaggeration). Anyway, when we did get to our hotel we were very pleased at our accommodations. I have stayed at military hotels before, and they are always clean and safe, but this one was definitely a step up from the rest. It had a great pool, nice rooms, and a shop where we could buy the essentials i.e. Marielle’s milk, ice cream, soda, etc.

On our first night in Tokyo we ate at a really good Korean restaurant. Ok I know we were in Japan and before you all start giving us a hard time, we all ate plenty of Japanese food. Let me tell you that the Korean food was awesome. Marc did have an incident at the Korean restaurant though. We all sat in the back room where there was a pit in the floor that you had to step into. Apparently Marc did not see the pit and instead of graciously stepping into he slid into it and crashed into the table sending a dipping dish, that broke, and silverware flying. Lisa, P.C. and I could not help laughing although Marc, who now thinks it was funny, was obviously frustrated at the time. After Marc’s slip we ate a great meal. At the end, however, the kids got restless and Lisa and I took the kids to the hotel while the guys took care of the check. The kids LOVED the pool. Marielle kept saying WaWa WaWa and then she would yell WaaaaaWaaaaa in an excited voice. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her so excited about the pool.

We went out on our first day and got Starbucks and bagels for breakfast, which we did every morning because they were good. Then we went to a see the Senso Ji temple near Asakusa (the pictures are above). We all thought it was pretty neat. Afterwards we went to the kitchen district of Kappabashi-dori. First though we ran into some Chinese tourists who thought Nathan and Marielle were pretty cool. They thought Marielle was so cool in fact that one of the men felt compelled to comb Marielle’s hair with his comb. What?!? Uhhh I felt like that was kinda weird. Anyway, the kitchen district was awesome. It’s a place where all the people go to buy supplies for their restaurants. There are tons of shops with pots, pans, silverware, chopsticks, plates, vases, etc… Marc and I got some cool serving platters, they look very Crate and Barrelish without the Crate and Barrel prices. Lisa got a teapot that is very Japanese and very cool. After stopping to eat, we headed home for more pool time and the boys went out to do exploring Akihabara. (Apparently it is the electronics district, snore).


















The next day in Tokyo we went to the shopping district at Ginza and to the Shitamachi History Museum in Ueno. The museum, which showed an older, Edo Era Japan, was cute because the kids could touch everything in the museum. They could even try on the clothes, see picture. Ginza was cool, but too expensive to buy anything other than eyeliner. I was out of eyeliner so I bought some. We ate at what Marc and I thought was a great udon noodle place. Lisa and P.C. who ordered poorly (sorry guys) didn’t enjoy their meals, but Marc and I thought it was great. Then we ate at a great Japanese restaurant out in Meguro that had breaded pork (called Tonkatsu) with all you can eat rice, miso, and cabbage for dinner. It was P.C.’s find and it was really good. It was also the only restaurant in Tokyo that had high chairs.

On day three we went to the Imperial Palace and its East Gardens. The Palace was neat and the gardens were beautiful. Marielle really enjoyed walking and running and prancing through the garden. Nathan and Marielle loved the fish in the ponds. After the Palace we all went on a search for food. A very long search for food. We thought it would be easier to just find a place instead of searching for a specific restaurant, but it wasn’t. We finally ended up at a Ramen restaurant that our guide book had recommended. For those of you who didn’t know, they have Ramen in Japan. While Ramen originated in China, the Japanese have adapted the dish as their own and have a number of Ramen restaurants. (hehe sorry Lisa but I had to do it). Anyway, the ramen was awesome and cheap to boot. For dinner Lisa and P.C. did room service and Marc and I did take out. Marielle and Nathan had pizza.



We had mainly chosen to eat in this night because our afternoon trip to witness the spectacle of the Harajuku Shopping District ended in disaster. While in Harajuku, we visited a 100-Yen store, watched our daughter gag herself and throw up everywhere (not once, but twice), and failed to see any of the vampy goth teens (google it) that we heard hung out there. They would have made for a neat picture with Marielle and Nathan . . . I think. See Lisa's blog for more on Harajuku, the 100-Yen store, and amazing vomit.

The next day when we got ready to leave it was kind of a sad day. It was so great to see Lisa, PC, and Nathan. Marielle loved having Nathan around. All week she kept going up to him to pat his arm and say Baby! She thought Nathan was pretty cool. It was neat seeing them interacting together. Sharing some toys and fighting over others. It was nice for all of us to get to hang out with Nathan, PC, and Lisa and we are sad that we are again 14 hours away. Lisa, PC, and Nathan are such great friends and we are glad they are doing what they want, but are sad they are so far away. Hopefully we’ll get to see each other again soon.

On the flight home Marielle was a champ again. I am sooooo grateful that she traveled well. She was such a sport. She slept, ate, and played on the plane, but didn’t really complain. When we got home she ate Oreos for the first time, ate some more pizza and then went to bed. We’ll that is all I can think of. There are more stories but I am tired and need to go to bed.

Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium

First off, I must say that everyone interested in our trip, should also be checking out both Lisa and PC's blogs. They have been chronicling our trip as well. In fact, I think Lisa and I doubled up on the whole raincoat thing. It's funny. We all take turns using their computers to make entries.

In many of Lisa and PC's previous postings there have been mentionings of the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium. It is one of Lisa, PC, and Nathan's favorite sites on the Island, and one of their favorite places to take visitors. It is an amazing place. Check out Lisa's blog for some of the aquarium's pertinent stats. The aquarium's centerpiece is an enormous tank that houses three adult whale sharks and countless large rays. The whale sharks were amazingly huge. They would swim in slow circles around the tank. As they come to the front of the tank and swim past the main viewing glass, you really get a sense of their size. I think a lot of our enjoyment came from watching our kids. Marielle and Nathan were really in awe of the blue scenery and inhabitants of each tank. There's a smaller viewing area for the main tank that has a large curved glass wall that effectively puts you "in the tank" with water overhead. Watching the two of them crane their necks to see the fish was hilarious. Anyone that has spent time with Marielle knows that she digs her water. Even at the aquarium, she couldn't get enough of it.

Later that afternoon, we headed to another one of Lisa, PC, and Nathan's favorite places. It's a small pizza place called "Pizza in the Sky" I had always gotten a kick out of the name, but after driving up the narrowest of roads to the top of a hill overlooking the Nago area, I see why they call it this. It offers some commanding views of the surroundings and the pizza was great too. "What's Japonese about pizza," you might ask? First of all, you've probably never had it with corn and hotdogs as a topping. Second, you can eat it with chopsticks. No really. We saw it done.

As we wrapped up dinner, we began confirming our suspicions that two toddlers can only handle one main event and one meal outing a day. To be honest, for a relaxing vacation, this is probably all anyone would recommend per day. We headed home and the kids napped on the way. Although poor Nathan has been having a harder time than usual getting his nap on. He is not used to having someone (Marielle) next to him trying to hold his hand with love and kick him in the head simultaneously. Basically, he has been getting to car sleep only after Marielle has begun to car sleep. It was a full day. The previous nights we've been here, PC has been working to get me hooked on Prison Break. They've been renting the season one DVDs and I must say that he's probably pulled me in. I think I have something like 20 episodes to watch before the new season starts this fall. Thanks PC.

"You Won't Need Raincoats"

So the night before we left, we were on the phone with Lisa doing a last minute run through of what we'd need for our trip. I was in the middle of transferring our stuff from our beat up old suitcase to our brand new ones. We bought a seven piece luggage set at Target for this trip. We are not sure how well the set will hold up considering we bought the entire set for less than what Samonsite would want for a single bag. Anyway, the bags are the same color as Marielle's strollers, so we all match now. So I was moving things between bags and came across our raincoats which we apparenly have been toting to every place we've visited since London and Paris in college. As I said, Viv was on the phone with Lisa and I told her to ask if we needed said raincoats. Lisa nonchalantly answered, "no" since the rainy season had ended.

Needless to say, it rained the first day and a half we've been here. I think it has been cool because it really pours and I'm a fan of the rain. We've been rolling with it. Pictures to come this afternoon.

Three More Gaijin in Japan

Japan officially has three more gaijin roaming about the country side. According to PC's blog and our travel book, gaijin are foreigners. We arrived safe and sound in Okinawa, and, apparently, the jet lag is no big deal. I say that because it's a little after midnight and I'm still going strong. Everyone else has gone off to bed and left me to blog. Stay tuned to see if my jet lag hypothesis holds true.

Altogether our flights were great considering they equated to over 20hrs of transit time. Marielle did really well. I had been preparing myself for a much more painful flight. I highly recommend getting your toddler their own seat. Especially if they don't mind their car seat at home. We heard that there was no point in doing this because your child will want to sit with you. On the contrary, Marielle really liked having her own space. Throughout the flights we mixed things up by having her sit with us, sit in her seat (un-strapped), walk the aisles, and sit strapped in during nap times. The napping was a challenge and transporting milk and baby food with the heightened security was a drag, but overall she did great.

One of the funniest things that happened today occurred when we were checking our bags for our last leg between Osaka and Okinawa. On all the previous flights we had checked our bags like everyone else and gate checked our stroller so that we would have it again when we de-planed. Well, in Osaka, they were all about checking our stroller and giving us a loaner from the airline while we were in the airport. We took Marielle out of her stroller, and began folding it up when she began to protest. It was hilarious, although quite sad for her. It was more than a little dramatic. she got all pouty and kept pointing at her beloved stroller while the clerk sent it on its way to the plane. You'd think she was saying bye to her dearest friend. She's always liked cruising in her stroller. Apparently, they are close.

So standby for more posts. Tomorrow morning we are off to get coffee and visit Lisa's morning hangout spot.

A Wedding at Grand Central Station

Well Marielle, Marc, my sister Sarah, my sister Jenn, and I went to my dad’s wedding this weekend in NY. We had a great time. On Friday we met my dad and my uncle Glenn, for dinner at my dad’s house. My dad cooked Italian food and let me tell you it was really good. Marc and I’s favorite was the meatballs. Neither of us are generally fans of meatballs, but when there this good you can’t help but love them. According to my dad he got the recipe from this Italian woman who was his neighbor when he was a kid. Anyway, we had a great time hanging out.

On Saturday we went to the wedding in Grand Central Station (where Meredith and my dad first met). It was a beautiful ceremony, simple and elegant. We were all so happy to see my dad get married to Meredith. She is such a great match for him and will make a great addition to the family and she made a beautiful bride. After the ceremony, which was on a balcony overlooking the station, we had appetizers and cocktails at Metrazur. Metrazur is a great restaurant in Grand Central Station like ten feet from where Meredith and my dad got married. The cocktail hour was fun. Mostly Marc and I took turnings chasing after Marielle who was introducing herself to everyone. Then we sat down for dinner in a private dining room. Marc and I had the filet which was awesome. It had this cheesy grits side that I ate within 30 seconds or so. Marielle slept in her stroller through dinner, which was great. Marc and I actually got a chance to eat our meals instead of one rushing through while the other is watching and then switching. All in all it was a great evening and we all had a great time. It was great getting to spend time with Meredith, my Dad, my Uncle Glenn and my sisters who I just don’t get to see enough of.

On Sunday, Marc, Marielle, Sarah and I flew home. First, we flew to Atlanta, which makes no sense. On the way there, Marielle, who had had about 3 hours less sleep than usual, was a total crank. She was not pleased at having to sit in her seat and was sure to let us know about it. The second flight was much better. There was this couple next to us who could not get enough of her. They kept telling us how cute she was and told us that if we wanted them to hold her they totally would. A few minutes into the flight Marielle was getting a little anxious and the gentleman asked if he could hold her. Usually I would think this was odd, but this couple were just super sweet and seemed like great people. Anyway, I told him he could hold her thinking he would hold her for a second and then she would get stranger anxiety and she would be passed back. Instead, the guy held her and she totally fell asleep in his arms. I told him that he didn’t have to keep holding her, but he told us that he loved babies and was having fun and didn’t mind if we didn’t. Well Marielle looked so darn comfortable I didn’t want to disturb her so I said it was fine. The gentleman held her for a little over an hour while she napped. It was odd and cute all at the same time. After the nap Marielle colored in her Dora the Explorer coloring book and played with her cups, which is one of her favorite toys.

Anyway, the wedding weekend was fast but great. Congrats again Meredith and Dad. We love you both.

My Mom's Surprise Party

This post is old, but I have been waiting for pictures to do the post. I decided to do one anyway for fear that I’ll forget to do it if I don’t do it now. Two weekends ago we had a surprise birthday party for my mom. Out of respect to her I won’t say which one it was : ) In the morning we went to a Korean Spa and did the hot tub and full body massage thing which was awesome. Then we went to Cherry Creek for some shopping and lunch. We ate at the Cherry Creek Grill, which was really tasty. (Colette I had that salad that we like and my sister had enchiladas which we’ll have to order the next time we go cause they were soooooo good). Anyway, by the time we got to the house everything had been perfectly set up. There were rented chairs and tables and plenty of Korean food from our family’s Korean place. My mom was totally surprised to see that her sister and brother and his family from California had flown out for the party. (She already thought she had her surprise earlier in the week when Jenn flew out) It was totally great of them to come and I know that it made my mom’s party a success. After the surprise was over we did what the Korean’s do best and ate tons of food. Then we all just hung out talking and catching up with one another. It is always so great to see my mom’s family. We don’t get to see that much of each other, but we always have fun hanging out when we do. Anyway, the party was a blast and we were so glad that everyone could make it. Happy Birthday Mom We Love You!

"Toddler" Pals

When we got Sophie, one of the biggest reasons why we got a puppie was so that the puppy and Marielle could grow up together. Sophie seems to be growing a bit faster than Marielle, but they are definitely both still toddlers, and love growing up together. Over the last few weeks, Marielle has become more and more aware of Sophie lounging around the house. Back when Marielle was first starting to walk, she would bring Sophie chew toys and pet her occasionally. Lately, she lays on the floor with her, feeds her treats, gives her kisses in the morning, and sometimes tries to pluck out her eyes (Sophie doesn't seem to mind). Sophie is so gentle with her, and Marielle is pretty good too except for the excessive interest in Sophie's eyes. It's really cute watching them together.

Help Thinning Out My Wallet

Anyone who has ever gone out with Viv and I has seen my wallet. You couldn't have missed it because it is monstrous. We're talking about awallet that could rival George Costanza's. In fact, I have feared having backing pain in my latter years due to the damage caused by my lopsided sitting. My friend Leif stopped carrying his wallet in his back pocket after seeing Goerge's wallet on Seinfeld. Geoff has switched to the money clip and won't shut up about it :) He's always trying to get me to adopt this streamlined approach to carrying ID and funds. He's probably on to something. I just never make time to go through all the junk I've been carrying. I just can't imagine walking into Payless Shoes and not getting a punch for my 7th pair of shoes. Well, the other day Marielle set me on the path to ending the insanity. She took it upon herself to sift through my wallet and throw out the junk. Literally. I now have a wallet with more pockets than I have cards for! Money clip, here I come? Perhaps I'll start by cutting back to a bi-fold.

Our Fun Filled Weekend

We had a great and super busy weekend. This Friday we got together with Geoff, Colette, and Alex. We were so excited that they were in town to visit! We went and ate some good Mexican food on Friday night and then came back to the house and just hung out. I think Marc and Geoff stayed up until early in the morning. The next day we all ate a good breakfast (by good I mean good tasting and not healthy, gotta love Lamars). Then Colette and I went and got a pedicure and Marc and Geoff hung out with the babies. When we came back the kiddos got to play with eachother some more. Marielle and Alex play really nice together. While they don't always share well, they always seem to enjoy eachother's presence. They always want to do whatever the other one is doing. It was fun watching the two of them together. Thanks for coming guys, we'll see you on Friday!


On Saturday night Marc and I went to my friend Griffen's wedding (no pictures). It was beautiful. The ceremony was so romantic. As part of the ceremony the pastor talked about how little children responded to the question "what is love?" One little girl said that "Love is when your grandmother has arthritis and can't paint her toenails so your grandpa does it for her. And when your grandpa developes arthirtis in his hands he keeps painting her nails." I thought that was so cute. It makes you think about how you treat your spouse and how much nicer and loving you should be. Anyway, the whole wedding was great. Great people, great food, great band. Marc and I stayed for a little bit and even cut a rug. Its been a while, but we are still dancing machines.


On Sunday my sister Jenn flew into town! She came in to surprise my mom for her 50th birthday. It was so great to see her. We also got to see her boyfriend Jason and his son Anthony. We all got together and drove down to Monument to surprise my mom, who was totally surprised. Then we all went and did what my family loves to do. EAT!! There is nothing better than Korean food. It was fun to see Jenn with Marielle. She is such a great Emo (aka Aunt). Marielle acted all shy at first, but it didn't take long for her to warm up to her. My favorite picture from Sunday is the one where Jenn and Marielle were eating chips together.








In the afternoon Marielle, my daredevil of a daughter came down a gigantic slide. I think she loved it and hated it at the same time. She kept asking for "mor" though so we kept letting her slide down. Here is how crazy she looked sliding down. Anyway, long blog short. We had a great fun packed weekend where we got to see lots of the people we love.

Global Warming and the Next Ice Age

A new age is upon us, one in which guests in our house no longer need to fear death from heat stroke.

Yes, leave your water bottles at home and stop counting the seconds until you leave because the Barrios Family finally has air conditioning! So this is a story that started back when we bought our house. Vivian and I couldn't believe what our builder wanted to charge to include air conditioning in the home construction. We opted out in favor of seeking installation at a later date. Well, two and a half years later we have been kicking ourselves for not having A/C installed then. This summer's heat has been unbearable. I'm saying this despite the fact that I'm off at work each day. I know because I can see it on Marielle and Natalei's faces each afternoon when I step into our inferno of a house. Well, now I can expect to come home to a nanny and daughter wrapped in blankets. We' had procrastinated all summer long, in much the same fashion as we have with taking our folded laundry upstairs, and now with barely any summer left, we have cooled the place down!

We are thrilled . . . or should I say chilled?

Just Some Stuff About My Girl

Marielle's favorite thing to do is figure out things that she can do by herself. Last weekend she figured out that the step at my parents house was just her size. She loved sitting on it and then getting up and sitting back down on it again.





She has also taken a liking to playing with jewelry and hair things. She is mommy's little girl! So this week we had fun putting head bands on. Her nanny got her a bunch of head bands and I thought it would be funny if she wore them all at once.





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One of my favorite things that Marielle does is make sweet eyes. When I was a kid my grandpa used to say "make sweet eyes" and I'd make this little scrunched up face. A few months ago Marielle started making a similar face so we started it calling it sweet eyes. Now we tell her "make sweet eyes" and she makes the face. Its just this scrunched squinty look and I LOVE it. The picture doesn't do the best job of depicting it, so I'll try and take another one.