You can make both "cute" and "natto"

It's been way too long since my last post. I'm sorry, me. I had so many things I wanted to record but couldn't, sorry, future me.

I'm still pretty much doing everything on my own, but if I had to describe how tough my life is,I often say, "I'm running a marathon every day."When did she become an elementary school student?! My eldest daughter now comes home earlier than she did from nursery school, and since parents have to oversee her homework, my household chores have clearly increased.
My daughter can do math like 10-5 relatively quickly, but for calculations like 13-9, sometimes it takes her as long as it takes to make a cup of instant noodles. (I know it's hard, but I end up getting frustrated.)
But since she goes to elementary school by herself, I was just about to write that it's a relief not to have to drop her off at nursery school, but wait, I'm still taking my eldest son and second son to nursery school, so it's the same thing! If anything, waking up early has become harder.
Since I returned to work in April 2025 while raising twins (full remote, flex-time system; if the twins start acting up, I immediately clock in a "break"), my life went from running a half-marathon every day to running a full marathon every day. Every night before bed, I feel a sense of accomplishment and exhaustion along with shortness of breath.
Even though I'm living a life of running a marathon every day, my weight doesn't go down. As a gutsy mom (I say that myself), there are a few things I hold dear.

・Keeping my composure by touching yarn

・Taking care of my own mood
・If a liquid like tea or milk spills, a "liquid festival" begins
・
Deciding that the cause of everything is "loneliness"

That is all.
Those reading this might be curious about the liquid festival, but let's save that for another time; today, please let me focus on "loneliness."

"Stop throwing everything around!!"

My 3-year-4-month-old free spirit, second son, Kaoru.
Lately, this kid has really been pushing it.

There's no end to the daily incidents, but looking back at yesterday, it was something like, "he entered a dirty river with his shoes on to catch a fish swimming in it, started wailing, and threw his wet socks at me, injuring my right eye" I suppose. Yeah. It's a mud hell.
Under this cold sky, the washed shoes still haven't dried, and he cried from the morning asking to be taken for a walk. Yeah. It's my own fault.

How can a boy who can't even properly stab a sausage with a fork handle a fish with his bare hands?

Even when I'm angry, my annoying three-year-old second son does Daisuke Miyagawa's PayPay dance, saying "Pay! Pay! Just a little Pay! Pay!," but he cries, gets angry, and throws things immediately. It doesn't go as far as a tantrum, but I found a way to resolve things when he starts asserting himself strongly while raising five kids, so I thought I'd share it here.

The magic words "cute" and "I love you"

The whole thing started last night with the "it's unfair that only the baby gets to eat this" incident. Since our house is full of people with huge appetites, even when I make food for seven, "not enough" happens often. (The reverse is also true, of course.)

Yesterday, it was the "not enough" side. I thought I had grilled tons of okonomiyaki, but everyone ate like they were crazy, and there wasn't enough for the twins. (Of course, in that case, I get none, sigh.) The white rice was also eaten up, and the things the baby can eat are limited, and even though there was kimchi... sigh. I had no choice... should I give him the last remaining natto I had set aside to eat tomorrow morning? As I took the natto out of the fridge, my second son Daizu—no, Kaoru—who loves natto more than anyone, begged for a second pack.

"You just ate some! And you left your okonomiyaki and had your big brother eat it, so you can't have a second pack of natto!"
When I told him that,

"I want to eat it! I want to eat it! Kao-chan! ...Muuuuuuu! The natto is MINE!!!!"
He started throwing a fit.

I had already gotten angry a lot yesterday because of the river incident, so I didn't want to get angry anymore. After thinking about what to do, this was the result.

"So cute!! Kao-chan is cute! A natto-loving boy!! A sticky-type boy! Cute! I love you!"

First, at this point, my second son Daizu's—no, Kaoru's—obsession with the twins' natto was halved.

"...Yeah, Kao-chan is cute."

Oh? He's repeating it! Okay, just a little more! One more push!

The twin sister who came over there was looking at the second son with an expression of "natto is delicious, isn't it?," and she had three natto beans decorated on her chin, under her nose, and on her left cheek.

"Kao's natto!! Beans!!! (He probably said "No!", but it sounded like "Beans!" to me, so I was probably tired)" and the heat started again.

Watching my second son shouting his love for natto, I wondered what to do. My husband is useless because he's been drinking, so I can't send him to the store. I don't want to leave my five children alone in this cold weather to go buy natto myself, only to catch a cold from getting chilled. Besides, the only thing better than natto is snacks. But I feel guilty giving them snacks right after a meal, and if I give them snacks here, my eldest son and eldest daughter will have something to say about it.

That's when I focused on the "cute" and "I love you" that had just started to settle down from his natto-love frenzy.

I am truly clever for deciding to carry out the strategy of wrapping my second son Daizu in my love and turning him into a natto roll. Clever.

"Kao-chan, Kao-chan, I looooove you so much. You're precious, you're cute, Kao-chan is cute even if you fall into a river! I looooove you. I was a little mad because you were covered in mud, but I looooove you!! Love!! I love you, love you, love you~"

I wrapped my second son Daizu in words that even a newly dating couple wouldn't say.

And then, guess what!!!

His love for natto turned toward me instead!!

"Kao-cha, I looooove you too. (He probably said 'daisuki' [I love you], but it sounded like 'daizuki' [soybean-love] to me, so I was probably just tired.) Kao-cha, I wanted to eat natto... buy some for me tomorrow, okay?"

I'll buy you as much as you want tomorrow!!! I'm sorry I didn't have any in stock, Daizu!! Daizu!!! No, Kaoru!!! But really, one pack of natto a day is good for your health!!!

And so, the mission was a success (please applaud).

Yesterday, we were able to end things without any sticky drama.

What I learned from my second son Daizu, no, Kaoru, yesterday was:

・Check the natto stock
・Love saves the world
・Telling someone "you're cute" and "I love you" can (sometimes) calm anger
・Don't get swayed by a three-year-old's mood (it's very tiring)
・I want to resolve things that a three-year-old does that will become "funny stories later" with love

Adults are the same in wanting to eat a lot of what they like. Even I hesitate a bit before having a second bowl of rice with chili oil after the first one. I want to go for a second or third bowl, but my health concerns hold me back. You know.

My second son. Even if we argue over natto, it's great that you can express your own opinion. It's also great that you love natto. It's also great that you pretend to be various animals while eating, but I wish you'd stop pretending to be a giraffe, raising your hand, and then putting your palm in your mouth to mash up your food. But it's also great that you entertain me.

Therefore, yesterday was a peaceful night.

Someone once said that most of a child's problematic behavior stems from "loneliness," and I really think that's true. Expressing love doesn't solve everything, but I feel there is absolutely no downside to doing it. I'll fill that loneliness with love.

The Arai family is in the middle of a daily marathon like that (it's like Rakuten's shopping marathon). Everyone is cute. I love everyone so much.

Who will you
tell "I love you" to
today?