Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Homework Must be Done....

Tomorrow night is Japanese...if we are going to do our Maku homework it would have to be today. Off we went. Stacia wanted to know if they would have Japanese toys. ::snort:: We've not tried McDonald's yet - though we drive by it 2 - 6x a day.....I was pleasantly surprised. It cost much less than I expected. I'm not sure which of the menu items are unique to Japan, as we didn't frequent McD's in the states.

We did notice right off that we got small straws.
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Nolan was the first to figure out how to make them expand. Cool.
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Stacia liked the ketchup packets which come in little containers like jelly does in restaurants in the states. Much less mess this way.
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She also approved of the drink choices.
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I was determined to try Akiko's "suki desu" favorites. No one else seemed eager to branch out....
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Not bad, really. I liked the burger, though I'll remember to tell them to skip the mayo next time. ugh. Nolan tried the potato bacon pie.....he wasn't sold. Of course he's not had bacon in years. LOL
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Today was WINDY and RAINY...really windy. 32 mph gusts....the wind was SLAMMING against the corner of the 2nd story....and the carport was rising and falling all night. I woke up this a.m. and the hatch on my Joy was open....

Arielle saw the orthodontist. He's not sure they'll be able to work her in this summer...but we go back in June for x-rays and molds. Nothing moves fast here...but it does move. ::snort:: He said that, "if she wants braces, they can fix things," but very little orthodontic work is "essential"....interesting, as off base orthodontists will make you think your child's health could be ruined if their bite is incorrect. He had "numbers" and said she made the numbers....so she would get braces back home....but maybe not here. We'll see. I could SHOOT the dentist in TX (who is now retired). I asked him over a year ago if she needed braces. If he'd said yes, she'd have them and they'd automatically continue them here for free. We may have to wait until we get home at this point.

Had a prayer meeting with the local PWOC retreat prayer team.

School. Working on the puzzle.

Came home to Skype with Michael, but it appears he's not around....I'm heading out for the Onsen now.The kids are settling in for the night. I hope.

....about those "Japanese toys," Stacia was happy with the iDogs...and you get to choose your own color here. LOL

Choosing Joy!
©2010 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

10 comments:

Linda said...

Interesting post! Who'd have thought there'd be so many differences in McDonald's around the world? Also interesting about the orthodontic differences. I have two in braces right now. Chase went in way earlier than we thought because they could see in the x-rays that some of her permanent teeth were really messed up with one coming in completely twisted the wrong way. They started the braces to make room ahead of time. One of her permanent teeth that had already come in was partially twisted as well, so we could see the problems that would cause. I can't believe the difference the braces have made. Gerren gets his off this summer. Chase still has a long haul ahead - I guess until all her adult teeth are in place. Free is great. These guys were $4700 each. It's paid off in October. I wish it was now! :)

Renee said...

Sorry about the dentist in TX that didn't understand how dental works overseas.
When we were in Seoul (which is a BIG post) in 02-04 they were phasing out orthodontist for most other than active duty. They just didn't have the personnel so folks were going to have to go in town.
In Garmisch (teeny tiny place) we started out with an orthodontist visiting our clinic once a month but then our dental clinic closed so orthodontics went away. We were told to go in town..... instead dh drove 3 hrs each way once a month for care for James.

DeEtta @ Courageous Joy said...

Same here Renee....we'd been told that it would NOT be done here....and that if you go off base they will not provide a translator and it's 100% out of pocket and VERY expensive.

At our first routine cleaning in November, the dentist referred her for this appointment. He said that there are times when they will do it for dependents here - free. It was over 5K for our last brace experience.....we shall see.

Anonymous said...

Sis: holy-moly! I'm glad it did not cost as much when we got your years ago.... however it felt like it cost tons and no doubt in comparison it did.....

Sorry for the problems you are having. Hope you will be able to get it started on base and then at home.

Amazes me how young kids start now.... in your day a kid had to be 12 at least..... :):)

love/prayers -- Mom T.

Cynthia said...

UGH about not getting the paperwork started in TX so she could have continued there.... I know they definitely recommend (here anyway) that braces start before the kids are too far into puberty when things are more set and take longer to move.

Linda said...

We've always been told that orthodontia is FREE when overseas, and that if you can get it done, to do it then (I actually know people who tried to time their overseas assignments to get and/or keep their kids in braces for free). My thought is that they are telling you it's not really necessary in order to have you either "out-of-pocket" the cost, or wait till you get to the US and pay a ton for it.

I know for sure my daughter will need braces...she's got an overbite that is so tough she can't bite into things with her front teeth (the gap between the top and bottom is about pinky thick!). But we'll not see an overseas assignment again...

Yvonne said...

De'Etta...it's good checking in with you. I think the bacon-potato pie looks good. : )

There are orthodontists in America who agree with your orthodontist there. I've been told that most braces are unneeded - they are for cultural/cosmetic purposes.

Our orthodontist told us that there are folks who "need," braces, but he feels that these are folks with functional deformity or such severe cosmetic issues that emotional health would be at stake.

Then there are folks who want to have a prettier smile or who may want to try to make their bite a bit better, but this is elective in nature, not need. This is why orthodontia is not covered at the same rate as fillings, crowns, etc...under standard dental plans and why Medicaid does not cover orthodontia at all. (Though they do cover it if there is deformity.)

Not having medical insurance for several years was quite an education for me. I do not believe most folks are aware of how elective orthodontia really is... I'm grateful not to have to stress about it anymore!

Cynthia said...

Is that one of those new squeeze or spread ketchup packets? I read somewhere that they're being tested here and will probably replace all the squeeze ones by the end of the year.

Bryn said...

Are you now a bacon-potatoe pie convert? Oishi desu ne?

Push for the braces! They're really picky about making sure you're here for as much of the treatment as possible, so the sooner you get them going, the better. We got Meg started last June, and she just got her full mouth o'metal on Tues. We had started pre-braces work in the U.S. with extractions and spacers, Delta Dental paid 50%, but we still came out of our pocket for about $1100. Her ortho was quoting an additional $4600, I think Delta has a lifetime max of around $3600, so we'd have ended up paying another $2100-ish, not too shabby, but not as nice as the big, fat NOTHING we're paying now!!!! LOL

DeEtta @ Courageous Joy said...

Cho oishi desu, Bryn. LOL

Yvonne, always nice when you pop in - I tried to pop in to visit you but I think you deleted yourself. LOL

Cynthia, Maybe. They were square with a top on it - instead of the ones we've had before. I liked them - less messy with the kids.