Shelves This Week

I really need to start posting regularly about what is on our activity shelves as knowing that other people will be checking them is good motivation to keep rotating items through.

This week is mostly Valentine's inspired activities for Little Guy on the top two shelves and things for the Little Lady to explore on the bottom two shelves.

We also tried giving a little sister rug lesson... she likes the idea of having a rug but is far from keeping her stuff on it!  The kitchen floor is so cold though that perhaps she'll figure out the rug is a nice, warm place to play?

Love, Love, Love...

Conversation Hearts are my favorite candy this time of year... and one that is nearly impossible to find in Japan.  Thankfully my parents sent some just in time for a few fun activities!
This sheet is from one of the blogs that I often read.  You can find out more here.
I have a whole pile of activities downloaded and in the process of being laminated for out Valentine's activities.  The Little Guy is so excited that he keeps asking me if it is Valentine's Day yet!  Wonder if he'll be surprising me with roses this year?

Mitsubachi - A Cafe Where Kids are Welcome

We met a friend for lunch today.  Since we don't live near each other and have little kids in tow we looked online for a place to meet in the middle that the kids could enjoy going to too.

 As you can see this isn't your normal kiddie lunch yet yummy enough for kids to enjoy it too.  The quiche lunch plate also had croquet balls, a mini hamburger, some veggies and the very popular bread sticks!  With the drink (non-alcoholic cocktail) it came to 1,300 yen.

The feature which got our attention is the play space.  Our table was to the left so we could keep an eye on the kids while we ate.  Including play time before and after eating we spent about 2 hours there.
Here are the pages which lead us to the Cafe Mitsubachi in Urawa:
http://cafe-mitsubachi.com/
http://blog.livedoor.jp/mango1235/archives/1429466.html

Pre-Signer

What would it be like if instead of crying to be fed your 5 month old baby could let you know that she is hungry?  If you try using sign language you can find out!
Take a look at this on the Signing Way blog.
http://signingway.blogspot.com/2011/01/pre-signer.html

Bicycle Seat Recall

I saw on the news tonight that the most common rear child seats for a bike (in Japan) are being recalled. Actually, the recall was issued last summer but so far only about 14% of the seat have been replaced. That got my attention and then I saw our bike seat is part of the recall.
The concern is that the foot rest can come loose allowing the kids legs to get tangled up with the rear wheel of the bike.

Here is the Japanese homepage with more info:
http://www.bscycle.co.jp/childseat/index.html

If you go to the bottom of the page they show what you need to be looking for on the foot rest of the seat.  From what I understand you can take your bike to a local shop and get the seat replaced for free. I'm going to have my husband check into it when he gets home.


If you have a rear child seat on your bike please check and see if it is part of this recall.