Target Tuesday

This Christmas we won't be seeing most (any?) of you around the holidays, which I am not going to think about right now.  We've already bought a few gifts ahead of time and left them back home (gifts for Taylor Anne and Anderson), sent a few gifts home with Marshall during this last visit, and will be shipping other gifts from Korea....or from Amazon.  :)

Mom and I did some shopping for Maddox and Maverick during the Toys & Co 20% off sale back in October, got the gifts wrapped, and sent them parcel post here to Korea about 2 weeks before we left.  I am glad to report that the packages JUST arrived!  So- take note- don't send anything here parcel post unless you want it to take 1.5 months to arrive!  Ha!  I definitely learned that priority is the only way to send packages around here.

I don't want ANYONE to stress out about sending/giving us gifts this holiday season, but I know that many people have said that they want to.  So, to make things easier for those people, I created a Targetlist of gift ideas for the kids.  Under each item it says if it is for Mdx or Mav.  I made sure the things on the list could ship to an APO address, and already entered the address in the shipping field.  PLEASE don't feel obligated to get them anything just because I made this list.  If you'd rather buy things and ship them yourself (more power to ya!  Haha!), message me and I can send you our address, but keep in mind they have to be sent priority or we'll be getting them in February.  If you'd rather send money and have me go to the BX here and buy them gifts, I can do that as well.

With all that said- truly the kids are pretty young and won't remember down the road who did and didn't send them Christmas presents while they were in Korea.  At least I've done my Momly/Granddaughterly/Niecely duty by providing a Christmas list.  :)

It's a Maverick Monday

Here are just a few pics and videos of the boy!  He's reaching for things, and becoming more vocal, but still is just such an easy-going little guy.  He loves being in my Beco baby carrier and falls asleep within minutes of me putting him in it- it's SO much nicer than hauling him around in that carseat that he hates so much!  Now, if I can just figure out how to get him to sleep in his pack and play....we'll save that for next month.  :)

This is Mav playing with a toy while "sitting up" in his Bumbo.  Mom is holding the toy for him so it wouldn't fall over- obviously this video is from a few weeks ago!  

Here's another video of me tickling Mav with my hair.  It normally makes him smile!

Getting a belly

Mav and Daddy are both tired

Reaching for the toys!

Thanksgiving 2010

Thanksgiving 2010 had about 3 different plans for us.  First, we were going to eat a big meal with my friend Nonja's family and some other families that they were getting together.  We know Nonja because we were stationed at Langley together.  Everyone was going to be bringing something and it was going to be a type of potluck.  That plan changed about a week before Thanksgiving though, when it just got too big and there were too many people involved.  No one had an apartment that could hold everyone, and it was too complicated.  Nonja told me they had decided to go to the club, and we were welcome to come if we wanted to do that.

Since I knew Marshall worked with a bunch of single Airmen (or Airmen who didn't have a family here), I suggested to Marshall that we should host a potluck at our house.  He asked around at work, and everybody seemed interested.  So, we drafted up a list of what we would provide (turkey, stuffing, and a dessert), and other people could sign up for stuff to bring. It was going to be a pretty nice party I think!  Then, Grandpa Mac died and we decided Marshall should head home if possible....so the plan changed again!  Boy, I am nothing, if not flexible.

After we knew Marshall would be leaving I got back in touch with Nonja and asked if they could add one more to their reservation at the O Club- she said of course!  SO- plan C: eating with them at 1pm.  I decided to take Maddox to school that day for my own selfish reasons.  She has no idea what Thanksgiving is, or that she would even be missing it, and I was stressed out enough without trying to wrangle both kids at the O Club in front of a group of people I don't know.  I would actually be able to relax and enjoy the meal...so that's what I did.  Hopefully when she's a teenager and she's reading this she'll forgive me.   I missed Marshall, but still had a lovely time with friends.

There was an amazing buffet with TONS of choices!  I can't believe I didn't get a picture of the Prime Rib and Turkey buffet.  Oops!

The Cake/Pastry/Fruit buffet

The traditional pies and cobblers buffet

The other side of the pastries.

Only one of my two plates!!  Notice the black olives Dad??

  And yes, that's a doughnut.  Because I could.

Our group of friends

Back home Maverick watched me clean from his bouncy chair.  

Here's the vest Aunt Em made!  Mav's chunking up nicely, weighing right around 13 pounds now.

I'm thinking we need to go back to the O Club for Christmas dinner....because there is no way that we can have a meal anywhere close to that nice, for such an amazing price ($13.00 for club members!!!), plus there were NO dishes to wash afterward.

Way Back Whensday- Thanksgiving 2009

Last Thanksgiving we hosted a few of Marshall's friends from work over for Thanksgiving dinner.  Marshall had just gotten back from deployment and we couldn't travel home for the holiday because of some sort of work conflict (I can't remember specifically what it was).  This was our first time cooking a holiday meal and there were many phone calls to my parents in NC for some help with the turkey and other things!!  I told Marshall that the only thing I really wanted him to do was the turkey, and he gave me some song and dance about how that's the woman's job!  I said "Oh H-E-doublehockeysticks NO it is not!  My Dad always cooks the turkey at their house!!".  HAhahaha!  I got a new appreciation for how much work goes into preparing a meal of that size!  I'm still not good at the hostess thing.  I forget to tell people where they can put their coats or purses, I forget to offer drinks, and I run around all confused for a while.  I can't be the only one who does this.

Our friends Matt and Ashley brought their daughter Olivia, who was only a few months old!  Maddox was checking her out and thought she was very interesting!

She had on a super cute Thanksgiving outfit!  Now I feel like a schmuck for not having one for Mav this year!  Oh well.  Here she's chillin in Mdx's papasan chair.

 Maddox enjoyed sitting at the table with us!

Chris, Lena, Matt, Ashley, and Olivia.  Notice the twinkle lights hanging in the dining room.  Every home of ours just feels "homier" (Homeyer?  More like a home?) with twinkle lights.  Note to self: must put up twinkle lights in this apartment somewhere.

If you had asked me this time last year if I thought I'd be at Osan AB, eating Thanksgiving dinner at the O Club instead of cooking, or with our family, I would have said you were crazy!  But here I am.  :)

Grandpa Mac

Sadly, Marshall's grandfather passed away this past Sunday after a short battle with failing kidneys, and a weak heart.  He had been in the hospital, and we didn't have a lot of details, but his brother Mason was trying to keep us informed as much as possible.  Marshall's parents went up to Maryland to be with him, and I'm glad they were there.  Marshall woke up Monday morning to go to work at 4AM and had a voicemail from his Dad telling him that Grandpa had passed.  Marshall came into the bedroom where I was trying to fall back asleep and told me.  He was understandably very upset.  I immediately said "You have to go home!".  We knew that it would be a long shot 1) Trying to get leave on a holiday week 2) Trying to get a seat on the Patriot Express, which flies back to the States only twice a week, and 3) He needed to get some stitches taken out and would have to reschedule that appointment.  I told him that if he couldn't get on the PatExp that I thought he should just buy a commercial ticket and go anyway.  So- Marshall headed into work to see if he could find his shirt, and start the leave process.  Leave was approved, the PatExp had room, and the hospital worked him into their schedule and got the stitches out- miracles DO happen!  Marshall left earlier today and will be home for the Thanksgiving holiday with his family.  I'm so glad he'll get this time with them to mourn his Grandpa, and get some quality time with his brothers too.


Although I'd only known him about 6(ish?) years, Gpa Mac treated me like his own granddaughter from the start.  He always asked great questions and was interested in my teaching, and was extremely supportive of my quest to get a Masters degree at The University of Michigan.  He and Helen (Gma Mac) even came to Ann Arbor and attended my graduation ceremonies, which meant a lot.  I have many memories of Mac (Marshall also goes by Mac....a blessing or a curse of anyone with a Mc last name I suppose). The one that means the most to me is from the last time I saw him, which was in October, just a little more than a month ago.  We were leaving for Korea in a few weeks and they came down to NC for a weekend visit.  He wasn't feeling very well at the time, but still held Maverick and watched Maddox play.  Before they left he was hugging me, and he held me close and said "You have such a wonderful family, you are a great Mother!".  I can still hear his voice telling me that, and I'll remember it forever.

Just a few pics I found:

In Ann Arbor at my graduation from grad school at U of M.  

I'm about 5 months pregnant with Mdx in this picture.

Baby Mdx with Mac and Helen.

Gpa Mac, Mdx, and my Mom at Mdx's 1st Birthday party.

She was *this close* to walking, and waited a few days after everyone left to finally start!

Four generations of McIntyres.

During our last visit this past October- Mike is holding up a droopy ghost, Mac, Helen, and Marcia.

  I've tried to explain to Mdx what has happened, but it's hard to know how much she understands.  She knows Gpa Mac was sick and in the hospital.  I explained that his body couldn't get any better, so he died and went to heaven (She knows Tipsy is in heaven too).  When I told Maddox that Grandpa is in heaven now, so we won't see him any more, she smiled and said "Grandpa Mac's in HEAVEN!?  Woohoo!" and threw her hands in the air.  :)  Not altogether an appropriate response- but not completely wrong either.  A wonderful Grandpa who left us a ton of great memories-  we love you Grandpa Mac.

Way Back Whensday

Last year at this time Maddox looked like this: 

 She was still rocking the small curly pigtails.

She got some new kicks.  These were Rocket Dogs.

Somestimes she was just a hot mess....

...and would get into things, like other people's shoes.

She cleaned up really nicely for photos

She'd rather push Nina on the tricycle than ride it!

And, of course, loved to eat!

So much is different, and yet, so much is the same.  :)

Korean Folk Village

We met up with an old friend of mine named Chris who is living and working in Seoul.  He is an English teacher, in his third year in the country.  Chris and I have been friends since our days at FLC middle school youth group in Greensboro, so we've known each other at least 18 years, maybe longer.  I played softball with his sister, and we were in Marching Band together- so we shared lots of activities over time.  I'm so glad to have someone we know here in the country that we could get together with!

We took the train to Suwon, where there was a ticket counter and a free bus for the Folk Village.  This is the Songtan train station.

Here is our stroller- it's a Phil & Ted's Sport.  It is FANTASTIC, and totally worth the money for anyone who will have 2 stroller sized kids, and do any traveling.  Right now we have Mdx riding in the back because the infant carrier has to go in the front, but the plan is to have Mav riding in the back when he get a little bit bigger.

Here is outside the subway station at Suwon.  The station was very large, with a huge mall inside it- which came in handy because I had forgotten a bottle!  Luckily Chris's friend Jaemin speaks Korean and was able to ask where we could find one while we were there.  :)  There was a supermarket in the lower level that happily sold me one for 12,000 won (around 11 dollars).

This is right inside the Folk Village.  There were samples of different spicy/hot sauces to taste.

Here is the courtyard of the Village.  Those blue and red lanterns are the logos of the Seoul G20 Summit, they are everywhere around the Seoul area.

This is the picture menu that was posted outside one of the restaurants there.

There is a a blacksmith shop where they sell the handtools that you watch them make.

A beautiful scene by the water.  Unfortunately there aren't many sights like this near where we live (in a town by the base).  I think if we do some more traveling off the beaten path we are much more likely to see things like this.

A traditional Korean fishing boat.

They use roof tiles to build strong walls around the village.

Maddox liked playing with the big mortar and pestle, and other hands-on tools they had there.

A rich person's house, or a palace, I can't remember which.

I carried Mav in the Beco baby carrier for a large part of the time there, it was warmer for him and easier for me to walk around with Mdx.

We crossed over a bridge, and I looked down over the water to see this person crossing a stone bridge.  I snapped the photo right as they got to the middle.

 Maddox is being pushed by Marshall on this giant swing.

After we got back to the train station we ate in the food court there.  Chris told us a lot about the area and his experience at the school where he is teaching.

We enjoyed the visit and hope to see Chris many more times while we are here.  :)

Randoms

Alright, all you family members who were on my case about blogging....where are you??  Hmmm?  I'm typing my fingers to the bone to update you peeps, with very few comments from the peanut gallery!  :)

Today we have all kinds of randomness, because life is not always organized in blog posts.  

Korean sweet potatoes are not orange, they are yellow.  They taste very similar.

Orange juice in a can.

Just noticed this: Maverick at 2 months & 3 weeks, then Maddox at 2 months & 2 weeks old. 

Grape and kiwi (?) yogurt- Oh. Em. Gee.  It's good.

Vending Machine.

Happy Pepero Day!

November 11th in South Korea is Pepero Day!  Pepero are a cookie and chocolate stick in various flavors, sold by a company called Lotte here in Korea.  Supposedly it is like Valentines Day, and people exchange boxes of Pepero.  I think it is on November 11th because the Pepero sticks look like the numbers 11/11.  We got some boxes and sent them to school with Maddox, and Marshall came back from dropping her off with a box from her teachers.  :)

Here are some pics from our trip to E-mart yesterday.  It is a mile walk to the train station, 2 train stops, and then about a quarter mile walk to the store.

My finger is pointing at Songtan, where we live.  We went South 2 stops to Jije, where E-mart is.

I took this picture on the walk from the train station to the store, because I liked the pattern that was made in the field.  Later on you will see what had happened to the field while we were shopping.

Here is E-mart.  It is a cross between a Target and an Ikea.  It is 2 stories tall and we didn't even get to see all of it.  Marshall said on the weekends they have people outside directing traffic in the parking lot.

Here is the Pepero section, decorated for Pepero Day.

More Pepero.

This is upstairs, in the school and art supply section.

We ate lunch in the food court.  This is what Marshall got, we think it was chicken.  Kimchi on the side.

My meal- fried pork (?) with rice and curry sauce.  Kimchi on the side.

Mom got Bibimbap.  Kimchi on the.....you get the idea.

There was a Baskin Robbins in the store with these incredible ice-cream cakes.  

Here is the field on our way back to the train station- the giant marshmellows are hay bales!  The cool pattern was gone.

Here are our E-mart purchases for around the house:

A Bookcase for the living room.  We also go another for the bedroom.

Grammy decided Maddox needed this Pororo table so she'd have a place to do her coloring/painting/general mischief making.  It's interesting how I don't want the kids to have stuff with American characters all over them (mainly because of the huge marketing machine behind them), but these Korean characters don't bother me.  Pororo is a Korean cartoon.

This coat rack goes from floor to ceiling in the entry way.  Before we had this all our coats were thrown in a pile on top of a chair.  You can see our shoes.

A mirror for Mdx's room, because as Mom said: "Little girls need a mirror to look in!".  Haha!  There's my feet.

Okay, there are enough pictures in this post- I think I deserve a day off tomorrow, right??