Celebrating the Holidays - Maseba Style

As you all know, we have 4 young kids that are full of the 3 "E's"- energy, eagerness and enthusiasm! As each holiday comes around, I have a tendency to celebrate much the way I was brought up:


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New Year's Day: Very Japanese-y. We make mochi for ozoni, toast with sake, and eat traditional foods that are supposed to bring happiness, a long life, and fertility (I ate too much of that in the past, I guess!)



Valentine's Day: Cute little cheap Valentines in little cheap envelopes to pass out into our friends' (and non-friends') decorated Kleenex boxes



St. Patrick's Day: The girls still continue to pinch me if I forget to wear green that day


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Easter: Dye eggs - most of which are left uneaten -and stain the kitchen table even worse each year



4th of July: Pyro-Daddy puts on a "show" while Mommy and Lindsey often hide in the car

Halloween: "2 candies a day" rule until it is confiscated by Mommy when she finds all the wrappers shoved behind their beds. One of these days, they'll move up to the big leagues when they carry pillowcases instead of plastic pumpkins



Thanksgiving: Traditional fare - along with sushi - and if we're lucky someone will make some turkey jook!


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When new friends find out that I'm not only Buddhist, but the daughter of a retired Buddhist minister, I'm sure they wonder why I celebrate holidays like Christmas and Easter. Well, I guess it's because in my mind, we celebrate them as part of the American culture as opposed to something religious - special days to show kindness, love, and gratitude for everything we have.


Happy Holidays!!!

Another "Mollyism"

My mind was totally scattered today (what else is new?). I rushed the kids through Costco so that we'd be on time to drop off Molly at preschool...only to remember on the way there that she starts at 12:30, not 11:30!

I mumbled aloud, "How could I forget the time...that's so dumb!"

Molly called out, "That's okay, Mommy. I still love you even if you're dumb."

I guess that's what you call unconditional love!

Life with a Goofy Dude

Well, Mitchell is 2 1/2 now, and although I hate to stereotype...he's such a BOY!

At this age, I think all of my girls were nearly potty trained without much effort; Mitchell wants nothing to do with it.

At this age, the girls were quite verbal and loved to show it off - here's what Mitchie likes to do...

Feelin' Retro

So I'm feeling very "retro" these days - probably from spending so much time on Facebook reconnecting with old friends that date as far back as junior high. I've dug through a "SAVE" box from my parents' house that's full of old yearbooks, diaries, and photos.

It's really cool to read my diary entries from 1979 (10 years old). Here are some highlights:

"Sharon gave me candy for my Xmas preent! Fun dip, PEZ refills, and volcano rocks."

"Today Stanton cried a really lot because he didn't get the shoes he wanted for his birthday."

"Today we saw Eight is Enough- 2 hour special. At the end I thought I knew what was going to happen, but Dad turned it off."

"Brian just got hit on the ear and I think it hurt. Mom didn't care, and she's in a bad mood."

"I love Beauty (our dog) a lot and I hope he does not die soon (he didn't die until many years later)."

"Today we had a basketball game. We lost 2-4, but I made the 1 basket."

"I hope I'm sick tomorrow so I can skip band, but I won't trick."

"Today was Dad's birthday. We went to Sizzler. I gave Daddy a card, Sharon gave him a card, and Rina gave him two stickers."

"I just played Blockhead with Rina and she won but she cheated a lot."

"We watched Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, Three's Company, and Taxi on T.V. from 8:00-10:00! Mom and Dad came back late, that's why."


By reading my old diary, I'm feeling a bit more empathetic towards Lindsey (8 years old) and her issues with homework (looks like I, too, misplaced it ALL the time) and TV time (sounds like I watched a ton).

I found some "My Friend Mandy" dolls for sale on craigslist and I snatched them up for my girls. And, lo and behold, they were made in 1978! I hope my girls love them as much as Rina and I did.

Out of the Mouth of Molly...

I went to Molly's preschool field trip today. We went to a local burrito shop where the kids got a tour of the kitchen, rolled out a tortilla, and made their own tacos. Bummer that I didn't bring my camera with me.

However, it did give me a chance to chat with her teacher. Here's a conversation she shared with me:

Teacher: "Molly, I haven't seen your Grandpa in a while. Is he okay?"
Molly: "Yes. He's just too fat from eating too many of Daddy's chicken wings."

4 year olds...ya gotta love 'em!

State Fair Fun!

Poppy, the State Fair Mascot

Mitchell is the only one of our kids that likes the animals


Hollywood in Sacramento!

I don't know why I love the California State Fair so much. I guess it's because we used to go with my parents and Sacramento grandparents when we were young. I really only remember 3 things: the stinky animals (we have photos of us with shirts tied over our noses), Crystal Gayle performing "Don't it Make My Brown Eyes Blue", and sitting through the snazzy cooking demo and Mom's purchase of the "Amazing" Osterizer blender. The strawberry/banana/celery/kitchen sink smoothie sample was deeeelicious to us kids, and we couldn't believe that our ultra-practical mother would purchase something so fancy and luxurious! Well, I guess she knew a good product when she saw one because that thing lasted FOREVER - probably 20+ years; it may still be in her garage today.

We spent the day with the kids and my parents doing the very same things - stinky animals and cooking demos, but no Crystal Gayle (is she still alive?). This year's theme was "Hollywood" so we took lots of cheesey pictures!

They wish...

They don't know James Dean, but they know how to be COOL!

Daddy is cool, too

Mitchell was asleep when we took this one :(

Waaaaay up high!

"Farm" Jichan and Bachan

We took a trip to Fresno this weekend to spend time with "Farm Jichan and Bachan".

Most Japanese-American families have 2 sets of grandparents: "Grandma and Grandpa" and "Jichan and Bachan". Usually the set of grandparents that are more "Japanesey" gets the Japanese label.

I remember when Lindsey was born, we discussed it. Gus's parents, having been raised in Japan, are obviously more Japanesey than my parents (2nd and 3rd generation) but I couldn't do it! I couldn't call my parents Grandma and Grandpa; it just made them seem TOO American. To me, "grandma and grandma" are the people you see on TV with white hair, a picket fence, that sit in front of the fireplace with an afghan and cat in their laps. Total stereotype, but I couldn't erase the picture in my head.

In the end, the kids totally get it. We tried Jichan & Bachan Sasaki/Maseba, but that didn't sound right to them. They switched it to "San Bruno Jichan and Bachan" and "Farm Jichan and Bachan". Weird, but it works. I guess they'll just be confused if one of them moves!

The girls loved picking and eating the Kyoho grapes - we timed our visit just right for harvesting! Lindsey was really good at cutting them off the vines and even carried the heavy boxes on and off the forklift. She went out, enthusiastically, 2 days in a row. I doubt she would enjoy doing that kind of work if it were expected of her, but it's nice to see that she has some real farm-lovin' blood in her!

Mitchell had to be pried and carried away from his personal Utopia - the train tracks

Molly loved having space to fly!