[Life in Japan Theme Song]

[日本生活主題曲]

Well, it's 2021. Parenting has never been an easy job,

嗯，現在是2021年了。為人父母從來都不是一件容易的事。

But especially during a pandemic, it is very challenging.

但特別是在大流行期間，這是非常具有挑戰性的。

And whatever the state of your family was before the pandemic,

且不論你的家庭在大流行前是什麼狀態。

The pandemic came, and it just exaggerated whatever was happening.

疫情來了，不管發生什麼事情，它都只是誇大了。

So if there were problems inside, it exaggerated those problems,

所以如果裡面有問題，就誇大了這些問題。

If there were good things happening, it actually kind of strengthened those things.

如果有好的事情發生，其實也算是加強了這些事情。

But today we want to look at how can you live and have a happy family during pandemic.

但今天我們要看的是，在流行病期間，如何才能生活，如何才能擁有一個幸福的家庭。

For you, what was the biggest like change and challenge of parenting here with the pandemic?

對你來說，這裡的父母在疫情下最大的像變化和挑戰是什麼？

Well, I think first of all having the kids home 24 hours a day...

好吧，我想首先有孩子一天24小時在家... ...

All of a sudden all of us moms instantly became teachers.

突然間，我們所有的媽媽瞬間變成了老師。

It wasn't like a choice to teach our children, we were just kind of tossed into that.

這不像是選擇教孩子，我們只是一種折騰。

And then having them home...

然後讓他們回家...

I mean there's just totally, a totally a different dynamic to having your kids home all the time.

我的意思是，有隻是完全， 一個完全不同的動態 有你的孩子在家所有的時間。

I love summer breaks, I love breaks when my kids are home,

我喜歡暑假，我喜歡孩子在家時的休息。

But one thing I find totally interesting when my kids are home is

但有一件事我覺得很有趣，當我的孩子在家的時候，就是

We eat lunch — let's just pretend like we eat at noon.

我們吃午飯--就當是中午吃飯吧。

They finish at 12:10

他們在12點10分結束

At 12:15 they will come and say "Mom, we're hungry. What's there to eat?"

12點15分，他們就會過來說："媽媽，我們餓了。有什麼吃的？"

I'm like "Seriously?!"

我想 "真的嗎？"

And this was months of this because everyone was stuck at home.

而這幾個月來，因為大家都被困在家裡。

And you're trying to balance healthy eating and healthy routines and school and tons of laundry

而你要平衡健康的飲食和健康的生活習慣 還有學校和大量的洗衣工作

Because kids are home all the time, making messes and cleaning house,

因為孩子一直在家，鬧騰，打掃屋子。

Husbands are home with work, it's just...

丈夫在家工作，只是... ...

It was a lot to take in all at once.

一下子要接受很多東西。

But! We made it through.

但是，我們挺過來了。

And there's still more of it here that we're working through now.

而且這裡還有更多的東西，我們現在正在努力解決。

I'd say one thing that probably really helped for us too was finding fun things to do together

我想說的是，有一件事，可能真的幫助我們太 是發現有趣的事情，一起做的。

Like, on purpose, so

就像，故意的，所以

Like Becca and Anna like to play Catan, so we'll play Catan with them

就像Becca和Anna喜歡玩卡坦遊戲一樣 我們就和她們一起玩卡坦遊戲吧

Or Joshua and I, we like to play MarioKart

或者喬舒亞和我，我們喜歡玩馬里奧卡丁車。

Uh, even the whole family really gets into MarioKart.

呃，甚至全家人都很喜歡馬里奧卡丁車。

And Uno. And Uno!

還有烏諾還有烏諾！

Making purposeful times with the family together.

和家人一起創造有目的的時光。

I think establishing a healthy routine is very important.

我認為建立健康的生活習慣是非常重要的。

Because then you get used to that,

因為這樣你就習慣了。

It helps you manage your day a little more instead of just wondering

它可以幫助你管理你的一天，而不是隻想知道。

"Well what am I going to do now? What am I going to do now?"

"那我現在該怎麼辦？我現在要做什麼？"

Well now it's time for this.

好了，現在是時候了。

Because we still had work to do

因為我們還有工作要做

It wasn't like we were all just on vacation for months,

我們又不是剛放了幾個月的假。

And the kids still had school, so they had their school time,

而且孩子們還得上學，所以他們的上學時間。

Then meal time, then play time and study time,

然後是吃飯時間，然後是遊戲時間和學習時間。

We just had to figure out a routine that worked with us all being in the house at the same time.

我們只需要想出一套能讓我們同時待在家裡的程序。

Joshua!

約書亞！

Awww!

啊！

Sarah we came to pick you up!

莎拉，我們是來接你的！

Hey Sarah, how was school today? Good.

嘿，莎拉，今天在學校怎麼樣？很好啊

I missed you so much, Sarah.

我很想你，莎拉

Another thing I think was very helpful was establishing healthy eating patterns.

另一件我認為非常有幫助的事情是建立健康的飲食模式。

Because if I let my kids raid the fridge and feed themselves, Oh gosh

因為如果我讓我的孩子們在冰箱裡翻箱倒櫃，然後自己吃，哦，天哪。

They would be eating cereal and chocolate and bread.

他們會吃麥片、巧克力和麵包。

My kids love bread. Oh, and white rice.

我的孩子喜歡麵包。哦，還有白米飯。

Plain rice. Just rice. Sarah would ask for it with a little shyoyu, soy sauce.

普通的米飯。只是米飯。薩拉會要求加點醬油，醬油。

During this whole time we started experimenting with healthier options like whole grain rice and more vegetables

在這段時間裡，我們開始嘗試更健康的選擇，比如全麥飯和更多的蔬菜。

And more baked things, not fried,

而且要多吃烤的東西，不要油炸的。

And just introducing them to new things

而只是向他們介紹新的事物

Like different soups and foods that are healthy but fun

喜歡不同的湯和食物，是健康但有趣的。

But not just junk.

但不只是垃圾。

It's amazing — eating healthy helps you have the right type of energy

這是驚人的--健康飲食有助於你擁有正確的能量類型

You don't go on these highs and lows.

你不去這些高低起伏的地方。

Sugar high and then you fall and you drop and you're cranky.

糖分高了就會掉下來，掉下來就會暴躁。

And it would fill them up so they're not begging for food every 5 minutes.

而且可以讓他們吃飽，這樣他們就不會每隔5分鐘乞討一次食物了。

So a lot of people comment, they're like "What a beautiful, wonderful family! You guys look perfect."

所以，很多人評論，他們就像 "多麼美麗，美好的家庭！你們看起來很完美。"

So... are we perfect?

那麼... 我們是完美的嗎？

All the time!

一直都是！

Do you see my halo?

你看到我的光環了嗎？

We definitely have had our moments, especially during the pandemic, has brought it out

我們肯定有我們的時刻，尤其是在流行病期間，已經把它帶出來了。

When you're with each other all the time Yeah

當你一直和對方在一起的時候 是的。

And our house is much smaller than the house we had either in the States or in Brazil,

而我們的房子無論是在美國還是在巴西，都比我們的房子小得多。

So you're in each others' business all the time

所以你們一直都在互相打交道？

What— how have we kind of dealt with that?

什麼--我們是怎麼處理的？

When someone's got a little upset or when the kids need to be alone or one of us...

當有人有點不高興的時候 或者當孩子們需要獨處的時候 或者我們中的一個人... ...

Needs to be alone. Well at one point we said "Well the car's available."

需要獨自一人。好吧，有一次我們說："好了，車可以用了。"

If anyone needs some alone time, you can just go sit in the car a little bit.

如果有人需要獨處的時間，你可以去車裡坐一會。

And actually I do that, don't I?

其實我也是這樣做的，不是嗎？

He does that every morning, he goes...

他每天早上都這樣做，他去... ...

I'll go get in the car and go for a little drive to a park I really like

我去坐車去我喜歡的公園兜兜風吧

And it's the perfect time to kind of, like, just stretch out a little bit.

這是一個完美的時間 樣，喜歡，只是舒展一點點。

So you know a lot of things that really helped me was having close friends that I could call up

所以，你知道很多事情，真正幫助我 是有親密的朋友，我可以叫上

I would call up my mom,

我會打電話給我媽媽。

I'd call up my sisters, I had other friends that I was texting,

我會打電話給我的姐妹們，我還有其他朋友，我在發短信。

And just getting advice and encouragement

而只是得到建議和鼓勵

Or just complaining a little to someone who understood what I was going through.

或者只是向理解我經歷的人抱怨一下。

And having that support system really, really is helpful.

有了這個支持系統，真的，真的很有幫助。

Not only during a pandemic, but anytime

不僅是在大流行期間，而且在任何時候

Because raising children is not something that we just all know the answers to, you know?

因為養孩子不是我們隨便就能知道答案的，你知道嗎？

Seeking advice from our parents and our grandparents or older ladies...

向我們的父母和爺爺奶奶或者老太太尋求建議... ...

We have a lot of wise ladies in our church that we can—that I like to seek advice from

我們教會里有很多聰明的女士，我們可以--我喜歡向她們尋求建議。

I think it's very important to, if you don't know what to do, if you don't know the answer, to find someone who can help you.

我覺得非常重要的是，如果你不知道該怎麼做，如果你不知道答案，找一個人可以幫助你。

And don't feel ashamed to open up about something that maybe you feel like is embarrassing

不要覺得羞於啟齒，也許你覺得是尷尬的事情。

Because chances are somebody else is also struggling with the same thing,

因為有可能別人也在為同樣的事情而苦惱。

Wondering how to keep their kids in line, or keep them entertained or just to keep a happy family atmosphere.

想知道如何讓孩子們排隊，或者讓他們開心，或者只是保持一個快樂的家庭氛圍。

A healthy family atmosphere really does take work

健康的家庭氛圍真的需要努力

And you got to be intentional about it

而且你要有意識地去做

It just doesn't happen by accident.

只是這不是偶然發生的。

One thing that we always do too is every evening we have family devotion time

我們也經常做的一件事就是每天晚上我們都有家庭奉獻時間。

Where we read the verse of the day from the Bible

在這裡，我們讀到了《聖經》中的當日經文。

And we take turns praying — praying for people that are sick or for our family

我們輪流禱告--為生病的人禱告，或為我們的家人禱告。

And also we like to dance!

而且我們還喜歡跳舞！

I'm sure you've seen in previous videos, we do a lot of dancing in our house.

我相信你在之前的視頻中已經看到了，我們家經常跳舞。

And we turn on a good Christian upbeat song

我們打開一首好的基督教歡快的歌曲。

And the kids dance, it helps them get their energy out,

而孩子們跳舞，可以幫助他們把能量釋放出來。

But also gives them positive energy because it's exciting, we're praising Jesus, and it's something good that we can do.

但也給他們帶來了正能量，因為這很刺激，我們在讚美耶穌，這是我們能做的好事。

So it's amazing, if you're depressed or sad or down, if you start dancing and have happy music on

所以很神奇的是，如果你很沮喪或悲傷或沮喪， 如果你開始跳舞，有快樂的音樂上

It really does change the atmosphere

它真的會改變氣氛

We found things that really helped us day by day, and still today

我們每天都能找到真正幫助我們的東西，今天仍然如此

I try not to let the girls play on the Switch or do any electronic games before they go to school

我儘量不讓孩子們在上學前玩Switch或做任何電子遊戲。

It seems like it puts them in a bad mood to want to leave for school.

好像會讓他們心情不好，想要離開學校。

So before school we turn on music,

所以在上學之前，我們會打開音樂。

Or we can watch Bible stories online,

或者我們可以在線觀看聖經故事。

But no gaming, no... phone

但是沒有遊戲，沒有... 電話

A lot of times they'll do artistic things and that's when they'll start drawing things

很多時候，他們會做一些藝術性的事情，這時候他們就會開始畫東西了

Or Sarah makes all these origami things that are just amazing

或者莎拉做的這些摺紙的東西都是很神奇的。

Yeah It's like my goodness!

是啊，這就像我的天啊！

(Singing) Whatcha making Sarah, Sarah Sarah Bear-ah, Sarah Bear-a?

(Singing) Whatcha making Sarah, Sarah Sarah Bear -ah, Sarah Bear -a?

Whatcha making? Let me see! I'm making a dog.

你在做什麼？讓我看看！我在做一隻狗

A dog? From Origami? Yea.

一隻狗？從摺紙學來的？是的

How do you know how to do this?

你怎麼知道怎麼做？

It's my teacher. The teacher at school?

是我的老師。學校的老師？

Aw, that's so cute.

哦，那是如此可愛。

Because let me tell you what,

因為讓我告訴你

Turning on the tv and leaving that as your babysitter is a lot easier than

打開電視，讓它作為你的保姆是一個簡單的很多比

Me personally spending time with them and investing in them

我個人花時間和他們在一起，並在他們身上投資

But, it's those times that they're going to remember

但是，他們會記住這些時間的。

When they grow up, are they going to be like "yea, my mom just let me watch tv whenever I wanted"

當他們長大後，他們會不會像 "是啊，我媽媽只是讓我看電視，只要我想"

Or are they going to be like "Oh yea, my mom played games with me, or she taught me how to make a recipe"

或者他們會像 "哦，是的，我的媽媽跟我玩遊戲， 或者她教我如何做一個食譜"

Or she taught me how to sow

或者她教我如何播種

Those are the things that are going to be positive memories

這些都是會成為積極的回憶的事情。

That we want them to then pass on to their children and grandkids.

我們希望他們能傳給他們的孩子和孫子。

So I like the little post it note that you have on your computer

所以我喜歡你電腦上的小便條

Do you want to share what it says?

你想分享它的內容嗎？

I think it says "Be the mom you want your kids to remember"

我想這是說 "做一個你希望孩子們記住的媽媽"

It just goes along with what you're saying

這只是順著你的意思說的

I have to put in reminders for me to have a positive attitude

我得提醒自己要有一個積極的態度。

It's a work in... I'm a work in progress.

這是一個工作中的...我是一個正在進行中的工作。

Even with a healthy family, it starts with a healthy marriage too

即使有健康的家庭，也要從健康的婚姻開始。

And although I don't feel like our marriage is perfect yet,

雖然我覺得我們的婚姻還不完美。

I do feel we have a lot of love and understanding

我確實覺得我們有很多的愛和理解。

And working with each others strengths and weaknesses

並相互配合，取長補短。

I have plenty of my own weaknesses!

我有很多自己的弱點!

How do we go about that?

我們該如何去做呢？

Well, we used to always look forward to when our parents would come,

嗯，我們以前總是盼望著父母來的時候。

Either set, because they would help watch the kids so we could go out on dates

無論哪一套，因為他們會幫忙看孩子，這樣我們就可以出去約會了。

Because until now, well Joshua just turned 5

因為直到現在，約書亞才剛滿5歲。

But before he was just too young to hardly leave with random people

但之前他只是太年輕了，幾乎不能隨便和人離開

This last year, you know, with all our families not being able to come visit,

去年，你知道，我們所有的家人都不能來探望。

It's been extra stressful — I mean not stressful, but

它一直是額外的壓力 - 我的意思是不緊張，但。

We haven't been able to really take time away, just the two of us

我們一直沒能真正抽出時間來，只有我們兩個人

So for those first months we were just all stuck together in a house,

所以，在最初的幾個月裡，我們只是一起被困在一間房子裡。

What is going on?!

這是怎麼回事？

Mommy put a tent up for us.

媽媽給我們搭了個帳篷

Chillin' in your tent.

在你的帳篷裡休息

So it's hard to just be Nate and I

所以我和Nate很難只做一個人

And then as soon as schools went back, I went back to school

然後學校一放假，我就回學校了。

So I was studying in Shinjuku for 5 hours a day,

所以我在新宿每天學習5個小時。

And then we'd come home and have housework,

然後我們會回家做家務。

So it was very hard for us to have just alone time.

所以，我們很難只擁有獨處的時間。

But you have to just, after the kids go to bed,

但你必須要在孩子們睡覺之後

Watch something together, or listen to something or try to hang out a little bit

一起看點東西，或者聽點東西，或者嘗試著出去玩一玩

Except that, come 9:00 at night, I am not much good at anything.

只是，到了晚上9點，我什麼都不太行。

What would you say to somebody who is watching and like

你會對正在觀看並喜歡的人說些什麼？

"Wow- you know, that's great for you guys, but my family is a mess and I've screwed up."

"哇--你知道，這對你們來說很好，但我的家庭一團糟，我已經搞砸了。"

What about that person?

那個人呢？

Well, it's never too late to start trying and start investing in your family

好了，現在開始嘗試，開始投資家庭，什麼時候都不晚。

If your marriage is in shambles, start there

如果你的婚姻一團糟，就從這裡開始。

Seek advice in what areas you should improve on first,

先徵求一下自己應該在哪些方面改進的意見。

You know, with your children, if you don't hug them or you don't say that you love them,

你知道，和你的孩子在一起，如果你不擁抱他們 或者你不說你愛他們。

Those are simple, small things you can do that will make a huge difference in their life

這些簡單的小事，你能做的，會給他們的生活帶來巨大的改變。

Because kids need that affection, they need that love, they need that physical touch

因為孩子們需要這種感情，需要這種愛，需要這種身體的接觸

And I think that is very, very important

我認為這是非常非常重要的

Keep an eye on who your kids friends are

密切關注你的孩子的朋友是誰

Because they will be highly influenced by their friends

因為他們會受朋友的影響很大。

We always tell the girls, because they go out and play with their friends

我們總是告訴女孩，因為他們出去和他們的朋友一起玩

That we want them to influence their friends in positive ways

我們希望他們能以積極的方式影響他們的朋友們

and never have their friends influence them negatively

從不受朋友的影響

I think it's very important for us as parents, as mothers

我覺得這對我們做父母的，做母親的來說是非常重要的。

To keep an eye on what friendships our kids are developing.

要隨時關注我們的孩子在發展什麼友誼。

In a future video we want to do questions and answers,

在未來的視頻中，我們要做問答。

So if you have any specific questions

所以，如果你有任何具體問題

Maybe it's about parenting or families

也許是關於父母或家庭的

Or maybe it's something fun like "Hey, have you ever gone to this place? Or tried this?"

或者也許是一些有趣的事情，比如 "嘿，你去過這個地方嗎？ 或者嘗試過這個？或者試過這個？"

Whatever it might be, feel free to post your questions down here

不管是什麼問題，都可以在這裡發表你的問題。

And in a couple of weeks we'd like to respond to some of those

幾周後，我們將對其中的一些問題作出迴應。

Is there anything else that you would add at all?

你還有什麼要補充的嗎？

Well, if they have any questions about our kids,

如果他們對我們的孩子有任何疑問的話 Well, if they have any questions about our kids,

For our kids —you know— if you would like to ask Becca or Anna, Sarah or Joshua anything

給我們的孩子們 如果你想問貝卡或安娜 莎拉或約書亞什麼事的話

Please write it in the comments and then we'll do a video in the future

請寫在評論裡，然後我們會在未來做一個視頻。

and sit them down and see what their answer are to your questions.

並讓他們坐下來，看看他們對你的問題有什麼回答。

Could be very interesting. Yeah, it could.

可能會很有趣是的，它可以。

Well we're so thankful for each and every one of you that has been watching us and following us

好吧，我們非常感謝你們每一個人 一直在關注我們，關注我們。

If you haven't subscribed yet, please do so, it really does help this channel grow

如果你還沒有訂閱，請訂閱，它真的有助於這個頻道的成長。

And we appreciate you guys so much

我們非常感謝你們

And until next time, we'll see you on Life in Japan

下一次，我們將在日本的生活中見到你。

Bye bye! bye.

再見！再見。